ã€ŠBog Standard Isekaiã€‹


 Book 1: Chapter 1

    Book 1: Chapter 1

    Mark stood in the ruins of a burned down house, looked into the cracked mirror, and knew he was insane. He had a whole head full of memories, and none of them seemed to match the reality in front of his eyes.

    He saw a young boy, maybe ten, not older than fourteen, staring right back at him. That was not his age. That was not his face. His memories were all full of a programmer named Mark in histe twenties, with sandy blonde hair that was already balding. The boy in the mirror had thick ck hair, cut short, with sky blue eyes, eye-catching eyes like Mark had always been jealous of.

    The biggest problem was the vicious oozing scab going all the way across the top of his scalp and down to the middle of his eyebrow. Spots of blood like stter marks were dotting his shoulders and face, but he didn¡¯t feel hurt at all. More importantly, Mark had never gotten an injury like that in his life. Not even in the car crash.

    The car crash<em>.</em> Thest thing Mark remembered before waking up here was his car slipping on the ice and the crash. He¡¯d been rushing home, eager to finish a couple hours of work from his homeputer before finally being done for the day. His mind had been on work the entire drive, and even after the crash, when his body was screaming with pain and he felt the sting of the cold pavement drain away his life, he¡¯d still been distracted with work, thinking about who was going to finish his project if he didn¡¯t make it in tomorrow. Hisst thoughts¡­ had been about work. What a stupid life. He was d it wasn¡¯t real.

    But that had to have been a dream, right? He hadn¡¯t gotten any head injuries. The image in the mirror looked like an ax had chopped straight through the skull and into the boy¡¯s brain. But that couldn¡¯t be; the gash was already scabbed over, and he didn¡¯t feel any kind of injury on his skull.

    The car crash, this weird boy in the mirror, it was all a dream. If this was really real, and he was really real, then he would be freaking out right now. Instead, he took it all in with a strange sort of detachment. His head hurt, and he was dizzy, but¡­ but that could happen in dreams, right? He¡¯d wake up any minute now.

    He didn¡¯t. He stared into the mirror, and the boy stared back at him.

    The boy was skinny, starving maybe, but full of lean, corded muscle. Mark had never had muscles like that, not even as an adult. It painted a certain kind of picture. This boy had been expected to work for his dinner, and work hard.

    Would he object to the fact that Mark was living in his body now? Maybe not. The house also had the smoldering remains of two adult bodies. His parents? The bodies were so disfigured by fire that he couldn¡¯t tell anything about them, not even age or gender.

    The fire hadn¡¯t burned away everything, though. There was the mirror of course, as well as a stone firece, with a big ck pot and a fire poker nearby. A house fire wouldn¡¯t be hot enough to melt iron. He could search for valuables? He looked at the corpses again, and decided he didn¡¯t want to.

    His head swam. His stomach felt queasy. He needed to get out, to go outside. Although, outside was a rtive term; the ceiling waspletely gone, and he could see straight up to the gray misty clouds. It was going to rain soon.

    He put a hand to a remaining section of ckened wall to steady himself, and it crumbled under his slight weight. He stumbled away from it, startled that it had moved.

    Outside of the burned home, it was worse. There was a long dirt road, lined on each side with ck and burned out houses. Some of them still smoldered silently, but mosty cold and empty. Nothing moved, except for a murder of happy, hopping crows.

    In the street not six feet away from him,y the corpse of a man. It had the same rough woolen clothes that he realized he was wearing, but much more ornate with lines of colorful embroidery all up and down the legs and arms. The body wasn¡¯t decaying yet; whatever happened in this weird town hadn¡¯t been too long ago. Maybe a day. There were more corpses, here and there, down the street. He didn¡¯t look at them.

    He knew he should be¡­ something. Emotional. Scared. Panicking. Crying, maybe? He didn¡¯t feel anything. Even the scar on his head didn¡¯t seem to hurt, a little itchy maybe, but that was it. He just felt numb.

    He walked away, past house after house, until he got outside of the town. There were wide fields next, post-harvest. It was autumn, then? It didn¡¯t look like it. The trees in the distance were still bright green.

    He walked until he got to the trees and he couldn¡¯t smell ash anymore and sat down beneath a tree. He didn¡¯t know what kind. The leaves were five-pointed, in a perfect pentagram. Maybe that wasn¡¯t that weird; he didn¡¯t know much about trees.

    He sat beneath the tree and waited for whatever this was to be over. And waited. Hours passed, and the whole experience started to feel real.

    It wasn¡¯t like he <em>never </em>watched anime; he knew what this had to be. He¡¯d been isekai¡¯d, right? Except which was more likely: that he¡¯d actually been transported to another world, or that he was in aa from his car crash and his imagination had painted a world exactly like he¡¯d expect from the media he¡¯d consumed?

    But if it was a dream, why was nothing happening? The entire time he¡¯d been sitting under the tree, <em>nothing </em>had happened. The one thing about dreams was that they never stayed still.

    He was starting to get thirsty. Hungry, too, and most of all bored. He stood up and walked the entire way back to town.

    He found a lot of bodies; more than he would like, but they didn¡¯t affect him as much as he¡¯d thought they would. Numb. Why was he so numb?

    He felt the cool breeze against the muggy heat. He felt the dirt road through his thin shoes. But in his heart he felt¡­ not much. Cold calction.

    That manying in the street looked like he died from bludgeoning. That child in a house over there died from fire, probably asphyxiation first then burning. This woman in the doorway died from decapitation. This was probably all a dream anyway, best if it didn¡¯t affect him too much.

    One structure still stood; an old-fashioned well. It was the kind with a big bucket that you had to pull up with a wooden crank. He dropped it in and cranked until his arms burned, then took a deep drink right out of the bucket. The water was cool, refreshing, almost sweet, and much too real.

    The bucket itself was pretty neat; it was all wood, except the various nks it was made of were held together by slotting into each other perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle.

    The dirt road and the small houses without any concrete in the walls or foundation had made him think this town was medieval, but the bucket made him think otherwise. Something this perfect <em>had</em> to have been made with machine tools. That, or by someone with <em>way</em> too much time on their hands.

    Curious, he steeled himself and started to search the houses.

    Like the first house, many of them had big cast-iron cooking pots in stone fireces. That alone made him think it was a pre-industrial society. But there were oddities. The doors had very intricate brass doorknobs and locks, and he found the remains of a clock in onerger home.

    He smacked his forehead. The mirror. He¡¯d found a mirror in the house he¡¯d woken up in. Household mirrors hadn¡¯t be a thing until the 19th century.

    He was in 1850 or so? The only problem with that were the bodies. Every corpse that wasn¡¯t burned away showed signs of violence, but not a single bullet wound. shing and bludgeoning wounds, unnecessarilyrge and brutal. But no bullet wounds, not a single one.

    He didn¡¯t find a single gun in any of the houses either, or on any of the corpses even though several of them still carried their weapons. Spears and halberds mostly, but one man had a scythe and another some kind of ridiculously oversized ax.

    That¡¯s how he knew for a fact that this wasn¡¯t real. The technology didn¡¯t match the time period <em>at all</em>.

    Despite knowing it wasn¡¯t real, time continued to march on, and he didn¡¯t wake up.

    He found a nice big rock and sat down. The sun was starting to cross over the horizon. He¡¯d been searching the houses all day. He felt the warm, muggy air. He heard the cawing of the crows, and felt his stomach churning unpleasantly. It <em>felt</em> real.

    Maybe it was time to start acting like this was real life? Honestly though, he didn¡¯t want this to be real.

    Something appeared in front of his eyes. A blue box, with white letters.

    #????G???H????Z????^????J????^?????&????A????!???$?????

    He had no idea what it meant. Another came.

    E????R???!????!????$?????#?????T???

    E???r???r???o???r???

    ???E???r???r???o???r???

    ???S???y???s???t???e???m??? ???n???o???n???-???e???n???t???i???t???y??? ???f???o???u???n???d???

    He jumped back, so quickly that he hit his head on something. He couldn¡¯t see anything but the messages, and they kepting.

    P???r???o???c???e???s???s???i???n???g???

    ??? E???r???r???o???r???.???

    ???E???R???R???O???R???

    ??? A???L???E???R???T???

    They were bing clearer now. Error messages?

    ¡°What are you?¡± he asked, shocked at his small, high-pitched voice. Was that really the first time he¡¯d spoken in his new body? Wow, he really was thinking of this as <em>his </em>new body, wasn¡¯t he?

    C?o?n?t?a?c?t? ?e?s?t?a?b?l?i?s?h?e?d?.?

    P?r?o?c?e?s?sing¡­

    Processing¡­

    Hello! Wee to #HG%!Error

    Alert!

    You have been granted System ess. You are a child. Your System has been limited. You have been granted the ss: Child of Travin¡¯s Bog You can now see your status screen. You have gained a title: Traveler You have gained a title: Otherworlder. Notice: Titles are locked pending full system ess. You have been granted the skill: Frenerian Language Fluency You have been granted the skill: Frenerian Language Literacy Notice: System skills are locked pending full System ess.

    Alert!

    System Override: Frenerian Language Fluency unlocked System Override: Frenerian Language Literacy unlocked

    Mark smiled. Of course. The blue screens. He really was dreaming. Any minute now he¡¯d get his special cheat power, and then he¡¯d go on an epic quest to defeat the demon king.

    Alert! You have been granted the skill: Know What¡¯s Real System Override: Know What¡¯s Real unlocked

    ¡°Nothing to do but check my status screen. I guess I should just get it over with. Status,¡± said Mark.

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name Mark !Error! Age 12 Race Human ss Child of Travin¡¯s Bog Level 1 <strong>Attributes</strong> Strength 8 Dexterity 12 Vitality 8 Magic 9 Control 10 Will

    8

    <strong>Titles</strong> Traveler Locked Otherworlder Locked

    Those seemed¡­ fine. The numbers weren¡¯t high enough to make him think he had cheat-like god powers or anything, but they didn¡¯t seem terribly low. Not that he had anything topare it to. The average human strength could be 1 for all he knew. Or 100. It wasn¡¯t over yet, though.

    <strong>Skills</strong> Frenerian Language Fluency You can speak and understand thenguage of your native country, Freneria. Frenerian Language Literacy You can read and write thenguage of your native country, Freneria.

    His ¡°native country¡±, huh? He could still remember how to speak English, but now he was shocked to find he had a whole newnguage in his mind, and he couldpare the two. He talked out loud to himself, trying to get a feel for the newnguage on his tongue.

    ¡°Let¡¯s give this a try,¡± he said, which came out to ¡°To looni, indisu to isu o in¡¯allini tellidu dulunni enven.¡±

    It was sort of a cavemannguage, to be honest. There weren¡¯t different verb forms for past and present and future: you had to say the time and ce. ¡°I go tomorrow¡± and ¡°I go yesterday¡± instead of ¡°I will go¡± or ¡°I went.¡± And ¡°Let¡¯s give this a try¡± didn¡¯t trante exactly, so he¡¯d ended up saying something like ¡°We will now do an attempt¡± which had somehow taken twenty-five entire sybles to say, instead of a reasonable five or six.

    He couldn¡¯t get too bogged down in thenguage, though, cool as it was to have it magically appear in his head. This sweet dream had one Skill left for him and he hoped it was a good one.

    Know What¡¯s Real The goddess Solia has noticed your unique circumstances and granted this skill as a boon. You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Mark, this is real. I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s really happening and you¡¯re in danger!

    Reading the skill must have triggered it, because as soon as he read the words, the reality of his situation hit with the weight of the entire world.

    He had died, and been reincarnated, or isekei¡¯d or portaled, but whatever the case, the truth was that his old life was over. His nice apartment downtown, his hefty vacation fund, his six-figure job, it was all gone. He¡¯d never see his parents again, or his friends. He¡¯d never make things right with his ex.

    He wanted to pretend that it was possible that he was crazy, or that he was dreaming. But the new Skill, [Know What¡¯s Real], left no room for doubt. He knew what was real. It was all real, and it was happening.

    The beautiful, protective numbness he¡¯d felt sinceing to this world was gone, and in its ce was pain. Pain, fear, and loss so profound he thought he might choke on it.

    ¡°No. No no no no nonono. Please,¡± he sank to his knees. What was the name of that goddess? He read the notification again. ¡°Solia, no, please. Take it back. I don¡¯t want that. Just let me die oblivious and happy. I¡¯d be fine with that. Please.¡±

    He¡¯d gone to church almost every sunday for most of his life, so it was embarrassing how quickly he forgot the whole ¡°no other gods before me¡± thing, but this was <em>important</em>. ¡°Please. Take it away.¡±

    Tears sprang to his eyes, but he forced them back down. A life with contact lenses had turned that into instinct. He wouldn¡¯t need contacts anymore. His vision was perfect now. At least he had that going for him.

    Heughed at himself, and it came out as a desperate sob.

    He heard a sound behind him, and whirled around while trying to stand, nearly falling over himself in fright. <em>You¡¯re in danger.</em> But it was just a stupid bird.

    He <em>was</em> in danger, though. The second part of the [Know What¡¯s Real] had a different tone, like someone had hijacked part of the notification to send him a warning. Maybe Solia, maybe someone or something else. Whoever it was, he couldn¡¯t disregard it. The danger was real.

    And as much as he told himself he didn¡¯t want to live with this huge, gnawing, empty sense of loss that was building in his stomach, he was also afraid to die. Somehow he knew he <em>would</em> die if he didn¡¯t do something quick.

    But what? What was the danger?

    Almost unbidden, that wrinkly brain he was so proud of kicked into full gear. The danger was probably the same thing that had killed everyone in this town. He¡¯d walked up and down this town, and looked in the basements and cers, and he hadn¡¯t found a single living soul.

    Nature hadn¡¯t done this. When mother nature rebuked her children, she almost always left some alive to spread the word. Beasts ate until they were full; they didn¡¯t leave corpses in the street. Fires would never burn <em>every </em>house, while leaving the forest around the town alone. Only people could do something like this.

    People or¡­ monsters? He was in some kind of fantasy world. The blue screen proved it. Monsters were a possibility. But since he had no idea what kind of monsters were possible, he couldn¡¯t really adjust his ns for it.

    He had two options. Hide in one of the intact cers, or run into the forest. Fighting wasn''t an option. His system was locked since he was a child, and he didn¡¯t know when it would be unlocked. Could be ten minutes, could be ten years. It wasn¡¯t worth depending on.

    Two options, hide or flee. If it really was an army, then fleeing into the forest was the better option. The army, if that¡¯s what it was, had gone house to house and killed every single living soul. They must¡¯ve dragged out anyone hiding in the cers, because he hadn¡¯t found any corpses there. On the other hand, if the danger was wolves or monsters drawn to the carrion spread all over the town, then the better option was to hide in the cers. Which was more likely? He had no way of knowing.

    ¡°Think!¡± he told himself. ¡°What else do I know? This was recent. From the way that some of the homes are still smoking, they were probably lit on fire yesterday. Or maybe the night before? Solia¡¯s skill said I¡¯m in danger, but nothing happened when I was wandering around uselessly all day. That probably means the danger came at night.¡±

    The crow was still there, looking at him like he was crazy, so he asked, ¡°Is that what happened? Did somethingest night?¡±

    Of course the crow didn¡¯t answer. It hopped a couple times, thenzily flew away.

    Mark checked the horizon. Thick foggy clouds covered the sky, but it was rapidly growing darker. He had minutes before nightfall. Not even enough time to get to the forest, unless he sprinted.

    He hid. He found a cer, the perfect one. It was somewhat hidden behind tall grass, but he could still see through a tiny gap in the door to the cross-street with the well. From there he watched, waiting to see what happened. Waiting to see if he¡¯d survive his first night in his new life.

 Book 1: Chapter 2

    Book 1: Chapter 2

    The cer was cold. Colder than outside, much colder than it should be. He¡¯d spent enough time in the modern world to recognize the feeling; this cer was refrigerated. He knew he was right, there was no mistaking the feeling, but there was no machinery around that could exin it. The floor and walls were made of dirt. He hadn¡¯t gone into any of the other cers, maybe they were all like that? There could be some kind of magical cooling going on. On the shelves there were wheels of cheese, bread wrapped in thin cloth, and a few jars of preserves. Nothing that would really need to be refrigerated.

    He would probably have to dart out to try to find something to cover himself with, even if that meant pulling clothes off the dead. If he could even bring himself to do it. He wouldn¡¯t be able to stay here overnight, and who knew when the ¡°danger¡± would arrive. Honestly he didn¡¯t even know if he could trust that warning.

    Just as he started to push the cer doors open, he saw something through the thin crack of the door, and pulled his hand away like he¡¯d been burned.

    Something was moving through the town. Something bright, a flickering, unsteady light. Torches. Was it an army? If so then he was dead.

    Thanks, Solia. After all the panic and despair her Skill had given him, he was still going to die. Thanks a lot.

    And why was it so <em>cold? </em>It wasn¡¯t fair that he¡¯d die cold in both lives.

    With creeping dread, he watched through the gap in the door as the light grew brighter and brighter.

    Then he saw them. Monsters or an army? How about both? He saw fire first, then noticed the things inside the fire. ck corpses, eyeless, with a thinyer of ckened flesh wrapped tightly over their bones. They marched as red and unholy mes wrapped their bodies, always burning but never diminishing. Their steps were artless and unnatural. An army of undead, wrapped in me. A burning legion.

    He stayed still, so terrified he couldn¡¯t even think of moving. He barely knew if he was even breathing. But none of the monsters even nced in his direction.

    They marched forward, angry and callous. Incurious. Rank after rank, with strange mismatched weapons. Axes and hammers sorge they never should have been able to carry them with those thin arms. Swords and shields, spears and pikes, even some with wooden longbows. Why didn¡¯t the weapons burn? Magic?

    He saw one break off the ranks to turn to one of the structures whose ruins were taller than the rest. One of the ghouls raised a hand, and a stream of me shot from his hand and sted into the still-standing wall. The force of it knocked the remaining structure to dust, lighting the ruins ame again.

    They were ghastly. And <em>wrong</em>. As wrong as an army of ming undead, but also wrong, like there was something about this picture that was¡­ not true. A deception.

    Why was it still so cold? Was there cold magic in the cer to protect anyone hiding inside from the giant ming army outside? That would make sense. The dead vigers must¡¯ve had some kind of magic, though it hadn¡¯t saved them.

    He snapped his focus back to the burning army. <em>Wrong.</em> The fire¡­ it wasn¡¯t real. His skill, [Know What¡¯s Real], it was telling him something. The undead were real. The fire <em>was fake.</em> The entire undead army was real, but the mes were an illusion.

    Then how had they burned the town down? He picked one undead soldier and watched him. <em>Really</em> watched him. The illusion didn¡¯t go away, but he saw little glimmers, here and there. Tiny signs that what he was watching wasn¡¯t quite right. When one ghoul¡¯s mes touched another, they just sort of went <em>through</em> each other instead ofbining. And his hand¡­ it wasn¡¯t at his waist. It was in the air. It was¡­ holding a torch.

    He saw a ghoul reach the well, the one structure that was still standing. In the illusion, the ghoul shot fire out of his hands. But through that, though¡­ he could faintly see the shadows of reality. One ghoul hacked at the well with an ax, while the other lit it on fire with a torch. They were faking the me attacks.

    Why, though? This army was clearly capable of destroying a town, why bother with the subterfuge? It was here that his gaming knowledge came in handy, specifically his RPG knowledge.

    He¡¯d never been a huge MMO fan, though he¡¯d yed a few. They weren¡¯t any fun solo, and he¡¯d refused to invest the amount of time into them that it takes to make a good group of friends. In fact, he¡¯d made fun of the guys who yed so many video games that theypletely failed to get a career. Ironic, because now his career was less than worthless, and the only thing that mattered was his video game knowledge. Not that this was a video game, he knew it wasn¡¯t, but it was a good starting point for organizing his thoughts.

    In lots of video games, the undead were weak against fire, while water or ice spells were weaker against them. These undead were disguising themselves with fire. Anyone who saw them would naturally try to fight against them with water or ice, which would do nothing.

    That tactic wouldn¡¯t work forever. It wouldn¡¯t work at all if a group turned and fought. But that probably didn¡¯t happen. Everyone probably panicked the second they saw the monsters arrive. And when they started lighting houses on fire, it would be hot enough to be convincing.

    Could he use this information? Well, no, probably not. He was still just one little boy. If the worst happened and the undead spotted him, he¡¯d try to grab one of their torches, but the odds that he¡¯d be able to fight them off were less than zero. The ghouls weren¡¯t <em>that</em> afraid of fire, not if they were carrying the torches in the first ce.

    With that in mind, he backed away from the door. His best chance was to stay in here and hide. Thinking about it again, the fact that he hadn¡¯t found any bodies in the cers was a <em>really good sign.</em> It was doubtful that the ghouls would¡¯ve bothered to pull people out before ughtering them. It made more sense to assume that the people hiding in the cers had survived the night of the attack, then fled the area during the daytime. Using video game logic, ghouls hunted using heat vision. That could¡¯ve been the reason the vigers magicked their cers to be freezing cold. It was possible the army simply wouldn¡¯t be able to see him down here.

    He crawled underneath the shelves andy in the cold dirt behind some bags of flour. He found a few empty bags and used them as a nket, but it was still freezing cold.

    Cold was better than dead. Wasn¡¯t it?

    He was already practically dead. The life he knew was over. The Master¡¯s degree he¡¯d spent years working and sacrificing for was useless. Who wanted someone who could program machines that didn¡¯t exist? It¡¯s not like he could make aputer. He had only a basic idea of how they worked; if he wanted to be an engineer he would have studied engineering.

    His career was over. He¡¯d worked his butt off for four years after graduating, saving everything, nning on taking a whole year off someday soon and traveling the world. He¡¯d stay in the best hotels, eat the best food, meet new and interesting people. Now all of it was in vain. That money he¡¯d saved would go to his parents.

    In the cold, in the dark, it felt like every decision he¡¯d ever made was a mistake. Why didn¡¯t he live his life when he was alive? He could¡¯ve seen the grand canyon; it was only six hours away. He could¡¯ve eaten at all the best restaurants in Denver only one hour away. His ex probably would have stuck around if he¡¯d refused to work fourteen-hour days during crunch for that gamepany. They¡¯d ended upying him off anyway, though he¡¯d failed forwards with a new job and a fifty percent pay raise. At the time he¡¯d felt vindicated, but it was all stupid. All a mistake. And now he lived in a crappy medieval world where a hot night on the town probably meant an extra portion of gruel and splitting an apple between fourteen people.

    Despite his dark mood, he never actually thought about standing up and walking to the army to let them kill him. He was too scared. Hey, shivering, flinching at the sound of ghouls who wandered close, until somehow he fell asleep.

    When he woke up the next morning, the army was gone.

    He left his cer and examined the surroundings. The town was even more burnt down than yesterday, with few structures standing above his height. Burning stuff by pressing a torch to it wasn¡¯t that easy. They¡¯d probably caught the thatch roofs on fire the first day they¡¯d invaded. Everything very mmable had burned then; after that they hadn¡¯t made much progress.

    He found the well, shed and burned. Disappointing, but there was still a hole in the ground. The bucket was missing, but if he could find another one and some rope, then he would still have a source of water. He¡¯d learned a little bit of survival skills with the boy scouts. Shelter, water, food, in that order. You could freeze to death in one afternoon, die of thirst in a day or two, but it took weeks to starve to death.

    Before that, he had a decision to make.

    ¡°Same decision as before. Flee or hide?¡± talking to himself felt weird, but he wanted to voice his opinions out loud, so he walked over to a group of crows and talked to them instead. ¡°It¡¯s not much of a decision, really. I have no idea where the survivors fled to, or if there even were any. I¡¯m more likely to run into the undead camp than I am to find survivors. Here in town I have shelter, water, and food. I¡¯ll stay here. If that¡¯s alright with you fes.¡±

    He must¡¯ve walked too close, because the crows flew away, a short distance to a different corpse. Mark followed them.

    ¡°The undead will leave, now that they¡¯re out of victims. Or someone wille with an army. They don¡¯t just let undead armies run wild around here, do they? You crows probably love undead armies. Round the clock buffet. But we humans, see, we don¡¯t like things like this.¡±

    The crows ignored him. Whatever. He had better things to do.

    He found a bucket in one of the cers, and then with more searching found a recement rope, and finally got himself a drink of water, though those two tasks took up the entire morning. After that, he searched for nkets, and found several more bags he could use while holed up in the freezing cers.

    He also found a really sharp knife, and a short sword that fit his small frame. He doubted he¡¯d be able to kill even a single one of the ck ghouls, but he still felt better carrying it around.

    Food wasn¡¯t a problem. The cers were mostly cleared out, leaving only a loaf of bread here or a jar of something there, but he was only one person so it was more than enough to survive on for months.

    The bread was hard as a rock, and he¡¯d had to carve pieces of it away with his knife and soften it with water, but when he did it was <em>incredibly</em> delicious. Rich, thick, and dark, it made his mouth explode with the beautiful, rich vor. It was probably just the hunger talking; he¡¯d probably spit it out if he had a hamburger on hand, but even so, he thought it might be the best thing he¡¯d ever tasted. At least, until he found the cheese. Simply unbelievable. He didn¡¯t know cheese could be this good. Is that why people bought that super expensive cheese in the grocery stores? He desperately wished he could go back and try some, but regret didn¡¯t fill stomachs. Fantasy-world cheese did, though, and it did it wonderfully.

    The next night the undead army arrived again, with all their fake me and unholy glory. Again, they didn¡¯t find him, and he slept in a cer, shivering and terrified.

    Days passed, and he fell into a routine. Scavenging things during the day. Hiding at night. He found an ax and started hacking down any wooden beams that had survived the constant piging. He hid them in empty cers. Maybe if the ghouls had nothing left to burn, they¡¯d leave him alone, and then he could sleep above ground where it wasn¡¯t so cold.

    His daily searches also revealed a disturbing pattern. The bodies were slowly but surely starting to disappear. The burned ones from inside the homes went first, but then the bloated, quickly-rotting ones from the town streets started to go. The undead army was adding to its ranks. He knew he should do something, burn the bodies or bury them, but there were already hundreds of undead. A few more wouldn¡¯t make any difference.

    That was the excuse he gave himself. Also, moving them would be near impossible with his little arms. He didn¡¯t want to go near them, they stank. He could get diseases. And of course, if their bodies started disappearing, the undead might catch on that he was still here. They might start looking for him.

    All good reasons to leave the dead where they lie, but it weighed on him. Here he was, watching them disintegrate more and more, and he didn¡¯t do anything. He looked away from their rotted, using eyes. He tried to ignore them.

    It felt sacrilegious to live in a town where everyone was dead. He talked to the crows just to hear the sound of a human voice, but it felt wrong to disturb the awful peace with the sounds of life.

    Maybe without [Know What¡¯s Real] it would be better. He wished he could pretend that this was the Matrix. That he was still wounded in a hospital bed and they¡¯d strapped him into some kind of advanced VR. Or that he was in aa or something, but he couldn¡¯t. He <em>knew</em> this was all real. Whatever that Skill was doing to him, it left no room for doubt. Those weren¡¯t set pieces and they weren¡¯t digital loot boxes. Those had been real people, with their own little joys and sorrows and now they were dead, and he wasn¡¯t, and they were being <em>turned</em> and he wasn¡¯t doing anything to stop it.

    He had good reasons, but it weighed on him.

    It wasn¡¯t all bad, though. He found a good amount of metal coins, mostly brass, but a few that could be silver. Those would be valuable if he ever found another ce with people. Absolute pay dirt, however, came from one cer he found that was five timesrger than the rest, and packed <em>full </em>of preserved meat. Sausages, ham, chicken, mutton, beef, and many cuts of meat from animals he couldn¡¯t identify. Giant snake, maybe? Could that one be a giant spider? He left the weird stuff alone, but even without it there was enough tost him months, maybe years. When he found the bacon, he nearly cried.

    He found flint and some cookware in the ashes of a home, and made a reasonable campsite kitchen. The bacon was fantastic, and he could use the grease to cook other things.

    The army came, night after night. They gave up trying to burn what remained, and simply spent the night ambling around. One thing was clear; they weren¡¯t leaving.

    Two weeks passed, until one night, there was a change. He noticed the change even before he saw any undead. As dusk turned to night, he heard a soft, rhythmic sound. A repeated beat. Thump, thump, thump.

    It was an ordinary beat, but to Mark it was almost hypnotic. It was the first sound of anything close to music that he¡¯d heard sinceing to this world, he was tempted to open his cer door just a smidge to peep and get a better look. The flickering light cast by the illusory mes told him it was the ghouls making the sound, so he stayed hidden.

    The first ghouls crossed the path that he could see from the tiny crack in his cer doors, and he saw that they were marching. They walked in orderly lines, stepping to the same beat. Thump, thump, thump.

    From the sound of it, they crossed the entire town, then split up. When he next saw the ghouls, they were split up into groups of three. They movedpletely differently than he¡¯d ever seen them before. Instead of thezy, uncaring trudging, they now moved with energy and purpose. They rotated their heads from side to side, scanning the ground. They poked bushes with their weapons and pushed over piles of debris. Searching for something. Searching for him.

    A ghoul reached the cer doors, in the ground directly across from him. Mark expected it to turn away like they always did. Cers are cold. Cold is uninteresting. The ghoul opened the doors, and walked inside.

    If they were searching cers, it wouldn¡¯t be long until they entered his.

    His heart beat like a drum, and so loud he was surprised the ghouls couldn¡¯t hear it. Maybe they could. They¡¯de down any second and then¡­

    No. He wouldn¡¯t just sit and wait. He needed to do something.

    He got a big flour sack, a full one, and dumped half of it on the floor. Then he pushed it behind all the other flour sacks, blocking the way with loaves of bread, jars and jugs, everything he could find. Then he climbed inside the half-empty flour sack, and tried to bury himself inside.

    Before long, he stopped himself. Panic made him want to keep moving, but giving in to panic here would mean death. If the undead came down here, any tiny movement would give him away.

    The flour was cold, like burying himself in snow, but he blessed the coldness if it was what was protecting him from the ghouls¡¯ rotten eyes. He didn¡¯t know. Even after all this time he didn¡¯t know for sure, but it was the best he had. Hiding in the cers had worked. Until tonight.

    Hey absolutely still. Flour got up his nose but he didn¡¯t dare cough, even though his throat started to burn. He could barely breathe. The flour sacks weren¡¯t air tight, but close enough.

    He heard something. Quiet steps,ing down the stairs.

    He heard things being pulled off the shelves. A ceramic potnded with a thunk. He felt the vibrations through the wood, as the things in front of him were being thrown to the ground.

    The flour sack was still cold. He didn¡¯t dare move at all, but where the sack touched his skin he still felt the draining cold. Would it be good enough?

    The sounds stopped. He waited for them to pull him off the shelf, but it didn¡¯t happen. He felt a snag instead, the walls of the flour sack pulling in tight, then away. Then, there was light. A little hole in the flour sack.

    They must¡¯ve stabbed it. They must¡¯ve stabbed straight through, right between where his knee and elbow had been.

    Somehow, through sheer force of character, he managed to avoid screaming. He forced his voice to stay silent. He forced his sobs of panic and relief to stay silent though he couldn¡¯t stop the streaming tears.

    He heard the ghouls¡¯ footsteps retreat out of the cer, and he didn¡¯t make a sound.

    Something appeared in his vision.

    Through your efforts you have increased the following attributes. Will +1

    For some reason, that didn¡¯t help at all. He shivered in the dark until he fell asleep.

 Book 1: Chapter 3

    Book 1: Chapter 3

    The next morning, he knew he needed to make a break for it. Last night had been too close. He didn¡¯t feel safe in the cers any more. He didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d ever feel safe again. He loaded a bup sack up with all the food he could easily carry, as well as a canteen of water.

    The undead army entered the town from the north every morning, so he started jogging to the south, determined to get as much distance as he could before night fell.

    On the way out of town, he passed a crow. They¡¯d gotten so used to him they didn¡¯t even fly away when he approached. ¡°I¡¯m leaving. I can¡¯t stay here any more. I just can¡¯t.¡±

    The crow didn¡¯t judge him. It simply watched him go.

    He half jogged, half walked, careful not to exhaust himself. It felt good to be moving. It felt good to get that town and its undead army behind him. The sun was shining, and the air was warm and sweet. He started to feel a little of the fear and chill on his heart melt away, but that was an illusion. He wasn¡¯t really safe. He needed to remember that. He quickly arrived at the forest and followed the road inside.

    The forest was thick and wild. Maybe he was used to the carefully manicured national parks, but he had never seen a forest like this. The trees stretched up and covered nearly every inch of the sky, fighting for precious real estate and trying to block each other out. Below, thick underbrush blocked the way everywhere except the road. Light green saplings, thin and weak trees trying to reach their parents in the thin light below, and dark green ferns with surprisingly firm, wood-like leaves. The taller trees were all covered in green moss, especially around the base.

    It was such a consistent wall of green, that the first sign of something else stood out like a sore thumb. White strands of something hung from one of the smaller trees of the underbrush. He hacked his way to it, using the shortsword as a machete, and found strands of something tying the small tree to some of the bigger ones, like a child ying with yarn had strung it all around as decoration.

    The thread was as thick as yarn, but didn¡¯t have the same texture. It was strong, almost like hard stic, and a little sticky.

    He strummed it a few times, ying with it, trying to make sense of it.

    Something the size of a dog darted out of the shadows at him, and a lucky panicked kick sent it flying back. It was lighter than he¡¯d expected for an animal that size.

    It wasn¡¯t until the thing crept towards him again, more cautiously this time, that he knew what it was. The white stuff was spider web. Giant spider web, from giant spiders. He saw the glint of the dim light against eight eyes on a basketball-sized head.

    It was small, maybe he could take it?

    The underbrush behind the spider shook. <em>All </em>of the underbrush shook; it looked like a strong wind was passing through the area, but the air was still. There were many, many more spiders.

    Mark turned and ran, not looking back. This had been a bad idea. Yes, the undead were terrible. Yes, only luck had protected him from themst night. One of these nights, they might find him. But they were a known threat; he might be able to survive in the town.

    One thing he knew for sure. He would never survive the forest.

    He ran the entire way back to town.

    A crow was waiting in a field next to the road when he arrived, maybe the same one from this morning. ¡°I¡¯m already back. Don¡¯tugh; it¡¯s bad out there.¡±

    That night the undead army were back to their usual mindless shambling. Whatever had been motivating them the night before was gone now.

    Escape was out. But he had to do <em>something. </em>If he didn¡¯t have something to work towards, he¡¯d go crazy. The only other option was to fight back, maybe byying traps, or finding other subtle ways to screw with them.

    He hadn¡¯t done anything until now because he¡¯d been afraid that if they knew someone was still alive in this town, they¡¯d start checking the cers. Well, that ship had sailed. Time to get some payback.

    He¡¯d start with a small trap, something that could look like a random ident. And he already had the perfect idea.

    On his first foray into each of the cers of the town, he¡¯d found one next to a smaller home that hadn¡¯t been built very well. Unlike all the other cers which were supported by strong wooden beams or pioneer masonry, this one really was just a hole in the ground, with one thin tent-pole stick to keep it from copsing. It would make a perfect pitfall trap, with a little work to help it along. He¡¯d never really made anything like that before, but he figured he understood the concept.

    He got a shovel, and started digging out the roof, scraping the dirt off the ceiling until he got to the roots of the grass up above. The entire ceiling copsed on him, of course, but that was fine. He¡¯d just have to rece it.

    He made a false floor over the pit where the cer used to be with sticks from the forest covered by flour sacks, and then a thinyer of dirt. He was worried that the undead would spot it immediately, but the sun was going down so he had to get back to his home base cer before they spotted him.

    The next morning, the area was untouched. He was a little disappointed that none of them had fallen in, but it was probably a good thing. The drop was only about four feet right now.

    He found he was excited to start work again. The work was addicting. It was nice to have something to do. No, that was an understatement. He¡¯d been hungry for this. He¡¯s been starving for a direction, a purpose. Every pull of the shovel felt like he was pulling life back into himself.

    The work took longer than he¡¯d estimated, and the hours flew by.

    At the end of the day, he stood up, stretched his back, wiped his brow, took a drink of water, and then was surprised to be alone in a burned-down vige full of rotting corpses. Somehow, during the work, he¡¯d forgotten about this nightmare his life had be. He dreaded going back into his home-cer, and was already looking forward to a hard day of work the next day.

    He dug out the cer, until it was twice as deep as he was tall. The work took him several days, but all he had was time.

    The System had a nice surprise for him, when he was done.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength +1 Vitality+1

    He didn¡¯t really feel any stronger, but it was nice that ¡°limited¡± System ess included stuff like this. Was it possible that he¡¯d also be able to gain experience and level up? The part of his status screen that said ¡°Level: 1¡± implied that it was possible. His status screen had said that his System was ¡°Locked¡± so that might mean he wouldn¡¯t be able to yet. No way to know for sure. He almost wished he had stayed back to kill that giant spider.

    On the other hand¡­ nope.

    With the pit suitably deep, he had onest thing he wanted to add.

    With some of the remaining chunks of wood he¡¯d rescued, he sat in the cer and whittled them away, turning the blocks of wood into toothpick-sized splinters. He also found a mill, or rather, a millstone with the mill burned down around it, and found that the stone was really good at making sawdust. He scraped wood back and forth on it for hours, until he had four big flour-sacks full of sawdust. He left all the sawdust and splinters at the bottom of the cer.

    Some crows flew near and gave him questioning looks, so he exined. ¡°Sure, let mey out what I¡¯m doing here. I¡¯ve been digging that hole, but I¡¯m starting to think that a simple pitfall trap isn¡¯t going to work. Even if I could get the pit ten or fifteen feet deep, and I sincerely doubt that I can, what¡¯s the guarantee that a fall like that would even kill an undead like that? It wouldn¡¯t even kill a person, not unless theynded on their head somehow.¡±

    He gave a polite pause to see if the crows wanted to add to the conversation, but they didn¡¯t even caw. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s got to be strange for a bird to think of a fall as something dangerous, but to usnd creatures it is. I was thinking of sharpening wooden stakes to put at the bottom, but piercing damage mostly hurts things that can bleed. I don¡¯t know how well it would work against these guys. So we¡¯re going to try fire.

