Returning to the table with Zoe, Rachel held out a hand to stop the cat-girl from bringing it to him, causing her ears to droop and cheeks to redden; Rachel figured she’d been tempted to sneak another glance at the charming Legendkin.
“We have your temporary cure, but do you have an answer to my game?” she teasingly asked, ears straight and alert in case he tried anything else; she didn’t quite fully trust Anthony yet, despite the sincerity and open attitude she sensed. After all, her own change had given her several advantages in mental processing and on-the-spot strategic play to fool others.
A thoughtful hum rumbled in the man’s chest as he leaned against the side of the bookshelf he hid behind, twirling his sword with casual flicks of his wrist. “It’s fairly obvious if you’re not a bunny. A rabbit?”
He laughed upon catching Rachel’s scowl as he came back out, fingers still covering the beauty mark as his other hand placed the short sword against the nearby wall. “Kidding! Kidding! So, you’re a hare. It makes sense; I was once told hares have larger ears than bunnies, and… you certainly do have large ears. Heh. Not that that’s a bad thing!”
“Something to take note of, though?” Rachel challenged, tossing him the foundation container; Zoe’s wide eyes were totally focused on his face, tail weaving behind her. “What’s your backstory to have become a hero in this ridiculous new fantasy world?”
Anthony caught the item and retreated to a window to use it as a mirror. Rachel reflexively covered Zoe’s gaze, knowing the girl still wasn’t in her right mind.
“Aww… Rachel—ack! Sorry!”
Rachel’s left ear drifted to the left, directing a small frown at the sheepish cat-girl.
“Ah, the name behind the ears,” he said. “Thanks, cat-girl. So, Rachel, I thought we were doing a show-and-tell game, not an interrogation. I have no clue what’s going on outside, but I’ve heard the campus announcement. Is there really a dude on fire outside?”
She tapped Zoe’s arm and gestured for her to sit next to her across from where the man would likely settle as he turned to give them an unassuming smile. “I wouldn’t say a lot of people have changed… probably less than one-in-one hundred around the campus.”
Anthony pulled out the chair and dropped into it, leaving his sword and spear a fair distance away on purpose, in order to appear nonthreatening. “It’s true, huh; that’s pretty insane, wouldn’t you say? Last I checked, U of M had around 17,000 enrolled students; I wouldn’t say 170 power-enhanced people is small.”
“You could take that point of view,” she shrugged. “More people from the surrounding area are being escorted here to this building as a base of operations; this happened around the world, so it is a fairly drastic change.”
“I’d say,” he muttered, taking the piece of paper he’d folded from his pocket to lay it in front of him; Rachel didn’t fall for the bait, keeping her eyes on him, but it most certainly had her attention. “Roughly 1% of the world population…”
Anthony leaned forward, bridging his fingers to rest his chin while centering on her. “You have very unique features, by the way. Have a lot of people become more animalistic?”
“There are a lot from what I’ve seen,” Zoe piped up, not wanting to be a bystander, which completely went against her earlier social anxiety; it must have been a lingering effect of the charm. “I’ve seen bird-girls, snake-girls… Oh, there was this really cute squirrel-girl! Uh… Can we learn more about you, though?”
His friendly gaze shifted to the girl. “I’d love to share some details if we can all share in this discussion. What was your name again?”
“Zoe Fletcher! Eh, heh, just Zoe…”
He nodded, focus returning to Rachel as she silently studied every move he made; Anthony was quite observant, himself, and cautious in his own way. “Why don’t we start this over again? Sorry for the troublesome charm, Zoe.”
“It’s fine! So, what do you want to start with?” she asked, tail slowing its weave in the chair back opening. “Rachel mentioned quests?”
“We can get to that in a bit,” he passively dismissed. “Let me introduce myself again; I’m Anthony, twenty-three years old—have a fiancé, as I mentioned—and a U of M graduate, obtaining my Masters in biochemistry last semester.”
“Zoe Fletcher, as I said, and I’m seventeen—eh, well, just turned eighteen, heh, actually—and this is my first semester at U of M. I’m from Montana, but most of my family live in Virginia—heh, kind of a country girl that hates the country—I got made fun of for my accent, so I tried to get rid of it. Oh, umm, I’m not in a relationship—were we supposed to disclose that?” she asked, spilling everything as word vomit. “I’ll just shut up now; I have social anxiety…” she hissed, head drooping.
Rachel forced a smile. “You’re fine, Zoe. I’m Rachel, nineteen, and enrolled in the law program’s fast track. What changed besides your looks when the… Oscillation occurred?”
“Oscillation?” Anthony questioned, watching her ears tilt left. “Is that what the government is calling it?”
Zoe followed his gaze, trying to catch up. “You’re listening to the government chatter even now? Ugh. You really did get the S-tier roll,” she complained, crossing her arms and shooting a glare between them. “Freaking domestic cat… Total scam.”
“A domestic cat, huh?” Anthony asked, head shifting on his bridged fingers to show Zoe a thoughtful look. “I wouldn’t say that’s a terrible choice. Cats are loved by most people—maybe a bit too much for the online community—and does that mean you have nine lives?”
“I didn’t think about that,” Zoe smiled, her depression melting under the attention. “Nine lives aren’t bad, I guess, and maybe I have good instincts… Oh, and cats get to laze around and… Do I want a master?” she gasped, face turning bright red before burying her face in her arms. “Why can’t I shut my mouth?! Stupid!”
Rachel laughed with Anthony, reaching over to rub her back comfortingly; the girl was really having a hard time. “Why don’t we dispense with the evaluation for Zoe’s sake? You’re a Legendkin, and I’m a Mythickin. You’re the only Legendkin I’ve found around the campus, but I am hearing about more as we speak… not all pleasant. What motivates you, Anthony? Conquest?”
“Wow! You’re the type of girl to take no prisoners, huh?” Anthony smirked, leaning back to show he was totally at ease. “Conquest? Goodness no! Well, unless you’re talking about the conquest of my fiancé’s heart. In the spirit of full disclosure and trust to make some ground… I’m apparently the Legend of Diarmuid with a Subclass in Spearman.”
“Mythickin lunar hare… Unfortunately, I do not hear good things about either of those species, and I’d suggest we keep such information to ourselves for the time being.”
“Enlighten me!” Anthony chimed. “Oh, and we can’t forget our cat-girl.”
