I am awoken by someone shaking my shoulder, and peeling open the eyelid not shoved into the pillow, I see the familiar face of Rin. "Hey, you need to wake up. The maids brought us breakfast and said the King expects us in an hour." I acknowledge his words by taking a deep breath and pushing up from the bed. I was in no way a morning person, so getting up with the sun or as the rooster crows or however they do it in this world was definitely going to be a hurdle, but I put on my pants, laced my shoes, grabbed my knife and head for the door.

The other Heroes were already enjoying the breakfast spread, the smell of hashbrowns, eggs, and freshly baked danishes wafted through the air and filled my lungs, washing away the feeling of groginess, but it wasn't until I caught a whiff of that sweet, savory, sinful delight that would make dead men rise for a taste. 'Bacon...' Unfortunately, when I followed the scent to it's source, I was alarmed by the vacant space on the table. "No bacon?" I asked. "Sorry," I heard Blondie say, sucking the greasy crumbs from his thumb, "That was the last piece, but early bird gets the worm as they say." He said with a smirk. While I didn't think myself an exception the 'Early Bird' rule, in the Crowe family, it was considered a cardinal sin to eat the last piece of bacon until everyone had a piece, but I let it go and enjoyed the rest of breakfast.

After a while, the maids came to escort us to our next meeting with the King, it was in the Grand Hall again, but as we stood outside the doors, the muffled sound of scores of people talking could be heard. One of the maids cracked the door, the noise instantly deafening, and spoke to someone inside, it was probably a herald because the sound of a horn blowing silenced the crowd. "Now presenting, The Six Elemental Heroes!" The herald announced. The maid quickly ducked her head back in to tell the herald something. "Apologies. Now presenting The Seven Elemental Heroes!" A chatter quickly arose inside. The seven of us walked in, passing through the crowd like Moses in the Red Sea. Everyone in attendance was dressed finely, probably nobles and aristocrats. Blondie, ever the model, was doing a smile and wave routine as he walked, like he was competing in a Ms. America competition. Claire strutted with her Riptide spear over her shoulder and a smirk on her face, as cool as she tried to come off as, I could tell she was getting a kick out of all this. Khari, wearing his Anansi Cloak, walked like he was trying to convey a calm yet confident attitude, whereas Rocky was more open with his nervousness, giving small smiles to the crowd. Rin and Dani were walking with their eyes forward, as if the crowd wasn't there, but Dani walked with more of a "Don't fuck with me" expression. I tried to walk normally, but the many eyes on me and hushed whispers made me a little anxious, the stares of those on the upper balconies didn't help.

As we approached, I recognised Cardinal Kellen beside the King, though this time he was wearing a different, box like, hat, there was also a servant holding a crystal ball on a pillow. 'I sincerely hope he's not expecting us to show off our affinities, or at the very least mine.' We stopped in front of the King, who motioned for the crowd to be silent. "Good people of Arvendonn, I welcome you all, and thank you for coming to witness the dawning of a new age, an age of heroes! Our lives have been set upon by the forces of evil, The Blight has returned and threatens everything we hold sacred and dear, but take heart, for before me stands salvation. These seven have been summoned in service of the crown, to combat The Blight and save Vytas!" The crowd roared in applause. "But they shall not fight this battle alone." The King said, pausing to clap his hands twice. The door behind the King opened, and a myriad of people came through. Men and women, warriors and wizards, all standing behind the King for all to see. "These brave adventurers shall act as our Heroes' travelling companions and fellows in arms, each one willing to lay down their life in the defense of our great kingdom." The crowd cheered again. "Now, choose!" The King commanded. '"Choose?" Like, are we choosing who to have on our teams, like a game of dodgeball?' I pondered, my brain instantly going into tactical analysis mode. 'Okay, there are 1, 2, 3, 4,... 18 companions. Oh, but that would leave three of us with two and four of us with three, I guess they were only counting on having six Heroes. Okay, I can work with this. Considering my weapon, inexperience, and the unpredictable nature of my power, it would behoove me to have companions I can rely on and learn from. Assuming I only get two, that guy on the left with the greatshield and halberd looks like he'd be good in a fight, someone to have at my back, keeping enemies at a distance and defending any that get past. Then there's that woman with the bow, she looks old enough to be my grandmother, but they say you shouldn't mess with old people in professions where the young die, so she's probably got more experience in her little finger than I have in my whole body, and who knows, maybe she's good with a knife for when she's out of arrows, she could teach me. Now, if I'm lucky and manage to get three, I could go with the guy who looks like a young Saruman, fingers crossed the white robes mean he's a White Mage.'

