The deal was simple. As long as I had the ticket Orianna had given me, I could use the room associated with it. It was a sort of diplomatic suite. Not everyone associated with the city lived within the main grotto. There were lone rangers, forest dwellers, and even tribes in the forest. 

I met Mallie Silverleaf for all of five seconds for the ticket approval before she was called for an urgent matter on the floor. I hadn’t thought to ask if the room came with food, and I was starving. 

The room was upstairs, and again bigger than expected. There was a nice view of the grotto and plenty of natural light, but also magical lamps with a fire that required no fuel and produced very little heat. They had real plumbing, almost as good as the Dragon-fabricated building Draconis had held me in. 

My stomach growled again and I was pulled downstairs. I had no money, so that was my first order of business. I didn’t know the laws, but I figured stealing was illegal among the other basics like murder.

I scanned the gambling area for anything I thought I could win. My luck stat was pretty high now, but a strength-based challenge would be best. I spotted a group of Gnomes with a punching challenge on the far side, just past the dessert station. A giant machine with a cushion where you punch and it registers the damage you would have dealt. 

I approached, but with no money to challenge, I just watched from a closer angle to see if anything looked off about it. 

“You tryna’ find a big strong man to take on out of here?” A strange man had approached me now with a drink in hand. I could smell the alcohol on him before he even got close to me. It made my stomach turn. I wasn’t much of a drinker.

“No, actually, thanks,” I said politely, looking at his name and status.

 

Edge'gar  Stoneborn Level 47

 

“Then what are you doing? Haven’t seen you ‘round here before,” he was eying me like a creep, but I humored him.

“I was debating on whether or not this challenge was worth my money,” I replied. I didn’t have any money, of course, but he didn’t know that.

“A girl who doesn’t like wasting money? What a rarity,” he laughed to himself. I rolled my eyes. “I’ll tell ya what, I’ll pay your way and if you win you keep the prize money and if you lose, well you let me take you to dinner.”

“Fine,” I replied. I had no intention of losing a strength competition to anyone. Ever. It would be his loss and my ticket to a delicious meal.

The three Gnomes who were running the operation had three difficulties. I heard him set me up for the hardest challenge, probably thinking he was just out of earshot before the first Gnome motioned me forward. There was a slightly elevated platform with three hanging curtains. One green, the easiest opponent. She was a level 25 Orc and I had seen her a couple of times so far. The yellow curtain was the next difficulty up at level 40, a brutish-looking Elf I’d seen briefly when I first arrived from far off. The last curtain was red, and I hadn’t seen anyone come out yet.

I felt the massive presence before I saw it, shifting behind the curtain. A hulking bipedal beast pushed past, barely squeezing sideways through the small opening. He was covered in fur across his back, shoulders, and down his arms and legs. His fur was bright orange with black stripes except for his bare humanoid chest, hands, and head. He was a Togre, level 50, and his name was Griff. His style was simple enough. Just pants. That was it, with a single hole in the back for his tail to poke through.

He looked at me, then at the Gnomes, then to the man who’d so graciously agreed to pay my entry fee. “You, challenge?”

Sigh. “It’s me,” I said, stepping forward.

Griff laughed, paused to see if anyone else was laughing, then laughed again. “No, serious.” 

The Gnomes all nodded in agreement and his demeanor changed. “Cute, but no chance.” He stepped forward onto the raised platform and gave the machine a light backhand. The readout flashed and numbers began to flicker before coming to rest on the number 197. 

I still didn’t quite know how it worked, but it was clear that he wasn’t taking this seriously. Was this a measure of damage in a single strike? A measure of the force of impact? I could just ask. I was too used to talking just to myself now.

“This machine, or whatever you call it, what does it measure?” I asked.

The gnome sitting on a chair above the machine looked down at me. He had a small beard and kind of looked like a mechanic. He had a jumpsuit and a toolbelt unlike the other two who were dressed in standard pants, a shirt, vest, with boots. 

“It measures damage, my dear girl.” The Gnome spoke with a higher pitch. “Any other questions?”

“Uh, sure, what's the record damage dealt?” 

