Intense vertigo struck Troy as he returned to the real world. He blinked away the white light, the normal world slowly coming into focus. Troy found himself in the same room again but everything felt so weird.
He looked down at his body, hoping for it to be human, but he was still mostly a Rhox, though very skinny. His muscles were still there, but not as large and heavy as they had been. He crossed his eyes, focusing on his horns and saw them rather short as was his muzzle. Both rings were still on his horns.
Troy turned to check on the others as he centered himself, placing his memories in check.
Dustin had changed completely into a gnoll. Golden brown fur with spots covered his body. A thick mohawk stuck up from his head and ran all the way down his back, trailing off as it met his tail. Dustin sneezed, nose wrinkling and revealing teeth sharp and strong enough to gnaw bone. His arms were long and heavily muscled, back and shoulders so laden with hard muscle he hunched.
The gnoll’s ears waggled, eyes distant and unfocused. He was still in the game, talking to Jeremiah. Dustin smiled at whatever they were talking about. The gnoll scratched at his shoulder and Troy saw a scar on his shoulder from the crossbow bolt.
Speaking of Jeremiah, he looked completely different as he was even more humanoid than dog now. His giant parent trait are much more apparent as he looked almost 9 feet tall. He was lifting weights in-game and his body was flexing its powerful muscles, his veins popping into stark definition. The chair he was sitting in was even more heavily reinforced. Jeremiah’s body was covered in dark brown hair with a nice pelt of fur around his chest and arms. If Troy didn’t know better, he could pass as a very hairy man. His ears were pointed and further up his head than a normal human and his face had a short muzzle. The half-gnoll-half-giant wore nothing but a loincloth around his waist.
Troy swallowed and turned to check on Lancer. His fur had fully lightened to white, giving his body and elegant and regal mien. There were intricate braids in his mane framing a muzzle that was shaped in a way that made him look strong yet gentle. Troy’s heart fluttered and his cock hardened just looking at it. Lancer’s clothing had shifted into plate armor.
Drew looked much the same as he had, though the otter looked much more rugged now. The pink and baby blue hair dye had become blood-red and blue highlights on sun-bleached head-fur. His perfectly toned swimmer’s build bulged through his thick fur now. Drew, even when staring of into space, exuded an aura of confidence. The cute and handsome aspects of his features made him look especially alluring, and Troy found himself very interested in having a three-way with him and lancer…as long as Lancer was down for it.
Greg looked even older than before, having fully shifted into an orc, though his sagging jowls and tusks made him look a bit like an old green-skinned bulldog. His beard had grown long, making him appear almost sage-like. Unfortunately, the orc had gone bald, though he had shaved his head Troy could see the horseshoe fringe stubble on his scalp. Magic flowed around his obese form.
Drake was wearing his METAL DRAGONBORN suit. It looked even more advanced and flexible than before. The suit appeared to be on standby mode, processing information at high-speeds. Troy didn’t know what the kobold looked like, but he was sure it would be disturbing.
“Is everything alright, Troy?” Mark asked.
Troy turned to Mark. Nothing much about him had changed, save, perhaps, a quiet sense of confidence and alertness. Mark was watching events unfold down below.
“...Troy?” Mark repeated, raising a brow. “Did something happen? Did they change you or something?”
“Not…exactly. But it is something important.” Troy pulled off the Ring of Myth from his second horn and handed it over to Mark. “Change me back into a human, please.”
As Mark took the Ring in his hand, his eyes widened. Blood began pouring out of his nose and he held his head. He looked around the room at the others, then at the game machine, then down at himself.
“Holy crap! Oh my God this game is amazing! All of you have changed so much, I mean, just look at all of you!” Mark spoke rapidly, eyes wide with wonder. “I can’t believe my game did all of this! It isn’t even directly from a Book, it’s like the table itself is doing it on its own.”
“...Uh, yeah, that’s kinda the problem I wanted to address. I think we need to talk to Rashid and Sulpu.” Troy said, then paused and shook his head. “I mean, Drew and Drake about this before something worse happens.”
“Sure, yeah, I’ll tell them we need to talk in the real world.” Mark frowned. “Anything else you want to tell me?”
“Yes, turn me back into a human. The game is good but it seems that it can’t completely change someone’s species so easily.”
“You’re basically almost there.” Mark pointed out. “A few more sessions…”
“Lancer has a human fetish and I want to have sex when I get home tonight.” Troy said.
“Ah...” Mark blushed. “…Right, I can understand. Get ready then.”
