"I killed your friend?" Dhin nudged the nearest body with a foot. "One of these, you mean?"

"Yes, one of those." Severance wanted to go up and smack the guy.

"But they look the same. How am I supposed to tell the difference?"

"You've met him before! You should have recognized him!"

The female Champion eyed them warily. She backed up a few steps, while glancing at the Chosen nearby. It was like she wasn't sure who was the enemy she needed to be on guard against. Severance didn't blame her.

"Huh," Dhin said, as if it never occurred to him before to bother with recognizing someone.

One of the Chosen bodies on the bridge chose that moment to vanish. The player had gotten tired of waiting for a Revive, even though it hadn't even been a minute since he'd fallen.

"Hey. You." One of the Chosen chose that moment to come forward. He was sort of glaring at Severance, even though that didn't make much sense. Dhin was the one who'd slaughtered everyone, not him.

"Me?" Severance asked, just to confirm.

"Yeah. Why's your name red?"

"It's not?" Severance threw the player a weird look. Names weren't red.

"What are you talking about?" the female Champion asked.

Another Chosen scoffed, her gaze fixated on the space over Severance's head. "No, it really is. How'd you get that?"

It was a bizarre situation. They were all standing on a bridge shrouded in smoke; a group of players who had been fighting tooth and nail just moments ago. And now they were questioning the color of a name, as if it were suddenly more important than whatever caused the fight.

Severance couldn't make sense of it. Then again, players were a bit weird sometimes. They followed their own logic. That was something he'd learned during his many adventures with Awesome Dude.

"I have no idea," he said. But then he froze in place, because actually, maybe he did.

The Dark Reviver. When he'd gotten that title, the System had said something strange, like how he was a sworn enemy of the Chosen and Traders, and now all would know it.

Was this how it worked? By turning his name red, those clans would be able to easily recognize him. But that didn't mean they'd necessarily know why-

"It's him!" The first Chosen jabbed a finger at him. "The wanted posters. It's him!"

Crap. He'd forgotten about those posters. Severance immediately turned to his fallen friend and flicked open his war fans.

"Revive."

He only hoped he had enough time to get the skill off. The sooner he could grab Awesome Dude, the sooner they could leave this mad circus before everyone tried to kill him.

Thanfully, Dhin was there. The Veiled clansman sauntered forward, putting himself between Severance and the others. He revealed a Maun-like smile.

"There's no need to get all worked up. We're just innocent civilians passing by, that's all."

"Passing by my arse," the Chosen spat. "Whatever. We'll just kill you, too. Erin." He called out to a small player who stood apart by herself. With pink curls floating around her head, she was hard to miss. "Get our people revived."

Erin blinked large magenta eyes as if coming out of a doze. Two dainty white fans appeared in her hands.

"Okay," she chimed.

By then, wind gusted towards Awesome Dude and gently lifted him up. But Severance wasn't even paying attention to his friend's revival. He was backing away from the approaching Chosen, who had somehow become three when he wasn't looking.

"That's a Champion," he told Dhin, and pointed at the female Champion that they'd saved earlier. "Don't kill her."

Dhin tilted his head, considering. "But what if I want to?"

You have received a message from Jack Coyote. The System chose that moment to inform Severance. Would you like to open message?

This was a daycare for children, Severance decided right then and there, and he was the poor miserable adult conned into running it. There'd even be the angry yelling he'd get from Jack when he finally dragged everyone over to the Raid entrance.

"No," he said, annoyed. If Dhin thought he was less grumpy than usual, then the guy was wrong. He glared at Awesome Dude's beaten form. "Suppress."

The blast of energy that burst out of his fans was a harmless gale of wind. But that didn't matter. It froze everyone in the vicinity in place. And four seconds was plenty of time.

Severance lunged for the Chosen. Three seconds. The bladed edge of one fan slashed once. Two. He spun to put his other fan in range of the next target. A second cut. One.

The stun faded as Severance reached the third Chosen in the group. He snapped a fan shut and stabbed it into the player's neck. When he yanked it free, all three players collapsed, hitting the ground one after another. Wind gusted around him like a whirlwind, before pulling away to gather around his focus target, Awesome Dude.

That left one last Chosen. Severance turned to look at her, eyes narrowed. He wasn't exactly keen on killing a fellow healer, but he'd do it if he had to.

Wide-eyed and slack-jawed, Erin lifted both hands above her head.

"I surrender!"

He paused, considering. She could Revive the others, and they'd be right back where they started. Still, it would take her time to do so. He and Awesome Dude could get out of here long before she'd get a single player up.

"Whoa." Awesome Dude looked himself over. There wasn't a single scratch left on him. "You just healed me by assassinating three people! Is that a new clan skill, Sev?"

"No." Severance turned away from the Chosen healer. She wasn't much of a threat, really. "That's just Earth Dance."

Earth Dance and assassination combined, but he didn't feel like explaining it. Though a small part of him was busy marveling over it. He didn't think it'd be so effective, especially when he was just attacking without using skills.