“Oh! Uh. I’m a nobody,” she whispered, tail low. “A Beastkin domestic cat. I’m only good for early-game, I guess, since I’m a total fantasy nerd… Reading was all I could do at our ranch since we didn’t have good internet service.”
“C’mon, don’t be too hard on yourself. Also, I didn’t change physically all that much,” he added, turning back to Rachel to refocus the topic.
Rachel’s attention had been snatched by the several books that lay on the table, though; smiling at the title of one small volume. The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne and The Exile of the Son of Uisliu… He’s been reading up on his legend, but what is all the published medical documentation for?
“If you tell me everything you’ve been able to discover, I’ll share what I have since you are a piece of the puzzle I haven’t been able to fully connect yet.”
Anthony slowly nodded, arms crossing across his broad, muscular chest, and Rachel was even more intrigued by his past if he’d maintained that sculptured physique before this change that was recently being termed ‘The Oscillation’ by government officials.
“I see… Between Zoe, as a Beastkin, you, as a Mythickin, and me, a Legendkin, we can further study the powers and how they differ between the various Kin. Well, I’m hitting something of a dead-end in my own research, so you’ve arrived just in time! It sucks that we’re being given a bad name by others, though; I’m sure that won’t come back to bite us in the ass.”
Rachel chuckled as he unfolded his sheet of paper and slid it to her. “I’ll come up with a plan… I just need to get enough information to give us a way forward.”
“I’m game! Friend request sent.”
Zoe’s expression brightened as he spoke her lingo. “Accepted! Welcome to the team, DPS Spearman. Wait, am I supposed to be the thief in the party? I suck at stealing things! I’m so worthless… and Rachel’s another finesse DPS, probably, so… we need a healer, tank, and mage? We are so physically focused,” she groaned to herself, glaring at her claws.
Not having a clue what the girl was on about, Rachel let her ramble while browsing the sobering notes the legend made. Anthony’s face pacified as he watched her process the very personal information—the medical papers now made sense. A lot about what she was hearing about Legendkin now clicked, painting an even grimmer vision of the future than Rachel had projected.
Red, eclipse-like eyes rising to Anthony, she whispered, “You’re sure all of this is connected; couldn’t you be reading too much into the fairytales? There are healers I’ve heard about—Myths and Legends that could change things.”
Zoe glanced between them before staring at the paper in Rachel’s hand. “Wait. What are we talking about?”
Anthony worked around his jaw, cheerful mask finally falling to show hollow eyes that shifted to the spear by the wall. “I hope you’re right… Amelia was already suffering from a rare type of cancer called chordoma—it’s a malignant bone tumor, and if what I’m reading about the tale of Diarmuid is true… I’m afraid I might have made it even worse…”
Zoe shrank in her seat at the emotion that touched the man’s voice, and he leaned forward to show a melancholy smile while staring at the spear beside the wall.
“I’ve practiced with a spear since I was a boy… My mother hated it, but my uncle was a master; the days I spent watching him were some of the most magical memories I have of how he moved, and I took it as my mission to keep his style alive when he died… I never thought my love for spears would cause this kind of trouble for Amelia. Tell me my assumption is wrong.”
Rachel’s mouth tightened, vision falling to the book beside him, unable to say it while drawing the same connections as he had from everything she was learning about the other Legendkin. The silence stretched for several seconds as she thought carefully about how she should phrase her response.
Could becoming a Legendkin really have not only affected him but his loved ones, as well? What does that say about Mythickin and my own change?
Her eyes moved between each progressing arrowed line. Diarmuid was a famous spear hero who protected an ugly hag during a storm, allowing her to use his bed as he guarded her. In the morning, she turned into a beautiful, enchanting fairy who offered him one wish; Diarmuid asked her to be his wife.
Anthony met Amelia in the alley of the spear school he taught part-time at in Miami after she ran away from home upon learning about her cancer; of course, she didn’t tell him that at the time. He was unable to leave the filthy, malnourished woman to live among the garbage, so he’d invited her inside, getting her clothing, food, and offering her the back room until she was ready to talk.
He was enchanted by her smile after she cleaned up and shyly exited, accepting his kind offer, but it wouldn’t be for another month before she began to open up, and things budded from there. Rachel had to interpret some of the written information, but he’d laid out a timeline and comparisons.
They had a fight earlier this week about a new treatment, and she told him to leave. Now, filled with guilt, he’d seen blood three times throughout the week and thought about his fiancé; Diarmuid had done much the same in his tale after his argument with his wife before discovering that she’d disappeared from their home.
Anthony broke Amelia’s rule of not talking about her illness as Diarmuid broke his promise to never mention the fairy’s ugliness. Thus, he feared his transformation into a Legendkin had caused her cancer to mutate into something far worse, and the result of the cure Diarmuid obtained was tragic.
“…We’ll need to confirm it to be sure… To open up this Legend’s Quest you have to participate in ten Quests. You fear that if you do nothing, she’ll die anyway?” Rachel asked, looking up at his downcast face as Zoe fidgeted in the oppressive atmosphere.
“Diarmuid’s stories all end in tragedy,” he mumbled with a humorless chuckle. “You think you’re useless, Zoe? What kind of a hero am I if this fairytale is my base? I don’t know what to do—I don’t care much for what’s happening in the world… I just want to be sure I can make Amelia happy and keep her alive. Judging from this,” he grunted, shoving the books off the table to hit the carpet, “there’s not a damn thing I can do to make that happen.”
Rachel slowly nodded, her mind fixating on one of her Feats. Bringer of Misfortune… If Anthony’s legend affects those close to him… does mine? If I do have an understanding of the law of misfortune, then I’ll use it to change fate… This will be a good test to see how I can use these abilities.
Rising to her feet, she moved to the ground, motioning for them to follow her. “I don’t want to place my bets on speculation. Let’s brush up on each of our skills, and then we can decide what to do next; a lot is developing around us… Where is Amelia hospitalized?”
“HCA Florida Mercy. Why?” Anthony asked, illuminated green eyes radiating strength as they snapped to her. “Are there problems there?”
“No, thankfully,” Rachel said with a reassuring smile. “In fact, it’s being used as a National Guard outpost; it was one of the first areas that were secured.”
“Thank god…” he breathed, rubbing his forehead. “You want to get into our Feats? I haven’t selected any since I wasn’t sure what would happen if I activated them.”
