I picked up the pace, and after cresting the first hill I got a better look at my surroundings. The town I’d spotted upon first entering the world was a little farther away than I’d thought, and the hills between it and I were not empty.

Wolves prowled the valleys between the slopes, and many more were dozing in the patches of tall grass that littered the landscape. The hill across from me was pocked with dark holes—caves, probably—and the ground in front of each was stained an angry shade of red. Ivory bones lay scattered amid the blood, bright against the darkened earth.

Ezzie said.

A little map appeared in the top right corner of my vision. It was translucent, and the more I focused on it, the brighter it became. A golden arrow pointed north and toward the town—that seemed to be the way I was facing—so I hung a right, and the arrow adjusted accordingly.

I shook my head again.

Despair, then, as if the gravity of my situation had finally hit me.

Ezzie hesitated, and something like regret filtered through the link.

I inclined my head, then shivered at just how quickly I’d taken the android’s words for truth. Not like I had a choice.

I found the X; it seemed to be indicating an area just over the next hill. There weren’t any wolves this high up, so getting there was simple enough. But I pulled up short when I got a good view of the carnage below.

Two dead horses lay curled in front of a riderless carriage, a cloud of black flies swarming and buzzing above them. The carriage itself appeared untouched, though the grass all around it had been trampled flat, and I could pick out a few dropped weapons here and there, their blades dark with blood and matted with fur.

The carriage had been towing three cages behind it, and though the first was empty, its door swinging back and forth in the wind, the latter two cages each held a child. A pair of wolves prowled around the kids, growling and snapping at the air.

New Quest: For the Children (Evolving Quest)!

Objective: Kill the wolves and free the kids.

Reward: Experience and 50 Renown.

Failure Penalty: -500 Renown.

Decline Penatly: -250 Renown

Accept?

Ezzie said.

Renown

Current level: Unknown.

Progress to Unheralded: 0/2000

Here’s the catch though,> Ezzie said.

I hesitated, trying to think of a situation in the past where I’d have been better off not knowing what I was up against. Nothing sprang to mind.

Ezzie took a deep breath. I had the distinct sensation that Ezzie was swallowing, that her throat hurt.

My heart skipped a beat.

Ezzie said.

I swallowed, my gaze settling on the huge wolves beyond.

But even as I said those words, something in the back of my head urged me forward, said that of course I could do this, that I had to do this.

Ezzie said.

I said.

My right arm jerked of its own accord, and I stabbed myself in the thigh.

“Shit!” I grabbed the dagger and yanked it out, acting on pure impulse even though as soon as the blade was free I realized I should have left it in until I’d tied the leg off or found something to bandage it with.

Blood spurted from the hole in my leg, but only briefly; a bronze substance gathered at the edges of the wound, and I watched, mesmerized as the thick liquid spread across the gash, congealing into a plate that sealed the wound shut. The bronze receded, leaving smooth skin behind and eradicating the pain entirely.

I ran two fingers across the spot where the wound had been, and though the skin was a little warmer there, that was the only difference.

Ezzie said,

I examined the nearest wolf:

{Blood-crazed Howler} (Level 1 Beast)

HP: 90/90

Ninety health didn’t seem too bad; I had about twice that much. I mentally accepted the quest.

I crept down the slope as best as I could, keeping low to the ground. One of the wolves glanced in my direction, so I pressed myself flat and tried not to move. The wolf sniffed the air, then returned to circling the cages.

A prompt flashed into view:

Passive unlocked: Stealth I.

Effect: You are much more difficult to detect when crouching or moving slowly.

Effect Modifiers: Ambient light, armor weight, target distance, target level, target line of sight.

Next level: You are now 10% harder to detect when crouching or moving slowly.

Ezzie said.

I crawled closer on hands and knees, then scooped up a handful of rocks. I waited for one of the wolves to patrol closer, then unloaded on it. The wolf yelped, glared in my direction, and charged. The thing was fast; one glance at the creature in motion told me that there was no point in running from it.

I still had both of my daggers out, so I swapped the weaker stone one that I’d started with into my right hand and readied myself to throw it. The wolf leapt for me, and I cocked back and let fly.

The dagger hit home, sinking hilt-deep into the beast’s right eye. The wolf went limp in midair, and a little notification popped up in my peripheral, but the wolf was still flying forward, and it barreled into my chest with its full weight, knocking me back into the grass.

Ezzie said.

I rolled the wolf off me and reclaimed the dagger I’d thrown with a wet pop, grimacing at how slick the pommel had become.

Ezzie said.

The dead wolf shifted, somehow, its shape blurring and going all fuzzy. Then the wolf popped, dissolving into thousands of tiny black dots that dispersed into the wind, leaving only a few strips of thin material lying in the grass where the corpse had been.

Ezzie said.

I wiped some sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand and crept toward the second wolf, the stone knife held between index finger and thumb, ready for flight. I didn’t see any reason not to try the same thing, given how successful I’d been before. The wolf saw me and took off, loping strides eating up the distance between us.

