Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (9 page)

“How about you introduce me to your parents? I can Awaken them and you can start them on the right path tonight. Then I should probably get to working on the problem of the king.”

Fidgeting with his collar, he eventually found himself compelled to look to Thana once more. She hadn’t replied to his question or statement.

Meeting her eyes, he found his heart beat rapidly, accelerating uncontrollably. She hadn’t moved or changed positions. Watching him, she raised her eyebrows a fraction, her smile growing.

“You want to meet my parents already? Master Runner, we’ve only started down this path together. Isn’t that a bit soon? I never figured you for the whirlwind romance type. Next you’ll tell me to step out of my robes right here and now.”

“Uh, err, yes. Wait, no. Ah…” Runner groaned, running his hand through his hair. “Look, my lady, didn’t I explain all of the complications? It’s pathetic, but what I said earlier was true. You’re not alone in my admiration. Remember?”

“I do. Suffice it to say, you’ve been outmaneuvered. You may be the rule bender, world changer, game breaker, but you’re still Runner. As to my parents, yes. Let’s do so. I’m not sure when we’ll get a chance to introduce you to them next.”

Thana held up a hand for assistance. Frowning, Runner took her hand in his own, knowing full well she only did this to pester him.

She stood, immediately wrapping up his arm in hers and resting her hand on his wrist. Patting it lightly, she seemed unperturbed as to what had happened.

Minutes later he found himself standing before two middle-aged Sunless.

Thana obviously took after her mother in nearly every way. They looked eerily similar. Fuller of hip and a little less curvy, she ran heavier than her daughter, though it didn’t diminish her in any way.

Her father didn’t fit the normal mold for a male of Sunless race though. Larger of shoulder and height, he hovered closer to the human size range.

“Mother, Father, this is Master Runner. He has designs to provide me with a home and has given me a unique artifact this very day,” Thana said with a smile. She did not relinquish his arm, which made bowing from the waist a minor difficulty.

“Runner, this is my mother, Kyra, and my father, Nikola.”

“Goodness, Thana. A home? Wait, an artifact? This is the young man the king addressed today as well, isn’t it?”

Thana nodded her head, the smile she’d been wearing since the garden undiminished.

“Your brother should meet him.”

A pause came over the two, and Runner knew exactly what was coming next.

A Quest has been generated

“The Knight’s End”

Experience Reward: 10% of current level

Reputation: 10

Fame: 5

Money: 15 Gold

Do you Accept?

Yes/No

WARNING! Experience Reward is adjusted based on current level at turn in

“I’ve heard from Thana. Have no fear, I shall free him. Now, I wanted to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind?”

Quest Accepted

Kyra and Nikola froze, their AI attempting to catch up to the situation. It was ideal for what he wanted to do.

“Where are your parents? Do they yet live? If not, what happened to them? What are or were their names? Did they have brothers and sisters? Did either of you have brothers and sisters? Can you remember their names?” Runner asked them, each question coming on top of the other.

Kyra stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Nikola frowned, his gaze locked on his own feet.

He wouldn’t invite them to a party. He hoped to unlock their minds through prodding their AI into action. It would also serve as a test for future awakenings. Smiling, Runner continued.

“Do you own a home? Who lived there before you? Does your house have a bathroom? If not, where do you go to the bathroom? When was the last time you actually used a bathroom? Where are the bathrooms here in the castle? Or in your parents’ house if you can remember if they had a house?”

Stop. The AIs have become aware of the inconsistencies. I would hesitate to continue this behavior. Not every AI will be able to handle it or have the bandwidth for it.

Runner nodded and fell silent at Srit’s confirmation. Kyra started to blink rapidly, staring into nothing.

“It’s done, my lady. I will leave them to you. Srit has returned, and I would strike a bargain with it. Please notify our party that I’m retiring early to work on our solutions.”

Thana acknowledged this with a perfunctory nod. She watched her parents eagerly as they came around to a full Awakening. She released his hand, then turned her head slightly, her cheek upturned towards him.

With a face like he’d been chewing on the rind of a lemon, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and fled the area.

Stopping at a window, he peered out into the night. A squirrel scampered around the foot of a tree. Last he knew squirrels weren’t active during the night for fear of owls.

Frowning, he opened his inventory. A quick search of his inventory found several handfuls of blueberries. He tossed one at the tree to see if he could get the squirrel’s attention. The squirrel noticed the noise and hid itself high in the tree.

No idea why I didn’t expect that.

“Srit, do you have time?” Runner asked aloud. He tossed another blueberry against the tree, and it landed near the first.

Affirmative. The current time is—

“No, err, stop. I mean, I’d like to make you an offer. I need your help in putting together a few tables, preferably cubing databases and utilizing them for rapid cross-reference.”

Cautious and slow, the squirrel crept down from the tree to look at the berries as Runner talked to Srit. A finger wave and an idle thought targeted the squirrel.

Listed as “Squirrel,” it was nothing more than a level-two creature.

This is an acceptable request. What do you propose in exchange?

“I have the entire history of my race, its countries, and Earth. As well as all the history of nearly every animal that ever inhabited it. I propose the following. In exchange for your services, I begin making this information available to you. This way, you can report to your superiors with success, and I also benefit from our relationship.”