    ¡°And not just any fire. Have you heard of a dust explosion? I remember seeing a video once where a baker tried to put out a grease fire by smothering it with a bag of flour, and it just <em>exploded</em>. Hopefully this sawdust will do something simr here.¡±

    ¡°My n is: When the ghouls fall into the cer, they¡¯ll kick up a cloud of sawdust into the air. After that, a single spark will be enough to make the whole thing explode, and hopefully the splinters and the rest of the sawdust will burn quick enough to do some lethal damage.

    ¡°Now if only I can figure out how to provide the spark¡­¡±

    He facepalmed loud enough to scare away the crows. ¡°The ghouls are all carrying torches,¡± he shouted after them. ¡°They¡¯ll provide the spark themselves!¡±

    For thest touch, he made a house. A little dollhouse, but he used the best remaining wood, and gave it a roof of dried grass. It was an ugly, crude little thing, but hopefully the ghouls wouldn¡¯t be able to resist running up and knocking it over. He despised the undead and their irrational need to destroy everything left standing. It¡¯d be poetic to use that against them. He gently ced it over the pitfall trap, praying that it wouldn¡¯t be too heavy to make the thing copse prematurely.

    That night, he could hardly sleep, but for once it wasn¡¯t from the terror or the fear. He listened as the ghouls made their nightly pilgrimage, their soft footfalls walking through the town. Quiet and deadly, only audible because there were so many. He¡¯d been tempted to find a cer close enough to watch the whole thing go down, but that was madness. He stayed in a cer as far away as possible.

    For the first few hours, he¡¯d thought he¡¯d failed. That was fine. Something to work on tomorrow.

    Suddenly, he was jolted awake by the sound of screeching. A ghastly scream echoed through the night, an angry tortured soul. No, not just one, at least three voices screamed into the night, and then suddenly there were loud footsteps everywhere. Other ghouls took up rms. They made strange, warbling cries that echoed all across town.

    Terror gripped him. Mark hid behind some flour sacks. They were so small, such a thinyer of protection. Stupid. Everything had been fine. Why did he have to stir the pot? Surely <em>this</em> would convince the ghouls to check the cers again.

    But they never did. They ran all across the town, but never checked underground.

    Eventually calls of rm died down. The footfalls slowed.

    A notification appeared.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Warrior of the ming Horde [22] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Warrior of the ming Horde [21] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier of the ming Horde [26] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    His heart sank. It didn¡¯t seem fair. Kill the bad guys, level up, get stronger, that¡¯s how this type of world was supposed to work. What was he supposed to do now? That pitfall trap had taken <em>days</em> to make. If he wanted to trap the whole army like that, he¡¯d be working at it for years at this point. And that was only if they were stupid enough to keep falling in. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be that lucky.

    He dismissed his notifications, and another one popped up.

    Behold! The System is locked for children as a mercy, not a punishment. A Quest has been applied on your behalf. Hold fast; aid ising.

    He blinked and read it again. And again. Something stirred in his heart, something he hadn¡¯t felt in a while. Hope. This was a good sign, right? This notification felt different than the others. It didn¡¯t use the same terse, mechanicalnguage as his other notifications; it felt much more direct and personal. Also somewhat scriptural. Had that goddess Solia taken an interest in him again, or could it be someone or something else? He had no way of knowing.

    As depressed as he could be about losing out on the experience, he was actually feeling pretty good. He had definitely killed three monsters, gained a lot of information about the System, and now there was a Quest for someone toe and rescue him. He couldn¡¯t wait to get out there and find the remains of the ghouls he¡¯d killed.

 Book 1: Chapter 4

    Book 1: Chapter 4

    The next morning he woke up before dawn, excited like a kid on Christmas morning. He burst out the door when the first peek of sunlight came over the horizon and he could be sure there were no more ghouls lurking about. He dashed over to the pitfall trap, shouting to the crows on the way over. ¡°Come on! Come and see!¡±

    Inside he found the corpses of three¡­ corpses. What did you call the body of a dead undead? Worries for another time.

    Although he¡¯d seen them from peeking through a tiny crack in the cer door, this was the first time he¡¯d seen his enemies up close. Their skin wasn¡¯t actually ck like he¡¯d first assumed; more of a dirty gray, it was the tight ck woolen clothing they wore that had made them seem that way. It covered everything but their faces; they even wore tight skull caps. These weren''t the clothes they¡¯d died in; They fit too well. Someone or something had put new clothes on them afterwards. They weren¡¯t walking skeletons, either, but something close. Their eyes were sunken deep into their skulls, their ears were the size of peanuts, and he was thankfully spared the sight of any¡­ lower organs by the ck clothing.

    The sawdust and shavings had burned away, andrge portions of the ghouls¡¯ bodies were burned through as well. It also looked like he hadn¡¯t gotten the sawdust explosion he¡¯d been hoping for, or if he had, it hadn¡¯t been effective. The ghouls weren¡¯t shattered anywhere. Their injuries were all burns, straight through wherever the fire had touched them.

    ¡°So the fire killed them,¡± he told the crows. One of them was already down in the pit, pecking at the undead flesh curiously. ¡°Or re-killed them, or whatever. That¡¯s why I heard all that screaming. But how vulnerable are they really? This calls for an experiment!¡±

    It took him longer than he expected to make a fire. Even with his flint it took some effort to make the sparks. The sparks he could make didn¡¯t catch on the clothes of the ghouls. He finally managed to light some dead grass on fire, move that fire to a stick, and poke one of the ghouls in the cheek with it. The fire didn¡¯t light immediately, but after two seconds it burst into me, quick like toilet paper. It didn¡¯t spread, just burned away the piece of undead flesh that had touched the fire, then went out.

    These dudes were <em>crazy</em> vulnerable to fire. Carrying torches was actually really brave of them. If undead could even be brave. He didn¡¯t think they actually feared death, but again that was relying on fantasy video game lore, and this <em>wasn¡¯t</em> a video game. [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t let him forget it.

    The other neat thing was the weapons. He¡¯d been so focused on learning about the ghouls that he¡¯d also forgotten one of the staples of RPG worlds: the loot. They carried really sweet looking jagged swords and cool wed hammers. They had all sorts of ws and hooks, looking like the borate fantasy weapons he¡¯d always dreamed about; or less tteringly, they looked like the impractical mall-ninja stuff that hopeless nerds collected. But they couldn¡¯t be impractical, since actual real life monsters were carrying them.

    Sadly, he couldn¡¯t use them. Too heavy. But one of the ghouls had a perfect ck knife that he instantly fell in love with. It was scary sharp; he carved straight through a ghoul¡¯s leg like it was made of paper.

    He still wasn¡¯t over the idea of making the dust explosion trap work, but he realized he should have done some testing rather than just assume it would work the first time tried.

    He tried tossing some sawdust in the air, and putting a ming stick inside the dust cloud he made, but that did nothing. Maybe the sawdust was damp or maybe this really just wasn¡¯t as easy as he thought. He¡¯d never actually seen this happen in real life.

    After an hour or two of experimentation, he finally figured it out. Instead of trying different ways of adding fire to the sawdust, he lit a small fire on the floor and tossed the sawdust onto it. It made a really neat fireball that burned peach fuzz off his hands, but that was it. No concussive st, non-lethal damage. Dangerous, but not that dangerous. Not dangerous enough to be a weapon against the undead. The regr fire from all the sawdust and shavings on the floor of the pitfall trap had been what killed them.

    He ate lunch, puttered around the rest of the day, and then went to his home base cer to wait for the rescue the System had promised him wasing.

    He wondered what they would be like. Would they be adventurers? Knights in shining armor? An army of elves? He didn¡¯t have a lot of context for what would actually happen in the medieval world in history, mostly he knew what would happen in Fantasy novels or video games, and in that case it would definitely be adventurers.

    He tried to sleep, but for some reason he just couldn¡¯t getfortable. The sun was still up, so that was probably the issue. It wasn''t that he was cold; with all the flour sack ¡°nkets¡± he had made, he was already sweating and had to take a couple off. Even without the nkets it wasn¡¯t really that cold.

    That was it. It wasn¡¯t cold. The enchantment on the cer, whatever had been keeping it freezing cold, had worn off. The undead would see him now.

    He raced out of the room, scanning the streets in a panic. There weren¡¯t any undead yet. He ran from cer to cer, but they were all warm. <em>Think.</em> Would there be any reason that some other cer might still be cold? He ran to the big house where he¡¯d found all the meat. It probably wasn¡¯t a house at all, more likely a butchery. Maybe that one? Its enchantment might be permanent, a way to keep the meat fresh, rather than an emergency thing the other cers would¡¯ve used.

    It was dark outside. He¡¯d never seen this burned down town in the dark before; he¡¯d never cut it this close.

    He found the butcher shop cer, and ran inside. It was cold, blessedly, ufortably, <em>cold</em>. It immediately stung the sweat streaming from his skin, but he¡¯d never been so happy to be so ufortable.

    He heard the faint steps of the undead army not long after, but none of them entered his cer. The cold was still a problem. There wasn¡¯t anything to keep him warm, not even a flour sack.

    For the entire night, he paced back and forth as quietly as he could, rubbing his arms and legs to keep the frostbite away. Several times he thought about just running outside to escape the cold. He imagined darting through the lines of undead like a ghost, of being so quick they couldn¡¯t catch him, and escaping into the forest. That was suicide, he knew. These monsters had conquered a whole vige full of adults with levels. They wouldn¡¯t have any trouble catching one dumb, skinny little kid.

    He was so wrapped up in his misery, that he missed it when the undead army left. When he finally noticed they were gone, there was already sunlight peeking through the crack in the cer doors. He burst outside, and it felt like running into a warm hug. Hey on the grass, reveling in the feeling of life returning to his numb fingers and toes and immediately fell asleep.

    When he woke up, the sun was already beginning to set. He had just enough time to sprint to his old cer and grab all the flour sacks he¡¯d used as nkets before hiding in the butcher shop cer again.

    Even with the flour sacks, it was still cold. This cer was colder than the others had been. Which was a good thing for his survival, but a bad thing for his sanity. He fell into a fitful sleep, waking several times to check his fingers and toes for frostbite.

    How long until someone came to rescue him? The problem was, he had no timetable. With the way travel would be in this low-technology world, it could still be months away, and that was only if his rescuers seeded. They could fail, or give up. He had no idea what a Quest entailed, and had no way of knowing if it would entice someone toe all this way to rescue one no-name child.

    He decided to strike out one more time. Last time hadn¡¯t gone well, but he had a few advantages this time. He had better weapons now. But most of all, he was less naive. He packed up his things, and set off. Not towards where the undead came from, and not towards the giant spiders, either. To the east.

    He didn¡¯t even get as far as his first try. As soon as he stepped foot in the edge of the forest, a notification appeared.

    Warning!

    Leaving this zone will cancel the Quest that has been applied on your behalf. All rewards will be forfeited.

    Just a little longer, Mark! They¡¯re almost there.

    He was starting to think there were three separate voicesing through the System messages. The first was the standard, automatic System messages. Then sometimes he¡¯d get verbose, scriptural messages, maybe from the goddess Solia? Then there was one other, more casual voice. He would have to figure it out for sure when this was all over, if only to thank the ones responsible for helping him.

    He was ashamed to admit it, but the strongest emotion right now was relief. He really hadn¡¯t wanted to go into the forest. All he had to do was hang tight. He could do that.

    The thought that people would being soon gave him mixed emotions. He was desperate for human contact. Those first couple weeks alone had probably been good for him as he adjusted to his new reality, but now he was hungry for the sound of another human voice. At the same time, he was a little nervous. He¡¯d never met anyone from this world, he had no idea what their cultural expectations were.

    And¡­ he looked down at himself. He was disgusting. How had he never thought to bathe a single time since he¡¯de here? He stank, a little. But if you can smell yourself a little, other people can smell you a lot.

    He needed a bath. He pulled up several bucket-fulls of water from the well, and emptied them into a basin. He stripped right there in the middle of town; it¡¯s not like anyone could see him. It actually disturbed him how it felt to take the dirty, disgusting clothes off himself. The oily fabric stuck to his skin, pulling on all the tiny hairs that had started to grow through.

    He threw the clothes in a pile, and using a flour-sack-turned-washcloth, he scrubbed furiously. He hadn¡¯t found any soap, sadly, but just water and scrubbing would take care of the worst of it.

    After his body, he moved onto the clothes, dunking them in the water and wringing them out, scraping them with the dull side of his knife, and basically putting them through the wringer. They faded several shades of brown as the umted grime of more than two weeks was worked away.

    He felt better as he put his damp clothes back on. It felt nice to be somewhat clean. Somehow his mind felt clearer, his circumstances less dire.

    All he had to do was wait a few days, but honestly, he wanted to do more than that. The System hadn¡¯t given him experience points for killing the undead, but that wasn¡¯t a reason that he shouldn¡¯t do it. Thinning the herd a little might give his rescuers a better chance. Plus, the System had awarded him some attribute points for the exercise. Maybe he could get a few more.

    He found another cer less well built than the rest, and started digging it out. This time he covered the floor with wood splinters, but didn¡¯t bother making sawdust. Instead he covered the wood with dead grass, stuff that would burn hot and quick. Just a few seconds should be enough to kill any ghouls that fell down here.

    It only took him two days this time. When he got done, he went into the meat cer, and waited.

    To his intense satisfaction, his new trap worked only an hour or so after dark. Same as the first time, he first heard the sounds of unholy screams, then screams of rm taken up by the whole army.

    It was music to his ears.

    Perfect. This told him something important: Undead were really, really dumb. Or, maybe not dumb since they had done the whole fire illusion thing, but they weren¡¯t great at learning. This trick had worked twice now, so it would probably work indefinitely.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Warrior of the ming Horde [23] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier of the ming Horde [24] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    For your feat of valor, you have been awarded the following. Mental Control +1

    He didn¡¯t know what Mental Control did, but it was better than nothing.

    He was almost sad when the rms died down and the undead army went back to its silent, trodding routine. After so long alone, even the sound of undead screams served to give him some of that human contact he¡¯d been craving.

    After that, he was too excited to sleep. But warm in his little nest, he felt his eyelids growing heavy¡­

    His eyes snapped open, still some time before dawn. Warm. He was warm.

    He threw off his makeshift nkets, and yes, the air was still somewhat chilly. Definitely warmer than it had been that first night, but much colder than should be natural, given how warm the days were. Or was it? He hadn¡¯t exactly been outside during the night time, how did he know how cold it got?

    Either way, there wasn¡¯t anything he could do. He stayed in the meat cer until dawn. The undead didn¡¯t find him, but when the morning sun warmed up the earth, the cer warmed up with it. Whatever magic had been protecting this ce was gone.

    He¡¯d had half the night to think of a n, but he didn¡¯te up with much. He didn¡¯t have much to work with. He¡¯d have to hide, and he¡¯d have to create a distraction.

    As soon as the undead disappeared, he burst into furious action.

    For the distraction, he would create a bonfire. He gathered every single piece of unburned wood he¡¯d found in the entire town, and put it all into a huge pile, nning on making the biggest bonfire he¡¯d ever seen. It was hard, sweaty work, but the raw, constant fear for what would happene nightfall gave energy to his steps. In two hours he had it all together, piled up a foot taller than he was. Still not enough.

    Where could he get more wood? The forest was an obvious answer, but he didn¡¯t have time to chop down a tree; even chopping down a small tree was much harder than most people thought.

    He might be able to find a dead one, though. In unmanaged forests trees fell over all the time and just rotted on the ground. He decided to give it a shot.

    Surprisingly, no System messages tried to stop him at the edge of the forest. Could the System read his intentions, that he didn¡¯t actually n on leaving? It was unnerving to know that it could just pull things from his mind, but he had more immediate problems right now.

    Not far into the dark forest, he found the perfect specimen. An old, gray tree, dead but still at least thirty feet tall.

    One thing he¡¯d learned in the boy scouts was that even though cutting down a tree was hard, pushing an old dead one down was possible.

    He pushed, and it swayed very slightly, but that was enough. He pushed to a rhythm, rocking it back and forth, back and forth, until it started swinging more and more. Finally, with loud crackles and snaps the great thing fell over.

    He grabbed it by the roots, intending to pull it towards town, and heaved with all the strength his preadolescent body could muster. It didn¡¯t budge. He would never be able to drag this thing anywhere. This was a waste of time. Maybe he could cut off some of the branches to bring to his bonfire, but that was the best he could hope for.

    Lots of the branches had broken off in the fall, big ones too, and he was able to drag those without trouble. He ran back and forth, dragging the big branches first, then carrying bundles of smaller ones. He worked for four hours, until his bonfire was twice the size as it was before.

    The best part was, he wouldn¡¯t even have to bother lighting it. The ghouls would do it for him. He covered the area <em>around</em> the bonfire with mounds and mounds of dead grass. It was probably too much to ask for that the undead would get caught up in a fire they themselves started, but it was the best he could do in the short time.

    Two hours before dusk, he started on his hiding spot. First, he found every loose stone, cooking pot, or big lump of anything, and used it to barricade the door to a cer. He barricaded it shut, with him on the outside<em>. </em>Another distraction; it wouldn¡¯tst. Anything he could carry, the ghouls could move out of the way even faster. The way they easily carried those huge, hulking ck weapons told him they were much stronger than him.

    One hour left, he started his real hiding spot. He dug a hole in a grassy part of a field outside of town. He was careful to remove the grass whole, with dirt and roots still intact, putting it on his biggest flour sack nket. Then he dug a child-sized hole underneath.

    The crows were nearby watching him work. ¡°Don¡¯t give me away!¡± he hissed at them.

    He climbed inside his dugout, and pulled his sod-covered nket over him. He left a tiny hole for air, but otherwise it buried himpletely, underneath a foot or so of dirt and grass. The cool, living vegetation should work to disguise his body heat.

    The dirt on top of him was heavy, almost crushing, but that was sort offorting. He¡¯d have to stay awake, though. He was scared that this much pressure on his chest would suffocate him if he fell asleep.

    His air hole also worked as a peephole, so he watched in dread as the sun went down and the light of the illusory mes approached the town.

    The army approached the town as usual, silently. He couldn¡¯t see far, but when they got to the bonfire they didn¡¯t step on the dead grass surrounding it. One of them cautiously leaned down and lit the edge of the grass.

    It caught quickly, and soon all the grass was set aze,sting for only half a minute before burning out. That was enough to catch the real bonfire, and it started slowly, burning dimly until all at once enough of the wood caught and it sprang into a life, a huge, hungry me whose heat he could feel several dozen yards away.

    It wasn¡¯t enough to kill the ghouls, who kept a cautious distance. They watched it, mesmerized.

    He expected them to turn away, to go back to their usual solemn patrols, but they stayed, watching the me. He found his eyes also moving away from the abominable undead with their fake fire to the real, transcendent me in the center of the street. The fire burned hot, going dozens of feet into the air, twisting and spiraling.

    A small pack of undead noticed the barricaded cer, his other distraction. They lit it on fire and then turned away to watch therger bonfire. Oh well. He hadn¡¯t had high hopes for that distraction anyway, and they were more than distracted enough by the bonfire.

    He almost felt a sort of kinship with the undead. They were so foreign and alien in thought and manner, but they, like him, could bepletely entranced by the shifting me.

    One of them turned, and faced him. The illusory mes in his near-empty eye sockets seemed to glow with recognition.

    Mark sunk down, letting the grass above him cut off his peephole. He trembled. From fear, and from exhaustion. His limbs were aching, sore from the day of furiousbor. He wanted to stop, to stay still, but he couldn¡¯t.

    He hated it. He hated being so afraid, so helpless. Raw terror and fury at his circumstances churned and mixed in him, building each other up. Twin mes that fed and built each other, like the bonfire outside. He swore to himself; if he survived this he would never be this helpless ever again.

    Whether it was rage or fear or sheer curiosity, he just had to know: Had the ghoul spotted him? He raised the dirt back up until he could see through again.

    The ghoul was still staring in his direction. It took a step forward. A few others turned to see what it was looking at.

    An explosion of ice erupted right in the center of the undead army, and suddenly all attention shifted away from him, towards four figures striding down the street. The figures wore shining armor, carried glowing weapons, and walked confidently towards the army of undead, as if there was no doubt in their minds how this battle would go. Adventurers. Heroes.

    His rescuers had arrived.

 Book 1: Chapter 5

    Book 1: Chapter 5

    He waited for [Know What¡¯s Real] toin, to tell him he¡¯d gotten his hopes up for nothing, or that there was some trick. But it didn¡¯t. They were real people. They were really here.

    In the front stood a tall man covered head to toe in golden armor that exuded a warm andforting glow. He carried a tower shield that matched his armor, prominently engraved with a downward half circle, a closed eye maybe. The closed eye symbol was repeated in several ces on the artful engravings on his armor, always under a green gemstone that burned with inner light. Mark¡¯s [Know What¡¯s Real] Skill didn¡¯t object to the glow; somehow it was <em>real.</em> The Knight, as Mark was going to call him, also carried an intimidating mace. It looked to be at least twenty pounds, but he carried it like it was light as a feather.

    The Knight dashed forwards, every step covering a dozen feet, and crashed into the army, flinging the monsters left and right, crushing them with blurring blows faster than Mark could track.

    Next, the Rogue. He was a man in darker armor, ck leathers with a few tes of dull steel where it wouldn¡¯t impede his movements. He followed behind the Knight, taking care of stragglers. Somehow he was faster than the Knight, dealing ten or twenty swift cuts with his dual shortswords in the time it would take Mark to blink an eye. He darted around wildly, sometimes disappearing when three or four ghouls surrounded him, only to reappear while decapitating one of the ghouls from behind. His shortswords weren¡¯t exactly ideal for fighting ghouls, but he managed by simply dicing them to pieces.

    Staying behind was the Ranger. He was an imposing figure, at least six foot seven, and he watched the battle with calm dispassion. He wore all leather armor and carried an enormous longbow, as tall as he was. Despite what must be a ridiculous pull weight, the Ranger loosed arrow after arrow, each of which plunged straight through any ghouls they reached, sometimes through six or seven in a row.

    Not to say the ghouls didn¡¯t fight back. They were quick, like blinking shadows, and strong; the times they managed to block the strikes of the Knight made vibrations that Mark felt through the earth, and left his ears ringing. Their ferocitybined with the illusion of fire around them made them seem like a thing of nightmares. He was suddenly very thankful that he hadn¡¯t entertained the idea of grabbing a torch and trying to fight them off himself. Despite the valor of the Heroes, it¡¯s possible that the army would¡¯ve overwhelmed them, if not for thest member of the group.

    The Wizard. She wore robes of red, belted above her waist. Her wavy golden hair poured like honey out from under a wide-brimmed hat. She held an orb in one hand, a staff in the other, and shouted words of power that called down missiles of ice and explosions of freezing rain.

    Despite the fact the undead had no weakness to cold at all, the sheer force of her spells left dozens of undead slowed or dazed, enough to buy her teammates the space they needed.

    The fight raged back and forth; the ghouls were thinned by the second, but not as quickly as they could be. They started to spread out so that each of the Wizard¡¯s spells never hit more than three of them at a time. He was confident that the Heroes would win, but at this rate it would take hours, and that was only if they didn¡¯t falter. One mistake, one slip up, and¡­ he had to do something.

    Mark jumped out of his hiding spot and ran, not towards the fighting, but away and around the back towards the Wizard.

    ¡°Fire! Use fire!¡±

    They didn¡¯t hear him. Or if they did, they didn¡¯t react. The sound of fighting was loud enough, and his young voice didn¡¯t have anything to help make it louder. He¡¯d have to get closer.

    The Rogue disappeared from the battle, and secondster, reappeared right in front of Mark.

    He was older than Mark was expecting, maybe in his fifties. He had strong features, a wide face covered in scars. Without a word, he grabbed Mark and tossed him over his shoulder, carrying him back to the others.

    His strong steps carried them ten times as fast as Mark¡¯s legs would have. A ghoul ambushed them, jumping from the shadows, but the Rogue cut it down without slowing.

    He carried him over and dropped him next to the Wizard and the Ranger.

    ¡°This is the boy. We should think about pulling back.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± The Ranger smiled warmly, but didn¡¯t stop his arrows or take his eyes off the battle. ¡°Well done, surviving this long, boy. We know it couldn¡¯t have been easy for you, but rest assured, you are safe now.¡±

    The Wizard didn¡¯t look at him or pause her incantations.

    ¡°Fire!¡± he gasped out.

    ¡°We know,¡± said the Rogue.

    ¡°No! Use fire! They''re weak against fire!¡±

    ¡°What are you, some kind of stupid?¡± asked the Rogue.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching them for three weeks! Please, just trust me,¡± said Mark.

    The Wizard looked concerned, but paused herrger spells to flick her wrist with a single word of incantation.

    A ming dart flew from her hands, andpletely eviscerated the unlucky ghoul that it struck. She smiled, then her voice grew louder. She lifted her staff high, and chanted in anguage that hurt Mark¡¯s ears, seeming to speak with three voices at one.

    ¡°Back up! Get back, Gn,¡± shouted the Rogue.

    In an admirable show of trust, the Knight, who must be Gn, turned and ran without hesitation.

    Right as he reached the rest of them, he turned and nted his tower shield against the ground, bracing himself against it.

    Behind him, the entire army erupted into hell. Winds of me sucked in from all directions, then a tornado of fire erupted from the ground, then a second one arose. Dual twisters danced around each other and blew through the army, burning them to ash, leaving nothing but their ck metal weapons to fall to the ground.

    All the while, the Knight held his position, protecting them from the zing heat and chunks of bone that flew like shrapnel. His shield seemed to create a magical barrier, a cone that enfolded the others of the group. Mark could see the line between the protected area, and the ck scorched earth.

    The spell expended its energy and then drifted away, leaving ck and empty ground. Even the ash seemed to have been burnt away.

    The Ranger said something, but Mark was still too stunned from the disy of magical destruction to pay attention. He looked at the Wizard. She was gasping for breath, leaning on her staff, looking like she was about to pass out.

    The Ranger repeated himself. ¡°Someone should take care of the stragglers.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a bow,¡± said the Rogue.

    ¡°Arrows aren¡¯t free. It would be a waste.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I can do it,¡± said Gn, the Knight. He was also gasping for breath, looking as worn out as the Wizard.

    The Rogue spat on the ground. ¡°Fine. But you owe me.¡±

    [Know What''s Real] was telling Mark that something was off about the Rogue. Before he could figure out what, the dark-d man blinked away, appearing two dozen yards in the distance, cutting a remaining undead soldier in half. The other scattered undead converged on him, but there weren¡¯t enough remaining to be a threat. He terminated them with mechanical precision.

    Mark watched in awe. It was difficult to believe that a real living person could move like that. And honestly, just going off kill-count, the Rogue was the least of thesepanions. Imagine being as strong as the Knight, orunching arrows thatnded like artillery the way the Ranger could, or calling down army-demolishing airstrikes like the Wizard. Could <em>he</em> be a Wizard someday?

    Watching the Rogue, [Know What¡¯s Real] was giving him mixed feedback. Sometimes he was real, and sometimes he wasn¡¯t? Or maybe he had some kind of illusory effect? It made sense that the quick, sneaky one would be more than meets the eye.

    He realized the Heroes weren¡¯t watching the Rogue like he was. Their eyes were on him.

    Right, he had a role here, too, didn¡¯t he? He wasn¡¯t a hero. He was the lowly, grateful NPC, and it was time to start acting like it.

    ¡°Oh! Um. Great Heroes! Thank you so much for rescuing me. If you had arrived even a minuteter I surely would have perished. Thank you for cleansing Travin¡¯s Bog. Though my friends and family are all dead, I think their souls will rest easier knowing that their erstwhile home is free from those disgusting creatures.¡±

    It didn¡¯t have quite the effect he would¡¯ve liked. Gn frowned. The Wizard put a hand to her mouth. The Ranger looked like he was about tough.

    ¡°What? What¡¯s with that?¡± said the Rogue. Mark hadn¡¯t even seen him return. ¡°What¡¯s he saying Lurn?¡±

    The Ranger, who must be Lurn, responded. ¡°Can¡¯t you see?¡±

    Nothing to do but trudge on. Mark continued, ¡°I don¡¯t have much to reward you with, but I searched the ashes of the town for any valuables. All the coin is yours¨C¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t want your money, kid. Sheesh. What¡¯s your game here?¡± said the Rogue.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Mark, looking down. All the ash in the air was making his eyes water. He sniffed, to avoid a runny nose. ¡°Sorry if I¡¯m doing it wrong. I¡¯ve never been rescued before. This is what they say in the stories.¡±

    The Heroes all made eye contact with each other in collective understanding.

    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s¨C¡± the Rogue had an uncharacteristic look of sheepishness on his harsh features.

    The Wizard shoved passed him, and crouched down to be at eye level with Mark. ¡°You¡¯re doing fine. There¡¯s nothing you can do wrong. We¡¯re here to rescue you, remember? Now, why don¡¯t we start this correctly? I am Lumina, [Magus of the Southern Steppe].¡±

    He could practically hear the brackets over thest part. Something about the inflection in theirnguage made it clear they were quoting their System-given ss. She continued introductions. ¡°That¡¯s Gn, this is Lurn, and the grumpy one is Hogg. Now, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t that a question? The System called him ¡°Mark Error¡±, and honestly he didn¡¯t hate it. It felt right to leave hisst name in hisst life.

    He told them his name. But he made a mistake. He had automatically started tranting his thoughts into Frenerian, because that¡¯s what they had spoken in, but he unthinkingly tranted his name as well. Mark Error came out as Brin isu Yambul.

    Since thenguages didn¡¯t match up very well, what he actually said was something like ¡°Scar, the Mistaken.¡± He actually liked the ¡°mistaken¡± part. Going back to English, ¡°mistaken¡± sounded like ¡°wrongfully taken¡±, which was definitely true. And Brin, well he felt scarred, too. The name settled onto him like a mantle.

    ¡°Cut that trash. What¡¯s your real name?¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°It¡¯s um.. That¡¯s¨C¡±

    Lurn tried a gentler approach. ¡°Did you make up a name that you thought sounded grand? It¡¯s a nice name. Very fierce.¡±

    ¡°Fierce?¡± said Hogg. ¡°Burn that. He saw a huge scar on his face and decided to start calling himself Scar. But that looks, what, three weeks old? What did your mother call you before she¨C¡±

    Hogg realized what he was saying and stopped, but toote to prevent a kick from Lumina. She full on front kicked him straight in the balls. [Know What¡¯s Real] flickered a bit, but it must¡¯ve connected because Hogg went down like a sack of potatoes.

    ¡°Never mind him,¡± Lumina said gently. ¡°We¡¯ll call you Brin if you want, but I¡¯d like to know: did you make it up?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Kind of,¡± said Brin. He¡¯d thought a little about what he¡¯d say to people he met, and he¡¯d decided not to broadcast to everyone that he was an Otherworlder. That meant amnesia would be his best excuse. He felt bad lying to Lumina, she seemed nice, so he decided to¡­ bend the truth instead. ¡°I woke up with this scar on my head three weeks ago. I don¡¯t remember anyone or anything about my life in this vige before that.¡±

    Gn nodded thoughtfully. He was much younger than Hogg, maybe twenty-five, but spoke slowly and deliberately. ¡°Now this all begins to make sense.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re joking,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°Not at all,¡± said Gn. ¡°Have you ever heard of an heirloom artifact?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Lumina, while Lurn said, ¡°A what?¡±

    Lumina said, ¡°An Heirloom Artifact. An [Enchantress] can make a unique artifact on the day of her child¡¯s birth. The child has to carry it at all times, so a ne or bracelet or the like. And she must maintain it every single day, so her child can never be far from her, which is why you may not have heard of it. No adventurer could possibly carry one. But the benefits are extreme: It will protect the child from a grievous wound, even a mortal wound, just once.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Gn. ¡°It would exin how he survived, why he¡¯s alone, even perhaps why the gods thought it appropriate to intervene.¡±

    ¡°It would exin too much,¡± Hogg wheezed through the pain, still on the ground. ¡°Is that what happened? Did you have an heirloom artifact?¡±

    Brin shrugged.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine,¡± said Lurn. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t answer the question of your name. What does the System call you?¡±

    Brin checked his status. It had changed from ¡°Mark !Error!¡± to the tranted version. ¡°Brin isu Yambul. Wait, is that my fault? I didn¡¯t know it was going to be permanent!¡±

    Hogg wheezed withughter, even through the obvious pain. ¡°That¡¯s the best thing I¡¯ve ever heard.¡±

    Gn looked at Lumina and asked. ¡°Is that true? Is it permanent? Or can a man change his name simply by changing what everyone calls him?¡±

    Lumina¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°I don¡¯t know! I¡¯ve never heard of someone forgetting their own name before! Brin, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get this figured out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Of course you don¡¯t, now,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Wait until you¡¯re thirty. Better yet, wait until you want to get married. Oh, even better, wait until the thousandth time someone says to you, ¡®Excuse me, but I believe you are Mistaken.¡¯¡±

    Lurn and Gnughed at that, and even Lumina smiled though she said, ¡°Stop it!¡±

    Brinughed along. ¡°Oh, how about, ¡®Ouch, that¡¯s going to leave a mark.¡¯¡±

    All four burst intoughter. He wasn¡¯t sure if the idiom actually tranted that well, or if it was just pityughter, but he was d for it all the same.

    ¡°Alright, kid. Let¡¯s get out of the street here. I¡¯m hungry and all this dust and smoke is going to give me lung disease,¡± said Hogg. ¡°We¡¯ll set up camp in the fields. It¡¯ll make keeping watch easier tonight.¡±

    They walked through the fields, and set up camp right next to the road heading south. Even though it was still the middle of the night, no one seemed ready for sleep, so the men gathered wood for a campfire. Brin wanted to help, but he¡¯d used all his wood in the bonfire earlier. Gn provided the starter, and used hot-burning wood from an oversized backpack he¡¯d left at the edge of the forest.

    Lumina watched Brin carefully before and after casting the spell that ignited the fire, no doubt watching for signs of trauma. It was possible that the boy who used to own this body had watched his parents burn to death, but Brin was being honest when he said he had no memory of that. He scooched up close. It was strange but wee to be safe and warm at night.

    ¡°Who¡¯s hungry for hard-tack?¡± asked Hogg, before handing out thick, rock hard slices of bread that looked like big crackers.

    They tasted and felt like chewing rocks, and even Hogg who dealt them out didn¡¯t look like he was enjoying it.

    ¡°There¡¯s meat,¡± said Brin. ¡°There¡¯s food in the town; the cers didn¡¯t burn. I found what must¡¯ve been a butcher¡¯s shop, in a big cer on the other end of town from where you¡­ oh, he¡¯s already gone.¡±

    Hogg had disappeared even before Brin had finished speaking. He returned three minutester, arms heaping with various cuts and sausages.

    ¡°d I got to this in time. Someone tracked mud all over the cooling runes,¡± Hogg said with a scowl, pointedly <em>not</em> looking at Brin. Cooling runes? He¡¯d spent <em>days</em> in the cer and never seen anything like that. How was he supposed to know you¡¯re not supposed to track mud in? They had <em>dirt floors</em>.

    It also bothered him that [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t show him the hidden runes. Apparently, it wouldn¡¯t show him things that were invisible, just tell him when something he could see was phony.

    Hogg brightened, looking again at the meat he carried. ¡°Anyway. It¡¯s fixed now. The steaks are for tonight; the sausages will keep. Come on then, get a pan out, let¡¯s get some real food on!¡±

    Gn hustled toply. The armored man talked slow, but moved fast. Soon the pleasant scent of simmering steak filled the campsite.

    Lumina picked up the conversation. ¡°So, Gn, I meant to ask: you mentioned that you¡¯re a Knight from Ond?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Gn. ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Order of the Long Sleep. [Untiring Knight] is my ss, though I can sleep and often do.¡±

    ¡°I am a [Hunter] from Gilly, though my intended quarry was the Stone Drake, this detour was a delightful surprise,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°[Warrior],¡± said Hogg. ¡°From Hammon¡¯s Bog. It¡¯s nearby.¡±

    There was a strange variance in ss names. Lumina had the mostplicated ss name, [Magus of the Southern Steppe]. Longer ss names probably meant they were more powerful,pared to Lurn¡¯s [Hunter] or Hogg¡¯s [Warrior]. Although, thatst one sounded like a lie, to be honest.

    ¡°Wait,¡± said Brin. ¡°You guys don¡¯t all know each other?¡±

    ¡°Not at all, though I think we¡¯ve all heard of Lumina,¡± said Lurn. ¡°No, how much do you know about how System Quests work?¡±

    ¡°Not much,¡± admitted Brin.

    ¡°It went like this,¡± said Lumina. ¡°I received the notification that I had been selected to fulfill a Quest, and immediately leapt from my bed, dressed, packed those of my things that could quickly be thrown into a rucksack, and set off, with nary a word to my master, though I have no doubt that he will understand. The Quest mentioned Travin¡¯s Bog, and a quick scry informed me of the location. I traveled horseback for the first day, and met Lurn and Gn on the way. I learned their names of course, and we chatted a bit, though we hardly grew acquainted. When Hogg joined us, that was about the time that the System urged us to haste. We abandoned the horses, and I employed my magic to speed our way. That¡¯s why I was so nearly exhausted when we finally caught up to you.¡±

    She hadn¡¯t seemed exhausted, and it made the whole thing more impressive that they¡¯d fought that fiercely at the end of a days-long sprint. Even now, none of them seemed that tired. They seemed to be settling in for a long conversation, and if they really didn¡¯t know each other, this was probably a greatworking opportunity for them.

    For his part, Brin was at the bare edge of his endurance. He had barely slept at all the night before, and then spent the entire day in hardbor, working harder than he ever had in his previous life. He felt his eyelids drooping.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been curious about the Order of the Long Sleep,¡± said Lumina. ¡°Although I wouldn¡¯t press you to reveal the secrets of your Order.¡±

    ¡°Oh, not at all,¡± said Gn. ¡°My order is reclusive by habit, but not secretive.¡±

    ¡°Is it true you were formed after the war of Iaghaid, the Quiet?¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed,¡± said Gn. ¡°It was thought in those days¨Cthis was the time of High Lord Endelet, who ruled over Hemelor, Ond, and Theranor, in what was then called Edelor. After Iaghaid was defeated, there were those who thought that the dragon may have survived and was only sleeping. Endelet called his council together in the city of Hemelor, in what was then called the Council of Hemelor to¡­¡±

    Brin really would have liked to hear the rest of the story, but despite his best efforts, Gn¡¯s calm voice soothed him into sleep.