After considering my options, I realized I had completely ignored the fact that the adventurers had moved and were standing behind the Heroes. As it turns out, when the King said "choose," he was speaking to the adventurers, they were the ones to decide which Hero to follow, which makes sense in a way, you wouldn't want to follow a leader you didn't trust into battle, that being said..."Nobody picked me?" The crowd began murmuring, gossiping amongst themselves at the development. "Oh dear, it would seem the appearance of The Seventh Hero shall not be met with as warm a welcome as I had hoped." The Cardinal said. I looked to the other Heroes, hoping one would throw me a bone and let me have one of their companions. "Guys, come on." I plead, but none would budge. "Yeah, um, I would totally lend you one of my guys, but, truth be told, I'm garbage in a fight, I need all the help I can get." Claire said with an apologetic expression, the man with the greatshield and halberd standing behind her. "Me too, but at least your weapon is an actual weapon." Khari added, the young Saruman in his party. "It might be better to split them up evenly, or at least as evenly as they can get. Just to be fair." Rin suggested, to which Dani responded with "Not fair to them, nobody should be forced to do anything they don't want to." The elder bowwoman nodding in agreement with her Hero. "But I'm being forced to adventure alone." I stated, Dani just shrugged. 'Is she purposely trying to make me fail because of the boob incident?' I questioned internally. "Yeah, I'm with Dani on this one, just wouldn't sit right with me making any of these lovely ladies do something they didn't want to do." Blondie said, looking back to the three attractive women in his party. 'Bullshit! I bet you've got a roofie dealer on speed dial, you human embodiment of douche baggery.' I silently snap, before realising how bad it sounded. 'Oh man, where did that come from?'

"Excuse me," A voice called out, I turn and see what had to be the most beautiful woman in the world standing behind the King. Her long, auburn hair had been put into a braid, though a strand had strayed in front of her piercing blue eyes, but she brushed it back behind her ear with slender fingers, giving a glimpse at the beauty mark she had under her eye which contrasted against her porcelain skin. She wore a low cut, white silk blouse which showed off the valley between her ample bosom, a leather bodice, likely for protection, but accenuated her hourglass figure amazingly, a pair of pants that hugged the curvature of her hips, a pair of thigh high, low heeled boots that laced up the sides, and on her hips she carried a rapier and matching dagger "I'm so sorry for the intrution, am I too late to join a Hero's party?" She asked, the words flowed like honey from her cherry red lips. "Not. At. ALL!" Blondie responded with a barely contained enthusiasm that made me stop gawking. "In fact, The Hero of The Sun's party is always looking for new members." I let out a small groan as I roll my eyes. "Oh my, how generous of you, Sir William, but I was thinking I could join his party." She said, gesturing in my direction, and while I knew she was talking about me, I still felt compelled to look behind me for someone else she could be refering to. "Me?" I ask, dumbfounded, "Him?" William asked, flabbergasted, "You." She answered, sweetly. The King cleared his throat, bringing all of our attentions back to him. "Very well. Now then, if the matter is resolved, let us continue." The beautiful woman sauntered to my side, my eyes transfixed on her, though past her visage, I could see Blondie fuming at the sight, and, admittedly, I couldn't help but grin a little.

"Now that you are armed and your parties formed, it is time for you to venture out in the pursuit of experience and glory, but first, a gift." The King clapped his hands again, this time summoning seven servants, each one carrying a small chest. "Each of you shall recieve a chest of 800 Silver, so that you may buy equipment for your jouneys." As I was handed the chest, I felt the weight of the coins within. 'Oh, shit! I will never take paper money and debit cards for granted ever again after this.' "Heroes, I wish you luck, may your journeys be swift and your victories many." An uproar of applause from the crowd, the King and Cardinal bowed their heads to us, which we took as out queue to leave.

