Zero to Hero: A High Fantasy Harem Romance LitRPG

Before the gnome marched out of the cottage, I called out to him. "Hold on, friend. Wait for a moment."

He turned to look at me. It was immediately apparent that I'd said the wrong thing. "Why wait? I thought it was time to go!"

I held my hands up. "I need a few minutes to prepare. I'll call for you when I'm ready."

"Prepare?" Farvad's eyes narrowed. "What mischief is this? I thought you were a chosen?!"

"Trust me, there is no mischief." I waved my hands at him. "Teleporting takes a lot out of me, and I've been walking for nearly a day straight. I need a few minutes to clear my head." And get ready for the terrible nausea I was about to suffer from.

"I don't like this one bit." He crossed his arms. "I'm beginning to think you lot have been—"

Cutting him off before he could get carried away, Tristan held up a hand and said, "Farvad, Alex is a chosen, but he's new to his role." Tristan leaned forward and, in a professional tone, added, "Still, even being new, he was trained by the Divine Hero herself. She's even given him her blessing."

Farvad's eyes drifted between Tristan and me. He was still clearly uncertain. "The Hero, you say?"

"Indeed." She smiled at the man. "Faye personally came to Istaera to meet with him, and she personally guided him on a quest. You couldn't be in safer hands."

"That's hard to believe..." He chewed on the inside of his cheek. "He doesn't look like much now that I think about it."

I took a slow breath.

Tristan took his hands in hers and said in the kindest voice I knew, "Tell me about Elna, Farvad. What does she look like?"

The gnome's eyes lit up, and a wide smile spread across his face. "She's the prettiest thing you'll ever set your eyes on! Eyes like the dirt. Hair like the Goddess's green earth. Nose as wide as a bellows, and just as loud! And let me tell you..."

As the gnome talked, Tristan's sapphire eyes met mine. In those perfect blue orbs, I could hear exactly what her soul was telling me: I have this. Do what you need to do. I believe in you.

With a nod, I turned on my heel, exited the cottage, and started toward the village square. As I walked, I realized my stomach was in knots. I always felt like this whenever I knew I had to teleport. I mean, that was to be expected. I'd nearly died when I first got yoinked to Reial from Earth, and it took me over a year to recover. It was difficult, painful, and miserable. Zero out of ten, didn't recommend.

However, I was feeling more than that, too. I'd never used [Recall] before. Sure, I'd teleported a few times, mostly recently with Faye, but those times had been through someone else's magic.

This was different.

This was my power. My ability. And I had no idea what it would look like. Or even if it would work. I mean, sure, it was probably like any other skill, but what if it wasn't? Mastering the inventory system was hard enough, and that was with direct help from an expert. And I still screwed it up from time to time, especially when I was tired.

What if this skill were difficult like that? What if I screwed it up? What if I teleported us into a wall, or into the Depths, or scattered us across the countryside in pieces? What we ended up stranded somewhere far away, and I couldn't get us back? What then?

I reached the village square and stopped, staring at the broken cart and overgrown weeds.

Get a grip, man. Don't be stupid. You've got this. Why are you so damn anxious?

I took several deep breaths and focused on the anxiety I was feeling.

No. I was feeling more than anxiety. I was feeling... self-doubt?

Yeah.

There'd been a question rattling in my brain for a while.

Why was I chosen?

That question had been eating at me for months.

I couldn't help but compare myself to Faye these past few months, and I didn't like the conclusion I reached.

Faye was a real hero. She took down Maluphet in a single strike. She'd fought in the Scion's War. She'd faced down actual gods—or demigods, I supposed—and lived to tell the story. She changed the world. Helped found cities. She was strong, confident, capable... everything a chosen should be. Everything a hero should be.

Meanwhile, I was just a guy with a sword and shield. That was it. And I'd failed my first quest. I didn't reach Dorit in time. I'd barely survived a fight with a vampire, nearly got myself stuck in a fake alternate Earth, and got trounced during my battle at the seal. I only survived because Faye had decided to come with us. If she hadn't come, we'd have all died, and that would have been that.

I wasn't anything special. I wasn't heroic. And I certainly wasn't strong enough to change the damn world! But I would get there. I'd do everything I could to get to that point. I had to.

Without thinking, I reached into my inventory and pulled out a little glowing stone I'd brought back with me from the Depths. Looking down, I took the small white sphere in. The barest flicker of light was present inside of it, floating like a ghost inside the translucent stone.

My sister's face flooded into my mind.

