Ding! Ding! Ding!

The system chimed excitedly as the world above became a hellish splatter of dryad gunk. John heard ropes of fluids and flesh rain around the hole he’d jumped into with Xanhilt and Noname. He heard what sounded like hissing and smelled a rank odor so putrid that it punched past the heavy copper scent. It made him gag. The others coughed and gagged, too. They suffered together, waiting out the complete and utter destruction of the young mistress.

Everything became still afterward. It was so silent, John heard his heart pounding against his chest like a jackhammer. Their panting breaths filled the silence as they remained huddled together in a very tight confine. John was reminded of stories from his dad and veteran friends about foxholes and everyone squeezing together. In a sense, John and his friends were doing the same.

Is it safe to look? John wondered.

He gave it a few more minutes just in case.

“Have you looked at the system notification?” Xanhilt asked.

“It’s in my head, yeah, but I haven’t looked at it closely,” John said.

“It suggests that we’ve completed a hidden quest and started something important,” Xanhilt said.

“Let’s go take a look,” Noname mumbled. “Or I’ll fall asleep here and die.”

So, grim. John sighed. But I bet once I come down from the combat high, I’ll be pretty grim myself.

With that in mind, John shoved the makeshift trapdoor off to the side. He couldn’t recall how this particular shambler died, but it definitely looked worse off now than before. Its backside was gone, eaten away by some sort of acid or poison the young mistress’s eruption had spread around the area.

Carefully, John scrambled his way up. His fingers raked through loose mud until he touched a corroded spot.

“Ouch!” John pulled back his hand. It was blistering slightly. “When you come up here, don’t touch the dry spots.”

“I appreciate the warning,” Xanhilt said tiredly.

“Maybe I should stay in the hole. It’s like a grave,” Noname said.

“Nope,” John said.

Once Xanhilt got out, John reached down and pulled Noname up with her war scythe. Or what had been a war scythe. The curved blade was pitted with acid holes. The damage dropped it from good condition to poor condition, dulled its edge, and removed the +5 [Poise] magic it had given.

Well, I guess we know a serious damage weapon loses enchantments, John thought. His gauntlets were still good, thankfully.

“Sorry about that,” John said, pointing at Noname’s weapon. “I didn’t find a deep enough hole.”

“After using it a bit, I can still match it as my weapon art even with the damage,” Noname said.

“Yeah? That’ll make you stronger, wouldn’t it?”

Noname nodded. She regarded the weapon. Then she tossed it aside. “But it’s not what I want.”

“What do you want?” John asked, hooking his thumbs onto his rope belt.

“Something unique,” Noname said. “Dunno, yet. Can’t think. Feeling way down.”

“It astounds me that you two can speak so casually after all we’ve gone through this evening,” Xanhilt said. “And while I’m well aware this may be how you cope, I’m interested in the nature of this reward after such a challenge.”

“Yeah, yeah,” John said softly, playing off how much of a nervous, tense, twitchy wreck he felt right now. “Just gotta be cool, man.”

Xanhilt furrowed his brow. “I don’t want to be cool. I prefer to be warm.”

The three teens walked around, avoiding the acid spots under a darkening sky. The moon rose with a blanket of stars behind it, shining with a bluish-silver light that gave some semblance of illumination.

Despite the weight of the magical depression starting to settle on his shoulders, John kept his head up. He focused on using [Brightlight Orb] to spotlight the area where the young mistress had once stood. Two other [Brightlight Orbs] joined his as the three looked over the damage.

A perforated stump remained where their foe had once been. Strips of bark flesh laid on the ground in a mass jumble. Looking around the basin, John found the thorny vine wall had collapsed and withered somewhat, but it hadn’t gone away. It would remain a pain for them to get over later. Would’ve been nice if she removed the obstacles before she went kablooey.

“Check the system notifications if you haven’t already,” Xanhilt said.

John did just that, having a good sense of what was in store for him since it was already uploaded into his head. His mind was still fuzzy from all of the emotions during the fight and the oncoming post-battle feelings, so he had to reread it a couple of times to fully understand. Once he had a better grasp of the notification, he got a decent impression of what they’d achieved.

You and your party defeated a [Shambler Low Dryad, The Young Mistress, Lvl 28]. You’ve cleared a hidden quest [Death Garden of False Hope], one of multiple parts to a campaign [???] here at [???]. Despite being under-leveled, you’ve distinguished yourself from your peers and achieved more than what’s expected while faced against superior enemies with superior numbers. Through your bravery and uncommon tactics, you’ve eliminated a death trap, saving future lives and avenging those who have fallen here.

John blinked at the first message that made the three of them sound awesome. It didn’t sound like Dolala. It didn’t sound personal enough to come from someone that John could identify as a ding-dong god.

However, the system worked, it acknowledged what the three of them had done here as righteous in a sense. It heaped the kind of praise that made John unsure of how to react or what to say. It was almost ridiculous because all John could think of during the fight was run, kill, survive, and protect the others he’d dragged in here. The closes comparison was the praise he’d received when he won boxing matches in a stellar fashion.

