The world moved in blips and blurs as Cass’s consciousness slipped in and out. In the brief moments he was awake, conversations zipped by.

  “...It lasted far longer than normal.”

  “Non-combat Callings…”

  “Killed three…”

  “Horse won’t leave…”

  When he finally came to enough for a brief moment of clarity, Cass found himself in a small room with a large open window streaming with sunlight. Seated on a comfortable green chair to his left was his mother, who stood there staring off into space. Beside her in a gold chair was his father, whose hands were clasped as he stared at his feet.

  Seeing both of his parents calmly sitting there, he took a moment to look at the notifications pulsing on his screen.

  [System Notice]

  You’ve gained .5xp for Caliope Dimitriou’s Quest Completion.

  Your System Reputation has increased by 1.

  Details can be found in the Quest Ledger.

  You’ve gained .5xp for Adya Korring’s Quest Completion.

  Your System Reputation has increased by 1.

  Details can be found in the Quest Ledger.

  What he didn’t see was Johnny Figure’s update, and now, he knew he never would.

  A strange pain behind his eyes caused him to gasp. In an unnatural blur, his mother was on him instantly, her fingers tracing his cheeks.

  “Cass?” She whispered, her voice holding a trembling note he’d never heard before. “You’re awake.”

  Moving at a much more normal pace, his father’s chair scraped as he stood. “Don’t try to talk yet,” he said, giving a brief smile before coming around to the other side. “You’re in the GoldenCrown Infirmary and have been unconscious for three days.”

  Through the dryness in his throat, Cass violated his father’s orders. “Bella?”

  His parents shared a glance across him before his mother placed a hand on his arm. “She’s just outside. After…the incident, she wouldn’t leave your side. We’ve been taking care of her.”

  He tried to say something else, but the strain was too much, and he fell asleep knowing the horse had made it. More time passed before he woke up again. The pain behind his eyes was still there, but it was significantly reduced.

  Instead of his mother in the room, he found Guildmaster Hollis instead. The dark-robed man was standing there, staring straight ahead, before he blinked, noticing Cass was awake.

  “Ah, Mr. Vale, our hero of the hour. How is Liora’s fastest rising QuestWright doing?”

  On shaky arms, Cass sat up and leaned against the wall behind him. “There are only two of us.”

  “Yes, indeed,” he said, sitting on the corner of the bed. “I’ve come by for a few reasons. To ensure that you are well on your way to recovery, to apologize, and to explain something. Which would you like first?”

  Cass shifted against the wall, “Explanation, please.”

  “Very well,” Guildmaster Hollis folded his hands in his lap. “Do you recall the potion that Master Greeve had you drink a few days ago?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good, that makes this easier. That potion is designed for those with Combat Callings, not Administratives like you and me. Combat Callings have a naturally higher metabolism, requiring a different diet than the standard person. Because you, a QuestWright, drank the potion, two things happened. One, it lasted far longer than usual, and is most likely the reason you’re currently alive. And two, the prolonged effect on your body caused it to enter a form of shock once your wounds healed and the potion's effects waned. I’m told it will pass, but it will take a bit more time.” He sighed. “Which naturally leads me to the apology.”

  His gaze dropped for the first time. “I signed off on Kara’s Messenger assignments because I believed that the Skreel Incursion was complete. I know you don’t know this, but the Incursions are worsening, with multiple breaches in our combat lines throughout Liora. And, to top that off, you receiving the potion from Master Greeve is also my fault.”

  Cass shook his head, which was a mistake as the pounding pain returned. He spoke through partly-lidded eyes, “How could it be your fault? It saved me.”

  “Yes, that’s true.” He looked up, “But everything that happens within the Guild’s Halls is my responsibility. You receiving that potion, while technically isn’t my fault, still falls under the purview of the Guildmaster. So, Cassio Vale, QuestWright extraordinaire, I apologize. For both the non-standard potion and approving your travel to the Red Tower.” He paused, then gave a flitting smile. “Now, how are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling better.”

  “Good.” Hollis stood up, his dark robe closing around him like a gate. “I’ve ordered that you receive no physical training for the next few days, and your instructors have all agreed to spend the extra time tutoring you privately to catch you up. I’ve implicitly warned Kara not to allow you to fall behind in your classes, otherwise you’ll fail your Quest.”

  Stepping toward the door, he looked back before touching the handle, “I assume, after killing the Skreels, you had a few opportunities fall in your lap, yes?” Before Cass could reply, he continued. “I would keep those to myself were I you. Good day, QuestWright Vale. I’ll make sure your bag is returned to you soon.”

