Fight. Level. Survive.

Chapter 74 - You Sex Pest You!

He reread the notification; he’d completely forgotten about the system guidebook. He had unlocked it pretty soon after arriving on this world. It had given him a few basics about his system, like at what level he would be able to get new abilities and how high a stat needed to be in order for it to upgrade. It had promised new powers would be unlocked, but up until now, it had remained silent.

The urge to take a look at the new page was strong, but he was aware that he had been gone for quite some time, and Mayry was probably freaking out, probably worried that he had been kidnapped by the others or eaten by some monster. Besides, Mayry would probably be just as interested in the new page as he was.

He stepped out of the side street only to realise that, one, he had no idea where he was, and two, he had no idea where the inn was. He kicked some dirt in annoyance and cursed under his breath. “All of this just because some old hag gave me herpes.” Replaying what he just said in his head he vowed he would never speak of it again. At least the affliction had gone, as had the unbearable itch.

He set off and started to wander. The town was smaller than Sparksford so surely there couldn’t be that many inns to try, right? Anyway, it was a beautiful night, and he might even enjoy the walk.

With no warning, It began to pour with rain.

***

He didn’t mind the rain, not really, but he did feel like if there were a luck stat, his would be in the negatives. He wandered around, half looking for the inns and half trying to get his Mana Control ability to do what he wanted. He was currently trying to shape it into an umbrella-like shape and have it follow him as he walked.

His control was good enough to get the shape right, but holding it in place and having it follow him required a tremendous amount of concentration.

When he had first gotten the ability, he had hoped it would be like a green lantern ring, taking the shape of whatever he wanted with the only limit being his imagination. His ability wasn’t quite that good. If his concentration lapsed for more than an instant, the form broke apart and took on a different shape that depended on what his mind had drifted to. Usually, something embarrassing. With the skill being at expert rank, he had hoped it would be more instinctual, but he felt he was missing something.

It took over a half hour to walk in the rain, but he finally got the ability to follow him along and protect him from the rain; he was already thoroughly drenched, but that was the principle of the matter. It still took a lot of concentration, but he found that if he did it for long enough, it became almost second nature.

Walking into the third inn he’d come across; he decided that if the girls weren’t staying there, he would get a room and find them in the morning. He desperately needed a shower, food, and sleep.

The warmth of the fireplace hit him the moment he walked in, the interior was simple but cosy and reminded him of the sort of wooden cabin you’d find deep in the woods for a romantic getaway.

He walked over to the front desk, dripping water as he went. It was late at night, so he wasn’t surprised that no one was working. There was a bell, which he assumed would summon a worker, but he didn’t feel like waking up the poor sod just for them to tell him that he had the wrong inn.

He withdrew his trunk from his inventory, set it up by the fire, and got inside. If the girls were here, Mayry would see the trunk and realize it was him; if not, he would find them when he woke up.

He was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

***

He stood in what felt like an impossibly vast space; if there were walls, they were too far away for him to see. The ceiling was nonexistent, a mesmerizing view of deep space the only thing visible when he looked upwards.

The floor was made of millions of tiny tiles, each placed to be a small part of an intricate and complex pattern. The only things in the room were huge empty thrones. Five stood on the right, and ten stood on the left. No, not ten, nine thrones, and one that looked to have been thoroughly broken down and purposefully vandalised.

Each was incredibly beautiful in its own way. He felt as if he could stare at each indefinitely and never not be intrigued.

The entire place felt as if it hummed with power, one that was faintly familiar yet, at the same time, completely beyond his comprehension.

He stepped towards the closest throne, the first on the right. It felt wrong to him, and the feeling grew stronger as he approached. He walked to the next throne, and the feeling changed. It still felt wrong but in a different way. It was as if he was sending out a signal, and the first throne was sending out a different signal, one that clashed with his own. The second throne had yet another signal that wasn’t right.

He walked passed each of the first five, and every time, the ‘signal’ they gave off felt wrong. Crossing the room, he came to the first of the ten thrones. This time, the wrongness felt lesser, still not the right ‘signal’ but closer to his. It wasn’t until he came to the last throne, the one that looked like it had been destroyed, that he felt like the ‘signal’ it gave off was right. He reached out a finger and touched it.

The pile of debris that used to be a throne vibrated and hummed at his touch, almost as if it purred.

A loud booming voice emanated from all around, “YOU-“ The single word was full of so much power that it pierced into his consciousness, ripping it away from wherever it had been and sending back to his body.

***

Mason groaned. He opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. He had a headache the likes of which he had never before experienced.

