James woke up in a darkened room. The smell of incense was in the air and a masked scent of putrefied flesh. Before he could stop himself, he let out a groan. His muscles ached, and his side felt like it was on fire. A burning pain reached down his arm and tingled his fingers. Before he could slip back into unconsciousness, he felt a wet cloth on his face and forehead.

James groaned as he struggled to remain awake and open his eyes. When he did open his eyes, he saw before him a vision of loveliness. The kind of beauty that songs are written about. Her grey hair was in a ponytail, and her slender face was gorgeous. Her piercing eyes quickly found his, and she smiled.

Without turning, she spoke softly to someone behind her, "Quickly, fetch my father." James tried to look around the room, but his vision swam anytime he moved his eyes or turned his head, and the room started spinning.

The woman continued to smile at James, "I am glad to see you awake."

James could only grunt, struggling to focus on her to steady the room.

Rocko appeared over his face, "James, I know this is bad timing, but you have to accept the Skill notification. Please, I think this is like the ghouls."

James tried to focus on Rocko, but his mind was groggy, and it was so hard for him to understand what was being asked of him. After Rocko told James several times to accept the Skill, James finally found the Skill notification that Rocko was mentioning.

You have the opportunity to learn a new skill.

Do you wish to learn the Skill Resistance - Poison.

YES NO

James grunted again before the darkness consumed him.

The second time James woke up, the room was brighter. Instead of the lovely woman tending him, it was the elderly man he had saved—the guild master.

James was able to open his eyes this time with a bit more clarity, "Guild master?"

"Morning, James. Glad to see you are still alive. I am afraid you gave us quite the scare," he muttered, reaching for a cup.

"Are you okay," James croaked weakly. He noticed that most of the pain in his side had subsided, but his arm was still tingling.

"I am fine, thanks to you. That bastard Rupert used a poisoned bone dagger. Lucky it hit you and not me." the old man laughed. "Here, drink this."

James took a sip of water. The cool water eased the pain in his throat. "Thank you."

"Don't think I am ungrateful. Had Rupert hit me, I would have died in moments. Even with all my poison resistance, the poison was far too strong for someone of my advanced years. Also, the assassin used poison with a magic element called Necrotic. Not sure what that means, but the Healer said that your natural resistance to magic helped you survive. You survived long enough for us to get a healer to you."

"Where am I," James asked, trying to sit up.

The older man got up and started helping James. James didn't realize just how weak he was. "You are in my home. You have been here for about a week, recovering."

"Where are my things?" James asked, noticing that he was naked under the covers.

"Your items are locked in that cabinet over there," the guild master pointed at an armoire in the room.

"Thank you," James sighed and leaned back on the pillows.

"I have to tell you, Master James, that the illusion you used to mask your appearance fell when you went unconscious. A masterful spell, I must say."

James looked at his hands and noticed that they were no longer the hands of a human, but he had the skin tone of a Glrick.

"Your secret is safe with us," the guild master reassured him.

"Us?"

"Mr. Jones, for one. You don't need to worry about Rupert; he is dead. The Healer, secondly. She said you had strong resistance to magic, but she was able to use a potion that subdued your resistance long enough to do most of her healing. And lastly, my daughter, Veronika." the guild master explained.

"What is it that they know?" James asked cautiously.

"That you are not human but appear as one. Your true race is Glrick. A race of travellers from other worlds." the guild master clarified. James sighed with some relief.

"Only I know you are a Champion," the guild master stated.

"I am..." James started.

"Your secret is safe. And denying it will only damage the beginning of our relationship. It was the Guild of Guides who contacted me. They work specifically for the Champions. They also contacted me a couple of hours after you were injured, demanding that I bend every effort to save you."

"That doesn't prove I am a Champion," James countered.

"The only way they would have known that you were hurt would be if you had a guide. And since only Champions can have guides, it stands to reason that you are a Champion," the guild master finished with a smile.

"What does that mean for you?" James carefully asked.

"I have no dispute with Champions as a whole. My concern is on an individual level. You, however, are in my good graces. Considering you took a poisoned magical dagger that was meant for me. I will be hard-pressed to repay you."

The guild master stood up and walked towards the door, "I will fetch my daughter so that she can get some broth into you. I am sorry that you have wasted away a little while in our care, but I am sure you should bounce back in a few days."

That last comment made James check his notifications.

Strength -2

Agility -1

Dexterity -1

Constitution +3

Inspect +2

Resistance - Poison +4

"Rocko," James whispered when he was alone.

