Chapter One

*

“Today is the day.”

The realization was like cold water, instantly rejuvenating me. Excitedly, I threw off the covers and slipped my house shoes on, rushing down the hall to my sister.

“Eliza-za, wake up! Ithalon released today!”

Knocking on my sister’s door, I heard startled shuffling from within. As I went to knock again, the door wrenched open to reveal my older sister - Elizabeth - in shorts and a tank top.

“Ken, what are you on about?”

“It’s today. Today’s the day.” I grabbed her hand and dragged her down the hallway, passing the bathroom and pulling her down the stairs, carefully so she wouldn't get hurt, and then paused at the bottom.

“Oh.”

“I told you, it’s the day.”

In the living room, the old leather couches Mom and Dad loved were gone. In their place, five new VR pods lined the walls. Each one was the length of a recliner.

I knew I should wait, that I shouldn't touch them until Mom and Dad got up, but I couldn't. I brushed my hand through the soft padding in awe.

“I can’t believe they’re finally here.”

“We have to make Mom and Dad breakfast to show our thanks, maybe even do all our chores.”

I looked at her like she was crazy. She had a good point, and there was no other way we knew to show our appreciation.

“Sounds fine by me.”

I raced her to the kitchen, hip-bumping her away from the refrigerator. She glared at me, but I only smirked in satisfaction. She flipped the stoves on and pulled out a bunch of pots and pans. Quickly, with great skill, she had a nice sauce prepared.

She pulled out another pan, and I delivered the ingredients.

Eggs, to mix within the sauce.

Vegetables, to mix within the eggs.

And sausage, to be cooked on the second pan.

Early morning light had yet to rise over the horizon, bringing with it the morning dew. Eliza quickly mixed in the eggs to the herbs and spices, mixing in milk to fluff them up, and then scrambled them.

The sausage went into the buttered pan.

I hadn’t stayed idle, grabbing a tray and lining it with dough. Dancing around Eliza, I tossed the tray into the oven and set a timer for fifteen minutes.

“What else?” she asked.

“Today needs to be special. Like, special-special.”

“I mean, what else do you know how to cook?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

I started to rummage through cabinets, searching. I knew what I was looking for had to be around here somewhere since Mom put a new one on the table daily. I finally found the table liners, pulling the nice silk one with intricate designs out of the pile. I washed the table, then set it up.

“Not enough.”

Taking a vase, I filled it halfway with water and then rushed into the backyard, carefully. I didn’t want them to know what we were up to. Then, stumbling through the darkness, I picked a small bouquet from Mom’s garden and arranged them nicely.

“That’ll work,” I whispered. “Just, one more thing.”

Shutting the door quietly behind me, I set the vase in the center of the table and found some white and silver ribbon with the holiday stuff in the hall closet. Time would run out soon if I didn’t hurry, so I wrapped the flowers in a simple ribbon.

Last, but definitely not least, I took out the expensive china and silverware. Mom and Dad didn’t like when we touched the expensive dinery, but today was a special day.

We’d be careful.

And careful we were, setting the table flawlessly.

I couldn’t keep myself from taking another look at the pods waiting in the living room. "Eliza, how do you think the Amazonian employees fit the pods in the house?”

“Now that you mention it, they are pretty big.” She measured the door and walked over to the pods. “No way they came in the front door, that’s for sure.”

“But the back door is even smaller?” At this point, I was a bit confused, but I shrugged it off.

Eliza cooked the food to perfection, topping each waiting plate with a healthy serving.

“Eliza, why do you think they delayed the game so many times?"

"I'm sure they wanted to get it just right,” she said as she finished the last plate. “That stuff can't be easy, you know?"

"But it's been three years!" I complained.

I’d been really excited when Amazonian had first mentioned their New-Age Gaming Initiative, but nothing had ever come out of it until today!

Focus, I thought to myself.

So last, but not least, cups of orange juice were set at each plate.

We finished just as Mom and Dad exited their room. They looked between Eliza and I with soft smiles, their eyes shining brightly.

Admittedly, I was far more nervous than I should’ve been, but it’s not often that we put forth such effort.

“Wow,” Mom said, holding her hands out for a hug.

Eliza walked over and gave her a firm side hug. Dad pat me on the back, and I gave him my biggest beaming smile.

“The food smells great,” he said. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

We all sat at the table, and I was so nervous and excited, butterflies roiled around my stomach. I didn’t have an appetite, but I forced myself to take at least a couple of bites.

“Aren’t you hungry, kiddo?” Dad asked.

“I can’t calm down.”

“Is it Ithalon?” Mom asked.

“Yes. Eliza and I already coordinated a first day gaming session with all our friends.”

“Y’all are lucky that it’s Saturday,” Dad said with a smile. “We want to play, too.”

I wriggled in my seat.

“What’s wrong with playing with your parents, Ken?” Mom asked, her eyebrows doing that thing they do when she wanted to know she was kidding. One brow rose, then the other, back to the first.

“Momma, you know you’re embarrassing, right? If I played with y’all, my friends would laugh in our Halo Comm classes,” I admitted, staring back at her seriously.

“Oh, please,” she said, laughing. “When you’re older, you’ll miss the days of doing stuff with your Dad and I.”

“Honey,” Dad said, his signature dadding saving our butts. “We can find a nice place to adventure while the kids spend time with their friends.”