“The record? Why would you… whatever. The record was set by Chief Gorrock and is 747,” he replied.

I turned to the large leather cushion and stood there. Should I hit it as hard as I can? He didn’t even try. Do all of my strikes do max damage every time I hit something?

“You can deal minimum or reduced damage by deliberately striking with less force,” the voice in my head replied. 

So the less effort I put in, the less damage I deal? I’d just mimic what he did, then, but a little harder.

Griff was mid-yawn when I stepped up and backhanded the target just as he had. The numbers flashed and the Togre gave a disgruntled huff. The number on the screen read 232. That was thirty-five points higher than Griff’s score. 

The two ground-level Gnomes rounded on the Togre almost instantly for not taking this seriously and losing them money, while the old Gnome laughed. Griff shoved past the two Gnomes to me and demanded a do-over.

“No,” I said flatly. “I won, fair and square. You should have taken this seriously.”

Griff was red in the face, two angry Gnomes standing behind him with arms crossed and feet tapping. “Double or nothing,” he blurted out desperately.

“That doesn’t seem worth it, considering I could just pay to challenge again with the security that I won't be out everything.”

“Triple!” He shouted. At this point, I thought the Gnomes were going to implode.

“Deal.”

BAM!

The machine barely shuddered at the ferocious punch delivered by Griff, the cushion absorbing much of the impact. A golden aura surrounded him, changing his fur to a similar color but not the hair on his head, which was a thick black mane of hair down past his shoulders. I think it was an ability or his final form. He had a strong stance and swung a powerful haymaker straight into the target.

602. That was the mark. A small group had formed around the commotion and display put on by Griff. There were girls cheering him on and male Orcs snickering in my direction.

“Ho ho ho! What a strike!” The older Gnome shouted to the crowd.

The sentiment that Togre was trying so hard against an opponent that looked like me was baffling. A small girl in a dress was forcing this beast of a man to use his full strength. I was tired of being underestimated because of my appearance, tired of everyone looking down on me, and taking advantage of me. 

I stepped up to the machine as the elder Gnome gave a thumbs up. Sorry pops, I thought. I took a deep breath and moved into a striking stance with my left foot forward, both fists up like a boxer. I knew the basics, from a class I took in my previous life. I pivoted my hips as I pressed forward with my right fist and struck the target with all the strength I could muster.

CRACK! … BOOM!

The entire machine lifted off the ground and the metal folded in on itself, the springs shattered, and the cushion exploded on impact. The machine hurdled through the air, throwing the old Gnome from his perch high into the air, and slamming into the stone wall 10 meters off the ground. 

 

Basic physical attack deals 2,096 damage to Punching Machine!

 

I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it sure as hell wasn’t that. 

The entire tavern went silent and security stumbled into the area unsure of what was actually happening. I used Shadow Tether to grab the hammer on the Gnome’s belt and pull him to safety before he hit the ground, into a nearby pile of gigantic stuffed animals at another booth.

Security asked everyone in the area to wait while they asked a few questions and I went along with it. It wasn’t long before I heard a familiar voice behind me.

“You again, eh?” Sir Orrick was standing there, hands on his hips “with another vagrant case of destruction of private property!” Sir Orrick stated, pointing up at the punching machine stuck in the side of the stone. “I heard it 4 blocks away!”

“Hey, no! The whole point is to punch it, and that’s all I did! It’s shoddy construction at best,” I pointed at the old Gnome in the pile of stuffed animals who was struggling to get out. 

“You take that back!” He shouted, but muffled as he struggled. “That machine was top-of-the-line Cobalt!”

“Then why’d it break after two hits?” I yelled back at him. I didn’t even know what Cobalt was!

“You obviously used an ability to directly attack the construction of the machine,” he argued!

“I don’t have any skills for punching things!”

“Prove it!”

I was so mad! “I don’t know how to prove it!”

Griff grabbed my shoulder from behind and I threw him off. The gruff-looking Elf turned, cracking his neck, then coming at me from the side. Don’t die, I thought, punching him backward through one of the curtains.

 

Basic physical attack deals 456 nonlethal damage to Elf! 

You have defeated Elf, level 40!