“A reasonable decision, given your situation.”
Comparing notes, Rachel learned that there were stark differences between Legendkin and Mythickin. Most notably, they had a Feat called [Quest’s Draw X], which transported them to dimensional fields to build them up to fill the shoes of their legend.
Zoe asked if there was loot involved, but according to Anthony, there wasn’t upon entering the meditative state to check; it was solely designed as a means to sharpen their skills and upgrade their weapons. Yet, Rachel theorized he would possibly unlock other items as he leveled that were related to his legend.
Currently, he had two legendary weapons; however, their attributes were sealed, meaning they were without effects until completing two Quests. Anthony’s Stat Sheet had many similarities to hers:
Force:
Power - Above Average Strength - Above AverageDefense:
Toughness - Above Average Resilience - Above AverageDexterity:
Speed - High Agility - Above Average Quickness - Above AverageEnergy:
Constitution - Above Average Stamina - High Endurance - HighTenacity:
Elemental Resistances - Above Average Physical Resistances - Above Average Control Resistances - Extremely Low Penetration - HighHe was far more well-rounded than Rachel, yet she beat him in Power, Speed, Agility, Quickness, Constitution, and most definitely Control Resistance, which shocked Zoe and her.
“How can a legend have such lousy Control Resistance?” the cat-girl asked, using a paper to write everything down. “Aren’t they supposed to be, like, paragons of willpower?”
Anthony forced a chuckle. “Eh, well… in one of Diarmuid’s tales, a princess gives him a love potion, and, eh… yeah, another tragic story. Umm… you two aren’t going to do anything shady, right?” he slowly asked, vision sliding to the dubious cat-girl.
“Huh?! No! No! I’m a scaredy-cat—for real—I don’t have the brass to pull something crazy like that! Wait… not that I would if I had a potion—I’m just saying!”
“Uh-huh,” Rachel mused, nudging the embarrassed girl’s shoulder.
“No! Seriously! I would never!”
“Haha. Just checking,” Anthony snickered. “You’re too easy, Zoe.”
“Stop bullying me! I’m already a freaking domestic cat; how much further can I fall on this totem pole? Look, my stats are a joke!”
Force:
Power - Below Average Strength - Below AverageDefense:
Toughness - Low Resilience - LowDexterity:
Speed - Above Average Agility - Above Average Quickness - Above AverageEnergy:
Constitution - Below Average Stamina - Average Endurance - Below AverageTenacity:
Elemental Resistances - Low Physical Resistances - Low Control Resistances - Low Penetration - Above Average“All I’ve got is a tiny bit of speed, and my abilities are so… blah! I even have less than you guys for my base, and not a single one is maxed. Scammed!”
Base Feats:
[Claws I] - F-tier - Cat [Sprint I] - F-tier - Cat [Beastial Instincts I] - F-tier - Cat [Beastial Senses I] - F-tier - Cat [Catlike Nature I] - F-tier - Cat [Cat Vision I] - F-tier - Cat [Cute Charm I] - F-tier - Domestic [Survival of the Meek I] - F-tier - Domestic“Only by one,” Rachel tried to console, yet it only got worse as the cat-girl gave her a dirty look.
“I can only select one Equipped Feat while you have three and Anthony has two he can select from!”
Anthony’s grin became strained. “Eh… three after becoming level two from meeting you guys and learning all of this.”
“Great… I’m level 2, and only have one—one! Legendkin and Mythickin OP,” she grumbled, staring a hole through the sheet she’d been crafting. “What were yours again, Anthony?”
“Let’s see… to be fair, I only have one maxed Feat; Rachel got the good rolls, huh?”
“For real! She’s turned into a total bunny babe—and you know what I mean,” she huffed as Rachel opened her mouth to correct her.
“Eh… Everyone has different tastes,” she tried to redirect, knowing she wasn’t convincing the leery-eyed cat-girl.
Anthony snickered. “Rachel’s right. I’m not much of a bunny-girl fan, myself.”
“Uncultured swine,” Zoe sniffed. “Cat-girls are on another level, but you can’t diss bunny or hare-girls! Right, Rachel?”
Her ears shifted to the right as she heard the soldiers finally arrive at the pool with the dragon child, having to wheel her in a cart due to the kid’s unnatural weight. “Meh. I don’t care what most people think of me.”
Rachel’s furrowed brow shot to Anthony as he snorted. “Bull!”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” the handsome man said with a rather aggravating smirk. “You can’t stand being called a bunny; you totally care.”
“It’s my Feat’s problem, not mine,” she crisply returned, yet Zoe snickered at the comment, holding up a fist for the man to bump; it did make her tail stiffen a little that the pair were ganging up on her.
“Sure. Anyway, these are my Feats,” he added, scribbling them down for Zoe to examine. “I don’t want to put anything in the equipped slots yet until we get a better understanding of these Quests I have:”
Base Feats:
[Quest's Draw X] - S-tier - Legendkin [Beagalltach (Sealed) I] - S-tier - Diarmuid [Gáe Buidhe (Sealed) I] - F-tier - Diarmuid [Love Spot I] - F-tier - Diarmuid [Polearm Mastery I] - F-tier - Spearman [Sword Mastery I] - F-tier - Spearman [Heroic Endurance I] - F-tier - Diarmuid [Darkness Vision I] - F-tier - Diarmuid [Heroes Temperament I] - F-tier - DiarmuidRachel got up upon hearing the explanation to each of his Feats; he was a weapons user, but also knew some basic martial arts. “Why don’t we test out this Quest… Hmm?”
“Something wrong?” Anthony asked, moving to take his sword and strap his spear to his back with a leather attachment that appeared out of green light.
“Yes,” she muttered, drawing his and Zoe’s gaze as she listened to the report the coast guard gave to his CO; it was what he told his buddy that snapped her attention in his direction.
“Sir, this is Private Conner; I’ve got eyes on an unusual glow inside the university pond. Requesting DV investigate. Over.”
“Petty Officer Thomas, redirect a DV unit to the location with a firing squad; don’t take any chances. Out.”
“Understood, Lieutenant.”
The men listened to commands being given as they moved to get a better view of the illuminated zone. “Don’t… you think it looks like a cone-shaped crystal of some kind, and that blue tint is eerie, eh? It’s huge, too.”
