“And what might this quest be?” Eleanora asked, folding her arms underneath her breast. The noble caught the movement with desire.

He cleared his throat. "I need a bag full of creepers before the sun sets.”

She tossed a glance to Corey, who was deep in his mind plotting the death of the noble. And how long he would drag out his torture.

In his old life, Corey let his bullies get away with everything. Why? He could go to jail for dumping acid down their throats. He did not want that. It would make him the same as his worthless biological father.

And his mother, she would be left with his step father. There were a bucket full for reasons why he never struck back against his bullies.

Corey maintained an empty expression, worrying Eleanora and the noble. He was bleeding and yet his expression showed no sign of pain, or that he had even felt what happened to him. He gave Eleanora a small, timid nod of acceptance.

“Okay.” She stuttered out. Suddenly feeling the chilling wind of Corey’s aura. The noble seemed oblivious to this. “We will accept your quest. What is the pay for this?”

“Do you keep him for this purpose?” Decon asked, completely out of tune.

“Excuse me?” Eleanora expressed her surprise at the question.

“Do you keep him, because he can withstand pain? How much do I have to give you? I’ll buy him off your hands. Name the price, and it’s yours.”

Feeling disturbed by the noble, she stood between him and Corey. The teen was lost in a thought of how he would gut Decon, and feed his dead body to Greta. He had heard the nobleman’s question, but Corey felt no bother.

People always looked at him as some circus act they could purchase. His mother was offered two hundred thousand dollars for him when he was ten. He couldn’t for the life of him understand why adults had felt comfortable treating him like an object they could just pluck off the shelf.

“He is not for sale. What is the pay for this quest?”

The noble clicked his tongue. “You are no fun. Very well then. Three thousand units, and two hundred quads. Bring me a bag full of creepers, and I will pay you.”

“Where shall we meet?”

“By the chariot motel. I will wait for you outside.”

Eleanora didn’t trust the man. But she watched him create a small scroll and sign it. Making it a law for him to pay them if they complete the quest.

Corey noticed something odd about the noble. Whatever creepers were, he felt they were something a man of his class shouldn’t be in possession of? So why would he want them?

He brushed his curiosity away. He needed to eat, then he could go all detective on the noble. After he kills him.

‘So much to do.’

“Run along. And do think about it, you could earn a fortune if you sell me your filth.”

The mage recoiled from the statement. She’d never liked nobles who thought they could buy people as if there were property.

Not wanting to spend another moment with the man, she took the scroll and led Corey back to Greta. The villagers walked around the dragon to get on with their day. Not at all bothered by where it stood in the center.

Greta peered over at Corey through her slits, happy he had returned. Though she hadn’t removed her attention from him. Corey, sensing the overprotectiveness of the dragon, patted the creature with his injured arm.

“Do you nee-”

“No, I’m fine.” He shut down Eleanora’s worrying tone. Corey had been hurt a lot on his arms, learning how to move on without them is something he had practiced. He mounted Greta, with difficulty this time. Taking the route of her wings to get to the saddle around her back.

He crossed both feet, and stared at the damage. As Greta got off the ground, wings making a majestic flap, Corey unwrapped his bandages.

ITEM: BANDAGES, COTTON SWAB, AND BEETLE JUICE OINTMENT- MADE TO HELP SORES HEAL

The items appeared as soon as Corey saw them. He wished he could thank whoever gave him this ability. While Eleanora focused on getting them to the location of the creepers, Corey cleaned his open sores with the beetle juice. There was sa slight sting when the ointment first touched his wounds but aside that, Corey sighed as his body went back to feeling nothing.

‘There must be something here that can permanently heal my sores.’

All the beetle juice did was stop the bleeding, and Corey thought maybe it would also aid his sore in closing up. But there was no sign of it just closing up magically. He rolled the bandage over the sores, from his wrist up. Once he was done, Corey stared into the clouds.

A good plan always helped him in his games, it could apply here. He could use NewAge to his advantage here. He shot up with a smile. NewAge worked for every game due to its flexibility, who’s to say it can’t apply to the Lock Keeper.

He was alerted by a thud once Greta landed. For miles, Corey could only see water.

He waited for Eleanora to get down, this time she did it calmly. No flips. He was mildly disappointed. Corey joined her on the ground and awaited her explanation of what they should be doing. And he brought one of the empty bags he found on the saddle with him. Seeing as she didn’t have any with her and they were supposed to bring a bag full of creepers.

“Can I know your name? I’m not sure if I’ve introduced myself, but I’m Eleanora.”

