NOVEL WEB Chapter 105: GET’CHA!
Chapter 105: GET’CHA!
Zach opened his eyes and drew a deep breath. Where was he? His mind was blank, and he blinked several times to rid himself of his blurry vision. It took him a second or two to realize he was lying down, and he could feel someone holding his hand. Craning his neck to look over to his right, he saw the face of Kalana, who beamed a smile down at him and immediately planted a kiss on his lips. At the moment, he appeared to be on some kind of cot in a very large camo-green-colored tent. He was confused, too. There was a small weight on his chest as well, and glancing downward, he saw Fluffles purring and napping on top of him. Instinctually, he pet the cat a few times then turned his attention towards the world around him.
“What’s…going on?” he asked, feeling a bit dazed and out of it.
Kalana stroked his hair. “Are you feeling okay?”
Zach nodded. “I’m just confused. Where are we? How did I get here?” Kalana moved her lips as though to explain, but then Zach recalled everything at once. The events that had transpired flooded into his brain, and he took another deep, sudden inhale and asked, “Is it over? Is it really, finally over?”
In response, Kalana excitedly squeezed his hand—a bit too hard, to be honest—and made a giddy, happy squeak. “It’s really over, baby. We survived. You were so awesome!”
“So…so we’re free now, you and me?”
“Mhm! Yup!”
It’s finally over. Oh, thank the Gods!
Zach shook his head to clear some of his drowsiness. His brain was becoming less foggy by the moment, and he took a few seconds to really let it all sink in. The dragon was finally dead, and he had his entire summer ahead of him. Kalana was now back in his life, the two were no longer separated, and likewise, there was no longer any big threat—at least not in the immediate present—keeping them apart or forcing them into some awful nightmare. His mood brightened at the realization of all this, and for the first time in a while, he felt truly happy.
“Who brought me here?” he asked. “And where even is here? Where are we?”
“We’re still in the camp,” Kalana said. “You’re in the infirmary recovering with everybody else.”
“How long was I out?”
“A little more than six hours.”
Zach widened his eyes. “W-what? Six hours? But that means…” He released a slight yelp. “The loot!”
“It’s okay, relax. We didn’t do it yet.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yah. I’d know if we did it, you dork.”
Zach breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank the Gods. Whew. Okay, tell everyone I’m ready to start.”
Kalana gave him a pinch on the cheek. “We’re actually not gonna do it until tomorrow night.”
Zach flinched. “Why the hell not?”
“Alex and the political guilds decided that, um, because of what the public went through, they wanted to invite the media or something tomorrow and put everything on display so that everyone could see it. They’re being like really open about all this. They’re flying in all these fancy tables and glass cases and putting on this really big exhibit, and they’re even gonna let the public enter the camp to come look.”
“Wow,” Zach said. That was not something he expected to hear. “And Donovan’s okay with this?”
“Well, he didn’t seem really happy at first, but Alex convinced him that, technically, it doesn’t violate any of the rules. I guess there’s nothing in their ‘law of loot’ that says it has to be rolled on right after the raid. Alex also says this is something that can help people feel happy and give them something to celebrate. He actually cares a lot about the average person, Zach.”
“Yeah, I know,” Zach said, recalling his own experiences with the man. “When we went to rescue you from Varsh, he got mad at me for damaging the stairwell. He’s really big on the whole ethics thing.”
Zach yawned and stretched his arms out. “Man, I can’t believe I was out for six hours. Your mom must’ve healed me wrong or something.”
“Nah-uh!” Kalana said with an unexpected heat in her voice. Zach was taken aback. “She died healing you.”
“She what?” Zach asked, his body twitching and causing Fluffles to grumble to himself. “What do you mean she—”
“No, no,” Kalana interrupted hurriedly. “She’s okay. Kolona agreed to bring her back even though…even though all that stuff happened between them.”
“But what even happened? How did she die?”
“After you passed out, she was so exhausted from casting her ability on you so many times that she had to die to pay off your exertion debt, but she still couldn’t get rid of all of it. She actually collapsed right next to you, Zach, and she even begged everybody to heal you first. I was so, so scared, but everyone was saying you guys were gonna be just fine. They had to use a purple and a yellow stone on you. Don’t worry: you don’t gotta pay for them. Lots of people volunteered to donate.”
“No way,” Zach said, a wave of guilt and disbelief crashing into him as he repeated each one of Kalana’s words in his mind. “How can that even be? She looked fine. She was barely even sweating.”
Kalana lowered her voice somewhat, and her tone became oddly reflective in nature. “I’m still getting to know her after all these years, but…I think she’s really good at hiding her pain when she has to. She told me she feels so guilty about what she did. I believe her, too. My dad on the other hand…he was trying to get Kolona to let her stay dead.” Kalana scrunched up her lips as though annoyed. “Now me and him are having a bit of a fight.”
She died the same way I did.
Zach remembered how terrible it felt to suffer a death via exertion debt. Because of his insistence, Vim had been forced to experience it—he’d basically demanded it of the man—and now he found out that Fylwen had, too. But why did this bother him so much? If he had been told just two days ago that Fylwen would end up dying a death the same exact way that he had, he would’ve cheered it on. Now, he wanted to find where she was and apologize to her. What was wrong with him?
I guess it’s because I’ve seen her good qualities and her bad ones, Zach thought. And I like her good ones too much. She’s so damn reliable when she’s actually on your side. She’s like Donovan in that sense.
It really was true, too. When Queen Vayra actually had your back—instead of trying to put a knife in it—she was like the best Gods-be-damned ally in the entire world. This much, she’d managed to prove to Zach in a very short time. And that might have even been understating it.
She’d given him an amazing weapon and a new suit of gear. She’d stood by his side and helped him battle his father’s murderer. She’d brought him back from the brink of death twice. She’d given him the strength to stand back up to his feet when he’d been cowering in fear. Having someone like her on his side—dare he say it—might even be worth the horror she’d put him through. Her value was immense and something he needed to remind himself not to take for granted. Having a woman like her choosing to side with him was something he now realized could turn out to be priceless.
“I just can’t believe she went through that for me,” Zach said. “That’s a lot to take in, Kal. But wait a second. Why didn’t one of the other Elves just heal her? I thought you guys have healing abilities that are superior or something.”
At this, Kalana shrugged. “I dunno. I’m only first catching up with my people for the first time since I was a little girl. You gotta remember that, until you came through that dungeon yesterday, I hadn’t seen another Elf besides my dad in basically my whole life.”
“Sorry,” he whispered. “Forgot about that.”
