“If I had youth I'd bid the world to try me;

  I'd answer every challenge to my will.

  Though mountains stood in silence to defy me

  I'd try to make them subject to my skill.”

  From ‘Youth’ by Edgar A. Guest, American Poet

  “Mom, what’s a Debutante?” Passi asked as she munched on her roasted fish and scrolled through the myriad of class options available to her. “Ooh, I can learn fancy dances!”

  “I think you can pick a better class than that, pumpkin,” Calista chuckled, recalling how she came across the same option during her own class selection. Snuggled up beside Milly in bed, they’d laughed and thought up ridiculous scenarios where wearing puffy dresses and seducing kings would be useful.

  Her amusement was quickly eclipsed by deep longing as she remembered the night with her girlfriend.

  I miss you, my love. More than I ever thought possible. Our home feels empty. Our family isn’t complete until we find each other again. Please… please be safe. Please come back to me.

  “Mom? Mom! Are you listening to me?” Passi said with irritation, having asked a question Calista hadn’t heard.

  “What? I’m sorry, Passi. I was lost in my thoughts,” Calista said as she subtly brushed away a tear before Passi noticed. “What did you ask?”

  “What’s a street walker?” Passi repeated.

  “What!” Calista barked indignantly, sliding over to Passi’s side. “What the hell is this damn system showing you?”

  Across the campfire, Cosmo and Rain struggled to contain their snickers of laughter.

  Calista read aloud the class selection offered, her voice growing more outraged with every sentence. “The Street Walker is the mistress of shadows and information. Though able to wield a skillful knife in the dark, the Street Walker prefers to obtain information and resources using more enjoyable methods. In addition to a ten-point increase in agility and toughness, she gains immunity to disease and access to the... No! Absolutely not, Passi!”

  Cosmo and Rain gave up trying to hold in their laughter, and it erupted from them unrestrained. Passi looked at the adults, confused.

  “What’s sexual magic?” Passi asked curiously.

  Oh god, I’m not ready for this question. Why is this class even an option for her? Milly, I could really use your support right now.

  “It’s… well, umm… you see…,” Calista stammered, trying to find the right words. She glanced at Rain for help, only to see Rain shrug and watch with mischievous eyes.

  Rain, help! Calista mentally projected to her friend in desperation. What do I say?

  You’re her mom, Rain responded with a chuckle. I’m just her fun-loving aunt. Figure it out.

  You’re no help at all, Calista replied tartly.

  “Umm… it’s… well, when a woman loves another woman… or man… or whatever, they, um…” Calista stumbled. “Look, it’s complicated.”

  “It’s adult stuff, Passi,” Cosmo interrupted, quickly smothering his laughter and adopting a bored expression. “You won’t be able to use that talent for many years, and it would waste your talent points.”

  “Oh, okay,” Passi said, quickly losing interest in the class and moving on to the next one.

  Calista breathed a sigh of relief and headed back over to Cosmo and Rain, the latter still giggling like a teenager.

  “Thanks Cosmo,” Calista said appreciatively, giving a side-eyed glare to Rain. “I didn’t know how to handle that.”

  Cosmo grinned. “Neither did I when Annie asked where babies come from. Getting caught off guard by a child’s curious mind is part of becoming a parent. Like a rite of passage.”

  “What was the AI Director thinking, giving her that option?” Calista whispered angrily. “Between these madness clouds and these inappropriate classes, he might already be going crazy.”

  Rain opened the sexual magic talent web and started to read through the options. Calista and Cosmo leaned over her shoulder to peak, unable to contain their curiosity.

  “Interesting. If I were thirty years younger, I might be tempted. But I’m a bit old to enjoy such spells now,” Cosmo said. He pointed to an option at the bottom left. “Except for that one, which is clearly targeted toward us older gentlemen and the, shall we say, challenges we face with advanced age.”

  “Nothing a little alchemy can’t fix,” Rain said without thinking. “An extract of Horny Goat Weed and Saffron does the trick.”

  “Oh? Have any of our fellow players made such a request of The Mage Alchemist?” Cosmo asked, probing for hot gossip.

  “That’s none of your business, Cosmo. But if you have a medical issue – any issue – you can make an appointment with me when we are back.”