Troy covered his ears and looked at Mark. The elf pointed at Troy and whispered.
A coppery taste filled his mouth and Troy shivered. His tough hide softened and became nicely tanned skin, muscles shrinking into something more believable-athletic and well-developed but not ridiculous. Troy’s muzzle shrank back as his horns dwindled in size before disappearing. The ring on his horn reappeared on his finger. His body shrank down, hands and limbs returning to human form. His hair grew back in, turning a deep, midnight black and growing to medium length, just reaching his shoulders. Troy’s face itched as a rough beard grew in, giving him a rugged appearance.
“There you go, Troy. How do you feel?” Mark asked.
Troy looked down at himself. Fit, muscular lean. He picked up his phone, trying to turn on the camera to see his face, and found that it was like trying to use a foreign object. It took a while for him to remember how to use it, but a minute of fumbling later and he saw himself. Troy was handsome and a bit older and Middle Eastern in appearance. His bright blue eyes sparkled and he ran his fingers through his new beard.
He looked back up at Mark and saw the Ring slowly transforming into his pistol. Troy couldn’t help but shudder as he realized the changers are happening even quicker than normal. His transformation back to human must have accelerated it.
“I feel fine, but I don’t like how this is changing us. How long are those two going to take?” Troy asked, feeling concerned. His voice was much deeper and had a strange, foreign accent to it.
“They’re getting ready. They should be back in a few minutes. Rashid is giving orders to his crew in case someone invades the boat like always. Sulpu is making a few minor adjustments to METAL DRAGONBORN to make sure it doesn’t break down again.”
Troy nodded, though more than a little worried about he way Mark had worded his explanation. He looked down at the game board and had to look away as he was struck with a bout of motions sickness. It was like the game was moving at hyper-speed below him, voices sped up as well. Mark was effortlessly managing this?
He saw Sulpu and Rashid stirring. Troy wondered how much they had changed mentally. Rashid was the first to clear his vision and stand up, stretching and looking around the room in confusion.
“Ugh, what now? Why do you want both of us? My crew is going to search around and I’d rather be there to help them.” Rashid said.
Troy felt his heart flutter when he heard Drew’s voice. It was like…smooth chocolate and velvet. His clothing had become more professional and slightly less flamboyant. On his belt hung his knife and next to it was a cutlass. The heavy scent of the sea filled the air.
“You guys are lucky I have my AI to help manage my tasks and tell about anything that might happen in the game when I’m not there.” Sulpu said.
His speakers seemed much clearer than before. The metal suit appeared to have cybernetic eyes and they zoomed in and focused on Troy’s face. METAL DRAGONBORN’s body was much more flexible, capable of almost-organic movements. It really did look like a dragonborn with metallic skin now. The only thing organic was the sheathe around his groin.
“I gathered you all here to inform you about the recent changes everyone has experienced using the game.” Mark said. “It appears to have affected your minds as well.”
“And yours. You’re watching this game at high speed.” Troy pointed out.
“Oh.” Mark blinked. “Yeah. Weird.”
Sulpu and Rashid looked a bit confused as they thought about it for a moment.
“How is this a problem? We asked for our characters to be like us in real life.” Drew said.
“That’s…not true in the slightest for you…but I honestly think this is an improvement over the old you.” Mark shrugged. “Anyways, it’s clearly scrambled your brains a bit.”
“He’s correct.” Sulpu spoke. “I accessed the records and there appears to be a distinct mental shift that occurred on the first level up for us. Those without Books appeared to grow into their roles almost immediately.”
“Alright, I have to ask.” Troy said. “When exactly did you get an AI in your brain?”
“In my backstory I found a highly advanced crashed spaceship and my mind was flooded with schematics. There was an onboard emergency AI navigator so I stuck it in my head.” Sulpu said. “I was just another ignorant kobold savage before I was uplifted.”
“Is this going to be a problem?” Drew asked, placing a paw on the METAL DRAGONBORN, feeling its warmth.
“Yes and no.” Drew said. “For us, every time we level up or gain skills that match our professions, the changes can be physical or mental or even both. Take myself as an example. I can’t even think of leaving this suit.”
“Ok, so why did my background change after I used my gun?”
“I think I have the answer for that.” Mark chime din. “They are silenced shots, and those must have triggered reality shifts. You just got caught up in it.”
“be more careful next time.” Sulpu nodded.
“Now what?” Rashid asked.
