"How are you feeling, hero?"

Jack gasped and wrenched open his eyes, feeling like a fool, collapsing in a combat zone, before registering Lauren's gentle smile.

"Fine, I guess, what—" he said, before it call came rushing back to him. He gave an involuntary hiss at the thought of how close they had all come to death, thanks to one Elite, or near elite class enemy. And one not that much older than himself.

"Necromancers are no one to fuck around with."

Lauren grimaced, Jack only then noting the terror in her eyes, before she shook it away. "No indeed. Nor Mind Mages, and I didn't even realize that was a thing we had to worry about until..." She reflexively lanced at the mangled remains of their foe, before lurching away.

"Fucker's dead now, babe," said Mitch, favoring Jack with a solemn nod. "He can never hurt you again. That's all that matters."

A furious, glaring Sin snarled and kicked their enemy's remains. "Fucker was in our heads. Playing with us like puppets!"

That he was," said Jacob, also glaring at their fallen foe, making no move to stop Sin, all of them glaring at the corpse.

Yet what Jack felt was fury and pity in equal measure for the lonely angry youth who had taken such a dark turn.

He hadn't always been such a monster, just a lonely bitter kid with a low real life charisma, whose hungry eyes had so much wanted to chat and charm the well-to-do young socialites his father's brilliance and success had brought to their parties, their social circle. But all it had taken was one girl's surprised laughter at his awkward attempts at conversation, and he had instantly crumpled. Instantly retreated. And for all that Jack had always taken the time to chat with Eric, even struck up a cautious almost-friendship with him, their father's work and the games they loved to play a common thread, he had grown increasingly dark and bitter and withdrawn as time went on, not even Jack's occasional friendly overtures enough to pull him out of his bitter gloom.

And Jack wasn't stupid. He had seen the bitterness beneath his mocking smile when he had taunted them. Eric had been the farthest thing from happy, playing the monster. Only he had seen the half second Eric had almost smiled in recognition, an instant of lightness in his eyes. How he had ached for friendship, companionship, the warmth of others, half mad because he had thought he was trapped in a simulation, yet didn't even know he could have been the hero of his own tale, not a monster.

Not until he had blinked with the screams of the adventurers he had caught, the horror of himself turning to dark fury, at himself as much as them. Knowing no one could forgive what he had done if it was all real. Knowing that it was already too late. He was stuck playing the role of a monster. Because before they had arrived, he really had thought it all a game.

And now he was dead.

And Jack was tragically certain it wasn't the first time. And wouldn't be the last.

He couldn't help wondering how different it might have been, if Jack had been around when Eric first woke up to who he was, the path before him. Assuming he hadn't just sprung into existance without having lived any current life here at all, like was the case for his companions. Perhaps for all of those who had chosen the Path of Peril and had already fallen at least once before.

What would have happened if Jack had been able to meet Eric the moment he first woke up, guide him into being the hero Jack knew some tormented part of him wanted to be?

Knew, because, for all that his mother's class was supposedly the absolute antithesis of Mind Mages, Jack had sensed more than enough when he had spooled Eric's Psyche, and then his soul.

He shook away lingering regret when he felt Lauren's warm hand squeeze his shoulders. "Jack, I know we said it before, but you really are a lifesaver."

Soft red lips kissed his cheek before she stood back up, rubbing his hair like she would a beloved little brother. "Thank you, Jack."

Jack coughed and turned away, getting perhaps too close a look at an exquisitely voluptuous physique that wasn't his to admire, for all that Lauren was wearing silken cloth with mild protective enchantments he could now sense more clearly than ever. And even if he was halfway infatuated with the older girl, he wasn't such an idiot as to piss off what was perhaps the deadliest member of their group.

But all Mitch did was pump his fist. "Hero of the fucking hour! Jack of all Trades, and what a king of a class that's turning out to be." He winked at Lauren. "We are totally hooking this cat up when we get back to the city."

Lauren blushed and chuckled, but she didn't contradict him, flashing Jack a wicked smile. "You are eighteen at least, aren't you, Jack?"

