Some time passes, and before I know it, a week has flown by. Completing three quests a day doesn’t sound like much, but it’s physically exhausting. Having Delilah by my side helps a lot, but my main motivation rests upon the rewards, and they are definitely worth it.

  It seems like every delivery task at the bottom of the board has an associated level one quest, each one giving two skill credits. Not to mention the free skill credits allocated simply from using the skill. In total, I earned 39 skill credits, having gained one free credit roughly every two-and-a-half days, including the one I got from my first task.

  I’ve already purchased the ‘third box’ option for three credits. I also bought the first two in the ‘size increase’ branch of my skill tree for a total of four SC. The only other thing I got was the first in the ‘casting time reduction’ branch for five, but it only reduced my summoning time by one second, so I figure it’s not worth the credits to follow that branch quite yet. That put my total before today at 21 SC, but now that I’ve completed my three tasks for the day, I’m sitting at a cool 27.

  “Well, Delilah, I think I’m ready to take the plunge. Let’s see what this ‘Utility’ branch entails. I wish Brick could be here to see this, but… yeah.”

  As my thoughts drift toward my guilt and pain from the events of that fateful night, I begin to dive deeper into depression.

  Brick… I’m sorry that I failed you… that I was such a shitty friend…

  Delilah purrs and rubs against me as I lie on the pile of hay I was given for my bedding. I was allowed to choose any of the empty buildings toward the center of the territory as my living quarters.

  All of the good ones were spoken for, so I chose a small shed behind one of the completely collapsed homes. It’s cold and riddled with holes, offering little protection from the stronger gusts of wind, but I couldn’t care less.

  I won’t be staying here forever, so why bother finding a nicer place? Besides, most of the good buildings are already occupied.

  I slowly summon my scroll, directly to my skill tree page. I only hesitate for an instant before selecting ‘Utility.’ The page I’m perusing suddenly gains an overabundance of options.

  There are so many!

  My elation dampens as I discover the prices of said selections.

  “Holy shit, Delilah, some of these options cost thousands of credits! The lowest is another 25! That option is called ‘Dimension and Appearance Modulation.’ Damn, I’ll have to save up some credits! Some of these options are fucking awesome!”

  “Human, I am happy for you. However, you are not petting me, therefore I care very little for your fortune. If you were to start scratching behind my ears, I might feel more inclined to celebrate with you.”

  My slightly agape mouth closes, as her coy tone brings a small smile to my face, replacing the wide-eyed expression that I’m wearing.

  “Well, come on then.”

  My voice is filled with mirth as I say this, patting my chest as an invitation for her to climb aboard.

  She stretches her legs before pitter-pattering her way onto my offered resting place. She lies down with her body straight, covering half the length of my torso. I idly indulge her as I mentally command my Heart Scroll to pan past my options, reviewing the list with glee. She begins to rumble, a clear sign that I’m scratching satisfactorily.

  “The few upgrades I’ve seen so far give me real hope that my vendettas will be fulfilled. There are some offensive options, perfect for my purposes. Some of them aren’t readily apparent, but the possibilities are endless! And expensive…”

  I frown as I read the costs of some of these skill upgrades.

  “Listen to this. There’s an option to conserve the momentum of objects that enter my boxes. I can imagine it clearly. I could catch projectiles that are shot or thrown at me and send them back to the attacker!

  “That’s also some incentive to reduce my casting time. Whenever I manage to get it down to zero, I will be able to instantly summon my box in front of whatever is coming at me!”

  I can’t help grinning from ear to ear, as I continue to scan my list. “Here’s one that allows me to catch spells with my boxes! Paired with the momentum conservation upgrade, I won’t even need to have my own magic! I can just throw my enemies’ spells right back at them!”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The excitement in my mental tone is palpable. “Delilah, I can promise you that by the time that we’re through, the world is really going to change. Some of these upgrades are beyond belief.”

  My happiness slightly dims as I see that there’s also an option for catching enemy projectiles for 100 SC.

  “Well, I’ll have to hold off on being able to shoot things back at people, there’s a separate option for that…”

  “Human,” Delilah stands, stretching her legs in front of her, then curls up in the center of my chest. “Stop talking.”

  My smile changes to one of affection as I gaze upon my furry friend. Then I unsummon my Heart Scroll and just lie there, imagining the plethora of possibilities for our future. There really were some extraordinary selections there. I stay like this for a few hours just… thinking. Long after the sun sets, sleep takes me.

  For the first time in a decade, I slumber soundly, not beset by nightmares.

  …

  When the sun rises, I rise with it. Delilah is gone, most likely out hunting or whatever cats do for fun. I don’t worry about it too much. I know the ritual by now. The first time she did this, I nearly panicked upon awakening. Now, however, we’ve established a status quo.

  I have a goal to focus on, my life’s looking up.

  Don’t get me wrong, having a plan is good, but my situation still sucks. Now, however, I know what I want to do.

  First thing’s first, I want to get myself the ‘Dimension and Appearance Modulation’ perk. It may not seem like much, but if it entails what I think it does, it will be useful to grab early. Then I’ll get as far as I can with the time reduction path.