He felt a small sense of pride in his chest. But he was unsure if that was the right thing to feel. Like Xanhilt said, this could be part of the game made by someone who was pulling their strings.

“I’ve never been acknowledged like this before,” Noname said. “I feel… I don’t know what this feeling is. It’s weird.”

“Maybe it’s happiness?” John asked carefully.

Noname looked at him sharply. “Happiness?”

“Yeah, that. We worked hard. We did something that mattered. So… that makes you happy.”

“Oh.” Noname blinked, seeming lost.

John wondered more about her past but kept that to himself. Xanhilt didn’t look like he wanted to add his two scents toward Noname’s confusion over happiness from an achievement.

John searched for more notifications. He didn’t find anything more other than some old ones from prior. He turned to Xanhilt, preparing to ask what could be the hold up when a ding! sounded.

Since this is a special occasion, a notice has been sent up the chain. Waiting on response . . . Response received. The rewards have been assessed, approved, and filed. Allocating now.

Noname⁠—bonus experience rewarded. You’ve leveled up from Lvl 16 to Lvl 18. Permanent +10 Poise granted.

Xanhilt⁠—bonus experience rewarded. You’ve leveled up from Lvl 16 to Lvl 18. Permanent +10 Endurance granted.

John⁠—top bonus experience rewarded. You’ve leveled up from Lvl 18 to Lvl 21. Permanent +15 Intellect granted. Your Cestus Art leveled up from Lvl 16 to Lvl 22. Experienced rewarded. WA Skill selection is available with new skills.

“I wonder if the + 15 [Intellect] is the system telling me I need more brains,” John joked, hiding his shock. He was surprised he got so much. New personal levels. Weapon Art levels. Additional AP to an attribute that sorely needed attention. Man, this is as good of a reward as it can get so far. I feel a little bad that I’m getting so much.

Then again, he did start the hidden quest and ended it, killing the knight and the young mistress.

“Why [Poise]?” Noname mumbled.

“It helps defend against magical attacks,” Xanhilt said. “You were quite vulnerable after that stunning scream. The system seems to acknowledge that weakness as well as my lack of stamina conditioning. I got winded quite a few times during that mess.”

Ah, yeah, I forgot about what [Poise] can do for you, John thought.

This explained why cestus art prioritized [Resilience] and [Poise]. Those attributes helped John tolerate physical and magical assaults to keep fighting. Since he was already on the subject, John took the time to distribute his unspent points. By the way, things were shaping up with his interface⁠, [Resilience], [Endurance], and [Strength] were standing out as his primary attributes. But he made sure to spread a few points out to others he hadn’t paid enough attention to, such as [Perceptions], which seemed to have fallen as the least essential attribute right now.

Shoving Available MCP into Ratel was a no-brainer, of course. And I can look at the new WA Skills later when I’m a little more awake and focused.

“As for your [Intellect] gain, John… I wonder if also an acknowledgment for your wise idea to jump into the hole for safety,” Xanhilt said. “It truly was clever.”

John shrugged. He was making it up as he went, anyway. “None of that matters if I didn’t have you guys helping an impulsive guy like me.”

“Perhaps,” Xanhilt said. “But this was made possible because of your foolhardy heroics. Regardless of my issues with the gods, they seem to take positive notice of our efforts in their game. Especially yours.”

Ding! Loot drops updated⁠. Reason: there hadn’t been loot made available prior.

John quirked an eyebrow at the latest notification.

Xanhilt hissed. “How can gods forget to place a fundamental part of their incentives for us to play their game?”

“Cool, they’re just like us,” Noname droned. “A bunch of fuckups.”

Before John could comment further, a certain glow from within the stump caught his attention. Noname and Xanhilt saw it, too.

Together, they chanced a glance down in the center of the ragged stump and found an open chest filled with loot. There were plenty of coppers, no doubt. There was a handful of silvers on top of that, too. Several pouches hid their contents from view until Xanhilt reached in and undid the knots sealing them.

Magic stones. Six of the blue, red, and yellow kind. And they were of a good quality, which meant they were considerably better than the poor quality stones. One of these could probably outdo three to four poor stones. Maybe more. That was a hell of a reward in John’s book. He ran through a lot of stones during the fight.

Damn, we really needed these.

Noname reached down into the treasure chest for a glowing orb. It was a magic core⁠—[Air Walk Magic Core]. A range of hues from cyan to white glowed through the core, illuminating Noname’s face as she stared into the glowing orb with fascination that was like a child.

Despite his inner weariness and his increasingly declining mood, John found that look on Noname’s face incredibly precious. For the first time since they’ve met her today, she showed true emotion⁠—wonder.

If only I had a camera to capture this. It’s a nice look on her no matter the blood, mud, and gunk.

John found the decline of his mood slowing as he watched Noname. When she noticed him looking, she turned away sharply. John returned to the treasure chest.

Keep your mind on the loot, John.

Digging further, they found a smattering of poor essence stones. They found three jeweled necklaces that dangled a red gemstone—[Necklace of Small Health, Good]—which offered +10 [Resilience] when worn. The necklaces readjusted to fit the wearer, too, which John found a nifty.

What can magic not do?

