The next day, we started the process of planning, ordering, and purchasing our boats. There was far more to it than just telling the NPC to give us a standard boat. There were books and forms and samples of wallpaper. No joke. By lunch, Jun was pulling out her hair at a table in the inn as she shuffled through the box of sample wooden flooring.

“Why is it this difficult?” She grumbled and threw her pen across the dining room.

“You could jus’ randomly pick stuff and write it down.” Clint suggested. It was easy for him to say that as he was leaving me with all the choices on our ship.

“Then it will look like trash and I won’t want to let anyone see it.” She complained as she marched off to retrieve the projectile pen.

“I was excited when we started, but this is too much. It’s like punishment for making the Nothing create something for us.” I rested my head on the tabletop, my horn digging into the wood. “I wish they had packages. I want the cottage core package, please. Or an asian theme. Let people who want to be this picky fill all this crap out. I’ll fix up the place after, just let me go.”

The NPC we had been dealing with from the construction yard came into the inn. He held three books and I audibly groaned at the sight of them. Not more objects to pick from. I just had the walls, the floor, the lighting, and fixtures picked out. I hadn’t even looked into the furniture and if he was bringing more options, I was going to cry.

Your request for an adjustment to the game has been heard and accepted. Here are options for style packages. It said in the Nothing’s voice and produced the books.

This was more like what we needed. Each page had a hand drawn example of optional ships. There was a section for the shape of the boat, color and design of the sails, material color schemes, furniture themes, and decor themes. Five things to decide on. I could manage five things and did so in only an hour.

I picked a pinisi style boat with gorgeous golden sails. I loved the profile of the ship and sails, they looked elegant and sharp. Rather than sticking to an Indonesian theme for the decor, I selected gold and green furniture in a “witchy style” that was offered as well as the herbalist decor theme. It was as close to cottage core as I could find and was probably what cottage core was designed after. Everything was a mixture of plantlife, wood, and soft fabrics. It looked like home. It also seemed to give plenty of places to plant seeds like the one I was given to by the Forgotten, if I ever got brave enough to do that.

Clint seemed happy that a choice was made and said that he would probably move most of the decorations out of his room as he lived fairly spartan. He did approve of the four poster bed, though, happy that he would have enough room to rest his hulking minotaur form.

Jun picked a small caravel and went full pirate. The sails were black with a skull and crossbones pattern in white. On the deck, there were cannons, barrels marked with three black ‘x’s. The captain’s quarters, which was the second largest room on the ship, was decorated in reds and blacks and continued the pirate theme. The largest room was storage in the belly of the boat. She had a kitchen, dining room, and a fully functional bathroom.

We were able to pick anywhere on the vast network of docks to have our ships moored. I picked a spot closest to the city and right where the dock had flower carvings on its posts. It would be best to be visible when others eventually were able to set up ships of their own. I wanted to be front and center. Jun placed her home near-by but farther out so she could feel more independent.

After selection, paperwork, and handing over the coin, the ships materialized instantly. It was being created by an all powerful being in this world, after all. I was informed that an NPC would arrive once I had items placed in the crates that sat in the stall and their prices listed on a ledger. I just needed to go out and get things to sell.

With the herbalist decor, I had a workstation with what appeared to be all the tools I would need for potion making. I just needed the skill. The only way to gain more skills that weren’t part of my class’ natural progression was to discover it in the dungeon. We had to go back in and decided to do so first thing in the morning.

We were a day behind now, but the day of rest we got going over our earnings and settling into our new homes was just what was needed. Clint was cheerful, though I suppose that is always the case with Clint. He had gotten up early to get us both breakfast from the inn so we could eat it in our new mess hall. It was really just a small dining room with a long table, two benches, and decorations to make it feel lived in by a green thumb witch. I loved it. I also loved the breakfast away from the crowds at the inn.

