Lenard is sitting on a tree stump across the smoldering fire pit. He smiles as he notices me re-materliaze just a few feet away, then ruffles his red beard and says, “You got back a lot faster than I expected.”

Dawn’s light is just beginning to pour out over the forest and Five Roses Keep. The other two River Raider goons—Alloy and Finn—are still sleeping in their bedrolls next to the campfire. I’ve probably only been gone for six to eight hours.

“Yeah,” Alloy says as he sits upright. “It’s unfortunate we have to look at your face again so soon.” He smiles at me, and that makes two of us. Just the sight of him irritates me. His curly blonde hair that looks like instant noodles, too. He says, “It is early, though. Did you see the futility and decide to be our tank?”

I shake my head. “Right off the bat, I want you to know I still don’t want to help you. What you’re doing is worse than bullying, and it makes my blood boil, but it doesn’t seem you’re giving me much of a choice. So I will be your tank, but only if you promise not to kill me and to free me from your Identify spell when we are done.”

Alloy doesn’t seem disturbed or upset at my accusation of him and his goons in the slightest. He just smiles, and that’s how I know my words have merit. Wither or not he believes me, the Shield is in trouble, and this is a huge setback that I don’t have time for.

With an impish grin, he places his hand in his hip and says, “Agreed. It’s a fair deal. I’m glad you’ve come to your senses, but maybe you’ll see how awesome and supportive the River Raiders are and want to join up rather than be cut loose.” Alloy stares at me with that stupid smile, making me wonder if he’s thinking about going against his word when we’re done with this dungeon. There’s nothing I can do about that but hope it doesn’t come down to me choosing to die and re-start a new character just to be free of him.

With a motion of his wrist, Alloy says, “Anyways, judging by your stats, you rolled pretty high on your fortitude during character creation, yeah?”

I shrug. “Sixteen?”

“It’s decent. Out of a possibility of twenty four different digits, you drew lucky—on the upper half, at least. So I’d recommend putting any points you have available into Fortitude. Your only goal is going to be to take damage and keep hostile mobs attention. You want to stay in front, and take every blow possible. I have a way of restoring your health as you take more damage, and the other two will be focusing on controlling the deadlier mobs abilities and dealing most of the damage as quickly as possible.”

I nod. Just by the way he’s talking, I know that he’s got way more knowledge of this game than I do, and I’m familiar enough with the terms he’s throwing out so I know he’s not pulling my leg. I pull up my attributes screen. A part of me wonders if I shouldn’t put a few into strength, just in case one of these wise guys decide to try and kill me when all of this is over with. That way I’d hopefully be able to take at least one of them out with a few swings if I can get close enough, but something tells me that Alloy would notice if I put points in strength, though, so I decide against it and I dump almost all of my points into Fortitude—save for two just incase I need them.

Aiden Rockwell

Lv. 2 Warrior (2)

HP: 152

STRENGTH: 14

FORTITUDE: 23

DEXTERITY: 11

WISDOM: 16

INTELLIGENCE: 13

SWAY: 15

Considering that I’m three levels behind Alloy and I already have more HP than him is astounding to me. Granted, I’m building myself up to take hits, not dish them out. I’m sure my damage is astoundingly less, but I won’t know for sure until we get into the Five Roses Keep.

“That looks a lot better,” Alloy says as he stands to his feet. “But you’re still a little bit too low to be able to take some of the main boss’s big hits. Sure, you could withstand at least two or three minor blows, but that still might be too fast for me to heal you. Even if you had good gear it would be a challenge.”

“Okay,” I say. “So, then what do we do?”

“Well, the actual dungeon doesn’t begin until you step through the castle’s main doors, but we can get into the bailey inside the walls and train. Some minor skeletons will spawn in there and the guardhouse barracks. We can work on clearing those out until you hit at least level four. That will do wonders for your HP pool.”

“How long do you think that will take?” I ask.

Alloy taps his cheek as he hums.

“About two hours, I’d guess,” Lenard says. Alloy nods in agreement.

“That’s saying you don’t die in the process. Just because they are lesser creatures that doesn’t mean that they’ll be easy.”

“I understand, considering the amount of trouble the Yishi gave me, I wouldn’t be surprised if these things kick my ass.”

