Penelope fought the way one would dance, and she moved as if she were on a trapeze.

  Her feet moved almost rhythmically, only ever ghosting the surface of the Corripio a beat after her blade slashed deep into her target. They would rest for another beat, and then as the chaos crescendoed, she sprang, the tempo increasing as she flipped through the air, stretched out her hands, and trusted Icarus to catch her, as if he were her partner in a deadly trapeze act.

  Icarus was not so graceful. He was visibly struggling to catch her, dropping into steeper and steeper dives and flinging his wings out to halt his falls later and later, trying to swerve between the objects the Corripio flung or dropped in its anger. But he caught her every time.

  Janus threw up again as the Corripio lost more of its treasure trove, more of the slimy tentacles starting to show themselves. They reminded me of the uterine horns I’d once had to pull out of a rat in seventh grade, back in the early days when Rounin wasn’t so obsessed with all things medical and wouldn’t stop crying over the poor, disgusting, slimy, dead rats.

  To be fair to him, our rat looked an awful lot like his pet hamster.

  Rounin gripped my arm just above my elbow, his fingers tightening every time Icarus made a call that was just a bit too close. “Careful— careful— careful— Yule, I am so scared right now.”

  “Hm. I know.” I patted his head. His hair was somehow still soft and shiny despite the days of no shower and constant grime. It wasn’t even oily. I probably looked like a mess.

  Rounin bit his nails on his other hand, leaning into my touch.

  “Is he okay?” Janus asked.

  “You’re unusually attached,” I noted. “I didn’t know you liked Penelope so much.”

  “I’m not worried about her, I’m worried for Icarus—“ Rounin corrected, letting out a strangled sound as Icarus almost got hit by a tentacle.

  Ice sprouted from the tentacle at my command, immobilizing it before it touched him.

  [MP: 238/260]

  “Fuck yeah!” Icarus shouted despite his audible exhaustion as he caught Penelope again, grunting in exertion.

  Penelope’s mouth moved, the words inaudible to Rounin and I, as Icarus gained elevation once more, each flap of his wings growing slower and slower. He nodded, and swooped into a shallow dive, dropping her onto the surface of the Corripio one more time.

  Penelope slashed once more, and the Corripio dropped the last of its treasure trove, leaving only a writhing, slimy mass of tentacles.

  Janus almost threw up again, but his stomach was empty.

  “Yule, now!” Penelope shouted as she leaped off the creature.

  I concentrated for a moment, and then ice sprouted over the whole surface of the Corripio.

  [MP: o/260]

  “Nice job, Yule!” Icarus cheered, landing next to me. “Yule? Yule, are you okay?”

  “What?” I asked. “Yeah…I’m good.”

  Famous last words. I hit the ground and passed out to the sound of Rounin’s screams.

  When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted with nothing more than the sight of my living room fan.

  Talk about deja vu.

  So…was that just another dream?

  “Wacky ass dream,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes, which brought my attention to the writing literally smeared in blood on my arm.

  713-893-1765 Icarus txt me pls

  Maybe not.

  [The tutorial has ended.

  Challenger has been returned to Planet 5723991.]

  [Congratulations on completing the 5th Challenge!

  Reward: Cold Scythe Lv.3]

  I caught the scythe out of the air before it impaled me or any of my furniture, the huge scythe almost taller than I was.

  I hit my ceiling fan by accident. It stopped.

  Well, that would cost money I didn’t have.

  I stuffed it in my Inventory and decided I’d worry about it later.

  Every muscle in my body screamed in protest as I sat up, all the physical exertion finally getting to me. I’d been so active lately that the soreness hadn’t set in yet, but now that it had, I was going to have a hell of a time walking.

  And ew. I was wearing my boots on my couch. I unlaced them and set them aside.

  I fumbled around for my phone, finally finding it shoved between the couch cushions. It was a miracle it was still alive.

  59 missed calls from Mom

  New message from Rounin

  Shit.

  I called my mom first. I’d just seen Rounin, and his text confirmed he was alive.

