Garret was not what I expected.
Bigger. Scarred. One eye white and blind. He looked at me like I was a bug he hadn't decided whether to step on.
"This is the kid?" His voice was gravel. "He's seven."
"He learns fast." Mira's tone allowed no argument.
Garret grunted. Pulled a coin from his pocket. Flipped it.
"Catch."
I caught it.
His good eye narrowed. "Again."
He flipped faster. I caught it again.
"Huh." He leaned down. Stared at me. "You're not special, kid. You're small. Weak. Worthless in a fight. But Mira says you listen and you don't panic. That's more than most." He stood. "Job's simple. You'll ride with my caravan to a town called Millbrook. Three days there, three days back. You'll watch, learn, carry small things, and keep your mouth shut. Pay is five silver. Good?"
Five silver. I had no idea what that meant.
But Mira nodded slightly.
"Good," I said.
Garret spat on his palm. Held it out.
I stared at it.
[CHOICE]
A. Shake his hand. Accept the job.
B. Ask about the money first.
C. Ask about the danger first.
D. Refuse. This feels too fast.
Is this a trap? A test? Does everyone do this here? What if it's rude to refuse? What if it's rude to accept? What if—
I remembered the truck. The indecision. The nothing.
I grabbed his hand.
Wet. Gross. Whatever.
We shook.
Garret's good eye widened. Just a flicker. Then he laughed—a real laugh, rough like rocks grinding.
"Kid's got balls. I'll give him that." He wiped his hand on his pants. Mira didn't need to. "Job's yours. We leave at dawn. Be here or be replaced."
He walked out. Didn't look back.
I looked at my hand. Still wet. Still gross.
"Was that—"
"The right choice?" Mira smiled. "For Garret? Yes. He doesn't trust people who hesitate. You passed."
[HIDDEN INFORMATION UNLOCKED]
Garret "One-Eye" Vance
· Status: Independent Merchant / Former Sellsword
· Reputation: Brutally honest. Dangerously connected. Tests everyone.
· Your Status: Passed initial test.
I sat down. My heart was pounding. Stupid. Over a handshake.
But it wasn't stupid. It was everything.
"When I was alive—my first life—I couldn't make choices." I didn't know why I was telling her this. The words just came. "Small ones. Big ones. Any ones. I'd think so long the moment passed. People stopped waiting for me. I stopped mattering."
Mira said nothing. Just listened.
"That handshake? Old me would have stood there for thirty seconds calculating every possible outcome. By then, Garret would have left. Job gone. Opportunity gone." I looked at my hands. Small. Seven-year-old hands. "I just... did it. Even though I didn't know if it was right."
"How did it feel?"
"Terrifying. And..." I searched for the word. "...good. Like moving after being stuck."
Mira nodded slowly. "That's the feeling. That's growth. It won't always work. You'll make wrong choices. Bad ones. But you'll make them faster, learn from them sooner, and get better at fixing them." She stood. "Rest today. Eat. Tomorrow, you work."
---
I spent the day doing nothing.
Well. Not nothing.
I explored the temple. Small. One main room, one back room where Mira slept, a tiny storage space with old books and dusty candles. No basement. No secret passages. Just... a quiet place.
I tried the sparkstone again. Nothing.
I tried pushing heat like Mira showed me. Nothing.
I sat by the fire and watched flames and felt... calm. First time in a long time. Maybe ever.
At dusk, Mira came back with a bundle.
"Clothes," she said. "Yours now. Better than what you're wearing."
She wasn't wrong. My current outfit was rags. Literal rags. This new stuff—simple brown shirt, rough pants, a small vest with pockets—was practically luxury.
"Thank you." I meant it. "I owe you."
"You owe me nothing. Pass it forward someday." She sat. "Now. Tell me about your system."
I blinked. "You can't see it?"
"See? No. Sense? Sometimes. When it activates, I feel a ripple. Like a stone dropped in water." She leaned forward. "What does it show you?"
I described it. Blue screens. Quests. EXP. Stats. Skills.
Mira listened. Asked questions. Nodded.
"It's a growth system," she said finally. "Rare. Powerful. The old gods gave them to champions. Heroes. People meant to change the world."
"I'm not a hero."
"No. You're a scared orphan who died an average death and got a second chance." She smiled. "That's exactly who the old gods picked. Not the strong. Not the proud. The ones who'd appreciate a second chance."
I didn't know what to say.
"Sleep," she said. "Dawn comes fast."
---
I didn't sleep well.
Kept waking. Kept listening for danger. Kept touching the sparkstone in my pocket—she'd given it to me. "A gift. For practice."
At some point, I must have drifted off.
Because next thing I knew, Mira was shaking me awake.
"Up. He's here."
Outside, the sky was grey. Pre-dawn. Cold.
Garret stood in the temple doorway. Behind him, a wagon. Two horses. Three other people—two men, one woman, all armed.
"Kid. Move."
I moved.
Mira handed me a small pack. "Bread. Cheese. Water. Enough for three days if you're careful." She squeezed my shoulder. Hard. "Listen more than you talk. Watch more than you act. And when you come back, tell me everything."
I nodded.
Walked to the wagon.
Garret jerked his head toward the back. "Ride there. Stay low. Don't touch anything."
I climbed in.
The woman—young, maybe twenties, dark hair, scars on her arms—looked at me. No smile. No nod. Just... looking.
"New blood," she said. Flat.
"Temporary blood," Garret corrected. "He's cargo until Millbrook. Then we see."
The wagon lurched forward.
I grabbed the side. Held on.
The city of Valdris rolled past. Buildings I hadn't seen. Streets I didn't know. People waking up, opening shops, starting their day.
None of them looked at me.
Just another street kid. Nobody.
I touched the sparkstone in my pocket.
Not nobody. Not anymore.
---
Three hours into the journey, everything changed.
We'd left the city. Road through farmland. Quiet. Boring. I was half-asleep in the wagon when—
Screaming.
Horses rearing.
The woman with scars grabbed me, yanked me down.
"Don't move. Don't breathe. Don't make a sound."
I didn't.
From under the wagon edge, I saw them.
Five shapes. Human? Almost. Too thin. Too fast. Eyes that glowed red.
One of the guards—the younger man—went down screaming. Blood sprayed.
Garret's voice: "Bandits! No—dammit, those aren't bandits. Those are—"
[COMBAT DETECTED]
Hostiles: 5x Corrupted (Undead - Low Grade)
Threat Level: Extreme (Current party)
Recommendation: Hide. Do not engage.
New Quest Generated: [SURVIVE THE ATTACK]
· Objective: Stay alive until the attack ends.
· Reward: 300 EXP + ??? (Depends on actions)
· Penalty: Death.
The wagon shook. Something slammed into it.
The woman's hand clamped over my mouth.
I couldn't see her face. But I felt her body tense. Ready to fight. Ready to run. Ready to die.
The old me would have frozen. Closed eyes. Waited to live or die based on luck.
I looked at the sparkstone in my hand.
Not this time.
[CHOICE]
A. Stay hidden. Trust the woman protecting you. (Safe, slow, smart)
B. Look for an opportunity to help. (Risky, could change everything)
C. Use your spark. Try something. Anything. (Dangerous, unpredictable, high reward)
D. Run. Now. (Survival instinct, but abandon the group)