“Let’s wait for confirmation,” his friend muttered. “It could be just the reflection of the moon playing with the water or some kind of effect the university put in place for a ‘wow’ factor.”
“Yeah…”
Tingles cascaded down Rachel’s spine; she wasn’t convinced it was some university light effect. “Zoe, you know those crystal gateways we talked about?”
“Uh-huh?”
“I think one was just discovered in the university pond.”
“Shit. Umm. What should we do?! Is it just a countdown, or are they already here?”
Anthony flipped his sword around, passively listening; she’d given him a brief overview of what the military had uncovered.
Rachel shrugged. “No one’s sure; information is still being compiled. We should hurry and test what one of these Quests looks like; the vampire is being brought to this floor, as well… they’re checking the rooms now. If we can get more levels, we’ll be better prepared for whatever comes out… Heh.”
“What now?” Zoe groaned. “We have a vampire and alien invasion already. What’s worse than that?”
Turning toward the east, Rachel forced a chuckle as the coast guard men set up the 50-caliber mounted turret and hoisted the dehydrated child into the pool.
“Eyes sharp, boys!” one grunted while getting her into the water.
The girl’s petite, weak voice was utterly monotone yet held a fervent undercurrent. “I really am a good dragon… I only beat-up bad guys. I’ll protect everyone—you’ll see—I’m going to be a superhero, and we can work as a team to save people. I’m an awesome dragon; you’ll see—yay, I’m not going to die—good work, boys. Easy… There we go, a little more…”
Slipping under the surface, it was the shouts that drew Rachel’s notice as an eruption of water dulled other sounds near the area.
“What the—”
“Aye! Aye!”
“Back up! Back up!”
“Sir?!”
“Fire! Fire!”
Bullets sprayed the water, causing screams and panic to spread through the facility at the loud guns, yet the commander swiftly called the assault off.
“Stop! Hold your fire, dammit; she’s not attacking us… Shit.”
“Not a scratch…”
“S-She’s the size of a tank, sir!”
“Shit! Now that is terrifying—a little girl can turn into that?!”
Despite the panic, the girl only swam in slow circles before settling at the deep end of the pool to likely not further spook the soldiers; although, from her shifts in the water, Rachel wondered if she really was unharmed. If she didn’t know any better, the girl was pouting at the bottom of the pool, licking her wounds.
She kept her word about being a good dragon, though, even after they attacked her. In the way the child talked, Rachel was reminded of Zoe’s bizarre references. She did have an odd mannerism of being monotoned while talking nerd-speak to the soldiers on their path to the facility.
“Erm, also… we have a water dragon Mythickin girl in the pool; I’m not sure exactly what she is yet.”
“Huh? Huh?! You’re only now telling us that?!” Zoe cried. “A freaking water dragon? What if she goes on a rampage when the aliens attack or pick a fight with the vampire?”
A curious smile lifted Rachel’s mouth as she listened to the cat-girl panic, probably thinking about some anime, manga, or movie.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I don’t know,” Rachel laughed, motioning for Anthony to start the Quest. “I just have a feeling that the vampire and dragon-girl isn’t our misfortune.”
Ears twitching and head tilting to the side, Zoe mumbled, “Meaning?”
Anthony held his sword up, showing a golden glow before slipping it through space to create a shimmering, green line that opened into a dark forest—their Quest location. “Meaning they’re not against us via your sense of misfortune, is my guess… This is insane; there really is a whole world that I can go to test my skills. Weird, but cool. We need to prepare for the attack, right?”
Rachel was surprised at how compliant Anthony was; then again, she was providing him answers, he had to be sure he wasn’t causing his loved ones harm, and the hospital where his sick fiancé was could possibly be an attack location for the aliens if this crystal was big enough—he had motivation.
“We don’t even know if we can join you yet,” Rachel said, stepping through the slit; her shoes touched the hard earth on the other side. “Heh. That answers that… Let’s go.”
Zoe tentatively followed, whispering, “Please don’t die… No, I’d rather die than lose a leg or arm, so… No! I can be brave; cats hunt things—even domestic cats—I can do this!”
“Attagirl,” Anthony encouraged, bringing up the tail. “Uh…”
Rachel spun in a slow circle to get a complete understanding of the forest they’d entered, hearing the chirping of birds, growling of beasts, and snarls of small creatures. The slit in space sealed the second Anthony entered.
“Guess we’re stuck here until we complete the Quest, which is…”
Anthony took note of their location while explaining their objective. “I have to slay twenty goblins… A caravan will be somewhere nearby; if we protect it, we might get a reward.”
Zoe puffed out a long stream of air. “Here’s to hoping it’s classical goblins and not how some of the more recent anime have depicted them… Yikes. Yeah, let’s hope for that. Uh, I’m going to stay close to you, Anthony—and please, for goodness sake, be careful of how you swing your sword in a cave if we find one…”
Rachel had no idea why that particular example came up, but swiftly identified the caravan and goblins. Now they had a decision to make: attack the goblins before they reached the caravan, and possibly not get the reward—the System didn’t give them items, meaning the people would—or walk with the caravan until they were attacked and defend it.
Decisions, decisions, Rachel mused to herself, illuminated red eyes scanning the eerie, night-embraced forest; she felt more like a hunter than a hero, but this was Anthony’s quest. Maybe we can split up… I’ve never killed anything before, not that I feel particularly against it at the moment, and this is the perfect environment to put these changes to the test.
Licking her lips, Rachel turned to give the cat-girl and redhead a smile. “Let’s split up. You two protect the caravan over… there. I have a few things I need to test.”
Anthony shrugged, moving in the direction she’d pointed. “I suppose I need to put my trust in your ears at some point, and this is a good test. Coming, Zoe?”
“Eh, yeah… Are you sure, Rachel? Goblins can be… nasty in some tales.”
The inviting, ominous hum of various creatures throughout the dark woods called to Rachel’s thumping heart more than she wanted to admit; this was her scene, and she could feel it in her bones. “Hmm-hmm. I’m sure, Zoe.”
“Hehe. You have a… scary look on your face. Maybe I should be more worried about them? Anyways, good luck… Be safe!”
Rachel watched her run after Anthony, waiting not too far away with one hand in his pocket and the other gripping his short sword. She knew he’d been carefully observing every action she made, but Rachel didn’t care right now.
