Good news: I had some time to figure out how to get out of my new “dedicated healer” arrangement since Hera and the rest of the high-ranking officers were asleep still. Bad news: after a hearty lunch of soup, I as well fell asleep. Half-dying and then healing back up took a ton out of me, so it isn’t as if I’m lazy., just exhausted. If it were pure laziness, there would be no way I would pass out with both Lewis and Buffy glaring at me the whole time, making sure that I didn’t run off somewhere on my own.

And so, slipping out of this waking world, I once again had a lucid dream. No midnight vigil for stick thievery appeared this time, merely a cloudless sky and a faintly swaying tree trunk. The view didn’t even move as I waited, besides the very slight change in direction from breathing. He must be out in a tree somewhere, sleeping with his eyes open. Which, now that I think about it, makes no sense.

He never had eyes when I saw him in the soul-bubble. Teeth and an uncanny way of knowing where he was going, but no eyes. I would say that I might have seen wrong, and the exact features aren’t completely clear in my mind, but the eye thing stood out.

What that means for my freaky dream-visions, well, I can’t say I know. Maybe I don’t use eyes to see here. Maybe they were disguised originally, or just very small. Maybe he grew eyes later, or stole some. Unless he looks in a mirror soon or I run into him out there in the plains, I’ll never know.

So that was how I passed a few boring hours after lunch. What laying around for a few hours lucid dreaming did for me was give me some much needed thinking time. Going out into the tall grass alone was dangerous, so lets not do that again if I can help it, at least not until I’m over-leveled for the area or get some kick-ass abilities. Going out there to find a weapon was dumb. I have never been a martial artist in VR, always favoring the sword or the spear, so running into a monster without either was like asking to die, even if I found a club out there. Third, and most importantly, I didn’t get nearly enough information on the monsters that are out there before I began my foolhardy quest.

So when I try again, I need to fix those problems. The extra company shouldn’t be too hard with Buffy hovering over me. She said in no uncertain terms that I was getting out of her sight over her dead body. That may help with number three as well, but I’ll double check on that. She has been alive for this whole time, so she has to have picked up some things, but probably nothing on the level of any of the hunters.

Problem number two, lack of weapons, is something I need to ask around about. I have a hope that the solution was obvious, but I almost think that Hera would have pointed it out if it were. More likely that the triplets are respawning or busy since I haven’t seen them yet. If the easy way doesn’t work, I can just ask around camp, probably. People have to have extra sticks lying around for firewood that I can borrow one of.

If Buffy doesn’t know enough about the monsters, I think I can count on Baron knowing who to talk to about intel. Funny thing about a guy who treasures his words is that he ends up hearing almost everything. Good listeners are hard to come by, so people who know tend to talk his ear off after they realize that he actually is listening instead of ignoring them. Everyone used to joke that he was the guilds secret spymaster because of how up-to-date he always was.

Those three problems addressed, I had another hour or so of reflection on how much I sucked before I once again rose to the land of the awakened. Watching the sun pull lower into the sky and then blacking out before you wake up is super weird.

The sight of Hera smirking down at me as I woke up, while not being a first-time, is always a bad thing. Well, with that smile it is, at least.

“Having some trouble adjusting to low-leveled play again, Omni?”

Yup, she has certainly heard that I came back to camp one foot in the grave.

“No idea what you mean, Guild Leader.”

I could attempt to drive this to the point, but the longer I draw the initial banter, the more likely it is that she gets drawn away by some time-sensitive matter.

“I was just noticing that you were having trouble with the rabbits this time was all. You haven’t had this much trouble with normal monsters since sea-world.”

“So sue me for never taking swimming lessons before that. I’m doing just fine with the rabbits even. I killed every rabbit I encountered while armed.”

That’s not even a lie. Hera just raises her eyebrow at me.

. . .

“Speaking of which, have the triplets set up shop yet?”

“Probably by tomorrow. They just respawned while you were asleep.”

“How did they even get killed? Usually they hole up crafting until they have weapons of mass destruction at their fingertips.”

Hera shrugs.

“They were complaining about only getting monster corpses back and said they wanted to find some natural stones or plants for crafting. Turns out that Pumagators sometimes travel in packs.”

“Not Prides?”

“That would be if they took after lions, so no. Now stop trying to derail this talk.”

“Why would I try to d-”

“No, just listen.”

. . .

Yeah, better just shut up and let the lecture come.

“I never thought I would see the day that you used your very ability to annoy others to get us a new and highly valued guild member, so good job.”

“. . .what?”

“Your doctor friend. He waited until I woke up, then practically begged me to let him be your personal physician at the cost of joining the guild.”

“You, uh, declined, right?”

“. . .”

“Damn.”

“You know perfectly well how important healers are, especially with an entirely new world to explore.”

“Yeah, but you are going to regret it the first time he heals you up.”

I’m mumbling, half to myself, half in the hope she surprises me and changes her mind for the first time in forever.

“Hah, no, I’ve heard how his healing works. That’s why I have Addison in my group and you’re team has Dr. Lewis.”

Nooooooooo! Why? What have I done to deserve this. . .wait. . .

“My own team?”

“I misspoke. You’re scouting for Magnifica’s group.”

“Awwwww. . .”

I mean, I wanted a group, but I didn’t really. That would keep me doing group things but I would rather lead than follow. Still, it could be worse than Magnifica. She was crazy enough to let me do my thing so long as I finished whatever tasks I needed to. The fact that she seemed to enjoy it when things became. . .interesting. . .was part of why people thought she was crazy. Not like Hera who actively tried to make sure I got into the least trouble around the guild as possible.

“On that note, Magnifica is heading out in the morning so be ready to go by then.”

She nods a head over to my left.

“Buffy can point you in the right direction.”

. . .

“Right.”

Said guild mate is leaning against the wall next to where I fell asleep inside the cathedral, drooling all over her jumpsuit. She’s asleep, obviously.

“Now I have a night-raid to run. Stay out of too much trouble, Omni. Once you can stop-”

She giggles, actually giggles at this point.

“-getting killed by rabbits then you can go on longer scouting missions again.”

. . .

She is never going to let this go, is she?