I'm lost.

I'm prideful about a lot of things, but right now...I have no idea where I am. If it weren't for these blasted alleys and those bloody storefronts that are exactly the same no matter where you go.

I refuse to consider that I've just been walking around in circles.

"Hey mister, why have you been walking in a circle for the last two hours?"

"..."

"Hey mister, did you hear me?"

"...sometimes, when you get older, you'll walk around in circles...just for fun."

A 7-year-old brown-haired green-eyed snot-nosed brat walked up to me, and continued to throw a blown-up pigskin into the air, catch it, and then repeat. He then popped a nut into his mouth and started to chew.

"Hey mister, are you lost?"

"...what makes you think that?"

"Well mister, you have the same kind of look on your face as a stray puppy."

"What? No I don't! If anything, I'm at least a dog!"

He chewed thoughtfully, looked me up and down, and then decided something.

"...Whatever you say, mister."

This fucking kid...

"Hey kid, aren't you supposed to be in bed by now or something?"

He stopped chewing and eyed me doubtfully.

"It's two in the afternoon, sir. Though, I guess geezers and babies take naps in the afternoon..."

I opened and closed my mouth like a fish, trying desperately to process exactly what had just happened. At that point, I forgot what he said, and decided to not dwell on it.

"Well, do your parents know where you are?"

He eyed me some more and continued to chew. "Ma said I'm to be at home by dark, or else she'll feed me to the goblins, and pa said he didn't care where I was, as long as I came home with a black eye and some kids wallet."

"...You have a pretty messed-up dad, you know?"

He kept chewing. "It s'all right. He was joking. I think. So mister, if you're looking for the tavern, it's to the left, second on the right. Look for the only straight sign and you'll find it immediately."

I laughed. "Haha! Well, I guess I could go there. But not because you told me about it."

He threw the ball up and caught it. "Whatever you say, mister."

I sigh, and resign myself to get some info out of the kid. "Hey midget, what year is it?"

"0021 A.E. mister, where have you been the last twenty years?"

I thought about it. "Dead asleep."

I turned to go, then had a thought strike me. I turned back toward the kid. "Hey kid, come back here, same time tomorrow. I'll make it worth your while."

;)

He chewed and eyed me again. "Mister, not that I don't like you, but I would prefer to not be kidnapped and sold into slavery."

"Wha-what makes you think I would do that?!"

He stopped chewing, and pointed at me, one aspect at a time. "You're wearing a black cloak when it's a million degrees, you're pale and have beedy-eyes, you have a mouth that always seems to be smirking, and what's visible of your hair is an absolute mess. One would think you're in need of money, and a good mother, by the looks of you."

"Wah-who-ha-you-huh!?"

He chewed in finality. "And to top it all off, the first thing you did after coming into town was talk to the first child you see, and arrange to meet me and say, what was it? "I'll make it worth your while."

The boy grinned at me evilly. "The guards would love to hear about this, so I think I'll go tell them...I enjoy watching them beat people up."

I fell to my knees in defeat. I had been beaten, manipulated, and used, like a cheap whore. No, a prostitute would never bend their knees to anyone! Well, unless they were getting paid! But still!

I looked at the kid right in the eye, now that we were at the same eye-level. I saw the deep well of intelligence, and the dark, murky stain of deceit.

He looked at me with a huge grin plastered over his face, He had stuck up his middle-finger in a taunt, and I felt an overwhelming feeling of...

...nostalgia?

I got to my feet, and bowed my head, letting my hood cover my eyes. "...Kid, you're good. You have earned my respect. You have potential, and talent, and above all...you're careful. You only picked on the new, unknown man, the one nobody would defend, the weakest, the most vulaurable. You...remind me of myself when I was your age-"

He spit out the chewed-up nut, dropped the ball, and laughed out-loud. "Hahaha! You, who can't be older than sixteen, talk like an old man! And besides, why should I care if I've earned your respect? Go back to your mother and cry about it!"

I watch him quietly, until all of his laughter has run out. Then he eyes me. "What? Are you crying cause' a kid just tricked you?"

When I look up, he takes a step back. "Listen, kid. You didn't let me finish. What I was going to say is, you shouldn't let it go to your head. I was the most careful man to ever walk the earth, and the day, the hour, the minute I got cocky, I lost.

Losing in this world means dying. So next time you want to crow about your victory like the cock of a henhouse...wait until your opponent is ash, disintegrated, or dust. Because if you don't...you may just find you're a headless chicken. So learn some humility, eh?"

The kid shivered, and kept looking at my face. "U-um, I'm r-really sorry, p-p-please don't..."

