It’s ironic looking back how a single strike in a moment of anger could have altered the history of Placeholder immeasurably. Jake would’ve completed the [Hero’s] job of slaying the [Demon Lord], and I wouldn’t be here to tell this story.

And for those of you wondering why Jake couldn’t tell from my HP bar that I wasn’t dying, it turns out that 1 or 2 HP on a bar of 180 is not much different from 0.

But unlike Jake, you weren’t surprised I lived, were you? I mean, I have told you before that I’m the one writing this, so you really shouldn’t be at this point.

Okay, okay, put down the pitchforks. That’s the last time I milk my own “death” for cheap drama in this book, deal?

----

After the battle was over, we had called the all-clear. Most of the villagers wandered out to see what had happened, but they returned to their homes after we assured them it was safe now. On the other hand, the party had a lot of looting to do. I couldn’t help, so I simply sat down and watched my HP slowly tick up until I was sure that I wouldn’t be killed by a wayward leaf.

I was surprised when I received a notification.

system: Demon Lord, stop these pointless raids and get back to the portal immediately

What kind of notification is-? Oh, lowercase s. Another game admin probably. Do you mean the portal in the prophecy? The one in the west?

system: Demon Lord, are you listening to me? I said, get back to the portal NOW

I just wanted to make sure! I was getting nervous. I wasn’t sure what kind of power game admins had, but I definitely didn’t want to get on one's bad side. I can’t just leave right now, though. I have like 3 HP! And do I really have to go there?

system: If you don’t respond, I swear I will ERASE YOU. WHY ARE YOU NOT HEADING TO THE PORTAL!!!?

Can he.. Not hear my thoughts? I glanced over at the party that was probably in earshot. “I can’t talk here,” I whispered. I then shouted to the party, “Hey, uh, I’m gonna take a walk really quick!”

Jake called back, “Okay, but don’t leave the village! You’re still super low on HP!”

I made my way towards the edge of town and then stopped. “Okay, so based on the fact that you have a lowercase s I am assuming you are also a game admin. By portal, do you mean the demon portal in the west? Do I really have to activate that?” There was no answer. “Hello?”

system: You are not supposed to be the Demon Lord

That floored me. “I’m.. What?”

system: One minute

I could practically hear the hold music. Not supposed to be the [Demon Lord]. Then.. How? And why?

system: It seems someone else made changes made to this world

“Oh, like what?”

system: They are not your concern. Except for one. How did you come by that class and race?

“I was forced to have it when I was sent to this world. By the way, do you-

system: I am going to remove it from you

“Really!?” I was ecstatic. “That other admin said that it wouldn’t be possible!” There was a delay again. “Hello? System?” There was no answer. He must be busy removing my class.

Meanwhile, I was practically giddy. I’m not going to be the bad guy anymore! This system is a lot more helpful. Oh wait, I need another name for him. The other one was AltSys. This guy has a lower case s. Call him little sys? Heh, little sis. Ooo imouto! Japanese for little sis. Perfect! My naming sense had not improved since AltSys.

system: There seems to be a complication

Oh no. “What complication?”

system: Did the other admin mention anything about locking or write-protecting of any kind?

“Not really… Wait. He did have me purchase a perk for 50 points. It’s called [Memory Protection]. If you can look at my stats and stuff, I think you should be able to see it.” There was yet another long pause.

system: That is a perk on an individual level. I meant locking or write-protecting of the world

“Uh, no, he didn’t mention anything like that.”

system: Well, I am certain this “other admin” you speak of made these changes. So you can thank him that I am unable to assist you directly

My heart fell. Dang it, AltSys! I thought you said you were on my side! “Is there maybe someone else that could remove it? Or could you just send me home instead?”

system: No.

system: Actually, yes. That could work. I will send you back home, but I need you to do something for me first

System: Quest offered. “Re-open the Demonic Portal”

Quest details - The demonic portal was supposed to start open, but due to meddling, it now requires the Demon Lord to activate the four elemental dungeons. Activate all dungeons in sequence and then open the portal in the far west

Reward: You will be sent home

Decline/Failure: You will be stranded in this world with no way to leave

What. The. Hail. “Uh, Imouto, this isn’t much of a choice you are giving me here.”

There was a noticeable pause there.

system: What did you just call me?

“I called you Imouto since, unlike System, you are a little sys.” There was a long pause, and that was enough time for me to realize that “hey, maybe I shouldn’t give weird nicknames to all-powerful admins I just met.”

system: If you ever call me that again, I will personally find a way to come down there and end you. You may call me Admin

“Sorry, uh. Admin, sir. And uhh. Admin, it sounds like the only choice I have here is to either become the big bad or to never leave this world.”

system: Correct. And I have wasted enough time here. I will contact you again if you make it to the portal. Otherwise, enjoy your new life here

“Wait! Admin! I still have questions! How do I activate the dungeons!? What will it do to the world!?” There was no response. “Is the fact that I am in the [Hero’s] party going to cause problems?” I questioned the wind because I knew for certain no one was listening now.

Well, even if I accept it, it doesn’t mean I will necessarily do it, right? With great concern and no conviction in mind, I took the quest.

------

Jake and the party were still looting the wolves when he accidentally overheard the [Village Elder], seemingly talking to himself with pauses in between.

“Yes, my liege... No casualties, my liege... The [Hero] and his party were able to fend them off... We were.. Unprepared my liege... Magical sleep, my liege, the entire town, was affected... I am unsure my liege, I will find out from them... Half an hour should be fine, my liege... Understood, I will keep them here for now. Thank you, my liege.”

