If it weren’t for [Queen] Gertrude, y’all’d be speakin’ zambie right now.

Common saying from Gert [Berserkers] in the decades following the [Necromancer’s] defeat

-----

I had no desire to stick around to see Gertrude’s reaction when she found out I skipped out on our fight. I took off down the street.

“I need to get moving. Time is of the essence,” I muttered to myself. “Heh. Get it? Time? Because of the time magic?”

The gathered shadows booed me.

“Oh, shut up!” I replied. “I thought it was funny!”

One of them threw something at me, and I flinched.

It took that long to realize that was all in my head.

And that was the primary reason for my urgency. It turned out that, unlike my wrath aura, I could not put this particular cat back into the bag.

And this was a malformed, mangy cat that was clawing apart the frayed remnants of my sanity like a crazy murder cat claws through-

I stopped and lightly slapped myself in the face.

Keep it together, Titus. Just a few more days. Speaking of…

“[Message] Sarah Smith,” I cast. “The [Necromancer’s] dead. Where are you? I really, really, need you right now.”

Sarah Smith: Really!? That’s great! But now that you’ve killed him, I’m afraid I have no further use for you.

Sarah Smith: Goodbye, Titus.

I closed my eyes. That’s too many words. It’s not real. It’s too many words.

It says something about my state of mind that the only reason I didn’t believe the completely out of character [Message] from Sarah was because it was more than the number of words I sent.

After a deep breath, I opened my eyes again.

Sarah Smith: Really!? That’s great!

Sarah Smith: Still 3 days out. Head west and look for the bonfire.

West. Bonfire. I can handle that. I clenched my fists. I have to handle that.

However, my distraction didn’t bode well for remembering a certain explosive surprise Tim had planted all around town.

I glanced down at my foot where the dark magic was gathering and didn’t even have time to form a coherent thought before it exploded.

The explosion sent me flying and then tumbling over the remains of the street, and I got up with a groan.

Ow. Why the frick didn’t we run into any mines during our fight? I asked myself. My immediate conclusion was something along the lines of the mines being set more towards the outer areas for some reason, but that train of thought was swiftly derailed.

“TITUS!” I heard Gertrude yell from across town. “Don’t think you can get away from me!”

I didn’t like the option of waiting there for Gertrude OR running through the mines. So, I instead decided to just [Sneak] in one of the wrecked buildings and pray for Gertrude to pass me by.

------

There’s a part of me that wonders if my longstanding paranoia of Gertrude comes back to our encounter in Besti. Sure, she’d killed me once in the tutorial where it didn’t really count and also beaten me in a fistfight, but I think Besti is where fear turned to abject terror.

You see… Looking back at my own memories, I can barely tell which are from my madness taking over and which are from Gertrude just being herself.

The yelled threats and promises of murder? A tossup.

Her randomly appearing behind me?... Okay, I guess that one is pretty obviously a fake.

However, there’s one more thing that I swear was just as real as any other. And that’s Gertrude walking over one of those magical landmines, getting chucked into a wall, and then getting up and activating another one.

Either my madness played tricks on me, or Gertrude was strong enough, and crazy enough, that her [Battlfield Regen] made her into a one-woman minesweeper.

Fortunately, it turned out that Gertrude and I weren’t the only ones who could activate the mines. Some hapless undead in another part of town must have triggered one because Gertrude sprinted off in that direction, yelling physically improbable things that she was going to do to me.

Or at least… I think that’s what happened. Either way, the upshot of it was that I was able to stealthily retreat out of town.

After that, my memories get even hazier.

What I do remember is seeing Sarah… at least 5 different times. Obviously, none of those were real.

However, she wasn’t the only one I saw.

I also saw Megan.

That hallucination… almost pushed me over the deep end.

However, I clung to the hope that Tim had given me with his dying words.

“Time magic... I can fix this,” became the mantra I repeated to myself over and over again. Fortunately, that was just enough to get me to the real Sarah.

---- 16 years ago, right after the church fire and Titus’ escape -----

Sarah was stunned for a moment after Titus finished his over-the-top act.

However, she didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Focus! People need you! She turned to the next patient, who had a bleeding gash running down her leg. “[Holy Restore]!” she cast.

It was as if her spell also restored the world to motion.

“He’s the [Demon Lord]! Don’t let him get away!” someone from the Watch shouted.

“No! If he’s the [Demon Lord], you need to leave him for the [Hero]! You won’t be able to take him down! Quick! Get his followers!” Fred shouted as he ran forward and tackled one of said followers to the ground.

Sarah knew that he had nowhere near the authority to make that kind of call. However, the rest of the Watch listened anyway. Whether that was because Fred was right and a [Demon Lord] was too dangerous to go after, or because they had so many other criminals they could take care of right in front of them, Sarah wasn’t sure.

Their decision was also reinforced because the cult had been thrown into chaos.

“Does that mean he truly is the lord of flame!?” one asked.

“No! It was a lie! Don’t be deceived, brothers and sisters!” another shouted back.

That schism, along with the fact that their leader was down for the count, made them sitting ducks for the watch… except for the ones that ended up being truly dangerous.

“Flee, brothers! Flee and alight this city with the purifying flame!” a cultist shouted as he tossed a vial of alchemist’s fire into a random building near him.

Others followed suit, and the chaotic night devolved even more.

However, Sarah didn’t notice most of that. She was focused solely on the injured.

All of them are stable. That means… “Wounded over here!” she shouted. “I’m a [Priestess] and still have MP!”

Sarah vaguely noticed that some [Watch Officers] and adventurers came to stand guard as she continued healing the people brought to her.

Until she was suddenly interrupted by a hand grabbing her scepter.

“Either help or get out of my way!” Sarah snarled as she looked up from her kneeling position at the 4’5’’ man who had dared to interrupt her.

Scratch that. The 4’5’’ dwarf.

The 4’5’’ dwarf in extravagant robes.

Sarah’s eyes widened. “[A-A-Arch Bishop]! Sir! My apologies!”

Samuel laughed. “Not to worry, my dear. I shouldn’t have startled you like that. However, it seems you were too focused on your work to notice me calling for you.”

Sarah could feel the blood drain from her face, but Samuel quickly reassured her.

“Don’t worry, young [Priestess],” he said. “I was just curious about the scepter you were using. I didn’t recognize that design of healing focus. May I see it?”

His voice was kind. His posture was non-threatening.

His grip on the Hero’s Scepter was like iron.

