I stood there, watching my beautiful disaster unfold.

  The Empress was dead.

  The spiders were gone.

  And the vilge?

  Well…

  It was on fire.

  Massive roaring fmes licked at the sky, consuming buildings faster than my money disappeared from my bance.

  Garron sighed. “I should go check on the vilgers. See who’s left.”

  Matra cracked her neck. “I should probably head back to the elder. Make sure he’s still up and kicking.”

  She paused.

  “Also, I need to look for a cure in that book you sold us.”

  Garron raised an eyebrow. “Book?”

  Matra waved him off. “I’ll tell you on the way.”

  They both turned and started walking off.

  I stared.

  Then threw up my hands.

  “Wait. Hold it right there!”

  Matra stopped and gnced back. “What now?”

  I pointed at the raging inferno.

  “THE GODDAMN FIRE.”

  Matra blinked.

  Garron shifted awkwardly.

  “…Are you two just gonna let it burn?”

  Matra shrugged. “What do you expect me to do?”

  She patted her old, brittle bones. “I’m an old woman. Super fragile. Can’t do much.”

  Garron cleared his throat. “I need to get some volunteers to help with the fire. We can always rebuild, but we can’t get back lives lost.”

  I squinted. “No. No, no, no.”

  I pointed directly at Matra.

  “You were literally just fighting spiders! Huge, fucking spiders!”

  I whirled on Garron.

  “And screw your ‘volunteers.’”

  Matra sighed. “Look, boy. I didn’t cause that fire.”

  I paused.

  Okay, technically, that was true.

  I shrugged. “Alright. Then I guess I’m leaving too. I had nothing to do with it.”

  I turned to go—

  Only for Elise to grab my arm.

  She narrowed her eyes. “It was your arrow.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but YOU shot it.”

  I motioned at the burning mess.

  “Not my fault the Empress died a fming mess in the middle of town. Like—who shoots a fming arrow in a vilge full of WOODEN HOMES? Geez, think about your actions!”

  Elise’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?!”

  She gestured wildly. “None of this would have happened if you didn’t kill that baby spider!”

  Garron nodded. “She has a good point.”

  Matra agreed.

  I gawked. “No! You can’t bme all of this on me!”

  Garron crossed his arms. “We can keep this all a secret from the king.”

  My eyes narrowed. “...Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming?”

  Garron nodded. “But… if the king learns you burned down one of his vilges, you’ll be hanged.”

  I stared.

  Then I threw up my hands.

  “Oh, so NOW we’re resorting to bckmail?!”

  Elise poked my shoulder. “Just help me put out the fire.”

  I motioned at the raging inferno.

  “And how exactly do you expect us to put out THAT with only two people?!”

  Elise pointed at the dead Empress’s body.

  “Maybe you can sell that and buy something?”

  I clicked my tongue.

  “Oh, and WHEN did my money become EVERYONE’S money?!”

  I threw up my hands.

  “First, I had to buy a cure for the disease.”

  Matra shrugged. “No one asked you to do that.”

  “Then, I had to buy spray for the spiders.”

  Elise smirked. “No one asked you to do that either.”

  “THEN, I had to buy that stupid arrow for the Empress!”

  Garron crossed his arms. “And no one asked you to do that.”

  I paused.

  Then I squinted.

  “Okay, I can agree to the first two points.”

  I turned directly to Elise.

  “BUT NOT THAT LAST ONE.”

  I pointed at her.

  “You LITERALLY asked me to get something for the Empress.”

  Elise crossed her arms. “So?”

  I pointed at my chest. “So, YOU owe me 500.”

  Elise patted her pockets.

  “Sorry. I’m broke.”

  I squinted. “Of course you are.”

  She shrugged. “I can sell you something else, though.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh yeah?”

  She nodded. “Yup!”

  Then she slowly raised her middle finger.

  “Here you go.”

  I stared.

  She grinned.

  I sighed, stroking my hairless chin in deep thought.

  “Wow. What a great deal.”

  I nodded slowly.

  “I think I’ll pass.”

  Elise smirked. “Your loss.”

  I crossed my arms.

