The harsh reality of how tired Shawn was came back with a vengeance. He followed Anisha into her manor, ate a small meal, and then proceeded to fall asleep in a luxurious bathtub while washing away the mud, smoke, and filth from his body. The water had grown cold and chilly by the time a butler checked in on the young hero only to find his head leaned up against the back of the tub, sound asleep. Fortunately for Shawn, his head had remained above the water line, so he didn’t drown, though he did earn a fierce scolding from the butler as the kind older gentleman helped Shawn to a proper bed. Shawn passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow, still in a towel.
His dreams were dark, illuminated only by the flashes of distant explosions. Monstrous forms swarmed all around and he could feel himself tossing violently as he slept. Just as the nightmares reached their climax, they faded. Bloodied battlefields disappeared and Shawn found himself in a familiar setting. Gray nothingness expanded as far as he could see in any direction. Shawn let his pounding heart settle for a few moments before looking around to find the person he already expected to be there.
The administrator stood a few feet away to his right, waiting patiently for Shawn to acknowledge her presence. Once their eyes made contact, the administrator’s iris warmed to a joyful yellow and her head dipped in welcome.
“It is good to see you again Shawn.” The administrator smiled pleasantly.
“Did I die again?” Shawn asked nervously. “I remember being brought out of the bath, maybe that was all in my head? Did I drown in a bathtub?”
Shawn groaned and slapped his forehead. “Please tell me I didn’t waste my new life by dying the first time I took a bath.”
The administrator lifted one translucent hand to her mouth as she laughed at his reaction.
“No Shawn.” She shook her head while still chuckling. “I apologize for making you alarmed. You are very much alive in the world of Akaydus. You’re still asleep in the Goldrin Estate so please be at ease.”
Shawn let out a long sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good. So why am I here if I’m not dead? I didn’t really think I’d get to see you again if I’m being honest.”
A trickle of blue invaded the yellow color in the administrator’s eyes as her smile lost a bit of its luster.
“Unfortunately this is a unique case that’s not likely to happen again. I’m only here to solve your side quest dilemma.”
“You mean the mob of people trying to tell me all of their problems and the one hundred plus side quests I received within a single hour of being out in the city?” Shawn lifted one eyebrow expectantly.
The administrator grimaced and nodded. “I do apologize for the inconvenience. While this world is bound by its own rules, it does allow me to make slight adjustments to fix such… clerical errors.”
“Clerical errors? How is this a clerical error?”
The administrator waved her hand in front of herself and the small floating planet of Akaydus appeared.
“The system is capable of making adaptations to a number of settings in order to affect the current conditions of the world.”
Shawn nodded along. “So, this automated system, the ‘game’ elements that are present in this world, tries to make things better?”
The administrator tilted her head slightly as she considered his question. “I wouldn’t use the term ‘better’ to describe its desired outcome. It doesn’t have a moral compass or a real grasp of what you would define as good or evil. As I mentioned when I originally explained this world to you, it was designed to operate outside of the direct control of the administrators and given free rein to adapt as time passed. It would be more accurate to say that the system simply seeks stability in its existence.”
“How was swarming me with quests an attempt at stability?” Shawn asked.
The administrator shrugged. “Unfortunately, I cannot say. I don’t have a way of understanding its intentions outside of educated guesswork.”
Shawn frowned. “What’s your best guess then?”
A contemplative orange filtered into her eyes. “If I had to guess, I would say the system was trying to provide you with as much experience as possible. Though, for what reason, I cannot say.”
Shawn felt goosebumps form on his arms. He didn’t understand why the system felt the need to try and power level him, but it certainly didn’t fill him with confidence.
“So.” Shawn coughed and drew the conversation back to the original topic. “You stopped the system from doing this?”
A hesitancy had entered Shawn’s voice. The initial relief he had felt from the news that he would no longer be swarmed by citizens had grown conflicted after hearing what the administrator suspected its purpose to be. Shawn had a growing suspicion that leveling up as fast as possible might not be a bad idea. The administrator seemed intune with his uneasiness.
“I changed nothing about the citizens’ lives that you’ve met. Everyone still has their own problems and quest lines that are available for you to pursue. All I have done is tone down the aggressiveness the system was imposing on the citizens. They are back to acting under their own volition when it comes to sharing about and asking for help resolving their issues or quests.”
“Oh. Yeah, that sounds better.” Shawn responded honestly.
