26 From Bad To Worse

My body was aflame, but I felt no pain. As the straps holding me burned off my hands and legs, I could feel the marks pressing into my skin, and I looked to my arms as I pulled them from their bonded positions.

Tribal-like tattoos pressed into the flesh, crawling up under the flames.

I got out of bed and noticed someone close to me. This person is wearing a nurse outfit and is holding a massive needle in her hands.

I could feel the flames absorb into my body, and soon only swirling black marks crawled up my arms.

"DAVE!" Three female voices cry.

I look up to see the three most important people in my life approach me cautiously. Lavender, Tilly, and Victoria all had tears and hesitant looks in their eyes.

I tried to remember how I got here, and my head started to hurt, memories beginning to come back. I sat back down on the bed, putting my hand to my head as I tried to recall the events, but this action made the girls freeze.

I was in the cave with Lavender, and it was after I had found her face down in the water. I remember getting really stressed out about it, and then a part of me broke, and I lost control. Lavender had tried to help me, but I couldn't control myself, and I had that itch in my head.

I had run away from her, and she had to hold me with earth magic and tie me up. I had scratched and hit Lavender as she bound me, screaming horrible things to her as she tried to help me.

Then, she dragged me screaming, back to the beach, and found the cave, but that had taken three days.

Three agonizing days of my curses and screams. The sound burning into her heart, even though she just tried to help me. Then nights filled with my screams to make the itch stop.

Lavender tried to force-feed me and pour water in my mouth slowly as I thrashed about.

Lavender had found the cave at the beach, and the door was inside. She opened the door and collapsed into a distraught Miss Grace's arms.

She quickly explained what had happened while Tilly and Victoria carried me to my room.

After I was tied down, I can only remember bits and parts of what happened. They must have given me something to keep me sedated. Nothing was clear until now.

I stood up. Looking into Lavender's eyes and smiling with tears in my own eyes. I took a step forward, and everyone else took an involuntary step back. I got down on my hand and knees, putting my head to the floor.

"Lavender, I'm so sorry I hurt you. Please forgive me!" I begged, grinding my forehead into the ground. "I never meant any of those I said, and I am so grateful to you for saving me!"

Lavender was the first to rush to me. She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up and into her arms. Victoria came into the embrace and then Tilly, all wrapping me in warmth. Honestly, it must have looked ridiculous seeing us all crying like that, but I didn't care.

That moment had been one of the scariest for all of us. So I let the girls all hold me for as long as they needed, and I helped them back. Finally, after about five more mins, we all broke apart and went to sit on the couches in the room.

"I forgive you, Dave. I know you had no control over it, but do you know what caused it?" Lavender asked me as we sat down.

"I can explain that one," I was the voice of that short nurse with blonde hair in pigtails.

"That would be good because I'm not sure what happened. By the way, who might you be? I'm Dave," I introduce myself and extend my hand to the nurse.

"My name is Iona, and I'm the one that kept you from becoming a demon."

"A demon?!" The girls and I all shout in disbelief.

"Yes, that concealed stat is revealed as SANITY at level fifteen, but you shouldn't have that start until level twenty."

"Why not? Why would I get access to a stat if I shouldn't get it for another nine levels because I was only level eleven when the star showed up."

"Let me see your AVATAR," Iona commanded.

Iona had still not taken my proffered hand, so I turn it over and extend my pinky. She put her hand over mine to activate my AVATAR, and the screen popped open. I was surprised at how warm her hands were.

"Hmmm, I can see now what it is, but it still doesn't make sense. What class is Hero?" Iona questioned me, but after seeing the blank look on my face she just continued. "You DEMON BRINGER is why you have the SANITY stat now. How many demons did you kill without using DEMON HUNTER? That supposed to be a level twenty-two SHADOW HUNTER skill! Why did you get it at level eleven?"

"When choosing his class, he was offered a sixth option called random. From what I remember, Dave had mentioned something about being about to learn any random skill," Miss Grace cut into Iona's question bombardment.

"So he hit level eleven and learned these abilities twice his level?" Iona was starting to sound frustrated.