Sarah was aware that he would take a look at it whether she wanted him to or not. “G-go ahead, sir,” she stated.

“Thank you,” he answered kindly.

She heard him whisper an [Identify] at her scepter.

Oohhh, no. Sarah thought.

His eyebrows shot up, but he quickly schooled his expression. “[Restore],” he cast as he placed the scepter on the human woman who was initially going to be Sarah’s next patient.

The scepter slipped out of his hands and clattered on the ground.

Everyone around except Samuel jumped.

He laughed again. “Sorry, everyone! Fingers aren’t quite as dextrous as they once were. It slipped right out of my hands!” He handed the scepter back. “Since she seems to have things settled here, I will leave this area to her. Keep up the good work!”

He leaned in and whispered, “I will be back soon, [Hero]. You aren’t safe here if you’re found out.”

Sarah was shaken, but she managed to whisper back, “But what about the wounded?”

He gave a small laugh and shook his head. “I see now why you were chosen, Sarah. I suppose we shall just have to bring them to you.”

----

True to his word, Samuel was back soon with two others.

Richard Williams, [Guildmaster] of the adventurers guild, and Ethan Chambers, [Guildmaster] of the mages guild.

Three living legends were watching over her. She was probably the safest person in all of Vir… and the most nervous.

Fortunately, focusing on her work helped with her shaking hands.

However, despite herself, she ended up accidentally eavesdropping on a bit of their whispered conversation.

“You have a lot of nerve coming to me after all this time,” Richard said to Samuel.

“And you had a lot of nerve for what you asked of me,” Samuel replied. “Yet, here you are.”

“I just wanted to see what the idiot who practically sold the church to the [King] could possibly want. You do know that it’s your fault that most adventuring parties have to make do without a [Cleric], right?”

“And if you had your way, only those who could afford it would have been receiving treatment from us.” Samuel snorted. “Yes, I knew that allowing us to be supported by tax money would have repercussions, but they were well worth it.”

“Well, I-“

“Please. Both of you, can we get past the disagreement about the socialization or privatization of health care for one moment?” Ethan asked with a sigh. “I’m sure Sam wouldn’t have called us here if it wasn’t for a good reason.”

“You’re right. Of course,” Samuel replied. “I believe I have found the [Hero].”

“The [Hero]!?” Richard exclaimed.

That drew looks from everyone present. Even Sarah for a brief moment.

“Well, where is he?” Richard asked with his voice down to a whisper again.

“She is right over there healing the injured,” Samuel replied.

“A female [Hero]? Are you sure?” Richard asked.

“She has the Hero’s scepter and even stronger healing abilities than me. If she isn’t the [Hero], then I’m not the [Arch Bishop].”

“A healing female [Hero],” Ethan stated. “Fascinating.”

Unfortunately, some of the next wounded included a crying infant, so the rest of the conversation was drowned out.

On the plus side, that meant that she could focus a bit more on her healing… at least until the next pair of legends arrived.

“[Halt]!” the [Watch Officer’s] that the [Arch Bishop] brought along stopped them before they entered the church. “State your name and your business here.”

“Sam Newman, adamantium ranked adventurer. I’m here to help out. This is my husband Garrett [Retired adv-], oh wait. Shoot. I forgot he got his levels back. This is my husband, Garrett Newman, who I guess will also be an adamantium ranked adventurer once we get things sorted out with the guild.”

She heard the man chuckle. “I don’t know if they accept [Berserkers] anymore, dear.”

Sarah treated the next patient, and when she next looked up, she saw the duo walking her way.

And, of course. 2 people from Jake’s party show up now. Why not?

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Sarah asked as she continued healing.

“No, but there might be something we can help you with,” Sam replied. She waited until Sarah had finished healing the next patient before leaning in and whispering. “I heard that you’re the new [Hero]. Don’t worry. We’ll help keep you safe until you get your feet under you.”

And so, almost without her consent, Sarah’s party was formed out of a level 8 [Hero] and some of the highest level adventurers in the land.

-----

The party had been a bit disappointed when she insisted on staying at her church and healing people instead of going off on adventures. However, they quickly worked out a rotation for people to keep an eye on her.

It was Sam’s turn one night, when they got a knock at the door.

“Coming!” Sarah called. “One minute!” She rolled out of bed, took a moment to make sure she looked presentable… or at least presentable enough, and then went and opened the door.

“How can I-“ Sarah was cut off midsentence as the men at the door shoved past her and began searching the church. “What are you doing!?” she asked.

“I’m [Special Investigator] Thomas,” the man remaining at the door said as he flashed a badge. “We’re a new organization dedicated to rooting out those who worship demons. Now, I’m going to ask you some questions.” He pulled out a truth stone. “Are you associated with the [Demon Lord] or his cult in any way?”

“Now wait just a moment!” an irate Sam shouted as she strode out of her guest bedroom. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to!?”

A quick whispered conversation later, and the man was suddenly very apologetic. He ordered his men to wrap things up, and they soon had moved on to the next door.

“Dang inquisition,” Sam muttered.

“Inquisition?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah, they’ll probably call themselves something fancy like ‘investigators into demonic affairs,’ but I recognize an inquisition when I see one,” Sam stated.

Must be something from Earth? Sarah almost asked when she realized she had a more important question. “Wait. What did you tell him?”

Sam shook her head sadly. “Sorry, Sarah. I should’ve asked your permission first. I told him that you were the [Hero], and so there was no way you could possibly be associated with the [Demon Lord] in any way. I figured that was the only way to get them off your back for good.” She paused. “Oh, and don’t worry. I got him to swear on the truth stone he had that he wouldn’t reveal that information to anyone.”

“Well, that’s… good?” Sarah replied. She had heard the rumors about Sam going off to hunt down the [Demon Lord] alone, so she wasn’t sure what she would think if she found out the two of them were close. Fortunately, due to Sam’s handling of that officer, Sarah wouldn’t have to tell her.

After that, the two settled into their beds as the “[Special Investigators]” of the [King] continued to do their work.

------

As for Sarah’s party, it was only a few days before the first argument came to a head.

“I still think we should have her go and claim the earth dungeon,” Richard argued. “We don’t know what Titus is up to, so it would be better to cut off his options just in case. Besides, it would do morale good for people to know that the [Hero] is out there and doing something.”

“But does it have to be the earth dungeon?” Garrett asked. “It’s in the swamp, and it will be hard to protect her from the stranglevines. Wouldn’t it make more sense to get safe passage through Pumil and Gert to go to the ice dungeon?”