“But -”

“Love,” he started, making wiggly eyes at Mom. “We’ll have plenty of time to embarrass the kids later when we’re stronger than them.”

“Oh! That’s very true,” she said, grinning at Eliza and I.

I groaned as Eliza rolled her eyes.

Eliza scoffed, “Y’all think you’ll be able to get stronger than us?”

“Oh, for sure,” Dad says through a mouthful of egg.

“Bet!” Eliza excitedly said, holding out a hand for Dad to shake.

“Eliza?” I asked questioningly.

Dad looks over at Mom, and they share a secret look.

I held my head in my hands. “Eliza, what did you do?”

“It’s just a bet, Ken. Don’t be a party pooper.”

“I’m not, but it’s just -”

“Scared?” she asked, wiggling her brows.

“No, of course not!”

“Then why are you so worried?”

“Fine,” I said, an idea forming. “Mom, Dad, this bet. I’m interested in the stakes. It’s no fun if we aren’t betting for anything.”

“Oh-ho!” Dad chuckled.

Mom rubbed her chin, contemplating. “Do you have any ideas, Ken?”

Raising a finger, I stood up excitedly to boast of my great ideas.

Then I deflated like a balloon, “No, not really.”

“How about this,” Eliza started, smiling triumphantly, “at the end of a month of in-game time, we fight two-versus-two?”

That -

“I like it,” I agreed.

Mom and Dad did that look - the look - before nodding at Eliza’s challenge.

“We still need stakes. What about this,” Mom said, pausing to make eye contact with everyone. “If we win, you both have to adventure with us for two months in-game.”

“What?!” Eliza and I both shouted, looking at each other in panic.

“Scared?” Dad asked, his tone challenging.

“Never!” I glared at him.

Eliza huffed but didn’t protest.

“What about if we win?” she asked.

“What do you want?” Dad responded with an all-knowing look.

“A car!”

Dad looked at Mom, and they took a second to consider.

“That leaves out Ken, though,” Mom said.

Eliza glared at me, her eyes demanding that I make her condition my request.

“You owe me,” I whispered. She did a happy dance as I turned to Mom and Dad, clarifying. “If Eliza gets a car, she has to drive me places.”

Everyone looked around to confirm that they agreed to the terms.

“Okay, so let’s write it down. We’ll make it a contract,” Dad said, grabbing a pen and paper from a cabinet. Sitting down, he started to scrawl the details, repeating them aloud for everyone’s benefit. “Mom and Dad, team one, versus Eliza and Ken, team two. If team one wins, team two has to spend two in-game months adventuring with team one. If team two wins, team one has to get team two a car that they share.”

I pushed my food away, looking at Dad with my signature move - Begging!

His lips pursed. We stared at one another for only a moment, but he’s never able to resist!

Critical hit! I thought to myself.

Tilting his head slightly, he nodded toward the living room where the pods waited.

I almost rushed out of the dining room, but I stopped before I got too far. Turning around, I rushed back to give him a big hug.

“Thank you!”

“Go. We’ll take care of the dishes,” he said, patting my back.

Eliza and I made eye contact, barely containing ourselves as we jumped into a pod apiece. I looked at the fifth one.

“Do you think someone should’ve told Becca?”

“No way. She’s totally a Debby Downer, so she’ll just have to catch up with the rest of us.”

Well, Eliza definitely wasn’t wrong about that. Our older sister really had been a grump the last couple years.

I leaned back in the pod and let it expand to cover my sides, keeping me snug and comfortable. There were no complaints to be had, truly. It was like sleeping on a firm yet soft bed. The goggles, darkened to block out all light, pulled over my eyes.

I felt a small pressure on my spine, but then I was asleep.

Quickly after, a prompt greeted me.

[Welcome to Ithalon!]

[Select your Guide!]

The void filled with light, and before me stood dozens of different options to select from.

“What’s a Guide?”

[A guide: a non-combat companion.]

“Not very helpful.”

I hesitantly took a step forward off the small platform, finding that my disembodied consciousness moved forward as though my body existed.

“That’s wacky,” I observed. “Is there any way to give me my body?”

[Processing request…]

Three seconds later, I could see my hands.

“Thank you.”

[You’re welcome!]

As I walked down the line of different Guides, I realized that they all watched me back.

“Creepy,” I muttered. “Do I have to choose a Guide?”

[Scanning…]

[New user logged.]

[A Guide is recommended.]

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

[Processing request…]

[Alternate non-combat options are available!]

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be taking a Guide.”

I’d been playing role playing games for as long as I could remember, so I definitely didn’t need a Guide to show me how things worked.

[Processing request…]

The rows of Guides fell away and a large spinning wheel with an exaggerated lever appeared. I waited, wondering if the voice would prompt me to pull the lever. When it didn’t, I shrugged and gave it a good pull.

Different pictures passed by, but I couldn’t really tell what any of them were. As it started to slow, several different items, resources, and abilities flew by. Coming to its final resting point, it landed on a blank tome.

[Compensation reward: Unselected Tome of Rituals!]

“Rituals? Like, lamb sacrifice?” I joked.

It didn’t think I was funny, I thought.

The wheel disappeared, the light dimming. A spotlight focused on me as a mirror appeared. In it, I stood, a perfect replica. My t-shirt and pajama pants looked pretty good.