I held my ground and waited for the leap. Waited, waited. But the leap didn’t come as it had, and the wolf was getting too close for comfort, so I threw with everything I had. The blade went wide and tumbled uselessly into the verdant grass.

The wolf leapt, then, its huge front paws striking my shoulders and knocking me off my feet. The animal pinned me to the ground, its teeth long and terrible as they clacked together only inches from my face, foamy saliva flying everywhere. I threw a forearm up to protect my face and the wolf took the bait, clamping down hard.

The pain was shocking, white-hot and visceral. Something in my arm cracked, then gave entirely, and hot blood spattered my face. I panicked, drove my serrated dirk into the wolf’s neck and twisted, yanked it out and drove it in again and again and again. The blood was everywhere, hot and metallic. I tasted copper, smelled iron.

After six more strikes, the pressure on my arm lessened, then vanished. The wolf’s eyes went dark. It slipped off me and thudded onto the ground.

I sat up, gasping, my shattered forearm cradled to my chest, the skin slack and sagging where the bone had given way. I had no feeling in my left hand, but the fang marks that the wolf had left behind were already brimming over with bronze and the pain was numbing away.

My arm popped again, the sort of relieving pop you get when cracking your knuckles, and I flexed my hand to test it. It worked fine. It worked like nothing had happened at all.

Ezzie said.

I stood up and shook out my arm, still not quite believing that it could have healed from such a severe injury.

Ezzie said.

I checked them:

You threw {Stone Dirk} at {Blood-crazed Howler} for 120 damage (2x Critical multiplier) (2x Weak Spot multiplier)!

{Blood-crazed Howler} died!

You gained 15 experience!

You threw {Stone Dirk} at {Blood-crazed Howler}, but {Blood-crazed Howler} evaded the attack!

{Blood-crazed Howler} tackled you for 5 damage!

You are knocked down!

{Blood-crazed Howler} bit you for 35 damage (crippling)!

{Blood-crazed Howler} bit you for 37 damage!

You hit {Blood-crazed Howler} for 20 damage!

You hit {Blood-crazed Howler} for 21 damage!

You hit {Blood-crazed Howler} for 20 damage!

{Blood-crazed Howler} died!

You gained 15 experience!

I headed for the cages, the doors of which were glowing with a soft, golden light.

Ezzie said.

Anger then, finally, blessedly. Maybe the adrenaline had overridden whatever changes the interface had been making to my brain? At least I hoped that was the case.

I said.

It was a full five seconds before Ezzie responded.

I said, the memory of the wolf’s flashing teeth springing back to mind.

I opened my mouth, snapped it shut. Swallowed the lump that rising in my throat, the memories I’d locked away.

Another wave of regret flooded through the link. Ezzie said.

Of course it had been rough: life out in the wild was hard and brutal and cruel, but at least I didn’t have an android looking over my shoulder every minute of every day. At least out there I’d been free to make my own choices without a network fiddling around inside my head, eating away at my free will.

And out in the wild, I’d never been attacked by a wolf the size of a small horse, either. I said.

Ezzie said.

I shook my head, still stewing inside as I reached one of the cages. As soon as I reached out and grabbed the nearest latch, another prompt popped up:

Quest completed: Save the Children!

You gained 150 Experience and 50 Renown.

Ding!

Congratulations, you reached level 3!

Your Strength and Constitution have increased by 1!

You have (4) stat points to allocate.

Reach level 5 to select a Class Modifier!

Renown:

Current level: Unknown.

Progress to Unheralded: 50/2000

That feeling again, but stronger. Pure, undiluted, overwhelming bliss. It was as if they’d distilled every happy moment I’d ever had and injected the resulting essence directly into my veins. I pulled up my stats, mostly to see what kind of armor mitigation I was working with.

{Silas}

Level: 3

Base Class: Brawler

Gear Level: 0 > 5

Grade: F

Strength: 10 > 11

Dexterity: 12

Constitution: 9 > 10

Intelligence: 7

Wisdom: 7

Charisma: 8

Physical Attack: 0 > 11

Magical Attack: 0 > 5

Health: 190 > 200

Stamina: 90 > 100

Mana: 70

Armor: 0 > 7 (8% physical mitigation)

Magical Resistance: 0 (0% magical mitigation)

Eight percent…that was not ideal. Might as well have been wearing cloth.

Ezzie said,

New Quest: Save the Children II (Evolving Quest)!

Description: The cages are locked. Track down the key.

Reward: Experience and 100 Renown.

Failure penalty: -300 Renown.

Decline penalty: -150 Renown.

Accept?

The two kids were glowing gold—with the same light that had illuminated the cages—so I focused on the closest of the two.

“Please,” the first kid said, as he extended a dirty hand between the bars that held him. “They dragged my sister into that cave! You have to help, please! She’s still alive I know it!”

New Quest: Faster Now!

Description: The wolves have one of the kids trapped inside the Bloodied Den. If you can clear it fast enough, you might be able to save her.

Time limit: 10 minutes.

Reward: Experience and 100 Renown.

Failure penalty: -300 Renown.

Decline penalty: -150 Renown.

Accept?