John was sore and tired.

  He was in his room, ying face down on his pillow, his armour back on the stand.

  The day had been going great, but after returning to the slums to heal the second time that afternoon, his body was letting him know it was too much, even with the Substance X booster.

  His meeting with Galba had gone well at least, getting all those spell tomes for free was an amazing bonus. He had the [Fire Bolt] book beside him on the nightstand, though he hadn't had a chance to read it yet. He was in too much pain, his brain in too much of a fog, to be able to focus for too long on anything, let alone study a new magic spell.

  He tried not to be intimidated by the man but John couldn't really help himself. Anyone who could just sit there causally while wreathed in bck fmes wasn't someone you could take lightly.

  First Brod, now Galba. Is Gulgar another powerhouse disguised as a chef? (He is)

  John was really considering things now, his despot thoughts taking over. These people...if he could convince them to train him to become stronger, he could use these skills in other worlds, particurly High School of the Dead. He was pretty sure if Brod was in StarCraft, he could have beat that zergling up with his bare hands (Probably). And now that he had access to attack magic, he wouldn't be as helpless if he was injured again (Probably be better off with the pistol right now).

  He sighed.

  If it wasn't for this damn body anyways. I have never cursed getting old before, not until I arrived at DEN, but even with my upgrades, getting stronger seems like an daunting task.

  On a whim, he opened his TGC status screen. "Status Open"

  Name: John WayneJob: Healer

  Age: 35 [83]Level: 1

  HP: 70MP: 156 [120 x 1.3]

  STR: 25 [24] VIT: 20 [18]DEX: 17 [16] AGI: 14 [13]INT: 27 [25]MGI: 40 [35]RMG: 40 [35] SP: 0

  Magic Affinity: Holy (Major), All (Minor)

  SKILLS

  Assess Mastery I Monster Luck IMartial Arts I Magic Control IISwordman IHoly Magic IIIFocus I

  HP Growth Rate Up IMP Growth Rate Up ISTR Growth Rate Up IVIT Growth Rate Up IDEX Growth Rate Up IAGI Growth Rate Up IINT Growth Rate Up IMGI Growth Rate Up IRMG Growth Rate Up I

  Poison Resist IParalysis Resist I Petrify Resist I Sleep Resist I Charm Resist I Curse Resist I Enfeeble Resist I Silence Resist I Disease Resist I

  [Den Return (Ready)][General Magic - Adept][Pilot - Savant][Dig][Ambidextrous - Adept]

  [Ejacution Control - Novice][Tonal Connection - Novice][Scouter - Novice]

  TITLES

  Shaper of Destiny (all stats +10)Protection of the God of Fate (increased SP generation)[Protection of the Omni (decreased SP cost)]

  [Things in these brackets are hidden from anyone in this world - Alec]

  "Holy crap! When did I get all this stuff?" he excimed.

  He browsed his updated skill window for a few minutes, then closed it. With his Holy magic going up again, he could get another promotion at the Healers guild, opening up new spell tomes. All this extra healing he was doing was really pushing that stat up. As for the rest, he had no idea, so dropped it. He didn't have the bandwidth left in his brain to think too deeply on it right now.

  "I need to enquire about resurrection magic next time I stop by the Healers Guild. Actually, come to think of it, adventures die quite frequently in this world, you would think having that kind of magic would prevent that...maybe it cost too much? or maybe it doesn't exist. Either way, it won't hurt to ask."

  He sat up and got dressed in his leathers. He was going to grab a bite to eat then drink another dose of that bilge water they call Substance X. While he had a date with the woman he was pnning to marry in a couple days, that didn't mean he could just sit on his ass in the meantime. Back pain or not, he needed to grow stronger, for most of these worlds were beyond him and The Great Cleric seemed to be one where he could train in retive safety. At least for now.

  With that, John hobbled out of his room, his expanded skill window forgotten as he was more concerned about not falling down the stairs.

  In a nearby Healer's Clinic...

