"Nathaniel, would you please answer the question on the board?"

My head snapped up from my desk (school time nap) as Mrs. Schueler stared at my half awake form. A stern woman, she was known for her harsh rebukes for wrong answers. The student body secretly called her the Slayer behind her back. According to the rumors, ten students had disappeared, each last seen entering Mrs. Schueler's classroom for detention.

Blinking my eyes, I read the question on the chalkboard.

It read: Sally has 5 apples. She gives 2 to John. How many apples does Sally have now?

I feel like I have heard this exact problem back on earth when I was young before.

"3 apples" I answered.

"Correct Nathaniel," Mrs Schueler replied, "Just next time make sure to address me as Ma'am."

"Yes . . . Ma'am."

Mrs. Schueler shut her lesson book.

"That is all for today, remember that tomorrow is Rolanosh day, which means no school tomorrow. Make sure to behave and be responsible, especially if any of you are attending the Rolanosh festival in Cree Village. There will lots of travellers, so don't get lost."

~The Next Day~

“So Nathaniel, are you excited for the festival today?" Lufis asked me as we walked toward Cree Village, followed by our parents.

"I honestly don't know what to expect. I know that this holiday is in remembrance for a major battle with the demon hordes, but I have never been to festival before. I hope I will learn a lot."

While that might seem to be a pretty sappy thing to say, I meant it quite literally. When I had heard yesterday about travellers at the festival, I was already getting high hopes for this festival. I haven't learned much in the past couple of years, due to being stuck in school. Now that I am six, I really need to make progress in understanding more of my situation. Did I forget to mention that my birthday passed since school started up again?

I have raised my level a bit, though some stats changed due to my summer training, aka my xetral points and strength went up like crazy. Looks like you can increase your stats without leveling up.

{Status:

Name: Nathaniel Armis

Level: 24

LP: 157/243

Tier: 3

HP: 81

XP: 191

STR: 94

VIT: 49

DEX: 58

DEF: 54

INT: 147

WIS: 120

LUK: 57

CHA: 92

Deviant: Unique-Lightning

Description: Excited, Hungry}

As we approached the inner gate to the village, I could already see how packed it was. There were people everywhere. The smell of food was winding through the crowds and wafting through the air. I could hear the sound of laughter and music blending together to harmonize the seemingly joy that was overflowing the streets.

"Why if it isn't the inseparable duo, Nathaniel and Lufis. What trouble are you bringing today?" A shiver ran through my spine at the familiar voice.

"Hello Miss Wetse, how are you doing?" I said as I stepped out of her deadly range.

Lufis didn't react as fast as I did. He was instantly trapped in her grasp.

"Hell . . . ll . . . oo . . .Miss . . . Wetse . . ." Lufis managed to stammer out as his ribcage was crushed.

"You two have fun at the festival now." Miss Wetse said as she released Lufis, who fell to the ground.

"You okay?" I asked as I pulled Lufis to his feet.

"I'll be alright."

"Boys, you guys can go play with the other kids. Here is a bit of money for you to get yourself some food. Be back here at Miss Wetse's booth when the bell tolls four times." Mikel said as he patted both our heads before giving Lufis a small bag.

Talk about protective parents.

Me and Lufis decided not to go and play but rather explore the festival, which is what we proceeded to do during most of the day. There were many plays which involved Roland fighting off a bunch of demons, which had obvious magical effects. We had lots of food, which consisted of grilled meat and desserts. Everyone wore lion masks, symbols of Roland's deviant ability, Lion's Roar. I hadn't learned anything new, which was a bit of a bummer.

As we finished eating our Triapops(a triangular popsicle with 3 different flavors), I noticed a familiar screen appear in the corner of my eye.

[Quest window(copyright of Ortus Otherworld Project)]

[Quest: A Helping Hand has been unlocked]

[Description: Are you a good citizen? Help your neighbor in need who is currently getting attacked by some shady people nearby. Time is of the essence.]

[Reward: Charisma +10, Xetral Points +10, All other stats +2]

[Yes/No]

Clicking Yes, I looked around quickly. We were on the main road, surrounded by shops and 1 . . 2 . . 3, 4. . 5 stalls and an alley.

"Hey Lufis, where does that shortcut lead to?" I said pointing to the alley.

"I don't know. Let's find out, not like we got anything better to do." Lufis replied.

We walked toward the alley which was a little hard to enter due to some public trash cans, where we threw away the triapop sticks. As we entered the alley, a young girl's voice cried out.

"Help! Anyone, please help?"

As my eyes quickly adjusted to the darker setting, I could make out a small figure on the ground with a cloak on, their head covered. Surrounding her were three tough looking guys. And there was a kid running toward them.

Lufis is always leaving me in the dust.

The xetral boosting my muscles allowed me to quickly accelerate as I ran toward the three guys and the girl. As I was several meters away from them, Lufis encountered the first guy.

