Mature Content Warning: Mild foul language. Nothing too mature here.

Author's Note: My cold and headache returned with a vengeance. I don't have the energy to make pretty tables, so everything is in windows. :)

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Chapter 7: The Waterfall Maiden

The laughter of the experienced adventurers pierced life a knife. Scott threw up his hands and walked away. There was no point in seeking people to journey across the land with. His equipment, thought good for his level, was low-tier. His stats were considered to be a joke, even without checking them. He had never reincarnated and as such, he was not worth taking.

“Well, if you change your mind come find us at the Prancing Bunny.” said the middle-aged man in a sarcastic tone.

Scott frowned as the group of adventurers sauntered away, laughing. That was the fifth group he had approached in the last few days. It had proved to be a pointless endeavor. “Seriously, who asks for that kind of money and expects you to carry all the cheap loot drops?”

The novice sorcerer had run afoul of a common issue for new adventurers. If you did not start with a group, it was hard to join one. Experienced adventurers would treat you like dirt, or try to milk you for a lot of money.

The last group had asked for forty thousand Fayth just to be allowed to carry the cheap drops. He wouldn’t even be allowed to go into combat and would have to sit in the rear where only minimal party experience would come his way. It might not be a bad idea for a mage or low-level priest, but he could fight on his own to some extent.

The problem was his class. He was neither as capable as a warrior, though his heavy training had helped with that to some extent, or as versatile as a mage. Neither sorcerers nor monks were that welcome in parties until they could use mid-level spells, or they had reincarnated into an advanced class. They ran out of mana too quickly, and did not have a lot of solid physical damage skills or buffs early on.

“So, that’s going to be a problem.” said Scott. Would he be forced to solo for a long time? He actually preferred that, but the logistics of his profession and the fight with Gnarl Tooth had opened his eyes.

Healing potions were costly for him at the moment. Even cheap potions cost fourteen hundred Fayth per dosage and the smallest bottle held three doses. An alchemist would not sell a single dose in a bottle, but the healers in town often charged two thousand Fayth per dose. They made a fortune off of adventurers and people who actually had enough sense to save money before starting their career.

Scott mused over his situation for a moment. He wanted to go slime hunting. They should be about as strong as a large wild rabbit. That put them in a slightly higher range than rats. His bestiary had told him that rabbits ranged from level one to level four in this region. Grass rats ranged from level one to level three.

What had shocked him was the information that he had received from Gnarl Tooth. Thinking about that caused the man to bring up his bestiary screen once more.

Name: Gnarl Tooth

Species: Black Grass Rat

Tier: Two

Level: 11

Status: Overlord (Deceased)

Gnarl Tooth was an overlord of the black grass rat species. He was slain by the adventuring sorcerer, Scott. As an overlord, Gnarl Tooth had twice the power of a normal black grass rat of his level.

HP: 1544

MP: 78

Attack: 310

Defense: 135

Strength: 118

Agility: 132

Accuracy: 125

Intellect: 87

Luck: 62

Racial Trait(s):

Strengths:

Ice Resistance: +50%

Fire Resistance: +50%

Weaknesses:

Light Resistance: -10%

Electrical Resistance: -10%

Loud noises can cause a stun effect: 5%

Special Trait(s):

Strong Pelt - Null Critical Attack; Resist physical attack 30%

Large Body - +1000 Health; +30 Attack;+30 Defense

Scott shuddered every time he looked at that bestiary entry. The oversized bastard was equal to a level twenty-two black grass rat! It was a second tier monster. That meant that it had upgraded status compared to a lesser grass rat. Normally you would not find that monster with a level less than one hundred one, because that was when the second tier started. Monsters did not typically reincarnate.

However, an overlord was different. Those types of monsters were what could be considered boss monsters in a game. They were granted special status by the gods. They were given a position of champion and used to prevent extermination of a given species. In short, they were like monster heroes. An appropriate overlord would be summoned to battle any aggressive hunter or adventurer who sought to overhunt a specific species of monster.

Once summoned, it could go about slaying the foolish mortal and then develop its powerbase. Named monsters in dungeons were overlords that had been summoned and defeated adventurers. That was how they became a boss.

