Juniper Grove was a small town, consisting of around twenty log houses, all protected by a wooden wall. The small town wasn't the cleanest place, but there was still a shower near the gate just because sometimes people came in smelling bad, like today Lester, having been accidentally dosed in monster repellant.

  It was now past sundown, and Lester was in the shower. He didn't have any spare clothes so he had to just wash his current ones and wring the water out of them as best he could. By the end of it, when he came out from the shower, he was still wet. It wasn't the nicest experience, but at least now he smelled less.

  Lester found that Snuffe was still there and asked the long-nosed man, "So what is this place exactly?"

  Snuffe answered, "Most of the people here in Juniper Grove are either hunters, who have a temporary base here or people who, for one reason or another, don't want to live in a big city."

  Lester looked around, scanning the small village and noticed the amount of rifles and heavy weapons people were casually carrying around. There were also the people with noticeable mutations, like horns, tentacles, and generally stuff that would make it less easy to live in a city.

  "So, what should I do here?" Lesters said more to himself than to Snuffe.

  "If you're looking for work, I bet some hunting party might take you. After all, since you managed to walk here alone, you must have pretty good survival instincts."

  Lester couldn't think of anything better to do. Might as well just go with this for now.

  He said, "Would you happen to know a hunting party that's looking for a member?"

  "Not really, but the best place to look is at the bar over there." Snuffe pointed toward a wooden log building that looked like any other building in the town.

  "Thanks, I owe you one."

  "No problem. But next time you have money and see me in a bar, remember to buy me a drink."

  "Will do," Lester said.

  He headed to the building, and as he went, he noticed, above the door to the place, a wooden sign with the word, Alcohol.

  Yep, this must be a really classy place, Lester thought sarcastically.

  As he opened the door and stepped in, Lester got a whiff of the smell inside. It was a mix of rot, vomit, booze, sweat, ass, and grilled meat.

  The place had around ten wooden tables, surrounded by wooden chairs, where people sat, drinking, eating, and talking.

  Lester noted the roughness of the patrons. One guy had a scar that would have suggested that something had split his skull and he'd somehow survived. There was a woman with a grenade launcher attached to her severed arm. One guy had an eye on the back of his head. You couldn't really find a place like this in Recalm City.

  New Quest: Join a monster hunter party.

  Award: 1 point.

  But as he looked at all the people here, Lester knew he didn't really fit in. A scrawny city guy among these monsters that hunted monsters. But the alternative was to go back into the wild while tired and hungry. He had no money and no supplies. But on the other hand, he could maybe find some alternative work, like washing dishes or something.

  That extra point would have been nice though.

  Lester approached the bartender, who was a normal guy in his fifties with a mostly bald head.

  "Hi, I'm Lester."

  "How may I help you, Lester?" the bartender asked.

  "I'm looking for a job. Do you perhaps need someone to wash dishes or bring food or work the grill or anything?"

  "Sorry, no open positions."

  "Would you know of anyone who was looking to hire new people?" Lester said.

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

  The bartender let out a slight smirk, like there was something funny about Lester's question. But he still gave an answer, "You could try Armie's Strongarms. Their leader Armie has a soft spot for lost boys. Also, they just lost a member in their latest hunt. Poor guy got bit by some purple snake, and two days later, his head swelled up and popped, releasing a hundred smaller snakes from within. A really nasty way to kick the bucket."

  Lester thought about it. Baby snakes exploding from your head really sounded bad. But on the other hand, he was hungry. "Okay, where can I find this Armie?"

  "That big lady over there," the bartender said as he pointed at a woman, who was drinking at a table with three men.

  Lester turned his focus on her. A big and muscular woman indeed. She had biceps thicker than his thighs. She was also over two meters tall with buzz-cut hair.

  Lester took a deep breath, thinking of what he would say. Hi Armie, my name is Lester. I would like to join your hunting party. And she would answer, You're in luck. We were just looking for a new member since our friend got his head exploded by baby snakes. There was a problem there, he was sure. Maybe he should approach this more subtly.