There was no way it could be morning already. He felt like he had just closed his eyes, and he was waking up, barely rested. His heart was racing, and he was covered in sweat, but he had no idea why.

He got up and stuck his head out of the trunk. He was surprised to find that he was no longer in the lobby but in a room.

He was disorientated for a moment, but the trunk had enchantments which made it difficult for anyone not keyed into it to move it. The only person other than him who was keyed in was Mayry. Looking around, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the two girls lying on a bed fast asleep, both snoring loudly.

Not wanting to disturb them, he went back inside the trunk, leaving the lid open so they knew he was up.

Opting to perch himself on the sofa instead of the bed so as not to fall back to sleep, he pondered what was ahead.

He remembered Mayry mentioning something about a suspicious tree contract that they were apparently going to help Nina with. He was absolutely down for a chance to get some revenge on a tree. The whole Tree thing had started as a joke but after fighting the Arboroth and the time the massive tree fell on him, his hatred had become far more serious.

After they had finished with that, they would probably escort Nina back home to Sparksfor so they could all cash in their contracts. Not that they really needed the money, but the cave contract had at least given him a chance to test out a load of his upgraded abilities.

He wasn’t sure what they would do from there. He itched to go out and fight some others, and even knew where some might be, thanks to the map they had nicked from Aiden. He was Level 30 now and needed to reach at least Level 50 before he was able to somehow get to the others’ home world, Ganehfrel. The only problem was he was scared. Once he got to that level, he would have to leave this world, and he had no idea how long it would take or even if the quest was possible.

He was expected to infiltrate a world full of enemies without being caught. Somehow, he finds out where the iteration of Chaos is being held and rescues it, all while trying to fit in on a world where he knows nothing about the culture or day-to-day life.

The more he thought about it, the more anxious he felt. It was a big ask for a guy chosen at random and thrown into the deep end, but still, that wasn’t even the worst part.

The worst part was, although they hadn’t talked about it, he knew that once he reached level 50, he would most likely have to leave Mayry behind. He had a system and could theoretically pass for another, even if it would be a challenge; Mayry, on the other hand, didn’t. Bringing her along would be just too great a risk, and he wasn’t even sure if it would work without her having a system.

“Mason? If you’re awake, I’m going to come and kill you now.” He heard Mayry call down to him. He thought she sounded like she was joking, but even after all this time, he struggled to

Unable to think of a good comeback, he just shouted back. “I’m awake; please don’t kill me; I’ve still got to save the world!”

Mayry emerged and started down the stairs. She did not look amused in the slightest. She stormed up to him, “What the fuck happened yesterday? You were healing people, then randomly ran away. Do you know how long we looked for you!? And then you just turned up in the trunk!?”

Mason wanted to jump in and defend himself, but once Mayry started ranting, he had learned it was better to let her get it out of her system. So he just looked back at her, trying to look sufficiently scolded.

“We got soaked! While we looked for you, we had no idea what had happened! There was a lovely old lady who kept asking where you were, saying she needed healing. She looked so disheartened when we told her we didn’t know where you were!”

Hearing this, he couldn’t help but jump in and cut her off. “Wait, an old lady? What did she look like?”

Looking even more annoyed, she answered, “Mason! Why is that important? I don’t know! She seemed really cute and friendly. I think she was wearing a yellow dress?”

“That crazy… How the bloody hell did she already need healing?! How could she of possibly already gotten something else? There is no way I’m healing her again after she gave me-”

He realised his mistake the moment the words left his mouth; he had vowed never to let Mayry know that an old woman had given him super herpes. Seen the look of terror and embarrassment on his face, Mayry pounced, all irritation gone from her face. It was as if she could smell that he was hiding something funny from her that she could hold against him. With a mock innocence, she asked, “Gave you what, Mason?”

Another voice came from behind him, and he turned around to see Nina standing at the top stairs, stifling a laugh. “Yeah, Mason, what did that old lady give you?”

“Noth-“ he started to retort but stopped when Mayry raised her eyebrows. Something wasn’t right; she looked too smug. Did they already know…? How could they possibly already know?

He turned back and made eye contact with Mayry; they both stared at each other, him, with eyes narrowed suspicious that she already knew, but not certain, and her barely holding back a smirk.

Swallowing hard, he tried to regain his composure. "Look, it's nothing, just a misunderstanding. I’m starved. Is it too late to get breakfast?”

Mayry's smirk widened, and she exchanged a knowing glance with Nina before turning back to Mason. "Oh, don't worry, Mason. We’ll eat. But first, you have some explaining to do, you sex pest.”

Mason felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, which had nothing to do with hunger.