  In an overly opulent office, a fat older man dressed in rich robes sat behind a grand desk, tapping his fingers as he reviewed his subordinates monthly report. Two men in white healers robes stood in front of him, both slightly nervous at the displeased expression on their bosses face. Another two men stood by the door, disinterested expressions on their faces. They were just guards however, and the running's of the mans business was of no concern to them.

  "It is very strange, we seem to being having a slow month." The fat man said to a couple people standing in front of the desk.

  "Yes boss, it is strange. Sixty percent less adventurers and nearly ninety percent less poor people have shown up looking for healing." The man on the right said, a tall, skinny man who appeared fairly frail despite his young age.

  "I have begun making inquiries as to what happened. It may be as simple as one of the smaller clinics undercutting our prices." The other one said, a shorter, middle aged man, though just as frail looking as his partner.

  The fat man drummed his fingers some more, then put the paper down. "Very well, report to me when you find something. Even if you find nothing, update me in a week and I will start my own investigation as well. You are dismissed."

  "Yes Boss." They said in unison and beat a hasty retreat from his office.

  The fat man picked up the report again and sighed. His underground contacts were not going to like this, the ck of people he could ensve due to their debts this month would cause them to put pressure on him to take even more next month. He didn't like being beholden to those people, but he had his daughter to think about.

  He sighed again and put down the paper. He then poured himself a gss of his favorite port that he had stashed in the drawers of his desk and took a drink. He didn't want to know what his daughter would think of him now and with the things he had done he wasn't sure if he could look her in the eyes anymore. It didn't matter though, she was being cured and supposedly safe. That was the only thing that mattered to him at this point.

  He drank again, tears unknowingly forming at the corners of his eyes, memories of his past clouding his thoughts.

  His guards just watched him impassively, not really caring about his dirty business, as long as they got paid.

  The days went by fairly quickly for John.

  That night after a meal and a dose of Substance X, he had a couple customers that needed some urgent care. Once they were healed though, he retired to his room to read his tome until Nanael showed up for their nightly massage and 'cuddle' time. (5/10)

  The next morning, Brod was suspiciously absent again, so he just did some light jogging (Walking with purpose) and swung his sword in the forms that Brod was teaching him. He did change it up and took a more 'South-Paw' approach, using his left side as the dominant hand for about half the exercises. After some light stretching, he was done, and got cleaned up.

  That afternoon he had a wave of patients with light wounds which netted him seventy silver, but left him exhausted from burning up nearly all his mana reserves.

  The rest of the day was quiet, and instead of studying tomes in the evening, he found himself in the meal hall, pying a poker-like card game with Galba and Gulgar, the brothers working hard to drain him of his days earnings, though he was winning back just as much so it was fairly even.

  "I noticed Brod wasn't around today? Any idea where he went?" He asked, trying to hide the surprise on his face as he drew the equivalent to a full house of Lords (Jacks) and Sixes. He cursed slightly inside, as he couldn't discard anything to make it seem like he was looking for something, so these two sharks would know damn well he had 'Something' in his hand.

  "Yeah, he is out exploring a new dungeon that opened up nearby, assessing its threat level. Don't worry much though, it seems to be a goblinoid one, which is pretty weak. He could probably kill the boss while blindfolded with both arms tied behind his back." (True. He has Blindsight) Galba said, discarding some cards and raising the bet.

  "He likes to be hands on. As guild master, he doesn't get out much anymore, but oh man, back when we used to be in a party, we were always neck deep in dungeons. I swear he was trying to kill me some days, throwing me into hordes of monsters. Pte mail or not, it is never fun to be surrounded." Gulgar said, discarding a single card and meeting his brothers bet.

  "Hun, so you three were a party?" He said, and matched the bet. The game was simir to five card draw, and they had another discard round before they did final bets and showed their cards.

  "There were five of us at the time, though Yasper* retired after her and Brod had a falling out. That crazy cat."Gulgar said, taking a deep drink from his mug of beer.

  "Yeah, despite the chaos her and Brod caused, those were good times." Galba said, drawing a single card and raising double what he did the previous round.