  “Yule! Oh, Yule, we were so worried when that strange blue rectangle was just floating in your apartment living room—“

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  “…I’ll come over in a few minutes and explain everything to you in a moment, okay? Rounin was there with me. I’m probably going to go get him first, see if he can fill in anything I forget.”

  Also, because I passed out twice, but my parents didn’t need to know that.

  “Oh. Oh, yes, of course. Poor thing, he’s so delicate, he’s probably scared out of his mind—“

  I lifted myself off my couch rather painfully as my mother talked. I wanted food, water, and some painkillers.

  And a shower. I really, really wanted a shower.

  “Yeah, Mom, I’ll be there in a bit. I want some food and a shower…” I mumbled, still exhausted despite just waking up.

  “Of course. Yeah. I love you.”

  “Yeah, love you too.”

  I saved the number currently written on my arm and sent a quick text, then plugged my phone in to charge. Rounin’s text just noted he was okay and the Challenge had gone well for everyone.

  I started a pot of boiling water for some instant ramen (even though I disliked Rounin eating it almost all day every day, I understood why he did) and took a shower. The warmth helped soothe my aching muscles.

  I frowned at my reflection in the mirror as I brushed my teeth, rolling a couple of the damp strands of my hair. The usual stormy-gray color looked almost black when it was wet. My hair was getting long, but I’d worn it longer. Rounin had never said anything about it before.

  I’d get a haircut later. I didn’t want my hair in my eyes if I was going to fight with it…

  My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of my doorbell. That was probably Rounin.

  I spat out my toothpaste, fumbling around for a shirt, pulling it on as I opened the door.

  “I saw your text, Rou—“

  It was Penelope.

  I yanked my shirt on faster.

  “That’s backwards.” Penelope pointed at my shirt.

  I sighed and fixed it.

  “So…why are you…here?” I asked, trying not to seem rude.

  “I do not own a home in your world. Actually, I don’t own a home period. And your signature was the closest…”

  I nodded. Made sense.

  “Wait, my signature?”

  “Yes. I can feel your magic signature. It’s. Uh. Cold.”

  I nodded again. That also checked out. “Come on in. Take a shower. I have some, uh…do you have ramen in your world?”

  “I cannot say I do,” Penelope’s eyes widened as she stepped into my house. “How curious! You seem to be much more advanced in technology than we are. I am very open to trying new food.”

  “Ramen is just noodles. I’ll start you off with something lighter…” I decided, grabbing a spicy one for myself and a simpler one for her. “Oh, do you know how to use a shower?”

  “I don’t even know what that is.” Penelope frowned at me.

  “It’s like. Indoor rain. But warm.”

  “Sounds awesome.”

  I showed her how to work the shower knobs and gave her a towel. She seemed thrilled.

  “Do you have clothes?” I asked, noting her conspicuously torn shirt, right down her back.

  “No. Can I borrow some?” She asked hopefully.

  I sized her up. “…I think I have some of Rounin’s clothes here. Those might fit. Give me a minute.”

  I dug in my closet and found a pair of Rounin’s jeans. I couldn’t find a T-shirt, so I grabbed one of my own and a couple other clothing items.

  “Shirt might be a bit big. It’s one of mine. I, uh…don’t have female underwear so I brought you some shorts and a stretchy undershirt…”

  “That’s fine,” She shrugged.

  I left her to her own devices and went to finish up preparing the food.

  I had just set the bowls down when Penelope came out of the shower.

  “That was amazing,” She said reverently.

  “I’m glad. That one’s yours.” I sat down, picking up my chopsticks, before looking up to make sure Penelope knew how to use them. She seemed to be holding them properly.

  Penelope let out a little surprised noise as the noodles hit her tongue.

  “You like it?” I asked.

  She nodded enthusiastically, eyes blown wide. She made a heart with her hands before stuffing more into her mouth, making another happy noise at the taste of the pork I’d added to hers.

  “Great. Finish eating fast. I still have to pick up Rounin, and then I need to see my parents.”

  Penelope gave me a thumbs up, her mouth stuffed full.

  I called Rounin as soon as I was done with my food. He picked up immediately.

  “Yule?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to pick you up in a few minutes, once Penelope is done eating.”