Chapter Two

*

[Select your Race!]

“Does race affect starting areas?”

[Processing query…]

[Races: Provide different racial passives and initial attribute boosts.]

“Interesting, what does Human give?”

The image flickered, but nothing changed.

[Human: +1 All Attributes; capable of selecting a Talent.]

“What are talents?” I wondered aloud.

[Talent: A passive Attribute bonus or amplifier. Note: Only two Talents can be active at a time.]

“Sounds like it could be strong. Seems boring though. What about,” I started, but I didn’t really know what else to choose. Elves are overdone and would more than likely have some kind of bonus to magic or bows. “Oh, do you have demihumans?”

Again, the image flickered, but this time there were dozens of me with different animalistic traits. Too many to count, honestly.

[Demihuman: +10 Free Attribute points.]

“No Talent, but it has more free attributes. Two more for good measure,” I muttered. “Show me Goliaths and Leonins.”

The demihuman versions faded, replaced by two large figures.

The Goliath was massive, at least two-and-a-half times my current size with large muscles and a powerful physique.

The Leonin was far more interesting to me, but they drew a similar comparison. The Leonin was closer to double my size with clawed hands, sharp teeth poking out from the mouth, and furred skin.

[Goliath: +10 Strength, +3 Constitution, +3 Vitality, - 2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom.]

[Leonin: +4 Strength, +4 Agility, +2 Constitution, +2 Vitality.]

As interesting as the two were, I wasn’t the type to play a brute. All the games I’d played, I was a hybrid spellsword. I wanted to keep close to that format, being what I was most comfortable with, so that I could beat Mom and Dad.

“Demihuman.”

The dozens of variations returned, each one contained within a mirror. I walked down the several rows, stopping at a catkin version of myself.

The avatar’s hair was silver, two similarly colored ears poking through. Its eyes were baby blue, the long bushy tail was an interesting mix of both colors. Its fingernails were sharpened into claws and looked like they could do some serious damage on their own.

“This one.”

[Avatar selected!]

It stepped out of the mirror, the surface rippling like water, and superimposed its body with my own.

“And that’s how I became a catboy,” I joked to myself, raising my hand. I touched the sharp claw on my pointer finger to the fleshy part of my thumb. “Ow!”

Hindsight is, in fact, twenty-twenty.

[Character creation complete!]

“That’s it?”

There was no Tutorial. No Class selection. No basic starter gear or skills.

“I think I may have messed up.”

[Please select starting Region!]

“I definitely messed up,” I said, groaning.

[Please select starting Region!]

“Hush you!”

[Please select starting Region!]

“The coast of Demlach!” I shouted, frustrated. If this set me back, Eliza would never let me forget about it.

[Neutral Region: Demlach selected!]

I closed my eyes when a torrent of wind gushed past me.

Before I opened them, I knew that I was no longer in that empty void. The sound of gulls squawking, the smell of the salty air, and the absurd increase in humidity gave me plenty forewarning.

But, even with that knowledge, opening my eyes still left me absolutely stunned by how beautiful everything was. Also, how bad everything stank. Badly.

My face crinkled up in disgust as someone tapped on my shoulder.

“Ken?”

Turning around, I saw one of my friends. She kept her Human form, her blonde hair reaching to her lower back. She had a round face and equally round green eyes.

“Maddie!”

She gave me a hug, “I started to wonder if you were gonna make it.”

Next to her, a child-sized bunny hopped about.

“What is that?”

“Huh?” She looked where I pointed. “Oh, that’s Bun-Bun. He’s my Guide!”

She looked around, searching for my own Guide.

“I don’t have a Guide,” I said, hanging my head. I touched the icon in the corner of my vision, the drop down bar showing me my current selectable menus. I touched the ‘Inventory’ tab, seeing the unmarked tome. “I got this blank book instead.”

“Oh? Do you know how to -”

“Ken, Maddie!” a third person called. “Hey, I didn’t realize y’all were hanging out over here.”

“Adam,” Maddie said unhappily.

“Adam!” I called out. “Why am I not surprised to see you selected the Leonin?”

His golden fur shined in the afternoon’s sun. None of us wore anything better than rags nor did either of them have any equipment.

Adam flexed, grinning wildly. “Muscles, Ken. Muscles.”

“Wouldn’t the Goliath have been better?” I asked.

“Trust me, I checked, but they’re hostile to pretty much every other Faction and Guild outside of their own. I already promised to play with the both of you, so I took the second best.”

Maddie rolled her eyes, “Bun-Bun says we need to go this way.”

She tugged my wrist away from the bunch of spawning platforms. Several others had already come and went since I’d been spawned, and I was ready to get after them.

I followed after Maddie, noticing that Adam also didn’t have a Guide.

“Didn’t you choose a Guide?” I asked.

He shook his head, “Of course not. I don’t need anybody to tell me how to play a game. I got Blacksmithing instead.”

“You’re gonna be a smith?” Maddie asked, pausing to look back at Adam. “That’s pretty useful, actually.”

“Yeah, I’m awesome. Tell me more,” he said as he flexed again.

She groaned, “Kenny, make him stop.”

Adam mimicked her, pantomiming a crying child, “Kenny, make him stop.”

“Can you both just get along?” I plead.