The elder finally noticed Jake standing there watching him, but he just sighed.

“Well, you were going to hear it anyway. Could you and your party gather around? I have a word from the [King] for you.”

Fortunately, “gather up” was something he could get across via his party perk. Soon enough, everyone had gathered up, except for Titus.

“Could someone go grab our [Half-Demon]?” Jake asked once the party had gathered. He would have offered to go himself, but he was still hobbling around with less than 0 SP.

Megan volunteered and went off to find him, while the [Village Elder] spoke. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but what exactly is a demon?”

The party shared looks of surprise. After getting over his shock, Jake answered. “Wait, you guys don’t know what demons are in your world?”

“Well, we gather from the context of the prophecy that they are what makes the [Demon Lord] opening the portal such a bad thing, but we know very little about them.”

“Well, for starters, they look a bit like Titus. Except normally, their skin is more red, and they are even more evil-looking.” Jake paused. “At least, that’s how I’ve always seen them pictured. If demons existed in our old world, they weren’t exactly physical.” What else is there? Oh. Forgot the basics. “Demons are evil. Some games pictured them as unthinking monsters that just wanted to destroy the world. Other times they instead just try to sway people into doing evil themselves.”

Jake looked over at Garrett, “Anything important, I’m forgetting?”

Garrett shook his head. “Nah. Unless we actually meet the demons of this world, it’s difficult to say much more than you already have.” Garrett suddenly looked thoughtful. “Unless.. There has been a trend with some shows and games where the so-called demons were nothing but a different race with different morals. So, if we are in that situation, then Jake’s assumptions weren’t accurate. I’m assuming that isn’t the case since there is a [Demon Lord] being opposed by a [Hero], and that normally means the sides of good and evil are well-defined, but we shouldn’t entirely rule out the possibility.”

The [Village Elder] looked a bit lost, and Jake realized that they probably lost him right around the time they mentioned games. Jake tried to clarify, “Basically, we’re not 100% sure. What Garrett is saying is that in 90% of the stories from our old world that demons were the bad guys. However, some stories tried to cast them as just misunderstood. And we only had stories to go off of since I don’t think any of us actually met a demon.”

“I see,” the elder replied. “That does make things difficult then.”

It was about that time that Megan returned with a distracted Titus in tow. Jake called out, “Everything all right, Titus?”

Titus froze for a moment before chuckling dryly. “Yeah, I guess the fact that I almost died to that bear just finally caught up to me.”

Poor dude. If the prophecy didn’t specifically call him out, I would’ve recommended that we leave him behind just so that he could take a break.

The [Village Elder] cleared his throat. “Thank you for gathering. As I was saying before, there was a message from the [King] to your party.”

The troubled elder continued, “It would seem this is a new phenomenon known as a monster wave. The king and I both received messages from System. His woke him up, but unfortunately, the magical sleep effect seems to have kept me asleep during the start of it.” He started pacing. “He received word from one of his [Priests] about a new [Revelation] about these phenomena. Apparently, they will only trigger if the [Demon Lord] enters an area protected by an obelisk between midnight and dawn, AND the area has a dungeon nearby.”

The elder grimaced. “Unfortunately, that means two things. First is that the [Demon Lord] was here. We were hoping you would have a head start on getting to the first dungeon since we are already so far south, but it would seem that advantage has been neutralized. Second, the dungeon you found in the forest means that we are not safe. He may decide to attack again. We will need you to stay until reinforcements have arrived from the capital.”

The party looked back and forth between each other. Finally, Jake spoke, “Well, we can’t leave the town defenseless. I guess we will have to delay heading out. How long will reinforcements take to get here?”

“About a month.”

“A month! We don’t have that kind of time!” Jake shouted. “In a month, the [Demon Lord] will have activated the first dungeon and halfway to the next!”

“What would you have me do [Hero]!?” The elder shouted back. “I will not let you leave these people to die!”

Jake paused for a bit. Calm down. Breathe. He went through his normal breathing routine. See his point of view. Jake sighed. And… he’s probably right. Wouldn’t it be right up a [Demon Lord’s] alley to attack a defenseless town?

Jake finally managed a soft reply. “Fine. We have no choice, so we will make due. We will stay here for a month or until we find a way to keep you safe without us here.”

The elder breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for your cooperation [Hero]. Now onto the last matter, it seems that you were able to fight and raise the alarm despite the magical sleep effect. The king wanted more information on that as it is the only part of what I reported to him that doesn’t match up.”

The only one who was up was.. Right. Jake gestured at Titus, “That was all Titus. I didn’t even realize we were under attack until he burst in our front door with wolves literally hanging off him.”

Titus looked confused. “Wait, didn’t I tell you that I thought I heard monsters outside? And didn’t you just say to go back to bed?”

It was Jake’s turn to be confused. “No? I don’t remember anything like that.”

“But I would’ve sworn that you said..” Titus trailed off and then groaned. “I think you did, but you weren’t actually awake. Frickin sleep talking. That’s why I didn’t notice the effect on you at first.”

“Huh. I don’t think I normally sleep talk, but maybe that was a part of the magic?”

“As interesting as that is, can we please get back to the subject at hand?” the [Village Elder] asked. “Do you or do you not have any ideas why you were unaffected by the magical sleep?”

