We all waited, holding our breath. Nothing happened.
We all turned our attention to the cactus. So far, there was no change. The one thing we didn’t want to happen was for it to activate and then turn to dust. That meant Na was dead.
Mordecai reached over and hit a button on the back of Suckira, and the robot unit turned off. He held it in two skeletal hands.
“Okay, then,” Mordecai said. “Donut, let’s sell this at the terminal.”
We moved to the shop-interface terminal in the common room located right next to the Bopca station. Donut swept her paw across it. We all watched as she made a newFor Salelisting.
“Yay! I did it right. Okay, Mordecai, put it in front of the light thingy, and it’ll be done.”
Mordecai reached over, and with a beep, the white cleaner bot disappeared.
Mordecai’s hood was suddenly down, and his eyeball head was on fire.
“The Oak Fell lives up to her name,” he said in his deep voice. But then the giant eye blinked, and he was back to himself. He pulled the hood up and patted the fire out on his head.
The interface beeped, and text appeared.Your item has sold!
[ 62 ]
Mees Koning 2.Crawler #9,174,929.
Race: Half-Orc.
Class: Boring Ol’ Mage.
Final Level: 63.
Hi, Princess Donut.
I was never a good-looking guy, and I never had a girlfriend. But I used to think if I tried really hard at keeping in shape and keeping up with fashion and taking lessons online on how to be social, maybe I would one day find someone.
I feel so invisible sometimes. No matter how hard I tried, it didn’t seem to work. I freeze up when I talk to people. I’m not good with social interactions. I stutter sometimes, and it makes people uncomfortable.
It was really hard not to be bitter about it, if I’m honest. But I tried not to be. I tried to keep a positive attitude.
I think the dungeon knew this about me because when it came to race selection, my only options were things that made me even uglier. I’d sliced into an Acid Spitter and was badlyscarred before the second floor collapsed. I could stay human, of course, but that meant I’d have to keep my injuries. So I picked the race that seemed the least offensive-looking.
I regret it. People shied away from me even more afterward, and after I accidentally hurt two crawlers when myWhoopsie Daisyspell backfired and I received two player-killer skulls, I was truly alone.
Why am I telling you this?
You probably don’t remember, but just before the battle at the southern border during Faction Wars, I was working a stinger unit. You and Carl strolled by, and you stopped, looked up at me, and said you liked my fangs. You saw my player-killer skulls and asked me if I was a bad person. I told you what happened, and I stuttered, but you waited for me to tell you, and afterward, you told me about your friend Imani, and you said that we all have scars.
We only talked for maybe a minute, but it was enough.
It’s stupid, I know. You saw I was scared, and it was just a little throwaway moment. But I think it was the first time in my entire life anyone has ever looked at me and said something nice, just to be nice, just to make me, a stranger, feel better.
So thank you for that. During that horrible floor, it was a small, happy moment of brightness that gave me just enough of a boost to get through the most terrifying experience of my life.
I was inside the ball when you cast your Atrocity. You saved the life of myself and so many others.
You are beautiful on the inside and on the outside, no matter how many scars you may receive before this is over. I want you to know that.
I used to draw a lot of anime characters growing up, and I hope this drawing helps you in some way.