Back

Grey was walking in the cold, the wind blowing harshly into his burns, and the frigid ice biting into his skin. It was a constant hell, but he could numb it. Using the 2 potions he had left, and systematically taking small portions of it, he could stem the pain. 

The forest was dark, making it hard to see in front of him, but his Mana had regenerated enough in the cave for him to support several balls of Light to see.

According to the quest details, he had to bring back its head. It took him several hacks to remove the head, and he had to wait for it to dry out before wrapping it in a cloth.

"It's cold. I'm tired. I'm pissed. I'm sad." Grey said. He had cloaked himself in his sleeping bag by cutting it into something similar to a one-piece, but it was baggy, letting wind through it.

- Well then hurry, so you can get clothes, sleep and then go home. - Fallen Star replied.

"I'm trying." Grey had been walking back through the path he had taken, memorized thanks to his perfect memory, but the path felt so much longer than it had been the first time around.

He had been trekking through the cold, dark forest for hours on end, and each claw mark seemed further than it was when he first came.

"When will it end?... Oh, there it is!" Grey exited the taiga, into the clearing that separated the forest and the wall, allowing him to spot the wall just ahead, so he ran as fast as he could. 

Once he arrived at the wall, he searched for a way to open the door, finding a circular panel on the side of the smaller door.

On it said, 'Place ID here.'

Following its instructions, Grey scanned his ID on the machine, and in response, the machinery triggered.

CATHUNK! CLUNK! RRRR!-

The gate opened wide, and Grey hastily entered. On the other side, the door closed behind him, and he headed to the shack.

CATHUNK! CLUNK! RRRR!-

"Hello, gatekeeper. How are you?" He asked, knocking against the glass.

"ZZZZZZZZ."

"YO, gatekeeper!" Grey yelled, this time banging his fist against the screen.

"Mhm, wuw, what the-?" He woke drowsily and shook his head to clear it.

"What can I do for you?... Oh, it's you, boy! How'd it go?" He asked whilst he stuck out his hand for Grey's ID.

Passing it to him, Grey replied. "I'm doing swimmingly, and the quest went great. I had a small lapse in judgment, and ruined my clothes." 

Since it was dark out, the man couldn't see Grey's face, so he couldn't see his burns, only able to make out his general features.

"I see, well then. Have a good one." The glass rectangle in the man's hand shone a green light, the second circle gaining a tick. He passed the ID back and waved him off with 2 fingers, from his forehead into the air just in front of him.¹ 

"Thanks." Grey took the card and left for the parking lot. 

"Here she is." Grey got into the truck and placed his bag on the passenger chair.

"I'm so close to a good night's sleep."

---

Grey arrived at the inn shortly after and then fell into his bed. "ZZZZZZZZ."

TWEET- TWEET- CHIRP! CHIRP!

Grey woke up to the sound of birds chirping.

"Ugh, I swear I always wake up to birds. What is this?" Grey said.

- Morning, sunshine. - Fallen Star joked.

"Morning."

Grey clambered out of bed and into the bathtub.

"I deserve this." Usually, he would take a shower, but he felt that after what he had gone through, he should take one.

Once he was done with the bath, Grey went to fix up his hygiene, and it was there that he saw his reflection.

"Sheesh." On the mirror was a burned mess. His face had scarred, and the burns incorrectly healed because of the low potion level. 'I'll need at least an upper-mid level potion.'

The ones he had were 1st-rank, crafted by himself.

There were 5 ranks of potions; Low, Lower-Mid, Mid, Upper-Mid, and High. There was a 6th rank of potion, but that was no longer a potion, it was an elixir. Elixirs were heal-all items, capable of healing anything to perfect condition, as long as it was still breathing.

He put on new clothes and then opened his messaging app on his bracelet. He messaged his father, asking for cash enough to buy a 4th-rank potion.

He quickly received the money, and a question asking about how he was. He typed that he was okay in response, and then closed the app.

Grey combed through his bag, picking up both the head wrapped in cloth and another cloth he could envelop his head in to cover the burns.

"Let's go."

He exited the inn, walking down the street to the Association Branch.

He headed to the reception and asked, "Can you sell me a 4th-rank potion?"

"Of course, sir." The receptionist asked no questions about Grey's appearance and gave Grey the potion, for which he paid the necessary money.

He exited the Association to drink the potion and waited for 20 minutes while the burns healed. Since there were no broken bones of any kind, he had no reason to set anything in place.

'Being burned alive is not fun.' He declared in his mind.

Once the burn had healed, he unwrapped his face and then went back inside.

"Hello again, sir. I'm here to finish the request."

"Ah, it's good to see you again!" The clerk replied.

Luckily for Grey, since the burns had damaged his voice box, his voice was unrecognizable, and the clerk hadn't been able to figure out they were the same person. Or he had, but just didn't ask into it.

Grey placed the bear head on the table, removed the cloth, and then stepped back for the clerk to process it. The blue fur of the Beast had been dyed a red-purple, splotches of blue the only evidence of its Affinity. 

The man picked it up, turning it round to see each side, and then placed it down, scanning it with a special machine, tapping a few times on the hologram.

He looked up at Grey and spoke. "Congrats on completing the quest! Here's your reward."

The man grabbed a machine identical to the one the gatekeeper used, but this time, instead of the circles with ticks, on it lay a 5-digit number. Grey tapped his bracelet on it, and the money was transferred.

"Thank you for your assistance, sir. Would you like to take another quest?" The receptionist asked.

"No thanks. I need a break." Grey was utterly shattered; the fight with the Beast had taken its toll, physically and mentally. "I'm going home."

"Of course, sir. Thank you for your dedication!" The man replied.

Grey swiftly left the building after, heading to his father's truck.

"Mom, Dad, I'm coming home."

---

The drive back was long and taxing, taking another 3 days, but Grey did it anyway. At hour 63 of 72, Grey stood in front of his house. The 2-story building was just as he remembered it: white walls, black doors, big windows, and a homely vibe. 

"It's been 8 days, but it felt like weeks." He said.

He went up to the door and unlocked it. The door swung open and he stepped inside, only to be tackled to the floor by a blur.

"Oof." The air got knocked out of his lungs, and he felt like he was being squeezed by a constrictor. 

"Argh, let go!" He wormed around, his eyes closed and managed to slip an arm through what restrained him. He pushed his arm outward, hoping to remove the binding, but then he realized what it was that jumped him.

"...Mom?!" He cried, "Why are you crushing me?"

She looked up at him, her head previously tucked on his chest, and he saw that she was pouting with tears in her eyes.

"I've been worried sick!" She yelled. "When you asked your father for money, we figured something was wrong. Since you wouldn't say anything to us, we had no choice but to panic."

"I'm sorry, I am. But please, let go of me. You're killing me!"

"No, I am not letting go of you." She said. 

At that moment, Lucas walked into the hallway and placed his hand on Samantha's shoulder, smiling brightly.

"Let go of him, honey..." He said, which brought a smile to Grey's face, only for it to be wiped off immediately, fear replacing it. "So he can tell us what happened."

The smile on Lucas' face changed to a demonic one, and Samantha's face warped to match it.

"You are going to tell us what happened, right?"

"You are going to tell us what happened, right?"

---

¹ = I don't know what that is called, it's similar to a two-finger salute, but a wave.