“What is it?” I ask, taking off my heels and throwing them onto the bed.

  The little faerie waves her hand and a gray creature with red hair falls to the floor.

  It’s humanoid, and about the size of an eight year old child, its skin is an inhuman dirty gray, and its hair is more of a dirty brownish-red that I recognize all too quickly as the color of dried blood.

  “What is it?” I repeat.

  “A Klo’ktun. You’d call it a Red Cap.” Dee says, her usual bubbliness replaced with a dead serious expression. “It’s not supposed to be here.”

  “Yeah, neither are you.” I walk over to my closet and pull out an umbrella, no way I’m touching that thing with my bare hands. I move the thing with the point of the umbrella, and the smell of burnt flesh hits me.

  Dee shakes her little head. “No. You don’t understand. It isn’t supposed to be here. Monsters don’t come to the Beta worlds until… until later.” She motions with her hand and the corpse disappears, presumably into her inventory.

  My mind goes to the strange butterfly I saw outside the Cafe window. “Do you know what could’ve happened?”

  “A god, or someone just as powerful let them through? I don’t really know.” With that said, a large conspiratorial smile grows across her face. “Sooo, how’s it going with Rose?”

  “She’s cute, and I like her.” I pause, “Where did you find the Red Cap?”

  “He was watching your sister when she came home. I didn’t want him to use her for the red in his cap, so I may have stretched the limits of your territory a tiny bit.” She flies to her favorite pillow and sits down, crossing her legs. “I killed him. Oh! He dropped two gold coins. I’m keeping one as part of my fees.” A coin as large as her head appears in one of her hands and she tosses it to me.

  I catch the coin and put it into my inventory. I have more questions, but a knock on the door stops me.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  Elizabeth opens the door, and looks around the room curiously. “Are you talking to someone?”

  “No one, little sunshine.” I answer, noticing how her gaze skips right over Dee. “What do you need?”

  She bites her cheek, taking one last look around the room before turning back to me. “Mom told me to tell you that school called. Classes are canceled tomorrow, because… you know.”

  “Thank you sunshine.” I say, giving her a smile.

  She squints her eyes at me, then shuts the door slowly. I wait until I hear her walk away before continuing.

  “You said that it was following my sister. Could there be others?”

  Dee nods. “Red Caps usually travel in groups, but everything about this is a little weird.”

  I bite my cheek, only to stop as I realize where Elizabeth gets the tick from. “Is there any way you can protect my sister? If they’re following her already… I don’t want her to be alone.”

  “I’m not supposed to leave the home I’m guarding, but there are ways to change that.” Dee’s eyes focus on a screen that I can’t see. And she mutters to herself for a few seconds before a notification appears in front of me.

  I look at Dee curiously. It’s interesting how I happen to have exactly one gold, the perfect amount to buy this upgrade.

  But, my sister’s safety is more important than a vague suspicion.

  I buy the upgrade.

  Dee smiles as she reads something in front of her. “Thank you very much! Your sister is in good hands.”

  I snort.

  I finish taking off my dress, and turn off the light and fall into my bed. The mattress is the perfect amount of comfortable.

  Captain! All systems are shutting down. Entering unconscious state.

  Activate emergency system “have to pee!”

  Aye aye, Captain.

  Aaaaaah. I push myself out of the bed and run to the bathroom. Thankfully, it woke me up enough to actually finish the nightly ritual of taking off makeup, applying moisturizer and brushing my teeth.

  I return to my room feeling refreshed. No school tomorrow means that I have lots of free time. I’m definitely sleeping in, does two sound like a good time? Yeah. Two sounds like a good time to wake up.

  Dee is reading one of my books on the table using my lamp, so I just crash back into my bed.

  If strange butterflies and red caps were running around this world, someone must’ve noticed right? Unless they’re like Dee, invisible to normal people. That’s a scary thought.

  I turn over to look at Dee, who is deeply invested in the urban fantasy romance she found.

  I know nothing about her really, except for the world she comes from. But even that name escapes me right now, probably just because I’m tired. I trust her because the system recommended her, but what are her motivations? Why is she a guard in the system? I spent my only gold, which means that I can’t even ask Taylor.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The system is dangerous, and if monsters are starting to appear, I have to do what I already knew I had to do. I want more gold and experience, to play the game I’m now a part of.

  Tomorrow, I’m going hunting.

  I blink at the messages, my consciousness fading. Why do things keep happening right as I’m about to fall asleep? It looks cool at least.

  My eyes close and I’m brought into the world of dreams.

  ***

  I wake up to the screens waiting patiently in front of me.

  I sit up in my bed, and place my cushion behind me as I read through all of the messages again.

  “[Define Danger Sense, Mark Of Protection, Perseverance and uh… whatever that fourth skill is please]”

  I stare at that last skill for a long moment, then shrug. If the system is having a mental breakdown, it’s not my fault. The other skills seem really cool though.

  “[Status]”

  There’s the class and Brilliance change.

  I really should get more information from Taylor, but that requires money. Thankfully, I have a plan to make more money. Watch out Winchesters, I’m coming for your job.

  I get out of bed with more pep in my step, the covers falling to the floor as I walk past them.

  I feel… strange this morning, as if my thoughts are coming to me easier. The voices are still there, but they’re calmer than usual.

  I walk to my bathroom, and stare at myself in the mirror. I’m looking good too. I hop in front of the mirror, then smile.

  I feel energized, almost as if I could run a few miles without breaking a sweat.

  The feeling persists as I take my shower and finish up my morning routine.

  I return to my room with a small skip in my step and pull out my phone. I create a group chat with Blake, Damien and Rose.

  Me: Hey. You guys want to come to Rose Cafe in an hour? I have some information that you might want to know

  Rose: *thumbs up* I might be a little late

  Blake: Damien and I r nearby, meet you there? What’s this about?

  Me: Magic

  Blake: Can’t wait

  Rose sends me a private message, so I open it.

  Rose: I thought that we can’t talk to people about- you know.

  Me: There are ways around it, I think. Just can’t talk about the main thing

  Rose: *Heart*

  I close my phone, then search my room for some comfortable clothing. A pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a picture of a cat in space are perfect. I walk downstairs to find Mom sipping a cup of tea as she watches something on her phone.

  “Hey honey, you’re up late.” She puts her phone down, and gives me a smile.

  “Hi mom. Aren’t you going to the book club today?” I double check the time on my phone.

  “It was canceled.”

  “That’s too bad.” I say, swiping an apple from the fruit bowl. “I might not be home until late, don’t wait up for me.”

  “Be home by eleven. The streets aren’t safe these days.” She sits up from her chair and wraps me up in a hug.

  “I should be back by then.” I say. Then I take a bite of my apple while hugging her.

  Mom pulls away from me and returns to her seat. “I’ll be watching the time.”

  I smile at her as I double check that I have everything I want in my inventory. I put my gloves on, enjoying the softness on my skin. I grab a pink hoodie on my way out, since today’s looking a little chilly.

  I take a deep breath, then head out to meet my friends.

  Should I make a name for our monster hunting party?

  The Hunters.

  Nah, too bland.

  Anti-Demonic Defence.

  ADD seems too on the nose.

  Eh, I’ll come up with a good one eventually.