Exiting the castle, we said our goodbyes and wished each other luck, save for Dani, who just kept walking away. As I was walking away, I heard Blondie call out for me. "Hey, Isaiah, hold up a sec!" I stopped, letting out a defeated sigh. 'How hard is it to remember Isaac? Seriously, should I have it written on my back like a jersey?' I grumbled, waiting, begrudgenly, for Blondie to catch up. "Hey, I just wanted to say something before we go our seperate ways." Blondie began. I decide to take the path of least resistance and feign interest. "What's up?" I ask. Blondie puts a hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eye, a serious expression on his face. 'Okay, now I'm curious.' Blondie takes a deep breath and says "You take care of that girl, you hear me?" The way he says it, the seriousness, the way his grip tightened on my shoulder, 'Is he actually worried about my companion?' "I know you must be nervous, being in the presence of someone so out of your league..." 'Nevermind, still an asshole.' "But that is too fine a woman to be going around, fighting monsters and whatnot! Promise me you'll keep her safe." It's honestly difficult to tell whether he's this much of an asshole and is being completely serious, or if he's this much of an asshole and is just fucking with me, either way he's an asshole, but I was just curious about where I should set my expectations. I brushed Blondie's hand from my shoulder as I answered "Sure thing, Bill." His expression quickly changed to one of offense. "It's William." He stated as he turned to leave. I mouthed the words "I know" as he walked away, feeling like I had one a small victory. "I thought your name was Isaac?" The beautiful woman asked, seemingly confused by the exchange. "It is." I state, "Then why did he call you, er... "Aisyah?"" She asked, struggling with what was probably an odd name for her. "Because he's an idiot." I say, matter of fact. I wasn't sure she understood completely, but she made a thoughtful expression as she nodded her head.

The topic of names made me reralize I had never asked her what her name was. "I'm sorry, I should have asked sooner." I apologize, but she laughs an adorable laugh and says "It's no trouble, my name is Calianna, and I am a duelist." "A duelist?" I ask, Calianna clarifies by explaining that a duelist is a class of adventurer that favors fighting with quick movements and a cunning intillect rather than brute force. "Oh man, that sounds perfect for me, with my weapon being a dagger, I feel like my options are limited." I say, Calianna responds with "Why not get a bigger weapon?" I suddenly feel like an idiot for not having considered such an obvious answer, though I try to play it off by asking "Do you know any good weapon shops around here?" Her face lights up, "I know just the one!" She takes my hand leads me through the cobblestone streets. Everywhere I looked there seemed to be someone selling something, food carts, trinket stalls, reminded me of a mall. 'Hopefully nobody'll try to sell me skin cream or equipment.' I think to myself, recalling the grievances of the mall.

Calianna had asked me to carry the chest, on account of me being a "big, strong, man," and as cliché as it sounded, I agreed because I thought it might impress her. That being said, the chest was still quite a load to bear. When I brought this up to Calianna, her face lit up and she put her body close to mine, like real close. "Oh, may we do some shopping? I promise it'll be quick, and we'll still have plenty of time to get you a weapon and adventure after." The way she looked up at me with puppy dog eyes, I found myself unable to say no. We ended up spending 100 Silver for a pair of coinpurses Calianna picked out. I thought it an unnecessary expense for bags we'll keep our money in. "Isn't there like a bank or something we can keep our money in so we're not carrying a bunch of noisey coins everywhere we go?" I ask, Calianna looked at me with a pitying expression and answered "Oh, Sir Hero, adventurers are as much travelers as they are warriors, leaving our money in a bank would just make it inaccessible to us." I nodded, seeing the reason in Calianna's logic, then she got close to whisper to me. "Also, I don't mean to sound like a gossip, but you shouldn't trust those greedy bankers, they'll cheat you for every Copper."