  “Enhance Performance?” Calista read as she scanned the web, ignoring Rain and Cosmo’s awkward conversation. “I mean, it sounds fun, but we’re in the middle of a nightmare death contest. Who wastes a talent point on that?”

  Passi glanced over at the snickering adults, and Rain quickly closed the talent web. She waved innocently at Passi, who rolled her eyes and continued reading her options.

  “We should return to the galley camp,” Rain said, as the sun crested the horizon. “Before it gets dark. We don’t know what monsters might come out after the sun sets.”

  Calista nodded her agreement. “You two finish eating and pack up. Passi has read enough of the alternatives by now to know the system-generated specialty class is her best option.”

  With that, Calista headed over to Passi and plopped down next to her. “Did you make a decision, pumpkin?” she asked.

  “They’re all terrible,” Passi pouted, flicking the player screen angrily, causing it to spin.

  “The system recommended specialty one is a great option given your circumstances,” Calista prompted. “After all, you’ll always have your family at your side.”

  Passi sighed and brought up the class option screen.

  “It feels like I’m being put in a box and told what to do,” complained Passi in a huff. “I don’t want this stupid specialty class.”

  A smaller screen appeared overlayed on the first.

  “Your standard classes suck,” Passi said bitterly to the screen, swiping the warning away.

  Calista chuckled at her daughter’s frustration. “You know, I didn’t like my specialty class when I first read it either,” she admitted.

  “Really?” Passi said, surprised. “But your class is amazing! You can speak into my brain, and make other people stronger, and summon Tutorias at your whim.”

  “I know, but, at the time, the class just didn’t feel right. It was a specialty meant for a leader of people into battle. I’d just fought, and nearly lost, both the Battle of Tower Beach and the Arena of Protection, so I didn’t feel like I deserved to be a leader. And I didn’t want the responsibility.”

  “But you picked it anyway?” Passi asked.

  “Your mother… um… convinced me to take it,” Calista said, trying not to blush as she recalled exactly how Milly had convinced her. “It was the right decision. And taking The Secret Protégé would be the right decision too.”

  “I don’t know…” Passi said doubtfully.

  “Think of it this way,” Calista said, throwing an arm over Passi’s shoulder and pulling the fairy girl into a side hug. “Every time you level up, you gain a little piece of your loved ones. My telepathy, or Rain’s alchemy, or your mother’s magic. Every time you level up, we grow closer as a family.”

  Passi’s eyes sparkled with delight at Calista’s description of The Secret Protégé. She accepted the class without hesitation.

  “Oh, I guess you have to pick them right away,” Calista observed. “Any ideas?”

  “Umm… Rain’s magic, maybe?” Passi thought aloud. “I’m not really sure.”

  “Your mother and I found Improved Perception was really worth it,” Calista advised. “Or you could take Rain’s alchemy and become her apprentice.”

  “Rain’s workshop smells,” Passi said, sticking out her tongue.

  “Yah, but don’t tell her that,” Calista chuckled. “Hey Cosmo, you have any useful talents Passi might want?”

  Cosmo looked up from his dinner, mouth stuffed with fish. “Ah, then you took that specialty class, Passi?”

  “Yes,” Passi answered. “And I have to copy four talents.”

  “Well, let’s see here,” Cosmo said, bringing up his player screen. “I took The Jester’s Folly specialty class – rudely named, if you ask me. So most of my talents have a certain entertainment value to them. Here, take a look. Just don’t tell anyone about them. I’m writing a three-hour rock ballad in my spare time and want to blow people’s minds with the special effects.”

  In the end, Passi gained Improved Perception from Calista and Fire Magic from Rain. She copied two from Cosmo. Illusion Magic, which allowed her to create holographic images by manipulating light, and Modify Sound, which let her amplify or dampen any sound within a sixty-foot-radius.

  “Let’s get back to the galley,” Calista said once Passi had finished her selections. “We still have to…”

  Calista’s words grew quiet. She turned to her daughter, who was rolling on the ground in silent laughter. Calista rolled her eyes playfully.

  A daughter who can silence her mother at will. Well, this should be interesting. Not my fault, Milly. Not my fault.