When we'd entered that doorway and gone back to Earth, or some alternate reality dream of it, I'd gotten to live with her for eight years. Eight wonderful years. And, while the memories of that time were fading, like a dream that was so vivid but slowly faded as time went on, I could still remember so many of the moments that I wanted to treasure forever. I'd even started a journal to record them all in case we forgot them.

But, more than anything, the stone represented that time. It was all I had left of my sister. My child. The life Tristan, Vral, and I had built. All of it was represented by the little stone that came back with me from the Depths. To me, that stone was a reminder of every loss and failure I'd ever experienced. That, and it was a reminder of how much further I needed to go. I had to keep pushing, until I was stronger than any—

"Hey."

"Huh?" I looked down to find Vral standing beneath me, a little smirk painted on her face. Her canine was glinting in the tower's light. I couldn't help but smile. I loved it when her tooth did that. "Hey, Vral." I slipped the stone back into my inventory.

Her eyes tracked my movement. "You gonna be okay, big guy?"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Yeah, I think so." I looked back up and took in the square as we entered it. "I've just never used [Recall] before. I'm kind of nervous."

"You think you'll get sick?"

With a big sigh, I answered, "I'm sure I will, yeah." I always got sick when I teleported. It was the worst.

She looked at me for a long moment. "That's not all you're thinking about, is it?" Her smirk faded away.

I put my best grin on. "No, that's it. I'm just a little jittery, is all."

Her red eyes fell to the ground, and she shuffled a bit. Then, taking a deep breath, she said, "I know I'm not any good at this... and we both know Tris knows how to say the right things... way better than I do... and she's a far better listener than I am, too..." She looked up again, her red eyes meeting mine. "But you can talk to me, too, you know?"

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine. Really." I took a step toward the road. "Let's get goi—"

Before I could step away, she grabbed my hand and pulled me around so I was facing her.

I tried to pull away, but her hand was like a vice. "What's up?"

She nodded at the ground. "Kneel."

"Why?"

"Just do it, dummy."

I dropped to one knee, leaving us nearly face-to-face. "Okay, now what?"

Her eyes were intense as she took a step toward me. Then another. A third step, and she was standing with her chest pressed against mine. "Just..." With a huff, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, cradled the back of my head, and pulled me down so that I was resting on her shoulder.

"What—"

"Shhh." She started running her hands through my hair. Then, her fingernails found my scalp, sending chills up my neck.

It felt amazing, but... "What'd I do to earn all this affection?"

Her hands froze for an instant before continuing. "I may not be as sweet as that damn priestess of ours, but I can be nice, too, you know?"

"Who are you and what did you do with my Vral?"

"Keep it up, and I'll bite you."

"You promise?"

She nipped my ear. "Yes. Now shush."

"Yes, ma'am." I chuckled and let the moment happen.

"Good boy." For a few minutes, she held me close. Stroked my hair. Cradled my head in her arms. "I've been learning from Tris how to be more supportive. It hasn't been going great, so you're going to be my training dummy today." She pressed her cheek to my head and exhaled.

Settled into her, I could hear her heart beating through her chest. It was slow and steady, and so strong.

Thump thump.

Thump thump.

Her lips brushed my cheek. "You're always there for us, but you never ask us for anything back." She pulled my head tighter, so that my face rested against her collarbone. "Even when we were on Earth, you were always so selfless. So, for this single moment, I'm going to give you something you'd never ask for."

"I—"

"Shhh." She pulled me closer until her entire body was pressed to mine.

Thump thump.

Thump thump.

"We want to be there for you, but you don't make it easy." She snorted. "I know that's funny for me to say, considering I'm me and all, but still. You're at least as bad at it as I am." Stroking my neck, she continued, "So, I'm going to dote on you for a minute." She started massaging my head. "It's the least I can do after everything you've done for us." She swallowed. "Especially me."

"Okay. I can handle that."

"I wasn't asking."

Thump thump.

Thump thump.

"I've seen that look on your face before. You always get it when you pull out that stone. And I think I know what you're thinking when you do. What you're feeling. Because it reminds me of me." Pressing her lips into my scalp, she whispered, "I miss them too. And I'm mad. And sad. And sometimes I feel weak. Powerless. Worthless." She kissed my head. "But you always tell me I'm not, even when I'm so sure that I am. So that means you're not either. Not even a little." She patted my head. "You're strong. So, so strong. Stronger than you know. Maybe, possibly stronger than me. That's one of the things I love about you... How strong you are..." She shook her head. "But that's not all you are to me. Not anymore."

Thump thump.

Thump thump.

"I know you like to carry us on those big shoulders of yours. And you always do it with a big smile. Like there's nothing you'd rather do. But you deserve to be carried sometimes. So let us do that for you, at least here and there, okay?"

