“Uggghhhhh….” Richard felt like he had gone a dozen rounds with Mike Tyson… including the ear biting part… Of course, in Richard’s case, the parts damaged were a little bit more serious. He groaned and pushed himself to sit up, ignoring all the aches and sudden jolts of pain. There wasn’t much to be happy about, but seeing the huge carcass of boarzilla lying with its legs splayed out and with blood oozing from the large hole where its left eye used to be, Richard couldn’t help but smile evilly and begin to laugh. “HAHAHAHA… MWAHAHHAAH… HACK… UGGG…. COUGH… COUGH….” Of course, his sore chest and cramping diaphragm kind of disagreed with his feeling of elation.

Sitting there, feeling like an invalid, Richard wondered if victories were always so painful. Then again… the last time something so insane had happened was with the ‘Shit Monster’… and of course, a friggin halfling had been involved in that too. Richard clenched his teeth in anger… and balled his fists up, ready to punch the damn midget… “Owww… frig!... OwOwO…. Ugggh...” Unforturnatley, his body didn’t agree as muscles all over began to cramp up, leaving him squirming in pain.

And just when he thought his torture couldn’t get any worse…. “Mister! Mister!… Are you all right? You did it! Mr. Pig is dead! Hurrah!” The evil one appeared, jumping for joy with a childish smile on an exuberant face. That made Richard gasp and scream inside in terror. He couldn’t say anything out loud, since his neck was cramping up, making it hard for him to talk, but inside his head… “NOOOOOOOOOO! STAY AWAY!!!!!”

The dreaded midget of chaos pranced up to Richard, even as he tried to desperately drag himself backwards. Tears were falling from his eyes, creating track marks on his dirt and grime covered face… He couldn’t understand it. Why were the gods torturing him like this… First Welks… and now this…. this… Richard felt this great despair within him that told him that midgets were his bane in this world, and he began to choke up in misery…..

The brown haired monster with a child like face stopped in front of Richard with a smile on his face, that suddenly turned serious… well, as serious as the face of a six year old trying to figure out how to tie his shoe laces. “Oh, No! You’re hurt! I have to help you!”

Richard began gasping, trying to speak, but all that came out was incoherent babbling. “NUWOSTUOWOPLEEES!”

But it was too late. The wretched halfling raised his hands reaching for Richard, who closed his eyes in terror… and suddenly felt his body relaxing as a soothing warm tide of power washed through it. His cramping lessened until his muscles unwound from their tension, and all the little aches and jolts of pain began to fade as though they were being… “Healed!” Richard’s eyes flew open in shock, and his first sight was Meran wearing a childlike serious expression while holding out his softly, glowing hands towards Richard. The golden glow flowed from the halfling’s hands onto and into Richard, spreading across his body like… mist over a surface. Richard’s jaw dropped as he realized the impossibility… no it wasn’t impossible. He remembered… anything was possible in the World Labyrinth... even magic healing.

Just then, Meran collapsed on his rear end, panting and looking drained. Still, the halfling smiled and said, “There! You’re all better mister!”

A short while later….

“So… you can actually heal someone… like make cuts and things go away?” Richard still had trouble fully grasping what Meran had done.

The halfling, who was busy gorging on some snake jerky, nodded happily. “Yep! Well…. I can’t do a lot, but I’ve been getting stronger and stronger!”

Richard handed over another piece of jerky and asked, “Explain stronger…” It was kind of difficult making the little demon spill all his secrets in an understandable manner… but the food was definitely helping.

Meran scrunched up his face a bit, chewing thoughtfully. “It’s like I can make small hurts go away, but I can’t fix big hurts yet. But my da said I might be able to one day.”

Richard frowned and muttered, “Small… big…” In some twisted fashion, Richard thought it made sense. The halfling had probably exhausted his mana field by casting the spell/using the skill, whatever it was. Hence, the exhaustion and general weakness. But, that still didn’t explain how much the halfling could heal… The only way to test it would be to actually take some wounds on purpose… Richard shook his head, clearing it of that nonsense. He knew he could take a punch if he had to, but he wasn’t a masochist by a long shot. For the first time, Richard regretted not keeping one of the damn bandits alive… They would have made excellent test subjects. Anyways… “So, how many times can you use it per day again?”

