45-Hero Worship

The figure approached, and Sierra recognized him now.

It’s James after all, just about a foot taller and more muscular. Never thought I’d be relieved to see him.

She started to walk slowly toward him, hoping to intercept him before other people noticed and raised an alarm to Chava. Then a realization hit her that almost made her stop in her tracks.

If I was correct in my theory, James is under Chava’s influence too. How do I deal with him?

A cold sweat rose on the back of her neck, and her hands started fidgeting of their own accord. She was seriously considering changing directions and getting Alan, Mitzi, and Cliff. She wasn’t sure what they could do anyway, but at least there would be some other people around as witnesses in case James started acting aggressively.

Then her mind calmed.

I’ll manage. What do I need other people for? Am I really afraid here? I’ve been training all my life for this, haven’t I?

—

“You survived,” were the first words James heard upon returning to the Rodriguez camp.

“Glad you noticed. Good to see you too, Sierra,” he replied.

“I knew you would come back even if it defied common sense,” Sierra said. Her tone sounded like  rolled eyes, although her expression remained neutral. “You don’t seem like the type of person common sense is really made for.”

James couldn’t tell if she was implying that he was very special or that he wasn’t intelligent enough to use common sense. Probably both.

“Anything important change while I was gone?” he asked.

“Are you kidding?” Sierra replied. “How could anything important ever happen when you’re not there?”

“I guess it would be difficult, but I’m glad that nothing did. Most of the important things I can imagine happening would involve death and destruction descending on you all.”

She actually rolled her eyes at that, but he thought she was trying not to smile.

“How’s the food situation?” he asked.

“Not great, actually. Some pretty strict rationing since you’ve been gone.”

Is that why you seem a little bit off? he thought. She wasn’t quite her usual self, he’d noticed. The conversation was just weird. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what was off, but maybe it was something as simple as hunger.

“Well, I killed a whole pile of animals while I was cutting my way through the spiders. We should have a couple of days worth of food at least.”

“A very successful hunt, then,” Sierra said with a tone of interest. James read it as feigned interest.

She’s pretending to be interested in how the hunt went? James thought. This is weird. Are her reactions to things I say always this calculated, and I only just now leveled up enough to see through it? Or is something special going on right now? He wondered if she was trying in a subtle way to slow his reentry into camp. Quietly signaling danger of some sort awaiting him? What’s that, a boy’s fallen in the well?

But he wasn’t very interested in playing charades and he was losing patience at this guesswork. He cut to the chase.

“Yep, all spiders dead,” he confirmed, “along with numerous other innocent forest creatures. The Spider Queen was actually able to talk, mourn her dead children, and scream at me for killing them.”

James tried to smile nonchalantly, but he was aware that it must look wooden. It was still strange to think about the fact that some monsters were clearly sentient, not just the humanoid-looking creatures like the Corpse Eater. It bothered him a little to think that half the time, he was killing something that might have its own thoughts, feelings, and goals. Something almost human. But she was the last person he wanted to see him vulnerable. There was a brief, uncomfortable silence before she spoke again.

“That must have been terrible for you,” she said. “Having to kill an intelligent being, with loved ones.”

She didn’t even sound sarcastic, which impressed him. A big jump in the acting quality there, assuming she didn’t mean it. And it was obvious that she didn’t, considering her phrasing.

“I’ve had worse,” he said abruptly. “And anyway, the spiders ambushed me. Hundreds of them. I defended myself. That’s all I ever do. I defend myself, thoroughly, until the enemy dies or surrenders.” He was aware that heat had crept into his voice and his face, but she had to know she was striking a nerve. Why? Why is she bringing this up now? Because she feels safe in the Rodriguez camp? She doesn’t need my protection, so she’s going to make sure I remember what I did to her brother?!

It was enough to make him question his own decisions. Why did I think it was a good idea to bring her with us?

A seething rage threatened to overtake him, and he forced himself to turn his back on her, and on those destructive emotions. Deep breaths.

Aloud, he said: “I think I’ll share the good news with the camp. I’m sure Chava will be grateful that I destroyed the menace threatening his family.”

He started to walk, but his instincts flared up and told him something was approaching from behind him at breakneck speed—for a normal human, though not for him. His body began moving in defense of its own accord, drawing a dagger and activating one of the temporary fusion Skills he’d created on his way back to camp. Lightning Strike!

One of his parallel minds read the sensory data that had alerted him to her movements. He wanted to gauge her intentions more clearly before he killed her.

—

Sierra fought for breath as she spoke with James.

Every moment was a struggle. It was as if, in addition to growing visibly taller and stronger, he also had some sort of new ability to put pressure on other people around him, and he was testing it out on her at full blast.