Returning to the table with Zoe, Rachel held out a hand to stop the cat-girl from bringing it to him, causing her ears to droop and cheeks to redden; Rachel figured she’d been tempted to sneak another glance at the charming Legendkin.
“We have your temporary cure, but do you have an answer to my game?” she teasingly asked, ears straight and alert in case he tried anything else; she didn’t quite fully trust Anthony yet, despite the sincerity and open attitude she sensed. After all, her own change had given her several advantages in mental processing and on-the-spot strategic play to fool others.
A thoughtful hum rumbled in the man’s chest as he leaned against the side of the bookshelf he hid behind, twirling his sword with casual flicks of his wrist. “It’s fairly obvious if you’re not a bunny. A rabbit?”
He laughed upon catching Rachel’s scowl as he came back out, fingers still covering the beauty mark as his other hand placed the short sword against the nearby wall. “Kidding! Kidding! So, you’re a hare. It makes sense; I was once told hares have larger ears than bunnies, and… you certainly do have large ears. Heh. Not that that’s a bad thing!”
“Something to take note of, though?” Rachel challenged, tossing him the foundation container; Zoe’s wide eyes were totally focused on his face, tail weaving behind her. “What’s your backstory to have become a hero in this ridiculous new fantasy world?”
Anthony caught the item and retreated to a window to use it as a mirror. Rachel reflexively covered Zoe’s gaze, knowing the girl still wasn’t in her right mind.
“Aww… Rachel—ack! Sorry!”
Rachel’s left ear drifted to the left, directing a small frown at the sheepish cat-girl.
“Ah, the name behind the ears,” he said. “Thanks, cat-girl. So, Rachel, I thought we were doing a show-and-tell game, not an interrogation. I have no clue what’s going on outside, but I’ve heard the campus announcement. Is there really a dude on fire outside?”
She tapped Zoe’s arm and gestured for her to sit next to her across from where the man would likely settle as he turned to give them an unassuming smile. “I wouldn’t say a lot of people have changed… probably less than one-in-one hundred around the campus.”
Anthony pulled out the chair and dropped into it, leaving his sword and spear a fair distance away on purpose, in order to appear nonthreatening. “It’s true, huh; that’s pretty insane, wouldn’t you say? Last I checked, U of M had around 17,000 enrolled students; I wouldn’t say 170 power-enhanced people is small.”
“You could take that point of view,” she shrugged. “More people from the surrounding area are being escorted here to this building as a base of operations; this happened around the world, so it is a fairly drastic change.”
“I’d say,” he muttered, taking the piece of paper he’d folded from his pocket to lay it in front of him; Rachel didn’t fall for the bait, keeping her eyes on him, but it most certainly had her attention. “Roughly 1% of the world population…”
Anthony leaned forward, bridging his fingers to rest his chin while centering on her. “You have very unique features, by the way. Have a lot of people become more animalistic?”
“There are a lot from what I’ve seen,” Zoe piped up, not wanting to be a bystander, which completely went against her earlier social anxiety; it must have been a lingering effect of the charm. “I’ve seen bird-girls, snake-girls… Oh, there was this really cute squirrel-girl! Uh… Can we learn more about you, though?”
His friendly gaze shifted to the girl. “I’d love to share some details if we can all share in this discussion. What was your name again?”
“Zoe Fletcher! Eh, heh, just Zoe…”
He nodded, focus returning to Rachel as she silently studied every move he made; Anthony was quite observant, himself, and cautious in his own way. “Why don’t we start this over again? Sorry for the troublesome charm, Zoe.”
“It’s fine! So, what do you want to start with?” she asked, tail slowing its weave in the chair back opening. “Rachel mentioned quests?”
“We can get to that in a bit,” he passively dismissed. “Let me introduce myself again; I’m Anthony, twenty-three years old—have a fiancé, as I mentioned—and a U of M graduate, obtaining my Masters in biochemistry last semester.”
“Zoe Fletcher, as I said, and I’m seventeen—eh, well, just turned eighteen, heh, actually—and this is my first semester at U of M. I’m from Montana, but most of my family live in Virginia—heh, kind of a country girl that hates the country—I got made fun of for my accent, so I tried to get rid of it. Oh, umm, I’m not in a relationship—were we supposed to disclose that?” she asked, spilling everything as word vomit. “I’ll just shut up now; I have social anxiety…” she hissed, head drooping.
Rachel forced a smile. “You’re fine, Zoe. I’m Rachel, nineteen, and enrolled in the law program’s fast track. What changed besides your looks when the… Oscillation occurred?”
“Oscillation?” Anthony questioned, watching her ears tilt left. “Is that what the government is calling it?”
Zoe followed his gaze, trying to catch up. “You’re listening to the government chatter even now? Ugh. You really did get the S-tier roll,” she complained, crossing her arms and shooting a glare between them. “Freaking domestic cat… Total scam.”
“A domestic cat, huh?” Anthony asked, head shifting on his bridged fingers to show Zoe a thoughtful look. “I wouldn’t say that’s a terrible choice. Cats are loved by most people—maybe a bit too much for the online community—and does that mean you have nine lives?”
“I didn’t think about that,” Zoe smiled, her depression melting under the attention. “Nine lives aren’t bad, I guess, and maybe I have good instincts… Oh, and cats get to laze around and… Do I want a master?” she gasped, face turning bright red before burying her face in her arms. “Why can’t I shut my mouth?! Stupid!”
Rachel laughed with Anthony, reaching over to rub her back comfortingly; the girl was really having a hard time. “Why don’t we dispense with the evaluation for Zoe’s sake? You’re a Legendkin, and I’m a Mythickin. You’re the only Legendkin I’ve found around the campus, but I am hearing about more as we speak… not all pleasant. What motivates you, Anthony? Conquest?”
“Wow! You’re the type of girl to take no prisoners, huh?” Anthony smirked, leaning back to show he was totally at ease. “Conquest? Goodness no! Well, unless you’re talking about the conquest of my fiancé’s heart. In the spirit of full disclosure and trust to make some ground… I’m apparently the Legend of Diarmuid with a Subclass in Spearman.”
“Mythickin lunar hare… Unfortunately, I do not hear good things about either of those species, and I’d suggest we keep such information to ourselves for the time being.”
“Enlighten me!” Anthony chimed. “Oh, and we can’t forget our cat-girl.”
