A Desperate Gamble

It was into the wee hours of the night that Eric’s MP had maxed out and the heroes were ready to depart from the outpost.

“Alright, so what’s the plan, E-man?” Kanie asked. He and Eric were parked around a campfire that Willow had prepared for them. The campfire had long since gone out; its embers glimmered slightly amidst the evening wind.

Eric conjured a small metal cage about a foot in width and two in length. He handed the cage to Kanie.

“I’m going to shrink Mylo down as small as I can possibly get him,” he said. “As soon as I give you the signal—the word ‘now,’ you’ll stuff him into that cage.”

“Got it,” Kanie said. “Then what?”

“You two will make a run for it to the teleportation circle,” Willow said. “Once you’re in, I’ll activate it and send you off to Wyndros—the outpost closest to Impes Lux. From there, you’ll have to travel the last ten miles yourselves.”

“Easy peasy,” Kanie scoffed. He grinned and held his bicep with his hand. “Ten miles is nothing for this body.”

“Careful now,” Eric warned him. “Don’t jinx it.”

Willow yawned and stretched.

“Sorry about making you stay up all this time,” Eric said. “We really didn’t mean to cause you guys so much trouble.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it~,” she said. She waved a hand in dismissal. “You two are Jandariu’s only chance at survival. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Eric smiled. He turned to Kanie, a serious expression on his face.

“Kanie, get ready—it’s time.”

“Yup!” Kanie said, clenching his fist. He walked toward Mylo, who was still fast asleep. Once he was within close range, he shot Eric a thumbs-up.

Eric nodded before casting the spell.

“Forbidden Magic: Vyntahra’s Curse!”

A red glow surrounded Mylo, who began to shrink. The process was not smooth; Mylo’s body resisted the spell as it grew smaller and smaller.

Mylo’s eyes shot open, their fiery sheen returning.

“Uh oh! He’s awake!” Kanie shouted. “—I don’t get it! The spell was supposed to be active for at least another two hours!”

He stopped when he saw Eric gritting his teeth and straining himself. He was gripping his staff with both hands.

“… Hey, you alright!?” he shouted.

“… I’m… fine,” Eric choked. There was sweat all over his face.

“… Now!” he yelled, noticing Mylo had stopped shrinking. “Get the dog… !!!”

Mylo, now the size of a small house dog, barked and tried to flee. Kanie grabbed him before he could escape.

“I got him!” he said. He put Mylo into the cage and started to run toward Eric.

The heroes headed for the teleportation circle. Once they stepped inside, Willow activated it with a chant.

“O’ reverent master, Osrhyiel, grant me the power of dimensional space. By way of your divine guidance, open the doors to the faraway land of Wyndros! Divaxium Urspiskus!!!”

The teleportation circle began to glow. It unleashed a light so blinding that the adventurers surrounding it were unable to see inside. When finally the light died down, the heroes, along with Mylo, were gone.

“Safe travels, heroes of Jandariu…” whispered Willow.

Kanie and Eric were thrust out of the magic circle and into Wyndros, another guild outpost. Up above, they could see the sun had started to rise. Dawn was approaching.

“Alright,” Eric said. “Let’s head to Impes Lux.”

The heroes exited the outpost through the entranceway. They found themselves atop a lush mountain range. Far, far into the distance was a faint sight of crimson-red gates connected to walls of the same color.

“That must be Kimora’s kingdom,” Kanie said, squinting. He looked at Eric, who had gone silent.

“… Dude, what’s gotten into you?” he asked.

“Kanie, look at Mylo,” Eric said. His voice was shaky.

Kanie did as he was told. He started to panic when he saw a counter above Mylo’s head. It ticked backwards from ‘47’ to ’46,’ then to ‘45.’

“Um… tell me this isn’t what I think it is,” he said, gulping.

“The shrinking spell has a sixty-second time limit,” Eric said. “—Again, that wasn’t in its description!”

Nyle whistled and put his hands in his pockets.

“… Um, whoops, heheh~. My bad. Forgive me for being such a shitty-ass dev,” he said.

Kanie snatched up Eric with his free hand and cast a spell on himself.

“Self-buff: Strength!” he shouted. His voice carried a fierce intensity.

“Now!” he said. “Self-buff: Agility!”

“… Kanie,” Eric said, dangling from his shoulder. “What are you planning to do?”

“I’m not done!” Kanie said, tears welling in his eyes. “One more time! Self-buff: Agility!!!”

He clenched his teeth, channeling power into his legs.

“It’s useless,” Eric said, trying to talk sense into him. “We’re ten miles away—”

“Shut up!!!” Kanie shouted. He screamed with all his might and leaped from the ground. The force from his takeoff was so strong that it crumbled part of the mountain.

“MAKE IT IN TIME!!!” he hollered, blazing through the air in a burst of wind.

Incredible… We’re traveling over four hundred miles an hour right now, Eric thought, looking at his HUD. But even so, we’re still not going fast enough to reach those gates before Mylo breaks loose.

Kanie grit his teeth.

No… he said internally. I refuse to fail this mission! Not after how close we came to finishing!

The gates were slowly closing in when Kanie felt the cage start to rattle and expand in his hand. Mylo was returning to his original size!

An explosion lit up the surrounding area, sending the heroes flying into the ground with a loud crash. Mylo emerged in a series of somersaults before landing on his feet. He was once again thirty feet tall.

“Damn it!” Kanie said, slamming his fist into the ground. “Just a little more, and we would’ve made it!”

“Eric,” he said. “Please tell me you’ve got some magic left!”

Eric looked at him. There was regret in his eyes.

“Sorry,” he said, coughing. “That spell also has a cooldown period, and even if it didn’t—I don’t have the magic to cast it again anyway.”

“Why?” Kanie said. There was frustration written all over his face.

“Why am I still so useless in this world, too?”

He watched helplessly as Mylo turned in the opposite direction from the gates and started to bolt from the area. He tried to get up, but it was no good. He had used up all his strength trying to reach the gates in time.

It was then that a voice sounded the area.

“Oh, what are you crying about, Kanie Misawa?”

A fiery comet rained down from the heavens. On impact, it set the ground ablaze, leaving a smoldering crater.

“K-Kimora…” Kanie stammered.

Kimora walked out of the burning crater.

“Ooh~,” she teased. “And you were so close, too~!”

Her expression changed, becoming stern.

“… Mylo, sit.”

Behind the heroes, Mylo turned to face Kimora and whimpered.

“… Now.”

The hellhound did as he was told and started wagging his tail.

Kimora smiled.

“Good boy,” she said.

She looked back at the heroes. There was a pouty expression on her face.

“… Ahem… Now, then…” she started, sitting down onto the ground. “I guess it wouldn’t KILL me to chat with you just a little…”

Baffled, Kanie and Eric exchanged glances.

“… Really?” they said in harmony.