Unearthing Greatness (3)

I hobble back home after running myself into the ground and knock on the front door to our house.

"Who is it?" I hear Carroll asking from the other side.

Marie opens the door and clearly frowns at the sight of me.

"It's nobody," she responds and slams the door in my face.

Wham!

I jump back with a start.

What the hell is her problem?

[I don't know, she's always been nice to me.]

Here, I've got an idea. You knock on the door.

I quick switch places with him and he knocks on the door.

"Master Nick, welcome home." Marie speaks in the most professional voice she can muster and even bows slightly as we enter. I'm speechless.

What the hell?! Does she know about me? How can she tell the difference without us even saying a word?

I shout and curse at the back of the kid's mind. Surprisingly, his mother's reaction also seems telling.

"Welcome home, sweetie!" Carroll runs up and pulls us into a deep hug.

They must be able to tell the difference, right? Are they waiting for an exorcist to arrive to eliminate me? What's the plan here?

"Hi, mom." The kid smiles and the three of them move to the kitchen for dinner. I sit in the back and quietly think about how to proceed.

Obviously they can't tell the kid what's going to happen or I'll find out. So, what do I do? Run away? No, I don't want to take him from his family. Talk to them? No, they likely won't respond honestly if they plan on eliminating me. I guess the only real option is to show them that I'm more beneficial than detrimental. And making some extra money to support the family seems like the best place to start.

I'd always been the target of derision in my previous life; whether it was my father who came home exhausted and was looking for an outlet, my brother who just liked screwing with me, or my coaches who would chose me for my mistakes. I've learned how to get people on my side. Just like I did with Ashley, I'll have to convince Carroll and Vincent that I'm not a threat and that I'm even helpful to have around. 

I stay back and watch the family enjoy a meal without me. A heavy loneliness sits in my heart.

The next day, we run outside and head for the palisade. I feel light as the wind. The effort we've been putting into exercise is already paying off. I quickly check my status to see if there's any noticeable difference. 

Status

Niccolo Drake lv 0

Sponsor: God of knowledge

Job: Commoner lv 0

Possible jobs:

Skills:

Titles: Index

Unassigned points: 0

Health: 38/38

Stamina: 25/33

Vitality: 11 (+1)

Strength: 7 (+1)

Agility: 8

Endurance: 8 (+2)

Perception: 17

Resilience: 5 (+1)

Mana Capacity: 0

Mana Bandwidth: 65

Whoa! We only increased our stats slightly and the change is this noticeable? I'm going to get addicted to this.

I can only imagine what it would be like if leveling up in an MMO made you feel physically stronger and faster. Well, I guess I can imagine because that's what's happening now. It's thrilling. So often in my previous life I would pour in hours of effort into something only to see the smallest results. I was never particularly talented so it just felt like I had to work twice as hard as others to achieve the same results. Even cleaning my room was a challenge due to my ADHD. I'd always felt like I was several steps behind everyone else.

But not anymore. I had a new chance. I no longer felt depressed and it felt as if I didn't have ADHD anymore either. Those scarce moments of silence no longer made me anxious.

The world spread out before me as I flew through the North gates.

"Nick."

"Nick."

"Josh?"

Sampson greeted me with a smile but that boy from the alley was here as well?

"Morning, Sampson. Josh, what are you doing here?" I nod and the blond-haired guard and quickly shift my attention to the serious looking boy standing before me.

"People are different now." He replies. 

"What are you talking about?"

Josh tenses up, likely due to the frustration of not being able to effectively communicate what he's thinking.

"Kyle. He doesn't hit me anymore and his friends don't kick dirt at me and they don't hit me."

"Well, that's nice at least." It sounds like Kyle and his gang have been picking on Josh for some time.

"You did something, what did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"What did you do?" Josh raises his voice.

I'm worried that the situation with escalate in a weird direction so I do my best to calm him down.

"Relax man. I didn't do anything."

"Yes you did. Things are different now, what did you do?"

I try a different approach.

"You said things are different; are they better or worse now."

"Better."

"Then why are you getting upset?"

Josh puckers his lips. His eyes water as if he's about to cry. I don't know what's got him so wound up but I quietly wait for him to tell me. 

"I want to make things better too." He says, almost in a whisper. His piercing gaze never wavers. 

"Okay, we'll I can try to help but I didn't really do anything."

"You're lying! What did you do?!" Josh shouts.

I furrow my brow and calmly study Josh. He's breathing heavy and shaking slightly.

"I stood up for myself. I'm sure Kyle wasn't expecting me to do that and he overreacted."

"Stood up for yourself." Josh repeats.

"What do you want to make better?"

"…"

Josh doesn't respond.

"How about this, I was just about to run a lap around the town to increase my endurance; why don't you join me?"

"Okay."

I do a quick stretch and start jogging. Without a word, Josh follows close behind me. I maintain a slight lead to push him forward. I can hear his labored breaths as we reach the end of our first lap.

BRAAUUUUGGH!

I hear a terrible roar as we approach the North gate. A terrible beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion rushes toward us.

"Josh! Run!" I grab my new friend by the hand and drag him forward. I can almost hear his heart pounding out of his chest from exhaustion.

The monster's teeth gleam in the mid-morning light as it races toward us.

"Josh!" My cries are drowned out by the monster's roar!