《Pain and Tears: A Deckbuilding LITRPG》


 Prologue: The Monolith

    3,148.


    That''s the total number of cheeseburgers Dean had eaten in his lifetime. Moreover, he''d apparently watched 52,560 hours, 43 minutes, and 26 seconds of various TV shows and movies.


    On a more disappointing note, he''d only taken 53,457,975 steps in his lifetime, nearly 75% less than average.


    All of these mundane tidbits of knowledge weren''t things that he''d meticulously tracked throughout his life. Instead, whenever he had a question about any statistical aspect of his life the answer was just- there in his head.


    Unfortunately, this miraculous occurrence didn''t answer the important questions Dean had about his life.


    All of his regrets and questions of the ''what if'' situations in his life were destined to remain unaddressed. He would never know what his life would have been like if he''d chosen to become a firefighter instead of a plumber. He''d never know how different his life would be if he''d mustered up the courage to talk to that girl in 11th grade.


    Regrets like this plagued his life, but his career path wasn''t among them.


    Being a firefighter, like many other ''respected'' jobs was overly restricting. Being told what to wear and how to do your job were the two main factors that influenced him to become self-employed.


    Dean was the type of guy that would go left if someone tried to tell him to go right. He was the epitome of the phrase "don''t tell me what to do", and he embodied this sentiment to his dying day.


    Yes, he was dead, and he knew it. However, the exact details of his death and the finer details of his life eluded him. He couldn''t remember his family(if he had any), hobbies, or even his likes and dislikes.


    Oddly enough, he could remember his name, basic education, and a random assortment of knowledge ranging from pop culture references to the state bird of every state.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "I take it that you have questions?"


    A slightly ethereal voice with an oddly raspy quality interrupted Dean''s introspection and brought his attention to the entity that was closing in from the distance.


    Towering amidst a practical sea of humanoid husks that slowly marched forward in near synchronous coordination, stood a 12-meter midnight black monolith that sporadically released wisps of sanguine tendrils from each of the cryptic runes transcribed on its surface.


    Eerily silent, the vast majority of the hoard of husks slowly undulated as their footsteps rose and fell on mass carrying the tablet forward at a slow but methodic pace.


    The few among them that managed to vocalize their frustrations could do little beyond wail in indignation and fury before they were compelled by some unseen force into submission.


    With no other outlet to release their pent-up frustration and fury upon, all of the human husks turned their gazes toward Dean that stood alone- free and unencumbered.


    Most of them stared with hollow, vacant eyes that had given up on any sense of hope. Dean couldn''t explain how he knew, but underneath their fury, towards him, he glimpsed an even deeper plea to be released from their horrid existence.


    Their vocal counterparts were a bit better. Their eyes were vacant as well, but deep within their gaze Dean could sense a vicious hope. It was as if they could envision themselves breaking free from their shackles and overturning the depths of hell.


    While Dean was observing all of this, the procession had made its way to him only stopping once they were a mere 5 meters away.


    Up close the visceral emotions emanating off of the hoard were almost palpable; however, these emotions seemed almost child-like when compared to the vast feeling of despair and horror that was being released from the monolith.


    Each one of the sanguine tendrils licked the air, the air rippled and reality tore at its seams. Each tear was accompanied by a brief glimpse of unfathomable horror.


    On more than one occasion, whatever was beyond the tear would attempt to slither free. Luckily, the tears in reality were fleeting at best and would close long before any of them could make any real progress.


    "I will not repeat myself. Do you have questions?"


    The sentence sounded as if numerous individuals were speaking in perfect harmony.


    Dean stood for several seconds slack-jawed in trepidation and wonder at the horrifying yet awe-inspiring sight of the horde of humanoid husks speaking in synchrony before he could muster up the resolve to respond.


    "Huh?"

 Chapter 1: Pain and Tears

    "Hmm, you''re not the brightest, are you? Your pitiful intellect aside, this is a place of the damned. A place where pitiful souls unfit for reincarnation congregate for some form of salvation."


    "It has no true name but the creatures of the multiverse that know of its existence call it by whatever name best conforms to their ideals. I believe that your world refers to it as Limbo, The First Circle of Hell which isn''t entirely accurate but sufficient for someone of your mental capacity."


    "Huh," Dean was oddly nonplussed at this revelation. It was as if he''d just been told that the sky was blue or that his shoes were untied.


