Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.

  ~ Harper Lee

  The next morning, Sarah’s daily quest announcement looked different.

  Daily Quest. Evolved. Since you completed the secret quest, you are ready for additional challenges.

  Complete the following conditioning requirements: 100 burpess. Hold a plank for 10 minutes. 10 mile run.

  Who knew pushing the limits would alter her workout routine? She wasn’t upset about it, though. On the contrary, doing the exact same workout every day would get old all too soon.

  The burpees were easier than she remembered, and she completed them in two sets. Holding a plank used to make her body tremble within a minute, but she held the entire 10 minutes without a break. That felt good.

  Not so good was thea pair of reporters who chased her on bicycles for the entire ten mile run. They peppered her with questions about Alterago, the attack at the restaurant, and even reports that Tonya was somehow making a miraculous recovery.

  More annoying than their questions was the fact that she had to slow her run to a normal speed to not give them more gossip to report about. By the time she finished the first five miles, one of the reporters was gasping for breath, despite riding a bike while she ran.

  He was a scrawny looking guy with no muscles to speak of. The other reporter, a beefier fellow, looked sweaty, but held up a lot better.

  They had not heard about her own miraculous healing at the restaurant, but the line of questioning about Tawnya was too close to truths that would be annoying to deal with.

  So, despite how much she really hated talking with reporters, she took a break few minutes for an impromptu interview while she pretended to cool down at the park. She’d ditch them before running the last five miles back.

  They were thrilled, although she had to give the one skinny reporter some extra time to catch his breath. No doubt the next day she'd have three times as many reporters chasing her on her run, but she did not see a way to avoid it.

  She tried to downplay her involvement in saving Mr Fleischer just before Alterago's main office building exploded, and her actions to stop the gunman, but the reporters were like sweaty bulldogs.

  “You're being called one of the heroes of Alterego,” said Skinny between labored breaths. “You're an inspiration to women and girls everywhere. What advice could you give them to help overcome their own struggles?”

  Was he serious? She was not some kind of inspirational guru, but she could not bring herself to make the angry retort she wanted to.

  No doubt, millions of people would see her response, and in a way he did have a point. Some people were so desperate for an inspirational figure in their lives, they might even turn to her.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Jill already had an enormous fan group that had grown to over two hundred thousand people in just a few days. Sarah did not need a fan group, but maybe she could offer a bit of encouragement.

  She considered her words for a moment before saying, “I did not ask to end up in either of those dangerous situations. We all face difficult challenges sometimes. They’re different for each of us, but that doesn't make them less real. I guess what I'd say is I had the choice to run from my problems, or to step up and try to help. I chose to help. No matter how how dire a situation might seem, there's always a choice.”

  “Perfect,” said Skinny with a giddy smile. He probably figured a good interview with her would win him a lot of bonus points. Maybe it would. She was just glad she was able to get away from them after that.

  After a long, hot shower, she checked her emails and was pleasantly surprised to find two from Alterego and one from Tomas.

  “Right on schedule,” Sarah said to herself as she opened the first email. It was the expected official declaration that the company had filed for chapter-eleven bankruptcy, and included information on the promised severance packages.

  Per the company policies and contract stipulations, all donors and employees not included among the top executives would receive very generous severance packages. Individual package details would be sent later that day, and they would include performance-based additional bonuses.

  Sarah had studied her contract closely, so knew that her severance package would be worth a lot of money even without any additional bonus. With everything she'd already saved up over the past couple years by not spending every penny on overpriced cars like Jill, she wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while.

  The next email was a surprise, sent from Alterego’s legal department. It stated that Sarah had been designated a company hero. Apparently the reporter had been correct.

  The letter went on to state that she had exhibited exceptional bravery. It specifically referenced her assistance in saving Marilyn and Mr Fleischer in the last moments before the building exploded.

  As such, she was being awarded a significantly higher payout, and Mr Fleischer himself had chosen to add an additional reward from his personal crypto stockpile.

  Sarah gaped at the number. She'd dabbled in some of the lower-valued crypto currencies the year before, so knew a little about how it all worked. Even so, it was hard to wrap her mind around the enormous windfall that had just been promised.

  If those numbers were real, Mr Fleischer must have gotten into the crypto game early and held on for the long term. Tomas was not just bankrupting Alterego, but punishing Mr Fleischer severely.

  Served him right. Sarah had not expected such a huge payout, but she wouldn't say no to it. Mr Fleisher was in for a world of hurt when he returned to the shambles of his life. Maybe he'd understand a fraction of the terror that he'd put her through.

  Since it looked like her money problems were at an end, she could focus entirely on trying to figure out this path that had taken over her life. First step was meeting with Tomas. Second step was tracking down Eirene to hopefully get some answers.

  So she smiled as she opened the third message, the one from Tomas. It was short and simple.

  “My work is done here. Let's meet for lunch.”

  He suggested a restaurant in a small town about half an hour from her house, off the beaten path. Sounded like the perfect place for a quiet lunch, far from the prying eyes of the ever-present news media. She had just enough time to get there.

  After sending a quick reply to confirm she'd be there, Sarah changed clothes. Then, as she ordered her thoughts, the questions she needed answered, and ways to broach them carefully, she paused long enough to review her character sheet.

  Name: Sarah

  Level: 6

  Rank:

  Spirit: E6

  Talent: E9

  Body: E0

  Body Stats:

  Strength: E0

  Toughness: E0

  Agility: E10

  Willpower: E0

  Health Points: E0 (225)

  Abilities: Level

  Basic Tumbling 3

  Basic Small Arms Mastery 2

  Basic Rune Sensitivity: 2

  Basic Bladed Weapons: 1

  Inventory 1

  Titles:

  Bulletproof Monk

  Runes:

  Rune of Flowing Motion (Agility)