Knowing him, maybe that was the case.

She’d meant to put him at ease and lower his guard, but as the conversation progressed, it was a struggle just to remain civil and get the words out. She began needling him instead. It was part shift in strategy, part reflex.

At least this way, even if he won’t let down his guard, he’ll be unfocused. It was hard to call it a coherent plan, just making him angry, but really, she wasn’t capable of planning well in her current mental state. This was her best shot.

As he turned his back on her and stepped away, the pressure diminished slightly, and she took her shot. Purification!

She lunged at James’s back, sprinting across the short distance he’d walked, green energy wrapped around her right hand.

He seemed to move in a flash, too quickly for her to see. He had a dagger drawn in his left hand, she saw, and it was shrouded in near-blinding yellow Mana.

As she closed in, her hand almost within touching distance from James’s head, the dagger came dangerously close to her throat. It seemed blindsiding him hadn’t worked, but she was too close to stop now, even if she’d wanted to.

Is this where I die?! She wanted to clench her eyes shut.

Instead, she made herself keep going. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James drop his dagger, and impossibly quickly, that hand grabbed her by the wrist. She tried to pull her hand away, but his grip felt like iron.

“What are you trying to do?” His voice was deadly cold.

“I’m a Healer,” she breathed. “What do you think I’m trying to do with my bare hands?”

“I’m uninjured.” A note of doubt in his voice.

“But are you, hah, free from external influences?”

James relaxed his grip for a second, and Sierra pushed forward. He didn’t try to stop her this time, to her surprise. She touched his neck and released Purification.

He still had the dagger, she realized only once she’d made contact. He’d caught it with the other hand. As she touched his neck, he held the weapon next to her heart.

—

James held off on decapitating Sierra, because sifting through his sensory inputs, he realized there was no malice in her apparent attack.

Even if there had been, what could she really do to him now?

He still didn’t quite trust her, though. He canceled his attack, switched his dagger to the other hand, and held it pressed to her heart. Even if she could somehow fry his brain with some new Skill, he thought that he might have a moment to plunge the weapon into her. And with his enhanced healing Skills, he would have at least as much chance of survival as her.

As the green energy swept over him, a brief flurry of unfamiliar memories played out before his eyes. He remembered entering Chava’s tent. A brief conversation about the challenges of spider hunting. Uncomfortably sustained eye contact with Chava, which James abruptly found he couldn’t break.

A battle of wills ensued! James had fought the old man in the arena of their minds, but Chava was surprisingly formidable for someone at level 7. There was crushing pressure, pouring into his mind like fire, until the resistance was broken. And then there had been commands, whispered into his subconscious mind.

So I had a reason to stupidly go and hunt the spiders alone, beyond pure hubris, he thought. It just wasn’t my reason.

Aloud, he said: “I should’ve known you were hiding something. I did sort of know. And there were so many clues, too. I could even smell your sweat, if I’d been paying attention to my senses and not letting what you were saying distract me. How did you figure out I was being controlled?”

That last word was almost a hiss. James’s anger had transferred cleanly onto a new target, and he was already thinking of how he would punish Chava for this.

She let go of him and backed away, out of dagger range, before she spoke again. She looked relieved—and, unless James misread her, slightly hurt. He put away the dagger.

“At first, it was just a suspicion,” Sierra said. “I had no real basis for it. I just picked up on your behavior. It seemed out of character. Since I’ve been back here with the Rodriguezes, I’ve been gathering information. The whole family is under some kind of influence. I’m not sure if it’s as strong as what he used on you, but it definitely traces back to Chava. He’s the only one who benefits. I’m not sure what his end goal is. If I could mind-control people, I wouldn’t have them sitting in place going hungry.”

While Sierra spoke, James was visualizing different ways of killing Chava. His imagination impressed him with a feast of detail. As Sierra stopped talking, he realized she was probably waiting for him to say something. Fortunately, with Parallel Minds, he could pay attention to two things at once. He continued enjoying the image of Chava’s eyes melting inside of his skull and simultaneously formulated his reply.

—

What is he thinking right now? Sierra wondered. She still felt the same pressure from him that she’d noticed earlier, only now his expression matched. Feels like he’s imagining something awful.

“I don’t really care what his motives are,” James said. “I’m just thinking about what I’m going to do to him.”

Ah! That fits.

“Well,” Sierra said carefully, “however you handle him, you have to do it quietly.”

“Really? I was planning on leaving him in bloody pieces all over the ground.” His face contorted with an icy wrath that she’d never seen before. Scary! Especially since he was almost a foot taller than he had been, and built like a linebacker. “No one controls my mind but me. I could spell that message out very well with his intestines. Why do I need to be subtle?”