Meran excitedly said, “12 times, but my da said I might be able to do it a couple dozen or more times one day when I’m older!” Richard divided approximately 24 hours into 12 and…

“So, once maybe every two hours, huh?” It was… a bit limited, but Richard felt there was more to it than just simple healing. “Hey midg… Meran… Have you ever tried re-growing a limb?”

Suddenly, the halfling went still and looked at the ground as though worried by the question… Richard didn’t say anything, deciding to let the halfling speak first… “Umm… I tried once, but I fainted… My da said I wasn’t ready yet… He said I had to get stronger.” The almost sad tone made Richard wonder what had happened to Meran to make him so withdrawn so suddenly… but that was something that could wait until later. Richard realized how… useful the little devil could be if he was used properly and also how dangerous his ability could be in the wrong hands. Master Mulfow had talked about rare abilities and how magic based healers were almost worth their weight in gold….

Richard suddenly asked, “Does anyone else know about this… I mean other than your da?”

The halfling looked up, suddenly worried. “Umm… no… Only my da and ma and granpa and cousin...”

Richard cut him off. “So no one but your family, right?”

The halfling nodded, looking a bit confused.

Richard smiled… The gears in his head began turning, and even though he felt like he might have a phobia for halflings, he decided some things couldn’t be passed up. “Soo… How would you like to work for me?” It was a pretty crazy offer, since Richard wasn’t exactly Mr. Moneybags… but based on his estimates, the halfling maybe ate a third of what a normal human might… and housing wasn’t an issue… neither was clothing if some of the dead bandits outfits could be recycled… Overall, having a little minion healer seemed like a good deal, especially Richard could figure out a way to commercialize the little demon’s super healing… “Hmmmm…”

Lost in thought, Richard failed to notice the excited, face splitting smile that Meran suddenly developed before rushing Richard. “Yay! I’ll do it Mister! I always wanted to be a hero’s companion!”

Richard desperately fended off the excited midget, trying to figure out what the little demon had just said. “Wha…..?”

A dozen minutes later….

Meran or Minion Number One, as Richard had labeled the little demon, was busy working on skinning the boar. It seemed as though being a farmer had included some basic skills training in livestock care/disposal. Of course, watching the halfling dart around boarzilla’s corpse like some overactive speed demon slicing up the huge pig… was a bit disquieting. It reminded Richard of the old Leprechaun horror movies. The only difference was that Meran had a friendly, youthful face… that still made Richard shiver in fear.

Richard got busy gathering up all the loot from the dead bandits and retrieving his abandoned rucksack. Repacking was going to be an issue… but Richard focused on getting rid of all the meat he had stored up on, choosing to keep the skins and other random loot instead. For a brief period, he felt like he was in some kind of game world, sorting through his inventory in the hunting fields. Shaking off the weird feeling, Richard got busy peeling off the blood stained, leather armor from what looked like a pulped human torso… maybe… “Hmm…” He felt a little amazed at his own constitution and the fact that he wasn’t barfing in disgust. “Well… whatever.”

Eventually, he got to the last thing on his list of to do: the flashing icon. He hesitated in pulling up the screen. There was a chance it was a skill, but the fact that he had used the ‘Critical Luck’ skill made him wonder about what had happened. What he had seen and experienced had been completely different from all the so called ‘magic’ that he had seen in this world so far. The closest thing he had ever felt to that was the dark void which he had fallen through in entering the World Labyrinth…

The only conclusion he could come up with was that the skill was different somehow… and the only one, who could maybe help him understand it was Master Mulfow. Of course, Richard had kept it a secret from the old man… wanting to avoid some unnecessary questions. It looked like he had to come clean soon…..

Meanwhile… His attention finally focused on the flashing symbol….

The Gods of Luck have been entertained this day by your struggles. Your use of their gift was most fitting, and in their infinite grace, they offer you a gift forged from the essence of luck. Use it wisely in your future endeavors.

“Huhhhhh!....” Richard gawked at the blue screen, trying to figure out what he was seeing. It wasn’t a skill… Instead, there was a star like icon flashing on the screen. The star… was familiar, and Richard eyes quickly glanced at the compass on his wrist before going back to the screen.

A mental tap on the star icon and…

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Sounding like he had just won a carnival prize, a large roulette wheel appeared right in front of him. Richard gaped as a small blue panel then flashed into existence with a button saying, ‘Press to spin.’ He felt déjà vu again…

This time he knew what he was looking at, but… ‘how’ was the big question. The last time, this had been a gift from the interviewer. A dozen theories popped up in Richard’s mind… but the one that stood out... “No… that can’t be right… can it?”