A named monster was bad news for the local non-monster populace. Monster spawn rates for the same species of monster would increase dramatically over time, and those monsters would grow more aggressive. Said monsters would also be of a slightly higher level than normal, and even grow stronger over time.

When the little rats had prayed for justice, the gods saw fit to send them something with raw stats just a little higher than the one they faced. Yet, had made sure it would be a monster that drastically reduced his effectiveness. The defense was high enough to negate his normal attacks for the most part, and since the rat’s intellect was higher than the possible capacity of his magical attacks, it had largely neutralized them altogether.

Gnarl Tooth was specifically chosen to murder him. There was no doubt of that. The null critical effect alone had nearly been a death sentence. He could have punched and kicked Gnarl Tooth all day and it would not have mattered. Only hitting him in his single weak spot had been effective. Had Scott relented even slightly, the oversized rodent would have killed him with little effort.

Scott shut down his bestiary screen then sighed. “What now? I can only hunt seven slimes before I need to rest. If I could have found a party, it might have worked out. It seems like a waste of time just to hunt a handful of slime monsters.”

He would hunt grass rats, but they were terrified of him. The fearful little bastards would not even spawn in his presence. They had prayed to the gods to destroy the evil one slaughtering their people, and the gods had answered.

Yet, their champion had been slain. In short, they had no desire to go after Scott any longer.

The sorcerer frowned. What was he going to do? What he needed was good advice on what to do next. After he thought about it for a time, Scott made a decision. He hated to bother Arne, but maybe he had a few ideas.

It took the better part of an hour to find the guard sergeant. They traded pleasantries for a moment then Scott got down to business. “Arne, do you have any idea where I should hunt next? The grass rats are terrified of me, and rabbits won’t cut it.”

The sergeant chuckled. “Ah, you’re at that point. The nearby wildlife isn’t good enough and you have to go adventure out into the world.”

“Yeah, but I am not sure where to go. I would hunt slimes, but I can only use my spells seven times before I run out of mana.”

Arne raised one of his dark eyebrows then smirked. “Have you actually been training your spells?”

“Well, I’ve used them... but it seemed wasteful to do so recently since the rats were dying in a single hit.”

Arne nodded then pointed at Scott. “That’s your problem. Have you even raised the level of a single spell, yet?”

“No... My freeze spell is close to the next level, but the others are not. It takes forever for my mana to recharge, so heavy training has not been possible.”

“You want to train your spells, but can’t because of the mana regeneration... Yes, that’s a common issue for young sorcerers.”

Scott looked to the man in the hopes that he had an answer. “What can I do about it?”

Arne rubbed his chin. “Well, normally I would council against taking short cuts. However, you can kill two birds with one stone, and the town does owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“It does?” Scott had not heard that. People had waved at him more often in the last few days, but he did not think anything of it.

“Certainly, the grass rats are a pain in the ass; if you don’t mind me saying so. You defeated an overlord. The little furry beasts are hiding in their holes at the moment and have rarely bothered anyone since then, even when they have to travel at night.”

“I had no idea that killing that thing would be good for more people.”

The sergeant nodded. “Yes, honestly the mayor was considering putting up a hunting bill on the bulletin board. They were becoming incredibly hostile.”

“Ah, well I’m glad that I could help. You said something about taking a shortcut?”

A hearty chuckle was the man’s initial response, but Arne soon told Scott of a secret. “There is an old and abandoned temple two days walk south of town. Inside that temple is a statue of the goddess Origin. She’s the goddess of love, fertility, and reincarnation. Her statues are sometimes found in larger cities.”

Scott nodded, but failed to see the point of going to visit a statue. Though, the name Origin peaked his interest. He was the champion of Origin after all. Maybe there was a connection?

“Offer a prayer to the goddess and if she accepts it, you’ll receive a blessing. Health and mana will regenerate much faster. Sometimes other things happen, as well. Though, usually that just applies to her devoted followers.”

“Great! How long does the blessing last?”

“About four hours, though you can usually only receive the blessing once per month. Yet, you’ll restore your health and mana at an incredible rate. You train your spells there for a little while and you’ll see a remarkable difference in how often you can use them.”