“Now we vote on whether we continue playing, regardless of the changes, or if we call it quits while you check for bugs, Sulpu.” Mark replied. “I vote we continue. I worked really hard on this campaign, you guys I want to finish it.”
“If we do go in, I think you should hold on to the Book of Myth for now.” Troy said.
“Why?” Mark asked, looking at the gun in his hand. “You won it fair and square. Plus you remember what I did to the office. I’m not responsible.”
Troy couldn’t actually remember much with all the changes to his memories.
“I’m just hoping you use it to steer us the right way and not into terrible changes. I don’t use it very much anyways.”
“I do agree with Troy.” Sulpu nodded. “If we change or something happens to us, we need to know and react.”
“I think the most responsible thing to do is call it quits until we figure out what the game table is doing to us.” Rashid said.
“I vote for quits.” Troy said.
“Quits.” Sulpu said.
“What are you guys talking about!? This is the best DND game I’ve ever played. You guys are doing great!” Mark shouted. “I mean, look at you guys! You’re so cool and you have, like magic.”
“Greg is fat and old.” Troy pointed out.
“He has magic, Troy.” Mark replied heatedly. “So there’s some trade-offs.”
“Don’t know if that’s a good answer.” Drew muttered.
“You guys are adventurers. You can do things most people can only dream about!” Mark argued.
“I have seafaring skill. I’m landlocked.” Drew pointed at Jeremiah. “He’s strong but his intelligence is dwindling. He’s no longer a detective. I highly doubt a barbarian has a lot of real-world skills that would keep him competitive in the job market.”
“Even if we do have useful skills, I just don’t think it’s worth losing ourselves over.” Troy said.
Mark sighed, clearly frustrated they weren’t changing their minds.
He messaged the rest of the group, telling them it was getting late. Troy heard them ready their downtime actions and logged out. Everyone seemed to be acting normally, talking about how cool they were and the thrills of being in a fight.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it, guys.” Mark said sadly. “But the game is going to be off for a few days.”
“Why?” Dustin asked, scratching his scar.
“Maintenance. There was a bug that occurred during the fight so I need to fix it.” Drake said.
“Can you just fix it with your…errr…science-y stuff?” Jeremiah grunted.
“Not without losing progress or doing something irreversible.” Drake replied.
Everyone left, going to their respective rooms in the building. Troy had almost forgotten that they’d all moved in to the same building. He was worried about the others…and himself. Right now, the memories of living in a small port town were stronger in his mind than real life.
Drake stayed behind to see if the table could be reconfigured so it wouldn’t change them further than it already had. Even his METAL DRAGON suit looked even more realistic than it had been a few minutes ago.
Tory entered his room. It was huge in comparison to the rooms in the other world and filled with foreign devices. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to turn on a TV. He sat on the couch, some kind of pirate movie playing, and heard the shower running. He smiled, knowing Lancer was inside.
He changed the channel to an anime where someone is transported to another world in order to save it because a god needed to find a hero. A few minutes later, he head the shower stop. Lancer walked out naked, fur damp but floofy. He walked towards the couch, a look of concern on his face.
“Hey hon. You seemed really worried after the session. Is everything okay?” Lancer asked, wrapping a towel around his waist and sitting down besides Troy.
“Remember when we discussed whether you were real or not?” Troy asked. Lancer thought a moment and nodded. “After the fight, I found out that all of us might be losing ourselves.”
“I can barely remember anything other than that I met one version of you in my world and here you are in this world too.” Lancer kissed Troy on the cheek. “I don’t care what world I’m in or who I am as long as you’re in it and I’m with you.”
“Don’t you care about your old world? I mean, out of all of us, you should be excited by the reality shift.”
“Oh, well…” Lancer chuckled. “Your world has less fatal problems. In my world it’s rare for dragons to be civil, yet in your world I saw some playing games with humans. You’ve got more resources and technology is ubiquitous and widespread.”
“There didn’t really seem to be that much conflict in your world.” Troy shrugged. “We have gangs and violence in our world too.”
“It simply makes my heart leap for joy when I see so many different races living together rather than fighting each other for survival and resources. I wouldn’t mind staying in this world forever as long as you’re at my side.”
Troy leaned over and kissed the Leonin. Lancer’s tongue explored the human’s mouth, mane brushing beard. They grew more passionate, Troy’s cock hard and aching. The lion-man growled into Troy’s mouth and held the back of his head as his tongue grew more frantic, feeling the blunt teeth, his cock slapping Troy’s stomach. Troy explored the Leonin’s fangs, their breaths coming hot and desperate.