“It’s just that I think he has a second mental power, one that’s aimed at his family. Something more subtle than whatever he did to you. If you attack him, there’s a chance the whole family will turn against you. They might riot or something. That’s assuming the effects of the Skill don’t vanish instantly upon his death.”

“Sounds like you put a lot of thought into this,” he said slowly. “Any other factors to consider?”

“Well, if you do kill him, it’s possible that Camila could take over his role leading the family. He’s been keeping her isolated, and I think it’s because she might have her own ability that would rival his.”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“Also, there is one more thing I feel the need to mention,” she added. “You’re giving off this pressure. And I don’t know whether you know that you’re doing it or not, but it makes me want to crawl into a hole in the ground and hide. So could you please turn that off?”

He looked surprised, then slightly embarrassed. “Sorry. Just got this new Skill I’ve been playing with. I had activated it to scare off monsters on my way here, but I forgot I still had it on.”

How could you forget that?! This Skill is that effective and has no cost to use?!

The atmosphere changed suddenly, and Sierra suddenly stood straighter. She hadn’t realized she’d been making herself smaller. Hunching as if she didn’t want to be seen. She also wiped away sweat from her forehead.

I’m drenched in sweat, she thought. I probably stink. Need a bath as soon as we find a body of water.

But mostly, she was exhausted.

“I’m gonna go take a nap,” she said. “Do what you want.”

“Um, thanks for the magic, by the way. Guess I’ll trust you next time.” He sounded extremely uncomfortable saying that, but she was too tired to enjoy it.

“Yeah, thanks for not killing me.”

She walked off.

—

James watched her retreating form.

She seemed to be in a strange mood, he thought. Did Crushing Intimidation do all that?

He had deactivated the Skill immediately upon Sierra’s request. But he noticed there were another ten minutes left until it diffused into Intimidation and Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity. He didn’t seem to have any way to diffuse the Skills early. Honestly forgot I had it on, but it was nice seeing the forest creatures run away whenever I landed on a tree near them.

Left to his own devices, he decided to be a bit sneakier than he had been planning about tackling Chava.

He entered the camp, and instead of heading straight to Chava’s tent, he found a large, open area, and he began dumping the Exoshields from the hunt onto the ground. He kept going until there were none left in his satchel. It took a while.

As the Exoshields clattered and fell to the dirt, a crowd slowly gathered. James looked up from the pile of hundreds of shields, and he saw that the whole family was there to see him.

With the fall of the last shield, the Rodriguezes crowded around him and began talking over each other in an excited flurry.

“Did you really kill all of them?”

“How is it possible?”

“You’ve saved us!”

“Do you have any food?”

There were repetitions and variations of these questions, along with tight embraces from several members of the family. A few asked if they could have one of the Exoshields, since they were still stuck on starter equipment. He was more than happy to oblige those requests. Indeed, James was quite enjoying the attention. Then he emerged.

“Hail the conquering hero!” Chava’s voice cut through the hubbub. “How have you accomplished this, ah, miracle, James?”

James gave him a cheesy smile.

“Oh, I’m just the Little Engine That Could, Chava. Nothing but hard work and a positive attitude!” He strode through the crowd toward the old man, people parting for him like he was a celebrity back in the old world. James saw a flicker of fear in Chava’s eyes, which was almost as gratifying as the other form of attention he’d been enjoying. He stepped in close to Chava, bent his back to get closer to Chava’s height, and leaned to put his mouth next to Chava’s ear.

“We’ll talk about next steps later,” James said quietly, giving him a reassuring nod. And he turned away again.

Facing the crowd once more, he opened the magic satchel and drew out all of the non-human meat he still had.

“The meat from all the monsters I killed while I was cutting my path to the Spider Queen,” James said. “Please distribute these among your family. It will need to feed them today and while we’re traveling unless we happen to catch something else.”

At this, a real, spontaneous cheer erupted through the crowd. It grew louder as more people took it up.

“James! James! James!” They shouted his name over and over again as he passed out the food. The sound of the voices mingled, as the shouting went on, with the sound of people banging on the various Exoshields that most of them had picked up. James turned his head to see more of their faces as they called out to him. He only noticed out of the corner of his eye that Chava was sneaking off toward his tent, making himself scarce.

But he didn’t care much for whether Chava felt comfortable or not just now. James would handle him later. But he put away his rage for now. He let himself soak in this moment.

There was an empty place in his heart, and the cheers helped fill it. I wish my family could be here for this, he thought. I wish they could see me now.