  “No, my loss was 500. And I’m GETTING MY MONEY.”

  Elise tilted her head. “You can try.”

  I threw up my hands.

  “THEN I’M NOT HELPING WITH THIS FIRE.”

  Matra sighed. “Are you really going to let the entire vilge burn down?”

  Garron nodded. “Yeah, is he really going to just—”

  I cut him off.

  “Are you REALLY expecting me to fix EVERYTHING?!”

  I motioned wildly.

  “Like, come on! I literally just got here! I’M STILL NEW!”

  Matra shrugged. “Not my problem.”

  Elise smirked. “Sounds like a Dan problem.”

  I gawked.

  “HOW IS THIS A DAN PROBLEM?!”

  Elise pointed at the fming wreckage.

  “Because YOU brought the fire arrow.”

  I pointed right back at her.

  “AND YOU SHOT IT!”

  Matra crossed her arms. “And you bought it.”

  I stared.

  Then I sighed dramatically.

  I rubbed my forehead.

  “Okay. Fine. I’ll help.”

  Elise smiled.

  Matra smirked.

  Garron nodded.

  I slowly turned to Elise.

  “On ONE condition.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “What?”

  I grinned.

  “You still owe me 500. I WILL collect my debt.”

  Elise sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Sure.”

  She patted my shoulder.

  “Now, come on, oh great hero. Time to buy some water.”

  I clicked my tongue.

  “Goddamn charity work.”

  I sighed as I walked over to the charred, bckened corpse of the Empress Web Lurker.

  “Well, you were a pain in the ass.”

  Then, without hesitation, I opened my marketpce and sold it.

  Sell Queen Web Lurker for 1,500?

  I cracked my knuckles.

  “HELL YES, I DO.”

  The giant spider vanished.

  678.50 ? 2,178.50

  I whistled.

  “Damn. Finally, some real money.”

  I turned back to the raging inferno that used to be the vilge.

  “…Now, how the hell do I clear this fire?”

  I shrugged and pulled up my marketpce.

  First, I looked up a fire extinguisher.

  There were three options:

  Small: 100Medium: 200Large: 500I squinted. “This is NOT worth it.”

  Then I searched for water.

  To my surprise, I actually found some.

  Bottled Water (4-pack): 50Jug of Water: 65I stared.

  “…Yeah, no. That’s a scam.”

  I kept scrolling.

  Then—

  I froze.

  Basic Water Magic for Dummies – Vol. 1 Price: 5,000

  My eyes widened.

  I immediately checked the description.

  Basic Water Magic for Dummies – Vol. 1Have you ever wanted to control water? Need to put out a fire, fill up a cup, or absolutely DROWN your enemies in a tidal wave? Well, you’re in luck! With this easy-to-follow beginner’s guide, YOU can unlock the wonders of basic water magic!

  Includes:

  A step-by-step guide on harnessing mana for water manipution.Beginner spells such as: Water Stream, Aqua Bubble, and Hydration Touch!Advanced tips on improving your mana efficiency!Warning: If you are incapable of using magic, this book will be completely useless to you.

  I sighed.

  “Yeah, I don’t really have anything that can clear out this fire… magically.”

  Elise squinted. “Really?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I looked. There are some options, but they’re like… REALLY expensive.”

  I quickly checked again, scrolling through the list.

  Then—

  I found something interesting.

  Super Long Hose – Well Addition Price: 350

  I clicked it and read the description.

  Super Long Hose – Well AdditionTurn your vilge well into a high-powered firefighting tool! With this incredibly long hose, you can extract water straight from the well and spray it over rge distances!

  Features:

  Self-priming technology! (No need for extra pumps!)Durable and flexible! (Because you’re probably going to trip over it.)Easily connects to any standard well!Discimer: This hose requires an actual well. If you don’t have one, that’s on you.

  I grinned.

  “Bingo. We have a winner.”

  I was about to buy it—but then I paused.

  I slowly turned back to Garron, Elise, and Matra.

  “…So, does this vilge have a well?”

  Garron nodded. “Yeah. It’s in the center of the vilge.”

  I cpped my hands together.