They made eye contact, grinning playfully.

Adam slapped my back hard, “You know we’re just messing around, Ken.”

“I can’t ever tell with the both of you.”

We bickered and bantered as we made our way deeper into the city, following the directions from Bun-Bun and the general newbie crowd. It wasn’t long before we got to a supply depot.

“Newbies, line up! Armor, swords, and bow up for grabs. Come one, come all!” hollered a portly Human in finery. “One set per person, one weapon per person.”

The variety and quality of the things I saw were lacking, however, it beat trying to run around without a single piece of gear. Free was better than not at all.

“Does Bun-Bun know anything about what we might fight?” I asked Maddie.

“She says that she can’t tell me until we have equipment. She’s afraid we might run off and get ourselves killed.”

“Huh, that makes sense.”

I started growing weary waiting in the line. I grabbed ahold of my tail - or at least tried to, spinning in circles for a good minute or two before finally gripping it - and immediately let it go, cheeks growing red.

That’s sensitive, I thought.

Adam also had a tail, but his was thinner and as tall as he was. Mine was long for my size, but it really didn’t compare. I contemplated grabbing it as a joke…

“Next!”

Turning back around, I saw that the man was talking to me. I take the simple chainmail chest armor and then pause, staring at both the bow and sword.

“Hurry up!” prompted the portly man.

I glared back at him, deciding on the sword. It was obvious since I’d be playing a spellsword - well, I hoped I would be.

Once we all claimed our pieces, Adam with a sword and Maddie with a bow, we continued through the city. They had one more stop.

The apothecary.

“Come one, come all!” a robed man called. “Two potions for everybody.”

He and a young girl handed out potions to all the newbies wandering through the city. They watched as someone approached, but both the man and the girl glared at him.

“You already got your freebies!” the little girl shouted. “Come back when you have some money.”

“Traveler, sorry for my daughter’s behavior, but she happens to be right. We’re unable to give those that have received their free allotment any more freebies.” He collapsed his hand and bowed. “If you’ve got loot to trade, then maybe we can work out a deal.”

The shifty fellow that tried to double-dip into the free stuff scampered off, apparently having nothing of value to trade.

Seeing the commotion die down, we stepped up to them. They nodded, pulling the potions from a basket nearby. Once we took them, they dissipated into blue mist.

“Wha -”

[Added two Lesser Health Potions to inventory!]

“Oh, thank you both!” I didn’t know what else to say, so I waved awkwardly, following the rest of the newbies with Guides. Once we’re out of range, I turned back to Maddie. “Thank goodness there’s a smart one among us. If we didn’t have Bun-Bun, I think we’d get lost in the city.”

“Bun-Bun’s the best!” Maddie smirked, picking the Guide up and squeezing it tightly.

I found it peculiar that she understood its incoherent squeaking, but there was probably some way of translating the creature’s communication that I wasn’t privy to.

“It looks like a good snack in case of emergency,” Adam chimed in from in front of them.

Maddie gasped, stomping angrily. “You’re such a brute!”

He opened his mouth and picked at the large, sharp teeth within. “These things aren’t for show, you know?”

Maddie turned to me and stomped her foot, “Kenny!”

“Adam!” I scolded him.

“Bun-Bun!” he shouts, playfully reaching out for the bunny Guide.

I shook my head, a headache building. “Let’s just get to the newbie area so we can figure out what we’re doing.”

So, they continued to follow the newbies at the behest of Bun-Bun. They passed several large buildings with different logos on signposts that hung outside.

“Maddie, what are those?” I wondered.

She repeated the question to Bun-Bun, and it squeaked back a response. “Guildhalls. In this city, they have the Adventurer Guild, the Merchant Guild, and the Alchemical Guild - all Non-Player Character run Guilds. There are two available locations for Player Guilds, but nobody has reached that point yet.”

“A Guild? What are they good for?” Adam asked as they approached the exit.

It looked like there was some kind of hold up at the gate. People weren’t passing through very quickly, and it caused a lot of foot traffic. I started to get antsy again, having spent the most of the time in this stinking city in a line of some kind.

Instead of focusing on the line, I decided to play with the menus. In it, I see that my inventory has two spaces occupied, the Lesser Healing Potions stacking in one slot with the myster tome occupying the other.

“I wonder how many can stack,” I muttered to myself, ignoring the unknown tome.

In all the other roleplaying games I played, it varied. Some, it was based on the player’s maximum carry weight. Others, it didn’t matter much. Sometimes it would stack to ninety-nine, and sometimes it would only go to twenty.

No way to tell yet.

Next on the list, Status. Clicking the menu filled my vision with text.

[Name: Ken]

[Race: Demihuman]

[Class: Classless]

[Level: 1]

[Personal Rating: 50]

[Achievements: None]

[Ach. Bonuses: None]

[HP: 150]

[MP: 150]

[HP Regen: 50/HR]

[MP Regen: 50/HR]

[Attack: 10]

[Defense: 10]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Vitality: 10]

[Constitution: 10]

[Intelligence: 10]

[Wisdom: 10]

[Free Stats: 10]

[Talents: (0/2)]

[Skills: (0/5)]

[Magics: (0/5)]

It was a lot to take in. I regretted not having a Guide to explain what things meant. All I knew is that my Demihuman race was the reason for my ten Free Stats. It seemed familiar, but I’d already made the mistake of assuming things were like other games.

