“Hey,” John said, standing over Noname.

“Hey.”

“Move over.”

“Make me.”

John’s blood warmed up. His heart hammered. His vision centered on the girl with no name, blurring out everything else. He saw how her long wavy hair was splayed out like rivulets of black water around her face. He saw the blush of red coloring her cheeks. From there, his eyes traveled down her dainty neck, the v-neck opening to the cleavage of her dress, and further down from there. She laid with her knees up, the fabric laying on the bed below bare thighs and little toes kneading into his blanket.

He bent down.

Noname’s half-lidded gray eyes tracked his every movement.

He scooped his arms underneath her, grabbing a good hold.

He flipped her over without an ounce of care, letting her flop out of the way.

That got an annoyed grunt out of her.

John chuckled as he kicked off his shoes and slid into a spot next to her, hands behind his head. While he laid on his back, Noname propped herself on her elbows and glowered at him.

“That was rude,” she said, letting out more emotion than he’d seen from her before.

“Let’s say I’ve been around the block a bit,” John said. “I know enough now to keep you on your toes.”

“I thought you would,” Noname said. “You’re the type.” She reached over and walked her fingers across his chest. “That gets the girls.” Her fingers tap over his heart. “Without having to try very hard.”

“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.

A glimmer of amusement entered her eyes. “Depends. Are you choosy?”

John shifted uncomfortably. He could remember a few house parties when he wasn’t choosy. He had higher standards the most guys, but a pretty enough face could drop his guard. That and a few beers.

The amusement in Noname’s eyes brightened. “You’re going to have a fun time here.”

“In Urmatia?”

“Lots of girls were looking at you.”

John shrugged. “I wasn’t focused on them.”

The light in Noname’s eyes dulled slightly. Her hand traveled down and felt over John’s abs.

“You remind me of my last target,” Noname said. “He didn’t have a spine like yours, but he was a good guy. The rich son of a big-time gangster.”

John winced slightly, his blood cooling. He imagined what Noname was going to say, but he stayed put and listened. He kept his mouth shut, too.

Noname continued. “At this point, I was good at what I did. I worked only a few jobs a year. The money was more than enough to support me, and my master was always satisfied. The targets were the same. Men who would like me a lot. But never someone my age, until this last assignment.”

John held his breath.

“I got close to him.” Her usual expressionless visage transformed into a radiant smile.

“I made him fall in love with me in a couple of days.” Her flat voice became sing-song, dainty, and alluring.

“I kept him close enough to ensnare him but far enough to have him always wanting more.” She twirled her finger like she was wrapping up a cord.

Shocked by Noname’s sudden transformation, John felt a fear similar to when he’d discovered how crazy his ex truly was. For a brief moment, he felt the urge to jump out of bed and distance himself from Noname. He should, really. But he wanted to trust someone who had fought beside him. Who had helped him. He waited in place as the girl with no name studied him.

“We were in his bedroom when I had the knife ready to end him,” she said, making a gesture with an invisible knife in hand. “It’s supposed to be a bloody job. A message was supposed to be sent to the father. Then I’d slide out, ditch my disguise, and disappear with no one able to recognize me.

Noname sighed.

“But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Because in the time I took to trick him, I realized I wanted to be friends with him. He was a good guy, remember, and all of my previous targets weren’t. My master changed the rules on me for some reason. I couldn’t kill target even though my cover was exposed once I pulled the knife out.”

The smile disappeared. Her voice returned to its flat self. “In his yelling to get away from me, his guards entered the room. I could’ve killed them. But I decided it was probably better for me to die. I didn’t think I deserved to live anymore.”

Creaks sounded through the ship. The wind blew lightly, shaking the sails.

“So, that’s what brings you here,” John said quietly.

Noname nodded.

They didn’t say anything else for a while. John took a moment to absorb everything she said. It was a definite buzzkill. It made him look at Noname in a different light. Even with the alcohol in his body, the haze surrounding the edges of his vision, and the urges to do more than stay put, John took his time to make his decision about Noname.

