I blinked at the hulking red-scaled corpse sprawled on the cold stone floor and realized the Demon King was dead—yet no one seemed to notice. Andy kept swinging his flaming sword in sloppy, overenthusiastic arcs, each dull clang echoing against the stone walls. Jessee loosed arrow after arrow; at this point, she’d never miss a target that size, even in her sleep.

  My mind thought back to every rpg video game I’ve ever played and what happened after you beat the final boss. A flash of bright light as the monster disintegrated. An explosion of fire which leaves nothing but ash. I even remember one game having the monster pop like a water balloon, leaving a green bright stain on the screen.

  This wasn’t a game though, monsters didn’t conveniently leave no corpses. Four hundred pounds of muscle and claws—and a face full of fangs—lay motionless in the massive chamber.

  Dull thuds echoed through the Demon King’s vast, barren throne room as strikes pummeled the lifeless corpse. The space was cavernous, the dark stone walls rising to a ceiling shrouded in shadows. Jagged banners hung from above, emblazoned with unfamiliar sigils, while a massive iron chandelier loomed overhead.

  Finally Andy and Jessee stopped attacking, the two being the last of the party to realize it was dead. Or maybe they just liked the idea of hitting a Demon King’s corpse repeatedly. I couldn't tear my gaze away from the single gaping wound on its back, a bare spot the size of a horseshoe devoid of scales. Everywhere else, swords, spells, and arrows had been deflected harmlessly by those vivid red scales.

  My heart beat insanely fast, fingers still clenched around my blade’s hilt. I had known my strategy would work—weeks of intel gathering finally noting the Demon King’s weakness—a patch of unprotected skin on its back appeared vulnerable compared to the scales.

  The Demon King rarely left survivors, but I was able to find a single soldier who barely escaped alive. He was missing one of his eyes, but he could still recall every detail of the fight five years ago. Adrenaline and fear had caused the battle to burn into his mind for years afterward. And he swore there was a spot right on the demon’s back perfect for a good sword thrust.

  I repeated his story to the group, convinced, like the soldier, we needed to attack at it’s weak point. No one else here though was willing to believe striking a single spot would matter. Everyone else was convinced we should just stick to the same tactics.

  I wanted to prove them wrong though.

  So several points from leveling were focused on raising my attack power both with a initial strike and if I hit an enemy from behind. It was crazy, but I had this belief I could be the one to do the killing blow. Something I’d normally never attempt with a dungeon boss, damage dealing wasn’t my specialty.

  I felt spiteful satisfaction in seeing the rewards of my efforts on display. Torrents of blood poured from the Demon King’s body onto the floor. I looked around, seeking recognition.

  Instead, Heather’s laughter rang out, gleeful and bright.

  “We did it, Andy!” she exclaimed, twirling in her spotless satin dress. “We actually did it!”

  I gawked at Heather, waiting for some glimmer of acknowledgment—something, anything. Instead, she wrapped herself around Andy’s arm, eyes shining with the kind of excitement reserved for rich girls opening diamond necklaces. Jessee stomped over, her face streaked with ash and blood, and lifted a boot to the Demon King’s ribcage, just for the satisfaction of watching it squish.

  “Damn, that was a lot easier than I thought it’d be,” Andy boasted, then wiped his brow. “I barely broke a sweat.”

  No one said a word about the gap in the Demon King’s back, the spray of blood painting the stone, or how it stopped moving the very instant I’d lunged in and jammed my short blade into the raw patch.

  Instead Patrick and Nick were giving Andy a fist bump just like every time after a boss fight, and Jesse, whose face was hidden beneath a deep green hood, exchanged satisfied grins with Heather. No one met my eyes.

  My grip tightened on the sword.

  This isn’t how it was supposed to turn out. They were supposed to see I was right. That they should have listened to me. Hell they aren’t even recognizing I-

  [Level up! Level 35 > Level 38]

  [Notification: Achievement unlocked: Slayer of the Demon King. Item award: The Wish.]