“Really, that could work!” Scott wanted experience points and money, but if he could realistically train his spells faster, that was even better.

“Be careful to keep to the road, and buy a tent before you go. You don’t want to sleep in the wilds without one. When you can afford to do so, consider buying a lot of them for adventuring.”

Scott nodded. He did not want to tell Arne that he could not afford a tent. They were around four thousand Fayth, and lasted only a single day. “How do I reach the shrine in the quickest way?”

“Head south for about two days if you walk. You might be able to get there by morning if you sprint through the night. You wouldn’t need a tent.” Arne looked at him carefully.

Scott winced. The man had guessed his current state. “Do I just follow the road?”

“Yes, follow it till you reach the third fork in the road. The first fork is right at the edge of the forest to the south. Head straight the whole way to the third fork. Go left at that fork then turn south again when you see the waterfall. The shrine is behind that fall. You might get wet.”

Scott received a message telling him that his map had updated with a new location. That made him incredibly happy. He would be able to use his map to find the place, now.

They chatted for a short time then Scott trotted off to buy food and water for the trip. If he was going to run the whole way, it would sap his energy frequently.

--

The midday sun beat down upon the innocent earth as Scott came to a stop at the point in the road where he needed to be. In the distance, he could see a waterfall feeding into a small lake. Something about the sight seemed strange, like it was not a natural bit of geological creation. He put the thought aside immediately. What was natural about this world?

Soft and cheerful traveling music permeated the atmosphere. As he drew closer to his destination, that music changed to a more serene and beautiful tune.

Scott stopped and admired the waterfall. The crystal-blue water in the pool sparkled gently against the light. The scent of wild flowers in bloom filled the air. A happy little fish leapt up out of the lake then flopped back inside. It was quite an idyllic scene.

“Man, this is nice.” He could feel his cares begin to float away as he marveled at the wonder of this place.

He did wonder why there were no other people around, however. This was supposed to be a temple. Where were the supplicants? Arne had said that the temple was old and abandoned, but how could there not at least be people fishing in the lake?

The sorcerer walked to the waterfall and took a deep breath. He could see nothing beyond the curtain of water, but Arne had not lied to him before.

“Well, I need a bath after that run anyway.” He had managed to arrive the following day, but it had come at a cost. He had to constantly eat his supplies and drink water to keep his health from depleting. At some point he would need to learn a skill for long-distance running to avoid such things. He at least hoped that such a skill existed.

Scott walked to the center of the lake using the artfully arranged stepping stones then took a deep breath. He slipped into the curtain of water and shivered at the cold for a moment before he was able to see space beyond. There was definitely something back here!

He walked through the waterfall cave for a short distance then saw what he had come all this way to find. The tumbled down stones and cracked pillars were a pitiful sight. Why had this place come to be in such disarray?

“Hello.” called a soft voice from nearby.

Shocked that he had actually heard a voice, Scott turned to see its origin. After doing so, he could not help but stare.

The soft voice called out again, “Hello, traveler?”

Scott fought down the urge to blush. Despite what his status said, he was far too old for that sort of response. “Hello, ma’am.”

The vision of loveliness glided toward him, a smile on her face. She was an incredible beauty, with bright blue hair and jade green eyes. “I did not expect to meet a fellow traveler here.”

Scott shook his head. “Neither did I.”

The girl laughed softly then waved her hand. “I come here sometimes. It’s sad how this place is neglected.”

“Yeah, I had heard that this was a temple to the goddess of love... Yet, it was left in this sort of state.” replied Scott.

The girl smiled gently. “Yes, it is. Did you come to beseech the goddess on a matter of the heart?”

He shook his head. “I’ve had enough of those sorts of matters to last a life time. I was told that I might be able to secure the goddess’ blessing, here.”

“Ah, one of those guys? Traveler, did you think that the goddess was just some sort of magical power-up?” Her soft demeanor changed to one of steel and granite. A hint of anger came to her previously gentle eyes.

“No, I did not know what to think. All I knew was that if I came here, and prayed sincerely, the goddess might be willing to grant me aid in my training.”