The sun was just above the horizon when we met up with Jun and started our way towards the tower. It seemed that the population of the town was starting to grow again as I noticed several new faces, all of whom were looking lost. I found it difficult to believe that it was less than a week ago that I was in their place.

“Looks like we cleared the way for more poor souls to be subjected to the horrors of the dungeon.” I pointed out the new people to my party mates.

“Only luck can save them now.” Jun laughed and clung to my arm. “Did we ever look that lost?”

“I don’t know about you, I am sure I looked that lost. I still feel that lost, but with a little more money.” I retorted with a laugh.

“Think any of ‘em will be worth partyin’ with?” Clint asked. His eyes looked over every one we passed. He was sizing them up already.

“Who knows, they probably all want to be heroes like us.” Jun boasted.

“Jun, you live in a pirate ship.” I countered, hoping to take the wind out of her sails before her mouth delivered us into trouble.

“I prefer the term privateer. Some pirates were heroes, I can’t think of the names of them right now, but I know there were some.” She turned up her nose and let go of my arm.

We reached the center of New Beginnings at the same time as another group. They were chatting nervously and went quiet as we approached. I waved with a smile and the quartet began to whisper among each other.

“It was your idea.” A man with a head full of feathers for hair said to a woman with glorious blue fish scales on parts of her face, neck, and arms.

She swallowed nervously before turning to our party. “C-c-could… what I mean is… there is a…” She started and stopped multiple times.

“Someone needs help and you are the only ones who can do it.” The other woman in their group said. She had noticeably pointed ears and slender features. “There’s a woman being held by Liam’s party in one of their rooms at the inn. We can’t figure out how to help her and we know you’ve had a run in with his gang and won.”

This was startling news. I knew they were capable of such things, by experience, but it never occurred to me that someone else might be such a severe victim. New Beginnings didn’t have police or a guard. There was no jail or way to banish anyone. How could we deal with these people who were insanely dangerous to the well being of others here?

“How do you know that he has got someone held captive?” Jun asked, crossing her arms over her chest. With the way that she had her jaw set, I knew she was doing her best to not fly off the handle in anger. I could sympathize.

“We heard them talking about what a pain it was that they all couldn’t be out getting experience because one of them had to stay and make sure their ‘friend’ didn’t wander off. They said that she was sly and bit one of them on the arm.” The man with feathers said, making quotation marks in the air with the word friend. “We stayed for a bit to watch the guy that got left behind. He got two breakfast plates and took them upstairs.”

Jun turned to me with a concerned look. Why do things get so complicated? I wanted to stick to the notion that we can’t save everyone and to do our best to handle our own affairs, but what if next time it was me? All I could think about was being in this woman’s position and not having Clint and Jun to jump in, guns blazing, to rescue me. It was a horrifying thought.

“Do you know what room they are in?” Clint asked, pulling his sword from his bag.

“The rooms aren’t in a real physical place. They are like pocket dimensions. Two people can go up the stairs at the same time, but they will end up on different halls if they aren’t traveling to the same place. We tried. If you have the intent to go to the same room, you stick together. If not, once you turn the corner on the stairs, you are separated.” The elven looking woman said.

Clint clearly didn’t understand and turned to me. This time, I didn’t exactly know what they were talking about. It kind of made sense from a game standpoint, but in dealing with reality, it hurt my brain.

“Does the one leading to the room have to consent to you following or can you sneak and follow them without their knowledge?” Jun pipped up. “We need to be sure that this is actually happening and it isn’t a trick of theirs or a trick of yours.”

“We don’t know, we only found out about it today. I haven’t tried that yet.” The elven woman admitted with a shrug. She shifted her shoulders, adjusting the bow on her back. “We are too weak to really do anything about it.”

“I wish there were guard npc.” The woman with fish scales lamented.

I bit my lip in hesitation. Maybe I could do something. There was the scroll I had received for being the first to get to the second floor. The Forgotten said I could get help from the Nothing in exchange for the scroll. I had hoped to use it when stuck on some tough floor when we didn’t know the way down or to find out how to do crafting if it wasn’t apparent in the next couple floors. It could not be helped, though. The town needed order or the strongest asshole would take over and ruin everyone’s chances at getting to the bottom of the dungeon.