  [Do you wish to accept The Wish award? Y/N]

  The words blinked in the corner of my vision, familiar green letters, and only then did the others pause.

  A silent curse screamed in my mind. The System recognized everyone being in ‘party’ mode so my notifications were seen by the others. Normally I didn’t care what ‘award’ I received from monster kills, I’ve tried not to be as stingy or possessive as certain others in the party.

  But this time… I wanted this only for myself. I earned it, they didn’t. This was one time I didn’t want to share for ‘the good of the party’.

  “The Wish?” Heather murmured, peering at me with sudden interest. Her eyes flicked to Andy.

  “Looks like even he can get lucky once in a while,” Andy sneered, waving dismissively. “Let’s see it, then.”

  I hesitated before openingly choosing ‘Y’ for accepting the reward. Something small fell into my hand. A small, radiant crystal orb pulsed with a light so intense it seemed to have its own heartbeat. A quick glance at it instantly caused more words to pop into my vision.

  [The Wish – This is a UNIQUE item. Powers of this item can only be activated at the Shrine of Heroes.]

  “Well, well.” Heather pretended to pout, nudging Andy playfully. “Looks like someone might outshine even you, my love.”

  “Not likely,” Andy muttered, though his gaze was fixed on the orb in a way which made me uneasy.

  This wasn’t the first unique item we found, but I never read an item description which put forth a requirement to go to a location. I saw Andy’s mouth open and already knew what he was going to say. So before a single syllable could be spoken, I mentally willed the orb to go to my Inventory Box.

  There was shock at first on Andy’s face, he didn’t expect me to pull a stunt like this. I was normally such an obedient scout. But I wasn’t giving this up to anyone, not this time. Andy’s shock quickly switched to a challenging stare matching my own.

  “You should let someone stronger keep hold of it,” Andy said, not bothering to hide a sneer.

  “I’m good,” I said, giving a friendly smile as if we were best buds. We both knew only I could remove something from my Inventory Box.

  A low, serene voice cut through the tension. “Congratulations.”

  I spun to see a priest of the Church of Divine Light emerging from the shadows, his robe ruffled as he moved. I knew it was rude to think it, but they all looked the same to me. Solemn men and women dressed only in white robes.

  “This prize was expected to be received by the Heroes Party once the Demon King was slain,” he continued. The church insisted a priest join us as a witness for our ‘coming victory’ against the Demon King. I didn’t care back then, but now I was really appreciating the holy man being around.

  Something told me I’d have gotten a lot more than a sneer from Andy if we didn’t have him here.

  “Is it some sort of magical item which will get us home?” Nick asked, moving to stand next to Andy. Awesome, now I had two guys with big sharp swords wanting my glowy orb.

  “I’m afraid such knowledge wasn’t shared with me. I was only told to expect you to receive The Wish and to make sure to guide you to the Shrine of Heroes to use it.”

  I could feel a silent sigh coming along. This wasn’t the first time the church was vague about things. At this point I was used to it. Nick didn’t look disappointed though; from the way he was grinning, I could tell he reached his own conclusions of it getting us home.

  “You’ve had a difficult battle. Let me lead you to the nearest town before we head to the shrine,” the priest said already turning to leave. I quickly followed behind him, feeling all eyes on me. I wanted praise for slaying a Demon King. Instead I get the wrong sort of attention for getting a reward. Just another typical day in the Heroes Party.

  The nearest town took nearly two weeks to reach. Which shouldn’t have been shocking because humans didn’t survive long by living near the Demon King’s castle. Luckily we all had plenty of supplies from our Inventory Boxes. Sometimes I thought the greatest power the System bestowed on us was the ability to store any item in some weird pocket dimension outside of time and space.

  There was a space limit, it could hold up to two hundred pounds of weight. I could still remember when Jessee tried to store some poor peasant into it. First she just grabbed the poor guy and tried to will him inside it like with any other item. Then she put him in ‘party’ mode to see if it would work. She even used a special poison to knock the guy out and try.

