The water really is amazingly clear. How liberating.

I've almost forgotten about the continuous screaming above the water.

Too bad for the tree bros that water seems mildly poisonous for them. They're really missing out on the benefits of a versatile chemical compound. It's fortunate that water doesn't corrode my own skin, or I wouldn't be able to enjoy this cool, refreshing feeling.

It's a bit difficult to swim with these foot safety harnesses, but strangely enough I'm managing just fine. I have a feeling similar to when I was running earlier.

The water is so clear that I can see down to the very bottom. The floor of the pool is fairly deep, but there's no algae, plants, or fish visible. The bottom is just bare rocks.

One of the rocks looks kind of odd, though. From what I can see, it's a perfectly round black ball. It stands out against the lighter colored rocks.

Unable to stand my curiosity, I descend down to the bottom to investigate. Luckily I can hold my breath for a long time. I can't really remember when I learned to do that, but I'm sure it's not important. Probably everyone has a couple holes in their memory.

As I get closer, it becomes more clear that the black ball isn't a rock. It's clearly man-made. Or possibly demon made.

It fits easily in my hand, and feels much lighter than rock would. As I grab it, I feel a peculiar but momentary twinge in my head, like brain freeze.

Text displays on a tiny circular screen on the surface of the ball.

Congratulations, Hero!

You have acquired the Legendary 8-Ball of Truth!

Oh, wow. This is exciting. It's like playing a videogame.

The words are soon replaced.

This Legendary item reveals the Status of its wielder!

Shake your ball aggressively to see your status and be amazed!

This item is part of the set [Ball Hero Ascension (1/5)]

(Partial Set Bonus: +[Universal Translation)

Complete the set for a the full set bonus!

This is probably even more awesome than the sword. Unfortunately I probably should return to the surface before I suffocate, or I'd be shaking my ball right now like crazy.

I want to share my luck with the tree bros. They might be so surprised that they stop screaming.

Actually, I haven't heard that screaming for a while, now that I'm paying attention. I wonder why?

After carrying the ball to the surface, the answer becomes clear.

So, it's been long enough for the fire to reach here. The explosion probably accelerated the spread of the flames. And tree bros are apparently flammable.

Well... this definitely isn't my fault. And I'm sure the tree bros died the way they wanted to... while screaming. We didn't spend a lot of time together, but I could tell screaming was important to them.

Since they're trees, I can't read their expressions, but they are probably suffused with sublime fulfillment.

But since I'd rather not die while on fire myself, I'll just tread water for a while until the fire burns out. Or until Anya comes and rescues me. If she saw that explosion, she must be terribly worried. She's probably looking all over for me, so it's just a matter of time.

In the meantime, though, I wonder what this 8-Ball has to say?

The information appears on the screen as I shake the ball with abandon.

Jonathan Orville

Race: Human

Class: Livestock

Level: 3

Alignment: True Neutral

HP

25/40 (+2/hour)

MANA

1934/3129 (+10/min)

STR

14

DEX

18

CON

22(+4)

INT

12(-2)

WIS

6(-4)

CHA

12

Skills Info

|Mana Vision|

|Mana Touch|

|Kickboxing 2|

|Positive Thinker 2| +4 CON/-4 WIS/-2 INT

|Cockroach Scuttle 4| +4 DEX during Mortal Danger

|Name Binder| Bound (1)

|Mana Generator| (SOURCE: Human)

|Repressed Memories| Memories Remaining (10)

|Extra Mana Generator 10| (SOURCE: |Repressed Memories|)

|Universal Translation| (SOURCE: [Ball Hero Ascension])

TITLES:

Equipment

HEAD:

CHEST:

LEGS: [Charred Hobo Rags]

FEET: [Metal Safety Harnesses]

HANDS:

WEAPONS:

[Mysterious Sword]

On Touch: |Mana Drain 2|

231/1000 Mana

SHEATH: [Charred Hobo Sheath +1]

ACCESSORIES:

[Legendary 8-Ball of Truth]

Set: [Ball Hero Ascension]

... Huh. Is it just me, or are there a lot of insults mixed in here?

Why Class:Livestock? Shouldn't it be Hero? Didn't it call me a hero? This game is bugged.

Surely I deserve more wisdom than this. I've taken so many self-help courses after all. I should be extremely wise by now.

Maybe 6 wisdom is actually a really big number, and it's just that I have even higher strength and dexterity than my amazing wisdom. 6 is bigger than an entire 5 other positive numbers, so there are 5 other scenarios where it could be worse.

Although, I get a bit of a bad feeling from my high constitution. It even calls me a punching bag. I mean, I haven't been beaten up that many times. Not that I can remember, anyway.

I'm glad it mentions my skill in positive thinking, but I have to protest the high level of my "cockroach scuttle" skill. Actually, what is that? Did you really need to give it a name?

Mana Generator should be a human racial ability, from what Anya was saying. And that 3129 Mana sounds like a lot. But what's Mana Vision and Mana Touch? I have a feeling it has something to do with the blue mist. Hey, I figured that out. I deserve higher wisdom.

And how many times do I have to say I don't have any repressed memories? This is ridiculous.

I'm not even going to touch these titles. This 8-Ball is clearly screwing with me.

No, I'm sure it's my imagination. It's a legendary item after all. Information is power. If it feels like an insult, it must be insulting me for my own good. Or maybe, It's telling me that I need to overcome my faults? It could be trying to motivate me. It's exaggerating things to help me grow.

Let's go with that. It's trying to motivate me towards greater heroism.

As I think that, another line of text appears.

|Positive Thinking 2| -> |Positive Thinking 3|

(+4 CON/-4 WIS/-2 INT, 50% Mental Resistance (NEW))

It feels good to have my effort acknowledged. My heroic journey starts today. Though I'm not sure who the enemy is, exactly. Everyone has always treated me so well.