 

I heard a whoop, a few cheers. Arguments began to break out between the Gnomes and Griff, the guards, and security. The old Gnome was running off to look at his machine and Orrick didn’t know what to do. A few patrons were starting to chant and I saw a pie hit one of them square in the face from the dessert station. The silence was further broken by the sound of crashing bottles. A table was flipped and an all-out food fight bar-brawl was starting.

“GUARDS! Assemble!” Sir Orrick shouted, drawing a club from his waistband and pointing towards the bar brawl. 

You take 4 damage from bottle!

 

I felt something smash into the back of my head, sending shards of glass floating through my hair. When I turned to see who’d done it, I took a pie to the face, plate and all. Orrick was off to the side, battling off a drunken patron and an angry barmaid. 

I wiped pie from my face and took cover behind a fallen table. Two Gnomes were swinging from a light above me, and an Orc jumped the table and took cover beside me. 

STAB!

A knife came through the table between us. This is getting out of hand, I thought. All I wanted was some money for food. Restraint! Show restraint next time! 

I picked up the remnants of a bowl of nuts that’d been on the flipped table and came up to survey the scene. Chairs were smashed. Broken bottles everywhere, guards fighting drunken customers. Pies everywhere. Gambling stations were closing up and people were fleeing for the two exits. 

There was a dancing Elf on the bar, juggling knives and throwing them in random directions. He looked drunk, for sure. Beside him were two patrons locked together in a battle of chairs. I flicked three nuts, one for each. Two were hit in the leg and ankle, dropping them instantly. The bar dancer took a nut to the chest, flattening him out on the bar unconscious. 

 

Nut deals 146 non-lethal damage to Elf!

You have defeated Elf, level 34!

Nut deals 122 non-lethal damage to Orc!

You have defeated Orc, level 27!

Nut deals 129 non-lethal damage to Orc!

You have defeated Orc, level 22!

 

I shot a Gnome off the back of Orrick, leaving him knocked out with 1 health. I took down another group of four but accidentally shot down an Elven guard. I stopped after that one, but the commotion was already dying down. I didn’t see Edge, the man who’d bought my way into this mess anywhere, either.

Mallie, the owner of the tavern had appeared and was talking to a group of guards. They kept looking over in my direction and I felt a little guilty. I hadn’t really started this, but kind of? It was hard to say. The older Gnome was shouting at Orrick now, and the other two Gnomes were in conversation with another guard. Griff had retreated back into his curtained room.

“Valerie?” Mallie approached, “I’m going to need you to come with me to my office to sort this out.”

“To get me my money for winning the punching game, right?”

She looked towards where the machine sat embedded in the stone and a crack along the wall had formed. “We will be discussing the results of the punching game, yes.”

I sighed. “Fine, whatever. I’m not looking to cause trouble.”

I followed the group up to a large conference room where Mallie, the old Gnome, and his two co-workers from the punching machine, Griff, and myself were to sit. Orrick was also here, filing in behind us.

“I’m telling you, she used a skill to break it! She cheated!” The old Gnome accused.

“I didn’t cheat. I already told you I don’t have a skill like that.”

“Regardless,” Mallie interrupted us, “The wall of the tavern has been breached. The magic won't hold if the wall breaks and only one person can fix it.”

The old Gnome fell back into his seat and sighed. The rest of the group kind of looked around at each other with hopeless expressions. This was definitely something I wasn’t in the loop about.

“So, they can fix it? No problem then.”

“Herb hasn’t been seen in months,” Mallie replied, “He’s on the council. Right now I’m filling in his place but this isn’t about that. This building is Dwarf-tech and he’s the only one who can fix it because he’s the only Dwarf in the city.”

“I’ll just invent a Dwarf-locator!” The old Gnome said sarcastically. “You expect us to find him? I got real work to do!”

“Not only will you be kicked out of this establishment, but you will also face a potential banishment from this city for taking part in the destruction of a historical building!”

Gasp! “You would never!” The old Gnome was hopping mad. “That machine was solid Cobalt construction! Near indestructible! I’m telling you, she cheated! We shouldn’t be subject to this! Call Orianna! I demand a Truth Scan!”