“I have an idea, but we need confirmation of what is going on.” I finally said, giving in. “I take it that Liam’s party is already in the dungeon?”

“Yes, they entered before the sun came up.” The elf confirmed.

I should have felt bad for not getting any of their names. It would not have mattered, though. I had such a hard time remember people’s names. Jun and Clint were lucky that I caught their names as well as I did.

“I know you were about to go into the dungeon, so would you scout out Liam’s party and keep tabs on him? I’d like to add you to our party so you can communicate with us through the guidebook.” I pulled out my book to show them.

The four were happy to join our party, though I emphasized several times that this was temporary until we could get Liam’s party under control and free anyone they were holding captive. If they had one girl, they could have more and weren’t acting all as an official party. If the one they had left behind was in their party, the boss would not have activated. It was going to be impossible to round all of them up, but if we could get the ones that were out getting stronger and I could get help from this place’s creator, the problem would be mostly neutralized. Liam was the issue, the others seemed to follow him. From what I had seen, they were not very interested in the anger and violence part of Liam and that is what needed to be removed from our town, our afterlife.

Kara, Wren, Aiden, and Jamel were fully added as members of the party. It was temporary. I don’t think I had said that enough to them and to my own party. We didn’t know these people and I wasn’t ready to blindly trust as I had with Jun and Clint. They tested the communication function of the book and were off into the dungeon.

“Alright, miss party leader, what is the other part of the plan?” Jun had kept mostly quiet until now. It was hard to tell if this was because she was letting me handle things or she was too angry to join in.

“I am going to use my scroll to ask the Nothing to establish an NPC guard or jail. It is impossible for us to reach the goal of getting to the hundredth floor if we have to fight against relentless evil from some souls.” I explained as I led the way back to the merchant ship.

“Bad deeds shouldn’t go unpunished.” Clint agreed.

“As much as I would love, and I would very much love, to punish Liam. It sounds like a full time job and I got shit to do. But are you sure that is what you want to spend your scroll on, Alice?” Jun inquired softly.

“No. I’m not sure and I don’t like it, but I don’t like being put off our goals again because of him. It will always be like this if someone else doesn’t take it over. The Nothing put him here, it should be its job to handle him, not ours.” I groaned. The town best appreciate all I had done for it. Well, we, what we had done for it. Stars willing, we would get another scroll and I could horde it away for a doomsday situation. “Jun, I need you to go to the inn and watch for suspicious people. Maybe try to sneak upstairs with someone. That is some information we need to know about.”

“Aye aye, cap’n.” She saluted me and jogged off to the inn.

“Clint, I need you to go to the second floor and see if you can find Allen, the guy with the lion ears from Liam’s team. He told me that he made it down to get a break from Liam. I don’t really trust the guy, but any leverage we can get right now to save someone is worth looking into.” I reasoned. It made the most sense to me to go for this weak link. Allen had been trying to reach out to a known enemy. While it could have been a trap, I doubt it was planned by Liam. He had only been a reactive element in things so far. Everything he had done was because an opportunity had presented itself, he didn’t seem like much of a plotter.

Clint agreed with my request and slipped off into the dungeon. I was on my own again. I should learn to not do that, but with so few people on my team and so much that needed to be done, it could not be helped. We would need to expand our party soon.

I was glad that I had opened the scroll to use it alone. Smoke billowed from the unrolled parchment and onto the floor. The sound of a beating heart drowned out the gentle splash of waves on the sides of the merchant ship and seemed to cause the rolled sheet to throb in my hands. A blinding light flashed, I closed my eyes shut tightly, and I felt like I was being pulled by my navel upward with a sudden jerk.

