The next morning, Donna came into Luke's room almost as soon as he'd woken up. She gave him a comb and a basin of water, then told him that he was eating breakfast with the royal family.
Breakfast was in a different room than the previous night's feast. A long table was filled with every sort of food Luke could imagine—boiled eggs, oatmeal, cinnamon toast, honey toast, cranberry muffins, sausage, bacon, three different kinds of cheese. There were fruits of every sort and some kind of soup. It made Luke's stomach growl. He heaped his plate with the best-smelling foods and sat at the only table, where King Liam was already half-finished with his meal. Illana and Elora were there too, one on each side of their father.
King Liam looked at Luke with a smile. "A good morning to you! I trust you slept well."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Is that all you hunger for?" the king asked, eyeing Luke's plate. "Eat plenty, my boy. Your training starts today, beginning with a test of your might and a survey of what skills you already possess."
Luke nodded—his mouth was already full of bacon. It was good bacon, the sort that burst with flavor and melted in his mouth.
Illana, who was sitting across from Luke, leaned across the table. Her burgundy hair narrowly missed falling into her oatmeal. "What sort of world did you come from?" she asked.
"A really neat one," said Luke, stuffing his mouth with cinnamon toast. "We don't have magic, but we've got this thing called technology instead. We use electricity to power devices like computers and phones—"
"What are those?" asked Elora.
"A computer's like this—this thing, this magic mirror that lets you see information and talk to people and stuff. A phone is basically the same thing, but smaller. You can put it in your pocket and carry it with you. It plays music, too."
Illana's eyes widened. "Our magic cannot do nearly as much as that."
"But it can do other things," said Elora. "Like healing people. Or curse them. We use magic for everything in this world."
The conversation continued until the meal was finished when Luke left the servants to clean up and went with Illana, Elora, and Donna to the fields. Luke was hoping to level up by killing a few low-level monsters.
"I have to invite you to a party," said Illana.
She stopped by a desk outside the training field and wrote out an invitation on a piece of parchment. Luke read the invitation and the little screen in his mind said that he'd accepted it. He'd joined The Fray.
"With that done," said Illana, "you must now choose a weapon."
"Probably a short sword," Luke said. It was what he was used to playing within the game.
Illana led Luke to the armory. On their way, Luke started to notice that humans weren't the only inhabitants of the Crimson Kingdom. There were cat people and Elves and even people made of trees. The tree people were Luke's favorite. Every time they took a step, grass and flowers sprouted from their footprint.
Finally, they arrived at the armory, hailed to be the most famous in the kingdom. Elora and Donna left to purchase some healing potions, leaving Illana alone with Luke as they stepped into the smoke-filled smithy. Immediately, Luke noticed the shop's owner and checked out his stats.
Name: Ethan
Age: 50
Race: Human
Level: ???
Job: Blacksmith
Ethan was completely bald, brown-skinned, and broadly built. He wore an apron over his grayish tunic, and his rolled-up sleeves revealed powerful forearms. "Ethan," said Illana, "this is Luke, the Crimson Savior. Luke, meet Ethan, our master weaponsmith."
"High time you showed up, my lord," said Ethan rather pleasantly. "Half off any weapon you choose."
Illana sighed gratefully. "The taxpayers thank you, Ethan."
Luke glanced at all the swords on display. When he saw the levels on the swords, he grew disappointed. None of them went beyond level 40. When he turned around, though, he saw a door behind Ethan that had question marks on it.
"What's back there?" Luke asked.
Ethan laughed. "At your level, boy, you can only dream of getting back there."
Someday, then. Luke would get stronger. He knew it.
"Tell you what, kid," said Ethan, "since you're the Crimson Savior and all, I'll make you a custom weapon. Custom armor that grows stronger with use. What colors do you want?"
"Black," said Luke. "Black and white armor, with a black sword."
"I'll need some measurements real quick. Say you're around six foot?"
Luke nodded, and Ethan picked up a string with knots in it. He murmured to himself and took no notes—perhaps his memory was excellent, or maybe the measuring line was enchanted—as he measured Luke. When the measurements were completed, Ethan gave Luke a temporary sword to use in the upcoming training.
"Finally," said Illana, "you're ready to face your first monster."
Elora and Donna rejoined Luke and Illana as they walked to the outskirts of the kingdom. The first monsters Luke would face were the easiest ones to conquer—little rabbit-like creatures in groups of five or ten, red-eyed and sharp-toothed. Luke read their stats:
Rodent Rabbit
Level 1
Local Beast
Health Points: 100
Attack: 10
Abilities: Bite (10 second cooldown period between uses)
As soon as the rabbits saw Luke, he drew his sword, and they targeted him. Luke swung his sword like a madman, slashing at the rabbits to reduce their Health Points. Illana, Elora, and Donna stood ready to aid him if necessary. Fortunately, Luke had spent enough time playing the game to know the rabbits' weakness: they could only run in a straight line. He'd sidestep them and slash away.
One of the rabbits managed to bite Luke, so Elora healed him. "You're doing well for your first time," she said.
"Thanks," Luke panted.
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