“Corey.” He replied softly. Diving back into the shell of not wanting to speak much.

The mage’s cheeks darkened with a blush. His voice, she had heard but it sound raspier and much deeper now. She wondered if it was always like that when he doesn’t talk for a while.

“Creepers live in that cave.” She pointed over the mountain ledge at the vast water.

Corey assumed the cave was underneath them.

“We’ll take a swim to it. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen one, but they’re mini like crabs only they can turn invisible and electrocute a person.”

Amused, Corey wanted to ask why they were living in caves then. Water and electricity doesn’t mix. But he took it as a sign that this was indeed a different world from his. So maybe thing worked on a different scale.

“Since you need the rank boost, you need to gather the creepers. But first,” she handed him the scroll, and pulled out a quill. “Write down your name, meaning the quest is yours. If not completing it will grant you nothing.”

WARNING: HUNGER LEVEL DECREASING.

NOTE: CREEPERS FEAR SUNLIGHT, YOUR EYES CAN SHINE AS BRIGHT AS THE SUN IF YOU THINK OF IT

Corey nodded, to both Eleanora and the system. He took the scroll and signed his name in.

COREY FELDMAN; QUEST GIVEN BY NOBLITE DECON- A NOBLE QUEST FOR A BAG OF CREEPERS

TASK ADDED.

He trudged carefully with Eleanora leading the way. At the cliff edge they both shared a look, before taking the leap and diving into the water.

‘Shit, I forgot to check if these bandages are waterproof.’

CREATION: WATER PROOF BANDAGES. YOUR ARMS ARE SECURED FROM THE WATER

‘Would it be wrong right now to consider myself blessed?’

He swarm with a giddy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Eleanora was graceful in the see, her armor didn’t slow her down as she moved through the currents. Corey found that he was right, the cave was just underneath. And while the sun was shining, the cave was a pitch of darkness.

Corey couldn’t see anything.

“This was a mistake, I forgot to bring a floating lamp.” Eleanora whispered to Corey, he could pinpoint where she was from the sound of her voice.

He closed his eyes, thinking about how bright the sun is. He swam forward, still keeping his lids tight and shut.

“Curry? Sorry, I meant Corey. I think that’s the right way to pronounce your strange name.”

Corey felt a burn against his eyelids, and the sounds of something crawling in his direction. He forced them apart, the entire cave was flooded with bright light.

A screech came from the creepers surrounding him, and he finally got a clear look at them. They looked nothing like crabs.

Little black creatures with six red eyes, and five claws scurried to the back of the cave on their snake like tails to get away from the light.

“How the hell did you do that?!” Eleanora shouted. Her voice bounced back to her and she winced. The creatures continued to slither away.

Corey charted images of them into his head. They were intriguing to say the least. He thought, what do crabs look like?

He followed the creatures, bag soaked but still in tact. Without fear Corey picked up the first one and a warning shot up.

WARNING: CREEPERS ARE POISONOUS. THEIR BITE CAN PUT YOU IN A DREAM LIKE COMA WHERE YOU WILL BE TORMENTED FOR DAYS, MAYBE EVEN YEARS.

YOU CAN ADD ONE TO YOUR INVENTORY.

Corey sucked in deeply to hide his excitement. “I have an inventory?” he asked in a tiny voice to keep Eleanora from hearing.

The creeper in his hand burst into a pile of bubbles.

NEW ITEM RECEIVED: LEVEL SIX CREEPER

“The animals have levels too?” he awed. The Lock Keeper’s game might top CLASH of THUNDER at this point. Corey was loving every new thing he learnt.

He reached for another one, the bright light from his eyes caused the creature to freeze from fear. This allowed Corey to place it in his bag. He gathered several more until the bag was full, then he tied the open top and swam back to Eleanora. Who hadn’t moved.

“You have a lot to explain, Corey. You must be a demon.”

He shook his head, nodding at the cave as a signal for them to go.

All he had to do now was get the bag back to the noble, and then his rank would grow.

He could eat. And consider his next course of action.

AGENDA: KILL THE NOBLE DECON

POINT TO BE EARNED: DID YOU KNOW, COREY, YOU CAN BOOST YOUR RANK BY KILLING?

IF YOU SUCCEED IN KILLING THE NOBLE, YOU WILL GET A SURPRISE.

Corey ignored it. He had plans to kill the noble, but it isn’t for the sake of boosting his rank. He wanted to see the man bleed for tampering with his bandages.

Eleanora could almost smell the evil intent radiating from her new friend. She turned a blind eye to it. Corey didn’t look like someone who would hurt people.

Or at least she hoped.