Digging even further, they found a rusty key⁠—[Garden Door Key to Artya’s Lord’s Estate], a crumpled journal⁠—[Young Mistress’s Diary], and a pair of shears⁠—[Young Mistress’s Pruning Shears, Poor]. That was the end of it.

They donned the necklaces and left the remaining stuff in the treasure chest for now.

Xanhilt went off to the side to check on the shambler corpses.

John and Noname tested the ground to see if it was still acidic. It wasn’t. They rested against the stump until the saurian returned with something in his hands. He’d found some loot on two of the shambler servants. They had items wedged between their ribcages or between fibers of muscles. With a little diggling…

“Bro, stop, I can’t right now,” John said.

Xanhilt harrumphed. “Well, from what I can tell, they’ll offer a number coppers, a strange fungus, and a single good quality magic stone each.”

“Grave robber,” Noname said dreamily.

Her comment rankled Xanhilt. “I’m making the most out of this barbaric game and checking on our rewards. We will come away with hefty pouches, I assure you. Would that help when we reach civilization, I’m unsure. I’ll withhold judgment and gather resources just in case.”

“Someone’s adapting to the game,” Noname said, bugging Xanhilt enough to make him hiss moodily.

John chuckled softly. “Well, we’ll see what we can do as we head out. Gotta make good on my promise to⁠—”

Ding! Safe Harbor is accessible in your current location. Communicate with an intentional yes to initiate safe harbor for 48 hours.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” John said, struggling to get to his feet. It was weird. His body was fine. His head was fine. But the energy… or the willpower… to act was way too hard. He almost felt like there was a magnet attached to his butt, and it was attracted to the ground.

“Come on,” he said, offering a hand to Noname.

She blinked at it. “I’m one with death. I’m stillness itself.”

“No, you’re two legs that can walk. Come on.”

“John,” Xanhilt called. “We should take the Safe Harbor.”

“We can’t, Xanhilt, it’ll enrage the monsters or something. Then we’ll have a repeat of what happened this morning.”

“I don’t think so. You saw how we weren’t bothered by monsters while near the knight and the young mistress. I think it’s safer here than where we were prior.”

John shook his head. “We can’t risk other people’s lives, man. That’s the whole point behind taking down these monsters.”

“But you risked our lives,” Noname said, siding with Xanhilt. The saurian looked at her, shocked, as she spoke. “You risked it for people we haven’t met.”

John was going to yell they didn’t have to follow him here, but the anger died quick as it came. He didn’t have the [Soul] for this right now. He also knew that they were right in a sense. This business was against the knight originally, but then it transformed into an awful mess that could’ve killed them. They made it out, yeah, but now they were back at the mercy of higher powers.

“I’ll admit that I still have the energy to keep going,” Xanhilt said. “Perhaps we can find where the compass is leading us tonight. But we are without our blessings. We are depleted, vulnerable, and faced with a misty forest under nightfall. It’ll be pitch black out there, and our [Brightlight Orb]s could only shine so far.”

“I’m too tired for that,” Noname said. “Too down.”

John felt the same even if he didn’t want to admit it. Before he could think any further, he crashed down in a heap against the shredded stump.

“I promised I’ll get us to where we’re supposed to be going,” John said tiredly. “Sorry I broke my promise.”

Xanhilt bent into a crouch in front of him. “I’m willing to forgive. All I ask is that we think selfishly for ourselves here. I’ll… I’ll take the blame if anyone dies because of it.”

John winced. “Xanhilt, no.”

Xanhilt raised a hand. “Do not stress yourself any further, John. Just let yourself rest.”

Something tapped against John’s shoulder. It was Noname falling soundly to sleep against him. Any ounce of resistance John had leftwas gone at this point. It made him feel terrible that he couldn’t push any further beyond this and avoid reliance on another safe harbor while knowing the risk. But John did himself a favor and looked back at the day.

They had gone through a lot to get to this point.

I can’t ask myself for more. I pushed it to the limit just like the days prior. But he wanted to push a little further anyway. He tried really hard. But he couldn’t. He was spent. As his mind drifted, he looked at Xanhilt blearily.

“Thanks, man,” John said.

“For what?” Xanhilt asked.

“For… I’dunno. Just… thanks.”

John fell asleep.

***

John Wright, Lvl 21

Race: Outerhuman, Rank 2

Weapon Art: Cestus Art, Lvl 22

Blessing: One Good Punch, Rank 2

Total AP: 340

Resilience: 48 + (15)

Endurance: 50

Strength: 80 + (5)

Agility: 26

Perception: 20

Poise: 31

Intellect: 25

Soul: 40

Unspent: 0

Talents: [Relentless Fighter, Rank 1], [Decisive Spirit, Rank 1], [Identify, Rank 2], [Urmatia Linguistics, Rank 1], [Inner Compass, Rank 1].

Weapon Skills: [Advance Boxing, Rank 3], [Rabid Blows, Rank 2], [Dash Step, Rank 2].

Magic Cores: [Ratel Rookie, MCP 19], [Brightlight Orb, MCP 2].

Available MCP: 0

Items: [Necklace of Small Health, Good], [Deadman’s Cestuses, Good] … … ….