She kissed him again. “It’s okay. Anyways, if I had to guess, um, maybe there weren’t any Elvish healers around to heal her. A lot of them died when Ziragoth attacked the wall, and most of them are still knocked out cold.”
“That makes sense. Olivir once told me that people usually sleep like a whole day after they’ve been resurrected.”
As Zach continued to take in all the things he’d been told, he was surprised by how badly he wanted to go find wherever Fylwen was right now and give her the tightest hug of all time. Once more, he was left to question how much of that stemmed from him missing his mother. Or was it because of the things she’d told him that she’d endured as a child? That was certainly part of it. Maybe that was even why Kolona had forgiven her enough to bring her back to the world of the living.
“Oh, guess what, Zach,” Kalana said cheerfully, taking him from his thoughts. “Alex told me nobody on the raid died. Well…forever, I mean. Everyone made it! They’re calling it a miracle.”
Sitting up slowly so as not to disturb Fluffles, Zach inspected his surroundings. Everywhere he looked, he saw various adventurers, political guild members, and about three or four white-cloaked Elvish warriors along with a greater number of greens in various states of recuperation. All things considered, they looked a whole lot better than they had six hours ago.
“Incredible,” Zach said. “Some of these people were in like fifteen different pieces. You’d never be able to tell that from how they look now.”
“I know, right? It turns out a single bite from Olivir or my cousin is more powerful than any of the stones. I actually saw people grow their whole body back.”
“I think I’m one of those people,” said the voice of Kesten, who Zach hadn’t even realized until now was occupying the neighboring cot right beside him.
Zach turned his head towards the sound of his voice, and for the first time, Zach saw Kesten without his leather jacket. He was instead wearing nothing but a gown that looked thrown on more for modesty than medical necessity.
“Hey, Kalana,” Kesten said, grinning. “Do me a favor.”
“Hm?”
“Ask your cousin if she can bite me a second time.”
Kalana frowned. “She has a boyfriend, you dope.”
“Yeah, I know, I’m just kidding,” he said with a cackle.
Zach scratched his chin. “I didn’t even realize you died during the raid. I guess I must not have seen Ziragoth get you.”
“It didn’t, actually. Kalana killed me.”
“Wait, what?”
Kesten laughed a second time. “Murdered me in cold blood.”
Kalana folded her arms and made her grumpy face. “You were in two different pieces! You begged me to do it.”
“I know, I know. I’m just messing with you. Truth is, my mind is all kinds of fucked up right now and I’m trying to hold it all together. Honestly, Zach, I get you now. I really do.” The humor left his voice, and his throat briefly expanded as he swallowed a lump that had formed. “I’m gonna visit a shrink as soon as I can next week. I think a lot of us are. The political guilds even offered to pay for mental-health services for every single one of us who participated in the raid. Even the Elvish if they want it.”
Zach wasn’t sure how to respond. The idea of such a thing always made him feel uncomfortable and weak. It was only because of a deal he’d made with Kalana that he’d even agreed to go along with it in a week or two from now when she’d booked his first “appointment.” Still, as hard as he’d had it lately, many of the raid members went through way worse. They’d been ripped apart, burned alive, crushed to death, bled out, torn to pieces…it was way worse than his own death, which was almost pleasant by comparison.
“You look surprised,” Kesten said.
“It’s just…you’re a pretty tough guy. It’s hard to think of someone like you going to, you know, that.”
“That?”
Kalana huffed. “Zach doesn’t even feel comfortable saying the word therapy.”
Zach twisted his lips. “Not true.”
“Oh yeah? Then say it. Say the word ‘therapy’.”
Raising his fist to his mouth, he released a cough at the same time he said, “Ughhrrrupy.”
“See?” she asked, turning her eyes on Kesten. “Please explain to Zach it’s not unmanly to see a therapist.”
“Zach,” Kesten began, his tone earnest. “She’s right.”
He rolled his eyes. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Kalana leaned in closer and eyed him skeptically. He could tell that she still wasn’t convinced that he was going to keep his end of the deal. In truth, he was already thinking about ways to get out of it. Gods, he so didn’t want to have to sit through something like that.
“You better keep your promise,” she warned.
“I will.”
“You better.”
“Like I said. I will, okay?” Averting his eyes, he lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “But…you know…it wouldn’t be the worst idea ever to let me off the hook after everything that’s happened.”
“Huh?”
He pointed to himself. “I made peace with your mom—and actually like her now—and got to witness Ziragoth die. I’m basically healed. All my problems are over with now. Whatever was messing me up before—that’s all in the past.”
“Trauma doesn’t work like that.”
“It does, though. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll still do it because I promised, but I’m just saying, like…if we’re being honest about it, there’s basically no point now. I can feel that I’m fine again. It’s like nothing bad ever happened.”
She extended her pointer finger and poked him in the chest. “That’s not how it works. Do you really think you’re okay now just ‘cause you drenched yourself from head to toe in the blood of your enemy?”
With a nervous swallow, Zach said, “Actually, yeah.”
“Well, you’re not.”
He moaned. This was such an uncomfortable conversation. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about right now. Thankfully, of all people, it was his cat who saved him from having to endure another moment of it.
With a yawn and a stretch, Fluffles lifted his head. Then he immediately became excited and hyper. “Zach!” he said with a meow. “Look what Fluffles get!”
The cat stood up on his chest then remained completely still for a moment. Confused, Zach opened his mouth to ask what Fluffles wanted to show him. But then he saw it. Out of nowhere, words just simply appeared midair right above the cat’s head.
Fluffles Ultdern the Dragon Slayer
“Whoah, cool!” Zach exclaimed. “How did you…how can you do that?”
“I can do it too,” Kalana said. And then she did.
Kalana Vayra the Dragon Slayer.
“How are you guys doing that?” he asked them, amazed.
Kalana snickered. “Here ya go, Zach.” And before uttering another word, she leaned over the side of the chair she was sitting in as though to grab something off the floor. Then she put two items down on Zach’s stomach below where Fluffles was sitting. “Since the dragon dropped exactly 535 of each of these items,” she explained, “everybody agreed it meant that we were all supposed to get one of each and nobody has to roll for it.”
Zach’s lips formed into an o-shape. Loot! Gods! It was loot! He picked up the two items she’d given him, one in each hand. The first item was something roughly the shape of a card, but it was made of a silver, highly reflective metal, one that had a sort of prismatic shine when moved around. And etched into it in a way that could be felt with his finger was “+2.”