I turn around and say over my shoulder, "Because I believe in returning kindness, I'll leave you something tomorrow...whether you take it is up to you. G'day."

"R-right...I'm gonna go get the watchmen, please stay right there..."

"Wait! One last thing, before you go."

"Y-yes...?"

I look deep, deep into his eyes, and say with a completely straight-face...

"My name is Jeff."

Then I turn and run like there's no tomorrow.

Jacksons' POV

I returned to the towns' market after my sixth trip to the forest. I checked my status again, and distributed my stats again, but saved thirty. I had to admit, I was pretty proud of myself. Level 45 in three days was considered Top-player performance. The only sad thing was that I would soon have to leave, since all the mobs in this area will be too low-level to get any decent exp.

I'd grown fond of the NPCs here. There were a lot of glaring problems with the game, namely that mobs came in families and you got bonus exp for killing the children first, but at least the shopkeepers and merchants were all life-like. They would converse with you as long as you were buying something, and throw you out when you were only browsing, they were practically people!

Still, I was idly considering genociding the whole town. A lot of the NPCs were level 60-70 or higher, and that was saying nothing of the loot I could get!

Still, this realism came with some problems. Namely, people would defend themselves, and even monsters wouldn't just automatically chase after you one at a time. Luring was no good, as they would stop chasing you if they left the pack behind. It made grinding harder, but also more interesting. Except, people were different. Even more intelligent. I'd attacked a bandit lair solo at level 15, but I'd almost died six times because of the traps and ambushes. I'd had to leave halfway through because they had started to get high-leveled, in the 40s and higher.

Still, humans were difficult opponents. After facing down life-like NPCs, gutting them and watching their guts spill out, I'd gotten a new appreciation for serial killers work. Not that I'd do it in real life, but...

It was very therapeutic to project faces, that's all I'll say.

After selling all the trash equipment and materials, I'd gotten quite a bit of silver...almost a hundred pieces, which would convert into gold, but no one carried that coin in town except for the mayor. It was very nice that they used the metric system here, so everything came in tens and hundreds.

I went looking for the tavern, as I wanted to see just how deep this system went. Maybe I could even discover a lazy devs' work, and extort the shit out of it?

After finding the place on my mini-map, and navigating through the twisty alleys, I found myself at the tavern. There, loud yells and cheers were being called out. I went in, and saw a bunch of people crowded around a table. I sat down in another table, and waited until someone came to take my order. After asking for some food, I waved at the crowd that seemed almost like a living thing, pulsing and undulating with every minute. The waitress sighed.

"Men...they're gambling. A stupid dice game...but they treat it like a religion. I really wish their wives would keep them busy and away from here, but, well, they are our best customers. Especially the lucky ones."

At that time, the door opened again, and a cloaked, pale fellow walked in.

I surveyed the room. A group of men gathered around one table, a waitress and a customer dressed in armor, and the barkeep behind-you guessed it, the bar. I could practically faint in surprise.

I began walking toward the group of men, and watched a couple rounds. The men took turns throwing dice, but they didn't go enough times for me to see the pattern. At that moment, a man who was on a winning streak grinned at me.

"Hey boy, you wanna try?"

I opened my eyes real wide, and softened my expression to give off a feeling of innocence. "Well shucks, mister. I ain't ne'er done this dice game a'fore! But, if ye'd kindly explain the ro'ols, I'll try once or twice."

He laughed and took a swig, then motioned to the seat opposite him, which I took. He smiled and began his explanation. "Listen up, cause' I'll only say it once. The challenger throws first, and then then other guy throws his. They do this until one die matches with one of the other guys' dice. If one of the seconds' dice match up with the firsts' dice, then the first throws his dice again. If he matches one die, the second throws again until either match both. If, after one guy has matched once, neither of the dice match up with the other two, he loses. Ya get it?"

I blinked owlishly, and said hesitantly, "Sure do, mister...so, I do this?"

My dice roll across the table, and show a six and a two. The smiling man throws his dice, and gets a two and a six. "Haha! It looks like luck is with me! Tell ya what kid, since that was just a practice, I'll-"

I take out one of the two copper pieces, and slid it across he table to him. He pauses, and the rest of the men grow silent. Then all of them laugh. The smiling man takes up his dice and motions, "Wanna go again?"

I smile in reply, and throw the dice. A 1 and a 4. He throws the dice, and gets a 1 and a 3. I pick up the dice and shake them a little, then pause and look up at the anticipating man. "I must warn you, mister. I'm a downright scoundrel who cheats his way through life. I promise you won't regret it if you stop right now."

He laughs. "Hah! It's okay, I won't hold you to it. Just throw the dice!"

I flick my wrist, and my dice come up a 1 and 3.