Thump thump.

Thump thump.

"You don't have to carry the world all the time, and you don't have to do it alone." She kissed my head a second time. "I'm here. Right here. And I'll keep being here. I'm strong, too. And I'm going to keep getting stronger. So lean on me a little. I can handle it."

Thump thump.

Thump thump.

Finally, she pulled away, far enough that her red eyes could meet mine. "Did I do alright?"

I took her face in. It was more genuine than I'd ever seen it. "Yeah. You did." I actually did feel better.

She leaned forward and gave me a slow, passionate kiss. Our tongues jousted for a time, and when she finally pulled away, she whispered, "Don't go telling everyone, but I kind of love you."

"I kind of love you, too."

"Good." She patted my cheek. "Now, do what you gotta do to get us back to the temple so we can drop this dead weight off. Then, I want us to go on a real date to this stupid Goodfield place. I was promised cheese, and I'll ruin some lives if I don't get it."

That made me laugh. "You got it, lady."

[Mark]

I stood up and mentally commanded the system to mark Fairbrook as a recall location.

Fairbrook is a valid location.

Do you wish to mark Fairbrook as a recall location?

I willed it to do the thing.

You have marked Fairbrook as a recall location.

I felt the familiar anxiety bubble up in me, but I pushed it away.

[Recall]

You have marked the following locations. To which location would you like to recall:

[Copperhill]

[Fairbrook]

[Galden]

[Khozad'Thar]

[Light's Hope Temple]

So that was how it worked!

I'd never tried to pull it up before since I had neither the reason to nor the desire, but now I knew, and knowledge was power. At least, that was what Arden was always saying.

Reaching out, I found Vral's shoulder and squeezed. "Hey, go tell them I'm ready now."

"You got it, boss." She skittered away, back toward the cottage. A moment later, she reappeared, followed by Tristan and Farvad.

"See, Farvad? I told you it wouldn't take much longer," Tristan said as she walked the old gnome to me.

When they reached the village square, Farvad looked around nervously. "I don't want to be out here any longer than we have to be."

"We won't be out here long."

"What do we do, then?" He was looking everywhere at once. "Do we chant something? Drink potions? Say a prayer?"

"Nothing like that." I gestured for them to come to me. "Just keep holding Tristan's hand. I'll do the rest." When she was close enough, I reached out and took Tristan's other hand.

Vral's hand found mine a second later.

"That's it?" He shuffled closer but kept his distance from Tristan and Vral. "Seems too simple."

"The best things in life usually are." Tristan smiled at him.

"True, true." The gnome cackled. "They always say to keep it simple. I needed to be reminded of that. Thank you, priestess."

She wasn't wrong. Taking a deep breath, I focused on the system interface still hanging in my mind's eye. Focusing on [Light's Hope Temple] for a long moment, I willed the system to do the thing.

There was a pulse of energy in my soul, and words appeared in my mind.

You have chosen [Light's Hope Temple] as your recall location.

A flash of lightning lit up the sky overhead, causing my heart to skip a beat.

Tristan's hand squeezed mine. "Great job, love."

"Thank you, babe." I needed to hear that. She knew exactly how much I hated this stuff. She'd been there from the start.

"I've got you." Vral stepped up to my leg and hooked her arm around my waist.

"Me too." Tristan hooked her arm in mine.

I didn't deserve them.

Still, while I definitely was feeling the anxiety again, aside from the anxiety... I felt confident. This was it.

I did it.

The air around us began to hum. It started low, almost imperceptible, but it quickly grew louder. The hairs on my arms stood on end as static electricity built around us.

There was another flash of lightning in the sky above.

Farvad yelped and grabbed onto Tristan's arm.

"Alex?" Tristan's voice was steady, but I could hear the question in it.

"I think it's worki—" My voice was drowned out by another bolt of lightning crashing down nearby, nearly causing my chest to explode.

Both girls squeezed into my sides.

"Why is this so much more violent than when Faye does it?!"

"Try focusing on the location!" Tristan shouted over another lightning strike. "Visualize the temple! Magic works best when you can clearly visualize the effect!"

That made sense.

Focusing every ounce of willpower I had on visualizing the temple. As I did, I felt the air shift, and a massive bolt of lightning cracked overhead. The air started humming louder. Then, the humming became a roar. The wind whipped around us. The world started to blur and bend at the edges of my vision.

Then, without warning, the sky split open.

A line of pure, brilliant white struck down from the sky above and slammed into the four of us.

My heart stopped. My vision went completely white. My body seized. Every nerve in my body screamed as the world dissolved around us.

The lightning consumed everything, and then—