We eventually made our way to the part of the city, where the roads were dirt and the buildings were less pleasant to look at. I came to the conclusion that an element of realism in this world is the divide between classes, that there were rich people, like the ones at the castle, and there were poor people that worked the fields, and scrubbed the floors. Thinking about it was disheartening until we stopped in front of a building, the sign was an image of a sword and shield, with words I didn't recognize. 'So I can understand the language but I can't read the writing. That's going to be annoying.' I thought, 'Maybe Calianna would be willing to teach me?' I wondered, but I wouldn't get the chance to ask since she dragged me into the store.

The inside was poorly lit and kind of dusty, but I could still see the many wares; shields hanging from the wall, spears aligned in a rack, and an 8 foot suit of plate armor. 'Who is this even for?' I wonder, staring at the intimidating bulwark. "Hello, is anyone here?" Calianna calls out, "I'm in the back, be with you in a second!" A deep voice calls back from a distance. I use this time to bring up some concerns I had. "Hey, Calianna, are you sure this place has good weapons and armor? I don't mean to offend, but wouldn't there be better stuff back the way we came?" I ask in a whispered voice. "There are, but..." Calianna trailed off, "But what?" "It's just that...800 Silver isn't a lot to work with, a quality sword in the Upper Market District would cost at least 1000." Calianna said. 'Jesus Kentucky fried Christ! I mean I didn't expect to live a life of luxury, and I know they're probably dealing with financial issues with The Blight and all, but the King couldn't spring for some armor money?' Just then, a tall, heavy set man walked in from a back room, his head was shaved clean but he had a thick, brown beard. "Sorry 'bout that. What can I do for you?" The man asked, Calianna gestured to me and said "My friend here is in need of armor and weapons, something good for adventurers. Would you by chance have something for him?" The shop owner looked up and down at me before giving a disappointed look. "Look, kid, I don't care who you are or why you ran away from your fancy estate, but go back, else you might get yourself killed." Calianna and I gave each othe questioning looks. "What are you talking about?" I ask. The shop owner scoffs, "You wouldn't last one week as an adventurer." He then moves from behind the counter to stand in front of me. "I mean look at you; soft guts," he pokes my stomach, "skinny arms," he lifts one of my arms, "and look at these baby soft hands, not a callus or blister to speak of." he say as he inspect my hand.

I had to say I felt a bit insulted by this man's assessment of me, but the way he said it made it sound like I insulted him. "Seriously, kid, where did you get the idea that you could be an adventurer? And where on Vytas did you get those clothes?" Now he was speaking to me like a disappointed parent. "Not on Vytas." I said, but the man just gave me a confused look. "Huh?" "Surely you recognize him, this is Sir Isaac Crowe, one of the Heroes summoned from another world to fight The Blight." Calianna explained, "Didn't you see him on a Projector earlier today?" She asked, but the man just shook his head. "Listen little lady, maybe where you're from you can look at a Projector all day, but I work for a living." He then turned to me, "So you're a Hero, huh?" He asked. "That's right, I'm the Seventh Hero." I stated. The shopowner let out a loud laugh, "Now I know you're messing with me. I might've believed you were a Hero of an Element that didn't rely on your body, like The Moon or Stars, but a Seventh Hero? HA! I'll admit, you've got an impressive imagination." "That's not the only thing impressive about me." I said, then I pulled my dagger from my belt loop and slammed it on the counter, I had gotten fed up with this mouthy shop owner, and that certainly shut him up.