“I think you all are forgetting who is in charge of this party,” Sam replied with a withering glare. The others shrunk down a bit, and she turned to Sarah. “I know you’re most comfortable here healing people, but as a [Hero], I’m afraid you’re going to have to move out of your comfort zone sooner rather than later.”

I guess I always knew it couldn’t stay like this forever. Sarah thought as she sighed. “You’re right. We can’t just sit here and do nothing. Let’s head south to the earth dungeon.” She paused. “Though, if you have any ideas for dealing with those stranglevines, I would appreciate it because I… don’t know that I can swim.”

“Actually… there might be someone we can contact to help out with those,” Sam said thoughtfully.

-----

“Well, heya! I gotta say that your [Message] sure was a surprise!” the unknown woman with a veritable army of daves following along behind her greeted them when the party made it to Faroff.

“Adilene, this is Sarah,” Sam replied. She continued in a whisper. “She’s the new [Hero], but things are a bit dangerous, so we’re keeping that under wraps for now.”

Adilene’s eyes widened. “Not to worry, I can keep a secret with the best of ‘em!” She turned to Sarah and shook her hand. “Pleased to meetcha! I’m Adilene, world-renowned [Monster Tamer]!”

“Uh… and I’m Sarah,” Sarah replied to the exuberant woman. “[Priestess]. Nice to meet you too.” She had a burning question that she just had to ask. “Why daves?”

“Because ain’t they just the cutest critters!” she replied. “Also, they’re dang good in a fight against monsters. You wouldn’t believe it.”

“But… aren’t they kinda… stupid?”

Adeline chortled. “That’s what they all think, right up until they see this!” She clapped her hands twice. “Performance time!” she shouted.

What followed was one of the most bizarre experiences of Sarah’s life. The daves began a choreographed routine as they bounced around. However, it wasn’t just simple hopping. The daves attached to each other and made complex structures. At one point, they made a living conveyor belt and gently pulled Sarah up it until she was seated in a throne made of daves. At another point, most of the daves combined into a humanoid structure that began juggling daves.

“That was amazing!” Sarah said when it was finished.

“Why thank ya!” a beaming Adeline replied.

However, Sarah had one question.

“What about those daves?” she asked as she pointed at a group that hadn’t taken part in the “performance.”

“Ah, those are summons, not the real deal,” she said. “Not too many of ‘em left, but I keep ‘em around for memory’s sake.”

Sarah knew of only 1 dave summoner in the entire world, but she never did get to ask Adeline about it. She was too worried how the others would respond if she asked about Titus.

“Well, hows about we get this show on the road?” Adeline asked. The party agreed, and they were off.

-----

Sarah’s first adventure was surprisingly uneventful. With Adilene and a hoard of daves along to clear out the stranglevines, they made it into the earth dungeon without issue. Well, there was the slight issue that Garrett ended up having to pretty much drag her along underwater to get her inside, but that ended up being just a minor inconvenience.

“Where are all the monsters?” Sarah whispered to Sam as they began their trek through the dungeon.

“You know, now that you mention it, I think that the elemental dungeons don’t have any unless the [Demon Lord’s] activated them,” Sam whispered back.

They passed a long corridor with disarmed traps.

“No traps either?” Sarah asked.

“I guess not.”

They made it to the obelisk, and with no further ceremony, Sarah placed her hand on it. “Claim?”

System: The earth dungeon has been claimed by the Hero! The elemental dungeons have been reset and cannot be claimed by the Demon Lord for 50 years!

“Huh, so that’s how that works,” Sam said. “Weird.”

“Can’t argue with you there,” Sarah replied. “So… now what?”

Sam thought for a moment and then grinned. “Wanna hit level 10?”

-----

If Sarah had little to do during the trip to the earth dungeon, she played even less of a part in the Faroff Forest dungeon. To be fair, it was primarily Ethan and Sam who were doing all the work as the rest of the party stood around.

However, she wasn’t going to complain about the 2 new levels that she got or the 5 perk points.

She chose to use the perk points to increase her MP. She also picked up [Cure]. Then, she went into skills and was surprised to see she had two options. [Cast from SP], and [Animae].

Samuel had to explain the second one. Apparently, that was the name of the school of spells related to healing. In other words, a skill that would make basically everything she did stronger.

So, her heroic duty complete and her healing abilities greatly amplified, Sarah planned to return to her life at the church healing people.

Unfortunately, the undead would have something to say about that.

A wave of undead bigger than anyone had seen assaulted eastern Vir. Sarah was hesitant, but after learning that healing hurt the undead, she decided that she and her party had to help.

They drove the undead back, but Sarah herself was almost a casualty. She was simply too frail to run around healing, and none of her party was quite up to the task of protecting her.

None of them had the [Knight] class, after all.

However, that gave both Richard and Samuel some ideas…

------

“Please tell me this is a joke,” Sarah groaned as she examined the sketch of their proposed solution.

A sketch that detailed an ornate golden palanquin that would be carried by a group of 8 men.

“No, it’s quite serious,” Samuel replied. “Your healing spells only need line of sight, so they can carry you around and protect you. That will also save you stamina which you can then use to fuel even more spells.”

The scary thing was that she saw the logic behind it. She sighed again.

“And these 8 men will be?”

“Chosen [Knights],” Richard jumped in. “Or, if the deal Samuel and I have proposed works out, [Paladins].”

“[Paladins]?” she repeated the unfamiliar word.

“They’re a type of holy [Knight]. We think that we may be able to create the class by having some level 10 or higher [Knights] take an oath of fealty to the church.”

She looked back and forth at the men who were practically beaming with the brilliance of their solution. She gave up.

Mostly.

“Okay, but we need to make some changes here,” she said as she took the quill from Samuel. She reduced the number of carriers to 4, cut out the ostentatiousness, and that left…

“But that’s just a chair with poles!” Richard exclaimed.

Sarah snorted. “Yeah, and it will get the job done. If you want me on board with this, this is the compromise.”

-------

Sarah found that it was kind of amazing what you could get used to. She had gotten used to her frailty. She had gotten used to the presence of living legends. And eventually, she even got used to being carted around so she could heal people.

The last one took the longest.

However, Richard and Samuel had succeeded in creating a group of [Paladins]. They became her replacement party. 8 [Paladins] total set up in 2 groups of 4 so that one could cart her around while the other could stand guard or rest.