A loud gasp startled him, and he was treated to the sight of Erin falling to her knees, hands clasped before her like she was about to pray. She stared up at him, eyes practically sparkling with pure awe.

"Teach me," she exclaimed.

"What?"

Both Awesome Dude and Dhin burst into identical snickers.

"You gotta tell me how you did that!" she exclaimed.

He thought he'd already had. The snickers grew louder, and he rubbed the side of his neck, wondering how he was supposed to deal with this. This girl didn't fit in with the Chosen at all.

On the side of her neck was the very faint imprint of a skull. It wasn't hard to figure out that it was the clan gift she'd received, but as pale as it was, it clearly wasn't a strong one.

"You should leave the Chosen," he told her. "Find a better clan."

She lowered her hands to her knees. "Is that the secret? Your clan is better?"

"Yes," Dhin came up to Sev, patting him a little too forcefully on the back. "You think this guy is pretty strong? Well, it's because I taught him everything he knows."

"Really? Is that how you got a red name?" Her eyes were so bright, they all could practically see the stars shining within them. Her amazed gaze went to Dhin, who stood just a little bit straighter. He smiled proudly, chin lifting just a tad.

Really? Severance felt disgusted. He elbowed Dhin in the side in an attempt to deflate some of that ego. It didn't work. Dhin just wriggled a little and absorbed the blow like a sponge.

"Then, can I join your clan? Please?" She scooted closer to them on her knees, then sat by their feet, looking up at them. It was weird.

"Just get up," Severance muttered.

Dhin didn't seem to care what she did. "Sorry. We only need one healer, and Twiggy here is the only maniac crazy enough to stick with us. But if he dies, we'll be taking applications."

There was so much wrong with that sentence that Severance didn't even know where to begin. Dhin was calling him crazy? And if he dies? Wasn't that a pointless statement? As a player, he died every day in the game!

"Ignore him," Severance told the girl. He crouched so he could be at her eye level. Looking down at her was making him uncomfortable. "Look, just ask Awesome Dude. I'm sure the Eternal Champions would love to have a healer join them. How did you even end up with the Chosen, anyway?"

She shrugged. "They came up and gave me a contract, and I signed."

"That's it?" Awesome Dude sounded as aghast as he looked. "But they're evil! They kill people for no reason!"

Severance nodded in agreement. He had run into their recruiters himself, and they had all but tried to force him to sign their contract. It was an excellent way to endear players to them, truly.

You have received a message from Jack Coyote. Do you want to open message?

Oh, right. Jack was probably wondering where they were. Severance contemplating answering, then decided it'd be better if they just got going instead.

"You should totally join us," Awesome Dude was telling Erin. "There's a lot of nice people and we get to fight a lot!"

Erin pouted. "But I want to fight with him." She pointed at Severance.

Awesome Dude grinned. "Ha. Sev and me and best friends. We do lots of dungeons together and stuff. Join the Champions, and you'll get to see Sev lots."

I'm a bargaining chip now, Severance thought sourly. Though he had to give it to his friend; Awesome Dude could be pretty shrewd sometimes. Especially when Erin nodded, and leapt to her feet. She asked where she could find the Champions, and Awesome Dude promised to take her himself, later.

They exchanged friendship requests. Severance got one from Erin too, which he hesitated over at first. A jab in the ribs from Awesome Dude and he dutifully accepted. If they could get one healer away from the Chosen, then it was a small price to pay.

When he, Dhin, and Awesome Dude finally arrived outside the Robot Raid entrance, they were met by a curious team. And one positively frosty tank.

"Where were you?" Jack Coyote demanded of Severance. He ignored Awesome Dude entirely, and didn't seem to notice as Dhin patted Severance on the back and then teleported away, his escort duty finished.

Severance leaned back, almost feeling the sheer pressure emanating from those golden eyes. He'd done absolutely nothing wrong except be a few minutes late.

"I went to get Awesome Dude."

Wasn't that obvious?

"I sent you two messages," Jack faced Severance squarely, their heights just right for them to stand face to face. "You didn't answer them."

"I was busy." Severance held Jack's gaze steadily.

"It was my fault," Awesome Dude butted in between them. He elbowed Severance aside a step, then purposefully stared up at Jack with a disarming smile. "I ran into some Chosen that tried to kill some of my friends, so I was a bit delayed. Sev helped me clean them up. No big deal, really."

If Jack Coyote had been annoyed before, now he looked about ready to murder someone. Every line of his face hardened into unyielding steel. His gaze became so cold it almost burned. Not once had he looked at the Shade, though he definitely had been listening to him.

"You went to fight the Chosen," he repeated, all but glaring at Severance.

"I did," Severance agreed.

To a small degree, he could understand the tank's ire. Jack actually seemed to care about whether he got hurt. But really, it was over the top. It wasn't like he was made of glass, where getting damaged would ruin his life forever. A glance at the team nearby showed various shades of curiosity and bafflement. They didn't really get it, either.