I can’t repeat what happened with my last ex, John thought miserably. I don’t want to go down that road again without making sure.

He turned toward her to tell her that they should stick to being friends and learn about each other more over time. It had only been half a week since they’d met. Maybe they shouldn’t rush into things. John had gotten into a rush with girls before, and sometimes it ended up as more of a headache. That was what he wanted to say.

He couldn’t get it out, though, when he looked into Noname’s face. She was inches apart from him. The perfume she wore filled his nostrils. The openness in her eyes pulled him closer and closer. Her lips were right there. Perky and inviting. He knew now she could be playing him. She had that capability even if she didn’t act like it. If he wasn’t careful, he could end up regretting this.

He shouldn’t give in.

But he found himself a split-second from kissing her anyway.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The rewards for Skullhead Landing’s First Major Skirmish are ready.

Gasping at the sudden appearance of the notification, John pushed away from Noname. He nearly threw himself out of bed.

“Damn it, Ding-Dong Dolala!” John shouted, his blood boiling even though it didn’t sound like the goddess was talking here. Looking over to Noname, John found her stuffing her face into his pillow.

“Inconvenient timing makes me want to die,” Noname groaned.

Before he could say anymore, the system continued.

Ding! For many of you at Skullhead’s Landing, this is your first campaign. Your first major skirmish. But your accomplishments go beyond just that. This is the first time urmatians and heroes successfully cleared the first stage of the annual hero summoning campaign in ten years.

Because of certain policies, heroes were forced to start deep in enemy territory. Their chances of survival were abysmal. At the same time, the landing, building, and fortification of a reliable urmatian port were slowed by constant enemy attacks. It all led up to the major battle today.

Many of you who’ve helped directly or in the background will receive valuable quest experience and some extra loot in your pouches and bags. But before we leave you with your rewards, we will highlight the top three heroes for their accomplishments that made this battle successful.

***

Ding! Starting with Clifford Hernandez Garcia. We saw you running supplies faster and harder than anyone else. Your aid helped the defenders on the walls to continuously support those on the battlefield. You’ve inspired others to work as hards as you, too, crushing [Skullhead Landing’s Little Helpers] quest. Because of this, logistics remained a strong point throughout.

Bonus experience rewarded. Extra loot rewarded. +20 Endurance granted permanently.

“Holy shit,” Clifford said as he leveled up from Lvl 18 to Lvl 22 personally while his crossbow art leveled up a bunch. The windfall of points that came with it was a little overwhelming to even consider right now.

He was at a dingy, dirty tavern near the town wall. He was nursing his fifth pint of goblin spirit. Even when he could see through his buzzed haze to focus on his attributes, he had a bunch of goblins and gnolls all over him.

It was hard to focus when celebrating with goblins and gnolls. They celebrated hard and were the type to hang all over you without much space. They even had music where a group of goblins drummed on pots and pans with surprising skill, enhancing the festive mood.

“Good job, supporting, hero!” roared a gnoll.

“He’s support hero! He helped us gobbos,” said a goblin. “No one ever helps gobbos.”

“Support hero! Support hero!” cried everyone around the bar. Clifford, who had usually kept to himself back in the old world, felt very overwhelmed from all the sudden popularity. It clashed with his thoughts of feeling like a coward and doing nothing more than running supplies.

“Have another on us,” said a goblin barmaid. She set a mug down beside the small treasure trunk that popped into existence right on the counter in front of Clifford. Everyone eyed it.

“Get a round for everyone,” Clifford said bashfully. He was going to regret this, but he reasoned he’d make up for it later by finding more work.

As the air in the bar shook with celebratory howls, chirps, and shouts, Clifford cracked open the chest to see what was inside. He saw a good amount of silvers. He saw a glint of gold. He saw something more, too.

Meanwhile, the system continued to dole out rewards publicly.