He held the dagger in his hands and inspected it, then he pulled out a pair of glasses like you'd see Teddy Roosevelt wear and looked at it closer. "Where did you get this? Who made it?" The shopowner asked, still looking over the weapon. "I got it from an Orb of Revelation, not sure how it was made." I answered, the man looked up and down at me again, then said "Huh." He put away his glasses. "So, a Seventh Hero, that's new." He said, more to himself than us. "What changed your mind?" I asked, he held up the dagger. "I may not be the best blacksmith around, but I've seen what the best blacksmiths can do, and none of them could make a dagger this perfect. Sure, it's basic, but even still, I can't find a single imperfection; no chips, no dents, perfectly symmetrical, and then there's the gemstone, I've seen people put jewels in their weapons, but you could pick those off, this one is inside the dagger." He flipped the dagger in his hand and handed it to me. "That said, you'll need more than a dagger to be a decent adventurer, let alone a Hero." "Why I'm here." I retorted. "Alright, let's see what we can do." The shop owner said going back into the other room. I could hear him shuffling around back there, moving things, when he came back out he was carrying a crate. "This armor's a bit old but it should fit pretty well, and it'll keep most things around here from killing you too easily. You can try it on over there." He said, handing me the crate and pointing to a curtain.

The armor in the crate was what one would expect from this situation; there were some greaves, gauntlets, pauldrons, a breast and backplate, and a plackart, though the plackart was a bit snug around my body. There was also a helmet in the crate, but it smelled like multiple rats had been born and killed in it, so I left it in the box. Stepping out from behind the curtain, I saw the shop owner had laid out some swords. "Oh my, now you look like a propper adventurer." Calianna beamed as she saw me. "He looks like a rookie that'll get himself killed if he's not careful, Hero or not." The shop owner interjected, "But it'll have to do for now. Now let's talk about offense, from the left we've got iron, steel, and sterling steel. Iron's cheapest, sturdy, but heavy. Steel's got less heft and lasts longer,but it costs more, and then there's sterling steel, which has the added bonus of being harmful to monsters, along with added cost." I reached for the steel sword, figuring the middle option is always a safe bet, but as I held it in my hand I was shocked to find it burning to the touch. "What's wrong?" Calianna cries out as I let out a pained gasp, the sword clanging on the ground. "Fuck, it felt like that thing was on fire!" I answer, shaking my hand to cool it off. The shop owner reached down and picked the sword up. "Well it feels room temperature to me." He said, giving me a thoughtful look. "Maybe it's because of that dagger you've got." "What do you mean?" I ask, "I mean, what would be the point of having a signiture weapon if you were just going to use something else?" In a way, it made sense, but that would mean I was restricted to fighting with just a dagger. 'Shit!' "If that's the case, do you at least have a scabbard I could use? I'm worried if I keep it in my belt loop I'll lose it." I asked, the shop owner nodded and reached under his counter. "This should fit, and I'll toss in the belt, call it a "Hero's Discount."" The dagger slid into the scabbard easily enough, though fit a bit awkwardly.

Suddenly, the gemstone in the guard began glowing the same dark red as the Orb of Revelation. The glow grew and covered the scabbard, morphing it into an entirely different scabbard, one that fit the dagger perfectly, with matching leather, chape, and locket, which had a section missing revealing the gem despite being sheathed. We all stared in silent shock for a moment before the shop owner broke the silence. "So, that's the kind of power the Seventh Hero wields, huh? Kind of scary." "Yeah, you don't know the half of it." I reply, threading the belt through the loops in my pants. "So how much is all of this going to cost?" Caliana asked. "For the armor and scabbard, should be about 450 Silver." The shop owner answered. "So much? Surely you could bring the price down a little, like say, 375?" She asked, sweetly, puckering her lips and batting her eyelashes. The sight made the shop owner blush noticeably, though he tried his best to hide it. "Well, I suppose I can't sell that scabbard anymore anyway. 425." Calianna persisted in her negotiation, going back and forth with the merchant. "380." "410!" "395?" "400, and not a Copper less!" The shop owner exclaimed, slamming a fist on the counter. The two stared the other down for a moment, each one waiting for the other to blink, but Calianna gave a sweet smile and said "That seems fair." I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding as Calianna took the money from her purse. "Thanks for the patronage." The shop owner called out as we exited the store.