  "Yikes, I am out." Gulgar said after drawing another single card. He put his hand down face up, showing them what he had, four cards of a open straight draw, looking for a six or a Lord to finish it.

  Not good for him, I have three Lords and two sixes

  John met the bet. "So he was an agent of chaos before eh. I can see that." He said, and the three of them ughed.

  The final round, Galba raised the bet again, five times what he had previously. "Yeah he was, though with age he has slowed down a bit. He was near the peak of what an adventure could achieve though. When we disbanded the party, we followed him here to help him run this guild. Honestly, it was surprising he chose this pce, as the monster levels around here are fairly low compared to other nations."

  John thought for a moment on his hand. It was a good hand, but Galba drawing single cards and pushing him made him pause for a moment. He considered cheating with his Scouter skill, but...that just didn't sit right with John. This was a friendly game, and the piles of coppers in front of them only amounted to ten silver or so. It wouldn't be a great loss if he had four of a kind.

  "So what about your other member? What happened to them?" He said, deying his decision.

  The brothers looked at each other, the Galba sighed. "Jaibbier**, well...he didn't make it. He was one of the few Rabbitman adventures, and a good friend. When he passed, everything kind of colpsed and we ended up here, watching over his daughter. So you might say we have a vested interest in her well being John." He said, and flopped down two pairs, Popes and Ladies. (Aces and Tens)

  John smiled and showed his cards. "I wish I had a chance to meet him, but I am gd I got the chance to meet you all. She seems to have done well under your care. I will do my best to make sure she is happy for the rest of my days." He said, and swept his winning in, restacking the coins.

  "Another hand?" he asked.

  They continued pying and chatting for another hour, before Nanael rushed into the meal hall, and extracted John from their clutches. Her two god-uncles wished them a good night and they were off to his room, this time just cuddling and kissing, none of the extras since John's back was feeling fine for once.

  "I am excited for tomorrow John-Sama." She said, snuggling into his chest, her rge breasts pushing into his side.

  "Me too my little bunny, me too." He replied, kissing the top of her head.

  With that the pair of them drifted off to sleep, though little John was quite put out, standing proud and wondering why he was being ignored.

  At a campsite a half-day away from Meritoni...

  The Lineage of the White Wolf was hanging around the campfire, fresh from killing off the drake that had been pguing the nds around the city. Bazan, Baasura, and Sekiros were all maintaining their equipment while chatting, the topic of conversation none other than the beautiful receptionist babes at the Meritoni Adventures Guild.

  "Ha! With this kill, we will no doubt get that A-Rank promotion! And you know what that means." Baasura said, elbowing Sekiros sharply in the ribs.

  Sekiros just ughed it off. "Your damn right. They agreed to go out on dates with us once we hit A-Rank. Oh Mernell is so attractive, I can't wait to woo her and sweep her off her feet."

  "Yeah, Melina is amazing. Her voice is like music to my ears. I can't wait until we get back. How about you Bazan?" Baasura asked their party leader.

  Bazan grunted "Yes, it will be good to get back. Nanael is wonderful woman, it will be a good to finally have a date night." He said with a smile to his friends. Inside though he wasn't as sure of himself. He didn't know the details, but he knew Brod, Galba, and Gulgar doted on her more so than the rest of the guild employees, and were actively watching incase anyone overstepped their bounds with her.

  Still, that won't stop him from asking her out finally. She was kind, beautiful, and best yet she was a Rabbitman. Wolves always enjoy chasing after rabbits.

  A somewhat sadistically happy smile crept on his face from that terribly bad dad joke.

  "Ewww...what is with the creepy expression on your face dude."

  "Yeah man, you are just going to scare the dies away looking like that."

  "What? What expression? And you are one to talk about scaring the dies. You look like your mother tossed you in a box and kicked you down the stairs ya mongrel!" He snapped back.

  The three friends quarrelled for a bit, enjoying their st night on on the job.

  * - Brod's AU ex-girlfriend.** - AU Nanael's father.