    It was odd. He was dead and essentially in hell speaking to a massive monolith carried by a hoard of vengeful human tusks, and yet he felt far less terrified than he KNEW he should be.


    "You''ve begun to notice, haven''t you?" The monolith''s raspy voice intoned. "Perhaps, there is hope for you yet. This place is home to an abundance of peculiar existences and phenomena."


    "Your lackluster responses and forgotten memories are the results of the environment in which you find yourself."


    ''My environment?'', Dean was so enthralled by the vengeful hoard and the terrifying monolith that he''d neglected to properly notice exactly where he was.


    Looking down at his bare feet, he squeezed his toes to feel the smooth, slightly damp white sand underneath his feet that stretched endlessly to the horizon in front of him.


    "Hmm, why is this sand slightly damp?" not really expecting a response Dean looked behind him to find the source of the fine mist that was slowly soaking both the ground and his back.


    Located 20 or so meters behind him flowed a languid, black river that was only around 3 meters across. Occasionally, a bubble would gurgle to the surface before quickly popping and releasing a cacophony of sibilant whispers and ghostly wails.


    Even more strangely, the river''s flowing speed fluctuated. Sometimes it barely crept along at a snail''s pace, and at other times, it raged forward like a galloping horse.


    It was during the time that the river raged forward that the river would produce a fine mist of droplets as the river''s edges brushed against the shore on each side of the river.


    However, the river was always silent no matter what speed it flowed at.


    Casting his gaze to the other shore, Dean was greeted with the sight of absolute abundance. Unlike the barren white sand on his side of the river, the other shore was occupied by a lush forest.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Swaying in an unseen breeze, flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors rested amidst a field of lush grass that continued to a forest''s edge that was dominated by gnarly trees that towered high above.


    Amongst the towering trees, Dean could see vague shadows of animals and other creatures but their finer details were obscured by the mist that came from the river.


    "It''s odd, isn''t it? Like this river, the border between life and death is so narrow."


    The monolith, which had been silent while Dean was observing the river, commented on the surreal sight before him.


    "You managed to make it quite far. You even manage to somehow bypass that river with your sense of self primarily intact. A feat that not many can boast to have accomplished.


    Unfortunately, you''ve become ensnared in one of the more sinister aspects of the Lethe, the river of oblivion or forgetfulness.


    Normally, any spirit that it makes it this far would have long since been bathed in its waters and forgotten every aspect of its former life. You''ve avoided that fate, but now you''re constantly in contact with the river''s mist.


    Left alone, bathing in the river''s mist will also cause you to forget your former life, but since you''ve met me your fate may change.


    I will test you. If you succeed, for better or worse, your fate will never be the same.


    If you fail one of two fates awaits you. Either you wither and crumble into the sand just like countless others before you, or you retain some semblance of self and join the hoard below me."


    Dean squeezed his toes again and felt the sand between his toes while he cast his piteous gaze at the human husks.


    "Don''t pity them. Unlike those who''ve turned to sand, they still have hope. They still have a chance to overcome their predicament and renter the cycle of reincarnation.


    If they manage to endure the burden of being in my presence for a time, then they will be transformed into something new, something greater."


    ''So if I fail, I become one of them or crumble into sand, huh?''


    ''Nope!''


    The way Dean saw it, this was a lose-lose situation for himself. It was like someone was asking him to choose between cutting off either his hand or his foot.


    "Excuse me, sir... Mr. Monolith, but if it''s alright with you, I''d rather reincarnate or go to heaven if that''s possible. I''m not a big fan of this test that can result in me becoming a human husk or worse yet, sand."


    Sensing his pity at their current situation, all of the human husks'' gazes became even more vicious. The ones that could vocalize wailed at the top of their lungs in indignation at being pitied while the others shuddered and repeatedly clenched and unclenched their fists.


    "No, this test is not optional. You will be tested because it''s not often that a soul makes it this far. All who make it here must be tested to see if they possess the inherent qualifications I''m searching for."


    "Mr. Tablet sir, that''s not really necess-," Dean couldn''t even finish his objection before he was blatantly interrupted.


    "You will gaze upon the runic scriptures inscribed upon my surface. If you pass, they will coalesce into a Truth upon which the foundation of your Path to Power will be formed.