Despite how ridiculous it felt, it worked. Sarah became a prominent figure for the fight against the undead, and she even managed to level several times in combat against the horrors that the [Necromancer] sent.

Needless to say, word spread quickly about her being the [Hero]. She was praised as “the Saint,” and some practically worshipped the ground she walked on.

However, her interactions with those people were not the most awkward situation her newfound fame brought to her.

-------

“There’s a woman here who wants to see the Saint,” Joseph, one of her [Paladins], said when she was having a rare break back at her home church. “She said that she knows you personally.”

Sarah sighed. “Go ahead and send her in, I guess.”

After just a moment, a rattily dressed human woman strode in… who had silver hair.

She started tearing up. “My baby!” she shouted as she ran forward and enveloped Sarah in a hug… an action that would’ve ended up with her being skewered on two [Paladin] swords if she hadn’t raised her hand to stop them.

“Do I… know you?” she asked.

“Oh, forgive me. I forget that you were just a baby when I had to let you go, but look at you now! All grown up!” she said.

They talked a bit more, and Sarah was wary the entire time. She wasn’t sure if that was because of the overly familiar way this unknown woman was talking to her or if it was the faint scent of alcohol that was still on her breath.

Either way, the woman who claimed to be Sarah’s mother pretty much insisted on getting back into her life… and also getting a place to stay.

Sarah ended up making the excuse that she was working and would talk to her later, but she wasn’t quite sure what to do. She ended up [Messaging] Sam and asking if they could meet up and talk.

“I mean, does her story even make sense?” Sarah asked after she finished explaining. “How could a human woman have a beastborn child?”

“Oh, that’s pretty easy,” Sam said. “I have an elven grandkid after all.”

“What?” Sarah asked. She thought for sure that Sam was joking, but she looked serious for once.

“Garrett and I have a beastborn son named Jonathan,” Sam continued. “He couldn’t stand it in Vir and went off to Dryadal where he fell in love with an elven woman. They got married, and we now have a beautiful beastborn granddaughter… and a handsome elven grandson.”

“You’re kidding,” Sarah said.

Sam shook her head. “Nope! It seems like when a beastborn gets busy with someone of a different race, it’s about a 50/50 of what you’ll get.”

Sarah deflated. “So… she could actually be my mom.”

There was a bit of a pause before Sam spoke again.

“Well, even if she is your mom… do you owe her anything?” Sam asked.

“What?” Sarah blinked a few times.

“First off, having the same color hair doesn’t mean a thing. Hair dye exists. Second, even if she is the one who gave birth to you…” Sam paused for a moment and then sighed. “Look, I don’t know a good way to put this, but that woman abandoned you and is only coming back now that you’re famous. I’m not saying that means she has to have bad intentions, but-“ They stood in silence for a moment before Sam continued softly. “-don’t you already have a mother and father? The two who raised you?”

To keep a long and drama-filled story short, Sarah did not welcome the woman back into her life.

She also made it a bit more of a priority to visit the Smith orphanage and Mama Isabelle whenever she could.

-------

The years passed, and Sarah grew into her own. A part of her wished she had become a [Commander] or a [General] with her subclass since she frequently found herself calling out orders often from her elevated position.

Her group of [Paladins] had replaced her old party, and Samuel, Ethan, and Richard had long since gone back to leading their respective organizations. However, Sam and Garrett decided to stick by her anyway.

That was why she was there to comfort the aged Beastborn woman when her husband finally passed away from old age of all things.

Sarah wished that she could have done something, but the sad fact was that [Restore] couldn’t do anything to stop someone’s age from ticking up year by year.

However, that was not the only bad news from that period. Even with her help, the undead slowly pushed Vir’s armies back until they had to shelter in Vir itself.

The situation looked hopeless… until she received a completely unexpected [Message] from Titus.

It was months before they noticed the change, but after that, she could tell the numbers were decreasing ever so slightly and that the zombies seemed a bit more distracted than usual during their fights.

She knew that it was Titus’ doing and that soon he would likely end up facing off against the [Necromancer] alone.

So… she proposed a two-pronged strike to Vir, Dryadal, and Gert’s [Generals]. Sarah would take an elite group and strike towards the heart of the undead, while Drydal and Gert would do the same from their side.

Despite all that, it turned out that she was too late. Titus had already managed to defeat the [Necromancer] by the time she arrived.

He also desperately needed her help if his [Messages] were anything to go off. However, bringing a bunch of [Paladins] to a meetup with the [Demon Lord] was not a good plan.

After getting Sam to swear she wouldn’t freak out, Sarah managed to sneak off away from the party with the older woman in tow.

I really should’ve told her beforehand, but I have no idea how she’ll react if she learns I’ve been [Messaging] Titus this entire time.

----- 2 days after the [Necromancer’s] defeat ----

Sam wasn’t sure why they were sneaking off that night, but her imagination was going wild.

Has she been [Messaging] Tim this whole time? Is that why we’ve made it this far? No. She doesn’t have a deceitful bone in her body. There’s no way. It’s way more likely that she got herself a long-distance boyfriend if her blushing is anything to go off. So, who could we be meeting? And why didn’t she want the [Paladins] here? And why did she want me?

Her frantic thoughts were cut short as she saw a figure limping along with an undead wolf clamped onto his left leg.

“Now, don’t freak out-“ Sarah started.

“Titus!” Sam freaked out as she sprinted forward and wrapped him in a hug. “It’s so good to see you! I didn’t think I’d get to see you again!”

However, Titus only gave her a blank stare in return. He continued trying to shuffle as if she wasn’t there.

“Definitely losing it,” he muttered. “Why would Sam be here. Wait. Why can’t I move?”

Oh, right. The [Hero’s] right there, and I’m hugging the [Demon Lord]. Sam released him. “I can explain!” she started as she turned towards Sarah.

However, Sarah looked equal parts confused and jealous. So, Sam immediately caught on.

Ohoho. So you were [Messaging] your boyfriend. Sam thought as she looked back and forth between the two a few times. She made her decision. Yup. I ship[1] it.

“Well, I guess I can leave you two alone for a minute,” Sam said cheerily.

“Wait… you’re not mad?” Sarah asked.

“No, of course not! As long as he’s in his right mind and not trying to take over the world, Titus is a good friend of mine.”

“Oh,” Sarah said quietly. “All this time… I thought that… nevermind.”

They both looked back at Titus, who was still trudging along with a zombie wolf attached to his leg.