"It's hard to explain, but whenever I make a heroic declaration, it happens. I get a PERSONAL RESTRICTION window, which gives me a negative effect. Then I get the skill in the next blue window. Like, I can no longer accept rewards for quests, but my magical items have increased by two-hundred and fifty percent," I interjected.

"So, you're telling me you just say something, and you get a new skill?"

Now Iona had a mixture of anger, disbelief, and challenge directed at me. I did not want to tell this angry shrimp with the massive syringe that it really did seem that easy, but I still ended up hurting someone I cared about. I decided that it would be better to play it off as not that easy and draw here back to the real problem.

"It's not like I can shout whatever I want and get a new skill, and even if I could, look what my last free skill did to me."

"True, I guess. The reason that this happened is that you have been killing demons without using DEMON HUNTER. I'm guessing the rest of the text shouldn't appear until you reach level fifteen. Demon hunters or other demon classes use demonic energy to make themselves stronger, but all demon users have to kill demons while in DEMON HUNTER mode."

"So I want to use DEMON HUNTER? I thought that it was making the stat go up, so I barely used it, and I didn't use it against Grismald."

"GRISMALD!" Iona and Miss Grace shrieked.

"You fought and killed Grismald and didn't absorb him?!" Miss Grace cried in alarm.

"You Idiot! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!" Each "stupid," was accompanied by slaps to my face as Iona screamed at me in frustration. "Do you know what you have done?!"

I was getting worried now, what had I done?

"I'll tell you, dumb child! You let the Demon Lord Grismald free, and now he will find a Vassal to occupy. UGH! What is wrong with you?!" Iona was nearly foaming at the mouth as she tore into me.

"I didn't know!" I pleaded with her as I tried to sink deeper into the couch.

"RRRHHH!" Iona screamed, pulling on her blonde pigtails.

Iona turned and stormed from the room, and Miss Grace followed her like a puppy, chasing after her. I was left wide-eyed and in disbelief. What had I done?

(Change Perspective to Biford Style)

I used AQUA CUTTER, making the final blow to the Tier One Mage Tower Naga boss. Most of the party members were lying dead on the ground or had been used to set off traps along the way. The two left were always the only two left with me.

"Lecter and Mars, search the place I'm going to see the black vase," I ordered my bodyguards.

Lecter was a Wargman, part wolf, pig, and man. Deadly quick and an expert with poison. Lecter has special poisons that the three of us are immune to, so it's easy enough to get rid of unwanted party members.

Mars, on the other hand, was a Trajoki from a planet I didn't have the proper organs to pronounce. Mars is thin as a knife's blade, almost like a walking picture. He can turn sideways and become extremely hard to see or hit head-on. He can also use his body as a bladed weapon.

They searched the room as I stepped up to the black vase. It was giving off an intense aura. I reached forward without hesitation, and the vase lit up with purple symbols. The lamp shook, and black smoke billowed from the top.

Soon the smoke became the form of a chain baring demon. White tags covered the chains with glowing purple symbols, like on the vase. The demonic creature looked at me and smiled.

"Well, now isn't this something? What are you doing down here? Don't you prefer making others do your dirty work while you watch Fate?" The demon asked me.

"So, you remember me, Samale? I thought your memories would have been wiped like the rest of the players."

"DO NOT CALL ME BY THAT NAME!" Bellowed Samale.

"Well then, call me Biford, and I will call you Grismald. Regardless, what are you doing hiding in this lamp? You're the Demon Lord!"

"A human that goes by the name of Dave unlocked me from my zone and freed me by killing my body and not absorbing it. So, now I'm stuck in this vase waiting for someone like you to come along, and I have to admit I think we would do a great many horrible things together."

"Dave!" I clench my fist, and my face clouds over with anger.

"Oh? You know this one?"

"Oh, I'll help you. If you're trying to take down that one, so am I. With your help, the Hero will stand no chance," I took on a malicious grin while speaking to Grismald.

"Excellent, this couldn't have worked out better. Don't you think? The two of us, both filled with hate for the same person?" Grismald grinned as he spoke.

"Yes, it did. You know, it's almost like Fate had a hand in this."