It was a wet, desperate kiss, their tongues doing most of the work. The lovers embraced each other, the over-muscled Leonin enveloping troy in a passionate hug. Lancer rolled his heavy body on top of Troy and pinned him. The lion pulled free from Troy’s mouth and gently bit Troy’s shoulder, dry humping the human with quick thrusts.
“Clothes off.” Troy whispered.
Lancer growled and ripped his shirt and pants away. His fluffy, glorious torso was exposed, pillow-thick pecs and abs large enough to have definition even amidst all that fur. The lion’s cock glistened with pre. He went to work on Troy’s clothes, ripping them to shreds and leaving Troy’s rather hairy and tanned body exposed as well.
“W-what’s-?” Troy wondered where all the aggression was coming from, but Lancer’s finger against his mouth shut him up.
“I am making you my mate.” Lancer growled in Troy’s ear, sending shivers down his spine and making his cock twitch at the roughness of his tone. “And I am, as they say ‘pent up’.”
Troy buried his face in Lancer’s furry chest fluff. The Leonin clutched him closer. They were breathing hot and heavy and they hadn’t even started yet.
“I love you.” Troy said, kissing Lancer.
“You smell like me.” The Lion spoke after the kiss, smiling down at the human tenderly, rubbing the back of his lover’s neck.
“Good.” Troy said. “Take me.”
Troy’s hand moved down to the Leonin’s crotch. He couldn’t full encircle the cock with his hand, but he still gave it a few vigorous strokes. The Leonin yowled and precum drooled over Troy’s hand and slicked up the cock.
Lancer’s mouth roamed down Troy’s face, licking tenderly along his neck, and then nibbled playfully on his nipple. Troy moaned, hand stroking the lion’s slippery cock faster. Lancer panted, breath hot on Troy’s abs as he grew closer and closer to his target.
The lion’s hot breath was the only warning Troy had when his muzzle enveloped the human’s turgid length. Troy moaned, toes curling, Lancer’s mouth warm and moist and his tongue lapped at the head of his dick.
“L-Lancer!” Troy cried, hands tangling in his lover’s mane, straining. “Oh!”
Lancer took more and more of Troy’s cock inside his maw. One paw rubbed Troy’s ass while the other fondled his balls. It wasn’t long before Troy’s dick disappeared completely, the tip barely touching the back of the lion’s eagerly flexing throat.
Troy could feel himself getting closer and closer to the edge. His balls started to throb and pulse in Lancer’s grip. Lancer abruptly pulled away, leaving Troy moaning and writhing on the bed.
“Turn over.” The lion growled.
Troy gingerly flipped over, lifting his ass in the air and shoving his face into the pillow.
“You’re so beautiful.” Lancer chuffed. “And you smell delicious.”
The Leonin’s paws gripped Troy’s buttocks and fondled them with great intensity. Then he spread them and buried his muzzle in between them.
“Ah! Fuck!” Troy panted as Lancer nuzzled his ass.
“I can’t hold back..I must-!” Lancer’s paws continued their massage and then his wet tongue started to lick around Troy’s hole.
“So good…” Troy moaned into the pillow, cock twitching as the lion lapped and kissed his sensitive pucker.
Lancer gave Troy’s hole another kiss and then shoved his tongue inside.
“Ahhh, Lancer!”
Lancer answered with a low rumble that resonated throughout Troy’s ass. He twirled his tongue in circles, pushing it in deeper and deeper each time. Troy moaned in pleasure. Lancer slipped a paw beneath the human and began fondling his balls. The rimming continued until Lancer’s probed with his tongue and the muscle simply gave to the intruder with no tension.
Troy gasped in disappointment when he felt the tongue leave his ass.
Then Lancer got on top of him and placed his cock between Troy’s bubbly cheeks. He hot-dogged his thick dick between them for a while, then pressed the leaking tip against Troy’s hole. Troy’s pucker spasmed in need.
“Fuck me!” Troy cried.
With one slow, deliberate movement, Lancer buried his entire cock inside of his lover until his balls bumped gently against Troy’s.
Troy gasped and panted into the pillow as the cock slid across his prostate.
“I’m not hurting you?” Lancer whispered.
“No, it’s amazing.” Troy gasped.
Lancer began rocking his hips back and forth, cock plunging in then pulling out, plunging in, pulling out. Troy pushed back against he cock, his own shaft drooling precum all over the sheets. Lancer paused, pulled out, then flipped Troy over. He raised Troy’s legs, bright blue eyes staring into Troy’s, then penetrated the human again.