I almost lost the wonderful breakfast I ate earlier when all movement stopped and I was weightless. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes to find myself in the middle of a breathtaking sight. Around me were a billion stars in a sea of purples, blues, and pinks. It brought tears to my eyes as I gawked at the unexpected and unbelievable view.

I am pleased that you are so moved, Alice. The Nothing’s voice echoed in my head, interrupting the beautiful moment and reminding me why I was brought here. I do try my best to provide a balance of good and bad experiences for your afterlife.

I sighed and repeated. “A balance of good and bad. I’m sorry to say the balance has been tipped a little too far for some. There doesn’t appear to be any way to rein in the bad that gets out of hand.”

The dungeon is very well balanced and patches are made when mistakes are found. You handled the bug with the Blight and the Tainted Cowl brilliantly. It sounded prideful as it spoke.

“The dungeon might be. The dungeon is a puzzle for players to figure out, but we shouldn’t have to figure out other players beyond how to get along enough to tackle the dungeon. Rivals, competition, people you try to outwit, sure. People who actively attack others, use the way the dimension is created to harm and trap others, that is not ok. The system should not allow that kind of thing or have a way to police it. There is a group that attacked me and would have tortured me had I not been exceedingly lucky. They have someone trapped in a room in the inn. I do not know why, but that is unacceptable. At the very least, they are preventing her from pursuing her chance at paradise.” I lectured, getting louder and more animated in my anger at this injustice. “I am not an omnipotent being, I am far from all knowing, but I do know that this needs to be resolved. So I ask, for my reward from the scroll, that we receive your help. We need some way to police what goes on in New Beginnings. I’m not asking for them to be punished, but for the bad things they do to be stopped. They are destroying the afterlife you have created by making it impossible for some to participate.”

My speech was met with silence. It was an intimidating silence. Floating through the middle of a nebula in space, silence seeped into my bones.

“Please. At least some town guards and a jail. A way for us to bring to you grievances and a way to either remove players to a different dimension so they can mess with each other, but not people who will work with others.” I pleaded to the silence. There wasn’t much more for me to say. I couldn’t bring myself to govel, so I yelled. “I’m not going to beg. You have to help. I earned this help!”

It is done. You earned help, but not this help. This is a bug and you have successfully reported it. A sheriff and town guard has been established. Players will be able to petition for protection and report those who are injuring or preventing others from going through the dungeon. It took a while to “program” the npcs, the laws, and design an appropriate building. You will find new town laws in an index in your guide book and the process in which people can report complaints and issues. There will not be a court or jury as everything that is done is known, but I cannot act until it is reported. The Nothing informed, breaking the oppressive silence. You may not exchange your prize for this, but must ask for another form of aid or information.

The tone was flat, informative, fairly devoid of emotion that was shown before. It made this being feel fake and cold. His earlier praise seemed tainted and unwanted. I did not like the Nothing before simply because I had to exist again. Now I did not like the Nothing because it was far too inhuman. No, it was very human, like the humans I knew while alive. Manipulative.

I had to think of something big, something that would give me an edge above the others that I knew how to use. Information was the biggest tool in games and much of it we couldn’t share with each other. I knew I wouldn’t be able to ask for something crazy like all the locations of stairs on every floor, but I wanted something that profound.

The Nothing didn’t seem to mind giving me time to think of what I wanted. I’m sure time was something it did not take note of often, being an immortal being created from the belief of non-believers. Time was just numbers it rarely used.

Wait, numbers. That’s it!

“I want to be able to see the number stats for health, mana, attacks, the usual people can see in video games. I want that information available to me.” I confidently requested.

I can make that a skill available to you, but it will have a high cost and will take leveling before you have access to all the information you desire. It offered.

“Yes. That’s what I want. Even if it takes time to master, I want that.” I jumped at this. It was more than I could have hoped for. In video games, I was not the kind to number crunch, to calculate crits tables or anything of the sort. In this afterlife, though, that was going to change. I would keep track of every bit of information I could. I would be invaluable to the entire dimension. I would earn that title of hero.