 Book 1: Chapter 6

    Book 1: Chapter 6

    ¡°Ah, he¡¯s up,¡± said Gn.

    Brin squinted into the light. It was well into the morning, and the sun was bright. He wasying on a bedroll, and someone had ced a nket over him at some point.

    ¡°Told you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Nary¡¯s the growing boy who can sleep through the sound of sizzling bacon.¡±

    He was right. From the campfire came the most wonderful aroma in the world. He burst out of bed, and Lurn handed him a te with sliced bread, fried with the grease, and two fat slices of bacon, still sizzling from the pan.

    He ate so quickly he burned his tongue, but he didn¡¯t care. This was the life.

    The others chuckled at him, but couldn¡¯t hide the fact that they enjoyed the breakfast at least as much as he did.

    ¡°You know, I was wondering,¡± said Brin. ¡°I was wondering¡­ well, it sounded like when you got the Quest, you all just dropped everything and came straight away. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m d you did, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But little boys get eaten by scary monsters every day, and no onees to save them. So why did we bother for you? Is that what you¡¯re getting at?¡± Hogg said. Gn and Lumina frowned at him, but Brin nodded.

    ¡°Frankly,¡± said Lumina, ¡°we were honored to be asked. Quests from the System aren¡¯t at allmon.¡±

    ¡°Even for you?¡± asked Brin.

    Lumina giggled. ¡°Is this what my reputation has be? Yes. Even for me. This is my first time.¡±

    ¡°Let me put it this way,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I was an adventurer for twenty-five years before I retired. A good one, too. And this is <em>my</em> first one. Which leads to something we were going to ask. Why you? Why did the System choose to save you?¡±

    He didn¡¯t want to say it was because he was an Otherworlder. That would just lead to more questions, and there was no reason for them to believe him in the first ce. And besides, for all he knew, his Otherworlder status wasn¡¯t even the deciding factor.

    ¡°I got a notification saying the goddess Solia had taken notice of me, and that my experience was confiscated, but it wasn¡¯t because I was in trouble. It was right after I killed a few of the undead soldiers.¡±

    ¡°After you did what?¡± Hogg asked. The ck-d man seemed disinterested, half-turned away, but [Know What¡¯s Real] told Brin that was a lie. The man wasn¡¯t really even there at all; the entire figure was an illusion, even the sound of his voice.

    Brin carefully turned his head to the side, to look at Lumina. He carefully didn¡¯t look back behind himself, but out of the corner of his eye he saw nothing there. That was an illusion as well; someone was standing directly behind him. So [Know What¡¯s Real] <em>could</em> tell him if something invisible was there, as long as he was looking for it.

    That seemed academic, now. More important was figuring out what he¡¯d done to set Hogg off. From the looks of things, none of the others could tell that Hogg was using illusions. He needed to y this carefully.

    Lumina wrinkled her brow in concern. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    The ghostly figure retreated, quickly stepped around the campfire, and merged with Hogg again.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± said Brin. ¡°It¡¯s gone now. I just had a strange feeling there for a second. Like someone was holding a knife to my throat.¡±

    Hogg became an illusion again.

    Brin broke out in a cold sweat. ¡°I can exin!¡±

    ¡°Brin. I think I speak for everyone present when I say that we only have your best interest at heart,¡± Gn said carefully. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us how you killed those soldiers?¡±

    ¡°Traps! Iid traps. I watched them every night, staring at them through the cracks of the cer doors. Eventually I figured out that the fire wasn¡¯t real. It didn¡¯t act like fire. It was an illusion. They wanted people to think they were strong against fire, since that''s actually their weakness. So I dug a pit trap, put all sorts of burnable stuff inside and¡­ look, I could just <em>show</em> you.¡±

    ¡°I would love to see it,¡± said Lurn.

    The [Hunter] was a man of few words, but not the rough-looking sort that Brin imagined a lone wolf forester would be like. He was clean shaven with short hairbed in a part, and his green clothes were elegant and spotless. He had a genteel air, and a cultured voice. Brin had to wonder what his story was; he probably would already know if he hadn¡¯t fallen asleep so earlyst night.

    Gn and Lumina stayed at the camp, starting to pack up their supplies. To all appearances, Hogg stayed behind as well, but Brin knew that wasn¡¯t true.

    Brin had set the Rogue off when he¡¯d mentioned killing the undead soldiers. He¡¯d snuck up on him, and none of the rest of the Heroes had even noticed. It wouldn¡¯t be a far stretch to assume that Hogg would be able to take him out and escape without any of the others catching him. He needed to assuage the Hogg¡¯s fears, prove that he wasn¡¯t hiding anything, that he was harmless. Mostly he needed to stop freaking out and act normal. A normal twelve-year-old boy of this world would still be star-struck from meeting these Heroes. None of this cloak and dagger stuff would¡¯ve even urred to him.

    He focused on keeping his breathing under control as they walked back into town, and Brin showed Lurn the first pitfall trap he had made. The three undead soldiersy in the pit, right where he¡¯d left them. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a little proud, seeing his handiwork.

    ¡°Sawdust? An odd choice. Where did you find it?¡± asked Lurn.

    ¡°I ground it myself at the mill. I don¡¯t know how much it helped, though. The torches they held lit the stuff I left down there, but the splinters I carved worked just as well as the sawdust.¡±

    ¡°Clever,¡± said Lurn. ¡°It¡¯s an awfully deep pit. How long would you say it took you to dig?¡±

    ¡°There was already a cer here, so I mostly just had to dig through the roof so it would copse when the soldiers stood on it. It still took me three days, though.¡±

    ¡°Here, take this,¡± said Lurn, and gave Brin a gray iron coin. It was featureless, heavier than it looked, and cold. He held it in his hands, turning it over, confused, until Lurn took it back.

    ¡°Well, are you satisfied? He¡¯s not a changeling.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t know how to answer that, which was fine since the question apparently wasn¡¯t directed at him. Hogg stepped up, seeming to emerge from a small patch of shadow on the ground.

    Hogg said, ¡°I knew he wasn¡¯t a changeling. There isn¡¯t a changeling alive or dead that can fool my [Inspect].¡±

    Lurn didn¡¯t seem surprised to see Hogg there. Did that mean that all the Heroes had seen Hogg sneak behind him earlier, and they didn¡¯t care? More likely Lurn had just expected Hogg to tag along, knowing that the Rogue had rogue abilities from seeing him fight. Either way, it seemed that Brin was spared for now.

    Now that the danger had passed, Brin started to tremble with the panic he¡¯d been shoving down. ¡°How much trouble was I in?¡±

    ¡°Gn had it right when he said that we have your best interests at heart,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Because for now, your best interests are our best interests. The danger wouldn¡¯t have been to you, but to whatever gave you the power to kill those undead. There are many methods or monsters that can grant a child the strength you would¡¯ve needed to fight those soldiers, and none of them are worth it in the long run. Except technology, I guess.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m ok?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re ok.¡±

    With Lurn¡¯s back turned, Brin gave Hogg onest questioning nce. Hogg nodded, and mouthed the word <em>we¡¯ll talk.</em>

    Back at camp, Lurn gave the word. ¡°There is no trace of corruption or persuasion on him. He has not eaten corpses or made Oaths. He really did kill them with pitfall traps.¡±

    The news was met with obvious relief from the other two Heroes, though Lumina especially tried to hide it. ¡°Well, of course not! I knew as soon as I saw him that he was a good egg. How could the System send us to rescue a demon summoner or the like? Preposterous. I could have told you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s as may be,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now that we have that out of the way, we should decide what to do next.¡±

    Lurn nodded. ¡°On that end, I have a question for Brin. While you watched and waited, night after night, did you ever see any undead soldiers that were different? Smaller orrger perhaps? Anything that could be called their leader?¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t have to think long. ¡°There may have been something like that. Five days ago, the undead suddenly got <em>really</em> smart. They went from wandering around aimlessly to marching in ranks. They searched the town that night, really searched it, house by house, cer by cer. They almost found me. The next night, they were stupid again.¡±

    Lurn, normally reserved, began to pace in excitement. ¡°Only five days ago? Then¨C¡±

    ¡°Wait. Should we not take our charge to safety first?¡± said Gn.

    ¡°If we do that, we might lose our chance to find the one who started all this,¡± said Lurn.

    Brin asked, ¡°How do you know the leader isn¡¯t with all the ones you killed?¡±

    Lurn shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking over my kill notifications, and I saw nothing to suggest that any of the undead I killed were capable of casting illusions. Neither do I believe any necromancers were among them.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± said Hogg. ¡°We would¡¯ve had a harder fight if the army were being directed. The leader is elsewhere. Question is, do you think you can find him?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bring it up if I couldn¡¯t. A trail only five days old? That¡¯s positively fresh trackspared to the sort of quarry I normally hunt. I feel like this must be why I am here. Why else would the System send for me, who is so far beneath the rest of you in level?¡± said Lurn.

    This was a revtion to Brin. He hadn¡¯t really thought about how the Heroespared to each other. They all seemed absurdly powerful to him.

    ¡°Our quest is to rescue this boy and bring him to safety,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°And where is that? Shall we take this boy to a new vige, only to see it destroyed in three years or five, by the very same mastermind?¡±

    ¡°Gods forbid,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°What if one of us takes him away, then the other three of us track down the mastermind?¡± asked Lumina.

    All eyes turned to Hogg, who shook his head. ¡°That would have to be me, right? You couldn¡¯t spare Gn or Lumina, not when for all we know the mastermind has a second army terrorizing some other poor vige. Besides, where would I take him? The safest ce within a hundred miles is right here with the four of us.¡±

    The four of them waited, seeming deep in thought. What were they waiting for? Oh. Him. They wanted his permission.

    Arge part of Brin wanted to leave this town, to leave this whole country, to never see another undead again in his whole life.

    Arger part of him, though, wanted revenge. Not just for the dead vigers and this boy¡¯s dead family, though that was certainly part of it. More than that though, he wanted payback for himself. For all those cold nights. The terrible, lonely nights shivering in the dark. The hungry, coldly ambitious side of him wanted to see the one responsible dead.

    It helped that this was also the right thing to do. He shouldn¡¯t force the Heroes to leave a necromancer running loose just to prioritize his own safety.

    ¡°I want toe. I want to see the mastermind dead. It was hard, hiding from those undead soldiers every night. It was scary. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever sleep peacefully again, not until I know they¡¯ve been stopped. Please.¡±

    ¡°Hear, hear!¡± said Lurn.

    Lumina rubbed her eyes. ¡°Oh, very well. But our first priority must remain. We protect the boy at all costs. If this foe really does have a second army roving the countryside, we will retreat immediately ande back with an army of our own. How long do you think it will take you to pick up the trail?¡±

    ¡°I anticipated this question, during my patrolst night. The trail leads to the North.¡±

 Book 1: Chapter 7

    Book 1: Chapter 7

    The group had already packed up their belongings, so they set off immediately, with onest question of how to carry Brin. Gn offered to hold him in a princess carry, with assurances that Brin¡¯s slight weight wouldn¡¯t strain his arms in the least, but Brin objected to it on the principle of the thing. They eventually settled on having him ride on Gn¡¯s shoulders. It wasn¡¯t exactlyfortable to sit on the [Knight¡¯s] armored shoulders, but much more dignified.

    The heroes ran in a full on cross-country pace as quick as professional athletes, even while wearing armor and carrying weapons and packs.

    Gn¡¯s armor didn¡¯t seem to bother him at all, in fact it barely so much as clinked with his running steps. The detailed work was extremely impressive; all the interlocking tes fit together so well that he could move without any hindrance. It was almost futuristic in the way it fit him so perfectly.

    The Heroes ran on, none of them even breathing heavily. Their sheer endurance was legendary in his mind, but they didn¡¯t see it as anything worth remarking on. He had a million questions he wanted to ask. If they could run like this, what role did horses have? Lumina had mentioned taking horses part of the way. Could animals level up like people? Exactly what attributes had they improved to get to this point? How many did you get for a level, and which had they chosen? What about Lumina; why did she have such high physical attributes?

    He couldn¡¯t ask any of them. It might be rude to ask for personal details, and he didn¡¯t want to give away his Otherworlder status by asking about things everyone knew.

    Lumina must¡¯ve noticed something, because she asked, ¡°Oh you might as well ask. I can see you fighting with the questions on your lips. Ask, before you explode.¡±

    Thinking quickly, he picked the one he thought would be least likely to cause offense or expose him as an ignoramus. ¡°I was wondering, well, you¡¯re really good at running. I thought a [Mage] would put everything into mental attributes.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± said Lumina, raising an eyebrow. He was right. It was taboo to ask someone about their stats.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Brin, embarrassed. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t¨C¡±

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s refreshing, really. Why not just ask? How else will you learn these things? It¡¯s not like you can¡­¡±

    She stopped herself in time, but Brin heard the unsaid words. <em>It¡¯s not like you can ask your parents about this.</em> Now it was Lumina¡¯s turn to be embarrassed.

    She cleared her throat and continued on as if nothing had happened. ¡°The answer is that you¡¯re right. I¡¯ve put every single free stat I¡¯ve ever gotten into mental attributes. Magic, Control, Will, in that order. As for how I can run like this, it¡¯s mostly training, and a few achievements. The real truth is that I¡¯m slowing us all down. I could move faster with Hasten, but I¡¯m conserving my Mana for what lies ahead.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. ¡°What lies ahead?¡±

    ¡°Lurn?¡± asked Lumina.

    The [Hunter] pulled back from scouting ahead to answer the question. ¡°I¡¯m growing certain that these tracks belong to a Lambent Phasmid.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± asked Lurn.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I know,¡± said Brin, panicking. Was thismon knowledge? He started babbling, ¡°I remember some things, but not others. Like I don¡¯t remember my memories, but I know what lots of things are like trees and water and¨C¡±

    ¡°Apologies,¡± said Lurn. ¡°Phasmids by themselves are nothing special. They¡¯re scavengers mostly, and amphibians that eat forest creatures that wander into bogs and drown. At higher levels, though, they stop waiting for things to die on their own, if you catch my meaning. Lambent Phasmids have natural illusion magic. At first they¡¯ll use it to create bobbing lights to lure their prey. At higher levels, they¡¯ll create illusory copies of themselves, and make themselves invisible while they attack their prey directly. They have long, thin limbs that stab like spears. We must assume that this one is very high level.¡±

    ¡°Can it raise the dead?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Well, no,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°Then what are we doing right now?¡±

    Gn answered in his slow and steady way. ¡°I believe Lurn¡¯s train of thought proceeds thusly: that the illusion monster must have been the one casting the false mes upon the undead soldiers we defeated. Is that correct?¡±

    ¡°Indeed that describes my thinking, sir,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°That being the case, it seems likely that this beast serves the same master as the army. In which event, following it should¨C¡±

    ¡°Oi,¡± interrupted Hogg. ¡°I get the drift, no need to drive it home. Fine, find the servant, find the master. But why haven¡¯t we found the tracks of the master?¡±

    ¡°He flew,¡± said Lumina, matter-of-factly.

    ¡°What?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°He or she flew. Think about it. Most sses that involve necromancy branch off of [Witch]. They fly.¡±

    ¡°They really fly? How hard is it to get the [Witch] ss?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it kid. If the System offers you [Witch], say no. Even if you have to keep your [Child] ss,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And why are we assuming that this is a person? Could be a goblin. Could be a vampire, or a cannibal who turned himself into a wight.¡±

    ¡°Can <em>you</em> fly?¡± Brin asked. Being a twelve-year-old wasn¡¯t great, but hopefully it was at least useful at giving him a pass for interrupting with inane questions.

    ¡°No. Someday, maybe,¡± Lumina answered, then to Hogg, she said, ¡°Brin described the undead army as growing <em>more</em> organized that day, not less. That suggests a living, human mind. Thus, a [Witch].¡±

    ¡°A [Witch],¡± repeated Hogg. ¡°This keeps getting better and better.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I be a [Witch]? Are all [Witches] evil?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Regretfully,¡± said Gn. Brin couldn¡¯t see his expression from atop his shoulders, but he sounded sad.

    ¡°Not that simple,¡± said Hogg at the same time.

    Gn frowned at Hogg from beneath his golden helm, and Hogg red right back.

    Hogg snorted. ¡°Alright kid, let me tell a story. You¡¯re still a couple years away from needing to learn all this, but there¡¯s no reason you can¡¯t hear it now. When you turn fourteen your System will unlock, and you¡¯ll get the chance to pick your first ss. Most of the time it¡¯ll be the option to keep your [Child] ss or switch to a tradesman ss, usually whatever your parents did for a living.

    ¡°Some kids will get a third option. A rare ss. Doesn¡¯t always mean it¡¯s better than yourmon ss, just means that it¡¯s unusual. Some of these sses,¡± Hogg gave Lumina a significant nce, ¡°you should <em>never</em> pass up.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Because they¡¯re too powerful,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°There are others,¡± Hogg continued, ¡°that you should never ept.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Because they¡¯re too powerful,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin could tell where this was going, but he didn¡¯t mind ying his part. He needed to know this stuff. So he put on the attitude of the guileless child and said, ¡°Wait, but you just said¨C¡±

    ¡°[Witch] is one of those sses you should never take. I said I¡¯d tell a story, right? Well, this is about a girl named Siphani. A foundling, like you I guess, she was rescued from a wagon train that ran afoul of bandits. Her System day came and went, and everything seemed to be fine. She said she had [Herbalist], and no one had any reason not to believe her. The potions and salves she made really did work, even better than the [Physician] using the same recipe.

    ¡°She grew to be pretty popr. She grew to be pretty¡­ pretty. It¡¯s not rare for kids to go through a lot of changes right after they get their System. Attributes start messing with them right at the same time as puberty; it¡¯s all we can do to keep them from going crazy. But Siphani, she seemed to grow into womanhood as naturally and easily as a rose unfolding its petals. She was beautiful, her voice was like music, she had all the money you could want, her clothes were always spotless, and you never saw her with the tiniest cough or sniffle.

    ¡°Thatst one was unusual, because there were a fair amount of colds and fevers going around that year. And Siphani, with her herbs, was said to save quite a few lives that summer. For a modest sum. The young people started to think of her as a town folk hero.

    ¡°Maybe if that¡¯s how it stayed, that would have been the end of it. If she¡¯d been content to heal, content with her life as the most popr and beautiful woman in town, maybe she¡¯d still be around today.

    ¡°Or maybe not. Even then, there were some whispers. The town elders, this was Hammon¡¯s Bog, they were quick to shut down whispers like that. Witch-hunts rarely find [Witches], you see. It usually ends with the vigers hanging some poor [Weaver] or the like. [Weaver] gives you <em>weird</em> Skills at higher levels, though that¡¯s beside the point. The elders didn¡¯t even want an usation until they knew for sure. They waited. They knew that if Siphani was a [Witch], she¡¯d show her true colors soon enough.

    ¡°One thing I¡¯ve learned is that it¡¯s really hard to resist the pull of power. It¡¯s why so many people turn bandit. Killing one person gives you as much experience as months and months of working your trade. And if you can kill one person, why not ten? Why not a hundred?

    For [Witches] it¡¯s even worse. If you could get free levels by making other people sick, only they had no way of knowing it was you, can you honestly tell me you wouldn¡¯t do it? And you don¡¯t have to make one person really sick. You can get half a lifetime of levels by making a thousand people <em>just a tiny bit sick</em>. Just a scratchy throat, for only a day or two. Throw in the fact that you fully n to heal them back up again, and it seems easy to justify. You¡¯re obtaining this power <em>for them</em>. So you can heal them better the next time a <em>real</em> diseasees along. If anything, they should be grateful.

    ¡°And that¡¯s just the bottom rung of a [Witch¡¯s] power. There are all sorts of temptations. Little of a [Witch¡¯s] magic is calcted or premeditated. Sometimes all she has to do is want something to happen, and it¡¯ll happen. Sometimes it¡¯s as simple as being upset with someone to trigger the magic.

    ¡°One day, Siphani had a small argument with her best friend, and a boil grew on the friend¡¯s elbow. The [Physician] took care of it; it was gone the next day. But she crossed a line. It was Siphani¡¯s first curse. It made the elders sit up and take notice, but even then they didn¡¯t know for sure. Sometimes girls are prettier than other girls. Sometimes people get sick. Sometimes people get boils. All these things can just happen; there don¡¯t need to be [Witches] involved.

    ¡°Maybe theck of obvious suspicion made Siphani grow bolder, because the next day a vegetable seller cussed her out and by nightfall the olddy was covered in a stinging rash. The elders got together and they decided to send out the Prefit.

    ¡°Prefit Elmon is a great guy. Popr, charismatic, a born leader, with a good heart. A [Warrior] ss, but he stayed in the vige he was born in, to protect it, rather than seek his fortune in the wider world. The Prefit will know what to do. That''s what we thought.

    ¡°He had a n, see. He was just going to have a chat with the girl, to persuade her to turn aside from the darker abilities of her ss. He thought they coulde to an agreement. Maybe if she stopped concealing what she was doing, the town would consent to letting her use her powers, in a lesser way, if she asked. The Prefit figured lots of people would consent to getting small illnesses here and there if she promised to heal the more deadly diseases. The biggest issue was that she never asked.

    ¡°Personally, I don¡¯t think it would have worked, but they never got the chance to find out.¡±

    When the story had started, Brin had assumed it was some kind of moralistic fairy tale, but as it went on it sounded more and more personal. Siphani wasn¡¯t just some random name picked from thin air. This had really happened.

    As Hogg told the story, the Heroes continued to run, with Brin on Gn¡¯s shoulders. They¡¯d long left the road behind, with Lurn guiding on the trail of the mysterious illusion-beast they were after.

    The forest seemed to only grow wilder as they went. It wasn¡¯t exactly dark with the sunlight streaming through the dappled leaves, but it felt dark. Wild. It felt like the type of ce where savage witches were waiting to spring out and feast on lost children.

    It was that type of ce. It was that type of world.

    Hogg continued his story. ¡°By the time the Prefit got to her house, Siphani had already fled. Her adoptive parents were on the floor,atose. They were thin, weak, and at least ten years older than when they¡¯d woken up that morning.

    ¡°So what do you think those old elders did next? Only one thing they could do, send someone out to track her down. And I¡¯ll tell you what, they didn¡¯t send bright and noble Prefit Elmon, did they? No, sir. They sent a retired adventurer who¡¯d lived in the town for years but who no one really knows and no one really likes. A nasty old man by the name of Hogg.¡±

    ¡°The End.¡±

    The Heroes turned in shock at the abrupt ending, apparently not expecting that ending any more than Brin did. Gn actually stumbled, but caught himself before he and Brin hit the dirt.

    Silence reigned for a long moment, before Gn said, ¡°I apologize.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± said Hogg. ¡°What¡¯d you say that was wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. But I thought unkindly of you, and that was wrong,¡± said Gn.

    Hogg straightened his back, smiled slightly, as if trying to act like he was unaffected by what he¡¯d just confessed to. And why wouldn¡¯t he be? If Brin was right, he had been inches away from slitting his throat earlier in the day. Hogg might be the type of person who could kill evil or dangerous children, but apparently he would feel bad about it afterwards, and that at least made Brin think better of him.

    Hogg chuckled. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t tell this story to someone your age very often, Brin, but usually when I do, they say something naive like ¡®Why¡¯d you have to kill her? She didn¡¯t do anything worth killing over, did she?¡¯ And maybe you¡¯d be right. Her parents never really recovered all the way, but I bet if I had asked them they would have forgiven her. The point is¨C¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Brin. ¡°No.¡± He practically spat it out. His voice sounded dark, much darker than the normal kid persona he was trying to act out, but he didn¡¯t care. ¡°I¡¯m d you didn¡¯t forgive her. The [Witch] who destroyed my home, it probably wasn¡¯t too long ago that she was just some pretty, popr girl with no self-control, was it?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± said Lumina, eyes distant. ¡°[Witches] level fast, especially when they throw morality to the wind. The one we hunt likely isn¡¯t even eighteen years old.¡±

    A weight seemed to settle on the party, as they realized exactly what it was that they were about. At the same time, a weight seemed to lift from Hogg. Maybe he had expected some kind of condemnation for killing Siphani, but even noble Gn hadn¡¯t found fault in it.

    As they went, the area seemed to grow wetter and even though he barely thought it possible, greener. The moss covered the treespletely, then spread out on the ground, choking out all other life and leaving a soft carpet for them to run across. Streams wove themselves throughout everything, but they were never wide enough to slow the party down. Thergest was five feet across, and the Heroes leapt across without slowing or even remarking on it.

    Lurn ran ahead, disappearing into the foliage ahead. The party kept running in the same direction, until fifteen minutester he returned, and had them adjust their course slightly to the left.

    Again he disappeared into the forest ahead, and didn¡¯t return for twenty minutes. When he did, he had them adjust sharply to the right, fully perpendicr to the direction they¡¯d been running.

    The next time he left, he was gone for a full half hour. When they saw him again, he was sitting on a rock, waiting for them.

    ¡°The beast did not flee in a straight line. It has been changing directions, going in circles. It leaves false trails, some of them convincing enough that I followed them for several miles before I noticed the deception. It even runs in streams for short distances, so as not to leave tracks. Clearly this beast is worried about pursuers, and has been taking steps to lose us,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°Can we overtake it?¡± asked Gn.

    ¡°For truth, I believe I may have lost the trail had it fled in one single direction, but by running in circles it has allowed us to catch up,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°Why would it do that?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Because its destination is somewhere nearby. In this forest, if I have my guess,¡± said Lurn. ¡°In fact, if our Lady [Mage] would agree to hasten herself again, I believe we could find it before nightfall.¡±

    Lumina tapped her cheek, thinking. ¡°That should be eptable. Certainly, it is not an issue if all that awaits us is a singr illusion beast. But if I must fight a [Witch]...¡±

    ¡°I could carry you as well as Brin,¡± offered Gn. ¡°A little extra weight would not slow or tire me.¡±

    ¡°No need!¡± said Lumina, her face growing slightly red. ¡°A small spell like Hasten? Hardly a drop in my Mana pool. Yes, we shouldn¡¯t waste any more time. Let us away.¡±

    Lumina spoke a sentence of magic, and they took off again. They ran in a mad dash that Brin could barely believe. It was one thing to see someone else move that quickly, it was quite another to be on top of someone¡¯s shoulders.

    Gn¡¯s steps were so quick that they stopped sounding like individual thumps and blurred together like the roaring of a car. He jumped over fallen logs and twisted between trees with effortless elegance, barely jostling Brin to avoid all obstacles.

    Lumina hadn¡¯t been exaggerating when she¡¯d said that she was holding the rest of them back. With her spell in ce, she ran next to Gn like a ghost. Lurn looked light and casual while he ran; only Hogg was huffing and puffing, though he kept up just as well as the others. Brin fully believed the old rogue could run like this all day, though not as easily as the others.

    Cars were faster, to be sure, but that was on an open road. Moving this fast while weaving through a forest made the journey feel <em>blisteringly</em> fast.

    Two dozen miles went by in a sh. The trees started to grow thinner and further apart, until all at once they disappearedpletely. The party arrived at a wide, open field. It stretched out for at least twenty miles in a perfect circle before ending in trees again.

    At first nce Brin thought it was a prairie, but the uneven ground and tepid pools meant it was more of a swamp. No, a bog. Obviously.

    They stopped at the edge of the clearing. The heroes paused, giving each other significant nces.

    ¡°Why did we stop? What is this ce? Why is it in a perfect circle? It¡¯s unnatural,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°This is Kryst¡¯s Bog. Or maybe Y¡¯s Bog. And you¡¯ve got the [Child of Travin¡¯s Bog] ss but you don¡¯t know why the Bogs look like this?¡± asked Hogg. Before Brin could make excuses he said, ¡°Well, neither do I. It¡¯s convenient, though. Great farnd, and the forest won¡¯t expand into the circle for whatever reason.¡±

    Lumina said, ¡°To answer why it looks like this I¡¯d have to get into the Fall of Ithmall, and perhaps this isn¡¯t the time?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Gn, lifting the facete on his helm. ¡°Brin, I¡¯m going to set you down.¡±

    ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Gn set him down, and no one answered his question.

    Lurn cut a straight branch off a tree, one swift stroke like it was nothing, and whittled it down into a straight staff in a matter of seconds. He didn¡¯t look up as he worked, and no one spoke.

    It was strange. These guys weren¡¯t jerks¨Cexcept maybe Hogg. So why were they being so reticent? Oh, that was it. They were worried someone might be listening. The monster, the Lambent Phasmid, maybe they had all noticed some sign that it was nearby. Or maybe it was something else.

    He was the only one here without years and years of experience in this type of thing. The best he could do was try to keep up and stay out of their way.

    The Heroes positioned themselves in a ring around him, and let him set the pace as they entered the bog. There didn¡¯t seem to be any kind of destination in mind; there was nothing there. Just a big empty field.

 Book 1: Chapter 8.1

    Book 1: Chapter 8.1

    In front, Lurn used the walking stick he¡¯d made, poking the ground in front of them as they walked, even though it was obvious that the ground on their path was solid. Or was it obvious? They were worried the Phasmid had messed with the terrain.

    He strained his eyes, looking everywhere, trying to see some sign of an illusion.

    Hogg put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°It may be the case that you¡¯ve gotten pretty good at spotting illusions, after watching those undead for so long. Maybe you¡¯d be able to spot the monster before any of us. Give us an early warning, yeah?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Brin, standing up a bit straighter.

    ¡°Do us a favor and¡­ don¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Wh¨C¡±

    Hogg cut him off with a subtle shake of his head.

    What was the point of having a special superpower if he wasn¡¯t supposed to use it? But even if he was allowed to, there wasn¡¯t anything he could point out. The empty bog was empty. It was quiet, too. Too quiet? That was the cliche in movies and fantasy novels; it always got really quiet right before the ambush. Did that happen in real life? Nature was supposed to be quiet. That¡¯s why people liked it.

    The Heroes didn¡¯t run, but they walked quickly, so he had to trot to keep pace. Soon he was breathing heavily, taking in huge lungfuls of stale air. Sweat came off him in streams; it was hot now that they were out of the shade of the trees.

    Brin scanned the area, desperately searching for some sign of whatever had the Heroes on alert. He noticed the others weren¡¯t doing the same. Lumina, Hogg, and Gn all walked with their eyes forward, a bored expression on their faces. The only sign something was wrong came from Lurn, who stabbed his staff into the ground again and again.

    Brin focused on it, and that¡¯s where he saw his first sign of illusion. Lurn¡¯s staff sunk a foot into what looked to be dry ground, and came away muddy. Focusing on the ground there, he saw that it was an illusion. Following the trail, he could see that much of thendscape around them was fake. Twisting lines and trails of fake terrain snaked around them, hemming them in. Lurn wasn¡¯t guiding them away from it, quite the contrary, he led them to the thickest spots.

    Maybe the Heroes weren¡¯t looking around because somehow they knew that they couldn¡¯t trust what they saw. Or maybe it was because they didn¡¯t want to give the Phasmid any sign that they knew it was close.

    After all, how do you hunt an invisible monster? Easier if you can convince it to hunt you.

    Near the center of the clearing, they stopped.

    Lumina said, ¡°Now?¡± Her hand went to a side pocket on her cloak, then she mimicked opening a bottle.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait a bit,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine then,¡± said Hogg, so loudly that Brin jumped. ¡°We¡¯ll take a break. Little Brin here looks like he could use it. You were asking about the Bog, right? We can talk more about that.¡±

    Hogg was stage-talking, his voice much louder than it should¡¯ve been. It probably carried all the way across the bog and into the forest. He also had a look of open, genuine friendliness that Brin frankly found unnerving.

    But he wasn¡¯t an idiot, so he yed along. ¡°That¡¯s right. You were saying there are bogs like this all over? I¡¯d always wondered why we lived in Travin¡¯s Bog when we were clearly in the middle of the forest. And I¡¯d always assumed that Travin was the town¡¯s founder or something, but you made it sound like the name existed before the town.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Hogg. ¡°They were named after the original explorers. Just divvied them up and named them after themselves, one by one. Only they weren¡¯t so much explorers, I guess, as refugees, I think. Oh, maybe Lumina should exin it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, of course,¡± said Lumina, as if startled from a trance. ¡°You see, when Ithmall fell, and that¡¯s a gross oversimplification of course, the fall of an empire isn¡¯t one event, but rather a loosely connected string of events, where one can definitely say it happened, but to point to any one even and say exactly <em>when</em> it happened is difficult. Fruitless, in the eyes of most real historians. The specific event I refer to is the sacking of the northern defender cities by the Huhul barbarians, no offense Gn.¡±

    ¡°None taken. We were quite barbaric in those days,¡± said Gn, who had taken to pacing around idly while the rest chatted.

    ¡°After the cities were sacked, many refugees fled north and west, to what was then called the Blighted Lands. They found that the poison had long since dispersed. The poison, of course, being¨C Well perhaps I should tell the story of Nhamanshal, which we now call the Burrow Kingdom¡­¡±

    Knowing history and being a good story-teller were vastly different skill sets, and Lumina clearly only had one of them. Her voice quickly became background noise as Brin tried to figure out where the Phasmid was, without looking like he was looking.

    ¡°...destroyed utterly, and only the catbs remained, which is why we inurately call them Burrow Cities, because the burrows are all that they left behind. The poison¨C Oh, Gn. See there, a Phasmid. Kill it, if you please.¡±

    ¡°With pleasure,¡± said Gn.

    Brin was embarrassed he hadn¡¯t seen it first, but it was there.

    A strange, brown something climbed out of the mud. It was long and thin, and at first he thought it was a worm, but it was too straight, not bending its spine at all. Then thin, spindly legs detached, six of them, all ending in sharp-looking two-pointed ws. He couldn¡¯t see any eyes or mouth, just a head that ended in a sharp point. It looked like a fat, eight-foot long spear with six legs that were also spears.

    It was alsopletely fake, but he figured the Heroes knew that already, so he kept his mouth shut.

    Gn marched up to it, haughtily. There was an almost drunken sort of cockiness to his posture that was far different from his normal refined confidence. At thest second he dashed towards the monster and swung his mace in a downward arc.

    He wasn¡¯t exactly slow, but nothing like the blistering speed the [Knight] had disyed earlier. And he was clumsy. He seemed to get in his own way, awkward in his armor.

    The Phasmid dodged easily, and Gn cursed.

    He swung again and again, and the Phasmid dodged every strike. Gn grew increasingly agitated. Or pretended to. It was definitely a ruse, and Brin had to stop himself from smiling at the antics.

    Finally, he seemed to clip the illusory monster with the edge of the mace, and sent it flying, where itnded with a ssh. An audible ssh, though Brin knew that was fake.

    Come to think of it, the mes on the undead army had sounded like fire as well. Illusion magic could do sound, too. Something to keep in mind.

    Gn raised a fist in triumph, then turned around. ¡°I got it!¡±

    The Heroes gave him a half-hearted cheer, but even before they finished, Brin spotted motion from the ground. A Phasmid crawled up out of the water of a nearby pool. Another rose from the mud, a line of sod still clinging to its back. Three more rose from a nearby stream. More and more appeared from all around them, until dozens of the monsters surrounded them in a ring.

    Of course, they were all fake.

    ¡°Now?¡± asked Lumina.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± said Lurn.

    Gnshed out with his mace, but the tide of Phasmids avoided it, spilling around it like a rising tide.

    They darted in out, sharp motions, never staying still, but never approaching quite close enough to give the Heroes a good shot.

    Lurn loosed an arrow, then another, but the Phasmids he was aiming at dodged them with supernatural reflexes.

    ¡°I thought those were expensive,¡± said Hogg. To all appearances, he was standing next to Lumina, guarding her, but that was just a fake copy.

    Fake copies against fake copies; it was a confusing mess. Frustratingly, with this much illusion in the air Brin didn¡¯t have any idea where the real ones were.

    ¡°I said they weren¡¯t free,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°So how are we doing? Is it time yet?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Maybe?¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s increase our chances,¡± said Hogg. With a shortsword in each hand, the fake Hogg charged into the mass of Phasmids. They retreated from him, many peeling off to encircle him just like they had the rest of the group.

    He yelled in frustration, swinging at them, but none of his swings connected. Apparently, the Phasmid couldn¡¯t tell he was a copy.

    ¡°Now!¡± shouted Lurn, and everything happened at once.

    Lumina grabbed a glowing blue ss bottle and shattered it against the ground. An explosion of mystical light burst from the sk, covering the area in a filmy glow.

    Gn ran to Brin, shielding him.

    All the Phasmids disappeared as soon as the blue light touched them. Hogg disappeared as well, only for the real Hogg to reappear right behind Lumina. He caught a Phasmid, the real one, in crossed shortswords, then sliced, cutting the Phasmid¡¯s head clean off.

    The two pieces of the beast fell to the ground, twitching.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t an illusion. We got it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You¡¯d think it would be smarter,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°Did it really think to take me out first? Did it truly believe it could? Ha!¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°I thought for sure it would go after Brin,¡± said Gn.

    The ball of eerie blue light continued to expand. After twenty feet or so, the light slowed, and crept across the ground slowly, rearranging thendscape back to reality from the Phasmid¡¯s illusion.

    ¡°What¡­ what just happened?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg answerred. ¡°Alright, now that we know it¡¯s not listening in, we can exin. It¡¯s rare for a beast to develop the intelligence necessary to understand human speech, but it¡¯s not impossible, which is why we were being careful. So: Phasmid, illusion type. It hunts by¡­ well, you saw it. There¡¯s sses that give people illusion powers, too. [Illusionist] is the main one. Time was, the [Illusionist] ss was respected almost as much as [Mage], and feared almost as much as [Witch]. Then about six hundred years ago, an [Alchemist] created a hard counter: The Evdis. A magical potion that can reveal the truth and dispel all illusions. Nowadays Illusionists have to be sneakier; no one can suspect they¡¯re looking at an illusion if you want it to work. Beasts didn¡¯t get the memo, I guess. Heh.¡±

    Hogg looked suddenly thoughtful as he eyed the expanding blue glow. It showed no sign of slowing down or weakening. ¡°Remember this day, Brin. This is how [Illusionists] die.¡±

    Brin looked at the twitching Phasmid and gulped. Hopefully he¡¯d get a ss without such an obvious weakness. It was crazy that the thing was still moving. Was it still alive? That could be why its illusions were still holding until the expanding light of the Evdis whisked it away.