The girl sighed loudly then shook her head. Her brilliant blue hair swayed back and forth, giving off a shimmering appearance similar to the waterfall. “If that’s all you came for, then it would be best if you left. That sort of thinking is why she stopped answering requests here.”

“Ah, she did? Is that why people have neglected this place?”

She snorted loudly then nodded. “Yes, if you think to gain her favor just by coming here and saying a few words, think again.”

He tilted his head to the side. It would probably be best to leave. This was not what he had expected, and honestly he did not want to upset the girl in front of him. As it was, he felt like a home invader. Still, something else had brought him here. “Can you tell me about her?”

“Her? You mean the goddess?”

Scott nodded and the girl frowned. “You don’t even know about her, and you came to ask a favor? What kind of man are you?”

“The kind who doesn’t know much about anything, but would like to know as much as possible.” replied Scott sincerely.

The beautiful girl snorted then made a weird sound. Finally, she started to laugh. “You’re so weird. I bet you just want to talk to me and need an excuse.”

Scott tried to fight it, but his recently renewed youth won out. A hint of a blush crept onto his cheeks. “Would I be a horrible person, if I said, yes?”

She stopped laughing and bit her lip. She had not expected such a sincere answer.

Scott looked from the girl to the statue he had come to visit. He had really expected to be granted some sort of blessing from a goddess he had never even prayed to before. “Do you ever see anyone else here?”

The girl shook her head then unleashed a soft, slow, sigh. “No, no one comes here.

The sorcerer considered his title, ‘Champion of Origin.’ What did that mean? What was his real purpose in this world?

What was his connection to this goddess, if any? More than a simple blessing, he had a desire for answers.

He looked around at the state of the temple and a strange anger rose within him. He had never been particularly religious, but this was wrong. People had once received blessings here, and unlike his home world such things were tangible here. Yet, the people had become neglectful of their patron goddess.

Scott did not know his relation to Origin, but even if he did not have any actual connection he hated to see a place in such disarray. This was once a place where people came to worship a goddess devoted to life and hope, to love.

The blue haired girl looked at the equally blue haired sorcerer. “Why did you ask about visitors, anyway?”

As someone who had been burned by love all too often, he could have used a goddess on his side. “I just wondered at why no one would come here. Even without blessings and requests being answers, shouldn’t people at least want to say thank you for anything this goddess does for them?”

Scott knew that the gods of this world were supposed to be real and tangible. There was no reason to disbelieve that since it was also a world were giant rats popped up out of nowhere, and a baby rabbit could kill a grown man.

“You really think so?” asked the girl.

“I honestly don’t know for certain if she has ever done anything for me, but she has no doubt done a lot for others.

Shouldn’t people at least thank her now and then for the good fortune bestowed on friends and family? It seems wrong that such a central figure, such a well-known deity has only a single follower in this place.”

“Well, technically I am not a follower. I simply appreciate what she does for the world.” replied the girl.

Scott turned to her and smiled. “Will you tell me about her?”

“You really want to know?”

He nodded at her and the girl screwed up her face into a half-smirk. “Well, Origin is the goddess of life, love, and reincarnation. She is the one who allows souls to transcend to the heavens or fall to hell. Her name speaks of her purpose. She is the origin of life in this world.”

“So, like a mother?”

A light pink tinge of color crossed over the bridge of her nose. “Yes, you could say that.”

Scott looked around at the ruined temple. He was potentially the champion of a neglected mother goddess. He could not be sure if that was right, but it seemed plausible.

“What are you thinking about, if you don’t mind my asking?” asked the still unnamed girl.

Scott looked to her again then sighed. “I don’t know how much I can do, but I’d like to at least clean this place up.”

“Do you think such a simple thing would impress her into giving you a blessing?” asked the girl curiously.

He shook his head. “I’m not even going to ask for one. I don’t know enough about her to feel right about that anymore.”

She tilted her head to the side. “You are a strange one, I’ll give you that.”