The other item was a flimsy-feeling piece of plastic in the shape of an egg. “Crush that,” Kalana said. “Just do it. Trust me.”
Zach shrugged. “Uh, okay.” Seeing no reason not to trust Kalana, he did what she said. He crushed the egg in his hand. Predictably, it broke into a whole bunch of pieces, but then those pieces vanished, and the moment they disappeared completely, something popped up before his eyes.
TITLE UNLOCKED
Dragon Slayer
“Ohh, cool!”
“There are two ways you can put that on,” Kesten said. “You can either do the shoulder-tapping thing and check the new option under equipment, or you can conjure forward the title menu. Olivir’s the one who told us.”
“Olivir?”
Kesten nodded. “Yeah, he was the only person on the entire raid—including the Elves—who’d ever even heard of such a thing as a title before. We were shocked, honestly. We just never knew something like this existed.”
“Does it do anything?”
“Don’t think so. The vampire kid said it’s just for show.”
“He’s actually like hundreds of years old,” Zach said. “But yeah, it’s still pretty cool. I don’t know if I feel like ‘wearing’ it right now, though. Something tells me every single last political guild person has it on, and that makes it feel played out despite me just learning about it five seconds ago.”
Kesten released a laugh. At the same time, Kalana nodded and Fluffles meowed in agreement; this, as both dismissed their titles, the words disappearing from above their heads.
“How’d you know?” Kalana asked, sounding genuinely impressed. “About the political guilds, I mean.”
Zach chuckled. “It just seems like the kind of thing they’d do.”
Honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if the vast majority of political guild members left that title up twenty-four-seven. He would bet on it, actually. They’d probably eat with it, sleep with it, shower with it, and they’d definitely have sex while it was still on top of their heads. For the rest of their entire lives, they’d probably walk around with their name and the words “dragon slayer” permanently on display everywhere they went. Hell, that title alone probably now made the majority of them feel like the raid was worth it. Zach was sure of it. Unlike the adventurers, they wanted public approval and attention.
Zach laughed out loud, and upon receiving a questioning look from Kalana and Kesten, he explained to them what he’d just been thinking. This caused them both to laugh as well, as each of them seemed to agree.
There’s no way they ever remove those titles. Gods, this is probably the best day of their lives. Even the ones who died are probably going to wake up later and cry tears of joy. I bet they can’t wait to stroll through crowded city streets just so people will look and see that they’re dragon slayers. Ah well. They earned it, I guess.
Putting his attention on the other item, he lifted up his hood, pulling it over his head, which granted him his increased helm sight level; then, with the metal card in his hand, he called forward the information on it, sending the item’s description to the center of his vision.
Name
Level Up! +2
Item Level
80
Description
Upon use: immediately raises the user’s level by 2. All existing experience points prior to use are saved and carried over to the user’s new current level. Cannot be used at level 80 or higher. If used at level 79, only one level will be granted.
“This is awesome,” Zach said, reading it over multiple times approvingly. “I can’t believe this. Two free levels. Amazing! I guess this is why we didn’t get any xp just for killing the boss.”
Kalana smiled at him. “It’s cool, right? Are you gonna save yours?”
Zach gave her a thumbs-up. “Definitely. It doesn’t even make sense for me to use it now. I’ll regret it later. What about you?”
“I might wait until I’m 78,” Kalana said.
“I don’t know if I can wait that long,” Zach admitted. “Sucks for anyone who’s already over…” His words trailed off as a thought came to him, and then a rush of excitement flew into his stomach. Zach happened to know someone who could not use this item and thus would have no use for it.
“Kal, where’s your mom?”
Of all things, she glared at him. “You’re not getting her item!”
“H-how’d you know I was—”
“It’s ‘cause you’re so greedy, Zach. She gave you so much stuff and you want more.”
“Okay, but to be fair, Kal, she can’t even use it.”
“Yah, I know. That’s why she gave it to me.”
“Oh,” Zach said, scratching an itch behind his ear and releasing an embarrassed half-chuckle. “Okay, well, that makes sense, then. You’re getting way too defensive. Sheesh. Anyway, enjoy the four free levels.”
“Two levels,” Kalana said. “I’m not gonna use the one my mom gave me.”
A sudden rush of indignation slammed into Zach. “The hell do you mean by that? Wait, are you giving it away to someone else? Seriously? Okay, look. If anyone gets it, it should be me. I did way more work than anyone else, and I wasn’t going to pull that card, but since it came up, I mean, I did kind of do the most out of everyone, and not only that, but—”
“Zach, stop,” she said, somewhat angrily. “I’m not giving it away either.”
“Well then what the hell?” He threw up his arms in a gesture of outrage. “Why do you even care, then? You might as well let me have it. Why would you even want it?”
“Because,” she said, frowning at him, “it’s the first present my mom ever gave me in my entire life, and I want to keep it forever.”
Zach slammed his mouth shut. He’d been about to say something, but it ended in a quick, high-pitched croak.
Oh, fuck, Zach thought. Oh, boy did I step in that one. How do I even begin to get my foot out of my mouth this time?
“That was a test,” he said. “You passed.”
Kalana rolled her eyes at him. “You gotta stop being so greedy. This is actually really important to me. My mom gave it to me, and I don’t have anything else from her. So, I wanna put this in a frame and cherish it. It’s a memory now that I’ll always have. We defeated a dragon together. Maybe it’s not the usual kinda’ memory a girl has with her mom, but it’s a start.”
After a brief period of silence, Zach took her hand and apologized. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But I’ve always been really greedy, and you know that.”
“Yeah, but you should try to be more generous.”
Yawning and hoping to change topics, Zach asked, “Are you hungry? We were supposed to go to Angelica’s tonight with Olivir and Kolona. That was always the plan if we won, right? Do you still want to?”
She beamed at him. “Yup! I sure do. Olivir told me an hour ago actually that if you’re still up for it tonight they’ll come with us whenever you feel ready. But this time, I don’t wanna rush. I wanna wear something nice.”
Zach let out a moan. “Kal, that means five hours with you.”
“Don’t care! I wanna look decent.” More quietly, but with a level of defensiveness, she added, “And I don’t take five hours, thank you very much.”
She’s so cute sometimes, he thought. He couldn’t help but pick on her. Even now, after becoming a globally recognized and accepted princess of an entire race, she was still just the same old Kal in his eyes.
At any rate, lying back in the cot, he decided he’d check out his new ability while he still had the chance. With his eyes pointed up towards the roof of the tent, he willed forward the information so that it appeared directly above him. It was kind of like lying down and holding a cell phone up while texting someone in bed, only it was hands-free, and he couldn’t doze off and drop it on his face.