“[Fire Bolt],” Sam [Quick Cast] at the undead dog. Titus blinked in confusion for a bit. “I think he’s pretty far gone at the moment.” Sam sighed. “Can you take care of that?”

“Of course,” Sarah replied, and she jogged over to him.

Titus looked up at her approach. “[Restore], please,” he said before beginning his shuffle again.

“[Holy Restore]!” Sarah cast.

Sam watched as Titus was bathed in the light of the spell.

“Oh, you are real,” he finally said.

“You idiot!” Sarah said with a laugh as she hugged him.

Sam tried to slink away. Don’t mind me, you two.

Titus returned the hug, but when he disengaged, he said, “So, wait. Was Sam here? I guess I asked her to look after you.”

Sam was caught before she could make her great escape, so the three of them ended up talking together.

Sarah and Sam caught Titus up on the going-ons of the past 16 years (including Garrett’s unfortunate passing). In turn, Titus told them about taking down the [Necromancer]. He even gave Sarah Tim’s items as proof of his death.

“But I haven’t gotten to the most important thing!” Titus said. “I got Tim’s notes, and I think I can fix everything!”

“You’ve found a way to undo undeath?” Sarah asked.

“No. Well, kinda. It’s more like it won’t have happened,” he gave a faltering explanation.

“And how are you going to pull that off?” Sam asked.

“Time magic!” Titus exclaimed. “I’m going to go back in time and stop myself from becoming the [Demon Lord]! Or at least stop myself from betraying you guys! I can save Megan, and the dragons, and even Besti!”

“No,” Sarah said quietly, but Sam could tell how much rage was buried under that simple word.

“No?” Titus asked her with a confused look.

“No!” she shouted. “I’ve put up with your near-heresy up to here, but time magic!?” She took a deep breath. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, and you’re going to come with me. Then, we’ll explain together how you took down the [Necromancer] so that my [Paladins] don’t butcher you on sight, and then we’ll have you renounce your cult that you probably should have told me about.”

Titus folded his arms. “First off, I had no part in making the cult. I just tried to keep them from doing stuff that was too stupid. Second, what if I don’t want to go back with you? And third, what the frick is wrong with time magic anyway? I’m going to use it to stop the destruction of an entire country!”

“What’s wrong with time magic? What’s wrong with time magic!?” Sarah groaned in frustration. “Alright, fine. I’ll spell it out to you. Which way does time flow, Titus?”

Titus eyed her suspiciously. “Forward?”

“Yes! Forward and only forward! We make our choices for good or for evil, and then we have to live with the consequences. If you can go back in time, that means you can interfere with others’ choices, and you may as well take away free will!”

“I’m not going to take away anyone else’s free will,” Titus stated flatly.

“Oh, but you’ll take away your own? You’ll undo the choices you made that brought you here?”

Titus snorted. “How cute that you think I had a choice. I never wanted to be the [Demon Lord], and I don’t care what your stupid religion says about it. I’m going back in time and fixing this.”

“That’s it!” Sarah threw her hands up. “The [Necromancer’s] dead, so we’re done here. Good luck finding someone else to heal you the next time you go crazy!” She turned her back on Titus and strode off.

“That’s why I’m gonna learn [Restore] myself!” Titus shouted after her. “I won’t need you ever again!”

Meanwhile, Sam was standing off to the side, desperately wishing she had gotten the chance to escape before watching their spat.

That ship sure sank quick. She thought as she watched Sarah stomping off.

“Time magic’s just a tool,” Titus muttered. “It can’t be good or evil.”

Sam sighed. “There might also be another reason that your plan upset her.”

Titus paused, and then recognition dawned on his face. “Oh no… you’re right.”

Does he finally understand her feelings? Sam felt a brief moment of hope.

“If I go back in time and save Besti… Sarah will never be born,” Titus concluded. “No wonder she’s so ticked!”

Sam couldn’t stop the second sigh from escaping. “Sure. That’s definitely one reason.” A man who is too dense to realize a woman’s feelings… and a woman who is too dense to realize her own. Maybe this ship is sunk for good.

Titus looked conflicted for a few moments but then whispered to himself. “But I have to do this to save Megan. I have to.” He paused and then looked at Sam. “Am I doing the right thing?”

Sam snorted. “Heck if I know.” She paused. “But, I know that you’re trying to fix your mistakes, and that’s something I can’t argue with.”

“Thanks, Sam,” he said softly.

Sam looked over at Sarah, who had covered a bit of distance, and realized she probably shouldn’t leave her alone in the middle of the Besti deathlands.

She wrapped Titus in another hug.

“Make sure to keep in touch more this time, okay?” Sam said as they parted their hug. “If you let another 16 years go by without [Messaging], I’m pretty much guaranteed to have croaked.”

Titus gave her a slightly sad smile. “I promise.”

-----

With my newly restored rational mind, I decided the first order of business was definitely picking up my own copy of the [Restore] spell. I had other pressing goals, but I figured that none of them would end up mattering much if I wasn’t sane enough to see them through.

1000 years. That’s the limit. I thought as I ran north towards Dryadal. And technically, I’ve already used up almost 70 of them. I frowned. Wow. Dying really sucks. I’ll have to make sure to avoid it in the future.

That “no duh” moment complete, I took a brief glance in my inventory and saw Megan’s necklace. That was enough to pause my run.

I pulled it out and cradled it in my hand.

“I know I didn’t keep my promise the last two times, but this one, I will,” I said. I gripped it tightly as I closed my eyes and fought back the tears. “I will save you. No matter what.”

However, I didn’t let myself wallow in grief for long. That would be counterproductive to keeping my promise, so I looped the necklace around my neck and took off running again.

I did also have a dragon egg sitting in my inventory. However, I mostly put it out of my mind. Time travel was going to be the fix for my genocide of the fire dragons as well.

My run was uneventful except for a few random undead attacks, but they were nowhere near a threat without Tim around to coordinate them. It was a simple case of smash, loot, and move on.

Like that, I eventually found myself at the river separating the remnants of Besti and Dryadal.

Should be able to pick up [Restore] soon. Just have to find a church somewhere. That should be easy, right?

-----

Despite my confidence, it took a few weeks of searching before I finally found a town. The undead had done a much bigger number on Dryadal than I thought they had.

And when I say I found a town, I mean it. It wasn’t a bunch of interconnected treehouses in the woods or some mythical-looking place of wonder. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the sheer number of elves I saw walking around, I would’ve thought that I had somehow stumbled back into Vir.