He sighed. "Look, it was fine. I wasn't alone. A clan member was with me. And if I hadn't gone, Awesome Dude would still be dead."

"Hey!" Awesome Dude protested. Everyone ignored him.

Jack didn't look any happier with that piece of information. "Fine. But answer your messages next time. You're part of a team, so you keep your team informed. Got it?"

"Yeah, sorry. Am I focusing on DPS today?"

Jack regarded him coolly. Then he gave a curt nod. "As much as you can. We don't have an Evoker today, so you'll have to support Morning Glory as necessary."

"Dude," said Awesome Dude. He looked between them in bafflement.

"All right." Severance called his weapons from Inventory. "Sky Dance."

Electricity abruptly flared about him, crackling up his forearms in brilliant blue flashes.

"Nice." A small girl in a cute dress came over and grinned up at him. "But I liked the coat better."

Severance looked down at his plain and black tunic and trousers.

"Yeah, me too."

Morning Glory laughed. Then she held up her elbow. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

It didn't matter that he had to sort of bend sideways to hook his arm through hers, or that she had to walk with one elbow lifted as high as it could go. They walked arm and arm, one very short, one very tall, into the swirling gray light of the dungeon portal.

They were the first to enter. Behind them came the tanks, Jack Coyote and Ironhide. Like the healers, they went in together, side by side. They didn't hook arms though.

Awesome Dude scrunched his nose, feeling somewhat left out. It was a weird feeling for him. "What is going on?"

***

"Whoaaaa! What is going on?!" Awesome Dude reached deep into the treasure chest and came up with an armload of sparking blue crystals. "This is crazy! There's so many!!" And then he proceeded to toss it into the air like he was throwing dollar bills.

They didn't come down like dollar bills. They came down like a bunch of hard little rocks that bounced off his head. "Ow-!"

Severance, who was sitting on the ground next to a flopped-out Morning Glory, shook his head with a fond, yet tired smile. He was wearing his second set of clan clothing of the day, and it was little more than scorched scraps. Mere cloth didn't stand up to any kind of damage very well.

"I got another level," Morning Glory announced. She sat up, shaking the ash from her hair. Her dress wasn't in much better shape than Severance's clothing, but she had the foresight to bring a few giant shawls to cover up with. "Did you?"

"I finally reached 40." Severance answered, distracted by the blue, semi-transparent window floating before him.

Current Level: 40

WIS - 29

INT - 29 + 1

VIT – 33

AGI - 25 + 26

STR - 9

FOR - 3

Two other messages pulsed before him with annoying persistence. Ever since he had leveled up a half hour ago, they kept returning like clockwork, as if frightened he'd forget about them.

FLOW MASTERY unlocked.
You have unassigned skills.

He swiped the screen away. "System, Skills."

"What's your level 40 skill?" Morning Glory asked. "Mine's pretty epic. You know that Aria skill with the big 50% heal?"

"That one is nice," he agreed. "Too bad the cooldown is like ten minutes."

"Five minutes. But you can't deny that it's saved our butts a few times."

Saving Grace – Ability. Pulls an ally out of danger and to the caster's side. Cooldown: 60 secs**

Shocking Step – Ability. stun a single target for 3 seconds. Can be ally or enemy. Does not work on bosses. Cooldown: 60 secs**

**Abilities are not affected by Wisdom.

He made a face. "These are nowhere as good as yours. A stun, which I don't need because I already have a better one, and one that pulls an ally out of danger."

"Oh, I don't know. That second one sounds pretty useful. Haven't you noticed how often our DPS like to stand in fire? Now you can just pull them out, give them a slap, and tell them to behave."

Severance snorted and tapped the window. "You almost sound jealous."

You have learned: Saving Grace

"I am jealous. But maybe I'll get something similar as we level up. What do you think will happen once we reach 50?"

War, Severance thought. He watched as Awesome Dude scrambled around on all fours, picking up all the Amaurite he'd tossed. His lips twitched into a tiny smile despite the grim reality drifting through his thoughts.

"Probably more dungeons."

"Poo." Morning Glory flopped back. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me when we're 50, 'kay?"

"Sure," he agreed. He tapped a couple of the times on the screen, until what he was looking for was revealed.

FLOW MASTERY – you have mastered the Veiled art of Flow. For thirty seconds, you can use any skill without cooldown. Requirement: You must be moving. Limited to one use per hour.

He read the words, and then reread them again just to make sure. This was ridiculous. Thirty seconds didn't sound like much, but that would be absolutely invaluable in a fight. That was three back-to-back Revives. Or even three Ionizes. Ionize was his hardest-hitting skill, but it had a cast time that was almost as long as Revive's. That made it hard to use in battle. But with this, he could absolutely nuke the battlefield.

Just thinking about it made him grin. Then he remembered the limit on it. All right, fine, so he couldn't be a nuke machine all the time. It was still far better than Saving Grace.

Like Morning Glory had, he flopped backwards onto the cool stone platform.

Wake me when we're 50?

If only such a thing were possible.