  Cass didn’t know what to say to that. Then, it was too late as the door clicked shut, and he was gone.

  Cass exhaled slowly. As the weakness in his arms finally overcame his will to stay upright, he slid down in relief as the silence returned.

  I’m no hero. I’m a survivor, the System said so itself. Heroes are the people who would’ve saved Johnny before those things got to him. Or would’ve been able to take out those Skreel without taking this kind of damage. I’m just…

  Knowing it would lead to further dark thoughts, he let it go.

  Pulling the thin blanket covering him a little tighter around his chest, he brought up his interface and dove into his progression tree to make sure the trauma of the moment hadn’t made him see things that weren’t real.

  It hadn’t.

  Where once there were four paths, two more had joined them. Beyond the Autonomy node he’d already unlocked, two direct paths led to Logistics and Inspection, further branching into Resolution and Expansion. But off to the left and hazy was the Path of the Tactician he’d seen before blacking out, and to the right, with a clear line reaching toward it, the Path of Survival.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  With the two Messenger Quests being completed while he convalesced, he was only five experience points away from making his first choice. Originally, Logistics had been a no-brainer.

  It gave him tools that would help him immediately, focusing on goods and resources. Inspection sounded like it was a focus on people, but that wouldn’t matter as much until he was able to create different kinds of quests. Anyone could deliver a message or bring resources from one place to another.

  He paused on that thought as Johnny’s face reached up. It also forced him to think a bit differently. Tactician was a long way away, so…Survival seems like the wise choice here. While choosing a path related to experience was obviously the best way to level up, he needed to be able to live to get there.

  The way Hollis told me to keep my rewards to myself… He thought back to when he’d first received his Calling. Without knowing how, he’d known there was more to being a QuestWright than met the eye.

  Further introspection was interrupted as the door opened with a click. A brief pulse of adrenaline spiked through his weary body before he realized he wasn’t under attack. When it opened, he was surprised to see Gary, Orla, and Pellin walk in, not to mention the pale-faced Kara who closed the door quietly behind her, placing his bag in the corner of the room.

  Gary was the first by his side, planting himself down as he spoke with clear concern, “Cass…I’m so sorry this happened.” He nodded his head at Kara, his deep voice growing thick, “They wouldn’t tell me how bad everything was, only that you made it out alive.”

  Cass gave a brittle smile. “That’s surprisingly accurate. I didn’t have much time for names, but I think the System called them Skreel.” He tried to sit up again, but it was no use.

  Orla stepped over, her arms crossed with a scowl painting her face, “I met your sister outside, who gave me the truth of how she found you. Cass, you took on three Skreels by yourself.” Her face shifted to one of disbelief. “Why? For a horse and a few goats?”

  “They were in my charge.” He replied, eyes locking onto the ceiling, “Shamus said to guard the animals, so that’s what I did. ”

  “Shamus should not have left you,” Kara said, finally stepping forward. “He shouldn’t have placed you into that situation in the first place. It was far, far out of bounds for what we agreed to.”

  Cass’s chest tightened. “He was just trying to get some help.”

  Orla snorted, “And look how that turned out.”

  Pellin spoke up for the first time, “Cass, you need to be more careful. We’re just Administrators, we’re not meant to be out there, fighting monsters. We’re the people that support those who do.”

  But that doesn’t have to be who I am…

  Gary laughed, “No, this is how he always is. You've only known him for a few days, whereas I’ve known him all my life. Whenever Cass sees a wrong, he HAS to fix it. It’s probably why he got an Administrative Calling. If Cass had gotten something combat-related, he’d probably be off fighting every Company officer who abused their power. Wars would be started.”

  Cass heard Pellin huff, “There’s a difference between righting wrongs and throwing your life in the garbage. We don’t have the skills and abilities to fight like that.”

  Cass closed his eyes, “Johnny did, and he still died.” When the room went silent, he waited a moment, allowing the grief he felt to continue to process. Another few seconds went by with no one speaking before he had a thought. “Kara, do you mind leaving me with these three? I need to speak to them about something private.”

  “Absolutely, Cassio. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

  He waited for the click of the door before looking at his big friend, “Sit me up, will you. I can’t stand lying down when you’re all talking.”

  Gary helped, receiving a smile in thanks. As he stabilized himself against the back wall, he asked Pellin to bring over his bag, while his oldest friend looked him over.

  “So, how bad was it?”

  “Pretty bad,” Cass said, taking shallow breaths. “But that isn’t why I asked Kara to leave.” When Pellin came closer and handed him the bag, Cass pulled out a small stack of Vellums. “I don’t think they’re going to be asking me to write any Quests today, so I have five up for grabs. Who wants em?”