System: Zone entered, Bastion. Faction – Dryadal

Well… I guess the zone notification would have made that a difficult sell. That and there was a marked difference in how people reacted to beastborn; they didn’t even get a sideways glance from the elves.

However, I was a bit hesitant about just marching into town. I decided there was no reason to not just [Sneak] in along with another group of people when they entered the gates.

That was the right call. Apparently, Vir had managed to get wanted posters with my likeness all the way out to Dryadal.

Come on! I complained as I saw the first one. It’s been more than a decade!

Putting my grumbling aside, I realized that didn’t mean my chances of getting [Restore] were completely shot yet. I just needed a plan.

I need a disguise. I finally concluded. I started sneakily looking in shop windows. A change of clothes and… Oh. I stopped short as I saw a simple item that would take care of the main thing differentiating me from the rest of the beastborn.

I grinned as I snuck back into the alleyway.

Now I just need someone to buy it for me…

The wanted posters I had seen next to mine gave me an idea for that.

I just had to wait for nightfall.

------

I kept myself busy throughout the day by [Sneaking] around, occasionally leafing through Tim’s notes (which were fascinating but gave me a bit of a headache), and just generally second-guessing my plan.

I mean, the watch has been looking for this guy for months, right? I asked myself when it finally got dark, and I began my own patrol of the town. There’s no way I’ll find him just by wandering around-

My thoughts were cut short as I heard the faint sound of a lock clicking open and a door opening and closing.

Oh. That was easy. I thought as I put my ear up to the shop’s door and heard someone rummaging around.

I made sure my cloak was up over my head. Then, I made my move when they were done ransacking the place. As soon as the hooded figure slipped out the door, my hand slipped over their mouth and muffled their scream as I dragged them into a nearby alley.

“You’ve certainly been busy,” I said in a raspy voice. It wasn’t exactly the best plan for hiding my voice, but I didn’t think I had too much to worry about. A [Thief] didn’t seem like the type to turn me in.

Meanwhile, they were still panicking and struggling against my grip.

“I have a deal for you,” I said. “You get some items for me. Legally, if possible. And I pay you a few of these.” As I said the latter part, I pulled out two 100-gold coins between my fingers and waved them in front of his face.

That calmed the struggling.

I slowly released the [Thief].

“What kind of items?” the [Thief] asked as she turned and looked at me.

Megan. I thought as I staggered backward.

Meanwhile, the obviously elven woman just continued looking at me warily.

I clutched the necklace around my chest and tried to force the vision away. Focus. She’s not Megan. Megan’s dead. But you’re going to bring her back. Focus.

“I have a list,” I stated in the same voice. I slipped her a piece of paper. I had actually ended up stealing that paper and a pen from one of the shops in the area. I felt a bit bad about it, so I had made sure to leave them some gold for the trouble. Assuming they even noticed something so small was missing.

She took the piece of paper and tucked it into her inventory.

“Alright, and payment?” she asked.

I held the two coins back up. “These for accepting the job and for expenses. As I said, I want these items legally if possible. You’ll get 2 more on completion.”

Her brow furrowed, and she pulled the list back out.

“Why not just buy this stuff, then?” she asked. “Why come to me?”

I pulled out a third 100-gold coin. “And this is the payment for not asking questions.”

She shrugged. “Alright. Deal.”

We shook hands, made arrangements to meet there the following night, and then she slunk off into the shadows.

When we met the next night, she tried to be subtle about it, but I noticed the group of people [Sneaking] along behind her like they were lit up by a strobe light.

Eh, I guess I’ll see if she brought the stuff. I thought. In other words, I was outnumbered 8 to 1 and nowhere near worried.

I snuck up right next to her and then asked in the same raspy voice, “Do you have what I asked for?”

“By the blue text!” she swore. Then her voice dropped to a whisper. “Did you have to do that?”

I ignored her. “Do you have what I paid you for?”

“Here,” she said as she pulled out a bundle of clothes and then subtly motioned for the others waiting in the shadows.

This is probably gonna get ugly… I thought. I just need… Ah, there we go. I put on the single item that was the only one I was actually worried about for this exchange.

“As promised,” I said as I tossed her the two other coins.

She smirked. “I’m afraid that deal is going to be… renegotiated.” She gestured, and the others stepped out of the shadows.

It was a pretty motley crew. Male, female, elf, beastborn, and even a couple shirtless humans I assumed had to be [Berserkers].

“Aww, an equal opportunity crime ring,” I stated in my normal voice. “How sweet.”

For her part, she ignored me. “I’m thinking double… No, triple the payment should suffice,” she said. “After all, we’ve got quite a few mouths to feed.”

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid that’s all the money I had,” I lied. In actuality, I could have paid that amount a couple times over. Just a couple of times over, though. Unfortunately, undead and dragons don’t drop any coins, and they were all I had fought for the past 16 years.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked. “Things might get… ugly.”

Snickers, jeers, and even a “yeah, that’s right!” were added to the mix.

I sighed.

“So, are you threatening me?” I asked.

“What are you, an idiot?” she snapped. “Yes! We’re threatening you! Give us your gold, or we’ll take it from your dead body!”

“Ah good,” I nodded sagely. “Just wanted to make sure I had my story straight for when the watch got here.”

I had scarcely finished speaking when I [Flash Stepped] forward and sucker-punched the woman in the gut with a non-lethal [Fire Strike].

------

Eadric, the [Watch Officer], yawned as he continued his rounds.

“Stop that,” his partner Anton said as he nudged him.

“I can’t help it. Too many night shifts in a row. I tell you, elves aren’t meant to be nocturnal,” Eadric replied.

“Neither are beastborn, but you don’t see me whinin’,” Anton jeered as he elbowed him.

“Haha, maybe you’re just fine on the night shift because you laze around all day. You mangy cat,” Eadric taunted back.

Anton was about to reply, but he paused. “You hear that?” he asked.

Eadric paused. “No,” he replied quietly to let his partner focus. He trusted Anton’s hearing far more than his own.

“Yelling, maybe a fight?” Anton continued. “I think that-

Eadric heard a woman scream, and they both took off running. He reached up and keyed his speaking artifact for transmission. “Dispatch, Unit 12 responding to a disturbance in the lower city,” he stated.

“Acknowledged,” dispatch replied. “Unit 9 is also en route. Provide more details when available.”

The two officers raced down the street, with Eadric following Anton’s lead.

“There!” Anton shouted.

They turned down an alleyway, and what they saw nearly curdled their blood.