Titus sighed. “I have some ideas, but I don’t know. I think it might be my class?”

The elder frowned. “And by that, do you mean a perk for your class?”

“Oh, does it have to be?”

He sighed, “I sometimes forget that you people are from a completely foreign world. Yes, any benefits that you gain from your class would be listed under class perks, any benefits from your race will be listed under race perks.”

“That’s weird, I didn’t see them.”

Jake interjected, “You have to specifically ask the obelisk to show your existing ones.”

“Oooooohh. I wish there was something that indicated that.”

Wilfred gestured back towards the middle of town. “In that case, why not go check?”

Titus stammered. “Well, you see..”

Jake came to his rescue. “He has a problem with his class. When he accesses the obelisk, it explodes and shoots him away from it.” He cocked his head and looked at Titus. “By the way, how did you manage to upgrade your perks and get skills then?”

Titus looked a bit panicked, but said, “Well, I only was able to get perks and skills after I left. I wasn’t able to get them at the obelisk before that.”

Is Titus hiding something? A thought came up. Is he actually the [Demon Lord]? Jake eyed him suspiciously before remembering him getting his butt handed to him by ants. Jake chuckled. Nah, there’s no way that a [Demon Lord] would be so weak. Or be able to join my party. He must be hiding something, but that for sure isn’t it.

The [Village Elder] scrutinized Titus a bit before relenting. His gaze softened. “Well, I think I have enough to make my report when the next [Message] comes in. Thank you. I will leave you to your looting.” As he was walking away, I could’ve sworn I heard him mutter, “More blasted wolf meat.”

Jake gave out orders, “Okay, let’s hurry up and loot these bodies and then hit the hay. Titus, you can go ahead and head back and get some rest since you can’t help.”

Titus gave a quick nod and then headed off.

----

I was incredibly surprised that I hadn’t been outed. “I’m such a terrible liar,” I groaned and turned over in my bedroll. If they aren’t at least suspecting me by now, they have to be the densest party that has ever existed. At least almost dying to the wave I spawned means that I have something that can throw them off my trail.

I don’t know how much longer I can keep up the charade. I turned and looked up at the ceiling. Or maybe I just abandon the party right now? If I’m going to do this quest... I could just take the 1 month lead that my accidental monster wave gave me?

I didn’t have too long to debate before I got an unwelcome surprise.

System : You know, brooding that much can’t be good for you

I rolled my eyes. Great. It’s the A-hole who got me into this mess.

System : That’s rude. And after everything I did for you too

I sat up. Wait, so you can hear my thoughts? Why couldn’t the other admin? My curiosity almost won out before I remembered. No. Wait. I’m not talking to you. You’re the one that got me into this mess. You gave me this stupid class and are the reason for all my problems in this world.

System : That’s more true than you know, but also a bit hurtful. I mean, I also saved your life

My life that wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place without you. I rolled my eyes. Just get to the point. I’m assuming you didn’t want to just chat.

System : Fair enough, I just wanted to give you a warning. When you claim a zone for the Demon Lord faction, the obelisk will automatically be placed into combat mode. And when a zone is left in combat mode long enough, it will begin to invade nearby neutral or enemy zones. And guess what happens if an invasion is successful

It.. Claims the zone for the [Demon Lord] faction?

System : Got it

So, don’t claim any zones. Why does that matter?

System : You have to claim the elemental dungeons to activate them

So that means.. No. Really?

System : Yep, it’s not just the last portal you have to worry about. If you’re not careful, you could end up taking over a large portion of the world anyway

Just like that? Why is the world so weak? I hit my head lightly against the floor. So, I just… Shouldn’t do the quest then? I should just give up on going home?

System : Up to you. The Hero can claim the dungeons back from you to stop that part of it without interrupting the activation though

Well, at least that’s good- My thought was interrupted.

System : And that’s all I had to say. Good luck. You’ll need it

And he’s gone again. Great. As if I didn’t have enough to process. I sighed as the door opened up.

“Oh, still awake, Titus?” Jake asked.

“Yup, couldn’t get to sleep,” I answered truthfully.

“Well, try to get some rest. We might have a long day tomorrow.”

I gave him a non-committal grunt.

I snuck out as soon as he and Garrett were asleep.

----

Jake woke up earlier than he expected. He stretched and yawned. “Good morning, Titus.” He then looked over and saw that Titus’s bedroll was empty. Oh, maybe he’s up already? Jake got dressed and then walked into Garrett’s room to wake the snoring giant. “Up and attem sleepyhead.” He tossed a boot at the oblivious [Berserker].

That woke him up. He popped up in bed and looked around frantically before his gaze settled on Jake. He relaxed, “Oh, it’s just you. I thought it was an actual threat.”

Jake laughed, “Yeah sure, I bet I could 1 v 1 you easily, old man. [Sunder’s] no joke.”

“Point taken.” He fake sniffled. “They grow up so fast.” Standing up and stretching, he asked, “So why did you get me up so early today?”

“Because today, we figure out how we are going to beat the [Demon Lord’s] plan!”

Garret raised an eyebrow, “I don’t follow.”

“It’s obvious! It’s a race to clear out the dungeons, and by threatening the village and getting kingdom politics involved, he bought himself a head start! But we can outsmart him!”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

That deflated Jake a bit. “I.. Don’t know yet. But! We have a lot of smart party members, and I am sure one of us can come up with a plan to get us out of here sooner!”

“Are you sure you shouldn’t let everyone sleep in? It was a rough night last night.”