  After that, I plan to save up for the ‘Conservation of Momentum’ upgrade. That’s 50 SC, but I’ll need it for emergencies. It’s the cheapest semi-offensive option available to me, after all. Then I’ll need the ‘Enemy Attack Absorption’ in order to properly utilize the momentum conservation. Before I can do any of that, I’ll have to make the proper preparations.

  That in mind, I go outside and walk a bit away from my shed to take a piss. I won’t go into the details about what else I have to do. Let’s just say I walk a bit farther away, downwind, to do it.

  My business taken care of, I head off to the task wall. Delilah saunters to my side from wherever she was, so I bend down to scratch behind her ears, then continue on my way. You’d think that someone would have taken issue with her following me around, but nobody has looked twice.

  “Human. What will we be doing today? More low level delivery quests?” She sounds neutral to the idea, neither happy nor displeased, aloof as always.

  “Nope! I’m thinking about trying some from the next row up. Hopefully their quest level only goes up by one. I’m not quite sure what the level of difficulty means exactly, but level two should probably be doable.”

  I smile, a sense of satisfaction spreading through my slim stature.

  It’s time to see what I can do. To test my limits. I’ll push through, no matter what.

  “But first, let’s see about getting me a new outfit from Boss.”

  It’s a new week, so my allocated amount of five rings for necessities has been renewed. While I do have 185 copper rings collected in Inventory A, the Society isn’t aware of that. I’d like to keep it that way, only using them for emergency food and things that can be hidden in my inventory.

  At least I got to eat a ‘meal’ five days in the last week. Bread and cheese isn’t very filling, but that’s still more than I’ve gotten since the orphanage.

  I’ve kept the three copper rings I earned from completing tasks on a small length of twine I have hidden beneath my left arm, the standard semi-protected place to put them. I haven’t looked into the box I keep my quest rings in, at all, just to be safe.

  I walk down the street my shed is located on for a few blocks. I take two left turns and a right turn, not in that order, before coming to a stop in front of the building across from the task wall.

  I haven’t been in the large, two story structure yet. I’ve been afraid to anger the big boss man, so I hesitate before opening the door, mentally noting the silent hinges. Delilah remains outside, refusing to draw any more scrutiny to herself than necessary, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

  The inside is filled with colorful carpets and curtains, creating a kind of tacky, disorienting display of wealth. I approach a desk about ten feet beyond the entrance. Sitting behind it is a rather average looking, mousy woman, though she’s a human, not a moui. She could probably disappear in a crowd without trying. Her medium length mahogany hair lacks luster, looking slightly less than presentable, but not by much. Her matching brown eyes seem dull, as if she hates her job and would rather be anywhere else.

  She takes one look at me before snidely saying, “Boss is busy, come back later.” Her sneer could curdle cheese, but I don’t let it get to me. Most of the members of the Society of Scoundrels act similarly, if not to a worse degree.

  “I’m… uh… I’m here for my weekly allotted rings, I um… I need new clothes.” I say this with as innocent of a tone I can muster, which just seems to deepen her displeasure.

  “He figured you’d be by today, so he took the liberty to pre-purchase an outfit for you.”

  She doesn’t sound happy to have to do anything for anybody else, but she reaches below her desk, pulling a neatly folded stack of clothes bound in string from its depths. She tosses it onto the ground right in front of my feet, then looks back down at whatever papers she’d been perusing before.

  I mutter a quick “thank you,” to which she scoffs, then I make my exit. I go behind the broad building, unwrapping the twine as I do so. I quickly change out of my filthy hole-riddled rags, dipping them in a kind of clean puddle, using the wet cloth to wipe the grime from my face and arms.

  It’s not perfect, but it’ll do. I relish in the feeling of the brand new outfit, ignoring the itchiness of it. The outfit is simple, and slightly baggy on me, but the pants have a drawstring, so it doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

  No underclothes, I see. Luckily I can still use my old ones. My string of rings securely strung under my shoulder, tucked into the pit of my arm, I make my way back around to the job board.

  I skim the bottom rows, just in case there’s anything of interest. There isn’t, so I focus more on the rows above that. The very first task catches my eye. It’s labeled ‘Four Package Delivery,’ and the description says that they need to be delivered to an alchemist in the market district.

  I guess not every citizen is upstanding, if the other tasks I’ve done are any indication as to the contents of these packages. I also decide to take on a task that’s heading simply states ‘Payment and Pickup’ with the only description being ‘See Boss for details.’

  I quickly explain the details to Delilah.

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t care, Human.”

  “A simple answer for a simple question. Fair enough.”

  I feel the telltale thrumming in my chest, indicating I have a new quest, or more likely two. I had decided on my second day that I wouldn’t check my Heart Scroll immediately when I pick up a task. This was mostly due to there being several people perusing the wall when I arrived. It spurred the thought that anybody could be watching at any time, and calling out my scroll each time I accept a task could easily become very suspicious.

  Before I do anything else, I remember to check the other task to see who I need to report to. I immediately let out a groan when I see who posted the job.

  Damn it! Why’d it have to be Smitty?!