Suddenly, Richard had a mental image of the bastard of an interviewer sitting on a couch, eating popcorn, and laughing his head off as while watching Richard flounder around in this crazy world. Shaking his head, Richard firmly refused to believe it… but… but… Richard remembered the white world and the tiny, little fact that… he was supposed to have died.

He suddenly felt sick… there was a tiny, itsy bitsy, however miniscule chance that… the interviewer had been some kind of…. god… or maybe representative of god… as friggin crazy as that sounded. Richard closed his eyes and sighed, wondering if he really had been ‘screwed by god’ when he was dropped into this world a hundreds of meters up in the sky. But, that meant the so called Gods of Luck… Who the hell were they? He suddenly had a hundred questions, and no realistic way to answer them by himself. The only one who might have some answers or know where to find them was once again Master Mulfow…

Richard sighed, realizing he had to cut his little adventure short and get back to Serenthal. But first, he mentally tapped on the ‘spin’ button and triggered the roulette wheel.

Dooh!Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh! Dooh!... Dooh!.... Dooh!..... Dooh!..... Dooh!..... Dooh!..... Dooh!........ Dooh!........ Dooh!........ Dooh!............. Dooh!

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Suddenly, a message box popped up in front of him.

Congratulations! Your prize has been deposited in your inventory.

The roulette wheel disappeared, and Richard pulled up his inventory, curious to what he might find in it. There was enough space cleared out in it to hold more than a few things… and Richard saw the new object: a plain gold ring. Tapping on the icon gave him some options, including one for item description

Lucky Ring of the Boar King

Gifted by the Gods of Luck, this ring allows the wearer to temporarily enhance their strength randomly once a day by one of three multipliers.

Strength Enhancement Multipliers: 2X, 4X, 8X

Enhancement Duration: 180 Seconds

Enhancement Cooldown: 24 Hours

Richard’s face broke out in a slight smile… The ring was a god send both literally and figuratively. He remembered all the battles so far where something like this would have been useful. Even 2X his strength would have given him an edge, but something like 8X his strength was almost impossible to imagine… It wouldn’t make him invincible, but it would definitely make it much harder to kill him.

“Mister Jaeger, are you alright?” The sudden question out of nowhere made Richard jump a bit, and he twisted around a bit flustered… only to stumble backwards almost having a heart attack.

Standing in front of him was Meran, smiling broadly…. while coated in a layer of blood and holding Richard’s hunting knife in one hand and a red lump of something covered in flesh in the other. For a second, Richard’s memories flashed to his childhood trauma of watching Chuckie…

Shaking off the sudden fright with a “living slasher dolls aren’t real,” Richard cleared his throat and asked, “Yes, Meran? Are you done with the skinning yet?”

Meran fiercely shook his head, scattering droplets of blood before saying, “No sir, but I got the mana stone out… See!” With that, the halfling held the flesh covered mana stone like he was showing off his favorite toy.

“Yeah… I see… Why don’t you go clean off the stone a bit… so it’s not as bloody. Also, you might want to wipe off some the blood on your face as well… It’s a bit… umm… disconcerting.” Richard forced a smile even as tried not to get too close to the demonic looking halfling.

“Okay, Mr. Jaeger! I’ll be done with the skinning in a bit!” Excitedly, Meran ran off, leaving Richard wondering what in the hell he had gotten himself into.

5 Hours Later…

“Well… you look a bit more presentable.” Richard couldn’t help but glance over the halfling with a critical eye. Meran’s clothes were still kind of stained in red… but it was more like some kind of dye than actual blood stains now. Thankfully, the lake had been a relatively close for a pit stop before they got to the town.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t been Richard, who had steered them through the woods… The halfling was showing more than a few useful skills… something that made up for all the trouble he had caused.

“Ummm… Mister Jaeger, what are we going to do in Ortesse?” Meran’s cheerful face seemed not to be bothered by the fact that he was soaking wet.

“Ahem… ahh… We need to sell some of the loot, buy some things… and I… well, let’s just say I need to pay the local Guard post a visit… you know, to regale them of my adventures.” Richard couldn’t bring himself to tell the halfling that he had to check in at the post like some kind of petty criminal visiting his probation officer… Well, there was a little more to it this time around… and part of him was looking forward to it.

