We reached the town with sunset bearing down on us. Pixie and Scott traveled ahead of me. They were quiet as we funneled through the streets to a cheap looking Inn. I couldn't read the signboards. Took that as a bad sign.

If I had to survive alone, could I learn the language? I leveled up, so, I figured I might be able to get work at the Adventurer's Guild, hoping it exists.

As I watched Pixie hand coins to the Innkeeper, I wondered how much it was worth. Scott followed my eyes. "I let her handle the money. When I asked her how much it was worth, I got a lecture on economic history."

"No 1 gold equals 100 silver?"

"Think more kroners and rupees. That's about as far as I could stand."

As Pixie turned to us, I lost the courage to ask. Looks like I'm going to be freeloading off her for now. She smiled pleasantly, leading us outside. Into the stables. Scott stopped me as Pixie burrowed herself into the hay like a cat, bare shoulders shining in the moonlight. "We're low on money. She needs to save for burial costs."

"For..." I stopped myself. Yes, for the knights, I answered my own question.

"For the knights. Even though she was planning on challenging the Demon Vicar, we're like this now. Without Gilandris, without... anyone. Don't know what she plans to do, with just, me..." Scott's shoulder's slumped and he sighed.

I snuck a glance at her majesty's hay curled legs. "We could ask..."

"Ahh, not now, not after today. I hope you like hay."

Scott moped his way into the corner opposite Pixie in the stable stall. Hearing a neigh, I turned and met a horse's eyes. Playing with the handle of my dagger, I broke contact first and buried myself in a corner away from the other two.

The moonlight bothered me more than I thought. Observing the moon, I noticed the pockmarks of craters on it were smoother than I remembered. Scott's snores and the princess's peacefully rising and falling chest filled the hours. Crouched against the wood of the stable, I wondered how far I'd go with these two.

Tomorrow, the Adventurer's Guild. There has to be one, right? I have a bad feeling. Gripping the handle of my dagger, I slept.

Scott woke me in the morning. We got out of the smelly barn, loitering around an alley across from the Inn. Neither of us knew the town, and Scott didn't want Pixie to worry where he went if she woke up.

"From another world, huh." He said.

"Yeah. I can't read the signs. Can you read the signs?"

"No, I can't read them."

"We're screwed." I sighed.

Scott ran a hand across his face. "Yeah. But, there's hope. Pixie summoned me to help defeat the Demon Vicar as a—"

"Demon Vicar?"

"Yeah," Scott mused. "Demon Vicar." He spread his hands wide. "Welcome to another world. I can't wait to get back home. I need to get back in time for Christmas."

"Isn't Christmas a little fast?"

"Yeah. Everyone died yesterday. All the knights. Gilandris saved me when we fought against the Slime King, then he went and died to some bandits..."

Should've stayed within Scott's range, Gilandris, you can't charge off from your supporter, what were you thinking? Unfortunately, I saw myself easily dying to the same tactic. The bandits seperating with numbers and bodies. Though I could point out that Scott's timely exposition must have given the bandits the idea to isolate Gilandris... that would be bad to say.

[Combat Log Management] can do wonders, but it has weaknesses. Probably more than I'll realize before I end up dead. I'll have to keep both the range and mental toll on Scott in mind. I got lucky, this time. Rest in peace.

Scott threw up his hands. "There's no way. I can't do anything. No matter how much I focused and used [Combat Log Management], I kept coming up short. Against the Slime King, and, now. Everyone's dead, and it's all my fault."

Dark.

"My sister has terminal cancer... she needs an operation, my family depended on me to bring home the funds..."

Dark.

"My brother's overweight and from birth to death he will only think of Fortnite, Youtubers, and Fortnite Youtubers."

Dark!

"I took out a loan to invest in cryptocurrency using my families assets and I lost it all after it got hacked on an exchange..."

Dark! Also, why would you leave your cryptocurrency on an exchange! Are you mad! This is why you have 2FA enabled for transactions and a cold storage multi-sig wallet!