Jake thought that over. “Okay, fine. I guess we can scrounge up some breakfast first-” As Jake was talking, Garrett pulled a bowl of stew, some biscuits, and some sausage out of his inventory and started digging in. Jake laughed. “This world really is convenient sometimes, isn’t it?”

----

“I wonder if I should have someone with an inventory come out and loot those?” I said as I looked over the bodies of the dark wolves I had killed. “Nah, that would be an awkward conversation. Why are you out killing things by yourself? Well, it helps me think. How does killing help you think?” I sighed. I think this world has messed me up more than I realized. I went out to go fight wolves to blow off steam, and it ended up being a lot more therapeutic than I expected. I looked at my hands and clenched them. I guess this is just what I’m used to after the 6 months straight of fighting.

The wolves were no longer a difficult enemy to fight unless they had an alpha with them. And even then, I could still just climb a tree to rest since they were content to circle it. That’s why I was currently sitting up in a tree watching my HP and SP regen. You know, my HP didn’t come back when I was on the ground after getting tossed by that bear. I was still at 1 when Jake got me. I wonder why that is? I couldn’t come up with a good answer, so I eventually just gave up.

I idly stared at the enemies that were circling below me. I still need a good reason to be outside of town at night. Either that or I need to sneak out every night, but I don’t know if I can pull that off with the town on high alert. Maybe they will let me “patrol” the woods at night or something?

I stared down at a circling wolf. The problem is that I have been outed as someone that isn’t affected by magic sleep, and that makes me the most valuable member of the town’s defense. Maybe I should just tell them that I don’t sleep at all? But then that opens me up to a bunch of other questions since I didn’t just tell them that earlier. Why was I so stupid?

I was going around in circles, and I knew it. I sighed and dropped from the tree branch and crushed a wolf as I landed with a [Fire Strike]. Or at least as crushed as the world allowed since its body didn’t look any different. “The problem is that I just don’t see any way to win here!” I punched a lunging wolf in the face with my skill. “I can’t stay in the town because I will cause another wave.” A wolf latched onto my left arm and casually punched it off. “And I can’t not stay in the town because they will realize something is up, and they will wonder why I’m not helping.”

I started walking back in the direction of town, and [Fire Strike] kicked a wolf that was standing in my way. “Or do I just abandon the party altogether? I could do that and just go do the dang quest.” A wolf latched onto my right arm, but I barely noticed. “But then I apparently have a chance of taking over the world without even doing anything else.” I reached out with my left arm and started petting the very confused wolf on the head. “Maybe I just fess up? Maybe I can make it work? A [Demon Lord] who doesn’t do evil?” I crouched, lowered the wolf gently back to the ground, and kept petting it.

Other wolves bit me from the back. The one I was petting let go just to bite me again. I sighed and killed it with a swift [Fire Strike]. “You’re right.” I shook the wolves off my back and then punched another one that was coming at me. “It’s just my nature now, isn’t it? I can’t stay near civilization or people will get hurt. I can’t go and do the quest, or people will get hurt. I could go be a hermit off in the woods somewhere and never interact with people again?” I looked down at one of the wolves that were snarling at me. “What do you think about that idea?” It lunged at me, and I put it down. “You’re right, I would rather die.”

“What I really want is to go home without causing any casualties.” I killed yet another wolf. “Well, human casualties. You guys don’t count, sorry.” There was only one wolf left. It backed away from me. “Ah, you’re scared when you’re alone. That makes sense. I feel alone here too.” I kept backing it up, and it ran into a tree. Then it started howling. Other howls answered it. “But am I really?” I killed the final wolf and began my trek back to town.

“What if I get the party to help? I can’t tell them I’m the [Demon Lord]. There’s no way they will let it fly that I want to activate the portal. But.. What if I get their help to ensure there are no casualties?” My mind was racing now. “AltSys said the dungeons have to be deactivated by the [Hero]. What if I just beat him by a couple days? And then he goes in and deactivates it before it can spread! I can do the same for the portal, get him to bring as many adventurers with him as possible, and then they can stop the demons before they get a foothold!”

“I get to go home, and the [Hero] can claim he vanquished me because I won’t be on this planet anymore! Everyone wins!” I fist-pumped. This plan will work. Now I just need a way to get out of staying in town. Another lightbulb. And I might have just the thing.

----

Jake called a meeting of the party, but he ran into a problem. “Anyone have a clue where Titus is? I haven’t seen him since last night.”

Tim sniffed. “Based solely upon the fluctuations of his resources, it would be my wager that he is engaged in the plebeian art of fisticuffs in the forest yonder.”

Jake took a deep breath and reigned his annoyance in. “Thanks, Tim, we can check the forest in a bit.” He shot Andrew a pointed look and tried to tell him via the party to talk to his kid. Unfortunately, [Enhanced Party] couldn’t get something that specific across. Jake hoped the look he gave him was sufficient. I know the kid’s going through a lot. Based on the info we got from Doom Fury, he’s probably aged 5 years physically in the past 6 months. But Andrew really needs to step up and do some parenting. Tim’s attitude is unbearable. Jake sighed. “Okay, before we go and rescue Titus, again, anyone have any ideas on how to get us going on the quest sooner?”

Emilia spoke up first. “The only other option that we have would be to take out the dungeon, right?”

“I don’t think that’s wise,” Garrett interjected. “I mean, Doom Fury specifically mentioned that most parties that tried exploring dungeons didn’t make it back.”