  Lester turned back toward the bartender and said, "If one wants to join a hunting group, how would that person go about it?"

  The bartender glanced toward Armie's group and yelled, "Hey Armie, a kid here wants to join your party!"

  A laughter erupted from several tables, but the woman waved Lester to come closer and said, "Come on then; let's see what you're made out of."

  Lester tried to ignore all the laughter. He really didn't have any choice here. It was either this or going hungry. He would have to worry about being embarrassed some other time.

  He made his way to the table and he introduced himself, "I'm Lester. I just arrived in this village, and I'm looking for a job. Heard you were hiring."

  Armie lifted one of her eyebrows, in a slightly doubtful manner. "And what makes you think you could cut it in Armie's Strongarms?"

  "Well, I'm actually much stronger than I look."

  "Strong he says." Armie put her elbow on the table and held her hand up in an arm wrestling stance. "Put it here then."

  Lester glanced at the others at the table. They were smirking, probably expecting him to lose badly. Which indeed was a likely outcome. He was only four times as strong as he normally would be, and Armie likely had her own powers which would make her stronger than a standard human of her size. And even without powers, she could still easily beat him.

  Although

  Lester realized he still had the two points. He said to her, "Just a moment. I'll flex my muscles a bit." After this, Lester, while he pretended to cough, whispered the words, "Mr. Interface, put two points into Might."

  Might increased to 6.

  Lester felt a jolt as his muscles all stiffened. He stood rigid, clenching his teeth, and then it was done.

  The people around the table eyed him suspiciously.

  "All pumped up," Lester said, "Let's do this arm thing." He took a chair opposite Armie and put his hand on hers.

  Armie stared at him with a confident smirk on her face. Lester stared back, able to meet her gaze as he felt her iron grip. She must also have some powers, which made her body stronger than she looked. Also, his hand was tiny compared to hers. But he would do this. Or at least he would get away from it with some of his dignity.

  Other casual watchers drifted to the table to see what was to come.

  "Ready?" one of the guys at the table said.

  Lester and Armie nodded.

  "Start," the guy gave the signal.

  Lester turned his arm with all he had, a scream of rage erupting from within him, he put in all the torque he could muster. But Armie's hand stood still, and some snickering laughter started evaporating from the crowd.

  Lester realized he was outmatched. There really had never been a chance. But even if there hadn't been a chance, here he was in some remote village with no food and no money. What else could he do but give his best.

  I need to do this. I need to fight on.

  And then he felt it. There was a slight falter in Armie's hand. It had moved slightly. Maybe a millimeter, but it was there. She was not invincible. She could be beaten.

  Armie slammed Lester's hand down onto the table, and laughter broke out in the bar. Embarrassed, Lester looked down. He ignored the pain in his hand as his knuckles had hit the table, making a small dent there on the wood.

  Armie said, "The boy certainly has something in those scrawny arms of his." She turned to look at the three others in the group, all strong-looking guys. "What do you say, boys, would Lester here make a good addition to our team?"

  There was a short silence as the guys looked at each other. Then one of them, a man who looked otherwise normal except he seemed to have cat whiskers under his nose, said, "We could bet on how long he survives."

  The others nodded in agreement. One of them said, "Two hundred dollars says he doesn't make it a month."

  "I'll take that bet."

  "It's settled then," Armie said, then looked at Lester. "You're in."

  Quest complete: Join a monster hunter party.

  1 point gained.

  Status changed: Unbound Henchman -> Freelance Henchman

  New Quest: Survive for one month as a monster hunter.

  Award: 3 points.

  "Thanks," Lester said. Then he added, "I would, however, like to know one thing. Are we working for the heroes, the villains, or are we independent?"

  "We're supervillains," Lester heard Armie say as the world started feeling sleepy. It had been a really long day.