Jack flushed but nodded. "Got kicked out with my birthday. But no, seriously..."

She shook her head, putting her soft finger on his lip. "Don't say a word. Not until you see some of the beauties working in what will soon be our Guild Hall, all of them not so secretly hoping to meet the hero who will sweep them off their feet in the big city, especially if that hero's a goodnatured sweetheart like yourself." She winked, then laughed when she saw how Jack was blushing.

"Relax, hero. I'm just teasing." she exchanged a bemused glance with Sharon. "Mostly teasing."

Then she shuddered when Sin turned their way after looting their opponent's remains, with prizes in hand.

"What the hell, Sin?" She snapped, and Jack didn't blame her when he caught sight of the prizes Sin held in his grip. Several pieces of jewelry radiating either wealth or, in one case, actual magic, and a green and purple tome that seemed to writhe with wild energies.

Sin frowned. "What does it look like? I'm claiming our spoils from that asshole. And if this isn't a magic fucking tome... I don't know what is."

Sharon furrowed her brow, lips pressed tightly together. "Yeah, you're right, no doubt about that. It's radiating necromantic energies like nothing else I've ever seen. But I have no interest in studying a school so far from the enchantment sphere. I'll get no cross-class bonuses, so I'll be effectively starting with zero rank in the art."

She glanced Lauren's way. "Do you want it, Lauren? You do commune with and control the natural spirits of the world. Maybe necromancy will give you some solid cross-class bonuses?" she winced as Lauren grew deathly pale "Oh, wait, never mind. I'm an idiot. Clearly there's a difference," she said, but it was already too late, Lauren screaming when Sin tossed it her way.

Finesse check made!

It was nothing for Jack to catch what had been a friendly lob more than anything else as Mitch moving with near superhuman speed, scooping Lauren up in his arms, glaring at Sin.

"What the hell, man? Clearly she's not interested!"

"She and Sharon are the mages of our group," Sin said. "I didn't realize she was going to react like that until I had already tossed it. Now put away your fucking glare! I almost died, same as half our party, and I was just trying to do her a solid!"

But Jack was already tuning them out, shivering at the icy cold tendrils of power he sensed emanating from that book. Somehow certain glimpsing the spells within would be like communing with the thoughts and memories of whoever had written it directly.

There was power within this tome.

And danger as well.

"Do you want it, Jack?"

Jack blinked, gazing up at a curious Jacob, looking around at the remains of the rapidly decaying undead minions, the blue sky above making it seem like the nightmare realm they had been temporarily trapped in had been little more than a dream. "Maybe it will serve as the key to whatever secrets that idiot had managed to unlock. Sure as shit, it's a powerful class," Jacob said, Mitch and the others either smirking or nodding their agreement.

And Jack couldn't help but flash a relieved smile. Despite Jacob being a paladin and the others having nearly been killed, there was no judgement here. They were gamers first, and any class that nearly caused a party wipe was a class you at least wanted to understand, if not try out yourself.

Unless, of course, you just found necromancy or mind control distasteful.

"It looks to be a damn poweful class," Lauren admitted with a smile that was more a grimace. "And it's a hell of a lot more powerful than simple necromancy. And if was the girl I was a year ago..." she abruptly shook her head. "But I'm more than just a class now," she whispered. "I really am a witch. I truly do feel the spirits of the natural world sing through my soul, our work together as much a symphony of love and cooperation as it is about pure power. And necromancy?" She shuddered and swallowed. "I I'd... never judge you, Jack. Not after all you've done. But that's not a path I could follow, and I'm not sure how much of my class would be open to you, if you dared to walk that path."

Sharon nodded. "I'm an idiot. I should have realized from the moment I saw Lauren's expression that Witch and Dark Master would be incompatible classes."

"Is that what his class is called?" Mitch asked.

Sharon nodded. "And it's a fucking Adept+ class. Almost Elite! Check the interface logs."

Jacob frowned. "You're the only one who can do that, babe. We all have our character sheets, but none of us can go over previous battles."