“Well, most parties don’t have a [Hero],” Emilia smiled coyly at Jake.

Jake coughed, “Err. Thanks.” He turned towards Garrett. “And I get your point, but aren’t there like 4 dungeons we might have to clear anyway? It might be a good idea to get a practice run in. Also, if we don’t clear it, we’re stuck here for a month.”

Garrett looked around and saw that everyone was looking eager to go. He threw his hands up. “Fine, you win. However, we are going at this as cautiously as possible."

“Sounds good to me! We start prepping to go into the dungeon!” Jake watched Titus’ HP drop to half. “But, I guess we have to go save our idiot [Half-Demon] first.”

----

You know how I mentioned that normal wolves were easy to deal with, but I had problems with the alphas? As you could expect, one showed up.

That’s why after taking some licks in our boxing match, I simply climbed a tree and waited for my HP to start coming back. With nothing better to do, I laid back, closed my eyes, and started whistling a merry tune. After a while, my peaceful reverie was interrupted by a thunderclap.

I was so startled, I nearly fell off the branch. I looked down to see Jake and the rest of the party. They did not look amused.

I waved. “Oh, hi guys. Fancy seeing you here.”

Jake looked up at me. “Titus, you want to tell us why you’re napping up in a tree with an alpha wolf circling you?”

“Because I needed to recover some HP before I was certain I could kill it?”

“And if a second one happened to show up?”

“... I would wait for more HP?”

Jake just sighed. Tim spoke up instead with the disdain I had come to expect from him. “What our leader meant to say is that you have needlessly endangered yourself, ergo, our party, resulting in us squandering our precious time. Specifically mine own. Ponder that before you wander off to engage in your plebeian fisticuffs.”

I hopped down from the tree. “What did you just say to me? And your own time matters the most? Ha! Why does your time matter at all?”

The [Wizard] stared at me levelly and said, “I stated that you are a nuisance and a brute and a squanderer of the time of the principal member of this party. Me.”

“Don’t make me laugh! You’re useful for AOE, but that’s it. If the party hadn’t been babysitting you all this time, you would be dead 100 times over by now!”

“Deceit! I will prove it to you! I challenge you to a duel!” Tim shouted.

That caught me off guard. Before Jake or Andrew could intervene, I said, “Sure. Since you don’t have access to [Fire Bolt] against me, I won’t use [Elemental Strike]. How do we determine the winner?”

“It is my victory when you are no longer respirating,” Tim growled.

I laughed. “I think you’re annoying, but I don’t want to kill you that bad. How about this, we go until…” I checked my HP and saw that I was at only half. “1/4 HP or until surrender.”

“Tim, I can’t allow you to do this.” Andrew finally spoke up.

“Ditto,” Jake interjected. “Titus, I’m not letting you fight a kid.”

“DON’T DESIGNATE ME AN ADOLESCENT!” Tim screamed.

“Wow, you’re really selling how mature you are,” I snarked.

“THAT’S IT, YOU ARE DECEASED!”

I was preparing to enter another round of snarking when I got a notification.

System: You have been challenged to a duel by Tim

Restrictions: No use of the Elemental Strike skill

Victory condition: Opponent death

On Tim Victory: N/A

On Titus Victory: N/A

“Okay, break it up, you two,” Jake came and stood between us.

I laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke calmly. “Actually, [Hero], if you wouldn’t mind, I think I could make this educational. Tim seems to not understand some of the shortcomings of his class, and I want to help him with that. The terms will be 1/4 HP or opponent surrender, and I promise I will get him to surrender instead of hurting him.”

Jake caught the mischievous glint in my eye and seemed to think about it. “No, I still really don’t think-“

Tim interrupted. “Fine! I adjusted the terms! I will show you that your ignoble means of combat are nothing before my arcane power!”

System: You have been challenged to a duel by Tim

Restrictions: No use of the Elemental Strike skill

Victory condition: 1/4 HP or opponent surrender

On Tim Victory: Titus will admit Tim’s superiority

On Titus Victory: N/A

Really? I had to after that. “I accept.”

Jake groaned, and Andrew turned as white as a sheet. “Well, everyone back away. Duel’s starting,” Jake said as he started shepherding the party away from us.

That made me curious. “Hey [Hero], how do duels actually work?”

“Well, you already decided the conditions, and both agreed. So you’re gonna get a countdown, and then the duel will start. If you violate a restriction, you automatically lose. Also, the defeat and victory conditions are enforced by the system.” He gestured at a small clearing. “Please fight over there so that we don’t accidentally get caught up in this. Interfering with a duel is a crime, and I really don’t wanna deal with another fine.”

Wow, this is a bit more serious than I thought. Then I noticed what he said. Wait, another fine? My surprise was cut short.

System: Duel begins in 3

We both ran into the clearing.

System: Duel begins in 2

I ran up right next to him.

System: Duel begins in 1

A look of panic came over his eyes as he realized that he hadn’t made any rules against me starting the duel literally within arm’s reach, “Wait! No!”

System: Duel Start!

I barely had to move to grab the kid and then pin him to the ground. I threw his wand away from us and pinned his arms behind his back, but he managed to shoot me with a [Mage Bolt] from his hand. It turns out the wand isn’t necessary for casting, which was news to me. I just grumbled and adjusted my pin until he no longer had a way to cast it.

He struggled uselessly. I asked, “Do you surrender?”

“No!” He spat.