    Dean hadn''t realized it but he''d been unconsciously avoiding directly looking at the tablet''s surface.


    Feeling eerily compelled, he turned his gaze upon the tablet''s surface. As if sensing his gaze, the sanguine tendrils writhed intensely as if to obscure anyone from gazing upon the runic scriptures behind them.


    They twirled and encircled a central runic scripture that was as plain as the tendrils were ominous.


    ''What is going on?''


    Right before his eyes, the runic scripture began to convulse and writhe as the unintelligible runic scriptures became comprehensible in his mind.


    Pain and Tears.

 Chapter 2: Deck Core Acquired

    Pain and Tears


    For a moment, the runic scriptures coalesced into those 3 words before releasing a sanguine wisp of power that tentatively stretched at the constraints of the 3 words'' lettering.


    Meeting no resistance, they smoothly glid from the words inscribed on the monolith into Dean. There was no pain, no discomfort, and no feeling at all really when the wisps flowed into him which was a stark contrast from what he''d expected.


    As the last vestiges of the sanguine wisps disappeared from the 3 words on the monolith, they became especially dull before writhing once more and unraveling into the original runic scriptures.


    He still couldn''t understand any of the runic scriptures that constantly writhed and tumbled across the monolith''s surface, but he inexplicably felt as if some knowledge was seared into his mind.


    "And it is done," the monolith intoned through the haunting collective voice of the humanoid horde.


    "Wait, that''s it? That was the test you wanted me to take?" Dean was flabbergasted at the absurd ease of the test despite the situation he was in.


    It was like a college student worrying over an exam only to be greeted by questions for elementary students.


    Too easy.


    "Yes, the test has been taken and passed. Like most things in life the profound is often simple."


    ...


    ...


    Dean waited expectedly for the monolith and the horde to continue speaking, but everyone just sat there in silence. He stood and stared at the hoard and they just stared right back.


    Opening his mouth to ask what came next, the silence was broken by the horde.


    "Constructs such as myself can survive anywhere, but our inherent characteristics mutate depending on the environment in which we find ourselves.


    I''ve spent eons in this place of absolute depravity and suffering but you are the first that has been able to withstand the burden of this place and accept a seed of Truth from me.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Eons I''ve waited, and finally, I''ve discovered someone worthy to inherit a Truth and become a Card Summoner."


    "Card Summoner? That term sounds somewhat familiar." He was never a huge fan of Magic the Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh but he''d played enough of both to have a rough understanding of the game mechanics.


    Magic the Gathering in particular always released amazing cinematic trailers that really hyped him up to play. There was even a time when he envisioned himself as a planeswalker that traversed the multiverse with strength and freedom.


    ''Hmm, wait a minute.'' Dean chuckled ruefully. ''Wasn''t I terrible at those games?''


    It was embarrassing to admit but Dean failed to even get past the Magic the Gathering tutorial when he downloaded the gaming app on his phone. The rules seemed simple enough but the complex interactions between the different card types and card effects were just too much and he abandoned the game in favor of Fortnite.


    He faired a bit better in Yu-Gi-Oh but the introduction of new game mechanics like Synchro Summons and the insanely high skill level of the players on its gaming app similarly deterred him from his childhood card game.


    It was one thing to spend an afternoon playing Duel Monsters with your friends but after two back-to-back instances of losing in one turn he just gave up.


    ''Wait, I''m doing it again.'' Dean had the terrible habit of making assumptions before he had all of the facts.


    However similar a Card Summoner may sound to the games he was familiar with he was not about to make any assumptions.


    For all he knew, the term he was thinking of and the reality of being a Card Summoner may be totally different.


    "You''ve heard of a Card Summoner?" The hoard shook their collective heads before continuing. "Highly doubtful. But perhaps, your world produced some poor facsimile of the term. Stranger things have happened after all.


    It may be a facsimile, but if it allows you to comprehend what it means to be a Card Summoner quickly there is little harm with this foreknowledge.


    The seed of Truth has been implanted, and your time in this realm draws to a close.


    Even as we speak, this realm seeks to expel you and send you into the ether that lies between realms. I can assist on this front.


    The realm I will send you to, I can not follow. However, I can offer you a few simple gifts to aid you on your path.


    The first of which is the seed of Truth that has already been given.