“Oh! Uh. I’m a nobody,” she whispered, tail low. “A Beastkin domestic cat. I’m only good for early-game, I guess, since I’m a total fantasy nerd… Reading was all I could do at our ranch since we didn’t have good internet service.”
“C’mon, don’t be too hard on yourself. Also, I didn’t change physically all that much,” he added, turning back to Rachel to refocus the topic.
Rachel’s attention had been snatched by the several books that lay on the table, though; smiling at the title of one small volume. The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne and The Exile of the Son of Uisliu… He’s been reading up on his legend, but what is all the published medical documentation for?
“If you tell me everything you’ve been able to discover, I’ll share what I have since you are a piece of the puzzle I haven’t been able to fully connect yet.”
Anthony slowly nodded, arms crossing across his broad, muscular chest, and Rachel was even more intrigued by his past if he’d maintained that sculptured physique before this change that was recently being termed ‘The Oscillation’ by government officials.
“I see… Between Zoe, as a Beastkin, you, as a Mythickin, and me, a Legendkin, we can further study the powers and how they differ between the various Kin. Well, I’m hitting something of a dead-end in my own research, so you’ve arrived just in time! It sucks that we’re being given a bad name by others, though; I’m sure that won’t come back to bite us in the ass.”
Rachel chuckled as he unfolded his sheet of paper and slid it to her. “I’ll come up with a plan… I just need to get enough information to give us a way forward.”
“I’m game! Friend request sent.”
Zoe’s expression brightened as he spoke her lingo. “Accepted! Welcome to the team, DPS Spearman. Wait, am I supposed to be the thief in the party? I suck at stealing things! I’m so worthless… and Rachel’s another finesse DPS, probably, so… we need a healer, tank, and mage? We are so physically focused,” she groaned to herself, glaring at her claws.
Not having a clue what the girl was on about, Rachel let her ramble while browsing the sobering notes the legend made. Anthony’s face pacified as he watched her process the very personal information—the medical papers now made sense. A lot about what she was hearing about Legendkin now clicked, painting an even grimmer vision of the future than Rachel had projected.
Red, eclipse-like eyes rising to Anthony, she whispered, “You’re sure all of this is connected; couldn’t you be reading too much into the fairytales? There are healers I’ve heard about—Myths and Legends that could change things.”
Zoe glanced between them before staring at the paper in Rachel’s hand. “Wait. What are we talking about?”
Anthony worked around his jaw, cheerful mask finally falling to show hollow eyes that shifted to the spear by the wall. “I hope you’re right… Amelia was already suffering from a rare type of cancer called chordoma—it’s a malignant bone tumor, and if what I’m reading about the tale of Diarmuid is true… I’m afraid I might have made it even worse…”
Zoe shrank in her seat at the emotion that touched the man’s voice, and he leaned forward to show a melancholy smile while staring at the spear beside the wall.
“I’ve practiced with a spear since I was a boy… My mother hated it, but my uncle was a master; the days I spent watching him were some of the most magical memories I have of how he moved, and I took it as my mission to keep his style alive when he died… I never thought my love for spears would cause this kind of trouble for Amelia. Tell me my assumption is wrong.”
Rachel’s mouth tightened, vision falling to the book beside him, unable to say it while drawing the same connections as he had from everything she was learning about the other Legendkin. The silence stretched for several seconds as she thought carefully about how she should phrase her response.
Could becoming a Legendkin really have not only affected him but his loved ones, as well? What does that say about Mythickin and my own change?
Her eyes moved between each progressing arrowed line. Diarmuid was a famous spear hero who protected an ugly hag during a storm, allowing her to use his bed as he guarded her. In the morning, she turned into a beautiful, enchanting fairy who offered him one wish; Diarmuid asked her to be his wife.
Anthony met Amelia in the alley of the spear school he taught part-time at in Miami after she ran away from home upon learning about her cancer; of course, she didn’t tell him that at the time. He was unable to leave the filthy, malnourished woman to live among the garbage, so he’d invited her inside, getting her clothing, food, and offering her the back room until she was ready to talk.
He was enchanted by her smile after she cleaned up and shyly exited, accepting his kind offer, but it wouldn’t be for another month before she began to open up, and things budded from there. Rachel had to interpret some of the written information, but he’d laid out a timeline and comparisons.
They had a fight earlier this week about a new treatment, and she told him to leave. Now, filled with guilt, he’d seen blood three times throughout the week and thought about his fiancé; Diarmuid had done much the same in his tale after his argument with his wife before discovering that she’d disappeared from their home.
Anthony broke Amelia’s rule of not talking about her illness as Diarmuid broke his promise to never mention the fairy’s ugliness. Thus, he feared his transformation into a Legendkin had caused her cancer to mutate into something far worse, and the result of the cure Diarmuid obtained was tragic.
“…We’ll need to confirm it to be sure… To open up this Legend’s Quest you have to participate in ten Quests. You fear that if you do nothing, she’ll die anyway?” Rachel asked, looking up at his downcast face as Zoe fidgeted in the oppressive atmosphere.
“Diarmuid’s stories all end in tragedy,” he mumbled with a humorless chuckle. “You think you’re useless, Zoe? What kind of a hero am I if this fairytale is my base? I don’t know what to do—I don’t care much for what’s happening in the world… I just want to be sure I can make Amelia happy and keep her alive. Judging from this,” he grunted, shoving the books off the table to hit the carpet, “there’s not a damn thing I can do to make that happen.”
Rachel slowly nodded, her mind fixating on one of her Feats. Bringer of Misfortune… If Anthony’s legend affects those close to him… does mine? If I do have an understanding of the law of misfortune, then I’ll use it to change fate… This will be a good test to see how I can use these abilities.
Rising to her feet, she moved to the ground, motioning for them to follow her. “I don’t want to place my bets on speculation. Let’s brush up on each of our skills, and then we can decide what to do next; a lot is developing around us… Where is Amelia hospitalized?”
“HCA Florida Mercy. Why?” Anthony asked, illuminated green eyes radiating strength as they snapped to her. “Are there problems there?”
“No, thankfully,” Rachel said with a reassuring smile. “In fact, it’s being used as a National Guard outpost; it was one of the first areas that were secured.”
“Thank god…” he breathed, rubbing his forehead. “You want to get into our Feats? I haven’t selected any since I wasn’t sure what would happen if I activated them.”