“Look, I would really rather not hit a kid, but I will if I have absolutely have to. I can keep you pinned here with just one hand and whale on you with the other.”

After a moment, he finally stopped struggling. “I surrender.”

System: Duel Victory!

System: Duel outcome – no victory condition specified

I hauled him back to his feet. “You see, your class has good AOE, but it’s awful at 1 v 1. Especially if-”

Tim cut me off, “You only succeeded because you started within striking distance! I demand a rematch!”

I got another duel notification.

System: You have been challenged to a duel by Tim

Restrictions: No use of the Elemental Strike skill. Titus must start 100 feet away

Victory condition: 1/4 HP or opponent surrender

On Tim Victory: Titus will admit Tim’s superiority

On Titus Victory: N/A

Meanwhile, Jake and Andrew had made it over. They both started speaking at the same time.

“Okay, that was a good duel, but Titus, I think you-“ Jake started.

“Tim, are you okay? I think that was enough we should-“ Andrew said.

I cut them both off by saying, “I accept.”

Jake groaned. “Dude, why? He’s just a kid. Just let it go.”

I raised an eyebrow. “He’s a member of our party, his attitude is atrocious, and if he keeps thinking he’s invincible, he’s going to get someone killed.”

Jake looked up at the sky, threw his hands up, and walked away. “Fine. Last duel. Anyone else wants to duel after, and they’re dueling me instead.”

I think dueling Jake might literally kill me. Especially if he uses [Sunder]. I then remembered that I only had a few seconds to get 100 feet away from Tim. I took off sprinting.

I made it with about a second to spare. 100 feet away meant that I was actually out of the clearing, but I figured it didn’t matter much.

As soon as the System said “duel start,” I took off sprinting towards Tim. I dodged two [Mage Bolts], but accidentally let a third hit me. Then Tim surprised me. “[Overchannel]!” His next [Mage Bolt] started growing as he fed more and more mana into it.

After a half-second, I simply stopped, walked back the way I came, and hid behind a tree.

“Coward! Come out and face me!” Tim shouted as his [Mage Bolt] continued to grow.

“Nah, maybe after you waste all your mana on your one-trick. That’s another weakness of your class, Tim! You can’t chase down enemies like a [Berserker] could. Or better yet a [Rogue].” I peeked out and saw that he was still putting more mana into the spell. “Aren’t you going to stop your [Overchannel]? You know you won’t hit me with that all the way from there.”

“You will have to come out eventually!”

“Eh, not really. I can just stay here and regen some HP.” I took a seat next to the tree and began waiting for my HP to start going back up.

I could just barely hear some whispers from the watching party members. “Is he really just going to take a nap in the middle of a duel?” I peeked out and saw that Tim was growing more and more frustrated.

I decided to play it up. “Hey! Do you guys mind! I’m tryin’ to sleep over here!” I could practically feel the rage emanating from the young [Wizard] in the clearing.

“Fine then! Take this!” He poured even more of his MP into the spell and unleashed it in my direction. I nonchalantly got up and moved away from the tree as his spell completely obliterated it. Or I guess as obliterated as video game terrain could be. The tree toppled over heavily, at least.

I whistled. “Daaaang. That is definitely a dangerous spell if I was 30 feet tall and completely immobile!”

Tim made an incoherent shout of frustration and then shouted again, “[Mage Bolt]!” I prepared to dodge but was surprised when nothing happened. “[Mage Bolt]!” He shouted again. Once again, nothing happened.

It took me a second. Wait. He ran out of mana? I started laughing and slowly jogging my way over to him. “Yet another weakness of your class, Tim!”

I missed the dangerous glint in his eyes. “Ha! You’re in range now! [Mage Bolt]!”

I was caught flat-footed, and the bolt hit me in the chest. That little sit. He faked being OOM.[1] I snapped my status open to check my HP and saw that I was down to 82 when I had started the first duel at 94. Still, only 4 damage a hit.

He didn’t land another hit on me. I dodged 5 more bolts before I finally pinned him to the ground.

“Do you surrender?”

“I do not,” Tim replied. “In fact, I believe I have the advantage here. You refuse to injure my person. Therefore I just have to obtain my freedom enough times to whittle you down.”

He struggled against my pin. I just sighed. “Look, Tim, you aren’t winning this. Your class is a long-range damage dealer. You’re almost useless in one on ones, especially if you are stupid enough to drain all of your mana at once like you seem to always do. If you can’t cast a single spell, you are literally a liability that we have to look after.”

“[Mage Bolt] is enough for the likes of you!”

“[Mage Bolt] does 4 damage. I’m pretty sure I can deal that much damage, and I only have my fists. Think this through for a second, I’m probably our weakest party member, and I can take you on in a 1 v 1.” That actually made him go quiet for a second, so I pressed my advantage. “So, you should really stop being so condescending to the rest of the party. Is AOE important? Yeah. But can you make a party without it? Sure. In fact, if push came to shove, I bet the [Hero] could probably do the whole dang quest by himself with his BS class.”

I thought I was maybe getting through to him, but it turns out he was just trying to wait for the right moment. He struggled free, got partially up, and made another cast. “[Mage Bolt]!”

I knocked his casting hand out of the way with my left hand and slapped him across the face with my right. He fell back to the ground, and I pinned him again.

“Tim!” Andrew shouted and started running our way. “Power of light restore health to my ally-“ he started casting.