It took a couple of tries, but finally, Rocko appeared. "James? Oh, thank the gods. I was so worried. Are you alright? Are you still hurt? Do you know the trouble you put me through?"

"Missed you too, buddy," James said with a smile.

Rocko sighed and sat down on the bed near James, "Are you alright?" he started again.

"Feel like shit, but I will survive. The Healer says I will recover. I got the Skill Resistance - Poison. It even levelled a few times," James whispered.

"Good, that will help some with your recovery," Rocko stood up and started pacing. James noticed that the bed wasn't moving.

"I lost some Strength, Agility and Dexterity," James told Rocko.

"Don't worry, you will get those back quickly, they are only lost as a result of the laid up for six days," Rocko explained.

"Did the people get the money?" James asked.

"Yes," Rocko said as he paced, "The guild master paid out of his pocket. He has been most generous, considering you were almost dead."

"You seem surprised." James took another sip from the mug of water.

"I am. All the guild master would have to do is let you die, and he would have access to your Dimensional Storage Container. Instead, he spent a great sum of money to heal you and pay off your debt. These actions are not something you would expect from someone you just met."

James shrugged, "I had just saved his life. Perhaps he felt some gratitude?"

"Unlikely considering who he is. As a guild master, they tend not to have much emotional range that doesn't normally include gratitude or generosity."

"Everyone mentions he is a guild master. What is he a guild master of? A merchant family or something?" James asked.

"The Shadow's Hand. It is an Assassin's Guild," Rocko smiled as he watched James spit out some water.

James would have liked to question Rocko some more, but Veronika entered the room at that time. "I am glad to see you are drinking some water," she said as she placed a tray on the table next to the bed. She sat down on the bed beside him and noticed the dampness of the bed cover, "Perhaps we should work more on keeping it inside of you."

James had to smile as Rocko laughed. "Still feeling a bit weak," He explained without lying.

"I am sure. I have some broth for you." She folded her hands on her lap and squared her shoulders, "I am Veronika. It was my father that you saved. I wanted to thank you for saving his life."

James could tell that she had practiced that little speech. "Honestly, I acted on instinct. I saw the weapon and reacted." James said with a sly grin.

"It speaks well of a man whose instinct is to save a life at the sacrifice of his own," she said with a smile. James noticed a bright pink ribbon in her grey hair.

"Right place at the wrong time, or perhaps, wrong place at the right time." James chuckled, "Who knows. I am just glad your father is okay, and I lived."

"As am I," Veronika said. Veronika helped James sit up by putting some pillows behind his head. This angle also gave him a close-up look at her ample bosom. Rocko laughed so hard that he fell off the other side of the bed. A scent of flowers filled his nose.

James let Veronika spoon feed him some broth. It was warm and not hot. It tasted of chicken with a bit too much salt.

"Thank you, this is very good," James complimented between mouthfuls.

"Thank you. I helped the cook make it this morning. We were optimistic you would wake up today," she said with another grin.

With the bowl half empty, James called it quits. He didn't need to feign fatigue as she helped him again with his pillows and lay down to get some rest.

Pointing at a braided cord over his headboard, "If you require assistance, pull the cord. Someone will attend to you shortly. There is a chamber pot in the corner if you need help to use it before I go."

James looked over to an odd-looking chair that was in the corner. Now that he knew what it was for, the design made sense. It looked like the seat folded up, and the bottom was encased. He was sure that there would be access to the chamber pot in the back. James pulled the covers up, Waving her off, "I am good for now. Thank you."

Drawing the curtain closed, she moved to the door, "Rest well, my hero."

After she had left, Rocko shook his head, "That woman has fallen for you hard."

"It is just a little hero worship. I did save her father after all." James corrected.

"I don't think so. I think Veronika would climb into your bed and keep you warm if you requested it."

James just grunted in response. "Anything we need to cover before I go to sleep."

"We seem to take two steps forward and one step back," Rocko mused.

"I have noticed that too. Almost like something is making it harder," James grunted.

"We are losing our most precious commodity: Time. We are now thirteen weeks behind most of the other Champions. If this continues, you will never catch up," Rocko lamented.

"Don't worry. As soon as I am on my feet, we will head over to that dungeon you mentioned and clear it out. We do that a couple of times, and we should be able to catch up. Maybe we can find an Amulet or two and take that third option and gain all those free points," James said with a weak laugh.

"Ya, like that is going to happen. When you get a chance, make this place your Astral Anchor. We will restart your training as soon as you are well."

"Oh, I look forward to that," James whispered.

"Try not to die between now and then."

James nodded, "hrmmm, okay," and promptly fell asleep.