  They marched back into the jungle, headed for The Retribution, their passage through the undergrowth as quiet as the grave.

  * * *

  Xavier smirked as he approached the five slimes on the northern beach, his black blade clutched threateningly at his side.

  “Slimes? Really? These things are just above goblins when it comes to generic video game enemies. Lazy-ass gods.”

  Xavier dashed towards the nearest slime – the red one – and swung hard and fast. His blade became stuck in its acidic mass before the first swing had sliced more than a few inches inside.

  “What the…?” Xavier said with surprise, trying to yank out his sword. The red slime’s googly eyes drifted across its mass to face him and narrowed in anger. “Well, shit.”

  A fist made of fire shot out from the slime’s center and struck Xavier square in the chest. Hurled backward, Xavier hissed in pain as he felt blisters begin to form on his skin.

  “Mother fucker,” Xavier spat, a healing hand pressed to his chest. He scowled as the four other slimes turned to face him. “Elemental slimes. Clever, but still unoriginal. Well, I have a way of dealing with that.”

  Xavier dashed towards the red slime again, dodging the ice and metal projectiles hurled his direction and leaping over the earth that tried to encompass his legs. He grabbed hold of the hilt of his blade stuck in the red slime.

  “Elemental shift: Water,” he shouted. His eyes flashed with blue light – a light that spread across the surface of the black blade. “Die, you fucking slime!”

  The water-enchanted blade carved through the slime with ease. Xavier gave a self-satisfied grin as he felt his sword pierce the slime core within. His grin faded a moment later when the creature exploded in a fiery blaze as it died.

  Once again, Xavier was thrown backwards into the sand. His clothing was scorched and his exposed flesh covered in burns. He spat blood onto the beach and climbed to his feet.

  “You think that will stop me? My toughness is over eighty,” Xavier shouted with confidence. “You aren’t strong enough to beat me. Elemental shift: Fire!”

  By the time Xavier finished off the last of the slimes, he’d been scorched with flame, stabbed with ice, burned by molten metal, beaten with stones, and whipped with vines. His healing magic and regeneration ability were already repairing his injuries, but it was hard to ignore the pain coursing through his body.

  “That’s… that’s how it’s done,” he quipped breathlessly, wincing at every movement. He stared across the bay towards a tiny island a short swim away, where another swarm of slimes had gathered along its shore.

  “Well, isn’t that handy,” Xavier uttered as he spotted the monsters. He tried to stand, but his knees buckled, and he fell back into the sand. “Maybe… maybe I’ll enjoy the view for a bit.”

  You are strong. Your companions – your competitors – are weak, The Seed whispered in his mind, unnoticed by its host. Yet even weak enemies together can become a threat.

  “Elmer and Alison. That clown Cosmo. That fucking bitch Calista. Except for Rain, everyone on the galley is worthless. Fucking newbs who don’t know what they’re doing. They couldn’t even beat a bunch of dead fish,” Xavier scowled, his thoughts unexpectedly dark despite his victory.

  Xavier opened his inventory and withdrew one of the healing potions that Rain had given him. As he drank, he found himself wondering what the alchemist was doing, and if she was safe. Rain was the one person that always treated him with respect and kindness, even when others turned their back on him.

  You must get stronger to survive. Far stronger than any of your friends. Only your strength can stop them from betraying you.

  Gritting his teeth as the potion accelerated his healing, Xavier observed the slimes on the island to create an improved plan of attack.

  “I need to get stronger. Far stronger than any of them. They’ll betray me too, just as Milly betrayed me. It’s only a matter of time.”

  The Seed felt a sense of satisfaction waft over it. It was tasked with nudging Xavier towards the master’s achievements, so the master’s strength would be insurmountable when he finally arrived in this world.

  The next achievement for Xavier to complete was ‘Betrayal of Friends’.

  And what better place than an arena to betray a friend?

  The Non-Canonical Aftermath

  Do it! urges The Seed. Become one with your darkness.

  Yes! Such a betrayal. Such an unforgivable act. Look, here she comes. Her tears shall be the sweetest of all.

  Well, I'm sure she feels betrayed on the inside...