It was finally time to start our adventure, Calianna suggested we find some monsters in the woods East of the city to fight. "We won't find anything too dangerous that close to the city, but it should be a good place to start." It took us a moment to find anything, and the first thing wasn't even what I would call a monster. Calianna refered to it as a Blood Shroom, but to me it just looked like a really big, spongey mushroom, or at least it did until a rabbit hopped near it, and in a quick succession of movements; the mushroom lifted itself from the ground using it's tentacle-like roots, wrapped it's roots around the screeching creature, and dragged the rabbit into the hole. The muffled noise of the panicing animal stopped after a moment, at whick point, the sponge-like head of the Blood Shroom began pulsating like a beating heart, and developed red, veiny pattern along it's edges. I stared slack jawed at the scene, worried I was going to pass out, or throw up, or maybe both. Calianna put a hand on my shoulder and told me not to worry, "A Blood Shroom that size is no threat to humans. When it tries to pull you into it's mouth, that's when you strike." She instructed. Truth be told I was more nervous in that moment than I ever had been in my whole life, a million different ways this could go wrong went throught my mind, my least favorite being that the Blood Shroom would have a mouth like a blender and latch itself onto my face, but Calianna assured me I would be fine, so I unsheathed my dagger and approached slowly, my hands shaking. The Blood Shroom stopped pulsating, meaning it had finished draining the blood from the rabbit, I looked back at Calianna, she gave me a look of confidence. When I got close enough, the Blood Shroom lifted itself from the ground and launched it's tendrils at me, wrapping around my arm, and began to pull me in. Admittedly, I wasn't ready for how strong the Blood Shroom proved to be and landed face first into the dirt. It was from this angle I saw what the monster had for a mouth, not a blender, but more like a sea anemone of teeth, which was arguably worse. Nevertheless, I plunged my dagger into the creature as hard as I could, causing the creature to let out a blood curdling cry, and go limp. "Oh god." I breathed, lying in the dirt. "That was certainly...an unorthadox way to dispatch the creature." Calianna said, though it was obvious she was trying not to wound my pride, not that there was any to speak of at that moment. 'I manage to get my ass nearly eaten by a weak monster in front of a beautiful woman. This could not get worse.' I grumbled. I looked back up at the creature's corpse when it suddenly convulsed and spat a bunch of blood into my face. 'I was wrong.' Calianna dropped down and gave me a handkerchief to wipe the blood from my face. "Thank you." I said.

After that, the day went fairly smooth, we continued battling Blood Shrooms, though I became more competent the more I killed, less nervous as well. Calianna killed a few as well, though her duelist fighting style was more refined than whatever I was doing. She moved with grace, and struck decisively, it was like watching a ballet of swordsmanship. We fought until the sun had begun to set, "We should go back to the city," Calianna said, wiping her brow, "Monsters much worse than Blood Shrooms come out at night, most we wouldn't see coming." "Sure," I agreed breathlessly, "Also, I'm starving!" I exclaim, realizing I had gone since breakfast without a snack, but Calianna just giggled in that adorable way she does. As we turn to make our way out of the woods, I see the path of carnage we had left in our way. "Hey, should we do something about the dead Blood Shrooms?" I ask. "I wouldn't worry about them, those worse monsters I mentioned usually eat the bodies, and if they don't the worse that'll happen is another Blood Shroom will just grow from the decaying flesh of the last." 'Circle of life, I guess.' "Wait, so they're edible?" I ask, Calianna's expression turns to disgust as she explains "They aren't poisonous if that's what you mean, however the flesh of a Blood Shroom is fowl smelling and tastes even worse." "Noted." I respond.

It had gotten dark by the time we got back to the city, the street lamps had been lit, and folks of a different nature had taken to the streets, gruff, hard working men looking to drown their sorrows, and women of ill repute looking to earn their wages. Calianna took us to a tavern which doubled as an inn, saying the rooms were cheap but clean. After paying for two rooms and dinners, a woman brought us to a table and handed us the wooden slabs they used for menus. Calianna looked over her menu, however I was still unable to read this world's language, so when she asked "What looks good to you?" I responded with "Uh, why don't you decide, I'm sure you'd know better than me." Calianna smiled and turned to the waitress. "What's the special?" "Tonight, it's steak with mushroom gravy." The waitress answered. Calianna and I looked at each other with uncomfortable expressions, our dealings with the Blood Shrooms had left a bad taste in both of our mouths in regards to mushrooms. "I think we'll have the chicken." Calianna said, handing the wood back to the waitress.