    The 2nd is the gift of knowledge regarding the nature of the seed of Truth you''ve recently acquired.


    It must be understood that while I have provided the ''seed'' of your Truth the manifestation of its exact form and potency is beyond my ability to control.


    Rather, it is the result of the merger between your soul and the Truth.


    The ''seed'' distinction merely exists as a means to denote that your Truth is undeveloped and in its infancy.


    I will not pollute your mind and impede your path by providing unwarranted tutelage on its nature but I''d advise you to always reference its name as you delve into its deeper meaning.


    Remember that the profound is often found in simplicity."


    .........


    ..........


    ..........


    "Yeah... uh, that sounds helpful, but is there any way we could make a minor alteration to your gift? I don''t want to sound ungrateful, but I think it would be in both our best interests if your gifts also included something more... practical."


    Learning from his past mistake, Dean took the initiative and raised this issue before the monolith could continue.


    There was another pause before the horde responded. "Hmm, you may have a point. I often forget how needy young mortals like yourself are.


    I will offer little else because it is unneeded. You are ignorant so I will exemplify your interactions with the world and make them more readily apparent.


    With the potential for strength and knowledge, you are now prepared.


    Rest, and once you awake your path will begin in earnest."


    Throughout this sentence, Dean was struck with an inexorable feeling of drowsiness and he found himself falling asleep despite the mountains of questions and fears he still had.


    And yet, despite his best efforts to remain awake, he sank further and further into unconsciousness. His awareness teetered toward the brink of oblivion when he felt as much as read a notification.


    Deck Core: Pain and Tears has been acquired

 Chapter 3: Rude Awakening

    "Are you sure he''s not dead Boss? Just look at him. He looks like he''s been catching bricks with his face."


    "I don''t care if he''s alive or dead. He might have a bit of coin on him." A pair of hands rummaged through Dean''s pants as he slowly regained consciousness and overheard this conversation.


    His initial reaction was to bolt upright and confront the man stealing from him but his instincts screamed that doing so would only worsen the situation.


    So he squashed his fear and decided to lie still and let the man finish rummaging through his pants. With any luck, he''d leave after he was done.


    "Tch, the bastard is just as poor as we are." The hands finished the search with one last rough pat-down of his pants'' pockets before swiftly reaching up to his collar.


    The man''s movements were smooth and fluid as if he''d done similar actions plenty in the past.


    "No jewelry on him either. I expected as much but you never know these days.


    No luck with this one Mickey. Let''s wrap things up here and get back to the docks before all of the best spots are taken."


    There was a long pause after the man finished his sentence. If it wasn''t for the lack of receding footsteps he would''ve thought that they''d left him alone already.


    ''What are they waiting-''


    A stream of hot liquid hit his face and made him abandon his efforts to pretend to be asleep. He bolted upright. sputtering for breath as he tried to spit out the urine in his mouth.


    "Hehe, did you really think I didn''t notice you were faking? It looks like you were having a hard time getting up so I decided to give you a bit of daddy''s special brew."


    ''This can''t be real. D-did he really just do that?'' Dean stared slack-jawed as the man pulled up his trousers as the two men continued. "Hey, Boss just look at him. He ain''t up yet. He looks like he needs a few more cups before he can really wake up."You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Is that true, buddy?" The question was accompanied by two mean-spirited slaps to his left cheek as the man squatted down to look Dean in the face.


    Up close Dean could see the rough, coarse skin of a man that made his living doing work outdoors. Bronzed skin encased a squarish head, below a mop of short cut greasy black hair. A nose flattened and crooked from being broken one too many times rested between a pair of dark brown eyes.


    He continued to cackle at his own hilarity. "You enjoyed the flavor that much huh? Hehe, I appreciate the compliment but daddy''s all tapped out at the moment. Come back in a few hours and I''ll see what I can do for you."


    With that, he delved into another fit of laughter while waving at the other man. Some of the urine must have clung to his hand when he slapped Dean because a few drops arced gracefully through the air and landed just inches from the other man''s right shoe.


    ''Watch it, Boss". His companion, while not as bulky as the first man, playfully twirled a small knife between his fingers. "Some of that almost got on me."


    Boss, as the other man called him, scrunched his face together and looked down at his left hand before reaching over towards Dean''s brown shirt.