Everything was uniform, nice and easy numbers that were easily understood. It wasn’t clear which attributes affected what. I didn’t want to waste any attribute points, so I closed out of the window and moved to the next section.

‘Equipped’.

[Confirm Equip: Iron Sword.]

“Confirm.”

[Iron Sword equipped.]

[Confirm Equip: Chainmail Chestpiece.]

“Confirm.”

[Chainmail Chestpiece Equipped.]

Adam and Maddie looked at me strangely.

“What?” I asked both of them.

“You’re muttering to yourself, man,” Adam said with a raised brow.

“You have to actually go to your menu to equip the stuff you got. I just did it and I got,” I looked over the attribute changes, “two Constitution from the chestpiece and one attack - wait, only one attack?”

“What’s your rating at?” Maddie asked.

It takes me a second to navigate back to my Status, “Fifty-three.”

“That’s…” Adam seemed slightly disappointed.

“What?” I asked.

“That’s all?”

“Yeah, why? What’s yours at?”

“Seventy-three after equipping the sword and chestpiece.”

“What?” My brain blanked for a few moments before I realized that his Race - Leonin - gave him twelve attributes. “Oh, I still haven’t used my free points.”

They both raised a brow. Maddie asked, “What free points?”

“Demihuman gets ten free points. It was a total stat loss, but I figured I’d be able to tailor my build a bit better.”

“Kenny, you know my Talent gives me plus-two to all stats, right? On top of plus-one from being a Human,” Maddie stated.

I looked at her dumbly, “But - but - but…”

Silver linings, Kennith. Silver linings. I can get a better Talent later. But, “I’m about to be so weak compared to the both of you.”

“A little bit, yeah,” Adam nodded.

“But it’s okay, Kenny. We’ll take care of you.”

Chapter Three

*

“Ew, no,” I immediately rejected. “Anyway, let’s talk about classes. What do the both of you want?”

“As long as I get some kind of warrior, I don’t really care,” Adam responded.

His answer didn’t surprise me much.

“I don’t know quite yet,” Maddie took a bit longer to respond, really thinking about her answer. “I always have to play a healer, so I want to try something new this time. I’m really rounded out, so it might just depend on what happens next.”

“I’m gonna try to go spellsword like I always do in these games.”

“Ken, you know you actually have to wield that thing, right?” Adam pointed toward the sword that had appeared at my waist once I officially equipped it. “Are you sure you can do that?”

“I -” Well, that was a good question.

Adam was a wrestling prodigy at our school, winning the state championship three years in a row. I was not. I was into books, music, and art. Definitely not your classic warrior, but it couldn’t be that hard.

“We’ll see?”

“That doesn’t reassure me, Ken. Not even a little.”

Maddie giggles, leaning her head on my shoulder. “It’s okay. We’ll all figure out our thing.”

“I need to be able to beat my parents in a month, though. Eliza made a bet with them that we - her and I - could beat them.”

“Wow, she’s either really confident or really special. And, uh, not the good kind,” Adam said.

“Kenny, it’ll be fine,” Maddie whispered reassuringly in my ear.

“Gross,” Adam grunted. “Get a room with that business.”

I shot him a dirty look, and he just grinned back innocently, batting his lashes.

“Next!”

Maddie lifted her head off my shoulder. I watched her step forward, groaning internally. It just had to be our turn now.

“This is your brief, Travelers. Your Quest is to slay ten Monster Mushies. Return here once you’ve finished for the next Quest. There will be three total, and the final Quest will reward you with one of five basic class orbs.”

[Do you accept: Newbie Quest: Exterminate the Shrooms?]

“Thank you, sir. We’ll return as soon as we finish,” Adam responded first.

“Yes, thank you,” I said, nodding toward the man.

“Me three!” Maddie agreed.

He waved them on, and they passed through the gate. A long road led them away from the town, leading to a small forest not too far away. Once they stepped across the forest’s boundary, they got another notification.

[Entered Newbies’ Training Grounds!]

“Is this an open dungeon or something?” I asked Maddie, hoping that Bun-Bun would have an answer.

“Not a dungeon, no. It’s just a starter area for people like us to learn the basics of the game.”

As we walked farther, I heard a squelching sound. I tapped Maddie’s shoulder and pointed.

She drew her bow slowly, nocking an arrow and taking aim while Adam and I approached the strange sapient mushroom. It looked like a normal mushroom, except the size of a person.

[Menace Mushroom | Level 1 | HP: 25 | MP: 0]

Once Adam got close enough to attack, Maddie loosed the arrow from the bow, quickly reaching to nock another. Adam was faster than I was by a few seconds, stabbing his sword at the Mushroom as the arrow pierced deep into its fungal flesh.

Red numbers started to appear over its head as it took damage in rapid succession. I finally approached, slashing into it. My attack rips a chunk out of the monster. As we assail it, it starts to shake and squirm, a cloud of spores releasing from the top of its head.

“Back!” Adam roared.

I moved just a tad too slowly, sucking in a breath of the tainted air.

[New Condition: Poisoned!]

“Poison!” I shouted, backing away while the rest of the airborne spores dissipated from the immediate surroundings.

