Ren walked back with Mary from the library silently as he absorbed the information. Where do I even start? It looks like I have access to a small fortune. Do I not have to work anymore? He glanced over at Mary, who smiled up at him. I can’t be an adventurer anymore either since it’s dangerous, but it doesn’t feel right to do nothing.

              “Um, Mary-chan…. Is there something I can help with?” Ren fidgeted.

              She looked surprised by his question. “Help with?”

              “Like work or something….” Ren felt odd asking.

              She looked thoughtful before answering, “Not really. Don’t worry about it right now, though. You’re still healing.”

              “I feel fine though…” Ren paused and flexed his shoulder. He really felt fine. I can’t have healed already, can I?

              Mary shook her head. “Even if you feel fine, you still need to rest.”

              “Alright.” He conceded easily. I guess while I’m resting, I can figure out more about this world and maybe a place of employment.

              A loud bell rang, making both him and Mary jump. The surrounding people seemed just as surprised.

              “What’s going on?’ Ren asked as he noticed the others looks of horror. Mary was biting her lip, her eyes wide in fear as she also looked around.

              “That’s the warning bell.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. “Monsters have gotten into the city. We need to hurry back home and get inside.”

              “Monsters? In Amore? But how…” Ren didn’t have time to contemplate as Mary dragged him along. Many others were fleeing into buildings and locking them up. Mary pulled them into a side street.

              “This way, it’s a shortcut.” She shouted at him as they ran through the city.

              After just a minute or two of running, his breath came in gasps. His stamina had never been good in real life or in the game. That’s why he’d poured all his stats into spells that he could cast without moving too much. Now he was regretting it as they ran. Mary stopped so suddenly that he almost ran into her.

              “What’s…” He trailed off when he saw the creature in front of them. The monster was unlike any he’d seen in Y.O.W. It was tall, thin, and lanky. It was humanoid in form with a face, two arms, and two feet, but there was nothing human about it. The creature hunched over, it’s long arms scraping the ground. Some sort of grey pus oozed out of its wrinkled skin. Even from feet away, he could smell the putrid stench coming from its body. The creature looked at them with hollow dark eyes, then smiled. Ren choked when he saw the grey teeth oozing with blood. He heard a strangled sound and glanced down to find the mangled remains of someone twitching on the ground.

              Spell. I need to cast a spell. He could feel Mary’s hand shaking in his.

              “Fros—” Blood spurted out of his mouth and landed on the ground. “Eh?”

              The creature let out a chuckle that sent a shiver down his spine. Pain suddenly raked his body. If Mary hadn’t been holding his hand, he would have passed out right there. It took a step toward them. Ren did the only thing he could think of. He pulled Mary behind him. It smiled wider at his actions. I need to cast a spell. He tried to open his mouth but coughed up more blood. Why? While he was distracted coughing up blood, he saw a shadow fall over him. Slowly, he looked up into the dark holes where the creature’s eyes would have been. Am I going to die, again?

              Swish, thud. The creature let out a loud scream and stumbled backward. An arrow was protruding from its eye. A loud, angry battle cry drew both Mary and Ren’s attention. It was Role and a group of guards. They charged into the alley, racing for them. The creature turned and fled. It jumped onto the rooftop and disappeared out of sight. Role ordered guards to go after it.

              “Hey, Pan, get down here.” Role shouted at the rooftop.

              A person somersaulted off the roof and landed flawlessly next to them. Pan seemed to be a young teen two heads shorter than Ren, with light blond hair and orange-colored eyes. He was holding a silver bow. Ren assumed he was the one that had shot the creature, but he didn’t have time to find out because he collapsed on the ground and passed out.