by Charles Dean
Your party has killed the Bandit. Your party has been awarded 38 copper, one quarterstaff and 62 Experience. Your share of the loot is 19 copper and 31 Experience.
You are now Level 3. You need 222 Experience to reach Level 4. Your level increase has boosted all primary stats by 1. Your current Power, Toughness, and Spirit have been adjusted to 13.
As you are currently in combat, health bonuses from leveling will not take effect until after the battle has ended.
That’s right! Die, you slimy piece of— Lee’s inner monolog was interrupted by a loud thunking sound. Pain instantly shot through his leg, and the AI notified him that he had just lost 27 health and received his second status effect:
Due to the injury sustained by your knee, your left leg has been crippled. All movement involving your left leg will be retarded 50% until the wound is healed. Use of this limb may cause further damage, the rate of which will vary based on the activity.
An arrow to the knee?! Lee ignored it momentarily, dropping two more slashes into the man under him. His assumption that he was close to getting the kill shot paid off as the final attack bit deeply into the man’s neck, nearly decapitating him.
You have killed the Bandit Leader. Your party has been awarded 62 copper, one piece of leather armor, one bronze sword and 90 Experience. Your share of the loot is 31 copper, one bronze sword and 45 Experience.
After the kill shot landed, Lee looked over at the archer just in time to see that he was about to be struck again. He jumped to the side and dodged the arrow, but that seemed to only agitate the arrow lodged in his knee and cause him an additional point of damage.
I need to get rid of this thing. He stowed one of the swords and gripped the shaft of the arrow in his leg. He had every intention of pulling it out, but he was having trouble summoning the courage he needed to deal with the pain. Removing the excruciating dart from his knee became a secondary concern as he looked up to see the archer taking aim at him a third time. You have got to be kidding me. Lee groaned in a combination of frustration and pain. There was little he could do but watch as the archer nocked the arrow for what would most likely be a fatal shot. He doubted that he would be able to dodge out of the way again, and every instinct told him to rush the guy and close the distance between them. There was always a chance that the archer would panic and spoil the shot, but there was no way he could cover that much ground while hobbling around on one good leg.
Just as the bowstring begin to slip off the archer’s two fingers, the butt of Miller’s spear swung around and cracked the bowman across the face. The well-aimed blow struck the man across his cheekbone, causing him to pull slightly up and to the side just as his arrow left the bow. The errant missile whizzed past Lee’s ear harmlessly, making him grateful for the fact that he was rooted in place. Lee released a tensely-held breath and decided that he had better just rip the arrow out of his knee.
“Break it! Don’t pull it out!” Miller shouted.
Lee heard him just in time, right before he actually tried yanking the arrow out of his leg. Fine. He held the shaft steady with one hand and sliced it in half with his sword. It wouldn’t do anything to improve his movement, but he took comfort in the fact that at least it wouldn’t wreck his entire leg if he fell down face-first.
For his part, Miller had apparently finished his first target much quicker than Lee and had made it to the last bandit before he could grab his bow. The enemy had apparently grabbed a pair of daggers instead, and the two were engaged in a strange sort of combat where neither could strike the other. Every time Miller pushed forward for an attack, the man jumped back, and every time the man tried to slip past the spear, Miller pulled back. As a result, neither side was doing much in terms of actually landing a blow and was always dancing backward and staying out of reach of the other. The way they were going back and forth and circling around, it had probably been a complete accident that Miller had saved Lee by smacking the archer in the face.
“A hand?” Lee shouted as the archer smoothed out the arrow and aimed another shot at him. He was certain that the archer wouldn’t miss a second shot from less than eight feet away.
“I have you, brother!” Miller broke away from his back-and-forth with the dagger wielder long enough turn and to swing his spear in a wide horizontal arc that slammed the archer in the back. The bandit was pushed off balanced and shoved forward a few steps, giving Lee the opportunity he needed. Lee staggered forward as best as he could, taking four more points of damage and dropping him to 33 health.