Shockingly, I don’t feel all that much pain or any of the nausea that I expected from being poisoned. Instead, I intuitively understood that I was losing a few HP every few seconds.

It felt like a light rash. Nothing too serious.

I looked in my peripheral, seeing that familiar toxic marking to indicate poisonous stuff. Pressing it for detail caused another notification to pop up as I continued backing away from the incredibly slow monster.

[Low-Quality Poison: One damage inflicted every three seconds. Lasts for thirty seconds.]

“The poison only does ten damage,” I informed the others. It didn’t seem like much, but I currently only regenerated fifty points of HP every hour. It was definitely nothing impressive, especially considering the ten points of damage was dealt over thirty seconds.

If we got ambushed, I could see this becoming an issue.

Two more arrows from Maddie did the last few points of damage we needed to take it down. When it died, it didn’t wail or cry. It just deflated into a stinking pile of liquid mush on the ground before dissipating.

[Menace Mushroom slain! Experience split among party members!]

[You’ve received 2 Experience Points!]

“So, the game knows that we’re in a party?” I asked.

“I guess?” Adam looked over at Maddie, looking as confused as I felt.

“It’s a setting in the Party menu called ‘Adaptive Party Formation’,” she explained.

“Can we turn it off? I wouldn’t want randoms joining us,” Adam said.

“Kenny’s the Leader of our party, so he would have to do it.”

I quickly found the setting she mentioned and flipped it off. We remained in a party, but now, nobody else would randomly end up joining if they came to try and leech experience from something we were fighting.

[Quest Updated! 1/10) Mushroom Monsters slain.]

“Let’s keep going,” Adam said, thumping his chest and marching deeper into the newbie zone.

“Adam, maybe we shouldn’t go so far. We shouldn’t underestimate this place just because it’s a newbie zone,” Maddie said.

“I agree. That thing already did ten damage to me.”

Adam turned around and rolled his eyes at the both of us. “Come on Ken, I thought you were totally gonna be an awesome spellsword. You can’t do that if we don’t get you used to beating things up for fun.”

“Brute,” Maddie muttered.

Bun-Bun squeaked in agreement, causing the both of us to laugh.

The sound of the second Menace Mushroom’s squelching forced all chatter to quiet instantly. Adam pointed behind a tree, and I saw the monster hopping about.

Maddie quickly retrieved the arrows inside the first before she focused on the second. When she reached down, she picked up a strange white orb, pocketing it for later observation.

Nocking an arrow, she turned to the Menace Mushroom. Adam and I approached it together, staying close enough so that we could both attack before the spores filled the air.

Once again, Maddie shot her arrow, piercing the monster’s body, as we stabbed forward. I made sure to stab this time, realizing that the sword wasn’t all that effective at slashing into the monster’s fungal flesh.

Red damage numbers appeared over its head in rapid succession. As it went to shake and release its spores, I jumped away, but Adam only grinned and wrenched his sword from within the monster.

It deflated, a bolded red number showing up.

“Fatal Attack?” I asked.

“Looks like a critical attack but better?” Adam said, shrugging.

He reached down and picked up an orb.

“What are those?” I asked Adam and Maddie.

“Skill orbs,” she answered. “We’ll need at least three per person if we want to use the class orbs that we get from finishing this quest.”

“We got one per kill on these monsters. That seems a little high, don’t you think?”

Maddie shook her head, “Bub-Bun says that one drops for every kill in the newbie area. There’s a bunch of rules and what-not that limit it to only while we’re doing the quest and no more than a certain amount, but he didn’t specify anything.”

“Confidential? The old classic ‘make sure they don’t break it’ tactic. I respect it,” Adam said.

“I could see how people would want to game that,” I agreed. “What skills did you get?”

“I got [Grapple],” Maddie said, holding the white orb up.

“[Water Jet],” said Adam.

“Seems a bit random. Let’s just hold onto all of them until the end and see what we’ve got when we finish. I’m sure we’ll have enough for a couple of builds for each of us,” I said, turning to look for the next monster.

“Sounds good,” Adam agreed.

Maddie nodded, retrieving the single arrow she’d fired.

We spent the next hour slaying the other eight Mushrooms for the quest. Each one dropped a white orb. We all held onto the ones that we inflicted the final strike to, which meant I only had two by the time we finished.

It sucked not using my attributes, but I wanted to become a spellsword.

One thing I noticed while we fought was…

I really didn’t like using the sword. However, the idea of stitching to a different build never really occurred. I’ve always played a spellsword. I wouldn’t even know what else to play. Maddie and Adam both had a general idea of how they wanted to play and what they wanted to do, but I was clueless.

I wanted to use magic, and it felt like I would be wasting an opportunity to maximize if I didn’t wield some kind of weapon in tandem.

“I really hope Eliza is doing better than I am,” I grumbled as we walked back to the quest giver.

Adam chuckled, “I’m sure she is. Are you sure you don’t want to use your attributes now? They’re really useful. I feel stronger,” he said, flexing, “and I move faster. The few attacks I took barely even tickled.”

Maddie giggled, looking away conspicuously when I turned toward her.

“You think so, too?” I asked.

She played with a lock of hair, shrugging. “You should do what you want to do. The bonus stats really feel a lot better. I thought I’d be terrible with the bow, but the game has a way of correcting things.”