“She’s resting,” I said. 

“Like you’d know?” The Gnome rolled his eyes. 

“Valerie is a guest of Orianna,” Mallie corrected him. The table went silent. “Now that we are in agreement, I don’t want to see any of you again unless you have the knowledge to fix this. Valerie, you can stay only because you are a guest of Orianna. Try not to destroy the rest of my livelihood.”

I retired to the room where I drew a bath and went back over my traits and skills in my menu.

 

Traits

Analytical Angelic Bleeding Shadows Blessed Strikes Charger Dragonforce Dragon Slayer Exponential Growth Fast Laying Flight Keen Senses

Grip Queen Hunter Ovipositor Resilience Resolve Sheer Force Stable Core Swordsman Thick Skin Vapor Sense Unbreakable

 

Skills

 

Anti-Toxin 2 Blade Pillar 2 Dodge 3 Element: Water Element: Poison Element: Metal Element: Dark Element: Light Lightforce Barrier 1 Mana Beam 2

Poison Swipe 2 Poison Doubling 3 Rain Armor 3 Radiant Bolt 1 Shadow Limb 1 Shadow Strangle 2 Splash 3 Stun Web 3 Virulent Twister 2 Water Clone 2

 

And the last page, the one I was looking forward to the most.

 

Valerie Ht 5’1 Wt 121 Eyes Blue Hair Aqua Egg Type Any Gestation Status Ready Equipment Pink Dress Crude Grass Bag Inventory Empty OWNER

 

It was a good feeling seeing the Owner part crossed off completely. I was all to myself again. About damn time. Everything around me was so new, and socializing was exciting even if it had been mostly negative. I couldn’t lose sight of the goal, though. Could I stay here and be safe? I had doubts, but I needed the break. If they didn’t want to help fight the Dragons, I would have to move on, eventually.

I looked around the large, comfortable room. The bath water was perfectly hot, scented with flowers and a stack of towels sat on a bench nearby. They even had soap! Never would I ever have dreamed of missing something so mundane. 

There was another opportunity that presented itself, too. There was an abundance of new races I had yet to encounter, and I was no longer limited to just men. I could get traits from anyone if I wanted. If I wanted. Did I want to? I hadn’t quite decided yet. Was I strong enough now?

I simmered on that thought for a minute. It was all on me now. If I was going to do that, it wouldn’t be with just anyone. It’s not that I wasn’t attracted to anyone, but would I be responsible for raising these kids? That and everything that had happened up until this point hadn’t exactly been pleasant, and I’d been desperate before. 

There was one more thing that interested me. Alex– er, voice in the back of my head, what does inventory mean? I had things in my grass bag around my waist, but they weren’t in my inventory.

 

“Your inventory is a magical storage unit within your mark that allows you to store items. The amount you can store is based on the strength of your Magic”

 

I asked for a further explanation of how to use it, and it seemed all I needed to do was hold an item and focus on putting it into my inventory. I could see a list of items in my status at all times and could bring an item back out by thinking about it in my inventory. I had to say the item name a few times the first couple of times to really get it down. 

I transferred the contents of my bag, and my bag itself, into my inventory. I had 6 doses of revival liquid left according to the inventory list, and each herb leaf I’d taken was considered a dose. I hadn’t had to use them yet because of Water Veil that could heal me. 

When I got out of the bath, the aroma of seasoned meat and vegetables sent my mouth watering. A platter had been delivered, sitting on a small dining room table with 4 chairs, just off to the side of two glass doors leading to a balcony looking out over the city. I lifted the lid on the silver platter and it was set with two different portions of meat, one topped with gravy. There were freshly baked rolls, and different vegetables I hadn’t seen before carved down to bite-size pieces. It was served with a decanter of both water and a milk-like liquid, and a flight of pies for dessert. 

Never have I ever eaten so much in my life. I devoured every savory slice of meat, caught every drip of gravy with soft warm rolls, and ate every weird vegetable. I inhaled the pie sampler before downing half a decanter of what I could only describe as something between egg nog and strawberry milk. It was really good! I finished it off before I got the notification, and I passed out at the table.

“Sleep Tonic activated!”