Inner Ability (LEGENDARY UNIQUE)
Gacha Get’cha
Exertion Cost
None
Cooldown
1 week / 604,800 seconds
Description
This ability may be used 3 times and does not enter cooldown until all 3 are used. Upon activation, Gacha Get’cha conjures one item at random from all valid, non-crafted items that have ever existed. This includes mob drops, boss drops, field treasures, quest items, limited-time event items, crafting items, and dungeon keys. The cooldown cannot be reset by other abilities (Confliction Level: Z) (there are no instances in which this cooldown may be reset by any other items, abilities, spells, or effects outside of those contained here).
The cooldown on Gacha Get’cha can only be refreshed early by increasing the cooldown from one week to one month. Or from one month to one year. Or from one year to ten years. Or from ten years to one-hundred years. If Gacha Get’cha has a cooldown longer than one week and generates an item of “legendary” or higher rarity, the cooldown is reset immediately and will revert back to one week following 3 more uses.
“Wow,” Zach said, immediately drawing the attention of Kalana and Kesten. “You guys gotta see this.”
“See what?” Kesten asked.
“Yeah, see what, Zach?”
“Join my party.”
Even though Kesten was not exactly in the circle of people Zach had put his total trust in, this was not the kind of ability he thought could pose him in any danger if discovered by others. It was “cool” more than it was anything else. For this reason, he didn’t mind showing Kesten. And so, the two of them having joined his party, he watched as they both began to read it over where it floated in the air above Zach’s chest. They actually had to bend their necks back at uncomfortable-looking angles to read it, yet Zach was too lazy to sit up. And besides, it would disturb Fluffles, who was once more napping.
“That’s amazing,” Kesten said. “I just don’t understand how you get abilities like these. This shouldn’t even be possible. I’ve genuinely never seen anything like this before.”
“It’s so cool!” Kalana said. “Are you gonna use it? You gotta.”
Zach laughed. “I might as well.”
“But don’t go resetting it and getting addicted to it,” she said. “It feels like gambling. I can definitely see you resetting it if you don’t get anything you like. Then you’ll cry to me later that you have to wait 100 years to use it again.”
Zach wanted to disagree with her, but she was right. He was definitely the kind of person who would reset the ability over and over again until he’d screwed himself and never got to use again for a century, assuming he could even live that long. Then again, he just might. People who leveled up got to live a whole lot longer than those who didn’t. Another bit of unfairness to it all, he supposed.
Licking his lips greedily, he said, “I’m going to use it. Ready?”
“Do it, do it!” Kalana cheered a bit too loudly. Then she apologized to the man sleeping on the cot behind her, who Zach recalled had had his limbs ripped off by the Cursed Defender of Ziragoth mobs.
Now, filling with enthusiasm, Zach dismissed the ability information screen then once more sat up extra carefully so as not to wake Fluffles. With that, he activated Gacha Get’cha, and right away, the ability began to take form. Materializing in the air before him and floating above the cot, a golden slot machine the size of a cash register simply popped into existence—and then remained there, perfectly stationary, doing absolutely nothing.
Wow, he thought. It looks so cool.
Aside from the frame being made of what looked like pure gold, it had a big, red, circular handle on its right side, and a colorful screen, behind which looked like 2 different rows, inside of each were tiny little symbols. On the left row, Zach could spot what looked like a brown satchel with a string, a sword, a shield, a suit of armor, a cartoonish picture that looked like a giant steak, a ring, and finally a gold coin. Taking what was purely just a guess, Zach assumed it stood for item, weapon, defensive weapon, armor, food, accessory, and money. The second row, on the other hand, contained the letter “C” with a white background, “U” with a green background, “R” with a blue background, “ER” with a purple background, “LGD” with a gold—and star-studded—background, “ART” with a silver, shimmering background, and then “LGDART” with a pure black background.
From what Rian had taught him, he took this to mean common, uncommon, rare, epic rare, legendary, artifact, and…and the last one, he had no idea. There wasn’t supposed to be anything after artifact quality. So it was anyone’s guess what the hell “LGDART” was supposed to mean. But more importantly, why was nothing happening? The machine was just remaining stationary, floating in the air in front of him.
“Umm…” Zach stared at it expectantly, waiting for it to produce an item or at least do something. When nothing happened after several more moments, he scratched his head. “I think it’s broken.”
Kesten rubbed his chin. “Maybe you need to pull the lever, Zach.”
“Oh, shit, good idea. Duh.” He laughed at his own stupidity. Though, in fairness, why would he just naturally assume he could physically interact with an ability like this? He’d certainly never seen anything that functioned in such a way before. Hell, he could hardly believe this was even possible, let alone come to the natural assumption it required his own, physical input. Especially since it didn’t say so on the ability description. But whatever. He liked it better this way. With a grin, he reached out, placed his hand over the right side of the floating, cash-register-sized slot machine, gripped the big red lever, and then pulled.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!
Kalana clapped her hands together with glee as the machine began making loud, casino-like dings while playing an electronic jingle that made a playful “bu-du-du-du-bu-du-du-du” sound. The two rows also began to spin, causing every symbol to blur together. At the same time, two buttons that Zach hadn’t realized existed until now lit up with a brownish-grey light just below the spinning rows.
“Have you ever gambled at a casino before, Zach?” Kesten asked.
“Uh, no. I’m not old enough yet to be let in the door, and even if I was, I’m from Whispery Woods, Kesten— I’ve never even seen a real casino.”
“It’s all good. So, basically, you have to push that button when you want the spinning to stop,” he explained. “But usually, it doesn’t matter when you do it. I’ve got no idea how your ability works, but in the real world, it’s just for show. It knows what you’re going to get from the moment you spin by generating a random number.”
Zach made a “hm” sound and briefly raised his eyebrows. Then he pressed the first light on the left. The row of spinning symbols stopped instantly when the button was pressed, landing on the picture of the brown satchel with a string.
“An item, I bet,” Kalana said. Then she squeaked. “This is so exciting. I love your ability!”
“Thanks,” Zach said. “But let’s hope I don’t get something shitty.”
Nervously, he placed his finger over the second button. The last thing he wanted to do was land on white—or “C” for common. He became somewhat dazed as he watched it spin over and over and over again. He wanted to land on silver or at least gold. The highest-rarity item he had on him was purple—epic rare—and it was the sword Fylwen had given him. The idea of actually getting something legendary or better made his stomach flutter with butterflies of anticipation.
