Stumbling Up: A Loser's Guide to Progression - Chapter 47: One More Demon

[Heartbeat] tugged at me. I had to find Leo. He was spiraling out of control.

Eddie's Mill was less intimidating with a full stomach.

The city was divided into four areas: the docks, the shops, the residential district, and the professional district. There were smaller, specialized subdistricts. The Velvet Box was in the slums between the docks and the shopping districts called the Red Eaves neighborhood. The Adventure's Guild sat firmly in the professional districts, wedged between an apothecary and an accountant. This should have been the first clue that Eddie's Mill [Adventurers] were built differently.

The door to the Guild was set like a saloon, swinging open as we entered. The door dumped us into a parlor of sorts, with a bored clerk shuffling papers on a heavy wooden desk. Three doors sat behind him, one painted green, one painted red, and an ornate door of wood with gold accents.

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild. How can I help you?" came a dull monotone greeting. The guy looked at us curiously.

"Uh, we're new in town. Looking for the Quest Board," Tandy said.

"And we're meeting a friend. Tall guy, blonde hair, and he's got a double-bladed axe," I added. I was anxious to check in on Leo. I didn't need [Party Rapport] to know that he was hurting.

"Ah, yes, the group that claims to be [Marked]," he said the words as though they meant something to us. "Proceed through the green door, your friend is waiting inside."

"What's behind the other doors?" Meredeath asked. She was as bad as a cat with a closed door.

The clerk stood slowly. Sitting, he wasn't intimidating, but standing, he towered over all of us, matching Leo for size. Muscles flexed under the robes.

"Entrance through those doors is earned by rank," his voice was cool, brokering no argument.

Rank. This guy wouldn't know what to do with a truly powerful [Adventurer]. Wake me when something interesting happens.

Richard curled his tentacles inward, a sure indication he was going to nap.

Meredeath shrugged off the threat and nonchalantly walked over to the green door.

Tandy and I gave the man a wide berth as we followed.

The green door opened to a stairwell down. The stairs were wide and well lit, with polished handrails. Even so, the message was clear: everyone started in the basement.

The room opened up into a tavern of sorts. A bar sat against the far wall. A bartender polished glasses with a long, oiled mustache turned up at the ends. He watched us neutrally.

A mismatch of tables sat with a couple of stained [Adventurers] eating breakfast. They smelled of blood and body odor. The two ate, heads down. A pile of grey noodles sat untouched next to them on a platter. I could almost see flies buzzing over their heads.

Leo was against a wall in a booth, sitting by himself. On the far wall, a board sat with presumable [Quests] available, and a clerk sat in a cubby reading.

[Heartbeat] tugging at me, I joined Leo at the table. Meredeath and Tandy went to examine the board.

"Hey, man," I said, scooting across from my friend. Leo muttered something intelligible, his eyes down tracing a crack in the wood with a finger. "Hey, I'm mad too. That," I looked around, seeing several eyes on us, "that thing that Richard told us. It could have made all the difference growing up. Complete bullshit."

Leo's eyes raised, and for an instant, I saw behind the curtain. Hurt and rage warred for prominence.

The curtain fell, and his eyes shifted to the side, almost blank.

"We're here, together. That's what counts," his voice was flat, emotionless, just like his platitude. I shifted, picking up a now-sleeping Richard and placing him on the table.

"It's going to get better, you're an [Adventurer] now."

"Yes, and unlike you, I'm not burdened with needing a [Sponsor],” he said, the words through clenched teeth, standing. “And I don't have to be the pet of a slug.” Leo's hard eyes stared down at me for a second. I felt like an ant.

"Sorry, Cole, I need to use the privy," he said, walking off. We both knew he hadn't needed to use the restroom. He just needed space. Space from me, his best friend.

His back was rigid as he walked away, and he looked naked without Tandy’s pink sweater. My heart ached.

Leo left his axe in the seat, an unspoken promise he'd return. At least I didn’t have to worry about that.

You sure fucked that up.

I didn't have a comeback for Richard. He was right.

I put my head down on the table, ready to crawl under a rock and take a nap. The table’s aroma of maple syrup and beer seemed fitting. An optimistic start to a day, mixed with the need to accept what happened.

Voices were raised by the Quest Board, and I tilted my head to watch Tandy argue with the clerk. I should probably intervene, but I just didn't have it in me. Tandy was raising her voice, pointing at the pieces of paper pinned to the board.

The clerk looked bored, like she'd dealt with this complaint before and knew the outcome.

Meredeath pulled at Tandy, trying to get her to walk away.

I sat, my mouth dry. I didn't even have the coin to order a beer and watch the show. [Adventurers] were supposed to be wealthy, full of loot, and have a lust for life. Not stuck in a basement arguing with a paper pusher. I twisted my head to face the table, blocking out Tandy.