    He had to search for a few seconds to find a patch that wasn''t already soaked in urine before he finally found a dry patch to clean his hand on.


    "Come on Mickey. He doesn''t have any money on him and we need to get to the docks to catch the night rush."


    "Okay, boss. I was hoping to get some grub on the way but times are tough. Even two hard-working and handsome individuals like us can barely afford to live in the city these days. Those damned high classed snobby bast-"


    "Shut your mouth. I keep telling you to watch what you say out here in public. One slip-up and they''ll be fishing your bloated corpse out of the harbor."


    "S-sorry boss."


    The conversation receded from earshot as the pair took a left after exiting the alley.


    All the while, Dean sat rigidly trying to comprehend what just happened.


    His common sense was telling him that none of what just transpired was real, but the drop of urine dangling from his eyelash and stinging his eye said differently.


    "Fffuuuucckkk!!!"


    ***********************


    3 minutes later


    "Okay, let''s think things through." Dean finally calmed down enough to think about his situation. The alley wall he leaned against was oddly sticky but its cool surface helped to calm him down and clear his mind.


    ''The alley may be disgusting but it was relatively safe.'' Or as safe as any other place for Dean right now.


    Beneath the shame of his recent embarrassment and the fear of his unknown situation, Dean was overcome with a feeling of weakness.


    It almost felt as if his blood sugar was low and he needed to eat something sweet immediately. Only the feeling of weakness felt more visceral and exponentially more urgent than a bout of hypoglycemia.


    It was partly why he had been so docile and meek in front of the two men earlier.


    Sure, he was outnumbered and outmuscled but he felt too out of it to even put up a token resistance.


    Something was off about him and he didn''t what it was.


    Even now he could feel an inexplicable pull towards one of the piles of trash that were haphazardly created throughout the alley.


    The pull urged him towards one of the smaller piles of trash located deeper within the alley.


    Using the wall for support, he stumbled deeper into the alley to investigate further.


    The pile of trash was primarily composed of a dark brown sludge, broken pieces of odds and ends, discarded paper, and small bones that had been gnawed on and cracked open for the bone marrow.


    Nestled within a small divet at the top of the mound rested a small figure.


    Mewling Canine- Lesser Apparition(Beast)


    HP: 50


    MP: 25


    Attack Rating: 1


    Defense Rating: 0


    Active Abilities: N/A


    Passive Abilities: N/A


    Anima produced per turn: 1


    Born from an infantile creature that succumbed to death because of starvation and neglect.

 Chapter 4: Mewling Canine

    Mewling Canine- Lesser Apparition(Beast)


    HP:50


    MP: 25


    Attack Rating: 1


    Defense Rating: 0


    Active Abilities: N/A


    Passive Abilities: N/A


    Born from an infantile creature that succumbed to death because of starvation and neglect.


    Add Mewling Canine to Deck?


    ''This?''


    The pulling sensation was definitely coming from the small puppy. However, the notification that hovered in his awareness as he stared at the whimpering form below had him at a loss.


    If he was understanding things correctly, the notification was referring to the puppy below. He wasn''t quite sure what the prompt meant when it asked him to add the puppy to his deck, but he had his suspicions.


    He shifted his gaze away, and sure enough, the notification immediately dissipated. After returning his gaze, it phased into existence once more and confirmed his suspicion.


    ''It''s almost as if what I''m seeing is the puppy''s status window or something. It''s a bit different from what I usually see in RPG games, but the concept seems to roughly be the same.


    Ugh!'' Another throb of weakness swept through Dean''s body causing him to sway slightly on his feet.


    ''Wh-what am I supposed to do here, save it?''


    However, that was impossible!


    A glob of maggots currently wriggled within the puppy''s empty eye sockets. They must have hit a gas pocket within the skull because the corpse deflated slightly and released a small ''poof'' that sent maggots flying out of the two orifices and onto its nose where they quickly squirmed into its nostrils.


    The intense squirming inside the grossly distended belly hinted that plenty more were feasting on the entrails inside.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Dean was receiving a notification for a corpse!


    It was just another thing that contributed to the absurdity of recent events.


    Add Mewling Canine to Deck?


    The prompt pulsed as if demanding to be answered.


    "Sure, add it to my deck." Dean didn''t have anything to lose at this point and if this got rid of his strange feeling of weakness then all the better.


