The rolling hills full of brush and sparsely populated trees gave way to a simple dirt road. Kano stood there at the edge of it, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He had pushed himself beyond the limits he thought he had and had continuously cast
'1 point of stamina left. Ugh!'
As he rested, he looked at all of his various cuts and bruises. 'Well, it could be worse.'
"Hey guys! I found a monster!"
Kano's eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he heard this voice from nearby. 'Monster? Where?'
"Are you sure, Xiao Li na? It doesn't look like much."
At this, Kano breathed easier and began to look about himself. His eyes caught nothing out of the ordinary, only four individuals stood nearby, but they were all looking his direction. Quickly, he spun around and prepared for an attack from behind!
But the road was empty. Confused. he turned back around. "There is nothing there!" he yelled back at the group. They were all stunned by his outburst, then began laughing. He took a second to look them over. One was garbed in a robe of a tan color, or what passed for white in these rural areas anyway. She had shocking red hair with curls that twisted and bent all around her cherubic face, a staff was lazily leaning against her shoulder. 'Priestess.' Another was garbed in half- plate with a symbol of the good of law emblazoned upon his chest and shield, 'paladin.' He was the epitome of blond and blue eyed ubermensch.
The one that spoke wore a simple shirt and pants with a sash and no weapons, 'monk. ' This monk was a she with deep olive skin and thick black braids to match her distinct musculature. Somewhat behind them stood a slight figure in a cloaked ensemble. 'Rogue or ranger.' Kano could not decide what race or gender it was due to their hidden nature.
He smiled and held his arms out to his sides, "Surely, you four do not mean this man?"
They all stopped short and seemed stunned by his words. "Kalsie, I don't think he is a random monster." The cleric continued to stare in confusion at Kano as she spoke.
"Who could tell with how dirty and unkempt as he is," the paladin whose name was apparently, Kalsie. "Its not evil. At least I dont detect any evil nearby."
"He's not undead either, but he smells like it." the cleric returned with a distinct shake of her ruby curls.
"Right! Ugh, hygiene is important, especially when there is a perfectly good little town just over there!" The monk pinched her nose as she waved her hand around.
Kano had never been so inscensed. He had been the target of many jokes and pranks in his life. Bullies were drawn to him like moths to flame. Now he had to suffer the indignities of these losers as well! As his anger grew, he failed to notice that green balefire had begun to coalesce about his form.
"How dare you mock this mighty being, peons! This is the darkness that which will cover this land! Now away with your insolent selves!" Eldritch fire erupted about him that matched his sudden outbursts as his fists clenched and waved about.
The four stood aghast at the sudden change in the air. The athletic young lady stepped forward, settling into a proper fighting stance, "I got this. "
'Monk, low level. Probably going to use
He smugly figured out his opponents maneuvers, but unexpectedly, his solar plexus erupted in pain. He glimpsed a finely formed and sandaled foot pressed against his chest. It seemed to fade from existence as a fist materialized out of thin air and impacted his chin. His eyes closed from the pain as sense of weightlessness took over his body. Before he could even think of a curse to utter, his collarbone snapped as immense pressure slammed into it from above. The ground welcomed him with a resounding thud.
'Yep, that is exactly what she did.' He thought as the darkness pulled him into its loving embrace.
***
Kano woke with a start and stared blankly at his computer screen. The title screen for Scarred World VX2 flashed at him. The dim light illuminated his room as he glanced around at his familiar surroundings.
"A dream?"
He continued to stare at the screen in front of him and his slowly broke into a grin. "Hah! A dream!"
A quick tap on his keyboard and he smoothed his hair back. As his hands passed his face, he felt a bit of dampness on his cheek. Further investigation and he exclaimed as it was obviously drool from while he was sleeping... on his keyboard.
He tapped at it furiously in desperation. "No! A $200 dollar Razor Huntsman! Crap! Why?! I can't get another one!"
His head hung in defeat as he realized that there was no possible way his parents would give him any money for a new keyboard. Especially his Dad. The realization that he had fallen asleep whilst playing Scarred World suddenly hung on him even heavier. 'Maybe... maybe I am doing things the wrong way.'
Kano's mind was heavy with questions about himself and his current state. He was single, unemployed, and, well, he certainly could look more handsome. These days, he was willing to bet he was a bit on the ugly side of things.
"Shower first. Think later."
***
The sun was high in the sky when Kano stepped off of the publicly available bus. He had found it necessary to use these days if he wanted to get anywhere. Thankfully, one of its stops was exactly the place he was going. The Mall. If he needed to think, this place was it. If he was lucky, one of his buddies would be here as well and he could at least forget about life for a bit too. But fate was a fickle mistress, and he spotted no one he knew as he wandered around aimlessly.
"Kano?" a feminine voice sounded from behind him. He turned and found a rather pleasant surprise.
"Vicky? Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I could say the same about you. It's been awhile."
"Yeah. It has." Kano looked down in embarrassment. Victoria Greene, a woman he had not seen in a couple of years, but had thought about quite often. "I forgot how good your natural hair color looked. Last time I saw you, you were still sporting an electric blue."
He could not help but gaze at her gorgeous auburn hair. It was wavy and shined with a glow only seen amongst angels. She laughed lightly and shook those miraculous waves with a flick of her neck.
"Thank you. Yeah, I had to let go of that before I got my new job."
"Really? Where?"
"Here in town, I teach elementary at Phyllis Lane."
"Wow, where I used to go. Nice. Is, uh, Mrs. Rogers still there?"
"Yes, still teaching."
They stood there awkwardly, thinking about the past for a moment. They had dated for three years through high school. Each had given their firsts of many things to each other. Victoria cleared her throat before speaking again.
"So, anyway, what are you doing here?"
"Clearing my head... Thinking about things. I, uh. I kinda need to do... something. You know... more than I am now anyway."
Doing nothing is exactly why they had broken up. She had gotten tired of Kano simply playing games and going to his friends place to hang out. She wanted more, and he didn't. "Something huh?"
"Yeah. I'm still not sure what. But I need to do something."
She sighed as though the memories of him at home on his computer weighed upon her. "Well, good luck with that. I brought Sarah here for some school supplies and clothes."
"Oh, what grade is she in now?"
"Twelth. Senior in High School."
"Wow. Time flies..." and he cleared his throat as well as small talk was fading fast. He still loved her, but he didn't want to tell her. At least, not until he had proved he was actually doing something. Maybe then, maybe, she would want him back as well.
"Well, anyway, I had better get back to her. Good to see you again!" She called back as she turned away and walked off into the mall. Kano waved his hand and watched her go. Just like he had before. As she rounded the bend past some clothing stores, his eyes fell upon the row of recruiting offices.
"This recruit... hmm"