  “Alright! That’ll work.”

  I turned to Elise.

  “Lead the way.”

  Elise frowned. “Why do you need the well?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Do you want the fire put out or not?”

  Elise and I walked toward the well, the faint glow of fmes flickering in the distance.

  I shoved my hands into my pockets.

  “So, once this is all over, what are you gonna do?”

  Elise shrugged. “Probably go back to my normal life.”

  I smirked. “So, this was enough adventure for a lifetime?”

  Elise grinned. “Oh, please. This was so much fun.”

  Then she elbowed me. “You should’ve come around and messed up things a lot earlier.”

  I gawked. “Again, NONE of this is really my fault!”

  We kept walking for a second before something hit me.

  “Wait… since you killed the queen, did you level up?”

  Elise’s eyes widened. “Oh crap, I didn’t even check!”

  She went still.

  Her eyes seemed to gze over, like she was staring into the void.

  Then, a second ter, the color returned to them.

  I shuddered.

  “That is creepy as hell.”

  Elise grinned. “Score! I gained six levels!”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Damn. That’s a lot.”

  She nodded. “Even picked up a new spell!”

  I leaned closer. “Oh? What is it?”

  Elise grinned mischievously.

  “Fming Arrow.”

  I stared.

  Then I ughed.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Elise nodded proudly. “I sure am!”

  She held up her fingers like a tiny bow. “I can actually shoot fire now! It’s my first spell. My css doesn’t usually get spells—just skills.”

  I smirked. “So, you mean to tell me… after everything that just happened, after setting an entire vilge on fire, your first spell is literally a FLAMING ARROW?”

  Elise grinned. “Yup! Too bad my mana is garbage, though.”

  I shrugged. “Just dump all your points into whatever gives you mana.”

  Elise blinked. “You’re joking, right? Why would I do that for one spell?”

  I smirked. “Because wouldn’t you love to shoot ANOTHER fming arrow? Maybe… potentially… cause another vilge fire?”

  Elise snorted. “Okay, yeah. That still sounds like a terrible idea.”

  I shrugged. “Your loss.”

  We finally reached the well.

  It looked… bad.

  The top was missing, and pieces of brick were scattered on the ground.

  Elise folded her arms. “Well, this is it.”

  I peered down. “How much water is in there?”

  Elise squinted at me. “How the hell am I supposed to know that?”

  I shrugged. “Hopefully, enough.”

  I opened my marketpce and bought the Super Long Hose – Well Addition.

  Purchase Confirmed!

  A massive coil of hose dropped in front of me.

  I blinked.

  “…Huh.”

  It was long as hell, wrapped in at least twenty circles.

  I grabbed one end and dropped it down the well.

  The other end?

  It had a lever for water control.

  I handed the lever side to Elise.

  “Alright, help me drag this to the fire.”

  Elise frowned. “And what exactly do I do?”

  I gestured. “Just hold it steady.”

  Elise squinted. “I don’t know what that means, but alright.”

  We dragged the hose toward the raging fmes.

  I positioned myself and grinned.

  “Alright. Let’s do this.”

  I grabbed the lever and pulled it down.

  Nothing happened.

  Elise tilted her head. “Uhhh… why isn’t it working?”

  I sighed. “Ugh. It probably takes time.”

  So we waited.

  One second.

  Two seconds.

  Three sec—

  BWHOOSH!

  A MASSIVE BLAST OF WATER EXPLODED OUT OF THE HOSE.

  It hit the fire directly—but it also tore through the burning homes like a wrecking ball.

  I yelped as the force sent us both FLYING BACK.

  We soared through the air, still clutching the hose.

  “THIS IS NOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO!” I screamed.

  Elise filed. “DAN, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!”

  “I DON’T KNOW, BUT IT’S WORKING!”

  The water was definitely putting out the fires…

  But also knocking down walls.

  Destroying roofs.

  Tossing furniture everywhere.

  Elise screeched. “MAYBE WE SHOULD STOP!”

  I gritted my teeth.

  “AND RISK FALLING?! I THINK NOT!”

  So we held on for dear life.

  The vilge?

  May or may not survive this.