I just stared at him. Tim took like, 3 damage there. Is he going to heal him from that?

“[Cure]!” Andrew finished. And I finally realized the target. It was not Tim, but me.

I fell to the ground writhing in pain. I barely noticed the system notification.

System: Duel interrupted. No winner determined

Damage check. Status. I thought almost out of habit at this point. I was down to 7 HP. Andrew had done 75 points of damage with his “attack.”

The [Cleric] loomed over me. “You’ll pay for hurting my son! [He-“

He was interrupted by a thunderclap. “ENOUGH!” Jake shouted. As we all turned to look at him, he called out more orders. “Garrett, take Tim and Andrew away from here until they cool off. I will have a talk with Titus. Rest of the party, watch for wolves, and see that we aren’t interrupted if possible.”

----

What a mess. Garrett thought. He had to practically drag the [Cleric] and [Wizard] away. “Andrew, you do realize you were about to murder Titus in front of the entire party, right?”

The [Cleric] growled. “He hurt my son.”

“He did maybe 5 damage to your son. A single wolf bite is double that!”

“And the party promised to protect Tim! If you’re not willing to do that, then we will just leave!”

Tim sniffed. “Communicate for yourself paterfamilias. As the preeminent member of this party, my presence is obviously required in order to save this new world.”

“Really?” Garrett crouched down a bit to look Tim in the eye. “Tim, your AOE is important, but you are no more important than any other party member. Titus was wrong to fight you, but he was right about that. And he was also right that your condescending attitude is getting really old.”

Tim sniffed imperiously again, but Garrett just looked at him steadily. Eventually, Tim spoke. “Wait, you are speaking in earnest.”

“Assuming you mean that I am serious, yes, Tim. I am serious.”

“I think that’s enough,” Andrew said.

“No, I don’t think it is.” Garrett turned to Andrew. “Andrew, we brought Tim’s behavior up to you several times and expected you to do your job as his parent. Since Tim’s attitude has just been getting worse, then we have no choice but to tell him party member to party member instead of parent to child.”

Garrett turned back to Tim. “Tim, you are not the most important member of this party. Please stop talking down to us. Also, stop misusing overly complex words. It doesn’t make you sound as smart as you think it does.”

Tim looked like he was struck by a thunderbolt. “Wait.. You take issue with my vernacular?”

Garrett nodded. “Yes. You use overly complex words all the time. Honestly, it sounds like a thesaurus threw up. Most of the time, the party can figure it out from the context, but it’s difficult to talk with you when you keep doing that.”

“You don’t have to listen to him, Tim. You don’t have to let him tell you how can and can’t talk.” Andrew interjected.

Tim stopped and thought for several seconds. “I will endeav-.. Try to use .. them less.”

“Thank you, Tim.” Garrett nodded.

“You are out of line telling my son-“ Andrew started.

Tim stopped him. “No. It was important… I mean, good to know. I hadn’t examined… looked at my behavior, and I… didn’t realize it was causing issues.”

Garrett thought he realized the reason for all the pauses. “Tim, are you really having that hard of a time not using big words?”

“I didn’t notice, but it seems my vernacular.. Err.. my word choice when I ... talk seems to default to ... difficult wording.”

“So, you’re not trying to? That’s just how you speak naturally now?”

“That is… right. I think that it may be a byproduct… consequence…”

“You don’t have to completely dumb it down, Tim. Just think about maybe changing out words like vernacular.”

Tim breathed a sigh of relief. “I think it may be a byproduct of this new world and class. That and my vocabulary has been expanding for no discernable reason.”

Andrew was silent for a bit, but when he spoke, his voice was worried, “How long has it been like that, Tim?”

Tim thought a bit longer. “I think... it started in the tutorial?”

Andrew wrapped him in a hug. “We’ll see if anyone else has dealt with something like this the next time we get a [Message]. Don’t worry, Tim, we’ll figure it out.”

I don’t know that that explains the attitude, but at least things have calmed down now. Garrett sighed. I hope things are going well on Jake’s end too.

---

Jake went and sat next to Titus in the clearing. “You know that you were out of line, right?”

Titus snorted. “What about Andrew and Tim?”

“Yes, they were too, but that doesn’t give you an excuse. Tim’s a kid. You needed to be the adult in that situation.”

“Tim’s a kid with powers that could get people killed. And if we are going to bring him along, then he needs to grow up. And quickly.”

“Well, congrats, you get your wish,” Jake stated dryly. “According to his stats, Tim is 13 now. He’s been gaining a year every month or so.”

“Oh.” Was all Titus said.

Jake’s voice got softer. “Either way, you still owe him an apology. And the rest of us too.”

Titus raised an eyebrow. “Why do I owe the party an apology?”

“You seriously don’t get it? You ran off into the forest alone! You could’ve died, and we had to come save you!”

“I didn’t need your help [Hero].” The last word was dripping in sarcasm.

Okay, Jake, deep breaths. Jake tried, but he couldn’t get his anger under control. “Augh, why are you so frustrating?!” Jake didn’t give Titus time to reply before he said, “I’m taking a walk.” He directed the next part to the party. “Make sure the idiot doesn’t die, okay?”

“I don’t need your help! I can get back to town on my own!” Titus stood up in a huff and stalked off.

Sam, Lindsey, and Emilia looked as if they were going to follow him. “Nah, let him go,” Jake said. He then gave a nod to Megan. Between that and the party communication, she got the message.

Megan nodded in reply and then crouched down in [Sneak].