“Here I go,” he said. And with that, he pressed the button. Straight away, the row stopped spinning. And then Zach hissed aloud, following the sound with a terrible swear word as he landed on C despite trying so hard not to.
“Fuck!” he shouted.
“Don’t be upset, baby,” Kalana said. “Maybe you’ll get something good. Just ‘cause it’s common doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
Even as she was speaking, the machine disappeared into a batch of firework-like sparks, which crackled and woke up about four different people nearby, all of whom seemed too fascinated in Zach’s ability to be angry. Then, as the sparkling, bright, and golden crackling lights faded away, something began to float down towards Zach. It was so light that a passing breeze nearly carried it away and off to the other end of the tent, but Zach managed to reach out and grab it first.
“What in the hell is this?” he said aloud. In his hand, he held a thin, rectangular strip of paper that looked like a ticket to see a movie or a maybe an entry to a raffle. Curious to find out what he’d gotten, he called forward its information—or at least he was about to. But now that he saw he had gathered a small crowd desperate to know what was going on, he sighed and said, “Fine, you can all join my party. Is there a way I can just make it open so anyone who wants can join?”
“Just will it so,” Kesten said.
“Got it.”
Now, with nine adventurers he didn’t know and another five he did know having all joined his party—with more approaching each second—Zach brought up the information on the item he’d just “won.”
Name
1X Meal Coupon (T2 only)
Rarity
Common
Item Level
N/A
Description
Turn this in to Claudine Teresa in central Albion city to receive one free meal. The meal coupon can also be traded for 7 gem points or scrapped for ship parts. Can be sold to any merchant in Albion City for 8000 gold.
“Wow, that sucked,” Zach said, trying his best not to let his disappointment get him down. “I guess that’s a useless—”
Just as he was about to dismiss the item information, a chorus of excited voices all broke out simultaneously. As though they were reading something entirely different from Zach, there was an explosion of noise that erupted in the infirmary as adventurers, particularly those from the Explorers Brigade, all began shouting at each other so loudly it caused anyone not completely knocked out to wake up.
“Albion-4 is real!” someone cried. “Zephyr! Zephyr, you were right!”
“I always knew it,” said Zephyr’s voice from behind Zach, his words coming across as emotional and triumphant. Zach looked over his shoulder, having not even realized that the hooded, charismatic guild-leader with the striking blue eyes and short curly hair was standing right behind him. His chin resting on his left thumb and forefinger, he looked like he was trying to burn every detail in his mind as he seemingly read the item over again and again and again.
While this was going on, people began hugging each other, a few shed tears, and Zach was absolutely mind blown by the reaction he was seeing to such a shitty common item that, from the looks of it, was only good for a meal—something he could get at Angelica’s any time he wanted. Clearly, he was missing something here.
Based on the murmuring coming from Zephyr, it looked like he was now reading the description yet again, for like the tenth time. “Hey, Zephyr,” Zach said, drawing his attention. “Do you uh…do you just, like, want it? This is totally useless to me. You can just have it.”
Zach thought the man’s eyes would bulge out of their sockets. “You’re serious? You’ll give that to me?”
“Uh, yeah, why wouldn’t I? It doesn’t look like it’s worth anything, and I only care about money and power.” Zach didn’t realize how poorly his words came across until after he spoke them, but thankfully, nobody seemed to comment on it.
“Well, it probably doesn’t have much value in terms of coin,” Zephyr said. Then he raised his index finger. “But the information on there is so valuable I couldn’t put a price on it even if I wanted to.”
“Really?” Zach asked, reading it over one last time. “Yeah, I just don’t see it. Here ya go.”
Zach handed him the “meal coupon.” And as though Zach were an old man in a park feeding a pack of hungry ducks, the other adventurers practically fell on top of one another trying to get closer to it. “Okay, seriously, what gives?”
“I can explain,” a familiar voice said to Zach’s left. He turned his head to see who’d spoken to him—and then he smiled with relief.
“Spider, you’re okay. Thank the Gods.”
The large, tough-as-nails man who ranked second-in-command of the GSG elbowed him affectionately in the ribs. “Eh, somehow.”
“I saw what happened to you. Man, I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Could’ve been worse.”
Zach laughed. “Worse than having your arms and legs ripped off and being set on fire?”
Spider turned over his palms as if to suggest indifference. “Shit happens.”
That guy is tough as hell, Zach thought. No wonder Donovan made him 2nd in command.
“So, why’s everyone going nuts over this lame common item?” Zach asked him.
At this, Spider became enthusiastic. He pointed upwards as if to the sky. “We’ve never been able to prove this, kid, but the folks in Explorers Brigade have this theory, right? They think there are tiered planets out there, and that all the ones we’ve been to so far have been tier 1.”
“What makes them think that?”
“So much shit,” Spider said. “Too much to go over. But we’ve been thinking for a long time that there’s a planet called Albion-4 based on a few discreet mentions in some old text. It also only makes sense. Ya see, once people—or humans, at least—get into the 60s, leveling becomes slow as hell. Almost doesn’t even matter what you do. You’re looking at years per level. That’s why we think Albion-4 is what’s supposed to come next. Everything we’ve ever seen makes it seem like we hit a ceiling here and on the other planets we’ve been to.”
Even as Spider was speaking, an adventurer wearing a heavier set of plate armor than Donovan started pointing at the meal coupon before shouting, “It definitely said city, right? That’s the word it used. What do you think it meant by ‘city’?”
This question caused even more giddiness from the Explorers Brigade. “There must be an actual city out there,” Zephyr said. “What else could it mean? There must be an entire, giant city that no one has ever seen or stepped foot in. It’s probably filled with all NPCs. Claudine Teresa must be one of them.”
“Gods, I want to see it so bad,” a young female adventurer with a bow on her back said.
“You know what you have to do then, don’t you?” Zephyr asked. Then he grinned. “You have to explore and find it.”
This earned him a round of cheers, causing even more people to come strolling over and more people to want to know what was going on. Zach became surrounded in a way that reminded him of the hospital room after he’d first encountered Ziragoth. Sure enough, it wasn’t long at all before Donovan and Mr. Oren came in as though worried about the cause of the commotion. Neither seemed surprised to discover that Zach had once again caused it, but both appeared shocked as Zephyr handed them the meal coupon.
“It’s fuckin’ real?” Donovan asked. “No way.”
“You owe me 500g,” Zephyr said.
“Buddy, I’d give you every gold I have to see it for myself.”
