Downsized 2: The Story So Far

[Author's note: I added this reprise of Downsized Book 1 for new readers and for folks who want a recap to help get them up to speed when starting Book 2. For readers of the original work, there will be some changes from what they read, as this is based on the revised version to be released in the near future.

It likely doesn't need to be said, but if you haven't read Book 1, this recap and all Book 2 chapters contain spoilers.

Enjoy!]

Moriarty "Arty" Carrigan woke up ready to deliver the strategic presentation of his burgeoning career at Complyze, in the premier hub of the technology industry that was Halo City. Instead, he was shunted off to play chaperone to a beautiful and brilliant engineer named Zoya Kahn. When Zoya's credibility, gender, and her groundbreaking autonomous drone technology came under attack from a hostile vendor manager named Bruce Paap, Arty leapt to her defense. But Arty soon needed some defending of his own.

Targeted by false accusations of fraud and theft, Arty's job, his reputation, and his financial future were teetering on the brink of ruin. Confronted outside his former workplace by the vendor he suspects ruined his life, an altercation leads to the worst possible outcome: a head-on collision with a truck and a sudden, sharp exit from this world.

Until he woke to meet a goddess named Iter who had summoned him to be a hero for a world under threat. Demon lords, divine powers, and magic all existed, and he was imbued with a supernatural system called the Divine Communion that could help him level up and save a new world. It had all the hallmarks of an RPG video game, with abilities, attributes, and skills to fuel his growth. An unknown but tantalizing new future awaited him.  

Except it was over before it began. The Demon Seed was suddenly gone, a hero was no longer necessary, and Arty was sent back to his own world in an ICU ward to barely cling to life.

He should have died from his injuries. But he'd returned with the Divine Communion still intact, and with his Inner Alchemy skill he recovered with impossible speed. With nothing to do in bed but experiment, Arty soon discovered that his powers were real. He could manipulate magical inventories, access a map of his surroundings in real-time, and learn information about the world around him through appraisal. But it was strangely underwhelming. Moving things in and out of his existing pockets normally, or using his phone to identify things and see a map worked just as well. And magic itself didn't work here. The healing factor was literally live-saving, but beyond that it didn't seem to offer any advantages. It didn't help him get his job back, earn money, or clear his reputation. Disappointed and bemused, Arty waited out the confusion of his doctors and called his friend Cate to take him home.  

But when Cate and Arty arrived at his apartment, there was an unexpected visitor. Iter herself appeared in this world, intending to support her Hero in on his new path. Arty was able to play off Iter's strangeness as a foreign recruiter from Eurpoa, but Cate left with confusion and questions about Arty's new houseguest.

But another unexpected visitor arrived the next day: Zoya Kahn had also been framed and fired, and had sought Arty out as a potential ally and confederate. She believed Complyse had removed her to steal her revolutionary drone-collaboration platform, DRACO. Rather than retreat, she wanted to build a company of their own and fight back. But she needed Arty's help.  

It seemed Arty's Communion and Iter wanted that, too. Zoya became Arty's first official party member, and the system assigned them a quest: Reclaim Stolen Honor.

As Arty learned to use his growing powers, he uncovered increasingly suspicious evidence linking Bruce Paap and Complyze executives to financial corruption. With help from Iter and loyal friends such as Cate Dougherty, he began exposing fragments of the conspiracy that had destroyed their lives. And uncovered a suspicious suicide by John Hu, one of the executives involved in their frame-up.

At the same time, unexpected allies emerged.

One was Anya, his former boss, who was discipline and elegance personified. She'd built a safe life by continually suppressing her inner self, but her bottled up feelings are finally breaking free. Now she's driven to make amends with the one man she never meant to lose.

Arty's friend Cate was struggling with her own unresolved feelings for Arty as well. She's watched from the sidelines long enough. She joined their fledgling company, and unknowingly joined their hero party as well. Now she wants to feed the longing she's never dared voice.

All the while, Arty and Zoya grow closer, spurred on by Iter. Zoya's seen the one man who believes in her put into danger time and time again. When Iter shows her a new path to fulfill her exhibitionist desires, Zoya decides to bare all to Arty and Iter and join their unconventional relationship. Arty, caught unawares but not unwilling, discovers his bonds with his party can facilitate a deeper and more intimate connection than either of them have ever known.

But the threats surrounding them are not idle.

Police Detective Luis Flores is asking questions about Jon Hu's death. Missing evidence, unexplainable circumstances, and a plausible motive pointed toward Zoya. Flores increasingly suspected that Arty and Zoya were connected to events they themselves barely understood.

Before those questions could be answered, Bruce Paap returned.

Armed with a magical Ring of Paralysis, Bruce ambushed and kidnapped Arty and Zoya, transporting them to an industrial warehouse where another conspirator awaited: Thorsten van den Berg, CMO, and another executive involved in framing them. There, pieces of the larger scheme finally emerged. Bruce and Thorsten had been involved in fraud, manipulation, and efforts to conceal their crimes. Bruce had even alluded to the cruel act of creating Jon Hu's apparent 'suicide' by means of his magical device.  

Using his skills to break free of the paralysis, Arty realized he lacked the abilities to fight against an enemy who used magic. Needing an ally, he awakened his party member Zoya as a Templar, leveling her up and imbuing her with increased attributes and divine powers of her own.  

Together they fought back.

Zoya's newfound abilities allowed her to defeat Bruce in combat, while Arty neutralized Thorsten. But victory unleashed something far worse. As Bruce was interrogated, a monstrous smoke-like serpent erupted from him, seemingly connected to the ring, forbidden magic, or an unseen master operating behind the scenes.

Unable to harm the creature, Arty could only capture its attention in the vain hope that Zoya could escape. But Zoya was unwilling to abandon Arty, and unleashed her Templar power, Radiant Strike to destroy the creature at a temporary cost to her health.

The battle changed everything.

Bruce died. Thorsten was exposed. Jon Hu's missing phone was recovered. With this evidence, Arty and Zoya would be exonerated. Most importantly, Arty finally revealed the entire truth to Zoya: Iter was a goddess. Arty was her hero. Levels, classes, skills, and magic were all real.

To Arty's immense relief, Zoya believed him.

Yet even with those victories, the greatest mysteries remained unsolved. Magic rings should not be able to exist in this world. No one knew the identity of the master Bruce feared. And no one knew whether the smoke-serpent was an isolated threat or a warning of something far larger. Iter and her fellow goddess left to find what answers they could.  

Zoya had a question for Arty, though: Cate had also joined his party. Will he tell her too? And what about Anya?

Arty makes a call.

"Hey Cate," I began immediately when she picked up. "Would you be able to swing by my place tonight after work?" I hurried to get the words out quickly before she could interject or I could change my mind. "I, uh, need to catch you up to speed on some things."