“The end of times is nigh! The dragon of the apocalypse has shown its face! Take a good look at the moon and you shall see the truth! Earthquakes, floods, wildfires, tsunamis, and hurricanes. There’s been an unprecedented number of them since the start of this year! Listen to my words, lost sheep! Believe in the lord and he shall show you salvation.”

Anaheim rolled her eyes as she walked past the crazy man preaching on the street corner. She was holding onto a cup of coffee with a bag of groceries hanging from the crook of her elbow. With her other hand, she was dragging a rope that held four tied up cows behind her. The man dressed in rags shouted at her, spittle flying and crashing into a barrier of mana she had set up.

“The dragon of the apocalypse appeared off the coast of Nipon, but we shot it down with missiles! Its wrath must exceed the heavens. The first step is the moon! But what will happen if the sun turns dark!? The world will freeze over! Everything shall perish: oceans will turn to ice, plants will cease to grow, it won’t be long for everything to follow. And the hero will fall in love with the demon lord! Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!”

Anaheim spat out the drink in her mouth and glared at the preacher. “What the hell are you spouting!? The hero will fall in love with the demon lord? There’s something seriously wrong with your head! Let me remove it for you.”

The man rubbed his eyes before blinking hard. His eyes widened as he pointed at Anaheim. “You, you, the traitor to mankind!”

A foot sent the man flying. Anaheim snorted as she kicked the man a second time, punting him into a trashcan beside a building’s entrance. “I thought the mental institutions were working properly. Evidently not.” She tossed the empty cup of coffee onto the man’s body before stomping away.

When Anaheim returned to her apartment, Khrx was still inside of the pod with the helmet on his head. The pod did have a feature to inject sustenance and nutrients into the gamer’s body, but she didn’t trust it. She went to the kitchen and made herself a meal before biting her lower lip. She opened her phone and called Khrx. “Do you want lunch? I bought four cows.”

“Eat them without me,” Khrx said. “I’m in the middle of something.”

The call ended before Anaheim could say another word. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow at the four frightened cows, which were still tied and bound. How was she supposed to eat them by herself?

***

Khrx ended the call and shook his head. He didn’t have to eat if he didn’t expend mana.

“Who was that?” Lorin asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced down. She was holding Khrx, and the two of them were flying over a meadow.

“Anaheim,” Khrx said.

“Mm. That useless woman, huh?” Lorin asked. “I’ve seen her mooching off Luke. She contributes nothing but acts haughty.”

“Well, she’s really strong in reality,” Khrx said.

Lorin shrugged. “This is my reality. For now.” Her eyes narrowed as she landed in front of a bush—the only bush within the meadow. “We’re here.”

Khrx wriggled out of Lorin’s grasp and approached the bush. Luke had told him there was good fortune waiting for him here. On the bush, there were two bright-blue berries, just waiting for him to harvest. Khrx rubbed his chin before grabbing Lorin’s sword. He poked the bush a few times, checking to see if there were any reactions. Then he poked the berries. Nothing happened.

“Do you think it’s a trap?” Lorin asked, raising an eyebrow. She had personally witnessed Luke and Aaz’Tala eating berries from the bush. Luke had cast a spell to conceal the bush when there were only two berries remaining, telling Aaz’Tala to save them for Khrx.

“Luke’s already killed me once before,” Khrx said as he harvested the berries. The ground didn’t tremble, and arrows didn’t fly out of nowhere to kill him. Khrx was almost disappointed. “Can’t be too careful.” He handed one to Lorin. “You test it first.”

Lorin nodded and ate the berry. She scanned her body with mana before shaking her head. “My intelligence increased. There were no negative side effects.”

“Increased intelligence?” Khrx smiled. Luke really knew how to apply the carrot and the stick. Khrx popped the berry into his mouth and chewed. It tasted bland.

[You’ve eaten the berry of intelligence! Since you’re intelligence is less than 10, your intelligence has doubled.]

Khrx froze. Doubled? Wasn’t his intelligence negative? He opened his status screen, and his face fell. “Negative thirty-eight…. This stupid game! I’m not dumb!” He roared at the sky and stomped his feet. He navigated through his menu and called Luke. “Your stupid berry decreased my intelligence by 19!”

“What?” Luke asked. “Give me a moment. I’m still fighting that god. I’ll call you back. How many times do I have to tell you this? Stop calling!”

Khrx sighed as he lifted Lorin’s sword. He cut the bush to pieces and trampled the remains, jumping up and down.

“How much did it increase your intelligence by?” Khrx asked, handing Lorin back her sword.

“Err. Here’s my status screen.”

[Name: Lorin Nirol]

[Title: Betrayer of Jax, Fallen Angel, Ex-Guard of Heaven, The Sun God’s Champion, Unfettered]

[Strength: 75]

[Constitution: 75]

[Intelligence: 76]

[Spirit: 75]

[Dexterity: 75]

[Perception: 75]

[Charisma: 10]

[Luck: 19]

[Active Skills: War Cry (U), Smite ®, Blind (U), Appropriate (L), Lightning Bolt ©, Chain Lightning (U), Lightning Storm ®, Lightning Field ®, Mana Shield ©, Ice Cage (U), Shield Crash (U), Barrier Crusher ®, Light Whip (U)]

[Passive Skills: Sword Mastery – Master ®, Shield Mastery – Master ®, Lightning Mastery – Elite (U), Ice Mastery – Common ©, Fire Mastery – Common ©]

[Companions: Khrx’Lrvnjl]

[The Sun God’s Champion]

[All stats increased by 50%.]

[Unfettered]

[Negative penalties from titles no longer apply.]

Khrx stared at Lorin’s status for a long time. He raised his head as he dismissed it.

“Well?” Lorin asked, clasping her hands together in front of her lap. She lowered her gaze, staring at the ground. “What do you think?”

“I want your stats,” Khrx said with a pout.

A wry smile appeared on Lorin’s lips. “Do you know how many people would give up their lives to have 1,000 spirit and luck?”

“But luck hasn’t done anything for me,” Khrx said. He shook his head. How was he considered lucky? Would the luckiest person really have the top place on the leaderboard of deaths?

“You have four mythic skills,” Lorin said, lifting Khrx up. “Maybe one in a billion people will gain a mythic skill. But you have four.”

Khrx squinted at Lorin. “They’re that rare?”

“Mm, that’s right. Besides, hasn’t your luck allowed you to meet me?”

Khrx scratched his head. Was he really lucky after all? He lifted his leg and shouted up towards the sky, “I need a weapon!” Then he rubbed his foot.

Lorin tilted her head.

“I’m testing my luck,” Khrx said with a nod. He blinked and pointed at the sky.

Lorin raised her head. A burning red ball was falling towards the ground. With a crash, it landed a few feet away from the duo, creating a small crater. Lorin blinked and approached the fallen object. “A meteorite?”

Khrx glanced at his foot. He rubbed it again. “I want money!”

“It fell over there!” a voice shouted. From the horizon, a group of men appeared, each dressed in expensive-looking clothes and armor.

Khrx blinked. Before he could rub his foot again, Lorin stopped him. “Let’s deal with this first, alright?”