Lee didn’t manage to completely reach the archer, but when he got within arm’s reach, he pulled out his second sword and tried to stab him. The other man twisted to the side and parried the blade away with his bow. Lee regrouped and went in again, this time stabbing from both sides in a pincer attack. The archer responded by quickly swinging his bow down between Lee’s two swords and striking him across the forehead. The sudden blow left Lee momentarily stunned as well as taking off another 5 health, and his attack lost a good bit of its impetus. Still, he felt both swords connect and dig into the archer’s sides.
The archer swung again, trying to strike him on the head a second time from a diagonal angle, but Lee was prepared this time. He turned the bow to the side using one sword before stabbing forward with the other. With his bow already occupied, the archer was unable to parry the attack. Lee’s sword pierced upward and into the archer’s armpit, drawing forth a string of blood that resembled flung paint.
“Fie! You son of a fishmonger!” the archer cursed at Lee as he turned and went for a thrust with the end of his bow. Lee twisted his body, letting the bow’s upper limb jab past him, and instinctively responded by delivering a roundhouse blow up and into the archer’s chin. He took a single point of damage as the bow slid across his gut, but his punch, weighted with the blade, knocked the archer clean over and sent him to the ground. Lee immediately plunged both swords down through the man’s flimsy brown robes and into his heart.
You have killed the Bandit. Your party has been awarded 38 copper, one piece of cloth armor and 62 Experience. Your share of the loot is 19 copper, one piece of cloth armor and 31 Experience.
Miller’s assistance hadn’t come without a price. As soon as he turned his attention away from his own target, Miller’s left arm was exposed. The dagger wielder lunged forward and used a rapid succession of attacks to slice up the Firbolg’s forearm, and he was forced to carry his spear with only one hand and in a rather ungainly fashion as he turned back to face the other man. It was clear from the pained expression on his face and the awkward stance he assumed that Miller wasn’t doing well.
“Rapscallion scum,” Miller grunted through gritted teeth and used a quick series of jabs to push away the bandit once again.
“Hey! Your buddy is dead,” Lee called over to the dagger user as he readied his weapons for one final attack. It turned out to be unnecessary, however, as the moment the dagger-wielding scoundrel turned to face him, Miller took the opportunity to land a thrust right under the man’s sternum. He heaved back on his long weapon and showed off his impressive strength a second time, lifting the bandit into the air. The man screamed and shouted in mortal agony as he was lanced through, but there was nothing he could do to save himself as his body was slowly pulled down the spear by gravity. Little by little, the point dug further into his gut until it exited through his spine.
Your party has killed the Bandit. Your party has been awarded 38 copper, one piece of leather armor and 62 Experience. Your share of the loot is 19 copper and 31 Experience.
You have learned the proficiency skill ‘Swordplay.’ This skill is currently at Initiate Level 1. This skill improves one’s reasoning and execution of sword-related abilities in combat.
You have been awarded 2 Intelligence for discovering a new skill without the assistance of class trainers or a manual. Current Intelligence: 19.
You have learned the proficiency skill Sneak. This skill is currently at Initiate Level 1. This s
kill improves one’s ability to stay hidden, move silently and act
undetected.
You have been awarded 2 Intelligence for discovering a new skill without the assistance of class trainers or a manual. Current Intelligence: 21.
For your bravery at challenging and defeating a group of significantly higher enemies, you have been awarded 5 Courage. Your current Courage is: 5.
What does Courage do? Lee asked as soon as he saw the skill.
Each point of Courage improves pain tolerance by 1% and reduces the likelihood of being influenced by a fear-based attack by 1%.
“Victory is ours!” Miller shouted triumphantly as he lowered the corpse and kicked the man’s dead body off of it. “I told you that justice would give us mastery over these wicked cretins! I knew we could do it!”
“You’re not upset about the method?” Lee asked.