Alloy snickers until he points at Finn, who is still asleep in his bedroll, and says, “wake him up.”

Within half an hour our Wizard is awake enough that we begin to pack up our camp, de-materializing our equipment back into our inventory with waves of our hands. One thing that I am definitely grateful for is that in Libertas there is no need to eat. Sure, I’ll feel full if I do and probably get some kind of statistical buff, just like when I drank the ale, but I won’t starve if I don’t.

We follow the curve of gray stone blocks around the wall. It’s a big place, but it doesn’t take us long to find the main entrance. Between two massive guard towers with arrow slits is a massive iron gate. Pieces of the metal are bent outward and busted through, like some massive creature rammed its way out of the Five Roses Keep. I’m sure it’s just for an aesthetic effect, or at least that’s what I tell myself.

Within our first few steps into the open bailey of the main castle, I notice the bones. The ground seems like it’s coated in ash or dust, but on top of that I can see pale bones are scattered everywhere.

Alloy stops where he stands, motions with his fingers as he navigates his HUD. Within moments, I receive a party request and accept it. Then, one of those impish smiles stretches across his face. He motions me forward and out onto the packed earth of the bailey. “This is where the fun begins. Take your place up front, tank.”

I do so without asking about what to expect, and step out about 10 yards in front of the group. Then, as if on cue, I hear what sounds like stones clacking together as bones scattered all around the yard begin to pull into piles. The mounds shudder and clack as the bone piles take on their human shapes with crude weapons.

As much as I don’t want to be here, and as much as I don’t want to help Alloy and the other goons, I also don’t want to be stabbed by the skeletons’ boney spears and swords, so I pull my short sword from its sheath and ready myself, but before I would even consider myself ready the skeletons start coming at me, creaking, rattling bones and all. One of them even takes its spear and slams it against his rib cage like it’s a war drum.

I wait until the first one is within striking distance. Remembering that my goal is to keep attention, I focus mainly on staying moving and parrying every jab it tries to poke me with. By engaging with only this one and staying just far enough away from the others, I’m able to focus and block everything it throws my way.

“Hey,” I yell, “these things are pretty slow.”

“Yeah,” Lenard yells from behind me, “but every hit they land heals them. Those spears and swords are parts of their bodies. Any blood they draw gets absorbed. You will sabotage all of our progress at killing these things if you get hit.”

The thought makes me shudder. I take a few steps back, just for good measure, then wait for the others to get their spells and abilities going.

First, I hear a high-pitched screech from behind me. Then I see the text appear on my HUD.

Lenard uses his Druid’s whistle to call Perry, his falcon!

I chance a quick look. Racing from the forest, a brown and white bird the size of a big chicken caws as it streaks through the air and lands on Lenard’s forearm. For a moment, I’m envious. At least until a weird warbling sound comes from the other direction.

I look. The skeleton in front of me is glowing in a red aura, painting the ground around it in a bloody color. Tightening the grip on my sword, I prepare for what must be a powered-up attack, but suddenly the light flies into the air, then soars into Alloy before fading away.

Alloy casts Life Pull on the Skeleton Guardian and absorbs 25 HP! 105/105 remaining!

Lastly, a beam of white light stretches out from Finn’s book and smashes into the skeleton.

Finn hits the Skeleton Guardian for 19 damage!

You defeated the Skeleton Guardian and gained 500 experience points!

The skeleton releases a ghostly wail, topples onto its knees, crumbles into dust on the wind, and I’m dumbfounded. I ask, “How did it die so fast? And why did the game only say that Finn hit the Skeleton Guardian when I clearly saw that beam of white light fly from his book? That was magic right?”

“It might have been magic, but it wasn’t a special ability,” says Lenard.

“That was my basic attack,” Finn says. “It doesn’t have a name.”

“Gods, you really are new, aren’t you?” Alloy asks. “I almost didn’t believe you before. I thought you were faking it to seem dumb, get us to relax our guard around you.”

I’m so angry he assumed I was lying, I shake my fists and yell, “I told you!”

The creaking of old bones draws my attention back to the fight. I try to duck beneath a skeleton’s jab, but am too slow and I feel a dull pain in my right shoulder.

The Skeleton Guardian hits you for 25 points! It absorbs 12 HP! 127/152 HP remaining!