“A reasonable decision, given your situation.”
Comparing notes, Rachel learned that there were stark differences between Legendkin and Mythickin. Most notably, they had a Feat called [Quest’s Draw X], which transported them to dimensional fields to build them up to fill the shoes of their legend.
Zoe asked if there was loot involved, but according to Anthony, there wasn’t upon entering the meditative state to check; it was solely designed as a means to sharpen their skills and upgrade their weapons. Yet, Rachel theorized he would possibly unlock other items as he leveled that were related to his legend.
Currently, he had two legendary weapons; however, their attributes were sealed, meaning they were without effects until completing two Quests. Anthony’s Stat Sheet had many similarities to hers:
Force:
Power - Above Average Strength - Above AverageDefense:
Toughness - Above Average Resilience - Above AverageDexterity:
Speed - High Agility - Above Average Quickness - Above AverageEnergy:
Constitution - Above Average Stamina - High Endurance - HighTenacity:
Elemental Resistances - Above Average Physical Resistances - Above Average Control Resistances - Extremely Low Penetration - HighHe was far more well-rounded than Rachel, yet she beat him in Power, Speed, Agility, Quickness, Constitution, and most definitely Control Resistance, which shocked Zoe and her.
“How can a legend have such lousy Control Resistance?” the cat-girl asked, using a paper to write everything down. “Aren’t they supposed to be, like, paragons of willpower?”
Anthony forced a chuckle. “Eh, well… in one of Diarmuid’s tales, a princess gives him a love potion, and, eh… yeah, another tragic story. Umm… you two aren’t going to do anything shady, right?” he slowly asked, vision sliding to the dubious cat-girl.
“Huh?! No! No! I’m a scaredy-cat—for real—I don’t have the brass to pull something crazy like that! Wait… not that I would if I had a potion—I’m just saying!”
“Uh-huh,” Rachel mused, nudging the embarrassed girl’s shoulder.
“No! Seriously! I would never!”
“Haha. Just checking,” Anthony snickered. “You’re too easy, Zoe.”
“Stop bullying me! I’m already a freaking domestic cat; how much further can I fall on this totem pole? Look, my stats are a joke!”
Force:
Power - Below Average Strength - Below AverageDefense:
Toughness - Low Resilience - LowDexterity:
Speed - Above Average Agility - Above Average Quickness - Above AverageEnergy:
Constitution - Below Average Stamina - Average Endurance - Below AverageTenacity:
Elemental Resistances - Low Physical Resistances - Low Control Resistances - Low Penetration - Above Average“All I’ve got is a tiny bit of speed, and my abilities are so… blah! I even have less than you guys for my base, and not a single one is maxed. Scammed!”
Base Feats:
[Claws I] - F-tier - Cat [Sprint I] - F-tier - Cat [Beastial Instincts I] - F-tier - Cat [Beastial Senses I] - F-tier - Cat [Catlike Nature I] - F-tier - Cat [Cat Vision I] - F-tier - Cat [Cute Charm I] - F-tier - Domestic [Survival of the Meek I] - F-tier - Domestic“Only by one,” Rachel tried to console, yet it only got worse as the cat-girl gave her a dirty look.
“I can only select one Equipped Feat while you have three and Anthony has two he can select from!”
Anthony’s grin became strained. “Eh… three after becoming level two from meeting you guys and learning all of this.”
“Great… I’m level 2, and only have one—one! Legendkin and Mythickin OP,” she grumbled, staring a hole through the sheet she’d been crafting. “What were yours again, Anthony?”
“Let’s see… to be fair, I only have one maxed Feat; Rachel got the good rolls, huh?”
“For real! She’s turned into a total bunny babe—and you know what I mean,” she huffed as Rachel opened her mouth to correct her.
“Eh… Everyone has different tastes,” she tried to redirect, knowing she wasn’t convincing the leery-eyed cat-girl.
Anthony snickered. “Rachel’s right. I’m not much of a bunny-girl fan, myself.”
“Uncultured swine,” Zoe sniffed. “Cat-girls are on another level, but you can’t diss bunny or hare-girls! Right, Rachel?”
Her ears shifted to the right as she heard the soldiers finally arrive at the pool with the dragon child, having to wheel her in a cart due to the kid’s unnatural weight. “Meh. I don’t care what most people think of me.”
Rachel’s furrowed brow shot to Anthony as he snorted. “Bull!”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” the handsome man said with a rather aggravating smirk. “You can’t stand being called a bunny; you totally care.”
“It’s my Feat’s problem, not mine,” she crisply returned, yet Zoe snickered at the comment, holding up a fist for the man to bump; it did make her tail stiffen a little that the pair were ganging up on her.
“Sure. Anyway, these are my Feats,” he added, scribbling them down for Zoe to examine. “I don’t want to put anything in the equipped slots yet until we get a better understanding of these Quests I have:”
Base Feats:
[Quest's Draw X] - S-tier - Legendkin [Beagalltach (Sealed) I] - S-tier - Diarmuid [Gáe Buidhe (Sealed) I] - F-tier - Diarmuid [Love Spot I] - F-tier - Diarmuid [Polearm Mastery I] - F-tier - Spearman [Sword Mastery I] - F-tier - Spearman [Heroic Endurance I] - F-tier - Diarmuid [Darkness Vision I] - F-tier - Diarmuid [Heroes Temperament I] - F-tier - DiarmuidRachel got up upon hearing the explanation to each of his Feats; he was a weapons user, but also knew some basic martial arts. “Why don’t we test out this Quest… Hmm?”
“Something wrong?” Anthony asked, moving to take his sword and strap his spear to his back with a leather attachment that appeared out of green light.
“Yes,” she muttered, drawing his and Zoe’s gaze as she listened to the report the coast guard gave to his CO; it was what he told his buddy that snapped her attention in his direction.
“Sir, this is Private Conner; I’ve got eyes on an unusual glow inside the university pond. Requesting DV investigate. Over.”
“Petty Officer Thomas, redirect a DV unit to the location with a firing squad; don’t take any chances. Out.”
“Understood, Lieutenant.”
The men listened to commands being given as they moved to get a better view of the illuminated zone. “Don’t… you think it looks like a cone-shaped crystal of some kind, and that blue tint is eerie, eh? It’s huge, too.”