Everyone has gone quiet. After a minute, the smiley man laughs and hands back a copper piece. "You've got some damn good luck! Let's play again, I doubt you actually know what, 'cheating' is."

I shake my head. "I may have a different description, but the fundamental meaning is the same. I tell you-nothing good will come from trusting me."

The man waves to the barkeep, who has taken an interest in our game. "Hey Horace! You can sense when someone uses magick or a skill, right?"

"Sure can."

"Then, did the little whelp do anything?"

"Nope. Check the dice, just in case."

The smiley man picks up the dice, and throws them. 2 and 3. 4 and 2. 6 and 1. "Heh, they're the dice we gave em'."

The man looked at me accusingly. "Do you still think you're cheating?"

I hold up my hands in surrender. "Let's play another game. Then you'll know."

I throw, he throws, I get the same numbers as he does, and I get another copper piece. Some more discussion ensues, and they finally agree that I must just be really lucky. After an hour, everyone in the room except the armored customer and the waitress has played and lost against me. Since I had become the one they challenged, they'd thrown first, and every time I threw the dice, they always won. Soon, they were all somewhat depressed, but also a little happy, since I'd payed for the last two rounds. Even if it was their money, people still appreciated you spending it on them. Besides, they only gambled coppers-some men grumbled that their wives were too strict, while a few others were grateful.

After a few minutes had passed of me not being challenged, the armored customer walked over to what had become my table, and sat down. They then picked up the two dice I'd been using, and turned them over in their hands. I'd already switched dice countless times, but it hadn't made a difference. Soon, the person set a piece of copper on the table, and held up the dice.

"Can I play?"

I gestured at the respectable pile of copper in front of me. "You know I cheat. Do you still want to play?"

The person laughed. "You say that, but what I think..."

Jacksons' POV

"...is that you just have a very high luck stat."

He looked at me quizzically, then laughed. "That's quite funny. Hearing that someone thinks I have a high stat...it's healing for the soul, laughter is."

I smiled a little myself. I didn't know what kind of event this was, but if it was the type I think it was...

I opened my status, then put all thirty of my leftover points into luck. Then I rolled the dice fearlessly. Two sixes. This was bad...if both dice were the same, then the other person only had to have one six to win. I unconsciously held my breath-

A 1 and a 4. I forced myself to hold in my joy, then picked up my own dice, and threw them down. A 1 and a 3. He looked a little worried, his brow scrunching up and biting his lip. He rolled the dice...a 3 and a 4.

For six more rounds, we rolled, until I won. He handed over a copper piece, and all of the other men in the room had come over and cheered for me. It was like with bandits-they took travelers money, then people like me were paid to hunt them down and take the travelers stolen money-then we were thanked for it. This world still had some fundamental flaws, as I'd thought.

For the next two hours, me and him played game after game, losing some, winning most. I tasted victory on my tongue like blood, the metallic taste filling my mouth. It was the feeling I got from cutting down a hundred goblins to rip off their chiefs head, of crushing a thousand spiders to impale their queen, of throwing aside wolves to destroy their alpha. And then, the fated words that told me the event had neared completion...

"Hah, the night is almost over. It would be wrong to simply end it like this-how about I bet all except for these ten coins," here he separated his two-hundred-thirteen copper coins from ten, and pocketed the ten, "and we bet these, oh, two-hundred coins?"

I smiled. I knew what I had to do. In events like these, you could gain a reward for risk-

But, if you risked greatly, you got great rewards.

I took out the bag that held near a hundred pieces of silver. This guy wore a black cloak, had red eyes, pale skin, and looked like he was always hiding a smirk. If anything screamed 'mystery' he did.

"How about, we bet all or nothing?"

Everyone gasped, and looked at the guy. I bit my lip, and silently prayed. Come on...take the bait...

He had a knowing look as he picked up the dice, as if he knew what I was after. "If I lose, we'll have to go somewhere private..."

I almost started giggling. Here it is! The time when I get it! The reward! After all my work, it was finally here! I threw a 2 and a 3, and he threw a 2 and a 3! I'd won! The reward was mine!

Why was he picking up the sack of silver with an apologetic smile! Why was everyone patting me on the shoulder in a mournful way! Why could I not stop smiling! Why did my mouth taste like ashes!

Why, oh why, was I so stupid?

I fell to my knees, and cried for a long time. The guy had left ten silver, stating that it would be wrong to take all of it, and the barkeep patted my back and carried me, with the help of the waitress, up into the back where they gave me a blanket. I cried myself to sleep, and decided deep in my heart...

"...First chance I get, I'm going to kill every. Single. Bastard, in this whole town."

He~he~he~he~he~~