Bubble stopped the squirrel and his tiny sword right in their tracks, then sent them flying. The creature was wearing a chain vest and a little knight helmet with a red plume sticking out the top of it. Both his sword and his helmet went flying in different directions.

  Riu was getting closer, tons of furry creatures hot on his ass. He was gaining on them, might even be able to escape, but what about me? As soon as those things reached me, I was finished.

  “Shoot!” Riu cried, gesturing at himself.

  I thought he was crazy, then I realized what he was up to. Please time this right. I aimed my staff right at him, summoned my fireball into existence, then shot.

  The ball of flame blasted forward with incredible speed, and I worried Riu was about to become a charred corpse. But then he blinked out of existence about half a second before the fireball hit him. He appeared behind it, his momentum the same as it’d been before he teleported. Still sprinting, he was thrown through the air as the fireball exploded.

  Everything flashed, the gust of heat from the explosion nearly sending me to the dirt. I stuck my staff in the ground, eyes squeezed shut from the onrush of whipping air. Then my nose filled with the scent of charred fur, and about a dozen XP notifications blinked into existence right when I opened my eyes.

  It looked like I’d set off a small nuke. There was a crater a little behind where Riu had been running. All around it flames licked the air, the fire spreading with each passing second. I could see more of the squirrels behind the inferno, some of them crawling away, their backs ablaze.

  Riu coughed and rolled to his feet, the back of one pant leg smoking. He swatted away the meager fire then we both set off.

  “Go!” I said, giving him a push. He was slowing to keep pace with me.

  He started to argue but I shoved him again, and then he gritted his teeth and took off toward the Red Hills. If we got swarmed, there was no need for him to die with me.

  I spun, heels digging into the ground. Then I blasted another fireball, eyes squinted at the sudden gust of heat. Watching the explosion, I couldn’t even tell if I’d hit anything, but then more XP notifications appeared and I shot once more.

  Notice: You have gained a level!

  Fireball after fireball exploded into the trees. The entire scene looked like I’d just carpet bombed the place. I planned to fire a few more when my body started trembling, my chest squeezing in on itself.

  I coughed, air caught in my throat. I’d had a panic attack not long after the accident that felt more pleasant than this. It was like a giant had punched me in the lungs while someone else had pumped razor blades through my veins. I could feel the mana within me as it tried pouring into my staff, but the further I pushed it the more intense my discomfort became. It was like something inside me was being stretched, pulled far past its limits.

  “Fuck,” I groaned, feeling like I was about to pass out.

  The forest was a goddamn inferno anyways. If anything could make it through that, I doubt one or two more fireballs would have done any good in the first place. So I turned, then hobbled for the sand.

  I got about twenty yards before something slammed into my shoulder and I ate dirt.

  “Die foul beast!” the squirrel cried as it plunged something sharp into my back.

  Rolling, I managed to buck the fucker off. But then he came across the grass like a bullet. He crashed into my chest just as I tried sitting up.

  “For King and Acorn!” He raised his little sword, the tip already soaked in blood.

  My right hand flew up and gripped the squirrel around the throat. Then I squeezed, his eyes bulging. He dropped his sword, his hands scraping uselessly at my fingers.

  He squirmed, but I didn’t let up. But there were more trying to circle around the flames. Time was running out.

  I rolled to the side and grabbed my staff. With it, I managed to pull myself up. Then I reared back and threw the squirrel right into the fire.

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  It wasn’t until he started screaming that I realized how fucked up all this was. But then again, he shouldn’t have stabbed me.

  Despite the pain, I shot one last fireball, aiming for the largest group I could make out through the thickening smoke. Casting the spell felt like someone had taken a dagger to my heart, but I toughed it out. Then I finally created distance between myself and the fuzzy horde.

  Riu was posted up not far from the edge of Outer Verdia. He had an arrow ready, but his arms were shaking. Kid was terrified.

  “What are you doing?’ I called. “Go! Get out of here.” But he wasn’t moving this time. He didn’t even acknowledge me until I reached him. Then he just nodded and stood up.

  Several of the squirrels had reached where Verdia ended and the Red Hills began. They shouted at us from the trees, smoke billowing through the air. But they didn’t attack. From this distance, they could reach us without too much effort.

