I found an inn that let me sleep in the stable for free after I helped the owner move some barrels. The quest system dinged.
[MINOR QUEST COMPLETE: HONEST WORK][REWARD: +10 CREDITS][CURRENT BALANCE: -999,890]
Ten credits for an hour of backbreaking labor. At this rate, I'd need to work for approximately... eleven thousand years to clear my debt.
"System," I said quietly, lying in hay that was definitely inhabited by something with too many legs. "Is there a faster way?"
[YES]
"Care to elaborate?"
[COMPLETE HIGHER DIFFICULTY QUESTS][HELP MORE PEOPLE AT ONCE][SOLVE MAJOR PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF MINOR ONES][FACE YOUR DEEPEST REGRETS]
That last one made my stomach turn. "Pass on that last one."
[COWARD]
"Excuse me?"
[YOU HEARD ME. YOU WANT TO CLEAR YOUR DEBT QUICKLY? FACE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN RUNNING FROM. BUT YOU WON'T. BECAUSE YOU'RE THE SAME MARCUS WHO IGNORED YOUR MOTHER'S CALLS. WHO GAVE UP ON HIS DREAMS. WHO TOOK THE EASY WAY OUT OF EVERYTHING.]
Anger flared in my chest. "I'm here, aren't I? I chose to do this!"
[YOU CHOSE BECAUSE THE ALTERNATIVE WAS WORSE. NOT BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO CHANGE. PROVE ME WRONG.]
A new quest appeared, glowing red instead of the usual blue:
[MAJOR QUEST AVAILABLE: CALL YOUR MOTHER][SPEAK TO A MEMORY OF YOUR MOTHER. APOLOGIZE. MEAN IT.][REWARD: +10,000 CREDITS][FAILURE: -10,000 CREDITS + PERMANENT EMOTIONAL DAMAGE][WARNING: THIS QUEST HAS A 73% FAILURE RATE][ACCEPT?]
My hand hovered over the prompt. Ten thousand credits. That was a hundred times what I'd made so far. It would actually make a dent.
But talking to Mom? Facing what I'd done to her?
I closed the window. "Not yet. I need to... prepare."
[COWARD CONFIRMED]
"Shut up."
The system didn't respond, but I could feel its judgment.
I barely slept that night.
Morning came with the sound of screams.
I bolted upright as people ran past the stable, shouting about a fire. Smoke billowed from somewhere in the merchant district.
[EMERGENCY QUEST AVAILABLE][THE BURNING BAKERY][THE BAKERY FROM YESTERDAY IS ON FIRE][THE OWNER AND HER SON ARE TRAPPED INSIDE][SAVE THEM: +5,000 CREDITS][LET THEM DIE: -50,000 CREDITS + PERMANENT GUILT DEBUFF][TIME LIMIT: 4 MINUTES]
The kid I'd helped yesterday. His mom who'd hugged me.
They were going to die.
I ran.
The bakery was an inferno. Flames poured from the windows, and the crowd just stood there, watching. No fire department. No heroes.
Just me.
[WARNING: YOU HAVE NO FIRE RESISTANCE][PROBABILITY OF DEATH: 67%][PROCEED?]
I didn't answer. I just grabbed someone's water bucket, dumped it over my head, and charged through the door.
The heat hit me like a physical wall. Smoke filled my lungs immediately. I couldn't see, could barely breathe.
"HELLO?" I shouted. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
A weak cry from upstairs.
I found the stairs—half collapsed—and climbed anyway. The wood creaked dangerously under my weight.
They were in the corner. The kid, his mom, huddled together. A beam had fallen, trapping her leg.
"You!" The kid's eyes went wide. "You came back!"
"Yeah, well, I'm stupid like that." I grabbed the beam. "On three, you pull your mom out. One... two... THREE!"
I lifted with everything I had. The beam moved maybe three inches, but it was enough. The kid dragged his mother free.
"GO!" I shouted. "Down the stairs! NOW!"
They scrambled past me. I tried to follow, but the stairs chose that exact moment to collapse.
I fell through smoke and flames, hit the ground floor hard enough to see stars, and honestly thought: "Well, at least I tried."
Then hands grabbed me. The crowd had pushed through, forming a chain. They pulled me out just as the building collapsed.
I lay on the street, coughing up smoke, my clothes singed, my lungs burning.
[QUEST COMPLETE: THE BURNING BAKERY][CIVILIANS SAVED: 2][REWARD: +5,000 CREDITS][BONUS: YOU RISKED YOUR LIFE FOR STRANGERS][ADDITIONAL REWARD: +2,000 CREDITS][ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "ACTUAL HERO"][NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: COURAGE (RANK F)]
[CURRENT BALANCE: -992,890 CREDITS]
The kid was crying, hugging his mother. She was crying too, but she looked at me with such gratitude that something in my chest cracked open.
"Why?" she asked. "Why risk your life for us?"
I coughed, tried to breathe. "Because... because last time someone needed help, I walked away. Not anymore."
[SINCERITY: 96%][COURAGE (RANK F) UPGRADED TO COURAGE (RANK E)]
A healer rushed over, started treating my burns. The crowd was talking, pointing at me.
"He just ran in!" "Saved them both!" "Who is he?"
For the first time in my life—both lives—people were looking at me with respect instead of pity or disappointment.
It felt... good.
[SYSTEM NOTICE][YOU HAVE ATTRACTED ATTENTION][REPUTATION IN KALRETH: +50][NEW OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE]
As the healer worked, a man in expensive robes approached. He had the look of money and authority.
"You," he said. "The hero. I have a proposition for you."
"I'm listening."
"My daughter has been kidnapped by bandits. The city guard won't help—they say it's outside their jurisdiction. But you... you have courage. And apparently, a death wish." He pulled out a purse heavy with coins. "Save her, and this is yours. Fifty gold suns."
[QUEST AVAILABLE: THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER][SAVE ELENA FROST FROM THE BLOODFANG BANDITS][REWARD: 50 GOLD SUNS + 15,000 CREDITS][DIFFICULTY: EXTREME][ESTIMATED SURVIVAL RATE: 12%][ACCEPT?]
Fifty gold suns was apparently a fortune. And fifteen thousand credits would bring me under 980,000.
But 12% survival rate?
I looked at the man's desperate eyes. At the kid who I'd saved, watching me like I was some kind of superhero.
The old Marcus would have walked away. Too risky. Not my problem.
But I wasn't that Marcus anymore. Or at least, I was trying not to be.
"I'll need equipment," I said. "And information about these bandits."
The man's face lit up with hope. "Anything. Whatever you need."
[QUEST ACCEPTED: THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER][TIME LIMIT: 48 HOURS BEFORE BANDITS EXECUTE HER]
As he led me away to prepare, the system chimed one more time.
[NOTICE: YOU'RE CHANGING, MARCUS][KEEP IT UP][YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY SURVIVE THIS]
For once, the system didn't sound mocking.
It sounded... proud?
[END OF CHAPTER 2][CURRENT DEBT: -992,890 CREDITS][NEXT CHALLENGE: BLOODFANG BANDITS][SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: ???]