  “Cass,” Orla paused, as if lost for words. “How can you even think about Quests right now after what you’ve been through?”

  “The Incursions and Monsters aren’t going to stop, and neither can we,” Cass said. Before, everything he knew about the state of the world had been theoretical. He knew better now. “I need to level, and so do you. Now,” He looked from Orla to Pellin. “Do you two want a Quest, or should I just make all five of them for Gary?”

  “I wouldn’t say no to more,” Gary said with a smirk.

  Pellin and Orla both agreed to take on a quest. For the first one, Cass wrote a Message quest for Orla to take to Holt. It described his current situation, and he also included a new quest for Horseshoe deliveries to the Golden Company. That way, he satisfied his promise to Holt while still giving Orla a genuine Quest that helped her with her much-needed experience.

  For Pellin, Cass asked him to bring in Kara for a moment, got a few details from her, then wrote up a Delivery quest for Bella. According to the Guild Trainer, Shamus felt so guilty about what happened that he’d gifted the skinny horse to Cass. The Quest required Pellin to escort her to the Guild stables, something he’d just learned of when questioning Kara, and to coordinate with the stablemaster for both proper feeding and care.

  Pellin didn’t know that Bella was currently emotionally attached to Cass, but for once, he didn’t care. The Quest said to get the horse to the stable. How the System Engineer went about doing that was up to him.

  As the two left and Gary was about to follow, a new Delivery quest in hand, Cass asked him to stay back.

  The big man closed the door, then headed over, “What’s up?”

  Cass looked at him for a moment, “You remember when I helped you out in the Bakery a few days ago, and mentioned that I felt there was something more to the QuestWright Calling?”

  Gary scratched his chin, then gave a skeptical nod, “I think you said something like that, but most people do. Getting your Calling comes with a strange high.”

  A tired smile struck his face, “Turns out I was right. After the fight with the Skreels, two new paths opened up for me.”

  “Opened up?” Gary looked flummoxed, “How many do you have now?’

  “Six.”

  “Six!” Gary moved over to take a seat. “I have two, how can you have six? You’re only Level one!”

  “Actually,” Cass winced, not wanting to lord it over his friend who’d come to visit him in the infirmary. “I’m Level three now.”

  “It’s been a week!” Gary said, slapping a hand to his head. “I need to kill me some Skreels, apparently.” Seeing the dark look on Cass’s face, his expression shifted, “Sorry, Cass. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  He waved it off, “It’s fine. But here’s the thing. The paths I unlocked are utterly different from what I saw before. I don’t think they have anything to do with Logistics or Quests. It sounds more like Combat stuff.”

  “What’re they called?”

  “Survivor and Tactician.”

  “Huh, you’re right. That doesn’t sound like anything to do with being a QuestWright. You sure you didn’t get bumped on the noggin and now you’re seeing things?”

  Cass rolled his eyes, “No, it’s real. I’m going to be honest with you, man, I think I’m going to go with it first. If it has an increased chance of keeping me alive, I’m all for it. I just wanted to let you know, there are more paths out there. You just gotta figure out how to unlock them.”

  Gary stood up with a hopeful expression, “How do you know it’s not just the QuestWright Calling that does that?”

  “My dad did something like it when he was first starting out…as a Baker.” Gary’s eyes widened, so Cass decided to sweeten the pot, “Besides, in what world would Gary Trenner get a Calling with no possible expansion? Not this one, surely.”

  Gary’s chest puffed up, “If Dallan Vale found a way to become a Culinary Artisan as a Baker, then I can do it too.”

  “That’s the spirit!”

  They talked a little while longer until Gary had to head out. The moment the door clicked shut, Cass pulled out a blank Vellum to make Gary’s Quest for the next day. As he laid it down, he noticed faint, white streaks across the edges.

  “Damn…Skreel blood,” he muttered. Putting it back in the bag, he pulled out a clean one and drafted the quest, setting it aside on a nightstand for tomorrow.

  In not long, his mother and father came back in, and Cass spent the rest of the evening talking about the goings-on of his old neighborhood, the news his mother had recently read, and his father’s newest recipe. They didn’t talk at all about the Skreels or the Guild. Blissfully, all of their conversations floated around home, and how their house could always use improvements.

  When they left, he lay back, staring at the ceiling. Already, he felt the exhaustion of the day settling in and preparing to take him away to sleep. But not before he spoke to the world at large.

  “Just a little better, every day.”

  Naturally, the world didn’t respond. But soon enough, it would.