“The burden of responsibility will now mostly fall onto your shoulders to seek out those in need. Though some may still try and find you, I believe you’ll find this far less taxing on your sanity.” The administrator finished her explanation with a smile.
It was Shawn’s turn to chuckle.
“That was all I had to explain to you unfortunately.” The administrator waved her hand and the small planet of Akaydus vanished from existence. “I’ll be sending you back down now.”
“Hold on.” Shawn held his hands out as she approached him. “I still don’t know what you meant before about what you were going to give me when I went down there. The strength of a different kind?”
The administrator shook her head and laughed.
“I told you Shawn.” She lifted one elegant finger and moved it to his forehead. “I don’t want to spoil the experience.”
With a bright flash, Shawn vanished from the gray expansion. His eyes flew open, and he sucked in a sudden breath as his brain had a moment of panic. He groggily looked to his right and saw gentle morning sunlight penetrating the drawn curtains along the far wall.
“Oh, right.” Shawn mumbled as the memories of the previous day rushed to fill the void.
He heard a surprised yelp come from the door into his room. Still half asleep, Shawn lifted his head from the pillow and looked for the source of the noise. Anisha stood at the entrance, her hand still on the doorknob and a cherry red flush clear over her entire face. Her other hand shot up and covered both of her eyes.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean… I mean I didn’t know…” She stammered. “I’ll be outside when you’re ready.”
The young knight slammed the bedroom door shut hard enough to make the glass windows shudder in their frames.
“What was that all…” Shawn looked down at himself.
All he was wearing was a towel that had come undone during his nightmares. Shawn felt his own face flare up as he realized what Anisha had just witnessed.
“I’m so sorry!” Shawn shouted at the door.
He fell heavily out of bed and scrambled around the room, desperate to find his clothes.
“No, no!” Anisha shouted back in a shrill and unconvincing tone. “It was my fault. I knocked and you didn’t answer so I thought… Anyway. Are you dressed now?”
“Um.” Shawn couldn’t find his clothes anywhere. “No.”
“Robert, my butler, said he left something fresh for you on the bedside table.”
Shawn turned back and discovered the small pile of crisply folded clothing that his eyes had overlooked.
“He uh… He may have thrown out your other clothes.” Anisha called sheepishly through the door. “I’m sorry! Your knife should still be there though.”
Shawn sighed but couldn’t really complain. His menu had said the items were diminishing in quality anyway. He put on the simple gray shirt and black pants. The butler had even been so kind as to give him a pair of long socks and brown traveling boots that fit him perfectly.
“Tell Robert thank you for me.” Shawn said as he stepped out of his bedroom door.
Anisha’s cheeks hadn’t fully lost all of the blood that had rushed there earlier. She shot him a quick glance to confirm he was fully dressed before nodding.
“It was nothing.” She cleared her throat and turned away. “So. We are heading to the local church today, correct?”
“That’s right.” Shawn had honestly forgotten.
Yesterday felt like a long time ago already.
Anisha turned to face him directly, now fully recovered from the embarrassing event that happened moments ago.
“I know of a few side alleys and back streets we could take that will be less crowded. Hopefully we’ll be able to minimize the number of people that are drawn to you. If we get a crowd like yesterday though, I doubt I’ll be able to hide the fact that I went out with you from the colonel.”
“Actually, that shouldn’t be a problem anymore.”
Anisha’s eyebrows lifted at the news. “Why not?”
“Last night I had a dream of the admin… I mean the divine.” Shawn altered his word usage to not confuse her. “She told me that what had happened was a mistake and it had been fixed.”
Anisha’s eyes widened. “I see. Well, that makes things significantly easier for us. Now we shouldn’t have any problems getting there and back.”
“Won’t your butler or any of your other staff report your absence?” Shawn asked skeptically.
“Robert and everyone else that works in this house have been employed by my family for generations.” Anisha said proudly. “As long as the colonel doesn’t ask them directly, they won’t say a word.”
“So, they won’t tell on you but they won’t lie either?” Shawn frowned slightly.
It wasn’t the airtight answer he was hoping for.
“No.” Anisha sighed. “I wouldn’t want them to lie for me anyway. They would get fired or arrested immediately if they did.”
After a moment of sad contemplation, Anisha perked up.
“No use in worrying about that. Like I said, I sneak away plenty of times and the colonel is none the wiser. We’ll be fine as long as we’re careful.”
Shawn sighed but saw no reason to argue against her. After all, he certainly wouldn’t mind the company.
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