  “I don’t think they can leave,” I said. The quest had mentioned I would be locked into certain zones if I accepted it. Maybe that meant creatures couldn’t leave the zones they came from?

  I really wanted to explode more of them, but my body was drained and each heartbeat sent a wave of pain down my arm. So I just gave them the middle finger and then walked the other direction.

  We decided to chance a fire this time. I’d had my suspicions the previous night, but it seemed they were growing colder.

  Never thought I’d miss our shitty little apartment. Me and Avery didn’t have much in that little box down main street, but it’d been home. At least there I had a proper bed. And a fridge. With meat in it.

  I munched on another apple while Riu tended to the fire. The kid had started it using some rocks and sticks he found lying around. Apparently, he was part of some club back in Japan that taught wilderness survival. Sounded a lot like the Boy Scouts. And he’d mentioned to me that he competed in archery. Not sure why he got daggers in orientation, but I still wasn’t sure how all that went down.

  “What class did you pick anyways?” I asked, tossing the apple core to the ground. Despite appearances, this did not taste like a store-bought apple. It had a grainy texture and was overly sweet, like it’d been stuffed with something artificial.

  Riu poked at the small fire with a stick, thinking of the correct words. “Rogue?” He said each letter slowly, not sure of himself.

  “Ah a rogue.” I glanced at his bow, which was leaning against a nearby tree. “Why not archer or something else?”

  “This was top, ugh, recommended?” He brought up his attribute menu and though I couldn’t understand the Japanese, I could make a rough estimate of where his dexterity was.

  “Twenty-three? Damn.” I had leveled up during the fight with the squirrels and invested all my points into arcane. But even with the investment and my class boosting the attribute, my arcane was only at seventeen. Riu had to have high dexterity naturally with those numbers.

  “Need strength to be a good archer,” he said, settling near the fire. “But my, um, damage is increased with dexterity. But only with this.” He patted the dagger at his hip.

  That meant the sword he swiped from that elite warrior wouldn’t be getting a boost. He had it slung across his back, ready for when he needed it. But who knew how big that dexterity damage boost even was. I didn’t blame him one bit for trying to use a bow or a sword. The reach on those daggers alone would make me second guess a close quarters fight.

  Riu rubbed his eyes, finally showing signs of fatigue. We’d walked the rest of the day after the squirrel incident, but this was the first time he looked like he needed a break.

  “I’ll take first watch. You get some sleep,” I said. He opened his mouth, maybe to argue, then simply nodded and leaned against the same tree his bow rested against. In just a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

  I had no way to prove this, but I got the sense whatever life he’d had before must have been hard. He was just a teenager, a kid, thrown into this mess. I was damaged, broken even, so I understood why this situation didn’t get to me. But he took it better than most would. I wondered how many people were wandering this continent like Clara. Lost and without hope. Probably a lot.

  “But most will be dead soon,” I whispered, looking up at the stars.

  That damned number was still up there, the 600 displayed for all to see. It promised our doom, but I was not going to let that happen. Especially if Avery was out here somewhere.

  I opened my inventory and pulled my backpack out. Old thing was worn, a few bloodstains on the straps from my first encounter with the crawlers. I pulled Avery’s sketchbook out and leafed through it. This was one of her old ones. Her art was much better now, but the pictures of castles, knights, and horses brought the faintest smile to my lips.

  I’ll find you Avery, I promise.

  My body still hurt from the previous battle. Each time I cast a spell, energy flowed through my chest. This had to be what my HUD called mana. But I guess even if I had an infinite reserve of the stuff, my output was still limited. It was like I had a water hose hooked up to the ocean. Only so much could come out at once. But maybe it was like a muscle? It certainly felt like one. And if it was, it could be trained. Strengthened. Then that water hose would get bigger, tougher too.

  Something disturbed the sand just outside the firelight, and I shot up. I thought I saw something small and fuzzy speed into the dark, maybe even one of the squirrels. But if they could leave their zone, they would have come after us already.

  I stood there for a while, watching. But there was nothing there. I was probably just seeing things. It’d been a long day and fighting weird talking squirrels would rattle anyone’s brain. Better to just try and relax.

  Then I turned around.

  There was a guy standing by the fire.

  It took me a second to realize he had a crossbow aimed at my head.