So, a short while later, Richard walked into town gasping while dragging a crude sled, packed with scavenged loot, some snake skins, and a few huge boar bones. Most people stared at the bizarre scene, especially since Meran was skipping along in the back singing. “On the road… On the road… La La La La…”

Richard had almost gone insane after the third time the halfling began singing same damn song, but thankfully, he had gotten some good use out of some of the slightly damaged, scavenged clothes… Mind you, he had removed the bizarre looking turban/head wrap/earmuffs after getting close the village. He really didn’t want to seem even more out of place. Dragging the crude sled made out of branches, bones, and pieces of boar fur, he made his way to the stone building sitting right next to the village gates.

As he approached the place, he saw the guardsman form before… mev.. Mev… Mever or something. “Hello guardsman.” Smiling broadly, Richard held up his hands in salute.

The guardsman looked at Richard, then at the sled, then at the singing, smiling halfling, and then back at Richard, before whispering, “Must have been some hunting trip…”

Richard continued to grin his fake grin and muttered, “You have no idea.”

After gaining entrance to the guard post, Richard braced himself for the next… person. As soon as he entered, he smelled the booze, clearly stinking up the place. It was like he had walked into another tavern. However, instead of a dozen or so drunks, there was one fat, florid faced man in a stained guard uniform sitting behind a desk with his legs propped up on the desk. The fat man seemed very busy… chowing down on what looked like a drumstick.

The guard post office looked like… a pig sty, including the half rotten food sitting in one corner, and Richard had to watch where he stepped just in case. Getting close to the desk, Richard loudly cleared his throat and said, “Sergeant Cothers… I’m back to check in with you…”

The greasy, pimpled faced man looked up and grunted, “Where’s that bastard Nevel?”

Richard tried not to scowl and replied, “He’s umm… looking over some things in the marshlands… We ran into some trouble.”

The sergeant snorted and said, “Well… whatever, get yer face outta here…”

Richard placed his hands on the desk, leaning down. “I’m here to get your signature on the pass. I believe we talked about this last time.”

The sergeant looked back up and smiled greedily. “Well, then… you know what you gotta do fer that, right?”

Richard felt his left eye twitching… Last time, Nevel had intervened, preventing Richard from having to bribe the bastard… But this time… “Listen up piggy… I had to deal with one of yer brothers out there in the woods… I’m not in a happy mood, so sign the damn paper… and I’ll be out of your shit covered pigsty.” To say that Richard was out of patience and tired of two bit villains/morons was an understatement.

The fat man’s face went red, and he opened his mouth to yell… about the time Richard plunged a jeweled dagger right into the desk…

THUNK!

The familiar, gem studded dagger trembled a bit, and piggie’s mouth flopped open… without a word spilling out.

Richard grinned maliciously. “Yeah, lard ass… I know all about your little under the table deals with the slavers… In fact, I ran into your buddy Torane… He was most cooperative. It’s amazing how a few cuts in the right places loosens up people’s tongues.” The truth was a bit more complex. It had been mostly Nevel, who had encouraged the dead slaver to spill his guts to avoid prolonged torture by the girls… though, the fact that the weasel had a knife sticking through his ball sack at the time had helped. Then, being inspired a bit and deciding to take a shot in the dark, Richard continued, “Also… those four dumb shits who’re working for you… you know the ones… the blonde and black haired muscle heads and the two lanky dogfuckers… well, I turned them into meat paste as well… But before that, they were kind enough to tell me about some of the things you’ve been doing…”

The sergeant, who had been shaking like a disgusting jello mold, started gasping and grabbed his chest. “Aggghhhhhh! Gahhhhh!” Then, he fell forward over the desk, twitching a bit with his eyes rolled back and drool seeping out of his mouth.

Behind Richard, Guardsman Mever entered through the doorway. Richard didn’t turn around but instead remained staring at the dead, sorry sack of shit. He had planned on threatening the moron, maybe blackmailing him, then finding a way to get him removed from his post before killing him some time in the future, but having him die of an actual heart attack was even better. There was no need for Richard to actually get his hands dirty anymore… The Gods of Luck seemed to shining down their abundant grace. Now all he had to do was play it cool…“You heard?”

Guardsman Mever’s subdued voice filled the office, “Yes…”

Richard smiled a bit contently looking at piggie’s dead face. “Good… You can sign my pass then….”