“A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.”

Charlotte Bronte, English writer (1816 – 1855)

Milly stirred uncomfortably under her desk as the minutes ticked slowly away, lost in the depths of the night. Her exhausted mind swirled and her stomach growled.

I didn’t eat much today. Just those raspberries we found out on the prairie. Shit, how are we going to keep the Castle fed? There are eight hundred people here. This isn’t the first time I’ve gone hungry. I’m used to going without a meal. But I bet most people around here aren’t.

The fridge is already empty. I know Kenji and Amir keep snacks in their desks. I’m sure lots of people do. But how far will chocolate covered raisins and stale pretzels get us? A day, maybe two? And I wouldn’t want to be the one hoarding food once people get hungry. Hungry people quickly become angry people, and angry people do stupid things. Even for stale pretzels. We need to find food, or we’ll have more than monsters to worry about.

“Is everything ready?”

The hushed voice came from down the aisle, headed in her direction. Milly recognized the confident baritone from their monthly staff meetings—corporate slogans bellowed across the office as if he were a rock star singing to his fans.

Jacob Stone. Our CEO. What’s he doing down here in the middle of the night?

She tried to tuck herself deeper under her desk as the footsteps approached her cubicle. She could feel their presence pierce her tiny little cubicle sanctuary, stripping away its false protections. She squeezed her eyes shut—pretending to be asleep—as Edna Carthage answered the CEO.

“We’ve briefed the managers. They know their roles, and they, of course, support you,” Edna quietly reported. “As for the staff, we believe most will fall in line. But there are some who won’t follow your orders, like Xavier Holloway. He assaulted both Frank and myself today. He’s a loose cannon. And then there’s the girl…”

Milly felt the CEO and manager’s eyes upon her, and she held her breath as her heart pounded in her chest.

“She’s the one that killed that beast?” Stone inquired.

“Yes. She and Xavier left the Castle immediately after we arrived in this world, against your orders,” Edna said with a snarl. “They’re malcontents, and they need to be dealt with.”

“Do we know what her level is?”

“No, sir.”

A tense silence fell between the managers as Stone weighed his options.

Perhaps Xavier is right. If the managers are already asking about our levels, it’s best we keep our abilities a secret.

“A few malcontents aren’t a problem,” Stone replied thoughtfully. “In fact, they could be quite useful, if cast in the right light.”

Milly could feel Stone’s calculating eyes upon her.

“You’d be surprised how quickly people turn on a hero. All they need is a nudge.”

“Are the heads of Legal Eagles, EnergyWave and those bureaucrats ready for tomorrow?” Edna inquired as they strolled away from Milly’s cubicle.

Milly didn’t hear Stone’s answer, his hushed words drowned out by the snores and sobs of her coworkers.

This isn’t good. Damn it, Xavier. Why’d you have to push Fredrickson and threaten Edna? We’ve got enough problems without worrying about our managers.

She waited until the CEO’s voice had faded away and slowly crawled out from under her desk.

I need to get some fresh air to clear my head.

***

The lobby was dark, lit only by the dim blue light from the floating instructional screens. Milly leaned in the entranceway to the ocean terrain, breathing in the warm, salty air as she gazed out at the white sandy beach and crystal blue ocean. The night sky sparkled with the light of a million stars, and the gentle rhythm of the waves gifted her the sense of calm she’d desired.

But it’s not really calm, is it? How many dangers lay beyond these glass walls, waiting for me to step outside?

She glimpsed the weapon’s crate next to the entrance. It had been picked clean, save for a massive, unwieldy battleaxe and a bundle of arrows. She plucked out the arrows and added them to her inventory, then hoisted out the battleaxe. Even with a strength of four, she struggled to lift it.

Maybe I should leave the axe for someone else. But…I almost died today because I ran out of weapons. Isn’t this better than nothing?

“The weapons crates get refilled every sunrise,” Tutoria #788 said, popping into existence beside her. “So take whatever you need.”

She jumped in surprise, and the battleaxe fell out of her hand and crashed against the marble floor, narrowly missing her foot.

“Damn it, Tutoria. I could have lopped off my toes!” she scolded. “I need to put a bell on you or something.”

Tutoria smiled, ignoring her player’s anger. “You did well today. Taking down an ogre? Even if you’d been here for a week, that’s an impressive feat. The Director was quite enthralled by your bravery.”

“The same Director who thought I’d be one of the first to die?”

“Yes, that one,” Tutoria said, chipperly. “Though only fifteen people die today, which leaves seven hundred and ninety-two. Still four more to go before you prove the Director wrong.”

Fifteen people? There are ten bodies outside—the eight laid in a row and the remains of those two lawyers. Five more must have been killed somewhere in the wilds. Fifteen people died after only a day…

She stalked away from her Tutoria, pacing the perimeter of the lobby until she reached the exit to the southern jungle. She stared out the glass at the ogre’s corpse, faintly illuminated by the moonlight.

