-Welcome, Glenn Redwood.-

-We will now put you on your path.-

-Behold the man you used to be.-

His Status Sheet displayed in the void ahead.

Name: Glenn Redwood ==== Age: 16 Strength: 14 Level: 5 Divinity: 8 Class: Unassigned Luck: 7 HP: 120/120 Vitality: 12 Blood: 60/60 Wisdom: 6 Experience: 24029/29000 Prowess: 8 Gear: Common: [Commoner's Clothes] Common: [Commoner's Boots] Slotted Skills: Uncommon: [-Phantom Slice-] (Duelist/Vox) Slotted Blessings: Unassigned Known Skills: None Known Blessings: None

As his Status Sheet faded, the words of the Gods again appeared.

-Based on your temperament, accomplishments, and the needs of your people, the Gods have decided to grant you a rare honor only bestowed upon a blessed few.-

An Adventurer. He was going to be an Adventurer.

-The Gods call upon you to protect not just Townsfolk, and not just Adventurers. You will protect everyone. The Gods will now imbue you with power beyond your zone.

You will become a Town Guard.-

Glenn’s breath would have caught in his throat if he had one, yet he had no breath or throat now. His mind reeled. Those couldn’t be the words spoken in his head. That couldn’t be his fate!

Yet as a flow of unprecedented pleasure flooded his insubstantial being, it was all he could do to keep his sanity. Before him, on his floating Status Sheet, both his experience and current Level ticked up at a rapid pace. He’d never seen numbers move so fast!

He reached Level 6. He reached Level 7. And onward his experience numbers went, ticking up faster and faster, until finally the ticks slowed and everything settled. He was now Level 10, five Levels higher than should be possible for a person a mere 16 years of age, yet there was a word beside his level he’d never seen before. That word terrified him.

(Locked) -Honor your duty and protect your town, Glenn Redwood. Here is the man you have become.-

Once again, his Status Sheet displayed before the Brazier of Life. Yet this time, it had changed radically.

Name: Glenn Redwood ==== Age: 16 Strength: 19 Level: 10 (Locked) Divinity: 8 Class: Town Guard Luck: 0 HP: 170/170 Vitality: 17 Blood: 60/60 Wisdom: 6 Experience: 61000/70000 (Locked) Prowess: 10 Gear: Common: [Commoner's Clothes] Common: [Commoner's Boots] Slotted Skills (Locked): Rare: [-Fight Me!-] (Town Guard/Kya) Uncommon: *[-Mighty Smash-] (Brutalist/Ansin) Uncommon: *[-Flash Heal-] (Lifecaster/Celes) Slotted Blessings (Locked): Rare: [+Unyielding+] (Any/Kya) Rare: [+Regrowth+] (Any/Kya) Rare: [+Statue’s Grip+] (Any/Kya) Known Skills: Uncommon: [-Phantom Slice-] (Duelist/Vox) Known Blessings: None

Before Glenn could fully process what he was seeing, his Status Sheet vanished once more, and the words of the Gods returned.

-As a Town Guard, your Level and all attributes are now Locked. Your ability to Slot Skills and Blessings is now Locked. Your ability to participate in Godly Contests, Godly Festivals, and Games of Chance is now Locked. Congratulations, Glenn Redwood. You are a Protector of All.-

The vision ended, and Glenn’s world popped anew. He gasped, kneeling on the pillows, in front of the statue. He stared at his upturned palms as if they’d just burst into flame.

“No,” he whispered. Wet flooded his eyes and ran down his cheeks. “No, this isn’t fair.”

A gentle hand settled on his shoulder. Richard’s hand. The old man spoke calmly and quietly.

“While the actions of the Gods may not make sense to us, rest assured that the Pantheon always acts in the best interest of the all,” Richard assured him quietly. “This may not be what you expected, but consider it a chance to grow and prosper. Put your faith into your Class. Level.”

“I can’t,” Glenn whispered.

“Even as Townsfolk, you’ll find the Levels come easily enough,” Richard said kindly. “The progress may not be as fast as you are used to, but it will progress even so. Just because—”

“Gods, old man, I can’t Level any longer!” Glenn all but shouted.

Richard removed his hand. “Do not blaspheme in this church,” he warned calmly. “I cannot offer counsel to a man determined to feel sorry for himself.”

Frustrated and too shocked to explain, Glenn simply rose, turned on Richard, and displayed his Status Sheet for all the world to see. Or, at least... Richard and the two young pages in the chapel. Glenn couldn’t, at the moment, remember either of their names.

Richard’s small intake of breath was the only satisfaction Glenn got from what should have been, otherwise, a rather massive surprise. It certainly had been to him. He had to be dreaming, no ... he was locked in a nightmare. He pondered slapping himself, but 19 Strength was no joke.