Scott smiled at her. A random girl in an abandoned shrine decided he was strange. What were the odds? It did not matter; he set about moving fallen structures and picking up debris. His unnamed companion joined in and they managed to relocate the debris to one corner of the room. A few hours passed as they cleaned and reorganized the temple shrine, but they at least managed to clear a space around the statue. Scott even used his old tattered T-shirt to wipe down the neglected statue of the goddess.

“There, it’s not perfect, but I feel better about it now.”

The girl looked at him then to the statue, and then back to him. “Say, what’s your name traveler?”

“Ah, Scott.”

“Ah-Scott? What an odd name.”

“No, it’s... just Scott. How about you, may I have your name?”

She smiled at him then lifted her gloved hand toward him. “My name is Rhea, Rhea Ardente. It is nice to meet you, Scott.”

Scott took her hand and shook it in a friendly manner. That much seemed normal in this world.

She blushed at him then shook her head. “Not exactly what I expected you to do...”

“Oh?”

“Well, yes. Isn’t the gallant janitor supposed to kiss the hand of the fair maiden?”

Janitor? Was she referring to how they had cleaned the place up? Scott snorted at her. “Isn’t the fair maiden supposed to.... to... Hmm.”

“Yes?” she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

“I’ll think of something, just give me a minute!” Scott laughed a little at his ineptitude. Why couldn’t he manage to come up with something witty!

“Yes, yes.” She patted his hand like a grandmother consoling a child.

A lull entered the conversation for a moment, but Rhea decided to break the silence. “So, what sort of blessing did you need anyway?”

“Oh, yeah. I wanted to train my spells a bit, but my mana regeneration is so low that it would take weeks to use them enough to do anything.”

“You’re a mage, then? I mistook you for a fighter with your current equipment.”

“I’m actually a sorcerer.” said Scott.

She blinked. “Ah, that’s fairly rare around here. Hybrid classes aren’t popular.”

“I noticed. It has been difficult to find an adventuring party, so I have had to fight solo.”

“Yes, I have something of a similar issue due to my hybrid class.”

“I find it hard to believe that you would have any trouble finding a party to join.” remarked Scott honestly.

She snorted loudly. “Oh, I get far too many offers. The problem is that those offers aren’t for a real combat position. The offers are for a different sort of position, and I am just not that kind of girl.”

“So, you can’t get people to take you seriously as a fighter?”

“Yes, that is the case. I’d like to find an adventuring party to join that is filled with worthwhile people, but most of what I have found around here are horny goats in armor.”

Scott laughed at the image that popped into his head. It was the image of an armored goat chasing after the girl while it bleated to get her attention. “Every group I meet either laughs at me, or wants me to pay them money to carry their crap loot items.”

Rhea shook her head. “Scams and morons. I swear, it’s been hard to do much since those silly rats and rabbits became afraid of me.”

“You too? I’ve considered bothering the slimes in the slime forest, but my spells require a lot of mana.” asked Scott.

“Ah, and that’s why you want the blessing.” said Rhea.

The sorcerer sighed. “I’m still trying to decide exactly where I should train next.”

Rhea rubbed her chin. “I may have a proposal for you, if you’re interested.”

“A proposal? But, Rhea darling... We’ve only just met. My heart’s not ready!”

She stared at him flatly for a moment. Scott thought that he had offended her, but a slight flush arose upon her cheeks.

“No, you moron. I meant to say that we could form a party...”

“That would be great, but are we compatible like that? I mean, could we hunt and train in the same areas.” Scott certainly hoped they could!

“I’ll try to form a party with you... Will you join my party?” Rhea extended her hand to Scott.

He said, “Yes.” and took her hand. Nothing happened.

She blinked. “Ok, now you try it. I guess.”

“I’ve never formed a party before...”

“Ah, just extend your hand to me and ask me to join your party.”

“Rhea, will you join my party.” Scott extended his hand and she accepted the request by saying yes. This time a message screen appeared, followed by a loud musical fanfare with an orchestral theme.

Rhea Ardente has joined the party!

“You’re higher level than me, interesting.” said Rhea.

Scott smiled at her. He had more experience points, but she obviously had more real experience.