“Let’s wait for confirmation,” his friend muttered. “It could be just the reflection of the moon playing with the water or some kind of effect the university put in place for a ‘wow’ factor.”
“Yeah…”
Tingles cascaded down Rachel’s spine; she wasn’t convinced it was some university light effect. “Zoe, you know those crystal gateways we talked about?”
“Uh-huh?”
“I think one was just discovered in the university pond.”
“Shit. Umm. What should we do?! Is it just a countdown, or are they already here?”
Anthony flipped his sword around, passively listening; she’d given him a brief overview of what the military had uncovered.
Rachel shrugged. “No one’s sure; information is still being compiled. We should hurry and test what one of these Quests looks like; the vampire is being brought to this floor, as well… they’re checking the rooms now. If we can get more levels, we’ll be better prepared for whatever comes out… Heh.”
“What now?” Zoe groaned. “We have a vampire and alien invasion already. What’s worse than that?”
Turning toward the east, Rachel forced a chuckle as the coast guard men set up the 50-caliber mounted turret and hoisted the dehydrated child into the pool.
“Eyes sharp, boys!” one grunted while getting her into the water.
The girl’s petite, weak voice was utterly monotone yet held a fervent undercurrent. “I really am a good dragon… I only beat-up bad guys. I’ll protect everyone—you’ll see—I’m going to be a superhero, and we can work as a team to save people. I’m an awesome dragon; you’ll see—yay, I’m not going to die—good work, boys. Easy… There we go, a little more…”
Slipping under the surface, it was the shouts that drew Rachel’s notice as an eruption of water dulled other sounds near the area.
“What the—”
“Aye! Aye!”
“Back up! Back up!”
“Sir?!”
“Fire! Fire!”
Bullets sprayed the water, causing screams and panic to spread through the facility at the loud guns, yet the commander swiftly called the assault off.
“Stop! Hold your fire, dammit; she’s not attacking us… Shit.”
“Not a scratch…”
“S-She’s the size of a tank, sir!”
“Shit! Now that is terrifying—a little girl can turn into that?!”
Despite the panic, the girl only swam in slow circles before settling at the deep end of the pool to likely not further spook the soldiers; although, from her shifts in the water, Rachel wondered if she really was unharmed. If she didn’t know any better, the girl was pouting at the bottom of the pool, licking her wounds.
She kept her word about being a good dragon, though, even after they attacked her. In the way the child talked, Rachel was reminded of Zoe’s bizarre references. She did have an odd mannerism of being monotoned while talking nerd-speak to the soldiers on their path to the facility.
“Erm, also… we have a water dragon Mythickin girl in the pool; I’m not sure exactly what she is yet.”
“Huh? Huh?! You’re only now telling us that?!” Zoe cried. “A freaking water dragon? What if she goes on a rampage when the aliens attack or pick a fight with the vampire?”
A curious smile lifted Rachel’s mouth as she listened to the cat-girl panic, probably thinking about some anime, manga, or movie.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I don’t know,” Rachel laughed, motioning for Anthony to start the Quest. “I just have a feeling that the vampire and dragon-girl isn’t our misfortune.”
Ears twitching and head tilting to the side, Zoe mumbled, “Meaning?”
Anthony held his sword up, showing a golden glow before slipping it through space to create a shimmering, green line that opened into a dark forest—their Quest location. “Meaning they’re not against us via your sense of misfortune, is my guess… This is insane; there really is a whole world that I can go to test my skills. Weird, but cool. We need to prepare for the attack, right?”
Rachel was surprised at how compliant Anthony was; then again, she was providing him answers, he had to be sure he wasn’t causing his loved ones harm, and the hospital where his sick fiancé was could possibly be an attack location for the aliens if this crystal was big enough—he had motivation.
“We don’t even know if we can join you yet,” Rachel said, stepping through the slit; her shoes touched the hard earth on the other side. “Heh. That answers that… Let’s go.”
Zoe tentatively followed, whispering, “Please don’t die… No, I’d rather die than lose a leg or arm, so… No! I can be brave; cats hunt things—even domestic cats—I can do this!”
“Attagirl,” Anthony encouraged, bringing up the tail. “Uh…”
Rachel spun in a slow circle to get a complete understanding of the forest they’d entered, hearing the chirping of birds, growling of beasts, and snarls of small creatures. The slit in space sealed the second Anthony entered.
“Guess we’re stuck here until we complete the Quest, which is…”
Anthony took note of their location while explaining their objective. “I have to slay twenty goblins… A caravan will be somewhere nearby; if we protect it, we might get a reward.”
Zoe puffed out a long stream of air. “Here’s to hoping it’s classical goblins and not how some of the more recent anime have depicted them… Yikes. Yeah, let’s hope for that. Uh, I’m going to stay close to you, Anthony—and please, for goodness sake, be careful of how you swing your sword in a cave if we find one…”
Rachel had no idea why that particular example came up, but swiftly identified the caravan and goblins. Now they had a decision to make: attack the goblins before they reached the caravan, and possibly not get the reward—the System didn’t give them items, meaning the people would—or walk with the caravan until they were attacked and defend it.
Decisions, decisions, Rachel mused to herself, illuminated red eyes scanning the eerie, night-embraced forest; she felt more like a hunter than a hero, but this was Anthony’s quest. Maybe we can split up… I’ve never killed anything before, not that I feel particularly against it at the moment, and this is the perfect environment to put these changes to the test.
Licking her lips, Rachel turned to give the cat-girl and redhead a smile. “Let’s split up. You two protect the caravan over… there. I have a few things I need to test.”
Anthony shrugged, moving in the direction she’d pointed. “I suppose I need to put my trust in your ears at some point, and this is a good test. Coming, Zoe?”
“Eh, yeah… Are you sure, Rachel? Goblins can be… nasty in some tales.”
The inviting, ominous hum of various creatures throughout the dark woods called to Rachel’s thumping heart more than she wanted to admit; this was her scene, and she could feel it in her bones. “Hmm-hmm. I’m sure, Zoe.”
“Hehe. You have a… scary look on your face. Maybe I should be more worried about them? Anyways, good luck… Be safe!”
Rachel watched her run after Anthony, waiting not too far away with one hand in his pocket and the other gripping his short sword. She knew he’d been carefully observing every action she made, but Rachel didn’t care right now.