  “…is Penelope with you?” Rounin asked, sounding slightly crestfallen.

  “...uhhh…yeah, but I’m probably going to ask Icarus to host her since I don’t have a guest room…” I admitted, taking Penelope’s bowl from her and washing it. I didn’t know when the next Challenge would start, and I would prefer not to have days old dirty dishes to get home to. “I’m heading out, okay? I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  I hung up the phone and turned to Penelope. “I’m assuming you don’t have cars.”

  She frowned. “Uh…no.”

  I grimaced. “Just know they’re mostly safe.”

  “…what do you mean mostly.”

  I showed her my car, gesturing her into the passenger seat and showing her how to open the car door. “…uh, you’ll see.”

  I drove slowly out of my apartment complex, letting her get used to the car. Penelope, thank God, looked mildly curious rather than terrified of the large moving metal box.

  Rounin looked like he’d been crying by the time we arrived.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, getting out of the car to check on him.

  Rounin sniffled harder. “I don’t wanna talk.”

  “Okay,” I said calmly, repressing the urge to beg him to talk to me. “Are you good to see my parents, or would you rather just stay in my old bedroom while I talk to them?”

  Rounin shook his head. “I can talk to them. It’ll be good. We can process properly.”

  I nodded. I had noticed I’d felt calmer than I really should have during the Challenges, but I assumed it was out of the necessity to care for Rounin. Maybe I would suddenly collapse now that I was home.

  The car was silent besides Rounin’s sniffles. He did look somewhat better now that he’d showered and cleaned up a bit.

  “What is the proper etiquette when you meet people here?” Penelope asked, possibly just to break the silence.

  “Hm. Greeting, an introduction, sometimes a handshake. At least in America.” I turned into my old neighborhood, noting with slight concern how congested the roads had been today. This neighborhood was no exception.

  “Great. Us too.” Penelope nodded, going back to staring out the window in fascination.

  My parents greeted Penelope warmly hugged both me and Rounin enthusiastically. Upon Rounin’s second bout of tears, they brought him tea and a blanket and sat us all down on the couch.

  “Are you okay? You’re moving funny,” Dad checked, inspecting my awkward walking.

  “I’m sore,” I admitted, grimacing.

  I recounted my experience in the Challenges, Penelope or Rounin briefly interjecting to provide supporting details. I watered it down so as not to worry them, but there was only so much I could water down.

  “Oh, yes, on our end.” My mother sighed heavily when I asked her. “It was all over the news. The current Head of Treasury got caught up in the whole thing as well, you know. These blue rectangles popped up. Yours said [Challenger Yule is currently participating in the 1st Challenge.]”

  She paused and took a deep breath.

  “I sat by that for a couple of days, and then it changed to saying you were in the second Challenge. After the third one, your father and I had to go back to normal life, but we still checked on it when we had the chance. At some point, the government went on the news and announced that these leaderboards had appeared in major government centers, in world categories and national categories. And all the Challenger’s names were on there.”

  I turned to Penelope. “Is that—“

  “No. That’s new.” She shook her head, eyes glinting.

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “…I don’t know.”

  “What did it say for people who failed their Challenges?” Rounin asked in a small voice.

  “Uh, it did announce it. I don’t know the specifics. But the government…” My father hesitated. “They’ve chosen to declare everyone missing from the Challenges legally missing rather than dead.”

  “Uh…they’re pretty dead,” Penelope said rather awkwardly. “Like… quite dead.”

  My mother exhaled shakily, grabbing my hand as if she needed reassurance I was still here. “Those poor people. Their families must feel horrible. Are you feeling okay, Yule?”

  “Hm.” I nodded. “For now.”

  Rounin sighed, scooting his chair closer to me to rest his head on my shoulder.

  [Welcome to the 6th Challenge!]

  Penelope sat up. “No. Oh, no.”

  “What?” Mom asked, her grip tightening on my hand.

  “A Challenge window just popped up.” I frowned as more text appeared.

  [Would you like to return to the 6th Challenge?

  Note: This vote must be unanimous either way within the region. If ‘No’ is selected or the vote is inconclusive, the 6th Challenge will take place on Planet 5723991.]