    ¡°We should finish it off,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I still say something¡¯s wrong,¡± said Lurn. ¡°A Phasmid that high level should¡¯ve been smarter than that. Why did it lure us out into an open in?¡±

    ¡°Phasmids are at home in bogs,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Low-level ones are. This one should¡¯ve stayed in the forest, where it could hide behind obstacles. The open in put it at a keen disadvantage. If it isn¡¯t smart by itself, the master controlling it should¨C¡±

    ¡°Did you see a notification? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s dead!¡± interrupted Brin.

    The heroes all froze for an eternal moment, before Hogg said, ¡°Burn me, he¡¯s right.¡±

    Hogg mmed Lurn to the ground. At the same time, Gn lifted his shield, intercepting a storm of ck arrows. Matching arrows stopped in the air, not being able to prate an invisible shield around Brin and Lumina.

    Lumina muttered a word, and des of air sliced the remains of the Phasmid into a hundred pieces.

    The light of the Evdis had already stripped away all illusion, so Brin should have noticed before: no blood. The Phasmid was undead.

    Stumbling to his feet, Hogg was white-faced. ¡°I just got the notification. It¡¯s dead¡­ only it says the level was seventy-three.¡±

    Gn nted himself between the party and the direction the arrows hade from, shield forward. Lumina started chanting in her ear-hurty magicalnguage.

    Lurn picked himself up and casually nocked an arrow. ¡°If that¡¯s the level of the pet, then what can we expect from the master?¡±

    With the Phasmid dead, thest of its illusions faded away, like sand sliding off a piece of paper.

    At the treeline, the light of day revealed a ck army of the dead.

 Book 1: Chapter 8.2

    Book 1: Chapter 8.2

    Brin knew right away that this army was on a different level than the one that had destroyed Travin¡¯s Bog. Compared to this, that had been a small raiding party. The dregs.

    This army was arrayed in diverse but orderly units. Pikes forward, shields next, archers in back, then cavalry or irregrs. Mixed units but every monster in its ce. They all wore gleaming ck armor, not the thin ck clothes of the Undead Soldiers from before. Their weapons looked new, and many of them glowed with inner light, some red, others blue. It wasn''t an illusion. All of this was real.

    Several units had beasts; smaller, human-sized undead held the leashes of snarling wolves the size of horses, or huge red and brown crocodiles with teeth that didn¡¯t all fit in their mouths. Above the rest, rose the intimidating forms of fully ted giants, some of them sixteen feet tall. These ones carried outrageous clubs, so big they could be columns from the Parthenon.

    They walked with organized precision. Every moment, new soldiers smoothly exited the forest and joined their ranks.

    He couldn¡¯t hear them, though. He couldn¡¯t hear anything above the sound of Lumina¡¯s chanting. She finished her spell, and a bar of shining me sted towards the army.

    Halfway to the army, it detonated, blocked by spell or skill from the army. He felt the heat of the explosion, and shielded his eyes with his hands. It felt hot against his skin.

    Staff-wielding undead returned with magic of their own, green balls of me. Lumina intercepted them with thin des of blue light, and returned with more fire and ice of her own, which the undead blocked in turn. The entire field between Lumina and the army became a fireworks show of detonating spells.

    Brin looked at his hands, seeing them starting to grow red with sunburn. Not from the sun, but from the radiation of magical warfare.

    Gn stepped forward. Brin couldn¡¯t see his face, but the [Untiring Knight] looked confident and proud. He walked forward, undaunted, then his walk turned to a run and he charged into the mess of spellfire. He didn¡¯t flinch as the spells detonated around him like artillery shells. A bolt of green fire hit his shield head on, and he ran through it, not slowing at all.

    There was a part of Brin that wished he could run with Gn. Not out of some desire for suicide. Rather he wished he was stronger, that he could be the type of man who could run with Gn, to face those kind of odds with the same courage Gn was showing. His locked System was like shackles around his ankles and a cor around his neck.

    ¡°[True Communication],¡± said Gn, in a quiet, calm voice that Brin could still hear clear as day, despite the distance and the noise of the magical warfare. Then Gn¡¯s voice grew painfully loud. ¡°¡±

    He spoke in the strange, magicalnguage that Lumina used, only this time Brin could understand every word. ¡°

    A breeze blew in, then turned to a wind, blowing at Gn¡¯s back. It cooled the sweat all down Brin¡¯s back, and on his face. He touched the wetness below his nose. Not sweat. His nose was bleeding. And his ears.

    The breeze brought ghostly figures to Gn¡¯s side, until he ran in a line with fifty phantoms. Knights, in full armor, just like him. They grew more real by the second, filling in, bing substantial.

    He couldn¡¯t tell what they really looked like, since they were all in full te armor, except one, the one who ran next to Gn didn¡¯t have a helmet.

    Instead, he wore a golden crown on a pearly-white skull.

    Gn crashed into the enemy with an army of the righteous dead by his side.

    Lumina kept up her chanting, fire in her eyes. ¡° <>

    Her words faded into gibberish, bing a foreignnguage again, but the avnche of magical death kepting.

    The two lesser Heroes, Lurn and Hogg, made eye-contact. It was hard not to feel for them. In a way they were like Brin. Outmatched. Sure, they never would have gotten this far if not for Lurn¡¯s tracking ability, but his bloodless face told the truth: a battle like this waspletely beyond him.

    To his credit, his hands didn¡¯t shake when he pulled an arrow to his bow and loosed.

    ¡°Well, what are you waiting for? Take the boy and run,¡± said Lurn, loosing another arrow.

    Hogg looked perfectly miserable, but nodded nheless. ¡°Hasten me.¡±

    Lumina cast a spell on him, not taking her eyes off the army, and then Hogg picked Brin up. He had one hand holding Brin around the waist in front of him, then another along his spine with his hand on the back of Brin¡¯s head.

    Brin had seen this in that X-Men movie. He was supporting his neck, so that it wouldn¡¯t break from whish. ¡°Wait¨C¡±

    A sudden lurch of movement, and Brin went from standing still to flying through the forest like a jet. It was too much for his stomach; he puked. Hogg simply tilted him to the side until he got it all out, then moved him back in ce and ran even faster.

    The trees flew by, flitting shapes that he could barely make out. He was dizzy, his head hurting from the aftershock of Gn and Lumina¡¯s abilities. The wind bit at him, and Hogg kept rocking him back and forth. It wasn¡¯t smooth like when Gn had carried him. Every time Hogg dodged a tree it felt like getting hit by a club.

    After five or so minutes ofplete misery, the Hasten spell wore off, and Hogg went from moving mind-bendingly fast to only superhuman quickness. He ran quietly. Unlike Gn¡¯s loud footsteps, Hogg made barely a whisper as he ran through the forest.

    Brin didn¡¯t have a good guess for how many miles they had crossed with the hasten spell, but it must have been a lot, because the forest had changed. Instead of low, wide-trunked, moss-covered trees, these looked like pines except for the bright red berries on the highest branches. They rose high into the sky, and the ground below was eerily empty of underbrush, just a thick carpet of fallen needles.

    Now that they weren¡¯t going lightning fast, Hogg adjusted his hold on Brin to grabbing him around the thighs, like one would hold a toddler. It wasn¡¯t exactly the most dignified way of travel, but at least Hogg hadn¡¯t tossed him over his shoulder.

    They ran like that for maybe an hour, which gave Brin¡¯s head time to clear and his stomach time to settle. His skin still felt raw and started to itch from the radiation burns he¡¯d gotten from Lumina¡¯s spells. It felt exactly like sunburn. Mageburn? And his bleeding ears were worrying, but they had stopped right away and didn¡¯t seem to have affected his hearing. He couldn¡¯t hear Hogg¡¯s footsteps, but he could hear the sound of the wind in the trees.

    His stomach started to settle as well, and when it did, it started to loudly remind him how hungry he was. He¡¯d eaten that morning, but felt like he hadn¡¯t eaten in days.

    After an hour, Hogg abruptly stopped running and let Brin down. He made a big show of stretching out his arms and shaking his legs. ¡°We should be far enough away by now. Let¡¯s take a break.¡±

    ¡°R-really? Are you sure we should?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re safe enough for now. I¡¯ll take off running again if anything gets close, but I¡¯ve got my eyes peeled this time. They won¡¯t sneak up on us again. Besides, you look like being near those Skills and spells rattled you something fierce. You¡¯ll feel better after walking it off, trust me. It ain¡¯t my first time carrying a young-un off a battlefield.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Ok.¡±

    Brin took a few careful steps, just to be sure his legs would really carry him. They felt sturdier than he expected them too, like his body had wanted to move. He walked for a bit, and really did feel better.

    ¡°Are they going to be ok? The others, I mean,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about those three. They can take care of themselves. Now here, have something to eat. It¡¯ll all clear up all nice-like,¡± said Hogg.

    The Heroes had let Brin bring a little bag with his few meager possessions and some food, but Hogg brought out a sausage from his own bag and handed it to Brin. Brin tore into, not about to question the gift. He wasn¡¯t sure why cranky old Hogg was being so nice all of the sudden, but there wasn¡¯t much Brin could do but wait for the other shoe to drop.

    The meat was divine, and it helped him shake off thest of the shell-shock. He was so entranced that he almost missed it, but out of the corner of his eye, Hogg split.

    The real Hogg turned invisible and retreated back the way they hade. An illusory Hogg stayed, walking along next to him.

    It was the first time he¡¯d been able to get a good long look at an illusion without worrying about imminent death. He couldn''t help but be impressed. In short, Hogg¡¯s body double was good. Perfect.

    No matter how much he stared, Brin couldn¡¯t find even the tiniest w. While he¡¯d seen mistakes in the undead¡¯s illusory me right away, Hogg didn¡¯t give anything away. His feet sank into the ground just the right amount. He left faint foot-prints in the pine needles, smushing them organically, matching the natural unevenness of the ground. They walked towards a patch of sunbeam, where sunlight illuminated the dust in the air, but even that was perfect. The dust swirled around Hogg¡¯s fake like he was really disturbing the currents of air.

    ¡°What are you staring at?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I um¡­ do you have some more?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait to see if you keep that down first. Then I¡¯ll give you some more,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What about water?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You have water, don¡¯t¡¯cha?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Sorry.¡±

    Brin really was thirsty, so he brought out his water bottle and started chugging, certain he could down the entire thing.

    ¡°Slow down there,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Small sips. Wait to see if your body can handle it.¡±

    ¡°Right. Thanks,¡± said Brin.

    Brin did as he asked, and took small sips. He had the bottle to his mouth, when Hogg said, ¡°So what¡¯s Ee Yart huh like?¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t catch exactly what Hogg was asking, so he didn¡¯t give the old guy the reaction he was probably hoping for. Brin calmly drank his water and asked, ¡°What?¡±

    Hogg peered at Brin, squinting, as if trying to read something in very fine print. ¡°Eart-huh. Earth. What¡¯s it like on Earth?¡±

 Book 1: Chapter 9

    Book 1: Chapter 9

    ¡°Ok. First off, are you going to kill me or not? Because¨C¡±

    ¡°Ha! Look at you. You look like you¡¯re going to faint. Well, rx. If I was going to kill you, I¡¯d have done it right away. I just wanted to make sure you were human and you weren¡¯t under the control of anything dangerous. On that note, I think I¡¯d like to hear you say that you¡¯re human.¡±

    Brin wanted to copse from relief. He thought he had put the Heroes at ease with his ¡°precocious youngster¡± routine, so when Hogg had revealed that he knew Brin was from Earth, he had just about had a heart attack. He¡¯d low-key thought Hogg wanted to murder him since the conversation this morning, so it was great to hear confirmation that that wasn¡¯t in the cards.

    Oh, right. Hogg was still waiting for an answer.

    ¡°I¡¯m human,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m only human and I¡¯ve never been anything except for human. Wow, saying it over and over just makes it sound like I¡¯m lying, but I¡¯m not. I like human stuff, like sugar and bread and¨C Changing the subject: Can I ask you something? How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got what may be the most advanced [Inspect] in the kingdom, so you''re an open book. Your Otherworlder tag especially raised some rm bells in my head. Did you die in your other life or were you experimenting with dimensional magic?¡±

    ¡°I died, I think,¡± said Brin. ¡°Does this kind of thing happen a lot around here?¡±

    ¡°Not a lot, but it does happen. First piece of advice: don¡¯t tell anyone you¡¯re an Otherworlder. If anyone figures you out, say you¡¯re from the past. Sometimes Otherworlders are regr people, but sometimes they¡¯re monsters from the void, beasts of emptiness and darkness wearing human skin. Second piece of advice, when you get your System unlocked, no matter what ss, take [Inspect] as your first Skill. But the second one you should take is [Conceal Status].¡±

    Brin scratched his head, thinking about it for a second. ¡°If that does what it sounds like, wouldn¡¯t that make people more suspicious of me, not less?¡±

    ¡°Lots of people take [Conceal Status]. At the higher levels,bat is at least fifty percent about controlling information. Knowing strengths and weaknesses will help you punch above your weight ss. Knowing which enemies are a bad match-up for you will keep you alive. Of course, if you¡¯re a [Tinker] or a [Tailor], it¡¯ll turn some heads. But if you get a rare ss no one will think twice.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s¡­ really good to know,¡± said Brin. ¡°You know, it¡¯s really nice to have this off my chest. I can ask you things I can¡¯t ask anyone else,mon knowledge stuff I should already know.¡±

    ¡°d to oblige,¡± said Hogg. He seemed distracted, for someone who was in the middle of this kind of life or death conversation. It was only life or death for Brin though. For all he knew, this was just another Tuesday to Hogg.

    Or maybe he was distracted because he <em>wasn¡¯t actually even there</em>. Brin hadn¡¯t forgotten that he was talking to an illusion.

    Was the real Hogg going toe back? Why had he left in the first ce? He decided to broach the subject subtly.

    ¡°Sometimes secrets have a habit of taking over. It can be freeing to have someone to talk to, someone that knows the real you,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Unless the lie is the real you, and the truth is the illusion,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Yeah, you would say that, wouldn¡¯t you. <em>Mister [Illusionist].</em>¡±

    Hogg didn¡¯t react right away. In fact, he didn¡¯t react at all. He kept walking with an empty look on his face. When he stepped on a dirt mound, his foot clipped right through it, like a video game avatar going through scenery. Or like an illusionary copy on autopilot because its owner was too stunned to direct it perfectly.

    ¡°Damn,¡± he finally said, ¡°[Know What¡¯s Real]?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It lets you see my status?¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± said Brin. ¡°It lets me see through illusions. It wasn¡¯t a difficult deduction after that. You¡¯re using illusions to pretend that you have some kind of teleport ability. You want people to think you¡¯re what? A [Thief]? [Assassin]?¡±

    ¡°[Rogue],¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Why did you say [Warrior], then?¡±

    ¡°Some people have lie detection Skills. Lots of [Rogues] will say that they¡¯re [Warriors],pletely expected. Disguise my big scary lie with a little white lie,¡± Hogg said numbly.

    ¡°Even without all that, though, you were as obvious as the sun.¡± Brin did his best imitation of Hogg¡¯s scratchy voice. ¡°Remember this day, Brin. This is how [Illusionists] die.¡±

    ¡°The other guys aren¡¯t dunces, they were beginning to suspect, so I threw out an olive branch. Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d pick up on it, though. I even knew you weren¡¯t really a kid, but it¡¯s too easy to forget. That was my mistake. You¡¯re more perceptive than you look. I¡¯ll say that much.¡±

    Brin snorted. ¡°Everybody thinks I must not understand people very well since I work behind a desk all day. The truth is, I understand people fine, I¡¯m just not all that interested in them. On that note: Where are you right now?¡±

    ¡°Leading away some undead. About two miles half southwest of you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s more of them out here?¡±

    ¡°Yep. I didn¡¯t want to scare you or anything, but now that you know, maybe pick up the pace a bit?¡±

    Brin started running. Then he let it settle into a quick jog, a pace that he thought he¡¯d be able to maintain for a while.

    He could see quite a ways through the forest, probably a quarter mile, with no sign of danger, or of Hogg, but that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t there. The tree trunks this far down were bare, and with no underbrush, it made the forest seem cold and empty. Hogg¡¯s double jogged alongside him, looking solid as ever, but when Brin reached out to touch him, his fingers went right through his shoulder and felt only air.

    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on,¡± said Brin. ¡°How many undead? When did you see them?¡±

    ¡°The Phasmid was doing a decent job of keeping the whole army hidden, but now that it¡¯s dead, I¡¯m able to keep tabs on them with my abilities. The main army is still engaged with the others, but they noticed we left. Now thousands of lesser soldiers, the kind we found in your vige, are swarming the forest.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you hide us with Illusions?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°To a point, but undead can see heat as well. It¡¯s sort of the opposite problem that we had with the Phasmid. Lurn could track it, but even when we knew it was nearby we still couldn¡¯t see it, so we had to lure it in. Well, the undead don¡¯t have a good way to track us, but if they happen to stumble close enough they¡¯ll be able to see us. If a bunch of them suddenly die, I think the master will know and he¡¯ll send the whole swarm in our direction. That¡¯s why I¡¯m leading these ones away with blinking lights and soft sounds, instead of taking them out.¡±

    ¡°Then why¨C¡±

    ¡°Shut up for a second.¡±

    Brin dutifully kept his mouth shut and focused on running. Hogg¡¯s double veered abruptly to the right, and Brin followed him.

    They ran for a half hour, which was longer and further than Brin had ever run in his entire previous life. He was reaching his limit. He opened his mouth to ask Hogg if it was safe to take a break, when he said, ¡°Dammit! They got to the pass before us. Well, shoot, our cover will be blown, but I still think our best bet is to break through. I¡¯ll catch up in a minute.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s double disappeared, and sure enough, the real Hogg appeared from the trees only a few short minutester.

    Without a word, he tossed Brin over his shoulder and kept running. Again, they were flying through the trees at a breakneck pace. This time, the ride was a lot lessfortable. He was panting heavily, which was difficult with Hogg¡¯s shoulder digging into his stomach. Thatbined with his head upside down made him nauseous, but if anything Brin was simply thankful for the break.

    Still way better than running.

    The break was short-lived. Not long after, Hogg set him down and said, ¡°Follow after. When you get to the pass, ignore everything and run straight through. Oh, and don¡¯t look down.¡±

    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I look¨C¡± Brin looked down, and he was <em>gone</em>. His arms, legs, and everything else, werepletely invisible. He tripped, falling face first into the ground.

    ¡°I made you invisible. It can be disorienting if you¡¯re not used to it. Don¡¯t look at yourself and you¡¯ll be fine,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I thought you said this wouldn¡¯t work,¡± said Brin. "They can still see my body heat."

    ¡°Better than nothing. Now remember what I said. Just run straight through.¡±

    With that, Hogg ran ahead and didn¡¯t so much as leave an illusion of himself behind. Brin took off after him.

    He ran, careful not to look at his pumping arms or legs, and was able to keep his bnce this time. Despite being invisible now, he felt terribly exposed. His loud breathing probably carried for miles, and his heart sounded like drum beats.

    Soon he arrived at the area Hogg was calling a pass.

    A huge wall of stone interrupted the forest. It looked natural, like an abrupt cliff face, except for how improbable it was. From the gap he could see that it was only about three hundred feet thick or so. It rose up abruptly, was probably t on the top for a bit, and looked like it dropped off just as abruptly on the other side.

    It stretched for miles either direction; there was no getting around it. He saw the remains of a tunnel, a decorated stone archway set into the cliff face, but it was caved in. There was no getting through there.

    Instead, there was a natural gap in front of him, with a slope leading up a ways, and then back down the other side.

    The slope was guarded by a group of fifty undead soldiers lined up across it. Their line was breaking though, because a giant ten-ton bear was charging out of the forest at them.

    The bear was fake, obviously. Or maybe it was only obvious to Brin; the undead seemed quite rmed by the monster.

    Hogg¡¯s bear illusion had greenish brown fur, marred here and there with wounds, fresh wounds that oozed brackish blood with every step. Spittle frothed in its mouth, and its eyes were yellow. The beast looked insane. Rabid.

    The bear approached its first victim, reached out with a w, and sliced the undead soldier into pieces.

    Brin¡¯s jaw dropped. He¡¯d expected the illusory paw to be ineffective. Hogg must be <em>inside</em> the bear, mimicking the effect of the ws with his shortswords.

    The bear roared so loudly that Brin could feel the vibrations in the earth. That was enough for the rest of the undead. They scattered in every direction.

    Brin ran. He ran towards the bear, straight through the fleeing undead. A few turned to look at him. One took a step towards him, but the bear roared and pounced,nding on the undead soldier and swallowing him whole, to all appearances. Clever. Hogg might not have even done anything to it; he could just render the undead invisible and all its buddies would assume it¡¯d been eaten.

    Brin kept running.

    The slope was so steep that it took all his effort to keep his legs moving. His run turned to a walk. His walk slowed and slowed until it was more like a crawl, using his hands to pull himself up the steep slope.

    This was too much. He¡¯d done enough. He¡¯d been running too long, and now he was done. His legs couldn¡¯t take any more. He must be near the top, right? He looked up, and saw that he was barely halfway there. There was no way he could do that.

    He looked behind him. The undead soldiers were rallying. They were forming a circle around the bear, and starting to press in. In no time, they¡¯d realize that the bear was an illusion, and when that happened Brin needed to be away from here. He needed to get over the hill.

    Fear made a powerful motivator. His legs found whatever it was they needed, and carried him to the top of the slope.

    He scrambled to the top, over the crest. He wanted to fall over and pass out, but he was still too close to the sounds of Hogg and the undead fighting, so kept moving, going down the other side.

    It was a nice relief to be going downhill, for about five seconds. Then he was moving so fast that it was all he could do to keep his legs underneath him. He couldn¡¯t stop himself, he couldn¡¯t slow. His legs didn¡¯t have enough energy left to even try. The slope down was made of gravel and sharp rocks. If he tripped and rolled down there was no way he¡¯d get to the bottom without breaking anything.

    Thankfully, he got to the bottom without dying, and let the momentum carry him across the prairie and into the forest. Once he had slowed down enough to do so without hurting himself, he copsed into the tall grass.

    Hey there, breathing in and out, almost hyperventting. There didn¡¯t seem to be enough air in the world for him to breathe.

    The rest was glorious. His legs practically sang now that the abuse was over. The suddenck of pain was better than pleasure.

    ¡°Get up kid,¡± said Hogg. The voice was hushed, right next to Brin¡¯s ear,pletely disembodied.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Get up. There¡¯s one near you, and I won¡¯t get there in time. You have to get up.¡±

    Brin rolled to his feet, climbed through the tall grass, and sure enough, an undead soldier stood in his path. Looking down at his hands, Brin saw that he was still invisible, but Hogg had confirmed that that wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    There was something of a dirt road leading from the slope to the forest beyond, and the undead stood right in the middle. It was strange, seeing one of these things in the daytime. Its sword was ck, its skin like ash, and its clothes were tight against its mummified flesh.

    Flickering lights surrounded the ghoul, and it followed them with its gaze, trying to watch them all at once. It swung its heavy ck broadsword at them, hitting only air.

    ¡°How are you doing that?¡± asked Brin. ¡°I thought you said they saw heat.¡±

    ¡°They do. You can make heat with light, that''s what those little sparks are. I can¡¯t make enough heat to fight with, but for this it''s perfect.¡±

    ¡°So it can¡¯t see me?¡±

    ¡°It can. It just cares about the brighter heat more,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now listen. You¡¯re going to fight that thing.¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± Brin hissed. ¡°Let¡¯s just sneak past it.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t work forever, and this isn''t the only one. You can do this,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I¡¯ll guide you every step of the way.¡±

    Apparently he meant that literally, because golden footprints of light stretched out in front of Brin, indicating exactly where he should step.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Believe it. Before I showed you how Illusionists die, right? Now I¡¯ll show you how they <em>live</em>.¡±

    Brin followed the footprints, stepping on the footprints exactly. He had to run to get his stride long enough. They led to a stone on the ground, shing yellow. A white circle surrounded the stone, and it started shrinking. A timer. He half expected Hogg to say something like ¡°Press F to pick it up.¡±

    Hogg said something close. ¡°Pick it up.¡±

    Brin grabbed the stone as he ran past. ¡°Good,¡± said Hogg.

    The footprints led to the ghoul, and the undead¡¯s offhand arm started shing yellow.

    ¡°I¡¯m in a quicktime event. I can¡¯t believe this,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is. Stay focused, kid,¡± said Hogg.

    A white circle appeared around the ghoul¡¯s arm. Another timer, and this one was shrinking fast.

    Brin charged the ghoul, still distracted by the drifting sparks, and mmed his stone exactly where the light indicated. He felt the ghoul¡¯s arm break.

    It spun and fell to the ground, then dropped the sword to frantically swat at the sparks of light with its still-working hand. The ghoul¡¯s head started shing yellow.

    Brin put all of his body weight into bringing his stone down onto the ghoul¡¯s head. He smashed it in the forehead, and felt a satisfying crunch. The skull cracked and the ghoul went limp, but the yellow light kept shing so Brin brought the stone down three more times, until the shing yellow light went dim.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier Scout [28] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    For your feat of valor, you have been awarded the following. Strength +1 Mental Control +1 Will +1

    Brin smiled. He¡¯d done it. He¡¯d actually done it. And the System had rewarded him, too. Maybe he couldn¡¯t get levels, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t improve.

    ¡°Good,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now pick up the sword.¡±

    Brin¡¯s smile fled. ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡±

    ¡°I told you, that¡¯s not the only one. Now pick it up,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°How are you talking to me right now?¡± said Brin.

    ¡°What, do you expect me to spill all my secrets? I¡¯m an Illusionist. That means light and sound. I can¨C Hold on!¡±

    Brin stood next to the dead ghoul for about thirty seconds, blinking at it dumbly, before Hogg¡¯s disembodied voice returned. ¡°Ok. I have a few seconds. Now¨C¡±

    ¡°What was that? What happened?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m still fighting an entire warband by myself, you realize that, right? So maybe save your stupid questions forter.¡±

    Hogg made the ck sword start blinking yellow, so Brin dutifully stepped over and lifted it. Despite it being a one-handed sword, it took both hands for him to lift it at all, and even then just barely.

    ¡°Hm. Ok. Do this,¡± said Hogg.

    A copy of Brin rose up from the ground,plete with a big ck sword that he could barely lift. The copy of Brin raised the sword above his head, then brought it down hard in a heavy chop. It was slow, like the skeletons in Dark Souls. So pretty fast for a video game, butpared to the bullet-quick speeds these undead soldiers could move at, it was slow like a turtle.

    Still, Brin gave it a go. It took a couple tries before Hogg was satisfied with it. ¡°Good. Now, when I say ¡®Chop¡¯, do that,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now try this.¡±

    Brin¡¯s copy swung the sword to the side. He swung the sword all the way around in a circle, building speed so that by the time he got forwards again he was actually swinging pretty fast.

    It took Brin five tries before Hogg was satisfied. ¡°Ok. That one¡¯s called ¡®Spin¡¯. You¡¯re ready, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Brin did <em>not</em> feel ready, but Hogg was the expert here, so when the footprints appeared again, he followed them. The sword was so heavy that he let the point drag in the dirt behind him, but Hogg didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    It was crazy. Hogg had basically just set his ¡®A¡¯ and ¡®B¡¯ attacks, right? Brin had evolved from an NPC, now he was the Avatar. And Hogg was the yer.

    Brin would be offended, but honestly after all the madness he¡¯d seen today, it felt nice to offer up his agency to someone who knew what they were doing.

    Two more ghouls appeared on the road, both of them swatting at flitting sparks in the air.

    ¡°Wait,¡± said Hogg.

    The sparks drew one of them close. It swung wildly, leaving itselfpletely exposed.

    The glowing footsteps urged Brin forward. ¡°Chop,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin chopped with his sword, slow and heavy just like he¡¯d practiced. He sliced straight through the ghoul¡¯s sword arm.

    ¡°Spin,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin went through the spin move. The ghoul¡¯s body was in the way, and his sword didn¡¯t even cut through the thin fabric of the ghoul¡¯s clothes the first pass, but he spun all the way around, gaining momentum, and on the second pass cut deep into the ghoul¡¯s middle. It slumped to the ground a momentter, dead. These weren''t the convenient undead of video games. They bled, dark brackish blood. They took wounds. And when the wounds were bad enough, they died. Brin smiled.

    ¡°Now the next one,¡± said Hogg.

    This ghoul waved frantically, chopping his ck sword at the empty air. It knew itspanion had died, but didn¡¯t know what to do about it.

    Brin followed the footsteps forward, then chopped onmand. The ghoul made a lucky block, knocking his sword away and flinging it out of his hands.

    Encouraged, the ghoul kept swinging, faster and faster. Brin barely ducked in time, and scrambled on all fours to get out of its range.

    The sword hit the dirt, and immediately started shing yellow. Brin scrambled over to it, and picked it up. He waited, until the ghoul calmed down again. It stopped moving at all, just looked at the flitting sparks. Brin stepped forward and on Hogg¡¯smand, chopped again. This time he split the ghoul¡¯s skull on the first swing.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier Scout [25] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier Scout [23] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    Brin felt satisfied at seeing the notifications, but also worried. Even with all of Hogg¡¯s help, that had been <em>close</em>. Even blinded and confused, thatst ghoul had still nearly killed him.

    ¡°Ok, that was good, but before we continue, I want to try something else. Let¡¯s see if you can roll,¡± said Hogg.

    He showed Brin an illusion of himself jumping forward, doing a somersault, and thening up to his feet. It looked simple enough.

    He gave it a try, without the sword at first, and was surprised at how easy it was. The twelve-year-old body was perfect for this type of thing. He didn¡¯t get dizzy, and he didn¡¯t have stores of fat to weigh him down.

    After a couple tries, he was able to do it smoothly, even carrying the sword.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll show you an arrow like this. That means you should roll in that direction,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re invincible while you¡¯re rolling. I can kill dragons now.¡±

    ¡°That is not<em></em>true. That is definitely not true. How ya doing there, kid? I mean man. Actually, maybe I should have you sneak past the next ones after all.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m good. Let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯m doing pretty well on my side. I can probably finish up here in¨C damn. There¡¯s more on the way. I¡¯ve got to take care of this.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s voice didn¡¯t speak again for five whole minutes. Brin kept walking, needing to move to keep his adrenaline up.

    ¡°Tell you what, you should do it if you think you can do it,¡± said Hogg. ¡°There¡¯s three left on your side of the pass. If you can take them out, you¡¯ll be safe until I can catch up with you.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then give me a second to catch up on my end. They¡¯re really¡­ oof, they¡¯re really¡­ these ones are really something.¡±

    An undead soldier came tearing down the road at full tilt, chasing fluttering sparks. It ran straight towards Brin.

    ¡°Fine then, I guess we¡¯re doing this now. Get ready,¡± said Hogg, ¡°And¡­ Spin!¡±

    Brin spun, and caught the undead with his sword as it ran past him. Unfortunately, the sword didn¡¯t cut far enough to kill it, and got caught in the undead¡¯s middle. An arrow appeared in Brin¡¯s vision, along with a swiftly shrinking timer.

    He rolled out of the way, feeling the whoosh of air as the ghoul¡¯s sword passed straight through where his head had been. As soon as he was finished, another arrow appeared, so he rolled again, then again, narrowly missing attacks each time.

    The ghoul raised its sword again, then dropped it. It stumbled, then fell to the ground dead.

    ¡°Did it bleed out? It doesn¡¯t have any blood that I can see,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Undead take wounds, just like us,¡± said Hogg. ¡°In the stories if you cut off an undead¡¯s finger, it¡¯ll stay alive and inch around like a worm and then climb into your mouth in the middle of the night, but that ain¡¯t how it works in real life.¡±

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier Scout [26] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    The ghoul¡¯s sword started shing, so Brin picked it up.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m going to have you spin again, but this time just keep going. Go as fast as you can, really give it some muscle,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin swung the sword around, and around, and around. He went fast, so fast that the world outside became a blur. The weight of the sword kept him going, pulling him along, until it was all he could do to keep hold of the heavy weapon. Somewhere in the blur he could see ghouls approaching, but he was spinning too fast to make it out. He was moving sickeningly fast.

    Suddenly his spin ended. He felt his sword hit something, and he was stopped. The sword wasn¡¯t in his hands.

    ¡°Roll!¡± said Hogg.

    Brin couldn¡¯t make out the direction, but he tried anyway. His roll turned to the side, so far to the side it was more of a cartwheel that ended with him mming his back against the ground.

    The world was still spinning. He tried to stand, but flopped over again instead.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok. Good enough. You¡¯re done,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Take a breather.¡±

    Briny on his back, stomach heaving, world spinning. When he felt like he could see well enough, he slowly sat up.

    A new undead soldier, this one with a scythe,y dead on the ground not four feet from him. Another one wandered nearby, still with his sword stuck in its chest. Its steps were uneven and confused. It wandered awkwardly in circles before finally grinding to a halt. It fell over, dead.

    Brinughed, delirious. He was shaking, part tion, part horror at how dangerous that had been.

    He¡¯d done it. He¡¯d actually killed them. Not with pitfall traps, but in actualbat. True, Hogg had done most of the work, but he¡¯d held the sword. He¡¯d had the courage to face down monsters that could¡¯ve killed him easily in different circumstances, and that had to count for something.

    ¡°Heads up, kid. There¡¯s one more. Pick up your sword!¡± said Hogg.

    One more ghoul walked across the forest floor, pine needles crunching under heavy steps. He carried a practical ck war-ax, and he was a bit taller than the rest. His tight ck clothing was a bit neater.

    Dozens of bright sparks of light flitted about them, and while they clearly confused him, they didn¡¯t stop him from his path. He was walking straight towards Brin.

    Brin pulled his sword out of the corpse, and dragged it away, to the side. The ghoul adjusted his course, stilling towards Brin.

    ¡°Please. I¡¯m too tired. I can¡¯t do any more. Just distract him so I can run away,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ trying! Damn. This one is too smart. Or something is controlling it directly. You¡¯re going to have to take it out, kid. Come on. Just like the others. Just like we practiced.¡±

    The sparks red, and the ghoul paused. Glowing footsteps appeared on the ground, circling around the ghoul to his nk.

    Brin followed them as quickly as he could move his heavy sword.

    ¡°Chop,¡± said Hogg.

    Just then, the ghouls head snapped around, twisting unnaturally. His eyes were rotten and gray. Clouded, surely blind. Which is why it was such a surprise when they met Brins¡¯ own eyes.

    The ghoul kicked, then followed up with a wild chop of his ax that barely missed. A mirror of Brin¡¯s own chop, except that it was as quick as the p of a hummingbird¡¯s wing.

    The kick had probably been meant as a feint, but it saved Brin¡¯s life by pushing him out of the way of the chop.

    He flew back. Landing hard on the ground made his head swim with stars. He tried to pull in a breath, but that¡¯s when the pain hit. He couldn¡¯t breathe. His chest hurt. Too much.

    ¡°Get up. Slow your breathing. Nothing is broken. You can breathe, just try slowly, and get up. GET UP!¡± shouted Hogg.

    Brin struggled to his feet, just in time to see the arrow of light, showing where he should roll.

    He rolled, causing another spasm of pain in his chest. He forced himself to pull in a lungful of air, and it came, but the pain nearly knocked him off his feet again.

    The ghoul had lodged his ax in a tree, right above where Brin had been standing. It gave Brin time to get his breathing under control while he backed away.

    ¡°No. No, move forward,¡± said Hogg.

    Golden footprints appeared on the ground, leading towards the undead soldier.

    ¡°He can see me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give him something else to look at. One more try. Just trust me,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin found himself stepping forward. Hadn¡¯t he just been patting himself on the back for being brave two minutes ago? It was time to put up or shut up.

    His sword on the ground between him and the ghoul started shing yellow. He picked it up. It was getting heavier every time.

    He started edging around the ghoul again, nning on attacking from behind.

    ¡°No. Straight on. Trust me,¡± said Hogg.

    When Brin got close, Hogg said, ¡°Chop.¡±

    Brin¡¯s arms burned, but he managed to lift the sword onest time.

    As he did, a line of bright light appeared on the ground behind the ghoul. It lit the pine-needles on fire, sending up a screen of gray smoke. It was filled with little sparks, in the outline of a man.

    The ghoul twisted again, and shed his sword into the smoke.

    Brin brought his sword down on its head.

    A flurry of notifications burst into his vision, and Brin dismissed them, wary, looking for the next threat. Nothing came, but it had to be out there. There was always one more.

    His sword fell from sweat-slicked fingers. He didn¡¯t think he could pick it up again. Could he find a smaller weapon?

    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You did it. Take a break.¡±

    What did that mean? Brin blinked around stupidly before it finally registered. Oh. It was over. He had survived. He slumped to the ground and started to close his eyes.

    ¡°Whoa! You gotta move!¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What?¡± He knew it. He <em>knew it wasn''t over.</em>

    ¡°Those pine needles are still on fire,¡± said Hogg.

    He was right. There was still a small fire on the ground, spreading slowly through the pine needles. They were starting to catch on the edge of his sleeve.

    He rolled over, twice, which smothered the me on his sleeve, but didn¡¯t do anything for the pine needles on the ground. He could get up and stomp the fire out, but actually no, he couldn¡¯t. He was too tired.

    The me spread a little further, then fizzled out on its own. A passing breeze made some of the small embers glow, but none of them lit again. After a few minutes, another breeze revealed that even the little embers were dead.

    Brin closed his eyes.

    And opened them again. His nap must not have been long, because the sun hadn¡¯t moved very far. He pressed his ribs, to see if any were broken. They hurt when he touched them, but they didn¡¯t feel broken. Then again, would he even be able to tell?

    He sat up, and felt awful. His head hurt, his whole body was sore, and it still hurt to breathe. He also felt alive. More alive than he¡¯d ever been before.