Suddenly, it’s red health bar appears above its head, but now there is green covering about a third it.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

Alloy says, “It’s gone over its max health—not a huge deal, but don’t let it happen again!”

“I can’t help it that much! Take it out already!”

The Skeleton guardian hits you for 20 points of damage! It absorbs 10 HP! 117/152 HP remaining!

A curse slips my tongue. Arguing with these guys has me distracted and off my game. I take a few steps back and try to focus.

“Working on it!” Lenard yells. His brow furrows in concentration for a moment, and I watch as a pebble rises from the ground and zips across the ground. It cracks into the skeleton’s skull, and I see another cloud of red mist rise up and out of it from Alloy’s ability. This time, the red rushes into me and I feel my health return to me.

Lenard hits the Skeleton Guardian for 17 points of damage!

Alloy casts Pull Life and transfers 24 HP to Aiden! 141/152 HP remaining!

Suddenly, I hear the screech of a bird above me, and almost flinch out of natural reaction as Perry suddenly comes into my view and slams into the skeleton, scattering a little over two hundred bones across the dirt bailey.

Perry hits the skeleton guardian for 15 damage! Critical hit!

The skeleton guardian is disassembled!

“Quick!” Alloy yells, “Beat the marrow out of it!”

And boy, do I ever. I smash my sword into the growing pile of bones over and over as it tries to re-assemble into its full form while the others use their basic attacks against it.

You hit the skeleton guardian for 15 points of damage!

Lenard hits the skeleton Guardian for 15 points of damage!

You hit the skeleton guardian for 16 points of damage!

Finn hits the skeleton guardian for 22 points of damage!

You defeated the Skeleton Sentry and gained 1,000 experience points!

Congratulations! You have reached level 3! 1 attribute point has been awarded!

You have unlocked a new ability! Choose between the following:

Unrelenting Strikes: Increase damage by 25% for 10 seconds. Recast: 60 seconds.

Or

Complete Defense: Increase armor by 25% for 10 seconds. Recast: 60 seconds.

“Whoa, guys,” I say. “My HP shot up and I just got asked to pick a new ability, and they seem pretty good!”

Alloy laughs at that. “You hit level three and you think they are good abilities? Wait till you hit fifty and you’ve seen what everyone else can do, too.”

At first, I can’t decide which I want to take, but then I remember that I have a duty to these guys right now and eventually I’ll have a duty to Rin and her group if I ever find them again. Staying alive is top priority right now. In game and in real life. It’s funny how comparatively important they both are, how tied together they are.

Congratulations! You’ve chosen Complete Defense!

“Good choice,” Alloy says. “We will make a tank out of you yet.”

I don’t say anything, suddenly disheartened by remembering the condition I am in in the real world and the task that’s in front of me that no one seems to believe… but I throw the thought aside. There isn’t anything I can do about that right now. All I can do is keep moving forward, and hope that eventually I’ll find my way there.

No one else says anything as I lead the way into the guardhouse along the inside of the wall on the east side. Luckily for us, there are two skeleton guardians inside. Both of which we handle with relative ease, even though the insides of the building are heavily cluttered with debris, making it easy to trip on things.

The others continue to talk, but I don’t really hear them speak. If this whole place so far is only the surrounding area of a dungeon we have yet to enter, I’m afraid I’m in for a whole heap of trouble once we are inside.

“Aiden,” Finn says, clapping his hands in front of my face. When I look him in the eyes he says, “wake up, dote. These are yours.”

“What’s mine?”

“We found these,” he says.

Finn wants to trade with you! Do you accept?

I focus on yes, and the HUD appears in front of me. He adds two items to the list and accepts the trade. I do the same, and receive the two items in my inventory and inspect them a bit closer.

(Lv. 4) Leather Helm: +2 ARM

(Lv. 3) Dinged Short Sword: +2 DMG

While I can equip the sword, and do, I’m disappointed I can’t use the additional point of armor yet.

Finn must sense the dejection in my expression and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We just have to do all that one more time and we will be good to enter the Five Roses Keep.”

I let out a groan and think about trying to run away because the thought of getting stabbed, even though the pain is somewhat nullified, doesn’t sound pleasant. But, I know that I have to commit to this for now. The faster I get these guys through this dungeon, the faster I’m off to find Rin in Birch Castle and finding the people behind the mutiny.