Miller’s triumphant expression dimmed, but he didn’t disparage Lee further for using an irreputable method like a sneak attack.
The two of them looked at the corpses one more time before exchanging a look and sharing a laugh. For Lee’s part, at least, he wasn’t chuckling because he thought anything was funny. On the contrary, he felt closer to death than he had yet, his knee was in agonizing pain despite the new bonus to Courage, his heart was racing a mile a minute from the stress and exertion, and he hated the fact he was trapped in some game in some random world in the middle of nowhere, where a crazy Firbolg kept signing him up for things just because they were in the same party. Yet, for some reason, the relief from not dying was so thorough and satisfying that it felt like a weight had been picked up off of his chest. So, Lee couldn’t help but chuckle. This was even better than living through the wolf attacks. What if I’m actually a closeted adrenaline junkie? Am I going to end up climbing mountains and jumping out of planes just so that I can get as close to death as possible without actually dying?
Even Ethan seemed pretty pleased with the situation, and Lee could tell through the psychic bond that they shared that the little mouse was standing on his hind legs and clapping from the sidelines.
Lee and Miller had been so caught up in the post-battle high that they had a momentary memory lapse on the issue that brought them out in the first place: Ling. Realizing their mistake, they quickly darted over to the rock where she was gagged and bound.
Lee knelt down in front of her, took out his sword and slowly cut her ropes. He was a little worried she would either cut herself on his sword trying to run away or dart off as soon as the ropes were removed, but she remained still after she was freed. She stared at him fiercely until her hands were free and then pulled out the gag while Lee cut the ropes binding her legs. She stood up slowly when he was done, obviously being cautious, and immediately stepped back to put some distance between herself and the two men.
“Relax, we’re not here to hurt you,” Lee said, putting away his sword and backing up.
“Who are you?” Ling asked in a high English accent.
Lee did his best to talk as softly and calmly as possible, not knowing what was going through the woman’s head. “I’m Lee, this is my—”
“I’m Donovan Miller!” Miller shouted and jumped forward with exuberance, thumping his chest with pride as he introduced himself.
She jumped a little at Miller’s outburst and eyed them both suspiciously. “Why are you here?” she asked apprehensively, slowly beginning to edge around them toward the recently deceased.
“Your father, Mr. Ying, sent us to find you when your cat didn’t show up,” Lee answered immediately. He wanted to reference her father’s name to build trust with her so she would know they weren’t just random, murderous adventurers. There’s no telling how people from this world normally act toward one another. For all I know, she might think she’s in an even worse situation than before—despite us freeing her from her captivity. After all, we did just kill four people in front of her.
“Why would he ask you two to save me?” She made it to the body of an archer and carefully picked up the bow and a few arrows, her face still deadpan as she watched Lee and Miller.
“Wait, that was your weapon?” Miller asked as she did that. “You’re an archer?”
“Huh?” Lee looked at Miller.
“You can’t just pick up other people’s stuff. The uhh . . .” Miller clearly stumbled over the use of the word game, pausing as he tried to think of a correction before giving up. “It will disappear if you do.”
Lee just ignored Miller’s explanation and continued the dialogue with Ling. “He didn’t think you were kidnapped, actually. I’m sorry to say this, but no one knew. We were only looking for you to tell you that we found your cat and that you could come home,” Lee explained, keeping both his hands raised as she held the bow above her legs, her fingers tightening around the riser.
“My cat. You found Weiser?” Ling exclaimed excitedly. Her beautiful face lit up for the first time since they had freed her at the news. “Show me! Where is he?”
“Yeah, we found your little bud.” Lee grimaced at the memory of the flesh-tearing cat ripping up his arm when he first ‘found’ the Grimalkin. “He’s just not with us right now.”
“Oh.” Her expression soured.
“Yeah, we left him with your dad, who is probably very worried about you,” Lee added. “You should probably be heading back.”