She winced in apology. "Sorry, love. Forgot." she then tilted her head, gazing curiously at Jack. "What I want to know is how the hell our level 0 Jack of All trades actually managed to break his hold on us."

"Same," said Jacob, and Jack felt his cheeks start to blaze as the entire group gazed intently his way. Awkward pride mixing with dread, recalling his interface's not so subtle warning that if the wrong people found out, he just might be as good as dead.

What was worse, he couldn't even tell his friends that, or even hint at how big a deal it was. Because the people who would be most eager for the information, the only ones, really, would have no problem picking their minds and ferreting out whatever secrets they liked, with none of them being any wiser.

So Jack shook away the churning in his gut with a chuckle and a couple whispered words, his companion's eyes widening with surprise or bemusement at the sight of his blood red bee. An experience point cost he was more than willing to pay at that moment, slight as it was.

"One thing about being a Jack of All trades is employing a bit of mystic slight of hand. Waving a flashy silver rod around and whispering mumbo jumbo is great for pulling someone's attention your way, right before taking advantage of their weakness."

Sharon frowned. "Weakness?"

Jack flashed a ruthless smile. "Clearly he was sensitive to bee venom. At least sensitive enough to react when a six inch blood bee's stinger, more than capable of taking out alpha wolves in the forest, plunged into the back of his neck."

Mitch frowned, glaring at the corpse, before giving a rueful shake of his head. "And there that little guy is. At least, pieces of him. Sorry I smashed your bee familiar is it?" He turned to Lauren. "Is that a witch spell, baby?"

She frowned thoughtfully. "I think maybe I could learn it, and still count most of my bonuses? But it's not exactly a nature witch spell. I don't think. But it's really similar. It's more like..."

"Druidic magic," Jack said.

Lauren smiled. "Exactly."

Mitch frowned. "Wait, you're saying when you were dancing around..."

Jack grinned. "All eyes were on me, none on the bee."

Jacob blinked, before bursting out laughing. "A deadly, elite class Dark Master, beaten by a first level Druid spell? Wait, is it first level?"

Jack grinned. "Boosted a bit, but yes. Just think of it as rock-paper-scissors. Every class has a weakness, and he sure as shit wasn't investing any points into Quickness or Constitution."

"Or Perception," Mitch agreed. "He was probably a pure mana specialist, slamming all his points into mana pool and regen." He gazed at the sight of devastation that was the town hall keep, giving an angry shake of his head. "Damn bastard had so much reserves he was able to summon and maintain a fucking undead army."

Jacob's gaze grew haunted. "And he almost wiped out our entire party. But even with those giant sentinels..."

"He couldn't do shit against a giant bee."

For some reason everyone was roaring with laughter with those words, laughing so hard tears started coming out of their eyes, Jack stricken as much as everyone else, as exhaustion, stress, and the sheer joy of being alive, no matter how absurd their turns of fortune had truly been, caught up with him.

It was then that Jacob, eyes filled with tears of mirth, stole a glance at the center of the town square, eyes widening with something close to horror.

"Guys, we have to get down there, now!"

Sharon quailed. "Oh god, what now?"

"We closed the rift! The mana... if we don't claim our prizes, you know what happens!"

Jack blinked at this, though found himself carried forward on the tailstrings of everyone else's alarm, their panic becoming his own as he raced down stairs, sprinted down the street and raced for all he was worth to the sight of the rift, too exhausted to do more than slump to his knees when they finally stopped, let alone ask a question, though the sight before him left his mouth agape, throat dry with dread.

Gazing upon a crackling sphere of crimson energy, that, if the increasingly eratic pulsing was any sign...

was ready to explode.

"Are you guys thinking of what you want most?" Mitch said, getting a few jerked nods before reaching out for the globe.

"What?" Jack thought, realizing he had no idea what was going on, no one had bothered to tell him and he was about to lose out, so... his mind immediately raced to what he most needed to make his wildest dream of a class that might or might not actually be possible as a class... come true.

Feeling a curious wave of dizziness and a lurch when the shimmering ball of crimson was touched, and just as he thought he heard a sudden scream before deadly heat scorched him to oblivion... he blinked, catching sight of an exquisitely filigreed golden chest flashing in the brilliant afternoon sunlight, absolutely covered in brilliant-cut sparkling jewels.