  None of her attempts were successful, and all she managed to do was frighten a hapless peasant on his way to the river to fish. Naturally, she didn't offer an apology, nor was one anticipated. In this world, Heroes were practically revered and could act as they pleased.

  It was morning in the town of Emberstorm and I was still lying in bed at the Jester’s Hat Inn. The hike to this town was awkward as hell as I received hints and sometimes outright demands to pull The Wish out of my Inventory Box. The only silver lining in all this was the Shrine of Heroes was only a day’s journey from the town.

  I had to admit Nick was probably spot on about The Wish taking us home. Which now led to questions of what future I wanted. It should have been an easy decision to stay here. What few friends I had probably moved on with their lives.

  My family life was pretty toxic. And here I would be worshipped as a Hero. Although a lot of times I didn’t like the attention.

  But I was also the most looked down upon member of the Heroes Party. Not even given a thank you for slaying the freaking Demon King himself.

  Even Patrick didn’t congratulate me… which really hurt.

  The voice saying to stay was quickly interrupted by another voice pointing out how Andy, Heather, and Jessee would make my life miserable. Honestly given the things I’ve seen them do which you couldn’t even begin to call ‘heroic’, I wanted to never have to see them again.

  The real question was how hard it would be to cut contact with them if I stayed. We were in the kingdom of Elska and there were two other kingdoms out there—Sannindi and Foekin. Surely if I left the kingdom, I would never have to see those jackasses again.

  With a grumble I got out of bed and got dressed. I normally avoided eating with the others, but this was different. The Demon King was dead, we did the job the kingdom wanted us to do. And I needed to try to find out what the others planned to do. If there’s one thing I learned from being a scout—get as much information as you can.

  It was obvious to me Nick was leaving while Andy, Heather, and Jessee were staying. Patrick was a bit of an unknown in terms of staying or going. If I was lucky, maybe they’d speak about future plans before the shrine visit.

  I was halfway downstairs when I heard their voices. I stopped at the corner, waiting, listening.

  “He’s like a dog with a bone,” Andy was saying, frustration edged in his words. “Doesn’t know when to quit.” The clatter of cutlery punctuated his sentence.

  “He can keep the thing,” Heather chimed in. I heard the scrape of crockery and imagined her slicing into a perfectly cooked breakfast. “It’s not like he’s going to do anything worthwhile with it.”

  I peered around the corner. The five of them sat together, Andy and Heather side by side, Jessee and Patrick already sorting through the notifications of their skills menu, discussing which upgrades to apply now that the Demon King was dead. My stomach tightened at the familiarity of the scene. I was always outnumbered.

  “Yeah,” Nick said, “but what if it takes us home?” He leaned forward, lowering his voice just enough that I had to strain to hear him. “Fantasy stories always end with the Hero getting what they want. I bet The Wish takes you home when used at the shrine.”

  One problem, Nick—not everyone wants to go home.

  I noticed the identical frowns both Heather and Andy had on their faces, only there for a second before they put on their friendly smiles. Nick was too busy chewing on his toast to notice.

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  I could understand why Nick wanted to go home. He spoke more than once about his family and it was obvious they must have missed him just as much as he missed them. But in this world we were all held in reverence for being Heroes and back home we were just high schoolers.

  Actually strike that—high school dropouts at this point. It had been three years since we were teleported to this fantasy world.

  I mentally shook my head; I still hadn’t reached a sure decision on staying or going. And now wasn’t the time for contemplation. I was here to learn things, so with the fakest smile I could pull off, I stepped into view.

  “Morning!” I called, making my voice as bright as possible.

  I received a chorus of greetings, their warmth as genuine as the pirated video games I used to play back on Earth.

  “Join us, Will!” she said. “We were just talking about you.”

  I bet, I thought, but said, “Hope it wasn’t anything too bad. Or true.”