A single figure stood in the alley with 8 bodies strewn around him. Even at that distance, approaching it seemed like it would spell their doom. Their training was forgotten, and they both stood frozen in terror.

Until just as suddenly, the pressure abated, and the figure turned to them.

“Oh, the watch! You guys are a bit late, but better late than never, right?” the figure said as it tossed back its hood.

That was enough to shake Eadric out of his stupor. He keyed up his artifact again.

“Alley fight. Young beastborn male with red hair and dark glasses-“

“Is that a magic walkie-talk-” the man asked before clamming up midquestion.

Eadric continued with his report. “8 possible casualties, requesting backup,” he said.

The man huffed. “I made sure to go non-lethal on them! They’re all still breathing!”

Eadric gestured to Anton with his head to make the arrest.

Anton almost imperceptibly shook his head no.

Eadric just gave him a flat look.

“You know the deal. I arrest elves, you arrest beastborn,” he whispered.

“But-“ Anton replied.

“So, get moving, and I’ll check on the victims.”

Anton took a deep breath. “Sir, hands where I can see them!” he said as he stepped forward.

“Wait, am I being arrested?” the man asked.

“You have the right to remain silent-“ Anton began reciting his rights.

Meanwhile, Eadric had reached the first body. An elven woman. Still breathing, but not conscious.

Okay, so there is some merit to what he said about non-lethal.

“-you have the right to an [Attorney]-“

Eadric checked the next body. Beastborn male. Still breathing, also unconscious.

“I’m telling you, they attacked me!” the man exclaimed.

Eadric looked over, expecting to have to intervene. Instead, he saw the man with his hands cuffed and a nervous-looking Anton still reading his rights.

“-With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak with me under the coverage of a truth stone?”

“Oh, the truth stone bit is new,” the man replied. “Yes. Yes, I do. I’m the victim here! These scoundrels told me to give them my money, or they would take it from my dead body!”

The truth stone that Anton had pulled out lit up.

Both officers were shocked… until Eadric got to the next body.

“He’s telling the truth, Anton,” Eadric said. He gestured down at the male [Berserker] at his feet. “Humans. Two of ‘em, it looks like.”

“Bloodthirsty savages,” Anton sighed. “Our apologies, sir,” he continued as he unlocked the cuffs. “Do you mind if I continue to ask you some questions about what happened and if I record your statement for their trial?”

Anton pulled out his recorder.

The man looked stunned for a moment before replying, “Oh, sure. Anyway, I’m new to town and was looking for someone to help me find a few things. I stumbled across her-“ he pointed at the elven woman, “and asked her to pick up some stuff for me in exchange for a bit of gold. She did, but she had a group of thugs with her when she came back. They demanded more money, or they said they would take it off my dead body.”

“I see, and what happened next?” Anton asked.

“Well, we got in a fight and-“ the man shrugged and gestured around them.

“And… how did you manage to beat 8 people? Nonlethally much less?”

“I’m a high-level adventurer, and I have a high level in [Martial Arts]. They weren’t actually much of a threat.”

“I-I think that’s all we need,” Anton stammered out as he closed the recorder.

Thankfully, their backup was starting to arrive, so the two officers had help as they began the process of carting the thugs off to jail.

Meanwhile, Anton and the beastborn man seemed to hit it off and got to talking. Anton was curious how he could even see anything with sunglasses on in the middle of the night, while the man was intrigued by the magic artifacts that the Drydal watch used.

The [Martial Artist]… no, [Monk] since he was definitely above level 10, explained that he had [Dark Vision] and that keeping his glasses on was for the best. Anton, for his part, explained how the speaking artifacts were a bit like a voice version of the [Message] spell and that dispatch had the other end of all of them to coordinate everyone.

“You need anything else from me?” the man asked as the criminals were finally all loaded up on the cart.

“No, we’re good here,” Anton shook his head. “Though, you’re sure you don’t want any of the reward money?”

He laughed. “No, I’m trying to keep a low profile. Thank you, though.”

As they were heading out, Eadric realized he had one last question.

“By the way, I’m [Watch Officer] Eadric, and this is [Watch Officer] Anton. I just realized we never caught your name.”

There was just a slight moment of hesitation before the man answered. “Jake. Nice to meet you both.”

Anton chuckled. “Well, Jake. I’m sure your parents will be happy to know that you’re working hard to live up to your namesake.”

The man winced almost imperceptibly before laughing with them. Then, they all waved farewell.

-----

Sunglasses were the best idea ever. I thought to myself as I merrily waved goodbye to the watch.

The watch that was being run very suspiciously like a modern-day American police station, but I decided not to focus on that.

Instead, I continued chuckling that such a stupid plan had worked. A part of me was sure the only reason that paper-thin disguise worked was that no one expected to ever run into me. There’s no way the [Demon Lord] would have the audacity to just walk around like a normal person, right?

I shook my head. Well, that was a bit more of an ordeal than planned, but I should still be able to hit up the church tomorrow morning.

With that in mind, I wandered around town, avoiding any more encounters with the watch, and knocked on the door of the local church early the following day.

“If you’re needing healing, you better be bleeding to death!” a grumpy female voice shouted moments before a portly elven woman answered the door.

“Hi, I’m here about [Restore]-“ I started.

“You and a hundred other people!” she replied. She looked me up and down. “Now, get lost and come back for your issue when the apocalypse isn’t breathing down our neck!”

The door slammed shut, and I was at a loss for words. So, I did the only thing I could think to do.

I knocked again.

“You again!?” the now irate elven woman asked.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding-“

“You lot are all the same! You come crawling to the church, begging for healing from a common cold or a cut on your pinky toe-“

“-I’m not here to be [Restored]-“

“Expecting to just cut in line of our brave soldiers who are dying to keep us all safe-“

“I’M HERE TO LEARN [RESTORE] IF POSSIBLE!” I finally shouted.

Her face blanked for a second before a wide grin split her face.

“Well, why didn’t you say so! Come in, come in!” she said.

I followed behind her and closed the door.

What greeted my eyes was perhaps one of the most nightmarish things I’d seen since coming to Placeholder.

Scattered throughout the entire building were the nearly dead. People with gashes running the length of their torso, others who were calling things out in feverish dreams, and even more whose bodies seemed to be decaying in front of my eyes.

“Here, take this,” the woman interrupted my thoughts by tossing me a white robe similar to what she was wearing. “As [Bishop] of the church of System during this time of emergency, I, Judith Greenleaf, declare you a [Priest].”