I touched the hilt of the sword and nodded, “I felt it, but I still sucked.”

“You did fine,” Maddie refuted.

“I took the most damage,” I disagreed.

“You were a bit slower to react, but that doesn’t mean you’re bad,” Adam said.

“Do you think I should try a ranged class?”

“Have you ever played a healer?” Maddie wondered, tilting her head.

“Ew, no.”

“I mean, they’re the most important aspect to a party,” Adam answered.

“Yeah, Kenny. They’re super important. Bub-Bun even agrees.”

“I’m definitely not a healer, but -”

“Oh, a mage type?” Adam asked. “I think we got a few skills here and there.”

“I’ll think about it.”

A mage.

A caster similar to a healer, but their focus was on dealing elemental damage on a larger scale.

An essential member to any pro party in most roleplaying games. Mages harnessed the energies of worlds to make the impossible possible. It already took a core component to what I wanted to do and just specialized in it.

“Travelers!” boomed the quest giver. “You’ve returned, and I see that you’ve completed the quest.”

[Newbie Quest: Exterminate the Shrooms completed!]

[Experience rewarded!]

[Experience deferred!]

[You’ve received 10 copper pieces!]

“What is this deferred experience?” I asked.

Maddie helpfully chimed in, “All experience gained will be added to our classes after we get them.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Now, the second part of your Quest is to collect ten Spirit Blossoms. Return here once you’ve finished for the final Quest.” The quest giver waved them away with a smile.

[Newbie Quest: Scavenge for Herbs!]

“Does it seem like not that many people are doing this quest, or is that just me?” I asked.

“It really does seem like something’s up. For as long as the lines were going out, those coming back are significantly shorter,” Adam agreed, turning to look at Maddie.

“Maybe they died?” she offered.

“Ask your Guide,” he suggested.

“It’s confidential, apparently.”

“It’s fine,” I said, breaking up the conversation before they started insulting each other. “Let’s just get the second part done so we can get our classes.”

“This game isn’t hardcore, right?” I asked.

“No, there are respawns. It’s set to your most recent friendly city,” Maddie responded after listening to Bun-Bun for a few seconds.

“That sounds dangerous. The world is pretty big, so what happens if you’re traveling and haven’t stopped? Days of lost progress,” Adam said.

“Just means security jobs will be taken seriously once people start delving into the world of mercantilism,” said Maddie.

“Mercenary work?” I raised a brow.

“It could be good, easy-ish money,” Adam explained.

“We’ll have to see when the time comes,” Maddie said.

We continued on through the newbie zone, moving into the second zone. No longer did the area present Menace Mushrooms. Instead, there were Mega Mushrooms.

These were nearly twice as big as the Menaces, but they moved far slower in turn. I looked at the sword and my hand, shaking my head.

“I’m not sure I’m gonna be much help here, ya’ll.”

Chapter Four

*

“Forget about that, Ken. You’ll do just fine. Just follow my lead.”

So, I followed Adam forward. I stabbed the Mega Mushroom, and it went less than stellar. I barely pierced the fungal flesh with my attack. Adam had far more success than I, his blade stabbing in quick jabbing motions.

His attacks rammed his sword halfway down the blade, rending the fungal flesh with ease. Maddie’s arrows even pierced through, buried to the fletching.

I backed away, knowing that I wasn’t much use here. Not only that, the Mega Mushroom started to shake after we first hit it, clogging the air with its spores. It’s attack was a consistent barrage, making it far harder to get close again.

This kill took far longer, Maddie’s persistent barrage wearing it down to her last arrow. Like the others, the pile deflated into a big pile of goop before dissipating into blue mist.

“So, just a question,” I started. “Why did we fight that? Aren’t we supposed to be looking for Spirit Blossoms?”

“I mean, why would we turn down free experience and loot?” Adam replied.

Maddie picked up a blue orb, the skill inside flashing randomly. She raised a brow as Bun-Bun squeaked at her, “It’s a rare skill drop. It’s supposed to provide some kind of augmenting skill whenever used for a class.”

“Nice!” Adam pumped his fist in excitement.

She stashed the drop in her inventory and recovered her arrows.

I looked around for the Spirit Blossoms, realizing only now that we never asked for any description. It was then I got a whiff of something incredibly calming, like brown sugar and cinnamon rolls in the oven.

I followed the scent, searching high and low. The search consumed all my focus, and I nearly ran headfirst into a Mega Mushroom. It had yet to notice me, so I turned and ran. Once I knew for sure it hadn’t become aggressive, I looked passed it.

A pure white flower, silvery wisps wafting from its petals, bloomed brilliantly -

- right next to the Mega Mushroom.

“Hey,” I whispered. “I think I found a Spirit Blossom.”

“Is that what that smell is?” Adam sniffed the air, a calm smile plastered on his face as he gazed at the flower longingly.

“It’s really nice, like my mom’s freshly baked apple pie,” Maddie added.

Adam gripped his sword in two hands as Maddie nocked an arrow.

“Let’s do this,” we all said.

Adam rushed forward, and I quickly followed behind him. Maddie loosed her arrow, drawing another and pulling it back in a smooth motion.

Just like last time, Adam and I did as much damage as we could - him doing significantly more than me - while Maddie peppered it with arrows.

As I retreated, its body shaking, a hooded figure plucked our flower, looking our way briefly, before they dashed off.