    The clearing was still empty, except for the patch of burnt pine needles and the defeated undead. Had he really been the one to kill those things? It didn¡¯t seem possible. Well, Hogg deserved most of the credit, but he had swung the sword.

    He wished he hadn¡¯t been so quick to dismiss the notifications. Was there some way to look at them again? Oh, there they were.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier Scout [27] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier Scout [28] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier Scout [25] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier Scout Captain [35] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Warbound (Epic) You defeated 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System. You are truly born for war! +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    ¡°Whoa. Wow! You won¡¯t believe the notification I just got,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You know, I¡¯m still in the thick of it over here. Talking to you means I have that much less focus for keeping myself alive. So, you know, shut the hell up already,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, or maybe you <em>did</em> know about this achievement. Is that why you had me kill these undead soldiers myself?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nope. It was the best choice for keeping you alive. Bad things happen to people who try to mess around with children and the System,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And¡­ Ow! Dammit! Stop distracting me! We can talk about thister.¡±

    Brin left Hogg alone, and opened up his status screen.

    <strong>Information</strong> Name Brin isu Yambul Age 12 ss Child of Travin¡¯s Bog Level 1 <strong>Attributes</strong> Strength 11 Dexterity 12 Vitality 10 Magic 9 Mental Control 13 Will 11 <strong>Titles</strong> Traveler Locked Otherworlder Locked <strong>Quests</strong> <strong>Survivor of Travin¡¯s Bog</strong><strong></strong>

    You are the Quest¡¯s beneficiary. You receive no rewards forpletion and no action is needed on your part. <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    His stats had gone up. He¡¯d thought that he¡¯d have to wait two full years before he started to see any changes, but he¡¯d already gone up by two or three points in almost every attribute. And if his gamer lore told him anything, it was that even though the experience modifier didn¡¯t boost any stats right now, it was definitely the most valuable thing he¡¯d gained. He¡¯d done something important here.

    Granted, he¡¯d been fighting in absolute perfect conditions, against high level enemies that Hogg had basically spoon-fed to him. And the System had confiscated most of his rewards, but still, it was something.

    Just this much from the System was starting to put a fire in his belly. It felt like he was waking up a bit. For the first time, started to think that he could not just survive, but actually <em>be</em> something in this world.

    He wanted to be something. He wanted to prove to himself that there was some good in what had happened to him. He wanted to prove to Gn, Lumina, Lurn, and even Hogg, that he was worth saving. And now, he was starting to believe he could.

    Maybe Hogg could be convinced to lure some more enemies for him to fight? He doubted it. The way Hogg had phrased it made it sound like sending children to fight monsters is something you should only do if you have no other choice. Obviously that wasmon sense, but it was nice to know that people in this world thought so too, even if it was annoying for Brin in the moment.

    The achievement also gave him hope for a good ss. If tailors always became [Tailors] and butchers always got offered [Butcher], then someone with a Warbound achievement should certainly get offered [Warrior]. And thinking about it, if he could follow the path of any of the Heroes, the one he admired most was Gn.

    He¡¯d gone with an intelligence build in hisst life, so to speak. When you¡¯re growing up in the ¡°Information Age¡± it¡¯s kind of hard to not see the writing on the wall and go into the information industry, so he¡¯d always known he was going to be a programmer. But he¡¯d always thought that in another life, it would be nice to have a more active, physical job. Something outdoors, where his job exercised his body, instead of forcing it to waste away idle under fluorescent lights.

    This was a restart, a second chance, and there was absolutely no reason he couldn¡¯t be a [Knight].

    Lumina was his second choice. He wouldn¡¯tin if he got [Mage], oh no. The sheer power shemanded was hard to argue with, and it did suit his natural talents. He was good at learning.

    Between Hogg and Lurn? Well, he¡¯d underestimated Hogg for sure. There was a lot to be said about [Illusionist], but it seemed like a lot more work for much less reward than the other sses. It was a support ss, frankly, and he wanted to be the frontman. Also there was something romantic about the life of a [Hunter]. Tracking exotic beasts, always on the move, seeing new ces¨Chis biggest regret about hisst life was that he never got to travel. Yes, out of the two of them, he¡¯d pick [Hunter].

    If he even got lucky enough to be offered any of them.

    Hogg caught up to him not long after. Brin expected Hogg to be covered with scratches, to bear wounds from the awful fight, but he looked the same as he always did. His ck leathers were unmarred, and he had a grumpy but unworried frown on his wizened face.

    ¡°We¡¯re past the worst of it,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Here, drink this.¡±

    Brin drank it. It tasted sweet, like gatorade. ¡°Is this a healing potion?¡±

    ¡°A healing potion? For what? I can literally see through you; you¡¯re fine. Just going to be sore for a while. It¡¯ll help with the pain,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°The other Heroes¡­ are they¨C¡±

    ¡°Alive. The army turned out to be more than they could handle alone, but they managed to disengage. They¡¯re in a fighting retreat, and I expect it¡¯ll go along like that for some time.¡±

    ¡°That sounds bad,¡± said Brin. ¡°Are they going to make it?¡±

    ¡°I can show you,¡± said Hogg.

    He waved his hand in a circle, and a picture appeared in the air. It was the peak of a forest mountain, covered with ruins of an ancient stone castle.

    He saw little figures moving across it, and realized it wasn¡¯t a picture at all. It was a video.

    He was watching the Heroes.

    A giant undead roared at them, charging from behind a wall. It was too far away and too armored to see what kind of creature it had been, but it was humanoid and muscr.

    Lumina shot him down with a beam of golden fire, tracing it back and forth across his body until he fell. The effort seemed to exhaust her, and she wavered in ce until caught by Gn who grabbed her around the shoulders while deflecting a wave of arrows with the shield in his other hand.

    A raider group of ax-carrying soldiers erupted from the forest. Lumina weakly raised her hand to Lurn. The [Hunter¡¯s] arrow started to glow white. When he let the arrow fly, his bow shot a streak of lightning that destroyed the entire band of raiders in a single shot, though he had to wave away a me that caught on his leather gloves.

    Another group of undead emerged from a wide entrance in the castle ruins, and immediately fell to their deaths, as the catwalk they ran onto turned out to not actually exist.

    Brin noticed that there were actually <em>four</em> Heroes. ¡°You¡¯re there, too?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been there the entire time,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You were there too, until I realized the undead weren¡¯t fooled. The mirror image I left with them can¡¯t do much except lure an asional arrow, but it helps them to have someone to talk to. When you¡¯re just an invisible eye and voice in the wind, people start to forget they can depend on you.¡±

    ¡°Or maybe if they¡¯re used to seeing your illusionary double, they¡¯ll start to think you can¡¯t hear them when it''s not around,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s paranoid. And devious. You¡¯d make a good [Illusionist],¡± said Hogg. ¡°Anyways, as you can see they¡¯re totally fine.¡±

    Hogg cut the feed.

    The sight of them fighting for their lives didn¡¯t actually make Brin feel better, believe it or not. To him, they seemed exhausted, cornered, and at the end of their ropes.

    ¡°I never asked them to do that for me, Hogg. I¡¯m not worth it. Seriously,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Huh? Nah. If this was all about you, we¡¯d have all run away together. They¡¯re fighting that army because it¡¯s more important than the life of one kid, no matter how good the rewards for a System Quest are.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No offense,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°No, that actually makes me feel a lot better,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You good to keep going or do you want a break? No use burning daylight.¡±

    Brin was sitting, his back against the tree. He didn¡¯t know exactly when he had walked over here and sat down, but the thought of getting up was¡­ impossible. Looking at the sky, it wasn¡¯t even sunset yet. Had all of this happened in one day? He felt like he¡¯d lived more today than in the entirety of his previous life. But Hogg was right, there was at least two more hours until sundown. They could cover a lot of ground in that time.

    ¡°Maybe a short break. Five minutes,¡± said Brin.

    He was asleep in seconds.

 Book 1: Chapter 10

    Book 1: Chapter 10

    When Brin woke up, Hogg was carrying him. Hogg had been carrying him this whole time, metaphorically and otherwise, so that wasn¡¯t new. It stung his pride, but he needed to get over that. It was the fate of children to be carried by adults, and he was a child again. At least his body was, and in this world the gap between children and adults was even bigger than it had been in his previous one.

    The sun was up. It was morning, and not early morning either. Thendscape had changed again, back to the curvy moss-covered trees that had surrounded Travin¡¯s Bog. It felt like their entire journey had been one big circle and he was right back where he started. For all he knew, that was the case.

    ¡°I¡¯m up,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg let him down. Brin felt a bit woozy, and his first few steps were unsteady. Whatever drug Hogg had given him earlier, it was still working. The pain was gone, but the tiredness remained.

    ¡°What¡¯s happened since I was out?¡±

    ¡°A lot of nothing. I think we¡¯ve finally lost the army¡¯s outrunners.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± said Brin. For some reason, the news just made him feel a bit anxious. The undead had been terrifying, but now that they were gone he felt kind of aimless. ¡°What happens now?¡±

    ¡°I guess that depends on what you want to happen,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But we should talk about this with the others. Let me pull them up.¡±

    Brin expected Hogg to show a window to them like he had before, but instead, he spoke a few words in the magicalnguage he¡¯d heard Lumina use. Unlike with Lumina, thenguage sounded quiet and hushed when Hogg spoke it, and Brin¡¯s mind wanted to slip past the words without really hearing them.

    Copies of the other three Heroes appeared right in front of them. Without [Know What¡¯s Real], Brin would have been tempted to believe they had teleported in ce.

    The Heroes looked tired. More worn down, less polished, but glorious all the same. Gn¡¯s golden armor bore heavy rents in ces, the artful designs on his shield had been marred, but it was unbroken, just like him. His armor had lost his shine, but his eyes were still full of brilliant determination.

    Lurn¡¯s clothes were covered in mud. The left sleeve of his shirt had been torn away, and a tan bandage covered his forearm, seeping through with blood, but it didn¡¯t affect the steely strength with which he held his bow. His posture was elegant, his manner refined.

    Lumina¡¯s robes were sshed with mud and probably blood as well. Her sleeves looked like they¡¯d burned away to the shoulders and she¡¯d lost her hat along the way. Her blonde hair was a frizzy mess.

    She was beautiful. His adult body would have appreciated her beauty more; he didn¡¯t think this boy had gone through puberty yet. But maybe it was better like this, as a boy his admiration could be unreserved and pure.

    ¡°Wow!¡± said Lumina. She stepped forward towards Brin, cautiously reaching out a hand. ¡°He¡¯s so lifelike!¡±

    Brin flinched, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°I created mirror images of them here, and images of me and you over there. Now we can all speak naturally,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of [Illusionists] creating mirror images of other people before,¡± said Lumina.

    None of the Heroes seemed surprised at this development. Clearly they¡¯d already figured out Hogg was an [Illusionist], or he had told them.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the Skill. I¡¯ve created them with channeled light. Guided somewhat with freeform spellwork,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin didn¡¯t really follow that, but it must¡¯ve been impressive because Lumina¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°How is that possible? It¡¯s <em>so</em><em>perfect.</em> I wouldn¡¯t even know it was an illusion had you not told me. Can other [Illusionists] do this?¡±

    Hogg snorted in derision. ¡°I sincerely doubt that. Listen, I ain¡¯t ustomed to talking about this kinda thing, if you get my drift¡­¡±

    ¡°Never fear,rade,¡± said Gn. ¡°We will keep your secret.¡±

    ¡°Would you swear an Oath to that?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I will not. You shall have to trust my word of honor, and the goodwill you¡¯ve earned with your heroism thesest days,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°I¡¯ll not betray your trust,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°Nor I,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°Um. Me neither,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯ll have to do,¡± said Hogg. ¡°There is an Oath that I think we should all swear, though.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. I¡¯ll start,¡± said Gn. ¡°I swear on my ss and levels, never to reveal the nature of our Quest nor the method by which Brin made himself the beneficiary of a System Quest. I further swear to avenge anyone here who, by torture or coercion, is forced to betray this Oath. So help me Solia.¡±

    Lumina went next. ¡°I swear on my ss and levels, never to reveal the nature of our Quest nor the method by which Brin made himself the beneficiary of a System Quest. I further swear to avenge anyone here who, by torture or coercion, is forced to betray this Oath. So help me Sezorat.¡±

    Lurn and Hogg both swore the same oath. Lurn swore by ¡°Magelin¡± and Hogg swore by ¡°Nedramus.¡± Then they all waited for Brin.

    ¡°Why, um, are we doing this? If I can ask,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Of course you can,¡± said Lumina. ¡°The benefits to a System Quest can be¡­ extreme. To someone on our level. And unfortunately, there are those who would seek to¡­ repeat your tragedy in a simr town, if it meant a chance at a System Quest. There are those who would see one hamlet, or five, a small price to pay for such a chance. We swear this particr Oath because if anyone breaks it, the System will notify us, since we¡¯ll be impelled to avenge them. Does that answer your question?¡±

    Brin nodded. It seemed odd to him that the Oath only had a use for if anyone was <em>forced </em>to betray the Oath, and nothing for if they did it voluntarily. Apparently losing your ss and levels was considered punishment enough.

    ¡°I swear on my ss and levels, never to reveal the nature of your Quest nor the method by which I made myself the beneficiary of a System Quest. I further swear to avenge anyone here who, by torture or coercion, is forced to betray this Oath. So help me Solia.¡±

    Alert! You have sworn an Oath. The Oath of the Quest Survivor.

    ¡°That¡¯s settled. Next problem. What are we going to do about that army out there?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve sessfully disengaged,¡± said Lumina. ¡°But was that the right choice? Someone should be keeping tabs on this force.¡±

    ¡°What are they?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Where did the army evene from?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what I¡¯d like to know, but I have a guess,¡± said Lumina. ¡°Do you remember my exnation of the history of Nhamanshal, the so-called Burrow Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± said Gn, too quickly.

    ¡°Naturally,¡± Lurlian said smoothly.

    ¡°Yep,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I hung on every word,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well¡­?¡± said Lumina, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± said Hogg, who maybe actually had been listening. More likely he had already known all about Nhamanshal, whatever that was. ¡°If that was the case, we¡¯d be dead.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Thedy [Mage] is <em>implying</em> that a [Necromancer] has discovered a Burrow City. To summarize Lumina¡¯s story, which you were all clearly listening to, the people of Nhamanshal didn¡¯t burn their dead. They entombed them in huge underground catbs, which they blessed against necromancy. But if a [Necromancer] can disable those protections, they have a near infinite source of corpses for their art. Some of these cities numbered in the <em>millions</em>, andsted for hundreds of years before the cataclysm.¡±

    ¡°<em>Sancta Solia!</em>¡± Gn swore.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Lumina. ¡°A single [Necromancer] finding a Burrow City has overturned entire nations. We don¡¯t know for sure if these corpses are from a Burrow City, of course. The numbers we¡¯ve seen so far don¡¯t justify it. But that could simply mean we¡¯ve caught it in time. [Necromancers] take time to do their work. They can¡¯t simply animate an entire army at once.¡±

    Gn put a hand to his chin, pacing in ce. ¡°Then our duty is clear. I must depart for my Order. Also, the King of Frenaria must be informed. We should¡­ a thought urs to me. Hogg, how fast can your mirror images travel? What¡¯s the range?¡±

    ¡°As fast as I can run. The range is far. Real far,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Could you send them as messengers? I can give you the codes so that my Order will trust your words,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°That is a good idea,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Really thinking like an [Illusionist].¡±

    ¡°I thank you sir. Can you do it?¡± asked Gn.

    ¡°I sent out five mirror images the day we found Travin¡¯s Bog covered in undead, just in case. One will be at your Order by tomorrow. I¡¯ve already got someone in ckcliff. And Lumina, I get to Steamshield to inform your master within the week,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°You¨C ha! You know, I sometimes resent when I must join arms with [Rogues] or the like. I cannot abide trickery of any sort,¡± said Gn. ¡°But in this case, I find it somewhat gratifying.¡±

    Lurn licked his lips. ¡°Then¡­ does that mean we mustn¡¯t flee after all? I can surely track the army, and with Hogg¡¯s illusions, it may be that we can find the [Necromancer] after all.¡±

    ¡°That would be agreeable to me,¡± said Lumina. ¡°Though it would help if we were all¡­ much more powerful, shall we say?¡±

    Suddenly all four heroes were looking at Brin. ¡°I¡¯ll help however I can, but what can I do?¡±

    ¡°Have you seen any alerts recently regarding your, ahem, your Quest?¡± asked Lumina.

    ¡°No. None at all. Not since I got it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Odd. Hogg, you said that you and he were out of danger,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°Well, sure, but out of danger isn¡¯t the same as ¡®rescued¡¯, now is it? If the Questpleted now, I could just leave him here. He wouldn¡¯tst two hours in the wild on his own,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Surely you would never,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, but does he know that? What¡¯s our n for this kid, anyway? Has anyone thought about that?¡±

    ¡°You muste live with me, in Steamshield,¡± said Lumina. ¡°I know my master wouldn¡¯t hesitate to take you in.¡±

    ¡°Would he not?¡± asked Gn. ¡°The tower is for [Mages]. He could perhaps work as a servant, but he could never live with you. And Steamshield is no ce for a child. Follow me to my Order, Brin. I will look after you.¡±

    ¡°Well that would introduce the same problem! He could never be a squire, not until you knew he had a [Warrior] ss, if he even gets it. You¡¯d have him mucking stables!¡± objected Lumina.

    ¡°I¡¯d offer you a ce in Gilly, but it¡¯s the same problem. A hunter¡¯s lodge isn¡¯t a ce for a child,¡± said Lurn.

    Brin noticed that no one asked his opinion. Not that he had an opinion. He didn¡¯t know enough about the world to begin to form one, but it still seemed like the only way.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you all forgetting something? None of you are going home, not for months at least. What would you do with him in the meantime? Nah, I¡¯m the only one who can be in two ces at once. I¡¯ll take him to my home. Hammon¡¯s Bog. It <em>is</em> a good ce for children. Would you like that, Brin?¡±

    ¡°I guess so,¡± said Brin. Being left with Hogg wasn¡¯t his first choice. After all, it was only yesterday that the man had been inches away from killing him. But if this was the best way to help the Heroes, then he would do it.

    ¡°I swear on my ss and levels, to deliver you safely to Hammon¡¯s Bog, and make sure you find a ce to live there. So help me, Nedramus,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin pulled up his status screen, but there was no change to the Quest, and no real way to ept it. ¡°Sorry, there¡¯s still no change to the Quest. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m supposed to do here.¡±

    ¡°Not good enough, I guess,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Alright, fine. ¡°Brin isu Yambul, I officially adopt you as my son. I swear on my ss and levels to take you in and fulfill all duties and obligations that parenthood entails, including your upkeep, safety, and education. I swear this¡­ in perpetuity, until such a time as my aid is no longer desired or needed. So help me, Nedramus.¡±

    Hoggs voice got a little rough at the end, but Brin didn¡¯t mistake it for a sudden bout of tender feelings. More likely the old rogue couldn¡¯t believe what he was saying. He must¡¯ve <em>really</em> wanted the Quest rewards.

    Brin was <em>extremely </em>curious as to what those were.

    But not curious enough to forget to be angry. He could¡¯ve at least <em>asked</em>. ¡°What? I don¡¯t want to be your son! You¡¯re <em>awful</em>.¡±

    Hoggughed.

    ¡°No one gets to choose his parents,¡± said Lurn, a twinkle of mirth in his eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to call you Daddy,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Please¡­ don¡¯t. Please call me Hogg.¡±

    Alert! The conditions for the Quest: Survivor of Travin¡¯s Bog have beenpleted. Mark, you don¡¯t have to ept yet if you don¡¯t want to. They were <em>all</em> supposed to rescue you, not go off on their own. Still, I¡¯m giving you the choice. If you reject it now, you can still ept itter. ept? [Yes] [No]

    It was interesting to see a custom message for him again. He had been wondering if whoever was doing that had forgotten about him.

    Lumina caught him reading. ¡°What do you see?¡±

    ¡°I can ept the Quest now, or wait until I¡¯m more satisfied,¡± said Brin.

    Lumina took a steadying breath, but said nothing. Lurn didn¡¯t even look at him; he turned away, biting his cheek.

    Hogg started to turn bright red, but Gn put a hand on his shoulder. The [Knight] smiled, but clenched his jaw underneath. ¡°It is your choice, of course. We did not take our obligation to you as seriously as we could have. There will be no hard feelings if¨C¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. You think I would want you guys to focus on me when an apocalyptic army is literally springing out of the ground all around us? Save the world, Gn. I¡¯mpleting this Quest.¡±

    His motives weren¡¯tpletely selfless. Sure, maybe he could¡¯ve wrung more promises out of them, had them sign property over to him, made them make promises to never harm him, or even oaths to obey him. But he wanted their goodwill, and mostly, he wanted to know for sure if it was real. They¡¯d been kind to him so far, but they had a reason to. He wanted to know if they would treat him the same, even after there was nothing more he could do for them.

    Alert! Quest epted: Survivor of Travin¡¯s Bog Please select the Quest reward from the following options <ol><li>Each of the party members receive their weight in precious gemstones</li><li>Each of the party members receives the option to evolve one ss Skill of their choice</li><li>Each of the party members receives a permanent 30% increase to all attributes.</li></ol> As the Quest beneficiary, you will not receive any rewards.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ You guys probably want the gemstones, right?¡± he said.

    The Heroes all lunged towards him. Not in a menacing way, more like the way you act when a toddler picks up the vase containing your mother¡¯s ashes.

    ¡°Just kidding,¡± said Brin. ¡°Which one would you like?¡±

    Gn tried to smile, but it came off a little manic, what with the throbbing vein on his forehead. ¡°The evolved ss Skill, if you please.¡±

    Brin was surprised that they didn¡¯t choose the 30% increase, but they clearly knew what they wanted. He selected option 2.

    The notifications disappeared, and nothing else really happened. The only sign that anything had changed at all was the look of absolute rapture on each of the Heroes faces. Lumina cackled. Cranky Hogg looked like he was witnessing the birth of his firstborn child. Even reserved Lurn had a hand to his mouth, and tears in his eyes.

    They all had their eyes glued to their status screens, all of which were invisible to Brin, but Hogg had the presence of mind to say, ¡°We all have somewhere to be. Let¡¯s start walking.¡±

    They started walking through the forest. Brin and Hogg¡¯s real bodies walked side by side with the other Heroes mirror images.

    ¡°Are you lining up our mirror images even while we¡¯re walking?¡± asked Brin. ¡°That¡¯s really cool!¡±

    ¡°Uh huh,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Hey,e on, don¡¯t leave me out. Why is the evolved Skill so great? I thought for sure the 30% increase would be better.¡±

    ¡°There are lots of ways to increase your attributes,¡± Lumina said, distractedly, her eyes still reading. ¡°The evolved Skill, on the other hand, is a once in a lifetime chance. Every ss has one or two basic Skills that everything else is built on. Improving it won¡¯t only make you 30% stronger. It could be more like¡­ ten times stronger. More.¡±

    ¡°What Skill did you improve?¡± asked Brin.

    Lumina tore her eyes away from her status long enough to give him an impish smile. ¡°I don¡¯t mind you asking, I encouraged it after all, but no. I¡¯m not going to tell you that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s [Channel the Elements]. I¡¯d bet my left eye,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it turns into, though.¡±

    Lumina red at Hogg, which meant he was probably right.

    The Heroes didn¡¯t pick the conversation up again, and Brin left them to it. This was a huge event for them; the culmination of a lifetime of effort. He didn¡¯t need to be the bratty kid and interrupt them.

    He was just happy that they weren¡¯t treating him any differently. Lumina had paused to answer his questions, even though she clearly wanted to think about her new Skill. They weren¡¯t going to announce that Oaths were an borate trick and abandon him in the forest. He had known they wouldn¡¯t, but still, it was nice to know.

    He waited, and he walked. The forest was loud. He hadn¡¯t noticed it at first, but the birds sang an absolute chorus in the trees. There were buzzing insects, even little ferret-like creatures with bushy tails scrambling around on the trees. This forest was alive in ways the other ces he¡¯d seen hadn¡¯t been. Or maybe all the wildlife had been intimidated by the undead. This was normal, and the spooky silent forests were unusual.

    After a half hour or so, he saw that the Heroes'' eyes were beginning to return to the world around them, so he asked his next question. ¡°About the Oath. Hogg said something about how bad things happen to people who mess around with children and the System. Does the System punish people who try to manipte it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, heavens no. Bad things happen to those people because I make them happen,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this,¡± said Hogg. ¡°There¡¯s a town I used to go through once and again. It had a funny name, Dugout. A funny name for a funny people. The fields never seemed to grow as well as they should. Their clothes were always just a bit ratty and tattered. Nothing was really well made, nothing ever worked as well as it should. They werezy for being such a low level, or so I thought. But they didn¡¯t seem to mind, so why was it any business of mine? Dugout was right on the border of Ond, and despite the fact that we¡¯re at peace with Ond and have been for almost a hundred and twenty years, this little town was obsessed with the idea that Ond was going to invade. That¡¯s not a crime, people get paranoid sometimes. It happens. Well that was all well and good until someone with a high enough [Inspect] came through and noticed something. Their sses were weird. Anyone under forty years of age had a rare [ss]. Most were hidden sses, and they were things like [Broken Doll], [Blood Harvester], [Pet], and [Scab Eater]. Now, think about that for a second. How do you get a ss like that? More specifically, what do you think was done to them as children, for them to be offered sses like that? The Order of the Long Sleep wasn¡¯t called, but only because the Order of the Luminous Serpent was closer. They called an inquisition, and before the week was out, half of the vige¡¯s adults were burning at the st¨C¡±

    ¡°Ahem!¡± Lumina cut in ring at Hogg, her eyes boring into Hogg. ¡°Perhaps, given the mixedpany, we should avoid stories that end with people¨C that end like that? Let us say instead, that the System rewards some things, and punishes other things. When building a society we must take that into ount, but we mustn¡¯t follow it blindly. Sometimes, something is just wrong, regardless of how the Game of Gods decides to reward it. Even from the viewpoint of pure rationality, a people who put their children in danger in order to game the System is a desperate culture. A failing culture. These things have been tried. They don¡¯t work.¡±

    The Frenariannguage being what it was, the conversation took longer than it would have in English, and the sky started to darken as they talked.

    It was a good opportunity for Brin to hear what was eptable and what was taboo in this society. People tended to absorb more of the morality of their culture than they thought they did. They¡¯d say ¡°Some things are just wrong¡±, fully unaware that most of the world didn¡¯t have a problem with things like smoking indoors or wearing white after Labor Day. But torturing kids? Yeah, that was just wrong, no matter what you were on.

    They took a break to set up camp, which was an odd experience. Hogg set up a lean-to for he and Brin, which was basically a tarp above for shelter in case of rain, and put down some bed rolls. The other Heroes were probably on simr tasks, but Hogg didn¡¯t bother to create mirror images of the things they were working with, so it appeared as if they were miming the tasks of setting up camp with empty air.

    Both camps set up a campfire, and they all circled around it, despite the fact that it wasn¡¯t the same campfire. They ate supper, jerky and bread from Travin¡¯s Bog.

    Eventually Hogg pped Brin on the shoulder and said, ¡°Alright, say goodbye to the others. I¡¯m not going to keep these mirror images up forever, and they need to focus tomorrow regardless. Best if you split ways with them here.¡±

    ¡°Already?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No,¡± said Lumina. ¡°Not like this. I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve done enough. Only Hogg swore an Oath, but we all benefited. It isn¡¯t right. Brin isu Yambul, terrible name by the way, you are <em>not</em> a mistake. Brin isu Yambul, I also adopt you as my son, should your current guardian agree, and on my ss and levels I swear to fulfill all duties and obligations¡­ that I can.

    ¡°My current state as an apprentice doesn¡¯t give me much freedom in that regard, unfortunately, but if you get the [Mage] ss,e to the tower. They will be forced byw to take you in, regardless of how you do on the entrance exam. I know it¡¯s not much, but it¡¯s what I can do. Oh, you¡¯ll also inherit my possessions, should I perish. They are not inconsiderable.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll allow it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s that,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say,¡± said Brin. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lumina walked to him and leaned down, so close it was almost like she was about to kiss him. Of course, she couldn¡¯t, it was just a mirror image. His face didn¡¯t know that, and he could feel it growing red. He was wrong before; he was <em>definitely</em> going through puberty.

    This wasn¡¯t weird or anything, was it? She was only technically his mother.

    ¡°Come visit me no matter what ss you receive. Know that I will be very eager to see you again, in less dire circumstances.¡±

    Lurn said to Gn, ¡°Are we to make simr offers? Four parents strike me as two too many.¡±

    Gn shrugged. ¡°My vows prevent me from adopting a child in any case. But Brin, should you receive the [Warrior] ss,e to my Order. I will see to it that my Order epts you as a squire.¡±

    Lurn said, ¡°Come to Gilly when you can. I will teach you to hunt, regardless of your ss.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. Thanks everyone I¡­¡± Brin wanted to say more, but couldn¡¯t due to the sudden lump in his throat. What was this? He¡¯d never really been an emotional person before, so he didn¡¯t know how to handle it.

    Parting with the Heroes shouldn¡¯t be this hard. He¡¯d only known them a short time. But maybe when four legendary Heroes appear out of thin air to save your life, you grow attached quicker than usual.

    Despite him not being able to speak, the Heroes seemed to understand anyway. Gn saluted him with a fist to his heart, while Lurn and Lumina waved. Then they were gone.

    The world seemed a lot darker with them gone. The campfire seemed empty and mundane, now that he wasn¡¯t sharing it with four legendary heroes. Hogg seemed to pick up on his mood, and didn¡¯t say a thing as Brin walked over to his sleeping roll and immediately fell asleep.

 Book 1: Chapter 11

    Book 1: Chapter 11

    The next day he was so sore he could barely move. His legs were aching even without moving, and when he tried to flex them they screamed in protest. He tried to sit up, and that¡¯s when his abs made themselves known. They hurt like nothing he¡¯d ever felt before. They hurt worse now than when he had been kicked. He couldn¡¯t move.

    Hogg must¡¯ve heard him groaning, because he appeared next to him. ¡°You¡¯re up. Finally. I feel like all you do is sleep and cry.¡±

    ¡°And kill monsters thirty times my level. Did you forget that part?¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I thought up some more questions while you were asleep, and now that the others are far away from here, I can finally ask. Are you really an adult?¡± Hogg asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m twenty-six years old. Or I was. I have an adult¡¯s mind, in a child¡¯s body. Only.. things feel a lot more new than they did before. A lot more raw. I¡­ sort of feel like a kid again. It¡¯s strange,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Fair enough. Just so you know, I don¡¯t know corker dung about being a parent. The only reason I decided to adopt you was because I figured you were already grown up. I¡¯ll do my part to see you protected and fed, but don¡¯t expect me to¡­ you know¡­ raise you.¡±

    Brinughed, but had to cut it off. It hurt too much. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Preferable, really. But are you sure I didn¡¯t break anything back there? I don¡¯t think I can get up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure. I can see what my light touches, and I have a kind of light that goes <em>through</em> you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°X-Ray?¡± said Brin. It was surprising, but thisnguage actually had a word for that. Searching his mind, he also found he knew the word for germs, micro-organisms, and antibiotics. Apparently, this society had an advanced understanding of medicine. ¡°Well I¡¯m still pretty sore.¡±

    ¡°If you really were a kid, I would have already given you more medicine for the pain, only it might be you want to work through it yourself. The System might give you something for toughing it out. You¡¯re a little behind what a kid your age should be at, as far as attributes go.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± said Brin. ¡°Help me stand.¡±

    He found that with Hogg¡¯s help, he could stay on his feet, though even those were sore too. Theoretically he knew that walking around a bit would be the best thing for his sore muscles, but it didn¡¯t feel like it. And walking around was one thing. Bending over was <em>not</em> happening, so he just stood by uselessly while Hogg picked up the camp.

    Hogg stuffed the bed rolls and leather tarp into a big hiking backpack that Brin hadn¡¯t noticed before. It had one of the skeleton¡¯s heavy ck swords hanging from a loop. ¡°Thought you might like a souvenir,¡± Hogg said when he noticed Brin looking at it.

    It didn¡¯t take too long before everything was ready. Hogg made his backpack invisible as soon as they set off, which exined why Brin had never noticed it before. Was there a reason for that?

    Before he could ask, Hogg said, ¡°I said I had questions. Here¡¯s the next one, and I want you to think about it before answering. What would you have done if someone from a different world showed up at your home?¡±

    ¡°Wow. Is this some kind of reverse psychology thing? I would make him our king and¨C¡±

    ¡°Stow it,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Sure, lie detector Skills don¡¯t do well with sarcasm and humor. But you didn¡¯t know that, did you? You¡¯re just a smartass. I¡¯d like a real answer please.¡±

    ¡°Our government would throw the Outworlder in a cell and interrogate him for every scrap of information. They would keep it a secret from everyone,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Fair, and our King will do the same to you if he ever gets wind of your origins, which is one reason I told you not to spread it around. But that¡¯s not what I want to know. I¡¯m more interested in what <em>you</em> would do,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh. Ok, in that case, I¡¯d worry about germs, not that there¡¯s much I could do about it if the Outworlder carried diseases,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That body was born here,¡± noted Hogg.

    ¡°Do we know¡­ whose body this is?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Is there a possibility that he¡¯ll want it back?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll look into it, but we¡¯re getting distracted. What else would you be worried about?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ I guess I¡¯d want to know if they had knowledge that would be dangerous. Weapons they could build, for example,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I see. And? Is there anything I should be worried about?¡± asked Hogg.

    Brin thought about guns. Frenarian didn¡¯t have a word for gunpowder, but there was a word that meant ¡°sparkpowder¡± which could be the same thing. Could he make a gun? He vaguely knew how the chamber operated and how rifling was supposed to work. Would people of this world consider that knowledge a game-changer like it had been on earth? After seeing what Lumina, or even Lurn, was capable of, probably not.

    What about the extreme end of the scale? Could he make explosives? Nukes? He had no idea what C4 or TNT was made of. He did know how nuclear bombs worked. It wasn¡¯t thatplicated, just shoot two chunks of refined Uranium at each other at high speed. Refining the fuel was the difficult part, and he didn¡¯t even know enough to start with that.

    It was painful not to have the inte. Just five minutes, and he¡¯d be able to unleash the kind of technology that would make him a billionaire and unleash a new golden age in this world. But he only knew how to use technology, not how to invent it.

    ¡°Not that I can think of,¡± Brin finally answered.

    ¡°Hm,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Alright, next question. [Know What¡¯s Real]. Tell me the story about that.¡±

    ¡°It lets me see through illusions. I don¡¯t think it helps me see through lies. And it¡¯s not great at helping me spot things that are invisible unless I¡¯m looking right at them. There might be other applications, but I haven¡¯t found them yet,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ok, but tell me the story. How did you get it?¡±

    ¡°When I first arrived, I wasn¡¯t taking it very seriously. I thought I was dreaming, or crazy, or something. Being teleported into someone else¡¯s body just¡­ doesn¡¯t happen. And maybe I didn¡¯t <em>want</em> to believe in what was happening, because that would mean¡­ It would mean my old life is over, that I¡¯d never see my friends or family ever again. Then I got that Skill. And I <em>knew</em> that this was all really happening. That this is real life, that the people I meet are real people with thoughts and dreams and aspirations just like me. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience.¡±

    ¡°But how do you know the Skill is telling the truth?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I just do,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Philosophers call that the Great Question. Is this real? The System, the way it can change things, makes reality seem fluid, like a dream or a shared illusion. Do other people exist other than me? Because if they¡¯re illusions or inventions of my own mind, then I can treat them however I want. But if they¡¯re as real as I am, that leads to all sorts of conclusions about how I should behave.¡±

    ¡°Well, I know the answer. I¡¯m real and so are you,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But what if the Skill is just making you think that? Not being able to question your own perceptions just makes you sound delusional,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°And you sound¡­ way smarter than you do when other people are around. What would you do if I told everyone your <em>real</em> secret? Not the [Illusionist] thing. What if I told everyone that even though you act tough and cynical, you¡¯re actually a¨C¡±

    ¡°A schr?¡± Hogg said with a sly smile.

    ¡°<em>A nerd,</em>¡± Brin whispered conspiratorially.

    ¡°You know I can still kill you,¡± Hogg chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll lose my ss and levels, but some would say that¡¯s a small price to pay.

    ¡°To answer your question, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what¡¯s going on. It feels more like¡­ truth. Like the System is unveiling my eyes, showing me little pieces of ultimate truth. Like I¡¯m getting a glimpse of <em>true</em> perception. Not fogged by the mirrors in my eyes and filtered through the expectations of my brain, but pure vision of what¡¯s really there. Sure, I can entertain the idea that it¡¯s lying as a hypothetical. As a thought exercise, I can imagine that I¡¯m crazy. The Skill might be doing some kind of mind control to force me not to doubt the conclusions it wants me to make. But I don¡¯t believe that. I can¡¯t. And yeah, I get that I wouldn¡¯t be able to doubt it either way.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to think on that one.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a lot,¡± said Brin. ¡°I have a question for you, though. Is it really alright to just go home to your little town? What if there really is a Burrow City? Shouldn¡¯t we evacuate the nearby towns and viges?¡±

    ¡°If the undead army grows into something the Kingdom can¡¯t manage, I¡¯ll be the first to know, and I¡¯ll be in the perfect ce to start the evacuation. Plus, I¡¯m retired! I don¡¯t mind sending mirror images around to do some work, but my physical body is old.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not that old. You can¡¯t be more than forty,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m sixty-three. You slow down aging at a certain level,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin didn¡¯t let that blow his mind. This was a new world, there were bound to be stunning revtions. ¡°Then you¡¯ve still got half your life ahead of you.

