Magic Ways

“You’re just trying to make me feel better.” Taku groaned. He kicked a chest and chuckled like a gremlin as he watched it tumble. He pointed at it too while it happened. “I see how it is. You're sounding like my mom. You hate me.”

The way Taku thought and jumped from one conclusion to another was truly fascinating. Teri had no words to describe what he felt about Taku that would make him less likely to just punch him in the face. Not entertaining the thought helped. So, he shifted his focus on the sound he made when he hammered a nail to a piece of wood with the butt of his dagger.

“I’m telling you…” Teri said. “Maybe it’s a good thing that you learned those spells—accidentally—but everything happens for a reason.”

Teri dismantled a number of chests, made a club out of the toughest and longest piece of wood he could find, and thought about bludgeoning his friend every time he put a nail on the weapon’s striking end. He was kidding, of course. Definitely.

In that same timeframe, Taku spent the first two minutes learning two magic spells simultaneously and spent the better part of his moments complaining how the spell sucked and testing how aerodynamic his cloak was by putting it to the test—he ran around and rolled like an egg on the ground.

“I mean, who knew that the ring that conveniently lets you identify magic items only works if you actually wear it? And who knew that listening to what the scrolls had to ‘say’ burns it immediately and shoves a spell into your brain? Thanks to your efforts, we learned about two very important things.”

“You’re laughing.” Taku glared at him. The rest of the man’s body was doing some poses to find a more optimal way to look cool while casting spells. “You’re laughing at me.”

“No, I’m not.” Teri definitely did.

Teri sank the final nail in his weapon. It was done. Putting too much might make it hard for his weapon to dig into flesh in the way he wanted.

But then a thought crossed his mind. He had no idea who or what they were fighting. He cupped his chin, remembering the time when he patrolled through a number of internet cafes in their turf.

It was a core memory. The kid risked it all and shit himself on his seat because he was in a boss fight in a dungeon and didn’t want to be killed by a horde of demonic creatures. He still lost. He was called the defiler. Not because of the boss he died to, but because the chair had to be burned.

Teri let his eyes wander. The paper roses that rustled in the middle of the room. The ink that bled from its petals. The graffiti of handsome men painted across the cold walls surrounding them. The windows leading to nothing but a slab of golden light. It was weird, but it didn’t look as scary as the dungeon he saw back then.

Did he just assume that they were supposed to fight demons in this dungeon?

“Dude.”

Teri looked at Taku, feeling his grip tighten around his weapon’s handle. He felt excited. It wasn’t the part that involved him bashing his friend’s skull but it was the idea of fighting demons in of itself.

“Do you have any idea what we’re up against?”

“Nah.”

Teri squinted.

“I mean, I tried thinking about it. Nothing came to mind. Assumed that it was a horror dungeon purely out of vibes.” Taku stretched his back and sat on the floor. He looked straight at him. “I am sure as hell that it ain’t demonic, keeping in mind the idea that the dungeon itself is trying to subvert my expectations. It also didn’t feel like your typical fantasy-style dungeon; this room serves no purpose at all other than to give us a sense of safety. I mean the windows had nothing but light, y’know?”

Teri was surprised that his friend thought that far. Damn, this man really knew things.

“The motif is too specific. I don’t think a boss would like to have their dungeon look like this. Paper. Roses. Ink. Ikemen—handsome dudes, I mean. My best guess is that the dungeon itself reflects a person’s state of mind or even a perception of their reality. I played a few games that had dungeons running that motif, one of which is horror.” Taku crossed his arms. “So, we’re probably looking for a teenage girl.”

“Wait. A girl?”

It felt like a crime for him to ask why Taku knew what he knew.

And it was him who was asking.

“I mean…” Taku looked at him, worry and innocence coloring his eyes. “Why the fuck would you think about handsome dudes giving you flowers as a dude?”

A laugh escaped from Teri’s lips. “You have no idea.”

“Seriously. It might not be that scary for us. It creeps me out to have this many dudes looking at me, but I am one hundred percent sure that seeing this is horrifying for her. Like… fuck… I can’t wrap my head around it.” Taku sighed. “Have you thought about how the mind of an angsty teen works? I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up fighting some nasty monsters.”

Again, it felt like a crime for Teri to ask why Taku knew what he knew.

“There was a family event. I was forced out of my room and had to listen to my cousin talk about her life. She said it sucked ass. I believed her. Hearing from her sucked even more. Girl felt like she was fighting the world on a Tuesday.”

Teri could sort of follow what his friend was saying. But if there’s one thing he’s sure about, it was that his friend clearly knew things he didn’t. Even the ones that were somewhat questionable, yes.

Would Taku fold under pressure? Would Taku fight when shit hits the fan? Teri wouldn’t know for sure. But for now, it felt natural for him to follow his lead. For now, he could just trust himself to do the heavy lifting.

“So, how do you think we should go about this dungeon?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Taku excitedly scooched in front of him. It took a minute for him to drag his ass across the floor. “I was thinking if you could be at the front and I’ll be at the back supporting you. I know that sounds oddly dangerous and weird but—”

“Cool! Let’s go with that.”

“I mean…” Taku’s face cycled through a look of concern and excitement. It was a welcome reaction. “Okay, thank you. I had a lot of stuff that I planned to say if you disagreed, but I’m glad we’re past that part. Okay. Okay. Okay.” He cleared his throat. “Dungeons like this are generally chaotic; it’s built with no other purpose in mind but to be cleared. Like, if there are toilets here—and god I hope there is—all the shit would be magically dealt with. This dungeon is probably made with rooms like these that are connected by long and tight corridors. So, our best bet is to tackle one room at a time, avoid fights as much as we can, and focus on getting some loot as we explore. In fights, I’ll back you up with my spells… but that…”

Teri leaned forward.

“That means you gotta trust me.” Taku gazed at him earnestly. He seemed worried, afraid. Teri hated the look. “You’ll be fighting… much more than me. And… there’s nothing I could do to change the fact other than having us not fight at all. But we have to… I plan to back you up by creating opportunities for you to deliver some clean nasty hits against our opponents, whatever they are. I have a binding spell and a healing spell. That will be our approach at least until I get something more offensive in nature. I won’t flake. Ever. I’ll do my best. So please…”

Ah. So that was what his friend meant.

If it was like this, then it wouldn’t feel right for Teri not to smile.

“That means you gotta trust me too, right?” Teri offered his hand for a handshake and his friend took it without a word. “I’ll handle the things at the front. I’ll keep them at bay. I promise you that no one will get through me. I’m yours. I’ll leave my back to you.”

Taku tightened his grip. He chuckled. “That’s a pretty fucked up thing to say when you’re holding another dude’s hand.”