Scott let out a long sigh, staring past me at some crack in the wall. "It's all over. It's all over. Even if I get home in time to defeat my evil uncle in a duel to the death so I can retrieve the inheritance that was rightfully mine from birth, there's still my sister's last ditch operation. Especially with COVID, you know. I'm worried she'll get it in the hospital."

Silence reigned between us. And I was glad to hear it.

"You're in another world, now..." I ventured. Then, I remembered the dead knights Scott couldn't protect.

"Yeah," a crooked grin on his face. "Another world." He stalked off. I swear for an instant a small raincloud formed over his head. So dark. And his brother. That's awful.

I knew people like that existed, people who just, everything goes wrong at once. Yeah, I mean, reality is like that. You get born, then slowly, all the joys of the world pile up one by one, then one by one, you see them decay. Compared to getting hit by a truck and falling into peerless power and beautiful pre and post pubescent women who instantly form supportive and convenient relationship with you, this is too dark!

Pushing my dagger in and out of it's sheathe, I brooded. I walked off into town. Thinking about all the daggering I did yesterday, I put it all into perspective. Though I'm worried about Scott, seems like worrying over him won't help. There may be little hope, but there is still hope.

Scott has a skill. A powerful skill. He has some relation to Pixie. Pixie can pay bills, knew the area, knows the culture, can read language. I pulled on my dagger handle, wary that I keep it sheathed. I don't want to scare anyone who happens to be looking, even though the streets are bare this early in the morning. I have a dagger.

But, how this all equals us defeating a Demon Vicar, I can't see it happening. It would be easier if I could convince Scott to abandon Pixie. We could find another way to get him back home. But then, we have no one who knows the world. We might be able to survive by submitting ourselves to the mercy of the townsfolk. Who knows what kind of life we'll lead? Farming? Just back breaking work all day? Scott won't go for that.

It'd be nice if there was an Adventurer's Guild to make some coin. For now, I resolved to learn about why Pixie wants to defeat the Demon... Vicar. Who actually exists, I guess. Maybe it's a language thing. I swear I came up with that the other day, Demon Vicar. Whatever, won't keep me alive worrying about it.

Stopping for a second, I stretched my arms to the sky. Opening my eyes, I saw an elf with long blonde hair round a corner ahead of me. Meeting my eyes for an instant, the elf's eyes shone with a strange glow. The elf stopped.

I noticed eight daggers on the elf's waist. Eight. Two at each side of the front and back of this elf's hips. No breasts, so it's a guy. Right? Stupid sexy elves.

He approached me. I sunk back, hand on my dagger. "You can't take it! It's all I have!"

"Take it? Sorry if I have frightened you." He raised his hands in apology. "Please excuse me. I am Flynn, Dagger Sage of the Forest." The green outfit and eyes fit the 'Sage of the Forest' title fit all the green he was wearing. Robin hood, he's elf Robin hood. With no bow. "I haven't seen you around Lbesslaum, so, as is my way, I used my [Perception] skill to assess your status to see if you were a threat. Your Dagger +2 skill is quite high for one who is but level eleven."

This damn smug elf. I can see you smiling, like you're doing me a favor by talking all smug-like. Oh well, whatever, maybe I should accept the attempt at polite conversation. I doubt I could take an eight dagger elf in a fight, anyways. It doesn't seem like he wants the dagger. He's got eight already. That I can see.

"I'm from another world." I said this like it was normal. Only after saying it to the elf did I begin to comprehend that I might have made a mistake.

The elf's eyes hardened for a second, then returned to smiling. "I see. A Hero. Those are often troublesome, indeed."

"I just want to live. All I have is this dagger. I swear."

Flynn reached out his hand. "May I see it? It looks incredibly plain, I have heard Heroes are often summoned with extremely powerful abilities, so it may not be quite what it seems."

This is exactly what I want to hear. That my dagger is an OP cheat item just waiting for a single upgrade and then I'll be swimming in kroners and rupees or whatever. I handed over my dagger.

Flynn turned it around in his palms. He lifted it up to the dawn's light. Placing it close to his face, he stared along the edge. "Seems ordinary." His eyes glowed. "I see. It might be wise to [Upgrade] this. I happen to know a Wizard with the skill. However, it is quite expensive."