    All of a sudden, the notification disappeared.


    The puppy''s corpse that was directly behind the notification screen suddenly shrunk even more before a faint illusory figure of the puppy slowly floated from the corpse. It whirled into itself before collapsing into a glowing sanguine orb that was around the size of a marble. It slowly spun and hovered around 5 feet off the ground for a second before elongating into a large 5 by 3-inch card.


    On its entire front surface, Dean saw a picture of a small black sheepdog puppy that was curled up as if were sleeping. Looking down, he saw that the image on the card and the position of the corpse were nearly identical.


    On the back of the card, he only saw a pure black background that was sporadically decorated by sanguine wisps.


    The card made one complete revolution in the air before collapsing back into a sanguine orb and flying into Dean''s forehead.


    It sunk lower and somehow deeper into Dean''s very being before settling into place. Where it settled, Dean wasn''t exactly sure, but he felt the familiar sensation that he was learning to associate with the prompts and notifications.


    He let the sensation wash over him.


    Deck Core: Pain and Tears(Unattributed)


    Summons: Mewling Canine


    Artifacts: N/A


    "How simple." Now that the pulling sensation and bout of weakness were over, Dean''s mind was finally able to work at full capacity again.


    ''If I remember correctly The Monolith claimed that I was a Card Summoner and from the looks of things this is what it meant.


    Yeah, I can see it.''


    Dean had always been a fan of the mage/ summoner architect in games where you could dish out massive amounts of damage from a distance and remain safe and sound.


    Heck, he wanted to hide from reality and pretend that he was unwittingly a part of some VRMMORPG beta; however, after being urinated on just minutes earlier and seeing the offending man swinging freely in the wind he knew that was just wishful thinking. Not to mention, that virtual reality games were nowhere near this immersive yet. The best you could hope for was the Oculus Quest and even that just made you look a little stupid to everyone watching you play.


    The world he was sent to was very real, with very real consequences.


    No matter how good it sounds good to dish out damage from a distance, Dean had a forboding hunch that he would want to be as tough and durable as he could be.


    In short, being a glass cannon was a terrible idea.


    On a brighter note, the pulling sensation was gone. Most likely, whatever had been taken from the puppy''s corpse to make the card was what was pulling him in the first place, and with that gone the puppy''s corpse was now just like any other, you''d be unfortunate enough to stumble upon.


    The maggots were still squirming and gorging themselves non the wiser of what had just transpired.


    "How sad." Dean sadly shook his head and turned away from the disturbing sight. He was always an animal lover and to see a puppy in that condition was disheartening, to say the least.


    Sure, death and decomposition were a part of life, but that didn''t mean he had to sit here and appreciate it.


    "Well. let''s see how this works exactly." Rubbing his chin, a habit he often did when he needed to concentrate, Dean followed his instincts once again and eased himself into the urgings that had begun once he added the Mewling Canine card to his deck.


    "Draw." The word came uninhibited and the Mewling Canine card manifested itself once more. It hung in the air just as it did before, but this time it didn''t shoot into his body again.


    Instead, it just floated there until Dean tentatively reached up and took hold of it with his right hand.


    It was much larger than the traditional playing cards he was used to. If anything, its size was more comparable to the large tarot cards you often see when you get your fortune told.


    "Summon Mewling Canine." The card quietly dissipated and a small black sheepdog puppy appeared from thin air roughly 5 feet in front of him.


    It pitifully whined and whimpered as it looked from side to side before turning around and zeroing in on Dean.


    It quickly waddled over with its head down and tail between its legs and began to cower behind his legs.

 Chapter 5: Help From a Beggar

    Dean stared down with restrained disappointment.


    He wasn''t expecting much with a name like Mewling Canine, but this was just ridiculous. Sure, it was amazing that he was able to summon the creature in the first place, but he was hoping for something with a little more... oomph.


    The small, black long-haired sheepdog puppy cowered behind his legs whimpering and gazing up at Dean with sad puppy eyes for support. Every time a carriage wheel from the street up the alley hit a pothole it''d jump up in fright before huddling even closer to his legs.


    "Well, I can''t be too picky." Dean gave it a quick once over and tried giving it a command.


    "Rollover." It took a few steps away and obediently rolled over. Immediately after, it tried to huddle up to Dean''s legs again, but before it could do so he issued another command.