What. I thought as I stared at the robe and at the woman.

“Have you accepted the class yet?” she asked.

I blinked a few times. Okay, so the spell is tied to the class… and I guess I’m a [Priest] now?

System: Priest subclass has been set

“Uhh, yes?” I half-said, half-asked.

“Good, first patient is over here,” she said as she led me over to a man who was covered in decaying flesh and breathing erratically. “Now, use as much of your mana as you can.”

I kneeled down over him and then paused. “How is this even possible?” I muttered to myself.

Judith overheard me. “The HP that System has granted us can only do so much,” she said softly. “As it goes down, System’s protection of our bodies fade. That’s when people find themselves being given these conditions instead. This young warrior-“ she gestured at the man in front of me, “-is in some ways very fortunate. He survived a fight against several zombies if his body is any indication.” She shook her head. “But, even I could only ease his suffering a bit.” She took a deep breath. “So, that is also your goal. You will likely not cure this in one attempt, but [Restore] as much as you can.”

“Got it,” I replied. I placed my hands on the man’s chest. “[Restore],” I cast.

To be honest, I hadn’t even checked my spell listings to see if [Restore] was there. It would have been super embarrassing to find out that level 1 in [Priest] actually didn’t give me that spell.

However, I was fortunate that I got to be embarrassed by something else instead.

The healing power welled up in me… and I nearly retched.

Judith patted my back sympathetically. “I know, it can be a lot to take in. You’ll get used to the wounds soon, I’m afraid.”

I’m sure she would’ve taken a different tune if she knew why I was actually close to throwing up, but instead, I just took a deep breath and tried again.

“[Restore],” I cast. I fought through the nausea and soon found something strange. I could almost… feel the injuries and conditions resisting the spell.

It felt a bit like shooting a squirt gun at a bonfire.

However, I had the MP to spare, so I gradually amped up on the pressure.

The resistance eventually gave way, even though I could tell that I was not using my mana proficiently.

When I opened my eyes to the fully cured man in front of me, Judith was flabbergasted.

“But… how!?” she exclaimed.

Oops. “I… forgot to mention that I have adventurer class levels,” I said. “A lot of ‘em. So… I guess I just have MP to spare?”

The explanation worked, but it did land quite a bit more healing on my plate than I would have had to do otherwise.

------

The few days I stayed at the Bastion church were a novel experience. If I didn’t have [Biologically Needless], they also would likely have been a nightmare.

The standard progression for getting MP back is 1 hour for the first bar, 2 hours for the second, 4 hours for the third, and then 8 hours (which is usually overnight) to reset everything.

Those crazy Drydal [Priests] and [Bishops] apparently discovered that the 8-hour rest didn’t actually have to be sleep. So, they instead did 22-hour shifts followed by 8 hours of sleep, then repeat.

To spell out the math, they would [Restore] until they were empty, take 1 hour of rest, [Restore], rest 2 hours, [Restore], rest 4 hours, [Restore], rest 8 hours, and then repeat that entire cycle but actually sleep during the 8 hour rest period.

However, they didn’t actually rest during most of their “rest periods.” They did things like cleaning wounds, fetching water, or otherwise taking care of conditions in mundane ways. That probably shouldn’t have counted for rest, but given that I have rested in between blows in combat, I had no room to argue.

I, of course, cheated because my MP came back in 1 hour no matter what. So, we ended up with a lot of patients who were “miraculously cured.”

I made a lot of justifications to myself that I was only staying because I was “practicing a school of magic I was unfamiliar with” or “getting used to [Restore] so I could easier cast it on myself.” However, at the end of the day, I knew that I was wasting time there to ease my guilty conscience.

If I wanted to do the most good for the most people, the answer was undoubtedly to go back in time and make sure that none of these tragedies ever happened. So, I couldn’t stay there forever.

My reminder of that fact was as abrupt as my induction into priesthood.

-----

“[Restore],” I quietly cast on myself.

Apparently, it had been too long since my last dose because I saw a familiar notification.

System: Condition Lesser Madness has been removed

“Hey, Judith,” I asked.

“Yes, Jake?” she replied.

“How does the scale go for conditions?”

She nodded in understanding. “Ah, with how powerful of a healer you are, I keep forgetting how new you are to all of this.” She cleared her throat briefly. “Lesser, minor, major, greater. With conditions that have no modifier smack dab in the middle. A lesser wound is easily cured with a few MP, but a greater one often takes multiple [Priests] or [Priestesses] casting [Restore] in tandem.” She chuckled. “Or a single Jake.”

I chuckled along with her.

“Speaking of conditions, you’ve nearly emptied our church of the wounded, so I think it’s high time we deal with your light sensitivity,” she said.

“My what?” I asked as I looked at her in confusion.

“Now, just tell me when it stops hurting,” she said as she swiftly pulled off of my sunglasses and put a hand on my shoulder to begin casting.

Oh, great. I thought as she stared into my red eyes and froze.

I calmly pulled the sunglasses out of her hand and put them back on.

“Before you freak out,” I whispered softly. “Please give me a chance to explain.”

“Jake and I are taking a quick break!” Judith called out as she led me outside. She remained calm until we got out there, then it was near-panic. “Please, just don’t hurt these people. They didn’t do anything!” She paled. “Wait… It wasn’t a trick, was it? Your healing? What have you done to them!?”

I sighed. “No, it wasn’t a trick. I came here to pick up [Restore] to help maintain my sanity so that I don’t hurt people. As for healing the others… I guess I just wanted to try to atone for what I’ve done.”

Judith was suddenly very quiet.

“I’ll leave now to not cause you any trouble,” I continued, and I started walking away.

“Wait,” she replied. “I am obligated by my duties to the church to report you, but…” She took a deep breath. “I’m terribly busy, so I might not be able to make the report for… a week or so.”

“Really?” I asked.

She nodded. “And where are you headed next?” she asked. “Since I am obligated to report that information as well.”

“South to the Besti Deathlands,” I lied. Then after a brief pause. “Thank you, Judith.”

“You’re welcome, Ja… Titus,” she replied. “May System bless you on your path to atonement.”

I gave her a soft smile and turned away.

My brief interlude as a healer was done, and I was already planning my next steps.

Okay, now I just need to master time magic. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?

[1] Ship it – Shipping is a term used for pairing up people in relationships in differing types of media. AKA if you think that two characters belong together you “ship them.” However, the nature is such that you do not have to ship people that make sense or have even interacted at all.