I don’t think anyone was brave enough to retrieve Kyle and Henry’s bodies. We can’t just let them rot out there. And we’ll have to move that ogre. It’ll start to stink soon. There are so many moving parts to survival. It’s not just a matter of fighting monsters every day, is it?

“What’d you get for killing the ogre?” Tutoria prompted, following behind her.

Milly sighed and opened her inventory, withdrawing the ring she had received. It was fashioned from crude iron—a simple band adorned with a ruby-eyed skull. It was the size of her palm, fitted for an ogre’s giant finger.

“What is it?” she asked, gazing at the ruby.

“See for yourself,” instructed Tutoria. “Focus on the item, and its description will appear.”

She did so and a tiny blue screen appeared above the ring.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The Wedding Band of Phillip the Ogre

Phillip enjoyed eating children as much as any ogre. After all, who wouldn’t? Yet Phillip longed for something more. A love to call his own, and children who would call him father (and whom he would consume only in an emergency, such as a midnight craving or if he skipped breakfast).

But who would want to start a family with an ogre?

As it turns out, there was a woman who saw Phillip’s ugliness and tendency towards child murder as endearing qualities, not turn-offs. Lamia, after all, had her own cravings to satisfy. She gave this wedding band to Phillip as a token of her love to keep him safe in the wilds.

Though I guess it wasn’t enough. Way to go, widowmaker!

Benefit: Increases the wearer’s strength by 4

Warning: Lamia roams the jungle in search of her missing love. If the bearer of this ring encounters Lamia in the wilds, she will become enraged and will not stop until the bearer is dead.

This item may be resized to fit the player. Do you wish to resize the ring?

“He was,” she said dismissively, too exhausted to play Tutoria’s game. “It increases my strength by four? That would double my current strength.”

“Equipment is a critical part of The God Contest, even more than your level,” Tutoria instructed. “You’d know that if you’d bothered to read the instructional screens before you rushed into the wilds.”

Milly read the warning. “Couldn’t I just never enter the jungle? I don’t want to go there anyway. It’s too hot and humid.”

“Of course you could,” Tutoria said, her words dripping with sarcasm. “The designers of God Contest World definitely built the jungle just for fun. It has no purpose whatsoever and avoiding it will have no impact on your ability to survive. In fact, all the terrains are like that. Congratulations, Milly! You’ve figured out our secret and won The God Contest!”

“You sound like Calista,” Milly said, irritated. “She’s always poking fun at me with her sarcasm too.”

“The hot redhead? Well, if my personality is adapted to help you survive, and you think I act like Calista—” Tutoria suggested with a sly smile. “—maybe you should spend more time with her.”

I am way too tired to even think about that possibility right now.

“J-Just re-size the damn ring.”

The ring twisted and shrunk in her palm until it was the perfect size for her finger.

A magical piece of jewelry just resized itself in my hands…and I’m too exhausted to care. It might be one of the least fantastical things that happened to be today.

She picked it up and slipped it on her right index finger. As it slid past her knuckle, she felt its power flow into her.

It was a different feeling than when she’d increased her strength directly. There was no pain, but it also felt less permanent. With direct attribute increases, she could feel her body grow stronger. But with the ring, it felt as though someone were giving her a helping hand—one that would disappear if she removed it.

She opened her player screen and saw an ‘enhanced strength’ measure had been added.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Mildred Persephone Hawthorn

Level: 5

Specialty: Survivor

Strength:

Base:4

Enhanced: 8 (+4 from Wedding Band)

Agility:

Base: 5

Toughness:

Base: 8

Magic:

Base: 10

Talents:

Healing Magic - Healer's Touch (Level 1)

She grabbed the battleaxe on the floor, and hoisted it into the air. With her strength boost, she was able to swing it through the air with ease.

It’s so light. This ring is incredible!

The shattering of glass interrupted her playful swinging of the axe. For a moment, she thought a monster had broken into the lobby, until she saw a light shining from Rain On My Parade. The coffee shop’s door had been locked all day, and only now, in the depth of night, was it cracked open.

The barista. She’s all alone at the Castle. Does she even know what’s going on?

She clutched the battleaxe tightly in her hands, feeling her new strength course through her.

She could be in trouble. I should go check on her. Make sure she’s safe.

She tiptoed over to Rain On My Parade, uncertain what she would find inside.

The Non-Canonical Aftermath:

“Now that we’re done with our ominous foreshadowing stroll through the tenth floor, Edna,” Jacob Stone says as they return to Stone’s office. “What’s the status of my other villainous schemes?”

“Well, we’ve started celebrating all staff birthdays on the same day, thus reducing our cake budget by 87 percent,” Edna announces happily. “Early reports suggest employees feel diminished as individuals and that their birthdays no longer feel special.”

“Excellent. And the mandatory, unpaid overtime?”

“Well, we’re stuck in a fantasy world now,” Edna informs him. “So, technically, all time is both mandatory and unpaid.”

Stone stares out his massive office window and grins.

“You know, I think I’m going to like it here.”