    "Do a backflip." Once again, it immediately took action and attempted to do a backflip. Despite its best efforts, it only managed a haphazard backward flop on its back before scrambling back to its feet.


    "Fly into the sky." Finally, Dean tried giving what he thought was an impossible command.


    This time it only gave Dean a sidelong glance before waddling over to cower behind his legs again.


    ''So I can give commands, but its ability to adhere to these commands is limited by what''s physically possible for it to do.''


    Dean reached down and ran his hands through its shiny black fur. The fur felt real and he could even feel the lines of muscles along its flanks. It even tried to lick Dean''s hands when he scratched it under the chin.


    It reaIly did seem like a real dog.


    Dean lightly nudged it away from his legs and began to walk towards the street up the alley. It tried to huddle alongside Dean''s legs as he walked, but after a few rounds of being roughly jostled by his footsteps, it picked up the hint and settled for walking very close to him.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    As the duo walked toward the street, Dean hoped that whatever allowed him to understand the two men from earlier was still in effect. He''d spent three years learning Spanish in high school with questionable results and if he had to learn another language in this new world he didn''t know what he''d do.


    Finally, they exited the alley and walked into a crowded marketplace filled with people of various ethnicities dressed in clothes that would be right at home in a Renaissance fair. He even saw a few men and women with bows, swords, and other melee weapons strapped to their bodies.


    Different kinds of stalls lined the sides of the street and a steady stream of pedestrians, wagons, and carriages flowed through. Some people perused the merchandise, others chatted with friends, while others moved on to some other destination.


    "Excuse me, can you help me-" Dean tried to ask for help from a passerby on the street, but he simply brushed right past him. Not losing his spirit he turned around and tried to ask for help from a rotund woman dressed in a roughly sewn beige dress.


    "Ma''am if I can just have a moment-" Before he could ask her for help she cradled the small child that was to her left closer, walked a little faster, and walked away from him all while poignantly avoiding eye contact.


    "Give it up. You won''t get any help from them in the condition you are in. I can smell the piss on you a mile away."


    Nestled in a small crook between a vegetable stall and another stall lined with odd trinkets was a man seated on the ground dressed in rags that barely clung to his emaciated frame.


    A beggar.


    "The people in this kingdom are odd that way. Seeing what they want and ignoring things that are too much for them to bear." He motioned for Dean to come closer.


    "You''d best get out of the way young''un. This kingdom is gripped by a culture of hypocrisy. People seek help from those more fortunate than them but when it''s time to pay the kind gesture forward they become oddly inept." He gestured toward the chipped clay bowl by the side of his foot revealing a few bronze coins- copper if Dean''s guess was correct.


    "Of course, there exist exceptions in all things.


    Many inexperienced beggars in this kingdom make the same mistake you just did. They think by abandoning their pride and directly displaying themselves to the masses they''ll make more coin that way.


    Hehe, in a perfect world that would make sense. More people seeing you should equal more donations but that''s not the way things work here.


    Those who will give to the needy will do so and those who won''t don''t care where you are. If anything, they''ll get angry and then violent that you''re right there for them to see"


    His face crumpled in consternation then. "It''s not an uncommon sight to see the street cleaners quietly removing the remains of some poor bastard that died because they unknowingly caught some noble or adventurer in a bad mood. They died without even knowing what they did wrong.


    Staying in a little crook, out of the way, like this is the smart choice. You''re easy to overlook by those who wish to do so.


    You''d do well to remember that boy. You should think the gods that you aren''t already dead in an alley somewhere."


    The back of Dean''s neck went numb when he realized how close to death he was. He''d foolishly used the sentiments of his previous world to help him out of his situation without considering the differences in culture and worldview.


    As crazy as it seems, apparently peoples'' lives were treated like grass that could be plucked by anyone brazen enough.


    "Don''t look too afraid boy. You''re alive now and that''s all that matters. Don''t worry about what could have been and just enjoy the moment." His joints creaked and popped as he rose from his seated position while adeptly hiding away the three coins amidst his torn shirt.


    "It''s almost sundown and the king''s army will soon pass through here returning from their daily patrols of the forest edge. They won''t go out of their way to hunt down beggars like us but if we''re right there in their faces they''ll make short work of us. We''d best move on before then."