After the waitress leaves, Calianna leans over the table and asks "So, how was your first day of adventuring?" "Not too bad, if I'm being honest." I answer, "Sure, that first Blood Shroom was rough, but after that I think I was doing okay. It's just that adventuring isn't something people do in my world anymore. Some people go backpacking through Europe, but that doesn't require much monster slaying." "Well I think you did a wonderful job!" Calianna smiled, and it made me smile a bit back. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow, do we just keep fighting Blood Shrooms until The Blight comes or should we venture further out?" I ask jokingly, Calianna's smile falters for a moment. "I think perhaps we should remain as we are, there's no reason to venture so far away is there?" I was confused by her answer. "I mean, it wouldn't hurt to learn to fight something a little bigger than a Blood Shroom. I'm not saying we should go looking for dragons or anything, but maybe there are some bandits or goblins we could slay, or better yet, a dungeon full of treasure we could explore? Cause I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we've already burned through half of out funds, and as cheap as the rooms here are, I'm thinking we'll need to find paying work before too long." The waitress had returned carrying a tray with two plates on it, on them was a piece of roast chicken with pieces of steamed carrot and potato. She had also set down two glasses for wine, leaving the bottle. "Money is of no issue, Sir Hero, the crown shall provide for us." Calianna said dismissively. "I don't think relying on the King for cash is such a good idea, like I said, we've already blown through most of our money, and that was on cheap stuff." I retorted. "And as I have said, money won't be an issue, so we certainly don't need a job from the Adventurers Guild." Calianna said as she took sip of wine. "There's an Adventurer's Guild?" I almost shout, causing Calianna to choke on her wine. "Oh shit, you okay?" I ask, she nods her head before clearing her throat. "Apologies. Yes, there is an Adventurer's Guild here in the city, but such a place is for the riff raff, and is unsuitable for one such as a Hero of legend." Calianna explained. "Well this Hero of legend is one expense away from begging on the street, so maybe we should swallow our pride and go for it." I say, hoping to convince her, but Calianna refuses to back down. "I must insist, Sir Hero. As the more experienced member of this party, I implore you to abandon this notion that we will need to seek employment from the Guild to sustain ourselves." "And I recognize your seniority," I begin, hoping that would help my case, "But, as the Hero, aren't I the leader of this party, meaning it's my decision where we go and what we do?"

I honestly didn't like pulling rank on Calianna like that, but I was worried she might not fully grasp the situation we found ourselves in. 'I mean, what kind of adventurer, let alone a Hero, just stays in one place and waits for handouts? Would Ash have become Pokémon champion had he just battled Pidgeys around Pallet Town, or would Mario have saved Princess Peach by jumping on the same Goombas in the first world forever?' Calianna looked like she was trying to stay composed, but her flairing nostrils and the twitch in her lips told me she was furious inside. "Very well." She finally said, "You are one of the legendary Heroes, it is your decision, but I will ask that we forgo the Guild Hall and go straight for Riche. It's a village to the Northeast that's been having trouble with Direwolves. We can be there and back in a few days without ever setting foot in the Guild Hall." Calianna clearly had issues about the Guild, though what those issues were was beyond me, and she didn't look like she was in the mood to be asked. "Fair enough." I say, digging into my meal.

I wasn't sure if it was because we were eating or if she was angry at me, but Calianna and I didn't talk for the rest of dinner. The food was good, not as good as what they served in the castle, though thinking about it, it would make sense that access to seasonings would be subject to class. After I was finished, I broke the silence between us by telling Calianna I was going to bed and wished her goodnight. "You're going to bed already? But the night is young, and you haven't even touched your wine." Calianna asked without any indication of being mad. I wasn't a fan of alcohol, not after that time in high school when I swiped the Jack Daniel's my dad kept in his nightstand because I was curious why every kid in school wanted to get wasted every moment of every day. After a trip to the hospital, I came to the conclusion that every kid in school was an idiot, and swore off alcohol of any sort. "Yeah, I'm actually pretty tired, and I don't think it would be smart to start the day hungover." I said sincerely. "But surely one glass wouldn't hurt." Calianna offered, that time sounding slightly seductive, but my resolve on the matter was set. "I'm good, thanks. I'm already a grouch in the morning, I don't need to make it worse." I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but Calianna just looked away wistfully. "Very well, perhaps one of these other gentlemen would share a drink with me." I thought for a moment that she was trying to make me jealous, but shook it off.