Using
Persuade
on the animal, he pushed the mental image of the little creature eating the berries and growing stronger.

You use Persuade on Squirrel

Squirrel is Persuaded

This would be acceptable.

“New part of the deal. I’m also going to give you the entire entry on common sayings and slang. You’re not a robot, are you?”

Shoving one of the blueberries into its little mouth, the squirrel picked up the next one. Runner flicked another blueberry towards it.

The blueberry rolled to a stop at the squirrel’s feet. After stuffing the second one into its furry face, it immediately grabbed the third.

No, I am an Artificial Intelligence.

“Yeah, not buying that. I’m betting you’re no different than the rest of my group. You’re questioning, watching, learning. How about this then. Are you male or female?”

Runner threw one more blueberry out and the item vanished. He turned and began walking back to his room.

My host was female.

“I dub thee Srit, female of her race. For our personal relationship, the common sayings and slang database is free. For your help with the database tables, we’ll begin the deal as described.”

Selecting the appropriate file in the mainframe, he packaged it up and brought it up into his personal desktop space. He created a username and profile for Srit in the ship’s computer, then sent the file over.

“I’ve constructed you a username to use in the ship’s system. You’re now Srit001. I’ll need you to create a profile for yourself. Please attach it to the username I just provided for you. This requirement will be in addition to all previous terms and conditions. Please respond in the affirmative, without using ‘Acceptable,’ ‘Yes,’ or ‘Agreed’ for confirmation of your acceptance to my terms.”

There was a delay in her response, a pause. There had never been a pause before in his conversations with Srit.

Reaching the door to his room, he jerked it open and stepped inside. Looking up to the ceiling, he waited.

Making the best use of his time, he called up the logs of the quests he’d been offered today. He’d need the flags for each Natural he’d encountered. As well as the quest name to begin identifying each quest node and its owned flags.

Sure.

Chapter 4 - Quest Breaker -

3:31am Sovereign Earth time

11/07/43

Runner stopped and pressed his hands to his eyes. It had taken far longer than he had originally expected, but they were close. Very close. Only a few more nodes and flags to check and he could get a few hours of sleep.

You are weary.

“Very. My pod works to put me to rights during sleep and administers things to balance out any imbalance in my head. The less time I spend sleeping, the less time it gets to fix me,” he said with a frown. Dropping his hands from his face, he tapped at the screen and linked the flag he’d finished to the princess.

“I think I’m done. Please confirm?”

Confirmed.

Runner cleared his throat and tapped the table he had been sitting at since he came back to the room.

Unacceptable response, Srit…

Good to go.

Nodding his head, he checked his workroom one more time. It was empty.

Nadine and Hannah had checked in on him briefly when they returned, then went to bed. The separate sleeping arrangements had spared him from worrying over disturbing them with his frequent nightmares. They were coming on more violently each time. Certainly the pod was doing its best to help treat him, though it had limited tech in comparison to the medical server.

There were times he felt like his sanity was starting to crack, where intrusive thoughts would appear and dominate his mind
.

Thoughts quickly became reality. He would swear he could smell and taste Hannah’s blood. Splashing over everything in torrential gushers. Ted bathing in it as he laughed over Runner. Dripping, flowing blood. Ted’s lifeless eyes.

With a grunt and a firm shake of his head, Runner copied the window onto a piece of paper that could be traded in game. After shoving it into his inventory, he ended up hesitating on closing the window.

A piece of parchment sat in the document section of his inventory. It still had the gold border that highlighted items that had yet to be inspected. It was listed as unique and tradable.

He vaguely remembered looting it from Lord Wrinkles back at the Orc Fort.

Shaking his head, he chalked it up to his own carelessness. He’d forgotten completely to fix his religious affinity as well.

Regrets upon regrets, as of late.

He pulled the document up and inspected the item, inadvertently activating it by doing so.

Deed of Land-

This item identifies you as the owner of North Wood Fort and all lands and items inherent to it. This may be traded or sold at the owner’s convenience.

Grant:
North Wood Fort and its attached lands.

Expansion:
This may be expanded upon depending on purchasing rights for the region.

Law:
No laws set.

Tax Rate:
No tax set.

Edit Land Configuration

Yes/No

Congratulations! Server first: Land Owner

You’ve earned 1,000 fame

Shocked, he agreed and opened the Land Configuration window. The window could only be described as complex, and he immediately regretted even looking at it. He didn’t have the patience or time for this right now.

He set the immigration to open, tax to one percent, and closed it. It had to do for now. Not to mention, there was no one there anyways. He had bigger things to worry over.

Kingdoms to save, knights to rescue, princesses to kidnap. A very nonexistent skull throne.

You should rest, Runner.

“I didn’t even know you cared, sweetie. Why, wanna come to bed with me?” he teased, stretching his arms behind his head. She was right of course.

I have always gone to bed with you.

Laughing, he slapped his knee and stood up. He had no doubt that she meant she went dormant when he did. She had focused her attention around him since he happened to be the only one she could communicate with. Collapsing into his bed, he closed his eyes.

“G’night, dear,” he mumbled sleepily.