“What do you want this time?” Lucas sighed as he asked her the question, knowing full well what she was about to ask him. He wanted to delay her request as long as possible, however, since he knew that this interaction was about to grow a lot more complicated, and he wasn’t prepared for the engagement that was going to follow yet. Since he was currently holding a magic staff, he decided to up his chances of survival by quickly assigning 10 of his available skill points into Arcanum, raising his total Arcane Energy pool from 100 to 200. This not only doubled the number of spells that he could cast, but since his total pool was doubled, it also meant that he could cast every spell in his arsenal twice as fast.

“Are you really going to make me spell it out?” Xun Guan asked. She was smiling as if she already knew that she’d get her way and that Lucas would do exactly what she wanted. “I’m not really in the mood to die, so could you please kill these people off for me?”

Malik, Nick, and Valerie all turned around to see what Lucas was going to do.

Lucas just stood there, unmoving and rooted in place.

“Just close your eyes, brother. You don’t have to watch. We’ll take care of this quest for you . . . Enough now!” Malik lunged toward Xun Guan, his sword out in front of him, ready to attack.

“Don’t have to tell me,” Nick grumbled, holding his shield up and rushing the noblewoman. “Stupid quest is creeping me out!”

Valerie laughed. “So much pointless drama! Let’s just get this over with and head to the tavern while we figure out point distribution.”

In his head, Lucas was already playing out the hundred different ways it might look as she died, her face overlapping with its counterpart, and he could feel his heart tightening as he lost himself in her gaze.

Xun Guan, who was being charged by three players, looked over at Lucas expectantly. “Please . . . Please save me.” Her arrogant tone was gone, her gaze was filled with fear, and her voice was almost pleading. “I don’t wanna die again! Please! I don’t wanna die again . . .” She looked just like her. The situation was too much.

Lucas squeezed his eyes and tried to ignore her, but even as he did, he could feel his Arcane Energy being channeled into the staff. It spread through the right resistors and transistors and activated the spell.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered to the players’ backs. “I’m not watching her die again . . .” He unleashed Zap. A string of electricity shot out of the top of his staff, arced through the air, and slammed into Malik. The Dwarf apparently hadn’t put any of his stats into Fortitude yet, and there was no warning for Nick to cast the Healer’s protective barrier. The Lightning coursed through the man’s body freely, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks as his muscles tensed up. He crashed to the ground dead, seizing up and shaking violently.