“Good. I’ll hold you to that, Don. Because now that we know for sure it’s out there, we’re going to try ten times as hard to find it.”
“Does that say ‘city’?” Mr. Oren asked.
“Yep!”
Like a child’s game of telephone, people kept whispering to those not in the loop what had happened and what Zach’s ability did. Mr. Oren stared at Zach in disbelief after an adventurer Zach didn’t even know explained it to him.
“How many more spins do you have?” he asked.
“Two.”
“Can I…?”
“Yeah, you can watch.” He sighed. “I was actually worried you’d be upset I gave up info on my ability. I know you said not to do that.”
Mr. Oren shook his head. “That really doesn’t apply to something like this. You don’t want a potential enemy to know what you can use against them in combat. Someone knowing you can do this, my man, does not give away any kind of vital information that could compromise you.”
“That’s that I was thinking. All right, I’ll spin again.”
All voices quieted at once as Zach activated Gacha Get’cha. But then the quiet came to an abrupt end the moment the slot machine appeared, and now, like before, came the cheering and expectation. Releasing a small guffaw, Zach pulled the lever and spun the wheel, causing the two stop buttons to light up. For the sake of experimentation, he tried to press the rarity button first—but it did nothing. This meant he needed to go in order.
Here we go.
Zach pressed the left button, causing the light to go out and the row to stop spinning. This time, it settled upon the picture of a sword. “A weapon,” he said aloud. He couldn’t deny he was enjoying how fun this was. Everyone seemed to like spectating, as well. Kalana grabbed his forearms with both hands and shook him a bit. “You got it, baby. Get something good!”
Holding his breath, Zach pressed the second button.
C
“Dammit!” he shouted as a chorus of “awwwwwhhhs” echoed from behind him. At least it mirrored his own disappointment.
Like before, the slot machine vanished, and the infirmary lit up with golden, sparkling, and crackling display of fireworks that soon faded away, and in their wake, a large shadow formed over Zach’s cot. Now, an entire fucking axe began to spin and fall as it dropped straight down on top of him. “Fluffles!” he cried, leaning forward and covering the cat reflexively.
Thankfully, rather than fall on top of the cot, Donovan reached out and grabbed it midair. “Heh. I’ve had this one before,” he said before handing it to Zach.
Name
Axe of the Murky Crypt
Rarity
Common
Item Level
15
Bonus Damage
100-250
“Well, this is garbage,” Zach muttered.
“Can I have it for my son?” a woman asked. “He’s only level 12.”
“Sure. Fifteen-thousand gold.”
Kalana slapped his palm. “Zaaaach!”
He sighed. “Fine, you can just have it.”
Now, Kalana kissed the spot on his palm she’d slapped. “Better.”
“Okay, last spin,” he said.
Activating Gacha Get’cha for the last time—unless he wanted to risk waiting a month, which he was now badly tempted to do, he crossed his fingers for something good. Zach could feel the energy in the room skyrocket with anticipation as the jingle and dings began to play. Even though his odds of getting anything worthwhile appeared to be pretty low, Zach consoled himself with the knowledge he would get to do this every week from now on. It would be something he’d look forward to.
Maybe I can even sell spins to people for a huge profit, he thought greedily.
For now, though, he eagerly pressed the button on the left, causing an immediate halting to the spinning row. And like it had on the first use, the wheel-like spinning device landed on the picture of the satchel with a string.
“An item,” he said with a depressed sigh.
“Don’t be upset,” Kalana said, smiling at him as though to encourage him. “It could be a good one.”
“Let’s see.”
He pressed the second button. The spinning came to a stop. For a second, it looked like it would halt on white. Then it slipped past it, albeit barely. And now, Zach’s eyes widened as the color gold filled his vision.
LGD
The explosion of noise was like a bomb made of sound going off—and this time, Zach contributed to it. “Legendary!” he shouted. “Holy shit, holy shit! Legendary!”
He had no idea what it could be, or what use it might have, but he’d never even seen a legendary item before, let alone imagined he’d be getting one any time soon. And this time, when the slot machine vanished, it did so with an even more magnificent display of fireworks, this one lasting significantly longer and including multiple colors, secondary pops, way more crackling, and oddly enough, music playing. Then, finally, it too faded, and now something fell down towards him.
“What is this?” Zach asked, perplexed.
He picked up the item he’d won. It was shaped like—no, it was a horn. It was a brass-colored horn like the kind one might see in an orchestra. “It’s a horn,” he said.
“No, not a horn,” corrected one of the adventurers. “That there’s a bugle.”
“A bugle?”
“Yep.”
“Ah. All right.”
Completely clueless as to what good a “bugle” would do for him, Zach decided to pull it up and take a look at it. If it was legendary, it had to at least be good for something. And if it wasn’t something Zach needed or cared about, he could at least sell it. As a legendary item, there was no way in hell he was letting Kalana convince him to be charitable. He wanted gold: and lots of it. Millions, maybe! Still, he hoped for something he could use.
Name
Call of Kralzek’s Beast
Rarity
Legendary
Item Level
85
Description
Blow into this item to consume it and learn the ability Summon Kralzek’s Beast.
“Not exactly very informative, is it?” Zephyr asked. “Why don’t you blow into it, Zach?”
“Yeah, okay.”
Zach raised it to his lips. Then, following the item description’s brief instructions, he blew into it like a musical instrument. Multiple gasps came from clearly startled adventurers as a sound almost as loud as Ziragoth’s roar filled not just the infirmary but likely the entire camp. Zach wouldn’t be surprised if people going about their business in the city of Shadowfall Coast didn’t also hear it. It was the sound of a war trumpet, and it was deep, booming, and ominous. VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM. Then, just like that, it vanished from his very fingers, and before him, he saw the following.
Summon Kralzek’s Beast Acquired!
Having no idea what that actually meant, Zach decided to see if he could pull it up like an ability, as he wanted to know what it was before taking the risk in using it. Ever since the incident with Doomsday Slash, Zach decided to always read the damn things before he tried calling upon them to prevent causing any unnecessary chaos.
I wonder if I should be letting all these people see? he asked himself. But with a calm exhale, he decided it barely mattered anymore. And so, he brought forth the information.
Mount Ability (LEGENDARY)
Summon Kralzek’s Beast
Exertion Cost
None
Cooldown
1200 seconds
Description
Sets Kralzek’s Beast as user’s active war-mount. Only one war-mount and one standard mount may be active at a time. A 24-hour cooldown is applied each time a mount slot is switched. Mounts may be summoned with Summon Active Mount or Summon Active War-Mount. These abilities are unlocked only after the user has acquired one or more mounts. All mounts have a twenty-minute cooldown regardless if they are freely dismissed or killed. This mount may be upgraded by following the quest chain “Kralzek the Conquer.” (Level 85+ recommended)
“Hey, guys,” Zach said. “What’s a war-mount?”