  They laughed, and not even Nick’s amused chuckling could soften the tension twisting in my gut. My info gathering usually involved me giving the false words and expressions; it was downright disturbing having the same done to me from everyone in a room.

  “Will, buddy,” Andy said, gesturing to an empty seat between Patrick and Nick. “Just in time to celebrate.”

  “Everything on the menu’s on us,” Nick added. I could feel him watching me, gauging how long I’d hold out.

  “Thanks.” I slid into the seat. I knew exactly what they were doing. But curiosity whetted my appetite just as much as the smell of eggs and bacon.

  “Sure you don’t want to hop on the next carriage to the shrine?” Heather asked, her voice sugary sweet.

  “Why wait?” Andy leaned back, scratching his jaw like he was pondering some great mystery. “Let’s get this Wish thing over with.”

  I shook my head, keeping the grin from slipping. “A few more hours won’t hurt, right?” I forced a chuckle. “Besides, I’m starving.”

  Silence hung between us, tight as a bowstring.

  Finally, Nick shrugged. “No rush.” His voice was casual, but I caught the glint in his eye; he knew as well as I did that time wasn’t on my side.

  We ate, and their small talk was a wide net cast over the table, hoping to reel me in. I navigated their questions with practiced indifference, and breakfast ended with more hollow offers to help, to hold The Wish in case it became “too much of a burden.” I chuckled softly, maintained a casual demeanor, all the while internally grumbling at how this conversation was not taking the direction I wanted.

  They were too in sync on trying to get me to give up The Wish. And all sitting here did was remind me how much of the odd one out I was. I had spent years working on skills of observation and I’d noticed every little detail which made me so different from them.

  Both Andy and Nick had their armor put away in their Inventory Boxes and wore shirts and trousers custom tailored to fit their perfect physiques, the latest style in Elska judging from the brand markings I spotted on both their clothes. Andy, with his sun-kissed skin and chestnut brown hair, looked every bit the part of a fashionable gentleman. Nick, on the other hand, with his jet-black hair and olive complexion, carried the elegance of a seasoned warrior turned noble.

  Heather was in a similar state of casual elegance, her golden blonde curls cascading down her back, complementing her fair skin. Her green dress was more suited for a noblewoman lounging at home than a hero who just slew the most dangerous monster in Seanair.

  Jessee wore her gear even here, the hood always up, concealing most of her auburn hair. Her bow was at her side, and her piercing blue eyes never quite met mine—always focused elsewhere, as if I weren’t even there. Patrick’s plate mail armor looked brand new, and I noticed his bronze skin and short, neatly trimmed blonde hair beneath the helmet. The armor bore markings indicating it was a high-end custom set.

  Meanwhile here I sat, wearing dark leather armor I purchased over a year ago from a lower-class store. Still in working order, but covered in scratches and marks to show its age. Palest person here even though I had gotten as much sun as them, brown hair desperately needing a haircut which I never had time for. Only thing really of worth was the magic short sword strapped to my back which was a gift—nope, not thinking about it. Stay on the objective; if they aren’t willing to share in a group setting then get one of them to talk in a one-on-one setting.

  The sad thing was even though we’ve been an adventuring group for three years, there were only two people I was comfortable speaking with one-on-one at this table. One was Nick who was leaving so no point in asking for future plans. Which left me with…

  “Hey, Patrick,” I said, shooting a glance to the others before smiling at him. “Want to help me pick up some supplies before we go?”

  He hesitated, uncertain, eyes darting towards Andy. When Andy said, “Sure!” with a careless wave of his hand, I almost laughed at how relieved Patrick looked. I knew Andy would be questioning him later, but I wasn’t bothered about any future conversation being repeated.

  “Great, I’m low on healing potions,” I said, making my way towards the door. Patrick followed, the suit of armor rattling softly with each step. As we stepped out the doorway, I mentally triggered my Disguise Self ability. Brown hair turned into blonde hair with a scruff of hair on my chin. Even my dark leather armor was changed, now appearing a coffee color and newer.