“Ah, yeah.” Ling pursed her lips. “Do you think it is safe?” she asked.
“How about we escort you? Neither of us is that familiar with Satterfield”—a statement that might have been true before they spent all day meeting every single person in the small town during their quest to find Ling—“so how about you lead the way back?”
“Of course.” Ling nodded her agreement. “Just follow me.”
——-
What were the chances of things feeling so close to home? Lee stuck his hand out and let it brush over the all-too-similar vegetation as they walked back through the fields. The sun was starting to set, and a familiar orange sky covered the vast expanse above them as they walked back. He found it oddly comforting to stare up at the sky, knowing that, even out here in this random gaming world of another random universe that he had been pulled to by some attention-seeking deity, some things hadn’t changed. The sky was still blue, the sunset was still a myriad of orange hues cascading across the sky, and the grass was still green.
When they arrived back at town, Ling’s father was waiting for them at the edge of the village. “Thank you so much!” he said to Lee and Miller, not even asking about the situation, why his daughter’s hair was ruffled, her dress was torn and covered and dirty, or why her hands shook as she held the bow like it was her last lifeline. All he said was, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He repeated the two words several more times and hugged his daughter as if the sight of her and the fact that she was in the shape she was in was explanation enough. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you!”
You have completed the quest: ‘Cattywampus Catch Part Two.’ Your party has been awarded 1 silver, 19 coppers, two pairs of fine leather boots and 1100 Experience, of which your share is 59 coppers, one pair of fine leather boots and 550 Experience. Your Charisma has also improved by 4 for helping out an old man in need. Your Honor has improved by 1 for honoring your word and completing the quest as you promised. Honor increases the rate at which one’s reputation is improved in foreign towns.
Townsfolk in Satterfield have a better opinion of you.
You are now Level 4. You need 65 Experience to reach Level 5. Your level increase has boosted all primary stats by 1. Your current Power, Toughness, and Spirit have been adjusted to 14.
Miller enthusiastically spoke up for both of them and said, “It was our pleasure! With Lee’s god leading the way and my trusty spear in my hand, we were able to easily hunt down the wicked men who had taken her and bring them to justice!”
“Well, thank you. I cannot tell you how grateful we are to have Ling back safe and sound."
>
“Your god led the way?” Ling asked when her father stopped embracing her to shake hands with Miller as he thanked the man.
“Uhh . . .” Lee froze. Wait, should I try my hand at proselytizing again? If she converts, I might be able to finally go home. Lee’s eyes shot open. A chance to see my parents again sooner than expected! “Well, yeah. My god, the great god Augustus.” He felt sick complimenting the deity that had thrown him into the awful situation to begin with and claiming his as his own, but he pressed on regardless. “He, in his benevolence, told me where to find you.”
Little Ethan, who had climbed back into Lee’s chest pocket as they started to walk back to town, gave Lee a swift and exceptionally tiny kick at the mention that the god had been the one to find her.
I know, little guy. I’m sorry. I had to lie, though, Lee apologized to his little Golem Sculpture mentally. If there is a chance I can convert her, I have to take it.
“He’s not kidding, either,” Miller said assuredly. “He was able to just head straight to you as if his god was right in front of us showing the way. He even knew exactly when we were about to be beset by wolves and gave us plenty of time to prepare!”
Yep, I forgive you for putting me in two near-death situations just because I’m an NPC. Lee had a newfound respect for his knightly friend, though Ethan wasn’t happy that the god had once again been given credit for his actions.
“Wow, your god did all that?” Ling asked in awe.
“Yes, as I’m sure your god often helps you . . .” Lee said, awkwardly trying to probe her about her religion with the same tactic he had used in the past to find out if a girl was single or not.
“Umm, well, actually . . .”
“We don’t believe in any god, but if yours saved my little Ling Ying”—Mr. Ying took Ling’s hand in his own—“then I’m willing to consider hearing about him sometime.”