"I don't have any money. Is there, uh, an 'Adventurer's Guild' around here?"

The elf gave me a long stare.

"I want to make some money."

"Ah. You mean, you wish to use your skills as an adventurer to join the Guild, correct? The Guild is, in this town, a group of highly skilled and experienced fighters. I happen to be a member as well. You are far too weak at present. But, if I understand, you desire money so you may [Upgrade] your dagger. I have an, opportunity for you, in that case."

He said opportunity in a suspicious way. Trust the elf, don't trust the elf? Either way, I heard him out. There's some boars to the south he wants me to hunt. He complained about this Lich, telling me to stay to the forest for my own safety. I guess if there's no Adventurer's Guild to join, getting a quest from an Adventurer is good enough. Scott did say we were low on money. It'll give me a way to talk to Pixie about the future as well, maybe broach the topic of her giving up her Demon Vicar slaying.

"Alright, I'll do it." I told Flynn.

Flynn smiled amicably. "Ah, this is good. My other responsibilities call for my talents, so procuring boar is often tiresome to do in addition. How about this much for pay?"

I have no idea what he said so I agreed. I'm probably getting cheated here, but, it's the quest that counts. And I can ask Pixie to negotiate better terms later if it's too low.

He explained the directions in a very clear manner so that even someone from another world could understand. I left the elf with a smile and wave, and as I turned away from Flynn, the smile faded.

"Ugh."

Why not quest for an elf with eight daggers with my dagger in another world? If nothing else, it'll give Scott something to do besides, brood. Our levels aren't going to go anywhere if we sit around. Dagger to level, level to live. Such a simple process. Why am I absolutely certain it won't work out so neatly? Better strap myself in for the bumpy ride ahead.

I met Scott back at the stables. Pixie brought the both of use into the Inn with a cavalier smile. We followed her as she bought us food at the Inn. I brought up the quest. Pixie said nothing much, which was unexpected. Even Scott noticed.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"His name was 'Flynn'?"

"Yeah..."

"Then it's fine. Flynn's a veteran adventurer, one of the members of Lbesslaum Guild. If there's anyone who can stand up to the Demon Vicar, it's them. The Guild, they will need some, convincing."

Is it just me or is that smile a little evil? Why are her eyelids open only a crack? Scott didn't seem to notice at all. The INT must be weak with this one. Or is this a WIL check?

We resolved to set out and get it done today. Pixie said that we're out of money anyways. She didn't mention what she planned to do about it, beyond the boar quest, and I didn't have the courage to ask.

Making our way out of town, we were guided by Pixie heading up the front, humming. "Boars to the south, boars to the south..."

As we entered the forest line, I figured this might be best time to bring it up. "Pixie, I heard from Scott about the Demon Vicar. Isn't that, well, it sounds, very dangerous."

Without turning, still walking, she addressed me. "I know. You can leave if you want to. I lost many of my personal guard yesterday. They died protecting me. If you stay with me, you are accepting death."

Not necessarily, I countered in my mind, but at the mention of her knights dying for her I realized I needed to shut up now. Pixie's in this way too deep if she's talking like this so lightly right away. Meanwhile, Scott didn't seem phased at all

"And, you, Scott?" I knew the answer. Pixie's back twitched. But as I thought, Scott's answer was in her favor.

"I can't give up. Even if I want to. I have to get home. Demon Vicar, or whatever else."

My breath streamed out amongst the two lovebirds as we walked amongst the trees. Sunlight filtered through the forest canopy. I thought over the events of yesterday, trying to organize what was important. [Combat Log Management] was on my mind. This is a good chance to test out some of my theories on how it works. We lack anything to test those theories on, though. Current goal, boars. Hunting skill: zero.

Pixie crouched down, putting her partly gloved hand into the grass below. She bent her head down, sniffing.

"This way." She stood up, pointing. Pixie's hunting skill: not zero. Scanning where she pointed, I made out some gravestones peeking through the trees.