    ¡°Eh. That¡¯s just an excuse. The real reason I¡¯m doing it like this is because of you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What? I never asked you to¨C¡±

    ¡°I know! We all know. But the System needed a strong Oath toplete the Quest early like that, and this is the only one I could think of that would actually work. That means no matter how much I¡¯d like to be out there warding off the doom of my nation, I¡¯m going to go home with you and y house. And I¡¯m <em>doing that</em> so that the real heroes have the power they need to get the job done. Think about Lumina. She lucked out and got the ss everyone wants. Think about her power. Now think about her <em>ten times stronger.</em>¡±

    ¡°Do you know what her new Skill will be?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Officially, no. How would I know? In actuality, yes. If she gets [Greater Element Channeling], she¡¯ll be able to do what she does now, just a whole let better for less Mana cost per spell. If she gets [Channel Refined Elements], she¡¯ll be able to summon interesting things like lightning, sand, or quicksilver. If she gets [Channel Life and Death], it¡¯ll let her heal or harm directly, with no need to summon the elements as intermediaries. Although if she took that one, she¡¯d have to learn everything again from scratch. She wouldn¡¯t be able to do the magic she¡¯s used to anymore.¡±

    Brin didn''t have to think very long. "She took the second one, didn''t she?" asked Brin.

    "Well burn me, how do you figure?" asked Hogg.

    "She wouldn''t take thest one, because she needed a power-up right away, to fight that army. It might be the best option in the long run, but it would''ve been selfish to do that right away. The second one was the bestpromise," said Brin.

    "Solid logic," said Hogg.

    ¡°What about you? What did you get?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s only one choice for me, but I can¡¯t take it yet, for different reasons.¡±

    ¡°Well what is it?¡±

    ¡°I could tell you, but where¡¯s the fun in that? Find out on your own. Consider it a learning exercise,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Great,¡± said Brin. ¡°And here I was hoping that the taciturn old mentor who selectively withholds important information was just azy plot device that belongs in bad fantasy novels. It¡¯s great to see it y out in real life.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. I told you once that at the higher levels,bat is all about information. You need to learn how to find answers to these types of questions, because <em>no</em>, whatever Lumina says you can¡¯t just <em>ask</em> people.¡±

    Brin''s legs hurt. His feet were bruised. Every step was agony and it wasn''t getting better. To distract himself, he thought through Hogg''s situation. "Well, if we follow Lumina''s example, you''ll probably also get three options. The first is to increase the amount of power you have in what you can already do. You don''t need that. I don''t know what the second option is, but the third option is probably a drastic change. You can probably... make your illusions real. Do direct damage rather than having to hide all the time. Only, you won''t take that one because the Heroes are depending on your illusions right now. Is that it?"

    Hogg gave him some serious side-eye. "You can be kind of annoying, you know that? Alright, you''re on to something, but you''re missing one big piece of the puzzle. And as far as I''m concerned, we''re <em>done</em> talking about this."

    While he was chewing on that, Brin got an alert.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength +1 Vitality +1 Will + 1

    ¡°What¡¯d you get?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Uh, none of your business, right? Didn¡¯t you just say¨C¡±

    ¡°Three attributes huh? Nice. But that means you must be more tired than I thought. Here, drink this.¡±

    Brin took the proffered bottle and downed it without a thought. The liquid was clear and vorless, but he didn¡¯t care what it was, as long as it would help. Even walking as far as they had, his body was still as sore as when they had started. Every step sent a shockwave of pain through his whole body. ¡°Will this kill the pain?¡±

    ¡°It should. Won¡¯t help for fatigue, though,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I¡¯ll have to carry you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m slowing you down and we¡¯ve got a long way to go. Actually I don¡¯t know how far we have to go.¡±

    ¡°Far. It¡¯s a big forest. It¡¯s a big world,¡± said Hogg. He crouched down, indicating that Brin should climb up on the oversized backpack.

    Before he did, Brin took one look back the way they came, into the forest where the Heroes were fighting. ¡°How long do you think it¡¯ll be before I see them again? I won¡¯t get my ss for two more years, and even then¡­¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t feel too long. You¡¯ll see. The time will skip on by.¡±

    The End of Part 1

 Interlude - Prefit Elmon

    Interlude - Prefit Elmon

    Elmon didn¡¯t let his pace slow as he approached the [Weaver¡¯s] cottage. [Weaver] was an honorable profession, and this particr [Weaver] was as devoted to the town as he was. There was no need to indulge in pointless superstition. If he, the Prefit, appeared nervous when he approached the hut, that would set a bad example for everyone else. Despite what he told everyone, no town waspletely immune to a [Witch]-hunt. Not even Hammon¡¯s Bog.

    Despite how this was the center of town where all the buildings were two or three stories high to fit Hammon¡¯s Bog¡¯s ever-growing poption, the little cottage sat alone in a grassy clearing. The tall wooden structures on either side seemed to lean away, respectfully, as if to give the cottage space. The cottage sat there, quiet and serene, as if it didn¡¯t notice the busy town surrounding it. Its walls weren¡¯t the good strong wood that made up the rest of the town. Instead, straw, woven together.

    He didn¡¯t knock on the woven straw door. Instead, the door simply receded, its individual fibers wriggling and weaving themselves into the wall surrounding it.

    He held his breath when he crossed the threshold. A pointless superstition, but some habits die hard.

    The [Weaver] sat on a wooden chair, an actual wooden chair, not a woven monstrosity. She stared up at her loom. Not a real, wooden loom. A woven monstrosity.

    Thousands of threads hung in the air, suspended by the [Weaver¡¯s] Skills. They were disorganized in a huge, chaotic tangle. The threads were all different sizes and colors. Some as thick as ropes, some as fine as spider threads. The only portion of it that made any sense was a small woven image of the [Weaver¡¯s] daughter, right in the center of the piece. Outside of that, there was no pattern, just snarls and knots.

    This was a bad sign. When he wasst here, the threads showed a perfectndscape portrait of the town, with only a few dark corners left to fill in.

    ¡°Why?¡± he asked. ¡°Hogg returned with dire news, just as you said he would. But atst we have a clear image as to the threat we face. The threat you¡¯ve been warning about. Shouldn¡¯t your pattern be clearer now?¡±

    ¡°We are closer to disaster than ever,¡± the [Weaver] said. As usual, her face was emotionless, her eyes unfocused. ¡°Some new element has arrived. Something I could not have predicted.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You tell me!¡± the [Weaver] snapped. ¡°Has something else happened? Is there someone new in town?¡±

    ¡°A child,¡± said Elmon. ¡°Hogg brought a child with him.¡±

    ¡°And? Is the child a happy, innocent thing? Will he be our next [Streetsweeper] or [Flower Picker]?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a dour, reticent boy. And his name is Scar the Mistaken,¡± Elmon admitted.

    The [Weaver] looked away from her weaving long enough to scowl at him.

    ¡°The child interrupted your future. Is that what you¡¯re saying?¡±

    ¡°Get rid of him.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t. Hogg adopted him. I don¡¯t think I can ship him away without losing Hogg as well.¡±

    ¡°Then I will make my own ns,¡± she said.

    Her hands started plucking at the strings, moving and shifting the floating threads with uncanny speed and precision. It didn¡¯t make any sense to him, but he could feel the power like an itch under his skin.

    She didn¡¯t speak to him again. The door opened up behind him. Relieved, he left the cottage.

 Book 2: Chapter 1

    Book 2: Chapter 1

    <em>Two monthster.</em>

    Brin held his spear in the ready position, waiting for the beast he was hunting to show itself again. The metal spearhead glinted in the daylight, but he couldn¡¯t let it distract him. The beast would show itself any moment and he had to be ready.

    The spear was a reassuring weight in his hand. It was strong and well-crafted. Far from the crude implements of prehistoric earth, it would¡¯ve looked like an art-piece in his old world. Fine designs and lettering were worked all the way across the shaft, but in a way that still left it perfectly smooth. The shining spearhead was affixed so smoothly to the shaft that on first nce it looked to all be one piece.

    A perfect weapon for this sort of hunt, since in Hammon¡¯s Bog, this sort of craftsmanship waspletely mundane.

    He couldn¡¯t see the enemy, but the ground was marked in red by the [Illusionist]. Not Hogg, the other one. Gustaff.

    The red dot rose, so Brin was ready. Just as the beast showed its head, he struck.

    In one stab, he killed it. His prey, the six-inch long mouse with big floppy ears, was dead.

    What was that, a hundred? Only about a thousand more to go.

    The system didn¡¯t even give him a notification. Brin was d for that, honestly. Even if he could earn experience points, getting notifications for every kill while he was taking care of pests in [Farmer] Dinas¡¯ carrot field would have been supremely annoying.

    More dots shone here and there and Brin moved on to the next one. Other children of the town were scattered across the fields, careful to step only in the dirt spaces between the lines of nts, following targeting dots of their own.

    A soft deep thrumming sound filled the air, courtesy of Gustaff. Something about that sound made the field mice go crazy and scatter about on the surface, giving Brin and the other children a chance to kill them.

    Above the thrumming, a peppy bad yed, a song about lost love but with a beat you could dance to. That was also courtesy of Gustaff.

    The [Illusionist] had also conjured miniature clouds to follow the field workers around offering shade. Brin¡¯s cloud had wandered away somewhere. He had never quite mastered the trick of whistling to guide it back, so instead he worked in the sun, watering the fields with his sweat.

    Gustaff could¡¯ve shaded the entire field, but Dinas would never waste sunshine like that, not with how rainy it was here. His skills made the nts grow frighteningly fast, but only when the sun shined. If Brin sat for five minutes, he could watch the carrot leaves growing bigger in real time.

    Not that he ever had a whole five minutes to just sit around. He hadn¡¯t known exactly what to expect out of quasi-medieval fantasy life, but one thing he¡¯d gotten right was how much work it was. Heughed at the old life where an eight hour workday felt long. Nowadays, Hogg kept him ving away from sunup until sundown, and then into the night sometimes since Gustaff could light that up as bright as day if there was need.

    Brin wiped the sweat out of his eyes, looking for another target. ¡°How much longer do we have to do this?¡± he asked, mostly to himself.

    Someone answered anyway. ¡°We¡¯re not finished until the eleventh bell!¡± It was Davi, a kid the same as Brin¡¯s physical age. He was stocky, though, and big for his age. If Brin had to guess, he would have put Davi as a high school senior, one on the wrestling team, although since Davi didn¡¯t have his System yet he couldn¡¯t be more than thirteen.

    Davi trotted quickly through the furrows, eyes darting around, stabbing rodents left and right. He was a farmer¡¯s son, not <em>this </em>farmer, but one who apparently had the same outlook as Hogg as far as children and idle hands were concerned.

    Unlike Brin, Davi was extremely popr in this town. One of the three golden children of the golden generation.

    Also unlike Brin, Davi took to the work with gusto. He was one of those annoyingly good workers; he worked like he <em>wanted</em> to be here. Maybe he did. He was a good-natured kid, and seemedpletely satisfied with the near certainty that he¡¯d be following in his parent¡¯s footsteps as a [Farmer]. Brin picked up his pace, just so that he wouldn¡¯t look so slow byparison, although he still only speared half as many mice as Davi.

    ¡°What does it matter when we¡¯re done? As soon as we finish one chore, we¡¯re just going to get sent somewhere else,¡± said Brin. ¡°Work never ends.¡±

    Davi stopped. He actually stopped working, right in the middle of the day, something Brin had <em>never</em> seen him do.

    ¡°Brin, after this¡­ I¡¯m done for the day,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°What?¡± The sun must¡¯ve been melting Brin¡¯s brain because that couldn¡¯t be right.

    ¡°Four hours, we choose one of three shifts. After that, I usually go help my parents with their fields, but if I want to go see a movie or y some ball, no one will tell me no. What does Hogg make you do?¡±

    Brin found that he couldn¡¯t answer. Three four-hour shifts, that¡¯s how they separated their work in Hammon¡¯s Bog. Usually, Hogg made him do <em>all three shifts</em>.

    He¡¯d known that he worked more than the other children. But this? This waspletely mad.

    ¡°...more than that,¡± Brin said finally.

    ¡°If you want me to talk to the Prefit for you, I¡¯m sure¨C¡±

    ¡°No thanks,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ll handle it.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± said Davi. Then heughed, to clear the tension. ¡°What did you do to piss Hogg off?¡±

    ¡°I was born, I guess,¡± said Brin.

    They wandered separate directions after that, and while Brin worked, he couldn¡¯t help but go over Davi¡¯s answer again. What had he done to piss Hogg off? He thought they had an understanding, that Hogg was only ying the part of Brin¡¯s parent because no one else could know he was really an adult in a child''s body. When Hogg had given Brin all these assignments, Brin had assumed that he was treating him the way all kids here were treated. This was a rugged frontier town. You worked from sunup till sundown. That¡¯s how it worked right? Wrong. Apparently, that was a hell reserved only for him.

    He vented his frustration into the tiny mice, pumping his arms, wreaking terrible vengeance. By the end, he was certain he was spearing as many as Davi.

    When the eleventh bell finally rang, Brin was exhausted. Not just from the exercise, but emotionally. It was like every stupid extra chore he¡¯d done thest two months was catching up to him all at once. [Farmer] Dinas put out lunch for them. A thick vegetable mash stew, and Brin ate without really tasting it.

    When lunch was done, he didn¡¯t rush over to the mill to start his next work shift. Instead, he just¡­ walked.

    He wasn¡¯t ready to confront Hogg yet. He didn¡¯t want a fight. He just wanted a break.

    He walked past the field, towards the city walls. The fields were all outside the walls. When one harvest was only a matter of weeks, it didn¡¯t make sense to wrap them with the walls in the unlikely event of a foreign army or monster horde, something which had never happened to this town as far as he knew.

    The walls were wooden, vertical logs sharpened at the ends, rising thirty feet into the air. There were watch towers dotting the walls, but no one was ever inside them. He headed through the gates. They were open, and he¡¯d never seen them closed. Monsters stayed out of the city, due to whatever strange magic worked on these circr ¡°bogs¡±. They stayed out of the general area, too, due to the hard work of the town¡¯s [Hunters].

    Inside, the town couldn¡¯t have been more different from Travin¡¯s Bog. Not that he got a good look at his home city, but from the size of the ruins he knew that that town had mostly been made up of smaller, one-room houses.

    Hammon¡¯s Bog was practically a city byparison. Two or three story townhomes were built snug up against each other on both sides of the streets. The roofs were made of wooden shingles, and most of the houses were painted bright red, yellow or blue. borate handmade signs hung from many of the bottom story entrances advertising services: tailors, shoemakers, groceries, a general store, herbs, alchemy, and the like.

    Travin¡¯s Bog had dirt roads, but here boardwalks lined the sides, although if your shoes were already muddy like Brin¡¯s currently were, it was polite to stay on the dirt path in the middle.

    Men and women walked about on their business, and now that he was looking for it, he noticed that no one looked exhausted. No one was stressed or harried. Everyone had the time to stop and chat with their neighbors. How had he not noticed this before?

    His wandering took him to the town square. There was a big grassy in in the middle of town, where they didmunity festivals, and where the children tended to congregate.

    The smaller children yed together. Mostly tag or hide and seek; some things transcended time and space. But Brin was at an age where puberty was starting to make things weird, so the boys and girls had self-segregated. The boys were ying ¡°ball¡±. It was sort of like rugby, but with even fewer rules. It was generally about taking the ball from one side of the square to the other, but mostly it was a big disorganized wrestling match.

    ¡°Hey it¡¯s Brin. Come over, Brin!¡± shouted one of the boys.

    ¡°Shut up, he¡¯s not going to,¡± another said, a little more quietly.

    Normally Brin wouldn¡¯t join in, but today¡­ why not? It was a perfect opportunity, too. Some of the kids had noticed him, but the one holding the ball hadn¡¯t. He was watching the guys following him, not looking where he was going, which was straight towards Brin.

    Brin body checked him, knocking him to the ground, and stole the ball, running straight through the crowd.

    The boys cheered, but that didn¡¯t stop them from trying to take him out. He did the running-back spin past the first three challengers before someone got him by the legs. He fell face-first into grass, tearing a huge divot into the field with his elbow on the way down. The damage to the field would be repaired by the time he woke up tomorrow; he had no idea whose Skill was fixing it, but it was pretty neat.

    Some of the kids were watching him nervously, probably wondering if he¡¯d be mad, but he wasughing when he got to his feet. After that he was one of the guys.

    He didn¡¯t keep track of time and just went with the flow. He¡¯d only yed this one time before, right when he¡¯d first arrived, and it hadn¡¯t been fun at all. He¡¯d been noticeably weaker than the other boys, and kept getting hurt. All the extra shifts must¡¯ve helped him catch up, though. This time he could handle himself and it was a lot more fun.

    Was it weird that he, a twenty-six year old man, was ying with a bunch of kids? Well, maybe, but what was he supposed to do? Everyone treated him like he was the age of his body. And he might not have had the mind of a twelve-year-old, but he had the brain of a twelve-year-old. Childish things were fun again. Everything felt more real and immediate. His emotions were more raw, and time felt longer. And he had the energy of a twelve-year old. ying like this <em>spoke</em> to him. It provided something that he needed, in his soul. So no, he wasn¡¯t going to keep worrying about stuff like acting his age.

    Eventually a bunch of the kids broke off to go do something else, and he left as well.

    He still wasn¡¯t ready to go home, so he kept wandering. He walked past the temple, a tall white structure dedicated to the gods that he mostly avoided. Hogg kept pestering him to talk to the [Priest], but frankly he didn¡¯t want to. The priest might have answers to questions he still didn¡¯t dare to ask.

    Past the templey the amphitheater. Gustaff the [Illusionist] stood on the stage, looking bored and distant. Not really Gustaff, though, since Brin could tell it was just a mirror image of him. He was an old man, older than Hogg, with thin white hair and a long white beard. Although pants, high boots and long jackets were in fashion with the men of Hammon¡¯s Bog, Gustaff always wore a blue robe with white stars sewn in, and slippers.

    A gaggle of younger children surrounded him,ughing.

    The little kids in this town were absolute savages, worse than animals. When they weren¡¯t ying in the square, they roamed the town, searching for prey, and when they found a likely target they¡¯d y all sorts of nasty tricks or simply pelt you with mud if they couldn¡¯t think of anything else.

    Brin was a little curious how Gustaff would chase them all away without revealing that this was only an illusion.

    One of the children ran around and put his full fist straight up Gustaff¡¯s butt, to the shriekingughter of the other boys and girls.

    Right. Unlike Hogg, Gustaff wasn¡¯t hiding the fact that he was an [Illusionist]. The children knew that this wasn¡¯t the real guy. He must¡¯ve kept a mirror image of himself here all day. But why?

    It didn¡¯t take him long to find out. A girl waved her hand through Gustaff¡¯s hand, and suddenly a row of portraits erupted on the stage, covering it from end to end. The children all raced to a different portrait. A boy got to a picture of a man in armor first, and the other children screamed in outrage when the other pictures disappeared.

    The portraits disappeared along with Gustaff. A huge screen appeared, showing a field of flowers, and music started ying.

    This was some kind of automatic interface for Gustaff¡¯s movies. The only time Brin had seen one was when Gustaff had been there in person so he¡¯d never seen the menu before. It was pretty impressive. Unnervingly modern in a town that was still mostly medieval.

    Gustaff was a standard [Illusionist] in this world. He didn¡¯t hide what he did, and while he wasn¡¯t that useful in a fight, he could still work wonders. Like ying movies. Apparently, [Illusionists] could share recordings with each other, and Gustaff made a trip to ckcliff once a year to get thetest blockbusters.

    Hogg could do it too, but he didn¡¯t for obvious reasons. He¡¯d spent a lifetime pretending to be a [Rogue] pretending to be a [Warrior], and as far as the town knew, that¡¯s what he was.

    Brin sat with the kids and watched the movie. A story about a boy who vows to avenge his mother¡¯s death, only to find out that the viin was his love interest¡¯s father. At only forty minutes long it didn¡¯t overstay its wee, but mostly Brin couldn¡¯t get over the fact that here he was, in a pre-industrial society watching a movie on the big screen. There were things about this magical world that he was certain he¡¯d never get used to.

    The movie was over too soon, but he didn¡¯t feel like going to another one. He also didn¡¯t want to go back and talk to Hogg. What was he going to say? What did he want to say? Questions forter. For now, he just wanted to enjoy his impromptu day off.

    He wandered further into town.

    A girl his own age stood in his path, ring down at him imperiously. Myra was the second of the town''s three golden children, although Brin didn¡¯t know why. She had long, straight ck hair, in a town where most everyone¡¯s hair was curly brown, which somewhat set her apart. But she was the daughter of the [Weaver], who had a nasty reputation, and she had a nasty personality to match.

    He moved to the left to pass her by, but she stepped into his way again.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± she asked.

    ¡°None of your business.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be at the Mill today. You¡¯re shirking. Mama says that you¡¯re a pre-[Witch]. Just like a pre-[Witch] to be shirking.¡±

    ¡°Pre-[Witch]? That¡¯s new. Too clunky to be a good insult. It¡¯s never going to catch on,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Did you hear me? I said you¡¯re shirking, pre-[Witch],¡± said Myra.

    ¡°That¡¯s rich, considering your mom is an actual [Witch],¡± said Brin.

    Myra gasped. ¡°The Prefit will have you pilloried for that. It¡¯s against thew to use someone of being a [Witch].¡±

    ¡°What about calling someone a pre-[Witch]?¡±

    Myra didn¡¯t block him when he walked around her this time, and pretty soon she was behind him, mentally and physically. Maybe if he was really twelve this would¡¯ve been a horrible ordeal, but he liked to think he was above things like schoolyard insults. Although, that hadn¡¯t stopped him from firing right back, had it?

    The [Witch] usation¡­ that was something to think about. His [System] awakening was still more than a year away, but what if he did get the [Witch] ss? It was a distinct possibility.

    Siphani might be dead, but her story still hung over this town like a specter, and Myra wasn¡¯t the first person to draw a corrtion between his story and hers. A strange child from out of town. An unusual disposition, although Brin was dark in all the ways Siphani had been light. He didn¡¯t mean to be, there was just a big cultural barrier so he didn¡¯t know how to act, and it didn¡¯t help that he was so tired all the time.

    The point was that everyone expected Brin to get the [Witch] ss. And what if he did? It might not be too bad for him. From Hogg¡¯s story, [Witches] didn¡¯t have to be evil. They had good and evil powers, it was just that the evil parts were hard to resist. Especially for a teenager, the point in life when a person¡¯s impulse control was at the absolute lowest. But for him? He thought he¡¯d be able to handle it.

    Well, it¡¯s not like he¡¯d get to choose, and besides, that was a year away. What did he want to do today?

    He heard a few notes of music, and his heart started beating quickly. It wasing from the public house. The building was tall, but only because it had a high roof. No apartments were built above it on ount of how loud it got at all hours of the night. There was musicing from inside, which meant that tonight would be one of those rowdy nights of singing and dancing.

    Even though Gustaff could y <em>actual </em>movies, [Illusionists] were still considered second-rate entertainers. The real kings of entertainment were [Bards]. That totally boggled Brin¡¯s mind because from what he¡¯d heard Bards could only do music, but everybody <em>swore</em> that Bards were better. It looked like today, Brin would finally get to find out why.

    The [Bard] who lived in Hammon¡¯s Bog, named Jeffrey, had been on the road since before Brin arrived, but by the looks of things he was back in town and already ying in the public house.

    Children weren¡¯t really allowed in there, so Brin had to figure something out if he wanted to hear the music. He could sit on the boardwalk outside the building, but he¡¯d definitely get chased away. Behind, then? Behind the row of buildings there was a slow-moving stream that functioned as an open sewer. The adults would find him the first time someone needed to pee, and that <em>definitely</em> wouldn¡¯t be a good look for him. And it¡¯s not like he wanted to hang out back there anyway.

    Could he listen from above? Worth a shot.

    The store to the left of the public house sold expensive adventuring gear. There were never a ton of customers, mostly travelers, which is why the shopkeeper didn¡¯t mind sharing a wall with the public house.

    Brin spent some time scraping every inch of mud and dirt off his shoes before going inside.

    The shopkeeper was a [Leatherworker] named Perris. A tall, thin man with very pointed, severe features. He looked like the guy you¡¯d cast as a cruel headmaster or a corrupt orphanage manager, but he wasn¡¯t actually mean to children. Or at least he was never mean to Brin. He drove a hard bargain with the adventurers passing through, which is why the best [Smiths] and [Armorers] in this town trusted him to sell their things. He didn¡¯t have a lot of patience for people with no money to spend, although he always made time for penniless Brin.

    Not to say that he¡¯d let Brin up the stairs next to his counter. Those led to his and his family¡¯s private apartments. Not exactly open to the public.

    Brin walked up to the counter and Perris said, ¡°Eh? It¡¯s little Brin if I¡¯m not <em>mistaken?</em>¡±

    No one in this town had gotten sick of that joke yet. Except him of course. He put on a smile anyways. ¡°Sure is!¡±

    ¡°You must¡¯ve heard about Toros¡¯ new batch, hm? Come to look at the swords?¡± asked Perris. Even his voice sounded viinous. It was sort of squeaky and overdramatized, giving everything he said a nefarious bent.

    ¡°Sure am! If that¡¯s ok,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± said Perris, smiling a bit too wide, showing off rows of crooked but eerily white teeth.

    Perris took Brin over to arge, gilded disy case. It was enchanted against theft. Even a [Warrior] would find it impossible to break into it, and a [Rogue] would find it impossible to pick the magical lock, ording to Perris.

    Inside was a row of glittering weapons. Swords, each more exotic and beautiful than thest. There were quite a few new ones since thest time he¡¯d been here.

    ¡°Toros has outdone himself. He''s got a new Skill, his level fifty capstone. The cheapest sword in this case is on the left, worth twenty-five gold. And I¡¯ll get thirty for it, mark you me,¡± said Perris. Heughed. Cackled, really, and Brin chuckled along.

    Honestly, Brin liked Perris. A viin on the outside, but really he was just a big softie on the inside.

    ¡±You should understand something. People talk about sses this, and Skills that, but the <em>real</em> power in this world is money. With this sword, I could cut down a level thirty [Warrior], despite being a <em>humble</em> [Leatherworker]. You think Toros is a great [Smith] because he worked hard? Ha! He makes the best weapons because he can afford the best materials. This sword is made of Blue Sapphire! It wasn¡¯t even a metal before Toros worked it, but now it¡¯s got a spring to it like tin and it''s stronger than steel.¡±

    Perris was leaning over Brin¡¯s shoulder like a devil.

    Brin smiled. ¡°Cool! What¡¯s it do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s light and strong and well suited for agility-focused fighters. The metallic Sapphire is perfect for enchantment, and it¡¯s got everything that Chamy could pack into it. Boost to speed. Boost to strength. Minor healing. It can even shoot a devastating st of ice, though only once a month and it¡¯s ufortably hot to hold the entire month when it¡¯s charging. Forget [Warriors]. Now my weapons rival the power of [Mages]!¡±

    Brin gave an appropriate reaction of awe, though he knew that was an exaggeration. From demonstrations he¡¯d seen before, the sword would probably cast a fist-sized rock of ice. Good enough to kill a <em>small</em> monster or serve as a distraction, but definitely nothing approaching the apocalyptic devastation that Lumina could unleash. Minor healing sounded impressive, but healing wasn''t all that easy in this world. Minor healing meant <em>minor</em>, as in it might heal a blister over the course of an hour.

    Perris gave Brin the description of every new sword in the case. A scimitar with me magic. A fencer¡¯s foil that focused on speed and reduced wind resistance, which didn¡¯t sound that impressive but Perris swore it was vital to the type of fighter who would use it. The most expensive was a big ck sword that didn¡¯t do much except that it was nigh unbreakable, really heavy, and increased the user¡¯s friction against the ground. ording to Perris, <em>really</em> high level [Warriors] didn¡¯t need tricks, they only wanted a weapon that would let them leverage their incredible Strength. That one cost more than a hundred gold.

    Some customers came in and Perris left to take care of them. He let Brin stay with the swords, his eyes glued to the disy case. He didn¡¯t usually let people browse unattended, but he knew he could trust Brin.

    Well, he knew he could trust Brin not to steal anything. As soon as Perris¡¯ back was turned, Brin darted to the back and dashed up the stairs as quickly as he could move without making a sound.

    The doors weren¡¯t locked. Who would bother? Brin found Perris¡¯ door, and went inside. He crept across the floor of a living room. It was lushly appointed, with a thick rug, afortable-looking sofa and end tables with expensive vases. The only source of light was the window.

    He cursed inwardly when he saw it was made of ss instead of the open-air windows or wooden ts that most people used, but luckily there was a hinge to let it open.

    He crawled through the window and closed it genty before dropping down the six or seven feet to the wooden shingles on the roof of the public hall. He hid behind the chimney where he was on the street-facing side of the roof instead of the sewer-facing side, but still blocked from view of anyone below.

    From here, he could hear the music perfectly, and it hit him like the first glimpse of sunlight after a year underground. Ah, so this was what a [Bard] could do.

    It was dancing music, and Brin¡¯s whole body wanted to jump up and start moving. He managed to limit it to tapping his feet, but it would¡¯ve been easier to stop breathing.

    Gustaff could y music, too, of course. Any kind of music, or at least, anything that Gustaff had heard before. But there was a huge difference. An [Illusionist] could only reproduce the sounds of the music. [Bards], it seemed, could reach your heart.

    Brin had appreciated music in his old life, of course, as much as anyone. Sometimes it was just background noise, and sometimes it took him on a journey, made him feel angry or sad or lonely. Sometimes it reached his heart. This [Bard] had taken him all the way there, back to the way he had felt in his past life the summer after he turned fifteen, when he went to his first rock concert. And this was only the first song.

    A window opened, opposite to the side of the roof where he¡¯de in, and a girl slipped out andnded on the roof. She tiptoed quickly across the roof and sat beside him with her back against the chimney. She had the brown curly hair that wasmon in this town, and her simple cream working dress had grass stains on the knees.

    This was thest and by far the most beloved of the golden trifecta. Hammon''s Bog''s favored daughter. He didn¡¯t know why she¡¯d snuck up here with him. If she had gone into the public house they would have rolled out the red carpet for her, rules or no rules.

    ¡°What are you doing up here, Zilyana?¡± Brin hissed.

    ¡°Following you, of course. Call me Zilly, everyone does,¡± said ZIlly. ¡°This is awesome! I can¡¯t believe no one has ever thought of this before.¡±

    ¡°Well don¡¯t ruin it for me by telling everyone about it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think anyone else would make it up here even if they know. Olha only let me through because she and my mom are friends. I can¡¯t believe you got past Perris! It makes sense, though, since your dad¡­ or your, um, guardian is a [Rogue], everyone says that that¡¯s what you¡¯ll get, too.¡±

    Huh. He hadn¡¯t heard that particr rumor. Better than everyone saying he was going to be a [Witch].

    She must¡¯ve misunderstood something in his expression because she quickly said, ¡°Oh, sorry. He¡¯s supposed to be a [Warrior], isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°Hm? Oh, no. Hogg knows he¡¯s not fooling anyone. People call him [Warrior] to be polite. Because you know, your ss is your ss, but Hogg would never steal or anything like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, good,¡± said Zilly.

    The dancing music from below ended and a new song started. This was an epic, a long, long song with a lot of verses that told a story. Where an [Illusionist¡¯s] movies could show you a story, this song made him feel like he was there. With his mind¡¯s eye, Brin saw the brave hero with a glimmering spear facing off against endless monsters as clearly as he were the warrior of legend.

    Brin and Zilly sat and listened to the entire thing. Enraptured, they couldn¡¯t speak a word. When it was done, Zilly let out a sigh of relief.

    ¡°I like Jeffrey, but sometimes his songs can be a little much,¡± said Zilly.

    The next song started, something slow and sweet, almost sharine. ¡°Oh no,¡± said Brin.

    This song was romantic.

    Zilly leaned towards him. Her heavy-lidded eyes fixed on his lips. Oh no. Their bodies might be the same age, but she just looked like a little girl to him. She bit her lip¡­ then shook. Her shoulders convulsed again, and she broke outughing.

    Relieved, Brinughed along. She punched his shoulder and he punched her back.

    ¡°I had you going,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Yeah, right,¡± said Brin. ¡°Just be d you didn¡¯t take it too far and I didn¡¯t have to push you off this roof.¡±

    ¡°As if you could,¡± said Zilly.

    The song after that was sad. Almost from the first note Zilly closed her eyes and wept away some secret sorrow. Brin felt a painful lump in his stomach as he thought of everything he¡¯d lost from his other life, but somehow his eyes stayed dry. It made him wonder if he was broken.

    Zilly slipped away when the song was done. In an impressive disy of athleticism, she jumped up the wall to the window she¡¯de from.

    Brin went to the back side and jumped off the roof. He¡¯d been steadily getting used to what his attribute-enhanced body could do, and the twelve foot drop to the ground wasn¡¯t an issue. Then he simply walked in Perris¡¯ backdoor, nning on pretending he¡¯d gone to use the privy if he was asked.

    He wasn¡¯t asked. Perris was back behind his counter. ¡°Done already? You know, maybe someday you¡¯ll be here to buy one of those swords. Well don¡¯t expect me to give you a discount! Ha ha HA!¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to. I can¡¯t wait to barter you down myself!¡±

    ¡°Do you think you can? You fool. You absolute fool,¡± said Perris, punctuating his statement with a fresh round of cackling.

    Brin smiled. ¡°You forget, I already know the number to aim for. You already told me what your swords are worth.¡±

    ¡°Did I? DID I?¡± Perrisughed Brin out the door, and his solemn mood from the [Bard¡¯s] sad song waspletely forgotten. Perris always had a way of cheering him up.

    The sun was starting to set, so Brin figured it was time. He needed to talk to Hogg.

    Brin left town. Outside the walls, past the fields, far into the trees, Hogg¡¯s home was built right on a riverbank in a cozy little clearing. Everyone thought it was because Hogg didn¡¯t like people, which, while true, wasn¡¯t the real reason. The truth was that Hogg wanted a ce where he was free to be an [Illusionist] without anyone finding out.

    When he got home, Hogg was sitting on the front porch, smoking from a pipe. That wasn¡¯t real, though he really could smell the smoke. He narrowed his eyes, looking for the real Hogg.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] wasn¡¯t perfect at finding invisible things, but he could still do it with a little effort. The trick was that he had to be looking at the spot where he thought Hogg might be and think something like ¡°nothing is there¡±. Only then would his Skill tell him <em>that¡¯s not real.</em>

    Brin scanned the area, looking for ces Hogg might be hiding. The forest, the little garden¡­ he had to be close enough that Brin could still smell the pipe smoke.

    He saw something in a tree nearby, a spot of air on a high tree branch that wasn¡¯t as empty as it pretended to be. He picked up a pebble and threw it at the spot, and it disappeared.

    What was that? Had Hogg jumped down? Or maybe he¡¯d put a mirror image up there and made it invisible.

    He saw an unusual ssh in the stream. There, Hogg was fishing. Even now that he¡¯d spotted him, the Skill didn¡¯t let him see through the illusion. It just told him something was there. He was pretty sure this was the real thing, from the way the smell of pipesmoke grew stronger.

    He walked over to stand next to Hogg¡¯s approximate area.

    ¡°How¡¯s the stuff with the undead army going?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Nothing¡¯s changed since yesterday when you asked. The unit from Gn¡¯s Order arrived, but they haven¡¯t had any more luck than us. The entire undead army has just¡­ disappeared. We aren¡¯t going to give up looking for them, but there¡¯s not a lot we can do for now. The Frenarian army won¡¯t mobilize after all. They said they¡¯lle if their scouts find something, but for now there¡¯s nothing for them to fight. Lumina is talking about heading back to the tower. She¡¯s not the outdoorsy type, and two months of camping are starting to wear on her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good news, right? The army is gone,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s a disaster. The first thing I told you about conflict in this world is that it¡¯s all about information. The army is still out there, but we don¡¯t know where they are. Meanwhile they know where we are, and all about who we are and what we can do. But! Nothing we can do about it that we aren¡¯t already doing. Now, don¡¯t get me wrong but you look like you have something on your mind, and I doubt it¡¯s about wanting to hear the same old news.¡±

    ¡°I did the vermin extermination job this morning. But after that I took the rest of the day off,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Alright,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? You¡¯re not going to chew me out for skipping all my work?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Should I? You¡¯re old enough to make your own decisions, despite how you look,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I look older every day. I think I¡¯m going through a growth spurt. Words I never thought I¡¯d say again,¡± said Brin. ¡°But that¡¯s beside the point. I¡¯ve been working twelve hours a day, <em>every day</em>. You told me I had to. You let me think that if I didn¡¯t that I¡¯d stand out and get a reputation for beingzy.¡±

    ¡°That I did,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg didn¡¯t respond. It felt like he was talking to the empty air. It looked like that, too.

    Brin tamped down on his rising anger. Half of it was hormones, and he knew from experience that an emotional outburst wasn¡¯t the way to win the ¡°I should be treated as an adult¡± argument.

    When he was sure he could speak calmly, he said, ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand why you did it. When I first arrived I was super weird. I knew thenguage but nothing else. Keeping me busy and limiting my interactions with people helped me stay under the radar until I got used to the social norms. Also I was weak,pared to other kids my age. Working all the time has done wonders for my attributes. I just wish you¡¯d let me in on the n.¡±

    ¡°Good reasons all, but no, that¡¯s not why,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Hold on.¡±

    Hogg appeared, holding a fishing pole that was bending under the weight of a fish. He reeled it in, a blue and silver trout, at least a foot long. Hogg pulled a knife from one of the many that were strapped to his ck leathers and started cleaning it, even before it waspletely dead.

    ¡°So why?¡± Brin asked patiently.

    ¡°You still get those nightmares?¡± asked Hogg.

    Yes. Nearly every night, Brin dreamt that he was back in Travin¡¯s Bog. He¡¯d woken up more than once in the middle of the night, panicking that the refrigeration in his cer must¡¯ve worn out. Even now it was hard to feel safe when it was warm, and Hammon¡¯s Bog was always warm unless it was hot. Once, a week after he¡¯d arrived in town, Hogg had woken up to find him in the stream, sitting up to his neck, his lips blue and teeth chattering.

    But they¡¯d faded. Lately he¡¯d been sleeping through the night, and rarely woke up in terror.

    Hogg said, ¡°You uh¡­ when you arrived, you woke up screaming three times the first night.¡±

    ¡°Sorry I interrupted your sleep,¡± said Brin, regretting the sharp edge to his tone.