The silence he got back from the other adventurers was deafening. Glancing over his shoulder, he found the looks on their faces jarring. Even Donovan was staring at Zach as though speechless. This confused him. Why were they acting all strange all of a sudden?
“Is anyone going to tell me?”
“We…we got no idea,” Donovan said. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Wait, seriously?”
“Yes,” Zephyr answered. “A war-mount? A mount slot?” He inhaled sharply. “How much is there that we don’t know about?”
Zach shrugged. “No idea. Let’s see what it does.”
Zach activated Summon Kralzek’s Beast, then flinched as a loud click came from inside his brain, one that he doubted anyone else could hear. And that…was pretty much it. Nothing else appeared to happen, which confused him. But upon rereading the ability, this soon made sense as he more carefully went over the description.
Oh, right, he thought. That just sets it as my active war-mount, whatever that is. I have to use the ability Summon Active War-Mount now.
And so, intrigued and wanting to see what this was, Zach activated Summon Active War-Mount.
This time around, something definitely happened all right.
Shouts of alarm and surprise came from multiple adventurers. For a reason Zach could not understand, a series of bangs and booms and shattered glass erupted all at once behind him, causing Fluffles to nervously jump off his stomach and Zach to follow suit, leaping out of the cot and spinning around to see just what in the hell was going on. Adventurers were now on the floor as though something had shoved them forcefully out of the way. Many of those who were knocked down were scrambling fearfully away, crawling on their backs as if to gain distance from something.
“Th-that thing’s friendly, right?” shouted a woman.
And then Zach saw it. Standing in the middle of the infirmary, so massive it could barely even fit, was an enormous, behemoth-sized cat with orange, black-striped skin and two humongous saber teeth jutting out of its drooling, ferocious mouth. It was nearly twice as big as Fluffles when the cat transformed, and it was even more intimidating, too. It let out a loud, defiant roar, which caused every adventurer nearby to immediately back away as though afraid of what it might do to them. Yet all it did was simply stand in place.
Amazing! Zach thought. No fucking way!
HP
225,000/225,000
Name
Kralzek’s Beast
Level
85
Zach marveled at the “war-mount” that took up almost all the free space between the two row of infirmary cots in the large tent. He was in absolute awe of it. Was that his? Did that thing actually belong to him? Could he…could he ride it? After all, it was called a mount, wasn’t it?
Despite the creature apparently being his, Zach was hesitant to get near it or touch it. What if it turned on him and snapped at him? He wasn’t currently in Unleashed Phase, and the beast was level 85. It would bite his face off and kill him instantly. There was no way he could survive an attack from it. Nevertheless, he was so intrigued he risked taking a few steps closer to it, even as Kalana tugged on him gently as though warning him to stay away.
“It’s okay,” he said to her. “I don’t think it has a will of its own. It’s like one of my cards, only different somehow.”
“Be careful,” she said.
He held out a hand in front of himself as he approached like a trainer attempting to soothe a wild animal. Not that it would matter. This was either going to be a sentient—and dangerous—animal, or it was going to be something with no mind of its own that posed no threat to anyone Zach did not wish to attack. And with that thought in mind, he came even closer to it. And then closer still. Then, finally, he placed one nervous, shaking hand on top of its head to pet it. It showed no sign that it understood it was being touched or cared. It simply continued to drool with its tongue sticking out of its mouth.
“Okay,” Zach said, petting it some more. “I think this is just a brainless—”
“Zach betray Fluffles!” his other cat shouted furiously. “He pet different cat!”
A bolt of lighting from within the tent manifested from the roof of it, then streaked down and hit the Kralzek’s Beast for 1,200 damage. Stunned, stupefied, and caught up in a moment of sheer disbelief, Zach watched as the Kralzek’s Beast released a hideously loud roar, bared its teeth, and then blasted itself forward so fast that it knocked over eight different cots and caused eight different people, most of them unconscious, to be flung randomly around the infirmary.
Oh, Gods! No!
“Fluffles, what have you done?” Zach cried.
The saber-toothed animal exploded forward past Zephyr and Donovan, who stared at one another in confusion. All at once, a series of crashing, more glass shattering, and the distinct sound of liquid spilling came from one end of the infirmary to the other as tables were knocked over, medical trays were thrown to the floor, and even more unconscious people were tossed around like ragdolls.
“Fluffles, run!” Zach screamed.
Fluffles hopped his way out of the infirmary, and Zach’s mount pursued. Thus, Zach now pursued. Shouting out an apology, he took off at a sprint after the creature, which Fluffles had stupidly aggroed for no damn reason. “Come back!” he cried at it, mentally ordering it to return. It did not obey. “Come back, come back!”
Terror racing in his heart, Zach chased the mount into the hot, humid, early summer evening. Grass flattened beneath his feet as he watched the creature rip apart four tents, accidentally exposing a nude woman from a political guild who covered her top with one hand and bottom with another as Fluffles, then Kralzek’s Beast, then finally Zach raced past her.
“Sorry!” he shouted. “I never meant for this to happen!”
The sounds of shouts came from behind him, and before long, Kalana, Kesten, and now Donovan and Zephyr were chasing behind him. “What have you done, Fluffles!” he shouted. “Why did you attack it?”
“Fluffles did nothing wrong!” his cat shouted back, leaping over a tent that the war-mount flattened instantly. “Other cat started it and hit first.”
“It did not!” Zach practically shrieked.
“Yes! Yes it did!”
“Zach, what are you doing?” Fylwen called out in alarm. “What is that beast and why is it—?”
Her words cut off as Fluffles jumped into her arms and shouted, “Mean Elf lady save Fluffles.” Then, with a yelp, Fylwen was forced to dash backwards and away as the mount unsheathed eight—yes, eight—inch claws and tried to scratch her face off.
“What in the name of the Gods is the meaning of this?” she cried. “Zach, what have you done this time?”
“Nothing! It was Fluffles, I swear!”
Now, Fylwen began dashing away with the cat in her arms while the other cat pursued right on her tail, with Zach right on its tail, and everyone else behind him. And just when Zach thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, his mount opened its mouth, made a choking sound, and seemingly vomited up a metal, tube-shaped object, which soon revealed itself to be some kind of cannon that fired off explosive shells out of its throat; each time it fired, it gave off a flash and emitted a loud, echoing crack that was louder than a gunshot.