And 19 Strength? Gods. He might even be stronger than Karl Coldbreaker now, for what comfort that offered. It didn’t offer much. Because Rebecka Coldbreaker would leave Wolfpine tomorrow with Jenny Ambersun, to become a Blazer, taking the life they’d both dreamed about with her.

And standing at the gates eight hours a day was going to absolutely murder his remaining sanity.

Richard recovered soon enough. “I see,” he said quietly. “The Gods chose you to become a Protector of All. I should have known by the way you protected this town and its people.” And then, in a development that made absolutely no sense, Richard bowed. “Thank you.”

Glenn blinked. Richard shouldn’t bow to him. A Level 36 Spiritualist should never bow to him. Yet when Richard rose, he looked both calm and a bit relieved.

“You need to understand how rare it is for the Gods to choose a Town Guard,” Richard said, probably hoping to comfort him. “The last time the Gods honored a person like you was four years ago, and the Gods choose only those whom they judge valiant and kind. You will want for nothing. Coin, food, mead, a home … Wolfpine will provide it all, and gratefully, to thank you for your protection.”

“But I’ll never Adventure beyond the walls,” Glenn whispered.

“Mayor Coleman often assigns Quests to his Town Guards, and those Quests will take you across the zone,” Richard said. “Also, you can retire at age 40 and choose any Class you wish. It isn’t forever.”

Glenn trembled, thinking of Becka and the life they’d never have. “It’s more than long enough.”

Richard sighed. “I know it will not help, much, but take a look at your new Blessings. You will find them quite impressive. I know Scott certainly did.”

Scott Rosewillow must have been the most recent Wolfpine resident to be chosen as a Town Guard. He must have been the Town Guard chosen four years ago. Glenn could barely remember. He’d been busy wrestling pigs at the time.

“Look,” Richard offered softly.

Glenn couldn’t change his fate. No mortal in Balarel could challenge the Gods. So, at least, he could look at the three Blessings he’d just gained—three Blessings, when he should have only two, at Level 10—and the new Skill he didn’t recognize. He started with the Blessings.

[+Unyielding+] – Shield – Any – Kya, Goddess of Duty – Rare: Gain +10 Strength and +10 Vitality when carrying a shield.

[+Regrowth+] – None – Any – Kya, Goddess of Duty – Rare: While outside of combat, your Health Bar and Blood passively regenerate at a vastly improved rate.

[+Statue’s Grip+] – Shield – Any – Kya, Goddess of Duty – Rare: You will never drop your shield unless you wish to do so.

Glenn gasped as he focused his still shocked mind. Those Blessings ... were those truly his Blessings?

[+Statue’s Grip+] he could take or lose, but [+Regrowth+]? How was that fair to anything? And Gods, with [+Unyielding+], he would have 29 Strength and 27 Vitality any time he carried a shield. Those attributes were better than a Level 20 Adventurer!

“Look at [-Fight Me!-],” Richard said softly. “Think of all the lives you can save.”

Glenn looked. The desperate curiosity he’d always possessed about the Skills the Pantheon had made available to their Town Guards pushed past his grief. He needed to know.

[-Fight Me!-] – None – Town Guard - Kya, Goddess of Duty – Rare: All enemies in 50 paces will abandon their targets and attack you alone until defeated. 30 Second Cooldown.

This wasn’t just a simple [-Taunt-], a low level Brutalist Skill that allowed them to temporarily Anger a single target for 20 seconds. This was every Monster, Demon, and Desouled for 50 paces in all directions, forever, until they all died. How could a person even survive that?

Yet Glenn supposed when you were 2 Levels higher than every Monster in your Level 8 zone, and you had Strength and Vitality rivaling a Level 20 Adventurer, and you were wearing [God Armor] while swinging around a giant [Guardian Mace], even “everything” rarely stood a chance.

Gods, he could slaughter the entirety of Crackpaw Mine in an hour or so.

Except he couldn’t travel to Crackpaw Mine or anywhere else without a Quest from the mayor, because he was forbidden from walking more than 50 paces from Wolfpine’s town walls until he turned 40 and retired. He would still leave the walls on Mayor Coleman’s errands, but never by choice.

The Gods, in one more breathtaking act of controlling absurdity, had granted him the one “boon” that would prevent him from becoming a Blazer and joining Becka as she Leveled through Balarel. And much as Glenn wanted to believe the Gods had no interest in any single mortal, this felt personal. As Richard had said, the Gods had chosen him. Personally.

His options now were few. He could cry and mope. He could rage and scream. Or he could stoically accept his new charge as all in Balarel did when the Gods delivered an outcome they did not expect, the same as his mother had done when the Gods chose her as Townsfolk.

He would honor this decision by the Gods. He would protect his town and people. He would take comfort in the fact that he was now powerful enough to save anyone who sought his help.

So long as they first stepped within 50 paces of the town walls.