  Just because I had old equipment didn’t mean everyone needed to know.

  Patrick wasn’t even surprised as he followed me outside, only rolling his eyes. Let him be envious; we both knew he’d totally use a disguise superpower if he had one.

  Emberstorm was lively, bustling with commoners and open stores. Sizzling meats and fresh bread mingled with the earthy scent of thatched roofs and torch smoke. We navigated through the crowded marketplace, and I resisted the urge to dive into the first vendor’s stall, reminding myself the focus was supposed to be to speak with Patrick.

  Patrick was quiet but seemed to warm up as the inn building faded behind us. “You think it’s really close?” he asked suddenly, catching me a little off-guard.

  I frowned, playing dumb. “The shrine? Yeah, no more than a day’s travel. That priest seemed pretty certain.”

  He shook his head before I finished speaking. “No, I mean, you really think Nick’s right? The Wish might take us home?” His voice cracked, the question heavy with more than curiosity.

  “Nothing to be sure about, really,” I said. “Not until we get to the shrine.” I paused. “You want to go home?”

  He hesitated before responding; he always hesitated when Andy wasn’t around. Sometimes it was a pause in words and other times in making a decision. Patrick’s devotion to Andy was just as obvious when the guy wasn’t present. I wish he wasn’t so terrified of thinking for himself.

  “Sometimes, but who knows what’s waiting for us there, right? There we were nobodies. Here, at least we’re considered special,” he said, a hint of pride in his voice.

  He was someone here. More than the shy kid I vaguely remembered seeing at class before we landed in Seanair. I nodded, feeling the weight of everything he wasn’t saying. “The Heroes Party,” I said, watching him closely. “We’ve got a pretty good gig.”

  Well ‘pretty good’ for most in it.

  Patrick chuckled, a small, rueful sound. “Don’t think I belonged at first, like I’m just here because—” He snapped his mouth shut, as if catching himself. “I’m not ready to go back. Not yet. And not without…” He turned his gaze from me, pretending interest in a nearby stall selling armor polish and weapon oil.

  “Not without Jessee?” I ventured, not needing to hear his reply to know what he was thinking.

  He nodded but didn’t look at me.

  Patrick had an on-and-off relationship with Jessee for the past year. And the ‘off’ part usually involved him finding her with another man. Of course he’d always go back to her. It was an unsettling sight, for me especially because I’ve seen something similar back with my family before we came to this world.

  Which reminded me, I didn’t bring him here just to ask for his plans.

  “Andy and Heather?” I asked. “You think they’re staying too?” I didn’t include Jessee, but I could tell he was thinking about her anyway.

  He kicked at a pebble in the dirt, eyes on the ground. “Heather said she isn’t ready to go back yet. And Andy—” He laughed without humor. “He’d never be able to live with the idea of being a normal guy again.”

  “You know I always wanted to ask Will, why did you get a disguise ability? I mean everyone around here worships us Heroes so it’s not like you need to hide who you are.”

  I nearly hit the edge of a stall table, not expecting the question. The plan was supposed to be for me to pump him for information, but it didn’t hurt to answer.

  “Heroes might be worshipped, but people are also afraid of saying something stupid around them. They get tight-lipped and are always careful of what they say. As a disguised stranger in a bar, I can get a lot more info with a guy who thinks he is just gossiping and chatting with a normal person.”

  Technically not a lie and no way am I telling him the real reason since it would get back to Andy.

  The good news about his question though was it gave me the opening to now ask my own.

  “So since the consensus is everyone but Nick is staying, do you ever plan to try to travel to one of the other kingdoms?” I kept my voice light but watched his expression carefully. If I was going to leave for another kingdom, I wanted to know the best odds of which one I should head to in order to avoid them.

  Patrick blinked as he scratched his chin. I could tell right then the idea of leaving the kingdom never crossed his mind which was a relief. It meant Andy and the others never mentioned leaving the kingdom.