    ¡°Pox on that! I can muffle sound if that¡¯s all it is. But, like it or not, you¡¯re sort of my responsibility. I told you I don¡¯t really know how to deal with people. So I asked for advice. I said, I¡¯ve got a kid here, woke up in an undead city with no memories and almost died a bunch of times. Figured that experience was bad for you, like, emotionally. They agreed. They told me to put you to work. Said the best elixir is time, but also sleep, so I needed to work you hard enough that you¡¯d fall asleep no matter how bad the nightmares got. Well, I¡¯d say it worked.¡±

    ¡°Who did you go to?¡±

    ¡°The Prefit. And¡­ others,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Who?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°[Weaver] Tawna,¡± said Hog.

    ¡°What?¡± Brin said, not quite exploding. ¡°Why would you go to her?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s wise,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°She¡¯s ridiculous,¡± said Brin. ¡°And she hates me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be daft. She doesn¡¯t hate anyone,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin sighed. ¡°It ends today. I can¡¯t keep living like that.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Hogg. ¡°What are you going to do instead?¡±

    ¡°I need to learn. I can get by in regr conversation, and I¡¯ve learned a bit from Gustaff¡¯s movies and Jeffrey¡¯s stories, but it¡¯s not enough. I need history. Literature. Religion, even.¡±

    ¡°You should visit the temple. Talk to the priest, Ellion.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t want to,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg snorted. ¡°Scared.¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Brin.

    Finished with cleaning the fish, Hogg walked over to the smoke shed and put the fish inside. Then he grabbed his pole and sat back down on a folding chair on the riverbank.

    ¡°The Prefit¡¯s got a personal library. I¡¯ll have a talk with him about letting you use it. In fact, I can ask him now,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin waited for Hogg to stand up and get going, until he realized that of course Hogg would just use a mirror image.

    ¡°Can¡¯t just read all the time,¡± said Hogg. ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°Strength,¡± said Brin. ¡°I have an achievement boosting it. If I can get it higher, I can start whatever ss I get with a considerable advantage. That means training. Lifting weights.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a good enough n. What about today?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Got another fishing pole?¡±

    Hogg eyed him, then nodded. ¡°Use mine. I can make another one right quick.¡± He moved away, but a mirror image stayed behind. ¡°In the meantime, maybe you could tell me more about those¡­ radio waves? If it¡¯s not digging up anything best left buried, that is.¡±

    Brin thought about it. Thinking about his old memories didn¡¯t hurt as much as they had before. He could talk about them. No, he wanted to.

    ¡°Sure, but I don¡¯t know what else I can say. We¡¯ve got a way to trante sound into what we call radio waves. They¡¯re e¡­ electro¡­ no, that doesn¡¯t trante at all. They¡¯re like beams of light, only they aren¡¯t visible and they can travel extremely long distances without degrading...¡±

    <strong>Information</strong> Name Brin isu Yambul Age 12 Race Human ss Child of Travin''s Bog Level 1 <strong>Attributes</strong> Strength 16 Dexterity 15 Vitality 14 Magic 9 Mental Control 13 Will 13 <strong>Titles</strong> Survivor of Travin''s Bog Locked Traveler Locked Otherworlder Locked <strong>Achievements</strong> Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    <strong>Oaths</strong> Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 2: Chapter 2

    Book 2: Chapter 2

    The next day, Brin set off for his chores like usual, a hard morning at the mill, but it felt like the time went by in a sh now that he knew he¡¯d be done with work at the end of the four hour shift.

    To his surprise, he found Hogg waiting for him when he finished. The [Millers] hadid out some bread and butter for him, but Hogg didn¡¯t even wait for him to pat the flour off his clothes before he said, ¡°I gotta talk to you. Come here.¡±

    Brin followed him back behind the building, where the huge des of the windmill spun slowly in the breeze.

    ¡°I got news,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°About the Heroes?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s the same as ever. This is about you. Or, your body. The kid whose body you¨C You know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. He wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to hear this.

    ¡°Just like we hoped, there were survivors of Travin¡¯s Bog. Some are scattered to the wind, but most settled in Kara¡¯s Bog. I asked around, trying to find out about you, figure out who knew you and maybe what your name was. Didn¡¯t have much to go on, but I passed around your picture. There were some who recognized your face.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. No one knew you. Your parents were traveling merchants. The people whose house you were staying with died in the attack, and they were the only people who got your parents¡¯ names. No one learned your name. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a dead end.¡±

    That was a relief, although he felt guilty at how much of a relief it was. He knew it was his responsibility to follow up on whatever final wishes this boy may have had, but being told that there was nothing else he could do was very liberating. He could dare to think that this life was his now. Completely his, without some poor lonely ghost following him around.

    Brin met Hogg¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Thanks for letting me know.¡±

    Hogg nodded and turned to leave. Over his shoulder he called, ¡°You should talk to the [Priest]!¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t respond. If there was someone who would know more about the circumstances of his reincarnation, it would be the [Priest] in the temple. He had to go sometime, if only to get this weight off his shoulders, but Hogg was right when he used Brin of being afraid.

    What if the [Priest] decided that Brin was an evil spirit that needed to be cast out? What if the boy was still inside here somewhere, screaming silently as a stranger controlled his body? Also, Solia was real. The gods in that ce were real. But were they gods? What if he found evidence that the faith of his old world was wrong? <em>What if he didn¡¯t?</em>

    He walked towards the temple. Then turned around and walked away. Then turned around again and walked straight there, eyes on the ground. He stood outside, waiting. For what, he didn¡¯t know. An invitation, maybe?

    The temple was beautiful white stone, one piece to all appearances, and the only stone structure in town. Before him was a wide open doorway leading to arge open space on the inside. Above the door, images of the gods were arranged in rows, forming a pyramid-shaped roof.

    The sixteen godlings on the bottom row. The nine minor gods were next. Above that, the seven major gods, including Nedramus, Magelin, Eridu, Sezorat and the goddess who¡¯d apparently been speaking to him. Solia.

    Above that were the three Fundamentals: Inanu, Babus, and Nocta. On the top row, the Ur-god, Primus, stood alone.

    ¡°Are you wondering if you¡¯ll light on fire the second you cross the threshold? Maybe you shouldn¡¯t take the chance,¡± said a woman.

    He turned and saw the absolutest person he wanted to see. It was that [Weaver]dy, Tawna. From anyone else, he would have taken it as friendly banter, but there was something in the way she said it that told him it was far from friendly.

    ¡°I guess you would know.¡±

    He didn¡¯t get thisdy. Everyone said [Weavers] could see the future. They talked about her like she was all mysterious and wise, but every time he¡¯d met her he¡¯d seen nothing but a small, bitter old hag.

    She had wide open eyes with an unhappy smirk; in his old life he¡¯d seen that face on all kinds of unbearable people. She had the same long ck hair as her daughter, and she was closer to his mind¡¯s age. In his past life, she probably would¡¯ve been someone he¡¯d try to get to know better. At least until he saw her make that face.

    ¡°Well? Why don¡¯t you move along?¡± she said.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you? I¡¯m not blocking the street,¡± he said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll excuse that because you¡¯re from out of town, but in <em>my</em> town, that isn¡¯t the way that children talk to adults. You can bet that I¡¯ll be having a talk with your guardian.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please do. I would love to see you try to throw your weight around with Hogg,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Do you <em>exist</em> to vex me? You are ruining this town. Why can¡¯t you do as I say and leave?¡±

    ¡°The only thing wrong with this town is you,¡± said Brin. He turned toward the temple doorway.

    "Ah ah ah! What do you think you''re doing? You have no idea what you''ve brought. What you''re bringing."

    "Then tell me," said Brin.

    She pursed her lips back into the tight little smirk, eyes wide.

    He shook his head and walked away from the silly conversation. Into the temple. Maybe he¡¯d just needed the motivation toe in here, and spite was a pretty good motivator. Tawna didn¡¯t want him toe in here? Then that was a good reason to do it.

    Looking around, he felt stupid that it had taken him so long to do this. It was a beautiful building, with some solid stone benches, a few murals on the wall, and beautiful geometric patterns on the ceiling. The [Priest] Ellion was sitting on a plush armchair, head back and eyes closed. He was taking a nap. This was a peaceful ce.

    The stone walls and floor echoed every single sound, but somehow also made the room feel quieter. Quieter, andrger. It seemed to getrger andrger the further he walked inside.

    He walked across the empty chamber and sat on one of the benches. He was here to talk to Ellion, but there was no rush. He could wait for the man to wake up.

    His eyes moved across the room¡¯s decorations. The murals told a story of sorts. Each wall was a different season, winter, spring, summer, fall. So they <em>did</em> have four seasons here. That was one question answered. He¡¯d been beginning to wonder, because the entire time he¡¯d been here, the weather hadn¡¯t seemed to change at all. Muggy and warm, always.

    The seasons depicted on the murals weren¡¯t really the ones he was used to. Winter was depicted as torrential rain. Spring had lots of rain and flowers, with sunbeams peaking through the clouds. Summer was all bright skies and greenery, while fall was rainy again, and brown. The gods frolicked here and there in the pictures, acting out their various roles. Sometimes they were easy to understand, like the goddess Magelin fighting a bear. Some were more difficult, like Eridu shouting at a waterfall.

    In the center of the chamber the statues¡­ no, there was just one statue. One veryrge, twenty foot tall statue of a goddess. Solia.

    How had he not seen that from outside? It was huge. A gigantic white statue, whiter than marble, more like ster. She was sorge her head nearly touched the domed ceiling. She loomed, almost threateningly.

    No, she stood triumphant, one arm pointing to the horizon, the other a fist in the air. And why had he thought she was white? The stone was golden and glossy, almost metallic.

    Seriously, how was this even here? If there was a huge statue of the goddess Solia in this town, he¡¯d think at least one person who mention it. And it was really here, [Know What¡¯s Real] wasn¡¯t ringing any rms for him. It was doing the opposite. Somehow, the statue was more real than anything around it.

    It was also strange that Ellion was asleep,e to think of it. Did [Priests] just randomly take naps in the middle of the day?

    Maybe if Ellion was awake, Brin would be able to ask him about the strange, shifting statue. He hadn¡¯t actually seen her move, but now she was looking down. One arm was at her side. The other was held towards him, palm outward.

    Despite all the strangeness, his mind felt calm. Sluggish. Something was going on, but he couldn''t seem to turn on his internal rm bells. He tried to shout, but it came out as a sigh.

    Ellion¡¯s eyes snapped open. He stood and took a step towards Brin. ¡°What¨C?¡±

    He was gone.

    The panic Brin had tried to muster hit him all at once.

    The statue. Solia. She wasn¡¯t standing at all. She was bending over, looking at him. She was still as stone. She was <em>moving always moving she¡¯d never stopped motion she was pure motion she was still she¡¯d never moved at all. She was solid and unchanging as the firmament she was rapid and amorphous she never stopped changing she changed slowly she was still as the void. </em>

    Brin¡¯s head was screaming. Brin was screaming. Brin¡¯s Skill, which wasn¡¯t really a Skill, more like a part of him, a delicate organ, exposed to open air and vulnerable and raw. It was screaming at him.

    THIS. IS. REAL.

    He shut his eyes. He closed off his mind. This couldn¡¯t be real. It was a bad trip. In the religions that Christianity reced, they used to give people that visited their temples hallucinogens, and then bedazzle them with optical illusions. Smoke and mirrors.

    The truth mmed into his mind, tearing apart the lie he was trying to create. His eyes were opened again.

    THIS. IS. REAL.

    ¡°Look upon me,¡± said Solia.

    It was hard toprehend what he saw. A woman in form, but also other things. Her head was the sun, and she had a cow¡¯s horns. From her arms hung the wings of a bird. She stood in a river between life and death.

    She was enormous. She spanned dimensions he couldn¡¯tprehend, that itched at the edge of his awareness, pulling at threads trying to unravel his mind. She was powerful, controlling and using forces that he didn¡¯t have words for.

    ¡°Look upon me, and fear not,¡± said Solia. This time¡­ he saw what she was trying to show him. He didn¡¯t need to fear her. She wouldn¡¯t hurt him, and she wouldn¡¯t lie to him either. He saw the edges. She was enormous, but not infinite. She was powerful, but not omnipotent. Godlike, but not god. Even so, she was too much for him. If he looked any longer, he''de apartpletely.

    She looked down at him with pity in her eyes. Pity and <em>universes </em>in her eyes. ¡°Fear not. I will depart, so that you may remain alive for a time. I will instruct my servant Ellion. Ask your questions of him.¡±

    All at once, the world was normal again. He was in the temple, but it was just stone. The chamber was empty except for the stone benches and the murals on the wall, and Ellion the priest. The statue of Solia was gone, if it had ever really been there in the first ce.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] hit him like the aftershock of an earthquake. <em>IT WAS THERE. IT WAS REAL.</em>

    Brin knelt, putting his hands on the floor. It wasfortably cool. He put his cheek against it, feeling the stone pull the excess heat away from his body. It felt nice, despite how he was shivering.

    Normal floor. Normal stone. He wanted to kiss it for how normal it was.

    Ellion stepped towards him, confusion and concern in his features. ¡°What was¡­¡± Then he stopped short and his eyes went wide. ¡°No no no, please don¡¯t¨C!¡± He screamed.

    A glow appeared behind Ellions¡¯ eyes, a fire. His feet left the floor, and his eyes shone brightly, so bright Brin had to look away, where he could see the stone benches casting ck shadows despite the noonday hour.

    Then all at once it was over again, and Ellion fell to the floor. The templey in silence.

    Briny on the stone floor for a while, while Ellion sat and stared at the open air. Neither remembered exactly how long they stayed like that.

    Brin shivered and pulled the nket closer. Ellion ced a steaming cup of tea on the table in front of him. It amazed Brin to see how steady the priest¡¯s hands were when he picked up his own cup and took a sip. He winced. ¡°Ow. Hot.¡±

    They were in Ellion¡¯s basement apartment, underneath the temple. It was small, but clean and surprisingly cozy. A sofa, a bed, a small half kitchen. A small bookshelf. Everything you¡¯d need and nothing you didn¡¯t.

    A fire roared in the firece. Where the smoke went he didn¡¯t know. borate pipework must take it away from the temple, because as far as he knew they were directly below the stone where he¡¯d had his vision.

    He was grateful for the fire. Somehow he couldn¡¯t shake the cold. One bright side; his thermophobia was cured. He was cold and he never wanted to feel like this again.

    He tried the tea. It was too hot and it burned his tongue, so he took smaller sips, but he didn¡¯t stop because it tasted great. A lot of honey. An absurd amount of honey, actually, maybe more honey than water but it was exactly what he needed right now.

    ¡°It helps,¡± said Ellion. ¡°This isn¡¯t my first time. Hopefully it¡¯s myst, though.¡±

    Brin chuckled, and that made him feel better, too. "I would think you''d have an easier time of it, being a [Priest] and all."

    "You''d think so, wouldn''t you," said Ellion, chuckling but also sadly serious.

    Ellion¡¯s fine robes and headdress made him look older than he really was, but up close Brin could see that he was in his prime, without any gray in his hair. He had strong features, and a line of dried blood stilly in tear tracks under his eyes.

    Brin pointed to them on his own face, and realized that he had bloody tear trails as well.

    ¡°Oh, where are my manners,¡± said Ellion. He wiped his face with a handkerchief, and gave Brin a spare for his own face.

    Ellion produced a hand mirror to get thest few little spots, then handed it over to Brin.

    ¡°Now, where to begin. Let¡¯s start with you. You are twelve years old. Your name is Brin isu Yambul. Tranted into English, it¡¯s Scar the Mistaken,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°You¡¯re speaking English! How are you doing that?¡± Shocked, Brin realized that Ellion had been speaking English since he¡¯de down here.

    Ellion shuddered. ¡°I was given thenguage, as well as some knowledge of your situation. If the goddess had imparted it to you directly, you would have perished. An intermediary was necessary.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that. If it was anything like what I saw... I didn¡¯t know she was going to do that when I came in here.¡±

    Ellion nodded. ¡°I know. And your apology is epted. Now, there is much that Solia would have me tell you. Some of it is forter, but much of it I can tell you now. First, about your name. Brin means ¡®scar¡¯ in Frenarian, but it¡¯s actually not unheard of as a name. ¡®Mistaken¡¯ is, though, so that¡¯s how people think of you. Brin the Mistaken. For the record, Mark Lambert is dead.¡±

    Brin thought he was done being surprised, but that still shocked him. ¡°I¡¯ve never told anyone myst name.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t known.¡±

    ¡°When you say Mark Lambert is dead, does that mean I¡¯m not¨C?¡±

    ¡°You <em>were</em>. Mark Lambert. Then you died and now you¡¯re here. You have memories of your past life in your head, but your body is that of a twelve-year-old boy and that makes you a twelve-year-old boy. The water fills the vessel, but the vessel is not the water and the water is not the vessel; this is wisdom.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s actually¡­ really nice to know. But I still think me and Zilly should just be friends,¡± said Brin.

    Ellion¡¯s lips quirked with humor. ¡°I think that¡¯s wise. On that note¡­ your body.¡±

    Brin braced himself for the news. This question is what had brought him here in the first ce, and if he¡¯d gotten more than he¡¯d bargained for, he still needed to know about who his body belonged to.

    ¡°Your body had a previous owner. He¡¯s dead now. The [Mage] Lumina guessed correctly at what happened to him. His mother¡­ she didn¡¯t treat him the way she ought to have. But she loved him, in her own way. She crafted an artifact to save his life, one time, from a mortal wound. Due to his circumstances, he was given a choice. He saw what lies ahead, and he knew what waited for him should he turn back. He chose to move on.¡±

    Brin bowed his head. ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t resent him for his choice. You made another. When youy dying, your soul cried to the heavens in rebellion. You felt it unjust, to die the way you did. It was seen that another body was avable and so it was given to you. Make no mistake, if that unsouled body had fallen into the hands of the one who destroyed Travin¡¯s Bog, great evil would have been done with it. By taking possession of it, you were able to resolve the boy¡¯s final regret. This life is yours now. He no longer cares what happens to it.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°Can I ever go home?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°What? But¨C¡±

    ¡°What would you have Solia do? Send you back? You¡¯ve received a true miracle, something far beyond anything you had any right to expect, you already demand a second miracle? No, make the best of this life. You won¡¯t get another second chance,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°What if I find another way? Some kind of spell or something,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I know of no such method, but perhaps. Perhaps you¡¯ll gain the levels necessary to extend your lifespan, and after a century or two you¡¯ll gather the power you''ll need to make it happen. But you¡¯ll be traveling there as Brin, not Mark. This is a lesson all men must learn. You can never go home. The ce you once called home has changed, and you don¡¯t belong there any more. Hold that memory warm and safe in your heart, but move on. You must make a new ce to call home.¡±

    Brin sat and thought for a moment. He pulled the nket off; it was getting too warm. ¡°What was his name?¡±

    ¡°That is not for me to say. If you wish to know, find out on your own.¡±

    Brin nodded, and stared at the crackling fire, deep in thought. ¡°I should go.¡±

    Ellion said, ¡°Very well. Should you ever feel the desire to converse in your mother tongue, I hope you will not hesitate to visit.¡±

    Brin promised he would, then left the temple. It was night. Late at night, but he didn¡¯t go back to Hogg¡¯s ce. He wandered the streets, walking endlessly as he thought.

    The houses and buildings took on a new cast. They seemed a bit more solid than the day before, a bit more substantial. They weren''t just backdrops any more. This wasn''t a temporary shelter. For the rest of his life, whenever someone asked where he was from, he''d have to tell them he was from here.

    A new home. A new life. What did he want that to look like?

    He found himself at the public house.

    The customers had all gone home, but it wasn¡¯t empty. The bartender was sitting behind the bar, the [Bard] was counting coins on stage, a young man was sweeping the dance floor, and H, the owner, was clearing tables. She scowled at him when he walked in. Kids weren''t allowed in here, especially after dark.

    He ignored her and walked straight over to Jeffrey the [Bard]. ¡°Can you teach me to y?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t work,¡± said Jeffrey. ¡°There¡¯s no surefire way to get the [Bard] ss.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ve always wanted to be able to make music. I don¡¯t need a ss for that, do I?¡±

    Jeffrey smiled and strummed a note. A chair jumped up from the dining area and danced its way up to the stage beside him. He patted it.

    ¡°Sure kid. I can teach you.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 3

    Book 2: Chapter 3

    The vision of Solia tumbled its way through his mind. He¡¯d seen her, a goddess, and she was real. He wished he could deny it, takefort in ambiguity, but he couldn¡¯t. She was real, she was out there, and she knew his name. But what did she want from him? Surely she¡¯d saved his life and given him [Know What¡¯s Real] for a reason. But what? There didn¡¯t seem to be an answer, so he let the memory ssh around in his mind until it started to fade.

    ying music with Jeffrey soothed the aftershock of having his third eye forced open to stare at the sun, and within a few days he was talking andughing again.

    The next month of Brin¡¯s life was a lot less difficult than the previous two had been. He did his shift in the morning, yed with the children, and practiced music when Jeffrey had time.

    Jeffrey didn¡¯t use any [Bard] Skills when they practiced together, he just made regr music. Sometimes he yed simple things and had Brin repeat it. Other times Brin yed a melody and Jeffrey yed along, turning a wobbly, shaky solo into a magnificent duet. Mostly, though, he had Brin run through drills, building up his muscle memory. The exercises were painful sometimes but over the month he gained a little something from the System, three separate times.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Dexterity +1

    Jeffrey¡¯s music also warded off his nightmares as well. He slept perfectly every night, until Jeffrey went on the road again. That night, Brin dreamt of Travin¡¯s Bog and the undead. He woke up on the floor, a nket wrapped tight around himself and panicking at how warm he felt. He didn''t think he screamed; a small mercy.

    Even after waking uppletely he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that the army was out there. Just out of sight, behind the treeline. He pictured them lined up in ranks. Waiting for him to be alone again.

    Honestly, did he <em>know</em> they weren¡¯t there? Hogg had mentioned that they didn¡¯t know where the army was, and that was a very, very bad thing. For all he knew, they really were scouting out the town, setting up an ambush. It might not be long until he was living in the ashes of another dead town, watching this group of people rotting in the middle of the street until they slowly, one by one, joined the army that killed them. He could see Hogg, Zilly, Davi, even Perris, all zombified and wearing those eerie tight ck clothes that all the undead soldiers had worn. They would attack him on sight, and before he''d die, he''d see a faint glimmer of recognition in their eyes...

    He shook off those thoughts. He wasn¡¯t the only one who knew about the undead. The entire kingdom was on the lookout now and they didn¡¯t need the help of a twelve-year-old boy. There was no reason for him to worry about it.

    He set off for his chores, another day at the mill. Stocky, dependable Davi worked circles around him like always. But when the work was done and after the [Millers] passed them each a small loaf of warm bread for lunch, Davi slouched forward as if he were trying to look smaller, shifted his eyes back and forth at least three time, and then started quickly walking <em>away</em> from his family¡¯s farm, towards the town walls.

    Brin obviously had no choice but to follow him.

    Davi zig-zagged down the streets, crossing from boardwalk to boardwalk, even though you really weren¡¯t supposed to do that. Luckily the day was dry enough that he didn¡¯t track mud everywhere, but it was obvious to anyone paying attention that Davi felt extremely guilty about whatever it was he was about to do. Which just made Brin want to follow him more.

    Lots of people were out and about, but no one gave the boy a second nce. After all, Davi was just walking down the street in the middle of the day. But just watching Davi¡¯s bodynguage, you¡¯d think he was breaking into the Louvre.

    More people gave Brin suspicious looks, which wasn¡¯t fair. <em>He</em> was cool as a cucumber.

    Davi ducked down an alley, and Brin followed close behind.

    Behind the houses there was only the wall and one of the guard towers. The gates were half a mile the other direction. Brin hadn¡¯t seen the inside of a guard tower, but they weren¡¯trge enough to hide much. From the ground floor there was just enough room for adder inside, or <em>maybe</em> a narrow spiral staircase.

    Davi raised his hand to knock on the guard tower door, but took onest look around. He saw Brin, and jumped two feet in the air before leaning his shoulder against the door, no doubt trying to look casual.

    ¡°Hey Brin, uh, yeah I¡¯m just¡­ All I¡¯m doing is¡­ I wanted to be alone for a minute. You know how it is,¡± said Davi.

    Brinughed. ¡°Sure Davi.¡± He walked past Davi and knocked on the guard tower door.

    The door opened, and Zilly was on the other side. Her brown curls bobbed as she pulled open the door, smiling. Oh, shoot, was this a date? Davi and Zilly--?

    ¡°Finally! I wasn¡¯t sure you were really going to¡­ wait. Davi! I can¡¯t bring my brother but you invited Brin?¡±

    Oh. If Zilly had tried to bring her brother, then at least this wasn¡¯t a¡­ romantic encounter. How embarrassing would that have been?

    ¡°Your brother can¡¯t keep up. And I didn¡¯t invite Brin, he followed me!¡± said Davi, eyes wide in panic.

    ¡°He looked so suspicious, I knew I had to be a part of it. Whatever it is,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Zilly said, nodding sagely. Davi¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion until Zilly mouthed the word ¡°[Rogue]¡± at him.

    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nothing. We¡¯re just waiting on Myra, then we can go,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Oh no. Do we have to?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well Myra was actually invited and you only got here a moment ago. You can hardlyin about waiting a few minutes,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just¡­ Myra. Let¡¯s go without her,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You don¡¯t like Myra?¡± asked Zilly. ¡°But she¡¯s so sweet! Everyone likes Myra.¡±

    Spoken like a true golden child. ¡°She¡¯s literally the worst.¡±

    Despite his protests, they ended up waiting for Myra. Zilly let them into the guard tower, and Brin had guessed correctly. A very narrow spiral staircase led the way upwards to above the walls where it opened up. It was fairly cramped inside, but only because Davi was an absolute unit of a twelve-year-old.

    ¡°So what are we doing?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°We¡¯re sneaking over to the snake pond,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. That didn¡¯t sound great. Like any sane person, snakes creeped him out. If he¡¯d known this was their goal, he probably wouldn¡¯t havee.

    Except if he was honest with himself, he was waiting for an opportunity like this. He needed friends. He needed people to talk to. Sure, it would be nice to have friends his own age, but the problem was that there <em>was no one</em> his own age. People his mind¡¯s age would see him as a child, even if they knew his secret like Hogg. People his body¡¯s age were actual children. But at least children wouldn¡¯t look down on him.

    A knock sounded on the door. Zilly opened the door to find Myra.

    Myra noticed Brin right away, and the innocent happy smile turned to a sneer as quick and easy as taking off a mask. ¡°Oh. Brin¡¯s here. Well I should¡¯ve expected it. Is someone breaking the rules? There Brin will be.¡±

    One sign that [Weavers] weren¡¯t as revered as everyone imed was a little bit of ng that Brin had picked up: Instead of saying ¡®You¡¯re lying¡¯, the people of Frenaria would say, ¡®You¡¯re weaving.¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who nned this. I¡¯m just tagging along. But please go on. I love to see you weave your weaves, <em>weaver</em>,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Better a weaver than a pre-[Witch],¡± said Myra.

    Zilly gasped. ¡°You can¡¯t <em>say</em> that!¡±

    Myra harrumphed. ¡°Everyone is saying it.¡±

    ¡°Everyone didn¡¯t know Siphani. But I did. And so did you,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Look, let¡¯s just go already,¡± Davi said, chiming in for the first time.

    Everyone was all too happy toply.

    The other kids suddenly hushed, and stepped on their tiptoes as they climbed the spiral staircase, as if they hadn¡¯t just been having a loud conversion two seconds ago. Brin rolled his eyes, but copied them.

    At the top of the tower deck, there wasn¡¯t anything to look at. During wartime, if that ever happened, there would be archers up here and probably supplies, but for now it was empty. Davi tied a rope to the beam holding the roof up, and then walked over and hopped off the edge.

    One after another, the three kids rappelled down the side of the watchtower with practiced ease like they were special forces or professional rock climbers. Even Zilly and Myra in their nearly floor-length skirts glided down like it was nothing.

    Brin followed suit, not nearly as smoothly, but he made it down without hurting himself. Maybe he¡¯d been too quick to congratte himself for catching up to the other children attribute-wise. Then again, these were the town¡¯s three golden children. It was natural that they¡¯d be more athletic than normal kids.

    The area between the wall and the forest waspletely clear, though this part didn¡¯t have any farms in the immediate area, there was a farm only half a mile away and several people working the field would see them easily if they looked in this direction. The four of them sprinted across.

    Honestly, this was a dumb n. Brin could think of at least six ways to sneak out past the walls without drawing any eyes. Somehow, no one saw them. Or no one cared.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly allowed for children to enter the forest, but it also wasn¡¯t unheard of. Hogg imed the [Hunters] and [Rangers] kept the area nearbypletely clear of monsters, and the rest of the town acted like this was the case.

    The forest was exciting rather than terrifying now that he wasn¡¯t alone, and now that he knew he wouldn¡¯t be immediately eaten by a horde of giant spiders. That particr memory put a chill in his spine, and he found himself scanning the area cautiously, even though he knew there was nothing there.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Scared of the forest, little Brin?¡± asked Myra.

    ¡°You would be, too, if you knew the kind of things that are out here,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh? Maybe we¡¯ll run into a rtive of yours,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Brin.

    He nced behind, to see Zilly ring daggers at Myra, who lookedpletely unapologetic.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly secret what had happened to Brin¡¯s family. This body''s family, that is. The boy¡¯s parents had probably died in the town and been taken by the undead. Maybe they had died with those that the Heroes had killed, but maybe they were still out there shambling around, looking for more unlucky vigers to kill. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever know for sure.

    ¡°What other things did you see in the forest?¡± asked Zilly, to change the subject.

    "I saw a giant spider," said Brin.

    "Oh, I''ve seen one of those!" Zilly said. "What else?"

    ¡°Not much. Things were pretty calm after I got rescued. You know, I don¡¯t remember much from¡­ before. But I remember a story about the forest. Want to hear it?¡±

    ¡°Yes please!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Once there was a girl named Little Red Riding Hood¡­¡±

    Little Red Riding Hood tranted pretty easily to ¡°Vercappsi¡±. It could all be said as one word in Frenarian just like in the original German, a rare example of things taking <em>less</em> time to say in Frenarian than it would in English. He told the story fairly straight. Red goes to visit her grandma with a basket of food. She¡¯s warned not to stray from the path, but she does anyway, and a wolf finds her. He stuck to the Grimm version, where the wolf swallows her grandmother and her whole, until they¡¯re saved when a lumberjack cuts the wolf open.

    So far, no one had liked his stories. Especially not his badly-retold recitations of Star Wars. But these three liked Little Red Riding Hood. That story''s relevance had been lost to modern America, but these kids <em>knew</em> the forest, and the story stuck with them. He could see it on their faces.

    When it was done, as if on cue, [Know What¡¯s Real] showed him something on a tree branch up ahead. Something invisible.

    He stopped. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Come on, Brin! Not funny!¡± said Zilly. She chuckled nervously, maybe a bit spooked from the story.

    It was probably just one of Hogg¡¯s invisible spies, watching his ¡°son¡± to make sure he didn¡¯t get into any real trouble. Brin almost appreciated the sentiment, but it still bothered him to be spied on.

    Brin picked up a rock from the ground. It took a second to find one, the soft ground around here was low on stone, but he found one and hurled it at the invisible something.

    He missed, of course.

    ¡°Hey Davi, I need you to throw a rock, right where I say,¡± said Brin. "See the second branch of that fat tree? Right where it twists a bit the second time off the trunk¡­¡±

    Of course Davi hit it the first time, going off of nothing except Brin¡¯s directions. The invisible something disappeared without a sound.

    ¡°I guess it was nothing,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly punched his shoulder. ¡°You really had me going!¡±

    The kids chuckled off their nerves, and kept walking.

    ¡°Tell another one,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Well, ok then,¡± said Brin. He told them Cindere this time.

    Lots of people who thought they knew more than they did would say the same thing anytime the conversation of Cindere came up. Namely that Disney ruined the story, but in the <em>real</em> version it was much darker. The truth was that there was no "real" version. The Brothers Grimm never created any stories, they only wrote them down. Those stories had been passed down mother to child for literally hundreds of years before that. The earliest recorded version of Cindere was actually happier than the Disney version. In that version, Cindere promptly forgave both of her stepsisters and did her best to find them rich suitors, and they all lived together happily in the castle. Brin didn¡¯t tell that story. He told the version where the stepsisters cut off their toes to try to fit in the slipper, and where Cindere, in her righteous fury, ordered her animalpanion doves to pluck out their treacherous eyes.

    Davi, Zilly and Myra patiently waited for him to finish his story. Then, when it was finished and he said the words ¡°happily ever after, The End¡± they all broke out in hystericalughter, all at once on cue.

    ¡°That¡­ that was the dumbest thing I¡¯ve ever heard,¡± said Myra, gasping in between roars ofughter.

    ¡°What''s wrong with her feet that no one else in the kingdom has her shoe size? And they¡­ they cut off their toes? Did they think he wouldn¡¯t notice?¡±ughed Davi.

    ¡°And that love story. What¡¯s with that? They just¡­ love each other all of a sudden? He didn¡¯t even know her name!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Ohe on. It¡¯s a ssic story! It¡¯s time-tested. A thousand years older than Hammon¡¯s Bog!¡± said Brin, though he really had no idea how old Hammon¡¯s Bog was.

    ¡°It¡¯s not even a love story,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Well I like it,¡± said Brin. ¡°Not every love story has to start with them hating each other.¡±

    ¡°Um. Yeah, duh, it does. Otherwise it¡¯s not a story,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve got a story like Brin¡¯s. Two people met and then all of a sudden they were in love. The End.¡±

    The three of them burst intoughter again, with Brin scowling, but mostly to y the part.

    ¡°Well, maybe I¡¯ll be an [Illusionist]. Then I could make <em>way</em> better stories than the cliched garbage Gustaff keeps ying,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s like, a whole troupe of people that makes those movies. I doubt some hick from a swamp could even get hired on with them,¡± said Davi. ¡°No insult intended.¡±

    ¡°What insult? Hick pride,¡± said Brin, then held his fist out. It wasn¡¯t really a thing here, but Davi caught on and gave him a fist-bump.

    ¡°Ok, one of you guys tell a story next,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No need,¡± said Zilly. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 4

    Book 2: Chapter 4

    There was only one very narrow patch of shore where solid ground met the water. The rest of the pond was surrounded by forest and muddy grass that floated on the water and would let you sink straight in if you tried to stand on it. The trees grew straight out of the water, so only the very middle of the pond was free from any kind of nt life.

    He panicked a bit when they arrived, because he suddenly remembered that this little vige had absolutely no taboos about nudity. Most people bathed by wiping themselves down with a wet washcloth, but when they did use a bathtub, more often than not it would be a big wooden tub that they set outside right out in the open.

    Luckily, whatever the kids had in mind didn¡¯t involve swimming. They took off their shoes and the girls tied their skirts up above their knees, but that was it.

    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Catching snakes,¡± said Zilly.

    The kids spread out in the shallows of the pond, wiping away the scum floating on top, looking underneath to peer into the murky depths. Brin took off his shoes and walked in as well, feeling the soft, heavy mud beneath his toes. He couldn¡¯t see anything in the dark water, and honestly he didn¡¯t think he really wanted to find a snake, but he went through the motions anyway.

    Brin heard a ssh, then saw Davi pull something out of the water. ¡°I got one!¡± he shouted.

    Davi pulled what looked like a squirming, wriggling foot-long rainbow out of the water. The snake was a light show of bright, shifting colors. It didn¡¯t bite Davi, instead it seemed determined to slip out of his grasp. He quickly dashed out of the water, ontond. Just in time, too, because the snake slipped out of his hands, only to hit the ground where Davi could quickly snatch it up again. This time he grabbed it right under the head, and stroked it while murmuring shushing sounds.

    Surprisingly, the snake seemed to settle down after a minute or two of that. Davi sat down and put the snake in hisp, continuing to make shushing sounds.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t it bite you?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°They¡¯re nice.¡±

    ¡°Is it dying?¡± Brin asked. He was surprised that he actually sort of cared about the colorful noodle. ¡°If it lives underwater then it probably can¡¯t live out in the air.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re amphibious,¡± said Myra. ¡°That means they can live on bothnd or water.¡±

    ¡°I know what amphibious means,¡± said Brin. ¡°But usually they still only breathe water or air. Nothing breathes both.¡±

    ¡°These do,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡¯ said Zilly.

    ¡°Can I pet it?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No. Get your own,¡± said Davi.

    Looking closer, the snake was even stranger than at first nce. It had a ridge on its head, going part way down its back, almost looking like a spine. There were six little bone nubs on its sides and one big nub at the end of the tail.

    And the colors! They shifted and swirled in a repeating pattern, and he noticed the individual scales shifted color, like each of them was a little LED. He looked closer, and when he was so close that his nose nearly touched the snake, [Know What¡¯s Real] pinged him, very softly. It was using illusion magic.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this. Snakes don¡¯t look like this.¡±

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not really a snake,¡± said Myra. ¡°It¡¯s warm-blooded. These little guys are scaly mammals.¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be true,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Well, if anyone knew how to recognize a snake, it would be you, Myra,¡± said Brin.

    That made Myra go red in the face, but instead of biting back with an insult, she looked down and muttered, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Davi stared down at his rainbow snake with renewed fascination. Zilly¡¯s eyes were darting back and forth between Myra and Brin, a fist on her chin. Myra said, ¡°I¡¯m going to catch one of my own.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with her,¡± said Zilly.

    As soon as they were back in the pond, making sshing sounds and whispering furiously at each other, Brin hissed at Davi, ¡°What did I say?¡±

    ¡°Why do you have to flirt with every girl, Brin?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°You called her a snake!¡±

    Brin ruffled his hair in frustration. ¡°Snakes are creepy, slimy liars.¡±

    ¡°No they aren¡¯t. Snakes are dragons!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°How is it that you grew up in the next town over and you don¡¯t know the simplest things?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t remember anything from before I got this scar on my head,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But you remembered those stories,¡± said Davi. ¡°So how could you forget that snakes are dragons?¡±

    ¡°How is a snake a dragon, Davi? That makes no sense,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°They¡¯re descended from dragons!¡±

    Brin stood up and paced back and forth, then remembered this conversation needed to be quiet, so he sat down next to Davi again. ¡°I take it that calling someone a snake is actually apliment.¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Well what do I do? It¡¯s not like you can apologize forplimenting someone,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Just tell her you didn¡¯t mean it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand the way girls¡¯ minds work. That¡¯ll just make them think I mean it even more,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ok¡­ alright. I¡¯ve got a n.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Just trust me.¡±

    Brin stared at Davi. The boy had brown eyes, but he noticed the green and golden highlights for the first time, like a brown pulling up a trove of pirate treasure from beneath the sea. Then his eyes shifted to the object in Davi¡¯sp.

