Infinite Farmer

Tulland wasn't sure when it happened but at some point, the knight wobbled.

Its eyes filled with disbelief when that happened. And then everything happened at once.

The knight clawed once more, a weak and ineffectual strike that was only magnified by the reluctance on its face to be taken down by someone so obviously unqualified. It somehow convinced itself that it would lose to Tulland. And that was enough to tip the scales of the fight.

The last few hits from Tulland, born out of sheer stubbornness, were enough. The light dimmed in the knight's eyes and its legs gave out completely. Even after a few seconds, Tulland was still suspicious. He paused, catching his breath and ready to restart the clubbing when his opponent twitched. As much as everything hurt, he couldn't quit until he was sure.

Unlikely things are unlikely. This could still be a trick. I need confirmation, dammit.

And then, finally, confirmation came.

Tulland collapsed to the grass. He was just conscious enough to distribute a few points to his vitality, which in turn seemed to wake him up just enough to actually pay attention to the rest of his stat screen. He went about tidying it up, making sure every point of his new levels had a place. The skill advancements had determined themselves, with a big bias towards stats that improved his new combat skills. Each of them had picked up a full five levels, which seemed only fair given what he had just put them through.

"Do you want to see? I can show you my screen, I think."

Are you sure? Normally, you'd be apprehensive of that.

"Maybe. But you helped me with this. I'd say you earned a peek."

Then I accept.

Tulland mentally pushed for the System to be able to see his stat sheet. It was hard to be sure it worked until he heard the System make an appreciative little click.

This might just work, you know. It's not quite conventional. But there might just be enough pieces there to make a real go of things.

"In expert hands, maybe. I'm hardly that." Tulland stared up at the red sky, still breathing through his pain as Strong Back did its best to heal his wounds. It was much, much better at it now, even thought it was hard to tell given the extent of the damage the knight had done to him. "I'm about as far from that as anyone can be."

You sell yourself short. But we can talk about that another time. You have another conversation to have right now.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing yet." Necia was suddenly sitting on the ground near him, nursing her own litany of wounds and clearly still trying to catch her own breath. "I only just got here."

"Necia!" Tulland jerked to a sitting position, which turned out to be the exact wrong choice in his condition. Wounds tore and just-scabbed-over cuts began to bleed again as his eyes filled with stars. He pushed through. "You made it."

"Yes, I did. Somehow." Necia grinned big, despite the obvious pain in her face. "You were right. All that prep work was more than enough. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible, either. What about you?"

"I had to cheat. Some of us don't have swords, you know."

"You have your stick. It's nice! Very…" Necia glanced at the blood-covered weapon and searched for good things to say about it. "Very bloody. I like the shiny bit on the end a lot."

"Thanks. So, is that it?" Tulland nodded towards a nearby arch that had appeared without fanfare during his recovery. It looked a lot like any of the others. He didn't know why he had expected it to be shinier or more ornate, but he had. Seeing it sitting there, built out of nothing but ordinary-looking stone and covered in ordinary-looking moss, was a real letdown. "It doesn't look like much."

"No, it doesn't. But yes, I think it is the way onward." Necia glanced down at her armor, which was a bit messy even by their normal standards. "Do you think they have baths? In the safe zone, I mean."

"They better. Or at least a good river. We'll have to remember to soak in it downstream of the village, if so. To keep from polluting the water supply."

Necia laughed. It was a nice sound.

"Fair enough. So, are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Me? No. I need ten more minutes. At least. If I tried to walk now, I think my legs might actually fall off," Tulland said.

"Oh, good." Necia flopped over on her side in the dirt. "I was just acting tough. That knight really did a number on me."

Ten minutes later, they were both mostly knitted up. It was actually Tulland who rose to his feet first, stretching himself out as every single joint in his body popped and creaked in protest.

"Noisy." Necia rose to her feet as well, surprised as her joints made at least as much audible protest. "I guess I am too. So, for real now, are you ready?"

Tulland looked towards the arch and took a deep breath.

"Yeah. Sure. Let's do it."

"Good." Necia put her hand behind Tulland's elbow and maneuvered him forward. "Come on. Let's go."

They stood in front of the arch together for just a moment, then stepped through together as everything flashed to white.