“Since you’ve never formed a party before, let me tell you how it works.” Rhea instructed Scott on the finer points of the party system and he nodded. They would share experience and ability points during fights, but there would be a single pool of Fayth earned. Monsters would spawn in larger numbers when faced with a party of adventurers, however.

Scott checked the party status and blinked.

Scott - Human Sorcerer - Level 7 - [Party Leader]

Rhea - High Elf Arcane Blade - Level 6

“I had no idea that you were an elf.” said Scott in mild surprise.

Rhea sighed. “Yes, is that a problem?”

Her reaction made it seem like it should be a problem, but he did not see a reason that it would. “Not at all, I have just never met an elf maiden before.”

A brilliant scarlet color crossed the bridge of her nose. “You really don’t have a problem with it?”

“Should I?”

“Most humans do, in one way or another.”

“Why? You seem like a nice person.”

Rhea smiled softly. “You think so?”

“Yeah, though for some reason I expected that an elf would have pointed ears.”

She smirked. “We do, I’m using a glamor spell.”

“Really? A glamor spell... does it change your appearance?” Scot took a shot in the dark, since that seemed to be what she was getting at.

“It does. Though, this one just lessens my overall appearance and hides my ears.”

“Lessens your appearance? Are you’re saying that you’re actually prettier than this?” Scott was honestly shocked!

Rhea’s face turned bright red and she threw up her hands as though she intended to ward off his words. “Yes, but you don’t have to say it like that!”

“Sorry, I’m just surprised.”

She shook her head briefly then bit her lip. “D-do you want to see what I really look like?”

“I admit it. I am extremely curious...”

The Arcane Blade laughed self-consciously then took a deep breath. She raised her hand over her head and a spiraling column of light appeared around her. When the light changed, her appearance did as well.

Scott gaped at her in open-mouthed wonder. It was impossible for someone so pretty to exist! She practically glowed. In fact, she did glow a bit.

Rhea had longish tapered ears that peaked out through her shimmering waterfall of hair. Her jade green eyes sparkled in the dim light. She now stood as tall as he did, and seemed to radiant a quiet and beautiful strength. Instead of a simple traveler’s cloak, she now wore a form fitting set of armor that accentuated her curves beautifully, while providing solid protection for all of the important parts. She wore wood armor as well.

“Why would you ever want to hide yourself...?”

The elf maiden sighed softly then leaned forward and gently placed her finger under Scott’s chin. She lifted her hand slightly, moving his open jaw back to a closed position. “Humans act strange around elves...”

“I see.” Scott understood her point now.

“Plus, there are other issues for joining adventuring parties with humans.” She admitted.

“Really?”

Rhea softly released a pent up breath. “You don’t seem to know, so I’ll tell you now. Elves require more experience points to gain a level than a human. We can’t wear common metal armor such as iron or steel. We have to wear magical metals such as mithril or adamantium if we wear metal at all. This also means that we can’t us weapons forged from those common materials and we take extra damage from them.”

“I see; anything else?” asked Scott without a hint of concern.

She blinked then stared at him. “Isn’t that enough? It takes longer for us to gain levels, and our equipment is expensive early on.”

Scott shrugged. “I have no issue with either of those things. I’ll happily hunt lower level monsters with you for as long as it takes. I’m in no great rush. I want to learn as much as I can about this world, and all the things in it.”

Rhea was honestly surprised by his attitude. Humans and elves rarely got along at low levels, at least as adventurers.

Elven entertainers were quite popular in human towns, but elven adventurers were not as welcome among the adventurer circuit. Shopkeepers and the common populace didn’t really care, so much. “You say that now, but when you start to chomp at the bit due to a desire to hunt higher level monsters...”

He shook his head. “I’ll just learn skills and work on developing my stats. Also, hunting weaker opponents means that I can farm them for money. I’d be a fool to abandon my first companion in this world.”

The elf maiden squinted at him. He kept mentioning his desire to see the world, and speaking of the world as though he were unaware of simple things. It was decidedly odd.

Scott grew self-conscious at her scrutiny. Why was she staring at him, not that he minded her looking at him.

“You are a strange human.”

He looked at her then shrugged. “I’m just me. I do have a question, though.”