Troy hugged the huge Leonin and his muzzle locked with Troy’s mouth in another deep kiss. His thrusts were powerful, balls slapping Troy’s, the human’s cheeks rippling and clapping as the lion worked his hole.
“Fuck, your cock feels so good!” Troy moaned. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Icarian.” The lion growled in his ear.
Troy was too enraptured with the thickly muscled lion to correct him. “This feels so right.”
Lancer grunted and picked up the pace of his thrust. He hugged Troy tightly, kissing Troy on the lips, then the nape of his neck, gently stroking Troy’s head. Troy licked the lion’s dark nipples. The Leonin growled deeply. Troy reached for his cock, but the lion got there first and began jacking Troy off.
The sot paw pads on his cock were too much for Troy. His breaths grew shorter and shorter as he felt himself growing closer to the edge of orgasm.
“Lancer…” Troy panted. “I…I’m gonna…”
“Me too.” Lancer chuffed and panted.
“Cum inside me.” Troy begged.
Lancer snarled and his thrusts grew faster and more frantic. Then, with a final thrust, Lancer let out a huge roar as his cock throbbed and twitched, filling Troy’s hole with ribbons of fresh lion semen. His hand never relented and Troy cried out as his own cock shot ropes of cum across Lancer’s belly fur.
They collapsed against each other in a post-coitus cuddle. They kissed again, then smiled at each other. Troy pet Lancer, feeling his fur and muscles. Lancer kneaded at Troy’s body, clearly enamored with his soft yet firm human skin. They lay in silence for a few minutes.
Then Lancer withdrew his flaccid cock from Troy’s well-used hole. He bent down between Troy’s legs and licked the remnants of his climax and then whatever cum was dripping out of his hole. He came back up and kissed Troy again, and the human tasted the mixed orgasms in his mouth. Lancer pulled away and rolled over on the bed.
“I have a surprise for you when the game gets turned back on.” Lancer said suddenly, licking his chops.
“What kind of surprise, big kitty?” Troy smirked, rubbing his fingers through Lancer’s thick chest ruff.
“I have a thing for humans and you have a thing for being nonhuman. It bothers me at how uncomfortable you are, so I…made a request.”
“What?” Troy asked.
“It’s a surprise!” Lancer booped the human on his nose. “But you’ll love it!”
Troy snuggled into his the lionman’s thick, furry muscles and fell asleep.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The sound of a cock’s crow woke Troy up the next morning.
He awakened to the pleasurable feeling of his cock being sucked. Lancer was making some very cute noises between Troy’s legs. He popped his muzzle off of Troy’s length when he noticed the human was awake.
“Good morning, mate.” Lancer smiled. “I hope it wasn’t too early for you.”
“It’s a pleasant way to wake up.” Troy smiled back.
Lancer’s furry face crinkled into a chuff and he resumed bobbing on Troy’s cock. Troy lay back, enjoying the skilled blowjob, and slowly became aware that he was no longer in his world anymore.
He was inside his farm house, the window open, letting in the cool breeze off the port and the smell of the pasture outside. Lancer lay in bed next to him, the handsome lion man still snoozing, his ears twitching occasionally. The room looked like his bedroom in the game. He and the others were using his farm as a base of operations before heading out to the Mouth.
Tory wanted nothing more than to log out, but the leonin was so clever with his mouth and Troy felt so needy today. He relaxed and let’s the lion’s lovely mouth lap and suckle his cock like a kitten at a teat. His orgasm happened so quickly he couldn’t even warn Lancer. The lion pulled off his cock and licked his black lips happily.
“I’ll be out in the barn, feeding the animals.” Lancer said and walked off. He was completely naked. But who was going to complain about that?”
Troy got up and went to a hand-made dresser and pulled out fantasy clothing. He stared at it and back out the window. Below, he could see the town and the coast and the harbor. It was a beautiful view…but ti wasn’t real.
“Am I dreaming?” Troy pinched himself and winced. He could see his HP and Condition in the corner of his eye. He began to panic, pacing around the room.
“Alright Troy, deep breaths.” Troy tried to calm himself down. “Just log out. Sassy Orangutan!”
Nothing happened.
“O-okay.” Troy swallowed nervously. “Maybe I just need to declare my actions first. ‘I will make breakfast’. Sassy Orangutan!”