  “Well, I’m satisfied just being here. I remember Andy once saying the whole Hero worship thing only happens in Elska and we would just be seen as regular adventurers in the other two kingdoms.”

  Hearing those words was the equivalent of seeing Andy tattooed on his own body he would never leave Elska. No way would the others leave this kingdom to be seen as regular people again. Still though, I wasn’t getting a lot of information here. All I really learned was Patrick was staying with the others and there would be no international travel plans in the near future. Time to be more direct.

  “You know it’s hard to figure out what to talk to Andy, Heather, and Jessee about since I have no idea their plans now with the Demon King dead. I mean I can’t ask them what university they’ll go to or mundane job they’re going to get,” I said with a sigh, not having to fake my frustration. Here’s hoping he’d take the bait.

  “I think Heather and Jessee both planned to get into the music industry,” Patrick said, absently tossing a handful of gold coins to a vendor.

  “Technically I thought they already were in the music industry,” I commented. I watched as Patrick got a pair of pre-filled potion bottles, the System recognizing the party mode we were in, adding them directly to ‘our’ Inventory Boxes.

  Party members could add items to other members’ Inventory Boxes, but luckily for me couldn’t withdraw anything.

  Patrick gave a genuine laugh. “Yeah, but I think they want to go bigger… way bigger. Not just have her sing at taverns and balls.”

  At almost every town, Heather always did a show to display her singing skills. Sometimes it was at a town square where people in the hundreds would gather. Sometimes it was at a popular inn late at night when everyone was off work. And it even happened at balls she was invited to attend. Regardless, her approach to them was always the same. She went straight to the adventurer guild, using her Hero status to insist on a bard to help her with her show.

  The poor bard tried their best to play a tune to Heather’s singing even though they didn’t even know the song. I had to admit she was a good singer and she usually picked ones from Earth which were perfect as acoustic music. Her last song was My Happy Ending and everyone genuinely enjoyed it. Of course she ruined my enjoyment of it by blatantly lying and claiming she wrote it herself, typical Heather.

  “Maybe Andy will take singing lessons to join Heather in it,” I said, not really meaning it. He was more the type to bully someone else into helping Heather instead of doing it himself.

  “Naw, he is way too focused on the secret dungeon.”

  Both of us stopped moving. Patrick’s instant freezing told me he just said something he wasn’t supposed to. And now I needed to make sure I didn’t let this opportunity slip away. If there’s one thing I learned about Patrick, the best way to keep him off balance is righteous indignation.

  “Patrick… I know where this is going and it’s not happening!” I nearly yelled, turning to glare at him. A few passersby glanced our way, but quickly moved on. Patrick’s mouth moved like a fish grasping for air as he took a step back from me.

  “I am not playing scout for another dungeon anytime soon! I mean we killed the Demon King for crying out loud! I deserve a break!”

  Each word was louder than the last and I heard a couple of gasps from my words. People were overhearing and awestruck at being in the presence of the famous Heroes. Luckily the same reverence for Heroes people had also caused them to not dare intrude on an argument between two famous Heroes.

  The truth was, I knew with certainty Andy did not want me to be a scout for this ‘secret dungeon’. He would have already made the demand of me joining with his typical full-of-it attitude.

  “Will relax! Andy isn’t going to make you come! Look, we already took steps to hire a good scout at the capital’s adventurer guild.”

  So this ‘secret dungeon’ is either in the capital city Zephyria or near it.

  “You mean it? You’re not trying to trick me, are you?”

  I had to admit I suffered a twinge of guilt with those words. I was tricking someone with pleas to not trick me. Patrick vigorously nodded his head with his hands raised up in a peaceful gesture.

  “I’m not tricking you, dude. Andy doesn’t even want you to come… um no offence but he doesn’t really like you.”

  Literally the understatement of the century.

  “And don’t feel left out. I mean it involves going through gross sewers. Personally I wish I could get out of it.”