“Wait, that’s -”

The Mega Mushroom’s spores choked the words of protest, and I had to fall back.

[New Condition: Poisoned!]

This poison ticked far faster and stole away far more health that the Menace Mushroom’s. My eyes blurred, the effect far more debilitating. I fell to a knee next to Maddie, the constant ‘thawp’ helping me focus on the fight.

Blinking away the moisture, I watched as the Mega Mushroom finally succumbed to her barrage. Maddie knelt next to me, resting a hand on my shoulder.

“Are you okay, Kenny?”

I gave her a thumbs up, my throat clenching tightly in disagreement.

“That poison’s really doing a number on you, Ken.”

What Adam said was true, my health only half of what it once was. Once the poison came to an end, I took a deep breath of fresh air.

“Wow,” I groaned. “That really packed a punch.”

“Now that you’re not dying,” Adam started, looking at the vacancy left behind by the Spirit Blossom, “what the heck was that?”

“Looks like we just got jacked.” I stand up, looking around for more of the flowers. “Do you think I should use the potion? My HP is only half now.”

Adam shrugged, “Up to you.”

“I think we should avoid fighting,” Maddie said, walking over to the green orb that dropped. She put it in her inventory and collected her arrows. “Let’s just try to get all the Spirit Blossom so we can move on to the next part and get our classes. That should make things a lot easier.”

“I agree, that sounds like a good plan. Any issues with that, Adam?”

“I mean, I like to fight, but you’re right. Things would be a lot cooler with a class.”

“Then it’s settled,” Maddie said, nodding firmly.

We slinked through the second layer of the newbie area, searching high and low for any hint or hair of the Spirit Blossoms. It became apparent very quickly that they were on some kind of rotating timer.

Other groups of newbies and tons of solo players were eyeing one another, hostile looks being thrown toward anybody that came even close to the known spawning grounds of the Spirit Blossoms.

Out of curiosity, we waited for the next Spirit Blossom to spawn. The respawn timer turned out to be fifteen minutes apiece.

We returned to the one we found initially, sitting down to wait for it to grow back. We made sure to stay vigilant. We wouldn’t want a repeat incident of the first time.

Like that, we collected our first Spirit Blossom. It sprouted from the ground, a long white vine, and then bloomed beautifully. We even appreciated its scent for several long seconds before picking it up.

[Quest Updated! 1/10) Spirit Blossoms collected.]

“This stinks,” Adam groaned.

I tilted my head, “You think so?”

“Yes! I want to get my class and fight more things. These mushrooms are lame with their poison.”

“I agree. It would be much more enjoyable to have a class and some skills to use,” Maddie said.

I nodded. It made sense why there were far fewer people returning to the city for the newbie quest if this was the kind of thing that everybody had to go through. The waiting game alone made me want to fight something, and I knew that was just bound to go wrong.

And it was because of me. I was baggage. Every few minutes, I opened my character sheet and looked through my attributes, really contemplating if I should invest my attributes now. Maybe if I sprinkled them over all of my stats, it wouldn’t be so bad when fighting against the mushrooms.

However, as much as the thought nagged at me, I refused to budge. I would wait to see what I got from my class.

That also got me thinking. I didn’t like the sword. It didn’t feel right to wield. It fit Adam perfectly, and was so totally his style, but it wasn’t mine. I really hoped the skills and classes made a decent difference.

I’d already started considering alternate weapons when we harvested the final Spirit Blossom.

“I think we should turn the quest in and then sign off.” I looked at the both of them, gauging their reactions. “Don’t let me dictate what the both of you do. It’s fine if you want to go on ahead.”

“I’m waiting for you, Kenny.”

Adam stayed silent, running his hand through his head. He looked away, gazing deeper into the newbie area.

“Adam, it’s fine if you go ahead. I don’t want to stop you from enjoying the game.”

“But -”

“No, man. It’s fine, really.”

He sighed, nodding. “After we turn the quest in, I’m gonna keep going. I, at least, want to get my class before the end of the night.”

“I’m probably gonna spend some time talking to Eliza and try to figure out if she has any plans for her class. We have to beat our parents.”

“What did you wager?”

“If we beat them, Eliza gets a car and has to drive me around whenever I want.”

“What?!” Adam shouted in surprise. “That’s seriously nuts.”

“But, if you lose?” Maddie asked.

“Eliza and I have to adventure with them,” I began.

“That doesn’t seem too bad,” she responded.

“For two months. Exclusively,” I exaggerated.

Her eyes widened, “Uh, when will you be back on? We need to get you stronger, fast.”

“Travelers, you’ve returned!” the quest giver boomed.

“Keep it down, will you?” Adam groaned back.

“You’ve returned, and I see that you’ve completed the quest.”

[Newbie Quest: Scavenge for Herbs completed!]

[Experience rewarded!]

[Experience deferred!]

[You’ve received 20 copper pieces!]

“Listen here,” the quest giver whispered, beckoning us closer. “Not many of you make it this far, and this final quest is only for those with the perseverance to push through and see things to the end. Now, the final part of your Quest. Deep within the newbie area, there waits a Mushroom King. Slaying him for the first time guarantees every participating member of the party a rare skill!”

We all exchanged knowing looks, doing our best to hide our excitement.