Fylwen, growling, jumped high into the air as one of the explosive shells detonated the ground beneath her feet with enough power to utterly evaporate three nearby tents while destroying everything within. When the smoke cleared, there was now a sizeable hole in the ground. Scraps of, cloth, ruined pieces of the tent, and random belongings showered down over on top of it, including toilet paper, pillow stuffing, and spare clothing.
Gods, what have I done? Why did this have to happen?
“Come back here!” he shouted at the mount. “Why won’t you obey me?”
The mount was gaining on Fylwen, who began calling for the help of her dog. Now, Zach watched as Chumpkenwiffles, as though waking from a nap, lazily exited a tent farther to the north. The dog stretched her back, lifted her head, yawned, and then as though finally realizing what was going on, turned her body in the direction of the incoming train of madness and began to bark, loudly.
“Awoof! Awoof-woof-woof! I will save you, mommy! I always knew this day would come. Fluffles summoned an evil cat to hurt you. Awoof woof!”
“Chumpkenwiffles lying!” Fluffles said with a loud, desperate meow. “Zach summon evil cat.”
“Zach…do this?”
“Yes!”
Chumpkenwiffles fired off a barrage of lasers from her eyes—at Zach for some reason. This meant he was forced to stop his pursuit, bend his knees, and then throw himself out of the way of a pair of dual eye-lasers, which then struck Donovan, who was running behind him. This caused the leader of the GSG to swear loudly as he was flung directly into Zephyr, and the two of them together were blasted into another tent, causing that one to knock over as well.
“Zach!” called Peter, exiting a tent not far from where Chumpkenwiffles was continuing to fire on Zach. “Tell me. Is that a war-mount which you have summoned?”
“Yes!” Zach cried back to him. “You know what those are?”
“Indeed I do. My steed is one as well. For the sake of the Gods, boy, put your beast of war on passive!”
“On what?”
“On passive!”
Zach didn’t know what that meant, but lacking any better ideas, he mentally shouted the word passive at the Kralzek’s Beast. And oh, thank the Gods, for it worked. It actually worked! Immediately, and without a single second’s delay, the Kralzek’s Beast came to a total, abrupt stop, ending its pursuit right away. Fylwen, as though not willing to take chances, nearly fled the entire camp while still carrying Fluffles, stopping only after she had put considerable distance between herself and the rampaging tiger-thing with the saber teeth.
“Oh, Gods,” Zach whispered to himself, panting. “It’s over. Thank the Gods it’s—”
The Kralzek’s Beast spun around, and now, with another roar, it began to charge Zach. “Wh-wh-what the fuck!” Zach cried, backing away—and into—Donovan, who’d only first managed to pick himself up and hurry over to Zach. Now, with a painful thud that sent a ringing into his ears, the two of them were knocked down onto the grass. Yet with the vicious creature gunning straight for him, all he could do was crawl over Donovan’s groaning form and continue to run in the opposite direction; this, while Peter was once more calling out to him. Now, it sounded like he was telling Zach not to flee.
“Cease!” Peter yelled out to him. “You ought not flee. It merely seeks to return to its master.”
Zach swore aloud, not knowing if he should trust Peter or not. Kalana certainly didn’t, because appearing in front of him out of a literal blaze of fire, she dove at the mount and began slashing wildly at it, dishing out thousands of damage with each hit. She whirled her hands around, entering into a wild combination of slashes and thrusts. And through it all, the mount did…well, it did nothing.
It slowed from a run to a walk, and it remained quiet as it simply “allowed” Kalana to enact blood revenge against it, striking it time after time until it had fallen below half health. All while it continued to walk the last few feet of distance between itself and Zach then finally come to a total halt.
“Kal, stop. Stop!”
“B-but I’m winning.”
“No, I…I think I’ve got it under control.”
Hesitantly, she lowered her daggers. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Zach took a long, deep breath, which he released in an equally slow exhale. And as he did so, Peter came running over, now with his own creature following in tow. It was the Pegasus mount that Zach had seen yesterday, the one with the flaming hooves.
“I hope the others shall forgive you your ignorance on the topic of mounts. It is little known, and there are few who can claim to have one.” Peter placed his hand on top of the Kralzek’s Beast, which did not react to his touch in any way. He then explained to Zach exactly how to use a mount properly, which was something Zach would’ve really liked to know beforehand. Some of the words sounded familiar, as he recalled seeing them in the description of his card abilities. But unlike his cards, it seemed that mounts were much less sophisticated in terms of control.
There were only four commands that could be given: attack, neutral, passive, or go. Sometimes, there was a fifth, called "aggressive," but that one was rarer and did not work for every mount. Peter then explained that war-mounts were summoned in the neutral state by default, which meant that if either they or their rider was dismounted and came under attack, the mount would respond defensively. On the other hand, a mount put in passive mode would never attack regardless of what was happening to it or its master. Finally, a mount could be ordered to initiate an attack on something or “go” to a certain place. These four commands, Peter explained, made up the entirety of what could be done when Zach was not riding.
“I hope that, having said this, I have managed to banish your confusion. I dare say your war-mount has created quite the commotion here.”
Zach looked around, realizing that a fair bit of the camp had been completely destroyed. Now, he released a nervous laugh. “Well, at least the camp isn’t going to be needed for much longer, right?”
“I suppose. Regardless, take care not to lose control of it in the future. Had I not been on hand, I fear for what may have been.”
“Thank you.”
“All is well.”
With that out of the way, Zach looked at his badly butchered mount which, if nothing else, began to gradually heal after about a minute or two had come and gone. Not that it would matter if it died. It seemed like he could summon it forever with no cost to him other than twenty minutes of time if it was slain. This was in stark contrast to the mounts Olivir had or even his cards.
“Kal, I’m gonna try riding it!”
She folded her arms. “Not until you help us put out all the fires.”
Zach took a look around him and surveyed the camp. Only now did he realize that half of it was burning up. “Uhh…" Exhausted, he nodded to Kalana, but not before glaring at Fluffles, who Fylwen was carrying back into the camp as he jogged over to join the others in battling the rapidly spreading flames. He had company, too. The moment Fylwen released the cat, he came hopping over to Zach as though he had something he wanted to say. He likely wanted to apologize.
“What is it?” Zach asked, annoyed.
Fluffles meowed. “Where Fluffles' dinner?”
Zach sighed. Cats.