“Second thoughts?” he asks in a deep, cultured tone.

Jonson sighs. “I don’t have anything for me back there… No, I’m okay.” At that, they set forward, stepping deep into the mouth of that swirling darkwood.

The cold air grows colder, and the blue mist gains a deep azure hue as the sound of angry insects chittering overtakes

Jonson’s hearing. Jonson can see from all sides furious, many-legged creatures waiting right at the rim of the lantern light- waiting for it to go out.

“So… you’re a mighty wizard, right? Like, legendarily powerful?”

Chaos laughs. “No, you’re a mighty wizard.”

“But what am I fighting that the spell you taught me would be helpful?”

“You’ll know it when you see it,” Chaos says with a peaceful nod.

“That’s not very specific.”

“It doesn’t need to be. I have a lot of faith in you, and so should you.”

Jonson takes a deep breath as they reach a wide opening. “Alright, I’ll do my best.”

“Ahh,” Chaos says, looking across the clearing with his glowing white eyes. “You’ll have to when you’re fighting a giant spider, I’d suspect.”

“…What?”

-HELOB: DEVOURER OF HEARTS-

“No…no, no way!”

Chaos pats Jonson on the back as the swarm of spiders again form the arena. “Best of luck, legendary wizard! I was under the impression that this boss wouldn’t respawn for an hour or so more, but I suppose that was my bad. No large problem for you, right? Ahh, and here it comes!”

Jonson shakes his head slowly as he watches the immense frame of the horrific beast step forward, as powerful and furious as when it had met Hero, except this isn’t Hero; it’s Jonson, the innkeeper boy.

“I… No… Oh gods, please, please no!” Jonson swings to look over at Chaos, who is resting gently by a tree, under attack by a hundred thousand spiders that cannot seem to even cause discomfort to him. Chaos fires Jonson an authoritative thumbs up just as Helob breaks into leaping distance. Jonson turns back just in time to find a two ton night-black spider jump at him with its fangs bared and ready to tear into him.

Jonson seethes in air for his only free split second before he speaks out his spell. Speaking isn’t really the correct term, but it’s certainly an expression of Jonson and who he is, like talking, or dancing, or art would be.

Chaos grins as there a distinctive tear in the sound-channel of the game world, as if a glitch happened.

Jonson stares forward in horror at Helob, whose level has suddenly been reduced to “-value”. Without pause, he throws forward his fist, crushing the giant animal in a single strike and sending it into the trees with his average human strength.