Troy felt himself move against his will, body on autopilot mode. He seemed to act normally outwardly, but inwardly he was trapped and terrified. Troy walked downstairs and grabbed some eggs and a slice of ham and bread. He made breakfast, cooking them up.
As soon as he was done performing the task, Troy resumed control. He shuddered and sat down, terrified. As his breathing calmed, he realized it might actually be useful for, like, cleaning duties. He could never make himself do them, but now he could just…force it.
No! What the hell was he thinking?! He was stuck in the game world and it was bugged!
“Mark!” Troy shouted.
As soon as Troy shouted, the birds outside froze mid-wingflap. A bright light filled the room. Once the light faded away, Troy saw an Elf with long red hair and golden eyes appear in the room before him. Troy felt truly insignificant in front o this grand being. The deity was holding a very familiar gun, which shifted into a golden necklace.
“Ah yes, I see you are finally awake. Welcome to my world, Troy.” Mark smiled brightly.
“You did this?!” Troy glared, managing to shake his existential terror.
“No. I’m as surprised as you are. When I woke up, I found myself in a pantheon of the gods of this world. I see all. Know all. And control all.” A touch of awe and pride was in Mark’s voice. It scared Troy.
“If you can control all, then return us to the real world. We don’t belong here.” Troy demanded.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Troy. Besides, the mysterious force that brought us here went to a lot of trouble to do so. I won’t…can’t, if I’m being honest…stop them.”
“Why not?”
“When you three started using your powers in this world, it started to become real. Every change and spell you cast reinforced it.” Mark explained. “More real than your boring old world.”
“We can go back, revert the changes. Live our lives.” Troy replied. “I know you know there’s a way to stop this. I know you, Mark. You’re my best friend.” Troy paused. “Second best friend. Dustin got there first. Anyways, stop fucking around, man!”
“I won’t do it even if I could.” Mark replied flatly.
“Why? So you can play god?” Troy spat.
“...Yes. Fucking duh, Troy. Holy shit!” Mark threw his hands in the air. “I’ve got power because you all are my followers. There’s danger around every corner. It’s dangerous. So I recommend you play along or I won’t be able to help you from time to time.”
“And now you’re blackmailing me into worshiping you?” Troy fumed.
“Yes.” Mark smirked. “Anyways, with all 12 Books here, it’ll be interesting to see what you guys can do.”
“Wait…12 Books?” Troy froze. “There’s only 4 here.”
“And there’s the rub, Troy. When we were permanently transferred to this world, 8 other Book owners came here as well.”
“8.” Troy replied flatly. “Are you kidding? How come we haven’t run into them.”
“Not everyone transforms an entire city with their power, Troy.” Mark shrugged.
“Touche.”
“Anyways, I gracefully changed their forms to help them adjust to this new world and gave them boons based on their Books.”
“Why the hell would you give my potential enemies boons?!” Troy replied angrily.
“Because you’re my followers, like I said. Your powers are my powers, so I can remake this world using you guys as a conduit.” Mark smiled and pointed at a painting. A light shot out and hit the art piece. It shifted into a taxidermy tiger head.
“Whoa!” Troy stared, flabbergasted, at the taxidermy.
He had vague memories of it being an art piece, but the details of the painting were blurry. The new memories, of it being a hunting trophy, were fresh and clear.
“Did you take the Book from Sulpu…” Troy trailed off, trying his damnedest to remember the kobolds name and coming up blank.
“No! He still has his cannon. He’s a follower, like I just explained. His power is mine to use.”
“I can’t allow this, Mark. This isn’t you. Our world is safer. Better.” Troy stepped forward.
“It’s boring. When I turned our workplace into a tavern, somewhere that adventurers can come in, nothing happened. Even when you made the entire city into magic central, reality stayed mostly the same.” Mark sighed. “It’s like changing your sheets. Different color, cleaner, but still sheets. But this world is different. It’s dynamic and reactive. Look at what happened to you!”
“So, what, you get to be safe but we have to go on dangerous missions where we could die?” Troy shook his head. “Bro, listen to yourself.”
“Oh, please. Spare me.” Mark waved a hand. “You won’t die if you play it right. The more you use your Book and level up, the more likely your going to love this world like I do.
There were sounds in the house above them. People were stirring.
“Looks like that’s my cue to leave. I’ll improve things here and there while you and the other get acquainted with this world.” Mark waved and started disappearing. Then he abruptly became corporeal.
“Yes?” Troy asked.
“I almost forgot!” Mark slapped his forehead. “Lancer’s surprise!”
He pointed at Troy.