Class started, and within moments Emily found herself zoning out. She wasn’t thinking about literature and its impact on society, or the artistic merit of stringing words along in pretty ways. She wasn’t even overly worried about the people sitting around her for once.

Her mind was focused on quests.

Now that she knew a bit more about how the system worked, she figured she could start to work on becoming something that wasn’t a Villain.

It was, on the surface, rather simple. She just had to pick out quests that would lead her in another direction and do them.

Quest!

Fighting Good

Join the battle against the forces of good.

Reward: +3 Skill Upgrade points per Hero incapacitated or killed. Villain +4 per kill!

Accept? Refuse?

That was clear enough. The quest would make her even more of a Villain. Also, killing people was completely off the table.

New Quest!

The Black Queen

Begin to climb the societal ladder . . . with violence!

Reward: +1 Skill Upgrade point per person assassinated, socially outcast, or bullied into submission. Crime Lord +1 per rung climbed!

Accept? Refuse?

There were more things she wasn’t familiar with. Societal ranks? She opened her agenda and added it to the “Ask Teddy” list. A few flips back to another list had her adding “Find a code” to her weekly list. She didn’t want just anyone finding her agenda and knowing everything she was up to.

The Black Queen quest was off the table. She didn’t want to become a Crime Lord any more than she wanted to be a Villain. Teddy had said something about points near the same rank sometimes allowing for sideways growth, though it hadn’t been in so many words and there was a warning about capitalists in there, too, that Emily didn’t understand.

The next quest was one that had her a bit more on edge.

New Quest!

The Queen with the Silken Sword

Become an outstanding member of your community!

Reward: +1 Skill Upgrade point per 10 people who recognize you as “good.” Scoundrel +1 per 10 people who recognize you as “good”!

Accept? Refuse?

That had potential! She had to stifle the urge to smile, or else the people around her might begin to wonder why her mood had changed.

She could do that, she could help the community!

Sighing, Emily sat back and did her best to pay attention to the lesson. She would have to look up any notes left by students from the previous year, in case she missed anything important, but that was also something she could do.

In the back of her mind, she was planning out ways to join volunteer groups. Maybe she could pick up trash, or clean clothes at a thrift store? She’d done things like that before! It would be easy once she figured out how to work it around her school schedule.