Something had been nagging at Scott since Rhea had been revealed as an elf. The fact that her race was seen in a negative light by humans bugged him.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Why is there such animosity between human and elf if people can reincarnate into other races?”

She scrunched her eyebrows together and stared openly at him. “Reincarnate into other races... Where did you get that idea?”

“It was something that I had heard... is it wrong?”

“No one can do that except for...” Rhea titled her head to the side. Her eyes widened comically then she turned to stare at the statue of Origin. She rapidly looked back and forth between the statue and the decidedly odd human.

Scott took an involuntary step back, but the girl immediately leapt toward him with fire in her eyes. She leaned left and right while checking him over for clues to her suspicion.

“Yes, no... Are you? Probably not... but...” She started and stopped her statements frequently while inspecting him.

“What...?” asked Scott. She was acting extremely strange.

“You are, aren’t you? That explains it!” Rhea threw her hands up into the air then clutched them to her impressive chest before doing a silly little dance.

“Uh...”

She shook her head at him while grinning like an idiot. “You’re a champion. It’s OK! I won’t tell anyone. You do need to stop acting so odd, though.”

“Well, I...” began Scott.

However, Rhea cut him off by giving him a hug. “It’s been so long!”

Scott wanted to question her, but the sudden pressure of an absurdly attractive girl pressing against him stunned him to silence. She had not seemed like the type to hug random guys.

“Is it true that you can’t die?” asked Rhea suddenly. The sparkle in her eye grew to intense levels.

Scott was going to say something, but a reminder from Mid rose up within him. Rhea was his new companion, but he did not really know her. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about...”

She pouted at him then sighed. “I guess you don’t trust me. It’s Ok.”

He did not feel like she was trying to deceive him in any way, but he was not sure what to say. He had been cautioned to keep quiet about his nature for his own good. Though, it had not been a commandment or anything.

“If I was one of those... champions that you mentioned, why would that make you so excited? I don’t even know what they are.” It was true. He was one, and still had no real idea what his true purpose was in this world.

She smiled a crooked smile. “Champions are heroes of the people. Selfless guardians appointed by the gods to protect the people of this world, all people.”

“Really? So, that’s what a champion is supposed to be?”

She muttered, “Like you don’t already know.”

Scott winced and turned away from the vision of loveliness. “You know... I’m curious about them now. Can you tell me more?”

Rhea giggled softly then ran her fingers through her hair in a shy manner. “Sure... champions are eternal heroes. They can never die, and they undertake quests and journeys that would be certain death for a normal person.”

Scott had to admit, that it sounded like his skill set. He did not know if he was eternal like she claimed, but he did have traits that claimed that he would be resurrected if he died. “So, what would someone do if they were faced with such a creature?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. A champion can just keep coming back even if killed, if the old stories are true.”

“I see.” said Scott.

Rhea looked up at him then tilted her head to the side again, this time in an attempt to look at his turned face. Was she embarrassing the great hero?

“You said that it had been so long? What did you mean?” asked Scott.

“Huh? Oh, yeah... I haven’t seen a champion since I was a small child. You... They are an extreme rarity in the world.”

“Oh, so there is more than one of these people in the world?”

“Yes, each god or demon can have a champion. Even the goddess Origin can have one, though her champion is the most special.” She gave Scott a sidelong glance.

Scott could not help but turn to look at the statue. Rhea’s eyes lit up once more as though she had scored some sort of victory.

“What makes that champion so special?”

“Origin’s Champion is the guardian and defender of all life in this world.”

“Really? Wouldn’t they have to hunt and kill a lot of things to become strong, though?”

“Yes... but that is neither here nor there. Everything that lives has to do that in some respect or other. Besides, monsters respawn anyway.”

He looked down at her smiling face then winced. Was he really supposed to be such a person? He just wanted to go on adventures and meet random interesting things, then kill them for their loot. Why did he have to be saddled with some sort of hero thing? Maybe she was wrong about that?

Also there was one other thing. She was still giving him a hug. Scott wondered how long it would take before she recalled that bit of trivia. He certainly did not mind, but it still felt odd that some random girl was hugging him in such a friendly manner.