----

Megan was able to follow Titus closely enough to catch what he was saying. “Stupid [Hero] with his BS class. Stupid [Cleric] almost killing me. Stupid stuck up arrogant prick of a [Wizard].”

He stopped and punched a tree. Megan winced, but he seemed fine. “Stupid game world.” Titus looked around. “You know, I probably would change my tune if either of those stupid admins had been able to change my class from [Demon Lord]. This class sucks. How can [Demon Lords] be this weak?”

Megan had almost tuned out his grumbling until he said the words [Demon Lord]. Wait, no way! She lost her focus on staying quiet and accidentally snapped a twig.

Titus’s head snapped in her direction. He looked down at the footprints and then up at Megan. “That’s you, right, Megan? I didn’t realize you had followed me.” He chuckled lightly and started walking towards her.

Megan deactivated [Sneak] and chuckled nervously. “Yep, I just had to make sure you stayed safe.” Megan had pulled out her knife mostly out of reflex, and Titus looked down at it.

“Ah, and you didn’t happen to overhear what I was saying, did you?”

Megan saw a dangerous look in his eyes. She started to panic and desperately sent the party thoughts of “send help” and “major enemy.” Then she spoke slowly, “Oh, nope. Didn’t hear anything.”

He started circling her like a predator. “Are you sure about that?”

Her hands started trembling. Then she remembered, he only has a little HP left. I can win. I can do this. She charged him and plunged the knife into his stomach.

Titus merely grunted, grabbed her knife, and twisted it out of her grasp. “I guess you heard it all then.” He grabbed her and shoved her up against a tree and covered her mouth with his hand.

Megan could feel the party coming to help her, but they had made more distance than she though.

Meanwhile, Titus was muttering to himself. After a bit, he seemed to have come to a conclusion. Megan was prepared to kick and fight when he suddenly released her. He looked completely downcast. “Please tell everyone I’m sorry. I didn’t know about the waves, or I wouldn’t have stayed in town. Also, I don’t want to activate the dungeons, but it’s my only way home. Tell everyone I’m sorry, and please don’t die, or I will never forgive myself.”

Titus turned to run right when Jake and Emilia showed up. “Megan! Are you and Titus okay?!” Jake shouted. Titus turned towards the newcomers and paled.

Megan had only a split second to decide. She looked at Titus and then back at her other party members. “We’re fine!” she shouted. “We got attacked, but Titus took care of it.”

Jake sighed. “See Titus, this is exactly why we can’t have you wandering off alone.”

Titus chuckled nervously. “Yeah. You’re right. Sorry.”

Jake looked surprised. “Apology accepted.” He looked over the party members. “Well, since we are here, why don’t we all walk back together then?”

“Actually, Titus, and I have something we still need to discuss. So why don’t you guys go on ahead? We will be a little bit.” She gave Titus a look that broached no argument. Titus simply swallowed in response.

“Oh, okay.” Jake gave a puzzled look. “I guess we will see you back in the village then.”

“Yup. But don’t get too far ahead in case Titus attracts some more trouble.”

Megan retrieved her knife while Jake and Emilia headed back the way they came to regroup with the rest of the party. As soon as they were out of sight, Megan told Titus. “Turn around and start talking. You have a minute to explain yourself. Any false move and I [Backstab] you.”

----

That minute was probably the fastest I have ever spoken. I covered how I was assigned the class and really didn’t want it, my talks with both game admins, my [Memory Protection] perk, and how I couldn’t even remember my mom’s name, and finally, the quest I was given that would let me go home. I had my back to Megan that entire time, and I felt sure that she would call me a liar and [Backstab] me at any moment. That normally wouldn’t be that scary, but at 3 HP, even her normal attack would be enough to bring me down.

What she said instead surprised me. “Turn around.” I complied. “Look me in the eyes and swear that you are telling the truth.”

“I swear that I’m telling you the truth.”

She scrutinized me for a second and then nodded. “Well, based on your performance earlier, I think if you were lying, I could tell. But why should I let you complete that quest? It sounds like you’re going to hurt people.”

“I was planning to do it in a way that should have no casualties. If I activate the dungeons just a couple days ahead of the [Hero], there shouldn’t be a problem. Other than that, I just have to stay outside of towns at night. Then as long as he brings enough adventurers to the portal, I figure they should be able to stop the demons from getting a foothold. That way, he gets to save the world, and I get to go home. Both sides win!”

Megan’s face was neutral, but I could tell she was thinking hard about something. “And you are sure you can get through the quest without causing casualties?”

“I mean, we have a [Hero]. And a [Hero] should be able to stop there from being casualties since that’s what they do. Especially since I am not aiming for any.”

She grinned and thrust her hand into mine. “Well, Titus, it sounds like you just got yourself a partner in crime.”

I shook her hand awkwardly. “I don’t get it. Why are you willing to help?”

She shrugged. “I guess it’s only fair that you know. The only reason I’m not in jail right now is that the party needs me around to fulfill the prophecy. So, it’s in my best interest to keep them from knowing that prophecy is bunk for as long as possible.” Her grin got wider. “Also, if I decide to steal from them later on, I’m sure that the saviors of the world will have a lot more stuff to take then they will if we stop you right now.”

We walked back to town in silence, and I couldn’t help my next thought. Girls are scary.

[1] OOM – Out of Mana. This one was probably clear from the context, but thought I would drop a note anyway. Usually pronounced like boom without the b.