"Hey kids, back off. You don't know what your getting into. You should head back to your pare-"

He was quickly cut off as Lufis, definitely using , jumped up and kicked him square in the face, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

"What the fuck?!" Grunt 2 exclaimed.

As a tall guy, Grunt 2 crouched slightly as he faced Lufis. Lufis quickly closed the distance.

Grunt 2 punched fast and hard right at Lufis' face. But Lufis was even faster. Jumping, he used the guy's fist as a spring board. Then grabbing Grunt 2's head in both hands, he slammed his opponent's face into his knee. Instant knockout.

At this point, I reached Grunt 3, whose face showed that he was definitely not going to give any chances that I would be weak. Pulling a knife from his back pocket, he stabbed downward so that the knife would enter into the side of my neck.

Twisting out of harm's way, I guided his hand downwards, using his own force against him. Then I kidney punched. Kind of a low blow, I know, but he was trying to kill me. Then I uppercut him in the jaw to make sure he was out.

"Are you okay?" I said, extending my hand to the girl on the ground.

"I'm fine, thanks." The girl said shakily as she took my hand standing up. Then, as if at a second thought, she let go of my hand and took a step backwards.

"Can I trust you? How can I know your not like the other people?" She seemed to be scared.

"Don't worry, we're just kids. My name is Nathaniel Armis, and I am six years old."

"And I am Lufis Lantideniz, also six years old."

The girl's eyes widened.

"Like the great hero? Roland?"

Lufis smiled sheepishly. "Yep, that's me, his direct male descendant. We heard your call for help, and I would never forgive myself if I didn't help someone who I could have helped."

She seemed to be hanging on his every word. "Well, huh, nice to meet you, my name is Trishia. And I guess I am about the same age as you."

Lufis continued his conversation, leaving me to stand there awkwardly surrounded by the unconscious grunts.

"Do you know why they were after you?"

Trishia seemed hesitant to answer. "Yes, but its complicated."

She paused for a moment.

"It might be easier if I show you."

Slowly she took off her hood. She had long dark purple hair and . . . . . .cat ears.

Fucking cat ears. She's a neko.

...

...

...

...

...

Looks like my day was worth it. A cat girl has got have cat parents, which means there is a cat civilization. Why haven't I heard about this before? Wait a second . . . . . . Cat girl hiding her ears gets chased by shady guys, no family in sight. Don't tell me there are a race forced to work as slaves or that she is the last of her kind? This just got dark quick.

"A Nekohito? I have never seen one before, but I must say I never realized they would be so . . . beautiful." Lufis said in amazement. And then started to blush after realizing what he said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it to come out that way-"

"It's okay.", Trishia said as she put her hood back on.

"Hey guards! There are some guys unconscious over here!" A voice at the end of the alley shouted.

Trishia quickly brushed off the dirt on her cloak and put a lion mask.

"I must go now. Please don't tell anyone I was here. Thanks Nathaniel and -"

She proceeded to kiss Lufis on the cheek.

"-Lufis. Thanks hero."

And then she ran off in the opposite direction of the voice we had heard.

I elbowed Lufis. "Good job, "hero""

"Shut up Nathaniel."

Lufis and I were interrogated by the guards, who calmly accepted the fact that we took out the three grunts. It helped that I recognized the older kick butt guard from the gobklin hunt. His name was Sergeant Walters. We explained to him that we heard a cry of help, but when we got there, only the three grunts were there, who attacked us. It also helped that the grunts in custody refused to talk at all. We did get a talking by Sergeant Walters about getting adults in dangerous situations like what happened. Then we were sent home to our worried mothers.

That night, I went to my quest screen, which I hadn't got to mess with due to all the questioning.

[Quest Window(copyright of Otherworld Ortus Project)]

[Congratulations, you have completed A Helping Hand]

[Collect Reward?]

[Yes/No]

I clicked Yes.

[You earned Health Points +2]

[You earned Xetral Points +10]

[You earned Strength +2]

[You earned Vitality +2]

[You earned Dexterity +2]

[You earned Defense +2]

[You earned Intellect +2]

[You earned Wisdom +2]

[You earned Luck +2]

[ You earned Charisma +10]

Suddenly, I didn't feel to good, and it felt like my hair was sticking up. Another purple screen appeared.

[Congratulations, Otherworld Ortus Project User 09!]

[You have reached tier 4]

{Status:

Name: Nathaniel Armis

Level: 24

LP: 157/243

Tier: 4

HP: 83(20)

XP: 201

STR: 96

VIT: 51

DEX: 60

DEF: 56

INT: 149

WIS: 122

LUK: 59

CHA: 102

Deviant: Unique-Lightning

Description: Tired, Xetral poisoned}

Wait . . . . . . Xetral poisoning?

Lightning flickered in my vision.

Everything went bright.

And then everything went dark.