Jack blinked away the dazzling light and beheld an awe inspiring collection of tomes that positively glittered with magic... and a single levitating ball of blue, like a miniature Earth, orbited by a tiny ball of perfect crimson.

The air hummed with tense excitement.

"It worked, it really worked!" Sharon squealed, sprightly hands darting forth, lifting up one of the shimmering tomes of ivory and silver, flipping the cover without a second thought.

"Sharon!" Jacob hissed... but it was already too late. Her head was tilted back, a look of exultation upon her features as she began to shimmer the same hue as her book. Oddly, this seemed to be the tipping point for Lauren, exchanging a glance with Sin, of all people, before both simultaneously took tomes of either forest green or midnight darkness, opened the covers with trembling hands, gazing wide-eyed at the secrets within.

Jack would have thought them utterly, foolishly vulnerable, were they not surrounded by coronas of pulsating energy the exact same color as their tomes.

Then it was just Jacob and Mitch looking at each other, sharing identical strained smiles.

"Shit," Mitch said. "They really, really don't want to be doing this for any longer than they have to."

Jacob nodded. "And I guess we're not that much different, if that tome is what I think it is."

Mitch swallowed, gazing with awe at the tome that was an odd shade rust and steel. "If this actually works..."

Jacob dipped his head. "We'd be on the fast track to craft mastery. But these knowledge tomes are legendary... how the hell could we even be worthy?"

Mitch just shook his head, and Jack was surprised to hear his own voice, so captivated he was by the shimmering pair of orbs spinning like planets in the air before him. "We just closed a rift. A rupture between overlapping realms in this AI-forged reality. And it sure as fuck wasn't stable. Even if it was forged by an idiot who got a backdoor class hacked in by an asshole who even my dad said was nothing but a pugnacious, egotistical blowhard whose only redeeming trait was his AI programming skills, still, I get the feeling that rift wasn't exactly... safe."

He shook his head. "I get the feeling Eric was more interested in destroying everything he possibly could, including himself, than he was in actually forging a pocket realm of his own."

Mitch frowned, gazing up from the tome he was about to claim. "It sounds like you knew him," he said, half accusingly. "It sounds like you knew both of them."

Jack nodded, not denying it. "I did."

Jacob blinked, brow suddenly furrowing. "Is that why you joined us? Were you trying to redeem yourself after following in his footsteps?"

Jack cracked a smile, for all that his focus was now utterly locked upon the spinning orbs, tiny no longer, rather filling up his mind's eye, as if he were about to crash into seas of frigid water, or hot steaming blood. "I knew them back on Earth," he whispered. "Eric's dad was one of the original programmers of this world."

Mitch frowned. "Then who the hell was... shit. Shit! You're dad, he was one of the original programmers too."

Jack nodded. "Both of my parents were. It was a twenty year project. It's how they met."

Jacob's eyes widened. He chuckled ruefully. "All this time, we've been adventuring with fucking royalty."

Jack shook his head. "Hardly that. I'm no one special at all. Just one more soul filled with memories not quite his own, who only now dares the path of peril. If I was anything more than that..." He caught Jacob's gaze. "At this point, it's no more relevant than background info on a character sheet. This is the life we live now. The only life that matters. And all the glorious triumphs and bitter failures of our pasts are nothing more than lessons to learn from and adventures to reminisce over in the years to come. That's all it could, or should, ever be."

Mitch, however, was giving a troubled shake of his head. "If anyone ever finds out... if that kid's dad ever finds out..."

"So we tell them nothing. We tell no one nothing. We killed scores of undead and closed a rift. And that's all we did," Jacob whispered intently. "Now let's get our stories straight for when the keep residents actually have the courage to come out here." Mitch nodded, the pair having a hurried intense discussion, and Jack could delay the inevitable no longer, trembling fingers reaching out to touch the pair of winding globes as he claimed the magic and made it his own, diving into seas of ice blue water and blood.