The rooms at the inn were nice enough, about the size of my room back home. 'Oh man, home.' I thought to myself, realizing I had completely forgotten about Mom, and Caleb. 'They must be freaking out. Even for a shut in gamer like me, vanishing off the face of the Earth would worry them. I wonder...' I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. 'Just as I thought, no service. Fuck!' I began pacing around the room, unsure of what to do. 'Maybe I'll get lucky and when they send me back it'll be to the exact moment I left.' I thought hopefully. I tried to push the thoughts from my head, realizing there was nothing I could do about it now. I began the lengthy process of peeling the armor from my body, a wave of relief washing over me for each belt or strap I undid. 'God, I didn't realize how tight armor was.' I thought as I rubbed my sore spots, at which point I smell an aweful odor. 'Or how sweaty adventuring can be, ugh.'

I put the armor in a pile seperate from the rest of my clothes, and decide putting my shoes under the bed would be the best way to keep the smell from filling the room. At that point I wasn't that tired, so with what little battery life my phone had, I plugged in my headphones and picked the playlist I listened to when I wanted to relax. I closed my eyes and bobbed my head, mouthing the words to blink-182's "I Miss You" as the world disappeared. I looked over at the dagger and pulled it from the scabbard, then started looking over it in my hands. 'That shop owner said you were the most perfect dagger he'd ever seen. I mean, he also said you were basic, but, what can you do?' I think to myself, then I remember how it had changed the scabbard completely. 'Huh, what can you do? I forget sometimes I'm supposed to be this magic wielding badass, but what kind of magic do I wield? I don't suppose my Element is Surprise, is it?' I joke to myself, but as I chuckle, I notice them gem begin to glow red. I reflexively hold the dagger away from me, using my other hand to shield my face from whatever the dagger was doing. Then, out of the corner of my eye I see my phone, bathed in the red glow, and it suddenly flies toward the dagger, impacting into the gem. I would have thought the phone would bounce off or maybe break, but it looked like the phone was being absorbed by the gemstone, submerging into it like quicksand.

When the phone was gone, the glow faded. I wasn't sure what had just happened, but I put the dagger down and try to process it. 'Okay...that happened, whatever that was.' As I wracked my brain to understand, I notice a small white dot in the center of my vision. I rub my eyes thinking maybe I had gotten something stuck in them, or maybe it was a white blood cell in my eye, but when I opened my eyes the dot was still there. I found myself focusing on the dot, until suddenly the dot expanded, and my field of vision had been filled with images that weren't there. I start to panic, worrying I might be having a psychological episode or maybe a nervous breakdown, but then I notice the images seemed familiar. In the upper, left side of my vision I saw my name, "Isaac Crowe," followed text that read "Lv.1" with a flashing arrow pointed up next to it, and below my name were three horizontal lines, one red, another green, and the last blue. Across from my name was a series of numbers, "1500:06:09:22:12:17," and the last digits were counting up, from 17 to 18, and then 19. Below those numbers were more, these ones read "20:13:49:43," the last digits in this sequence were counting down, 43, 42, 41, in sync with the one above it. In the lower, right hand side of my vision I saw a circle with a point coming off of it and a grid inside, with a dot in the center. Finally there were three squares in the lower, left hand corner of my vision, each with a different symbol in it, one had what looked like my dagger in it, the second had a strange, circular symbol I didn't recognize, though it looked similar to the symbols for the other elements, and the last box had what looked like a treasure chest.

It took me a moment to realize; these images arranged in such a way, 'How didn't I notice it before?'

It was a fucking video game.