  I sighed as I turned from him. Now with Patrick believing I wanted nothing to do with the dungeon, he was spilling details. My ‘scout’ job for the party wasn’t just about picking locks and giving a heads up on nearby monsters. It was also about getting people to talk about rumors and myths on the Demon King.

  I couldn’t help but find it ironic how badly I meshed with the adventuring group even though a lot of my job involved getting people’s guard down and talking. Speaking of talking—

  “The only scout who is going to muck about sewers with us is a Fredrick Farman. Highly recommended by the adventurer’s guild, but not nearly as good as you.”

  “Okay, just try to give me a warning at least if Andy suddenly wants me there,” I said as we started leaving the market area. There were some whispers from behind us now that I’d outed us as Heroes. Couldn’t be helped though, and chances were they would have found out anyway.

  Andy and Heather weren’t exactly subtle about their assumed roles in this world.

  “I will, dude. Um… you know Andy might like you more if you let him hold The Wish on our way to the shrine.”

  I was really trying hard not to roll my eyes at the obvious manipulation tactic. And I should probably be feeling a lot guiltier about my own manipulations working.

  “Sorry Patrick, I didn’t want to say anything to the others, but part of the reason I’m holding it is because I wanted to pay a wizard to look at it,” I said. Total lie; I seriously doubt any random wizard in a random town could tell me squat about the great unique treasure the Demon King dropped.

  “Ah jeeze, that’s a smart idea. I mean a wizard might be able to tell us more about it. And I mean we don’t… have one.”

  There was the awkward silence again, only this time for a different reason. Maybe the smart move would have been to keep him talking, but I wanted this conversation to end NOW.

  “Yep, I’ll see you at the inn in a couple of hours,” I said, fake grin back in place as I waved to him and walked away. Patrick didn’t appear to notice my good-bye right away, staring off into space. Then he blinked a couple of times, waved back, and turned to head to the inn.

  I found myself sitting on a bench near a couple of stores, luckily not followed by some Hero-worshipping groupie. It really was random whether the people here got in your face to gush about meeting a Hero or kept their distance because they didn’t want to interrupt important ‘Hero work.’

  Taking advantage of the isolation, I pulled out my journal and began writing what I learned. Heather and Jessee were going to go into the music business, probably with Heather singing and Jessee supporting her. Andy was planning to check out a secret dungeon which appeared to be in the sewers of Zephyria, using a Fredrick Farman from the adventurer’s guild as a scout.

  It was a bit weird for Andy to want to keep it a secret from me. Andy and the others had no issue calling the shots and making sure I knew I should just follow their lead. Why worry about me tagging along on this dungeon versus all the others we went to?

  Then again, if I’m looking to leave, maybe they’re in turn looking for a replacement. It would be logical they want to try out a different scout but not let me know they were looking for a replacement. Maybe I can hint later that I wouldn’t be staying around so they don’t need to keep it a secret that they’re trying a new scout out.

  The wonderful thing about all these facts was Andy, Heather, and Jessee appeared to show as much interest in having me in their futures as I had in them being in my future. They would definitely go out of their way to stay away from me. So no need to head back to Earth just to avoid them.

  What if they want you, though, to go back to Earth.

  It flashed so easily in my mind. The Wish opens some portal back to our home world and before I know it, Andy and Jesse are holding me in place and pushing me through. No idea if that’s how The Wish worked, but they wouldn’t turn down a chance to send me back.

  It was enough for me to find another kingdom away from them to travel to and never see them. But knowing them, they’d love the chance to kick me out of this universe.

  “I have to take precautions,” I muttered as I got up from the bench. One of the stores near me was a toy store and I knew exactly what I wanted from there. And it turned out I didn’t lie to Patrick; I definitely was going to visit the local wizard. And it was time I used those skill points I received after jumping up three levels.

  Finally I tapped out of party mode. I pulled up my stats like a gamer checking skill trees, ready to spend those three levels I’d gained. After all, I’m still that video game geek kid who learned early to save every spare skill point—and never trust a Hero’s hollow grin.