I brought up my stat sheet.

When Richard and I had rebonded, I received my [Dead Wrong] class back, along with all the inherent skills it granted. At least this time, I knew what I was signing up for.

I could feel [Self Critic] trigger, but I didn't care. I deserved some criticism.

How can I apply the first tenet of progression to my skills? The list was hardly noteworthy, with a few exceptions: [Cheat Death], [Alive, For Once], [Gills], [Analyze], [Improvised Damage], [Party], [Stillpoint], [Heartbeat], [Partial Rapport], [Companion], [Minor Manipulate Slime], [Hammer Time], [Nailed It], and [Self Critic].

My most valuable skill was the one I vowed never to use, [Cheat Death]. The skill would keep me alive, but the cost...

I could practice [Gills] by jumping in a river. I triggered [Analyze] on the table, waving away the resulting message.

I raised a finger muttering, "[Minor Manipulate Slime]."

Lifting my finger, I concentrated on the pool of slime that'd formed around Richard, and folded it up over his prone body. It slipped, so I folded it again and again.

[Skill Upgrade: [Minor Slime Manipulation] has upgraded to [Slime Manipulation]. You now have the ability to control and move larger piles of slime. Congratulations!]

Was this all there was to it? Just practicing the skills? I could do this. So could Leo.

The big man had returned, propping his axe against the wall.

I started to share my skill upgrade, but squashed the instinct.

Good to know you have some sense.

"Leo, I'm sorry that things haven't worked out differently. But we've got this knowledge now, we can figure it out."

"Sure, Cole. We'll figure it out," Leo muttered flatly, not meeting my gaze. I mentally switched off [Self Critic], deciding to take his response as a win.

"If you want Richard, you can have him." We both looked at the slug who glistened in the slime I'd folded over him.

"He's too slippery, hard to pin him down to commit," Leo joked. I smiled, almost feeling my [Heartbeat] skill level. I'd broken through!

"Yeah, I had to trap him in a compost bin, poor fellow. Plus, he's given me a [Weakened] debuff. Probably not worth it."

"Is that why you die so much? I thought it was just you," Leo ribbed, and for a moment, we were back to our usual selves.

"Fucking Malyc, and those sheep-loving bureaucrats." Tandy sat down heavily, her words hanging in the air. Meredeath waited as Leo made room for her.

"What's the word?" I asked, unenthusiastic about her reply.

"Malyc hasn't submitted paperwork on our passing the [Trial Dungeon]. So they've got us listed as [Sworn Adventurers] instead of [Marked Adventurers]." Tandy sounded resigned, as though this difference ruined us.

“Can’t they just [Examine] or [Analyze] us?” I asked quietly.

“They did. The clerk said our classes sounded fake. Apparently faking a class is something you can do. She didn’t believe us.” Meredeath’s words were cold, as though she was ready to gut the clerk herself.

"So, what does this mean?" Leo asked quietly.

"It means shit training [Quests] meant for part-timers working up to the [Trial Dungeon]," Tandy explained.

It didn't sound that bad. As though reading my thoughts, Meredeath filled in the blanks.

"We're still only allowed the low-pay rats in the cellar jobs. And because they expect [Sworn Adventurers] to have a day job, it’s not going to be enough."

Ah, that was the rub. If we were being honest, we probably should still be working low-level jobs, but we needed money.

"I grabbed these, since they'll align with Mistress Del's [Quest], but we're going to have to move on if her charity runs out." Tandy threw two slips of paper on the table. The [Quests] triggered in my vision.

[Quest Granted: [Rats in the Tunnels]

The city of Eddie's Mill has a rat problem. There is a .1 copper bounty per rat. Rewards will be granted per tail.]

I glanced over at the two downtrodden [Adventurers], realizing in horror the platter of ‘noodles’ on their table was dozens of rat tails. Something odd was going on in the city if they’d caught that many rats.

The second [Quest Notification] popped:

[Quest Granted: [Guard Duty]

The port of entry has experienced thievery lately. The Merchant's Guild has offered 1 copper per guard to watch the stores overnight. Bonuses are available for any thieves caught in the act.]

"Not thrilling, but better than nothing, I guess." It was hard to work up more enthusiasm than that.

We talked, making plans as we eyed the bartender thirstily. I decided to go back to Mistress Del's and get an afternoon nap. Sleeping was free, and we were about to pull the graveyard shift. The girls went window shopping, presumably so they could get a sense of the cost of items. I think they just enjoyed torturing themselves with the things they couldn't have.

Leo waved us off, opting to stay at the bar. It was going to be a long night, so I didn't bother arguing.

Leo'd been fighting his demons his whole life.

He never gave us credit for standing with him.

Now I couldn’t help but feel I’d joined the ranks of demons. Just another disappointment he had to fight off.