    ¡°Fine. I trust you. Can I pet your snake?¡± He was d that they were both young enough that he got away with the unintended innuendo. He wasn''t trying to be weird, he just wanted to pet an exotic animal.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Come on! Just a little? I¡¯ll be gentle,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Fine. Just one time,¡± said Davi.

    The scales were soft like skin, and the snake was surprisingly warm for something that had been pulled from the pond just a minute ago.

    The girls sshed their way back onto shore, both of them snakeless.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you can always catch one so easily,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°You just have to have a magic touch,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Does Brin have the magic touch, too? Because he¡¯s got his fingers all over your dragon,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin pulled his hand away like it had been burned, then red at Zilly, who burst outughing. Myra said nothing and had her eyes glued to the ground.

    Davi cleared his throat. ¡°So listen¡­ I thought of a story I want to tell. Brin hasn¡¯t heard it before. It goes like this:<blockquote>

    ¡°On the earliest earth when the boughs bore buds

    And the worlds were weak with frequent floods

    The first and foremost of the fire-wyrms, Gardener, a dragon dread and dear

    She who shaped thends with fire and with fear

    Brought forth three bairns, though none could shine as she

    Three mighty dragons, lords ofnd and sea

    But none as noble as their baleful bearer

    She who ruled them all with gentle love and awful terror

    Four followed from her sons, who fled to feast and fight

    Each a new me, though lesser in their light,

    So wanes the wyrmkind, weaker with each whelp

    Till nought remains but belly, bane, and bite

    But still the old and awesome ones abide

    They sleep beneath the hills and dream under the tide.¡±</blockquote>

    ¡°How are you doing that?¡± Zilly yelled, looking at Davi as if she¡¯d never seen him before.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Myra moaned, in mock terror.

    Brinughed. ¡°Davi. Davi. Davi¡­ I don¡¯t even know where to start.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± asked Davi, offended.

    ¡°Where did all thate from? You sound like a smart person!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°It¡¯s called memorization,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°You MEMORIZED all of that?¡± asked Zilly. ¡°How much longer does it go?¡±

    ¡°I was only a quarter of the way there,¡± said Davi.

    Zilly sat down, dumbstruck.

    Davi¡¯s face darkened just a little, and Brin got a little worried about the little snake friend but Davi didn¡¯t tighten his grip.

    ¡°Just because I¡¯m a farmer doesn¡¯t mean I have to be stupid.¡±

    ¡°No one says that,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Yeah, no one is saying that,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°But we are all thinking it rather loudly,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly burst outughing, and they keptughing until Davi¡¯s frown broke and he joined in. Myra didn¡¯tugh but even she couldn¡¯t resist a smile.

    Brin found himself looking back to the water. Could it be that there really was a race of tiny dragons living in that pond? Maybe all snakes weren¡¯t descended from dragons, just the magical glowing rainbow mammal snakes.

    He wanted one. Brin walked back into the pond, walking the shallows back and forth, scanning with his eyes. [Know What¡¯s Real] should warn him if he ever got a glimpse of one. When he looked at Davi¡¯s snake it was very subtle, as if the Skill were telling him that the snakes were only <em>kind of</em> using illusions. Could it be natural camouge? He didn¡¯t actually know if his Skill would warn him about non-magical illusions. Hogg might know more about the snakes.

    No matter how hard he looked, he couldn¡¯t see even a glimpse of color in the muddy water. [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t chime in at all.

    After a half hour, the other kids gave up and started making sounds about leaving. Davi slid his back into the water, where it darted away in a sh of color.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t exactly bring it home.¡±

    ¡°Does anyone keep one of these as a pet?¡±

    ¡°Some kids try, but they¡¯re expensive to feed,¡± said Davi.

    Brin didn¡¯t need to worry about money right now. Hogg was loaded, and Brin had a few coins stashed away himself. The twenty-two silver worth of coins he¡¯d found in the ruins of Travin¡¯s Bog were worth nothing to the Heroes, but to a small town like Hammon¡¯s Bog it was enough to livefortably for an entire year.

    Brin pulled off his shirt, then his pants. He kept his undershorts on; they had a drawstring and pre-industrial society or not, he wasn¡¯t ready to get totally naked in front of his friends.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Davi, clearly worried.

    Before anyone could talk him out of it, Brin dove into the water. He swam into theke, further and further, going deeper and deeper. He could only see a foot or so in front of his face, and as the water got darker, that went to a couple inches.

    He was still pretty sure he¡¯d be able to get to the middle of theke without trouble. He was a pretty strong swimmer. As a teenager whenever he¡¯d gone to the pool, he and his friends had alwayspeted to see who could go the furthest underwater. He could go all the way across the twenty-five meter pool and back without taking a breath or touching the surface.

    He reached the bottom; it snuck up on him so he didn¡¯t know he was there until his nose nearly touched the ground. Instead of being t, it rolled gently in lots of big, windy hills.

    He started to see color in the water around him. Nothing close enough to see the snakes themselves, just the effect of the color they generated in the water around him.

    Oddly enough, the water seemed to clear up the further towards the center he swam, until he could see six or seven feet in all directions. Some of the snakes swam into view,zily turning circles in the water, their scales shifting in dazzling colors.

    Something moved below him. Something huge, and then the whole pond lit up. The ground beneath him, what he¡¯d taken for little winding hills, it was all moving.

    Not hills at all, it was one gigantic snake.

    It shook off the umted dirt, and it looked like the entire pond lit up. First a light blue, then shifting towards purple, then green.

    Panicking, he swam up to get away, but the giant snake didn¡¯t follow. It settled back down and was still again. He still wanted away. He was tinypared to that thing. He was nothing. Maybe these snakes were friendly like Davi imed, but even friendly animals might eat bugs, and that¡¯s what he was. A bug.

    He swam upwards, straining against the water. It was taking too long. From the pressure on his ears, it felt like he was only 15 or so feet down, so it should only take a few seconds to get up, but the seconds passed by and he seemed no closer to getting to the surface.

    He tried not to panic. If straight up didn¡¯t work, he needed to go across. He needed to go back the way he came in. He turned and swam back towards shore, or where he thought shore was. He might have gotten turned around a bit.

    A snake appeared in front of him, swimming idly, as if Brin weren¡¯t in a life or death situation here. He moved to swim around it, but it followed, staying right in front of his face.

    He grabbed it, and rather than try to squirm away, it wrapped itself around his hand.

    That very moment his head breached the surface and he took a hungry gasp of air.

    He swam towards the shore, and it took him longer to get back, shaken the way he was. It was also sort of awkward to swim with the snake wrapped around his hand.

    When he finally made it to shore, he fell down onto his back, uncaring of how he was covering himself with mud. Land. He was safe.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare) You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    An achievement! That was a good sign. But usually achievements gave some kind of bonus to attributes or something. This didn¡¯t seem to have given him anything. Unless he included the snake wrapped around his hand.

    ¡°You were down there for a long time,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know people could hold their breath that long before they got a ss.¡±

    ¡°How are you keeping that snake so calm?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. This little guy seemed to want toe with me,¡± said Brin. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to keep him. Actually, do you know how to tell if it¡¯s a girl or a boy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a boy. Look how manly he looks,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°It¡¯s the tail,¡± said Myra. ¡°And you can¡¯t keep him.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°How are you going to exin where you got him? You¡¯re going to get us in trouble,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Hogg will believe me if I say I don¡¯t have any friends.¡±

    Myra nodded. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s something that people will believe.¡±

    Good, so they were back to this. It was good that identallyplimenting her wasn¡¯t going to make things weird.

    He started stroking the snake down the back, the way Davi had before.

    The snake popped his head up, opened his eyes, looking around. He seemed to meet the eyes of each of the kids in turn, including Brin. His eyes shifted colors the way the rest of his body did, never settling on just one color.

    He seemed more alert than Davi¡¯s snake had, like he was interested in the world and ready to be a part of it.

    He started to lean into Brin¡¯s scritches, so Brin scritched a little harder, and the snake shook a bit, make a soft growling sound, maybe something close to a purr. Then he yawned, and Brin got a look at the inside of his mouth.

    He had a wide tongue, and his teeth were t, almost like a human¡¯s. It was unnerving but also kind of cute, especially with the way his yawn stretched out and he made a soft gasping sound. Then he slithered up Brin¡¯s forearm and snuggled into the crook of his elbows and closed his eyes.

    ¡°What are you going to name him?¡± asked Zilly.

    Brin noticed onest thing about the snake. He had a tiny line where he didn¡¯t shift colors; a thin white scar on the back of his neck.

    Brin knew the name at once. Then he remembered Little Red Riding Hood, who he¡¯d named ¡°Vercappsi¡± in Frenarian. The ¡®si¡¯ was something you could add to a word to mean ¡®little¡¯ or ¡®cute¡¯. It was perfect. ¡°Marksi. I¡¯ll name him Marksi.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 5

    Book 2: Chapter 5

    ¡°I suppose you want to keep that thing in my house,¡± said Hogg, ring at Marksi.

    They were in Hogg¡¯s living room. The area was much more colorful and civilized than you¡¯d expect from an old hermit in the woods. Brin sat on yellow loveseat on a lush woven carpet with colorful, swirly patterns. Hogg reclined in a red lounge chair. An end table nearby was covered with books, and he¡¯d set a ss of lemonade on top of that. The ss was covered in frost, because of the ice in the drink, which came from an extravagantly expensive enchanted ice-maker in the kitchen.

    Hogg didn¡¯t invite people into his home very often. Brin had only ever seen him invite the Prefit in, and only once. But those who <em>did</em> get to see inside Hogg¡¯s home were treated to a clear picture: Hogg had done very, very well for himself as an adventurer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep him in my room. You¡¯ll hardly see him.¡±

    For some reason, that made Hogg re harder. ¡°You¡¯re grounded.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re joking,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No. Yes. A little. You went outside the walls without permission, and everyone in this town agrees that that¡¯s against the rules. I¡¯ll have to punish you. To fulfill my parental obligations, or something. Hm¡­ grounding won¡¯t work; you don¡¯t have any friends..¡±

    ¡°Rude. And I thought I was a bit of a special case,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Sure, but if you want to keep your little secret, then I have to y the part, don¡¯t I? If anyone asks, tell them you were <em>severely</em> punished. I¡¯m surprised you told me, to be honest.¡±

    ¡°How would I exin the snake otherwise?¡± asked Brin.

    Marksi started to wake up with the sound of voices. He poked his head up and blinked at the world with tired eyes. Hogg¡¯s eyes were fixed on the snake with a strange intensity.

    ¡°Also¡­¡± continued Brin. ¡°I figured you already knew. With those invisible watchers you¡¯ve got everywhere.¡±

    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t spy on people as much as you¡¯d think. It¡¯s liable to blow my cover. You¡¯d think having <em>more</em> information would help you stay hidden, but that¡¯s not always the case. Sometimes the easiest way to pretend you don¡¯t know something is to actually not know it. I try to mind my own business, for the most part.¡±

    Did Hogg think he didn¡¯t know about the invisible illusions that were following him around everywhere? Whatever. If Hogg wanted a wink wink, nudge nudge sort of understanding, that was fine with Brin.

    ¡°You know, I wanted to ask. These snakes set off my [Know What¡¯s Real] Skill. I think maybe he¡¯s using illusion magic to change colors like that. But it got me wondering. Can my Skill see through other forms of deception, or is it only illusion magic?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say anything about your Skill, but for the little guy here¡­ can I?¡±

    Brin handed him over. ¡°His name is Marksi.¡±

    ¡°Cute. But don¡¯t think just because you¡¯re cute that I¡¯m going to¡­¡±

    Marksi, still sleepy from his nap in Brin¡¯s arms, gave out a long squeaky yawn,plete with a happy sigh at the end.

    ¡°Did you see that, Brin? Did you hear that little squeak? Well listen, Marksi, that¡¯s not going to work. I¡¯m too old and have seen too many things for¡­ for¡­¡±

    Marksi curled up around Hogg¡¯s arm, and rubbed his hand with his cheek. Hogg started petting him, and Marksi made the vibrating sound that Brin was increasingly certain was a purr.

    Hogg turned his back. ¡°Well, why don¡¯t I get started making up a little habitat for this fe. You can go get him what he needs.¡±

    ¡°What does he eat?¡± said Brin. ¡°I heard it¡¯s expensive.¡±

    ¡°Fruit. Bugs. Neither of those are hard. [Fishers] have bug-catching Skills. Any of them will give you a jarful for free if you bring your own jar. There¡¯s one other thing, though. Magic.¡±

    ¡°Magic,¡± repeated Brin. His instincts still told him that people must be joking when they said things like that, but unlike his previous world, magic was just another part of life here.

    ¡°You¡¯ll need to buy enchanted items. He¡¯ll suck the magic right out of them, turn them dull. You can get Chamy to enchant some marbles for you; it¡¯ll cost a pretty penny.¡±

    ¡°Would your magic work?¡±

    ¡°It would. But a [Rogue] couldn''t do that, so we still need to buy stuff to exin how we¡¯re keeping him alive in case anyone asks.¡±

    ¡°How much are those marbles?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let her charge you more than a silver and six bits per marble.¡±

    Brin winced.

    He walked around to see what Hogg was doing with his back turned. Hogg had conjured up an illusionary berry, and Marksi hopped up to take a bite out of it. The berry warped and fell apart, turning into a slow explosion of motes of light. Marksi slid from one to the next, catching as many as he could. Hogg chuckled as he watched, then red at Brin for noticing.

    ¡°Maybe head over there now. You¡¯ll need to get to know her at some point anyway. He¡¯ll eat a marble every month or so, but probably best to get two or three to start. Heat and cold enchantments would be best. Maybe see what Perris thinks while you¡¯re at it.¡±

    The first stop was with the [Enchantress], and Brin had no idea what to expect. Standing outside her shop, he still didn¡¯t. The sign on the door advertised ¡°Chamy the [Enchantress], by appointment only¡± and he had no idea how to go about making such an appointment.

    He only stood outside for a few minutes before she opened the door. Chamy was a tall, elegant-looking woman with tightly bound gray hair, and quick ck eyes peering out from behind a long, hooked nose. She wore a ck dress that covered her feet and had a neckline up to her jaw. Lace at the end of her sleeves covered her hands and she swished them around when she spoke. Something about the way she looked at him made him stand up straighter and want to brush the dust off his clothes.

    ¡°Hogg mentioned you¡¯d being by. Come in, then.¡±

    Hogg must¡¯ve sent a mirror image, since Brin knew the old [Illusionist] was still back at the house with Marksi.

    He stepped inside, curious about what an [Enchantress¡¯] shop would look like. He expected bottles and tinctures, maybe strange runes, a glowing cauldron, and possibly low-hanging fog throughout the room.

    Instead, it looked like a sitting room. An expensive sitting room, with velvet sofas and a finely carved coffee table, and a big standing harp in the corner. The harp yed itself, a soft and gentle song, and now that he was looking for it, he noticed amp in the corner giving off a light that was much too steady. No one would waste oil in the middle of the day. Themp, like the harp, was enchanted.

    ¡°Come in. Have a seat, anywhere you like,¡± she said, and disappeared down the hall.

    Looking down at himself, he realized he waspletely out of ce around all this finery. Next time he¡¯d put on his best clothes beforeing here. He nervously walked into the sitting room and considering all the options, sat down on the loveseat, though he sat on the very edge and kept his back straight.

    She returned a littleter with a tray and a little folding table. She ced the table in front of him and the tray on top of it, and now he could see that it was covered with slices of bread. Some of them had cheese, others slices of minced ham, and some only smeared with mustard. Ah yes, this pre-industrial society hadn¡¯t perfected the sandwich yet, but they were <em>so close</em>. All they had to do was put two of these slices together. Well, they needed to develop on their own. He wasn¡¯t here to lightspeed their society two hundred years into the future.

    Chamy picked up one of the open sandwiches, then sat down on the high-backed club chair opposite him. ¡°Boys your age are always hungry. Go on, eat it all. You wouldn¡¯t want to offend me, hm?¡±

    Brin dug in. She was obviously correct, he was always hungry. He might¡¯ve had a dyed puberty, probably due to malnourishment, but it was all catching up to him now. Every day he seemed to be taller, stronger, and angrier than the day before. And always <em>always</em> hungry.

    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t expect me to put on tea. I take no drink with food. It¡¯s not healthy,¡± said Chamy.

    ¡°No ma¡¯am. Yes ma¡¯am,¡± said Brin in between mouthfuls.

    ¡°Now, I know some feel differently, but I¡¯m very mindful of my digestion and I¡¯ve found¡­¡±

    Chamy went on for a bit about the various benefits of abstaining from fluids while eating. During his past life¡¯s go-around as a teenager, he probably would have resented yet another adult feeling the need to give a lecture, but he realized she was just talking so that he wouldn¡¯t feel self-conscious eating in front of her. When he polished off thest open sandwich¨Ca mustard one which he definitely shouldn¡¯t have saved forst¨Cshe asked, ¡°So what brings you into my shop?¡±

    Some shop. Did she not use any tools because it was all Skill-based? Or maybe she didn¡¯t want people to see her real workspace. He didn¡¯t know if it was polite to ask, so instead he answered her question. ¡°I¡¯ve got a new pet. A snake, but he sort of glows like a rainbow.¡±

    ¡°I know the kind. You didn¡¯t run off into the forest, did you? No lies now.¡±

    ¡°I would never tell you any lies, ma¡¯am,¡± said Brin.

    She curled an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. When he didn¡¯t, she said, ¡°Hmph. Good answer. Now, tell me, what do you know about keeping snakes?¡±

    ¡°I only need a couple enchanted¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what you need. First, a habitat. A snake is not a dog. He can¡¯t sleep in your bed. You¡¯ll need to build him a habitat. How long is he?¡±

    ¡°A bit under a foot long,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°At least twenty gallons then, for his tank. Snakes like to burrow, so you¡¯ll need lots of sand or loose soil. He¡¯s amphibious, so you¡¯ll also need a pool. Change the water every other day or he¡¯ll suffocate. You¡¯ll need to clean the tank, this includes changing out the sand¡­¡±

    Brin was treated to the full educational seminar on raising pet snakes. She taught him how to y with him, how much exercise he needed, how to tell if he was too hot or too cold, how to tell if he was tired, how to tell if he was about to bite. The works. Only when all that was done did she finally get around to the reason he was there in the first ce.

    ¡°The most important thing is temperature. I¡¯m going to give you three marbles,¡± she pulled them from a sack at her belt as she spoke. She tapped them each in turn, which caused them to glow softly. ¡°One for heat, one for cold, and one to measure temperature. This one will grow green if it¡¯s too hot and purple if it¡¯s too cold. It must stay at a nice light blue. He won¡¯t be able to eat this marble like the other two, so you can use it to tell when they stop working.¡±

    With his marbles finally in hand, Brin paid the woman and said his goodbyes. She painstakingly counted out the entire three silvers, two copper pennies and two bits, before wishing him on his way.

    The next stop was Perris¡¯ shop, and although Chamy had turned out to be a lot nicer than he¡¯d expected, this was the stop he was really looking forward to.

    He opened the door to see Perris staring morosely out the window, but when the shopkeeper noticed Brin at the door, his face erupted with a smile.

    ¡°Brin! Perfect! That fool of an adventurer Reinal ising back for his nge today and I¡¯ve a n to take him for everything he¡¯s worth!¡± Perris stroked his mustache, glee like dark fire in his eyes.

    ¡°That sounds so fun! But I should warn you, I¡¯m not here as a friend today. I¡¯vee to do battle,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You? You, shopping from me? Ha! I¡¯ve foreseen this day, but I¡¯ll admit I didn¡¯t expect it toe so soon. A sword is it? n to rack up some achievements before your System day? Well I can give you the sword to do it. If you can afford it, that is,¡± Perris punctuated his statement by plucking out a hair from his mustache and erupting intoughter.

    ¡°No, I was hoping to see your trash,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°My... trash?¡± asked Perris.

    ¡°Your garbage. I need enchantments that aren¡¯t useful for anything. For my snake to eat,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, oh, oh!¡± Perris said, lighting up. ¡°You know, I had one of those at your age. The times we had¡­ If there was just one thing I could go back and do different¨C Well you don¡¯t want to hear about that. To the trash!¡±

    Perris led him across the rows of leather armor, to a big strongbox. It looked like a treasure chest that pirates might have,plete with a ck iron lock.

    ¡°This box is the first one. The chest unlocks itself. Meaning¨Cit won¡¯t stay locked,¡± said Perris.

    He bumped the lock with his fist, and the chest sprung open. He reached inside.

    ¡°Keeping to the theme, a belt that unsps itself. Now this <em>will</em> stay sped. Until someone says the keyword. People buy it as a prank, but I¡¯ll warn you everyone in town knows the keyword,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Buy it and I¡¯ll tell you,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°How many times have you sold this particr belt?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Now you¡¯re asking the right question! At least twelve men of this town havepassionately gifted this belt to one of their friends, by discreetly switching it out with their regr belt as a prank. The victim of this misdeed will inevitably sell the device back to me, at a much reduced cost, I might add.¡±

    ¡°Ooh, now I have to have it,¡± said Brin, rubbing his hands together.

    ¡°Two silvers,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°Chamy will give me her marbles for one,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ah but I can resell this belt. It¡¯s a permanent source of ie for me. If your snake eats it, the game is up.¡±

    ¡°And how many more people are going to fall for the belt prank? For this belt with a¡­ very distinctive moon pattern on the front,¡± said Brin.

    Perris frowned. ¡°Not many.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you half a silver for it. Thirty copper pennies,¡± said Brin.

    Perris grinned. ¡°Well done! I¡¯ve taught you well. Or have I? Perhaps I taught you wrong on purpose, to make you more easy to take advantage of?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m just letting you think that, until I swoop in for the kill,¡± said Brin, matching Perris¡¯ predatory expression.

    ¡°Yonkers.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The password is Yonkers,¡± said Perris.

    Then he noticed it. The belt had quickly and silently unsped itself and sprung out straight as a rod.

    They went through the chest, examining items one-by-one. Some of the ¡°junk¡± was still worth more than a silver, so Perris refused to sell it at Brin¡¯s prices. Some of it was worth much less than the belt. At the end of the barter, Brin came away with a bell that wouldn¡¯t stop ringing (covered with a sock for the noise), a copper coin that alwaysnded on tails, a spoon that repelled liquid, and a teacup that could mend itself when it shattered (except for one missing piece at the bottom).

    He was examining a silver dagger that couldn¡¯t cut flesh, a safety dagger for whittling that he couldn¡¯t really afford, when Perris said, ¡°You talked to Chamy first, yes? I suppose she gave you all sorts of advice for keeping your¡­ new friend warm andfortable.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then take my advice and ignore all of it.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Those aren¡¯t normal snakes,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°Finally someone says it!¡± said Brin. ¡°Everyone keeps acting like it¡¯s so normal; I felt like I was losing my mind.¡±

    ¡°Those snakes have a noble lineage. A mighty ancestry. But they¡¯ve forgotten who they are. They¡¯rezy. They stay safe in their pool, never learning what they are, what they truly <em>could be</em>.¡±

    ¡°So what should I do?¡±

    ¡°Hurt him,¡± Perris whispered into his ear. Then he switched sides and whispered into the other ear. ¡°<em>Torture</em> him. Make him suffer. He¡¯s never suffered before, and he never will, not until the day of his death, when he dies fat andzy and <em>small.</em> A worm, never dreaming of the heights he may have reached.¡±

    Brin turned around to see Perris, with a devilish light in his eye. Sometimes Brin wondered if Perris was pretending to be a viin, or if he was only pretending to be pretending. The shopkeeper''s voice grew steadily louder, until he was nearly shouting.

    ¡°Unless you teach him pain. Unless you make him hurt to make him grow. No one is born a fighter, Brin. No one can fight until they¡¯ve felt terror deep in their bones, until they¡¯ve felt worthless, until they¡¯ve given into despair and seen the bottom of their souls. Teach him to fight. Teach him to fear and grow angry.¡±

    ¡°But not with you! No, never with you. You must be his light, his guardian angel. You¡¯ll have to deceive and manipte. Let him think you¡¯re his protector, and guide him into every sort of adversity you can find for him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a little early for you to hear this, but this is good advice for fatherhood, too,¡± finished Perris, then started to cackle.

    One of the odd facts about this guy was that he was married with two daughters, although Brin had never met them. He made a mental note to catch them together sometime, because he just couldn¡¯t picture it. Perris imed his younger daughter brought him lunch every day, but it was always during Brin¡¯s work shift so he¡¯d never seen it happen.

    He shook his head. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you¡¯re a father. Everyone says they¡¯re both really nice and well-adjusted, too.¡±

    ¡°Because it <em>works</em>,¡± said Perris.

    Brin chuckled. ¡°Ok, if you say so.¡±

    ¡°Onest thing,¡± Perris said, catching Brin half-way out the door. ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t let him die. If you can¡¯t keep him, return him to the pond. If he dies, the Guardian will never give you another.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 6

    Book 2: Chapter 6

    Brin left the general store, promising himself he¡¯d follow Perris¡¯ advice. At least, the advice about keeping his pet alive. As for the rest? He¡¯d try Chamy¡¯s way first and see where that got him.

    Despite his best efforts to ignore it, Perris¡¯ advice kept ringing around in his head. Particrly the phrase <em>fat andzy and small. A worm.</em> It was like an annoying pop song. One thates over the radio or something before you can change the channel, and even though you didn¡¯t want to hear it the first time it keeps tumbling around in your brain.

    It was bad advice. He was sure of it. He¡¯d gone through all the things Perris had talked about in Travin¡¯s Bog. Terror, the feeling of worthlessness, and then the anger. Deep, slow anger that led him to building those traps, even though it didn¡¯t really benefit him very much, and even though it may have given him away.

    He¡¯de through all of that, but did that make him better than the children who hadn¡¯t gone through trauma like that? Myra, Zilly, and Davi all outshined him. The only thing that made him special was the lifetime of memories inside his head.

    <em>Fat andzy and small. A worm.</em> That was how he¡¯d died in his past life. This life would be different.

    <em>Fat andzy and small. A worm. Arg! Would you stop that, brain?</em>

    Was he beingzy? He knew he wasn¡¯t. He¡¯d worked his butt off the first two months after he came to town. After that, well, he worked as hard as he was expected to. He¡¯d also done a lot of ying around. But that¡¯s what he was supposed to be doing. He was a child; Solia had said so. He had the body of a child and that made him a child.

    He was more than just a child. He could be doing more.

    When he got back to Hogg¡¯s house, he¡¯d made up his mind.

    He swung the door open and said, ¡°I want to start training my Strength.¡±

    Hogg was standing over a big wooden box set up on the table. It was an ordinary wooden box, rectangr in shape, andpletely at odds with the rest of the finely furnished living room.

    ¡°What?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, wait, first tell me how¡¯s Marksi doing? Is that his tank?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°It is. Hurry,e see. And hush,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin tiptoed over and looked inside. He didn¡¯t know why, but when Hogg said he was making a habitat for Marksi, he¡¯d expected a ss tank like he¡¯d use to keep a pet snake in his old world. Of course, ss wasn¡¯t something you could get on short notice around here. Hogg had fashioned it out of wood.

    It lookedfortable. There was a little pool, some nts for variety, and a lot of sandy loam, everything that Chamy had told him to provide. Marksi had buried himself except for his head and the tip of his tail. The sand vibrated with the little snake¡¯s purrs.

    ¡°He thinks he¡¯s hiding,¡± said Hogg. ¡°He thinks we can¡¯t see him.¡±

    Brin chuckled. It was pretty cute. ¡°I got the stuff.¡±

    He showed Hogg the lightly enchanted items he¡¯d gotten from Perris and Chamy, and they decided to start with the marbles.

    Putting all three of the marbles in the middle caused it to heat up too quickly, so they kept the cooling one towards the center and the heating one on the edge, across from the pool of water. That cooled it too much, but with some more trial and error they found ces for the marbles to make it just right, so that the temperature-telling marble turned a nice light blue.

    Marksi was supremely interested in what they were doing. He followed the marbles around every time they moved one of them, and always rubbed his head against their fingers when they were nearby.

    Once they¡¯d finally gotten the cement just right, Marksi ruined it by scattering some sand over the cooling marble, which made the temperature marble turn a little green. They brushed it off, but Marksi did it again.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. He knows what temperature he likes better than us. I can¡¯t believe he already figured out what the marbles do. You¡¯re such a smart little guy, Marksi,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°So, we¡¯re just going to totally abandon the world-weary tough guy personality then,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg¡¯s scarred face turned to Brin with a withering re, proving that he still had it in him. ¡°Marksi is cute, ok? He¡¯s damn cute. I¡¯m man enough to admit that. Now, I could sit here and pretend my eyes don¡¯t see what they see, but no. I refuse. Not in my own house. And if you tell anyone¡­¡±

    ¡°Please. I¡¯m already keeping your secrets. I can add one more to the list,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good,¡± said Hogg. He leaned over the tank and made clicking noises while wagging his finger back and forth, grinning in delight as Marksi slithered back and forth to follow him.

    ¡°Oh, right, I had something I wanted to ask you,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°About building up your Strength?¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was thinking. When I was in Perris¡¯ shop, he thought I was there to buy a sword to try to grab some Achievements before my System Day. Now, I know there are Achievements that you can only earn if you fulfill their requirements before you get your System unlocked. Warbound is an example.¡±

    ¡°Stop right there. What you¡¯re asking for is illegal. And it¡¯s <em>wrong</em>. I¡¯ve already told you why. It¡¯s one of the first things I ever taught you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for the requirements for some weird torture ss. I just want to know the kind of things that any kid would know. Stuff they¡¯d get by osmosis from growing up here,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Sorry kid. There¡¯s rules you break, and rules you don¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°And there¡¯s rules you bend. Can you at least tell me if I¡¯m wasting my time with the Strength training?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a waste of time,¡± Hogg admitted.

    ¡°If I¡¯m going to do the Strength training anyway, I should set myself a goal, don¡¯t you think? I should pick a number. At random.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re killing me. Alright. If I were to pick a random number, I¡¯d say go for 26,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Twenty-six? Not twenty-five? Seems like it should be twenty-five,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t make the rules,¡± said Hogg.

    Twenty-six was <em>extremely</em> doable. He¡¯d already gained six Strength in thest four months, although four of those were from the first two months when Hogg had been working him like a dog.

    He just needed seven more points of Strength and his Warbound achievement would give him thest two he needed to bring him up to twenty-six. One thing he¡¯d learned is that Warbound rounded up to the nearest whole number; when he got to fifteen it had pushed him up to sixteen.

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± said Brin. ¡°Thinking about it, I¡¯m already likely to have that before my System day.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s almost like we know what we¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Ok, then, if you¡¯re so smart, help me make a workout routine. Let¡¯s say I want to hit that threshold as soon as possible, and maybe put my eyes on the next one above it. At fifty-two, probably? I have some ideas on how to build Strength from my old world, but first I wanted to ask what you think,¡± said Brin.

    In his past life, Brin had spent an hour at the gym maybe two or three times a week. He¡¯d never really bulked up, but he¡¯d been around guys that did enough to get the general idea. Work out a lot. Eat a lot. Sleep a lot. Don¡¯t skip leg day.

    Hogg said, ¡°There¡¯s two ways for you to get your Strength up, as far as I can tell. First, the System will recognize differences in your natural body. Boys your age will increase their Strength just from being alive and growing up. Second, the System will reward you for training andpleting feats of Strength. The important thing to keep in mind here is that the System wants big, exceptional effort, and it¡¯s better if it¡¯s all one task that actually has a use, rather than, say, picking up a boulder and putting it down again a thousand times.¡±

    ¡°I see. Then is there any way you can adjust things so that for my morning chores I get jobs that have clear beginning and endings?¡±

    ¡°Everyone wants those chores,¡± said Hogg. ¡°We do a rotating schedule. You get what you get. But you can still make it work for you if you put a little oomph into it.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ is that what Davi¡¯s doing? He¡¯s already past twenty-six, isn¡¯t he?¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I can see other people¡¯s status screens,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But I¡¯d say he¡¯s well past it.¡±

    ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll do it like this¡­¡±

    The next day, Brin woke up early. The town would ring a bell for the start of work at what would be eight in the morning in his world, which was an hour past dawn since they were in early autumn, so Brin woke up two hours before that and started a weight training routine. He didn¡¯t have weights, but Hogg had some old weapons he could use. There were two big spiked maces he used as kettlebells. He used filled water jugs for dumbbells and a couple of heavy chains worked for battle ropes.

    When Marksi saw what he was doing, the little snake immediately wanted to be a part of it, though it was clear he didn¡¯t know what was going on. Marksi imitated Brin¡¯s movements as best he could. When Brin did push-ups, Marksi sort of lifted himself up and down. When Brin did curls, Marksi picked up a stick with his mouth and bounced up and down.

    Brin couldn¡¯t help but smile at the antics, and found himself more motivated to keep going while coaching Marksi at the same time. ¡°Five, six, seven, eight. Good! We have two more reps; let¡¯s do this!¡±

    By the end, the poor little snake was panting on the ground, all drawn out like a discarded shoce. Brin put him back and his tank with an extra berry and the enchanted copper coin as a reward.

    ¡°You did great, Marksi! We¡¯ll do this again tomorrow,¡± said Brin.

    Maybe he wouldn¡¯t need to do Perris¡¯ torture routine. Maybe Marksi would be motivated by Brin¡¯s example and they could get stronger together.

    Next he made his own breakfast. He ate six eggs, and half of a chicken they¡¯d cooked the night before, and then finished it off with an entire mato, a leafy vegetable the size of a grapefruit that had a sort of sour taste, like cabbage soaked in vinegar. The locals loved it, and he was starting to get used to it, meaning he could get it down without gagging.

    Breakfast was as much as he¡¯d eaten in an entire day before, and by the end he was full to bursting, but that was one of the keys to bulking up. You had to eat <em>way</em> more than you thought you should, especially since he didn¡¯t have ess to things like creatine and protein shakes. The one bonus was that it wouldn¡¯t be hard to eat clean. No added sugar, no processed food here. Well, lots of the meat was <em>heavily</em> preserved, but it wouldn¡¯t be hard to get fresh meat. In a town this size, someone always had a chicken or goat for sale, not to mention the [Hunters] who would asionally bring back seven hundred pounds of edible monster.

    After breakfast he was close to the morning bell. How he knew that, he wasn¡¯t sure, but in the world without clocks he¡¯d sort of grown a sixth sense for when that bell was about to ring. The bottom line was that he waste.

    As he stepped out the door, he heard Marksi make a whining sound. He went back to the cage and looked in. Marksi moved t against the wall nearest him, trying to climb out.

    ¡°Not now, Marksi! I¡¯m going to bete!¡± said Brin.

    Marksi whined louder.

    ¡°Ok, but if youe with me, you¡¯ll have to stay with me the entire day!¡± said Brin. ¡°There¡¯s no going home if you get bored.¡±

    Marksi flopped down and turned around in a circle.

    ¡°Fine!¡±

    Brin put Marksi on his shoulders, and the snake quickly curled around his neck like a short little scarf, and promptly went to sleep.

    Brin was nearlyte, so he ran the entire way through the forest, and into town.

    As soon as he crossed through the gates he got a notification.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Vitality +1

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Marksi¡¯s heavy breathing interrupted, and he opened his eyes to look at Brin, worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s good! I got stronger,¡± said Brin. ¡°You know, it looks like I won¡¯t be able to train Strength without Vitality going up as well. I wonder if I can get both of them to twenty-six.¡±

    Marksi nodded and went back to sleep.

    Brin¡¯s job today was at the carpentry. The carpenters would cut whole tree trunks into various boards and nks with big hand-turned table saws, and from there it would go to their other workshop to be shaped into furniture and things.

    The work was uneven with lots of breaks, which Brin was grateful for. The carpenters would need the kids to move nks to the other workshop, so they¡¯d burst into action, but then they¡¯d sit around for half an hour waiting. Brin didn¡¯t let Davi outwork him; no matter how tired he was he made sure to carry the same amount and just as quickly. When it came time to turn the cranks on the table saw, there was one correct speed and you¡¯d get in trouble for turning it faster, so Davi couldn¡¯t outwork him there either.

    It urred to him that of course the carpenters didn¡¯t <em>really</em> need their help. If it took a child an hour to do a job, an adult with the relevant ss could do it in a minute. This was all for their benefit. By helping out with chores they gained attributes and got a look at the jobs they might have after their System unlocked.

    Marksi woke up about halfway through the shift, but Brin cautioned him to stay on his shoulders. He couldn¡¯t let the snake jump on the table and get cut in half by the saw. But when it was time to carry the finished nks to the other workshop, he let Marksi carry a little wood chip and slither along behind them.

    Marksi ced the woodchip on top of the pile of finished wood. ¡°That''s right. It goes right there with the rest. Thanks for helping, Marksi!¡±

    Marksi turned around in a circle with his head high, looking very proud of himself.

    Even with a cute little snake friend mixing things up, the shift felt like an eternity. His arms and legs felt like they were always on the verge of copse, but to his surprise, they always seemed to have more to give.

    When he wiped his brow after thest delivery, the System had another surprise for him.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength+1

    Not bad. Two attributes in one day. Normally he was lucky to get one a week. Clearly, it paid to be extra.

    He ate a big lunch, then wandered off to the crowd of children to y. Rough-housing was the <emst</em> thing he wanted to do, but he was determined. He was going to do his normal routine, <em>plus</em> the workout. No cutting corners.

    So he ran into the crowd, found the kid with the ball, and picked the ten-year-old up over his head and threw him into the other children. The ten-year-old in question couldn¡¯t breathe because he wasughing so hard, which gave Brin the perfect opportunity to steal the ball. Thatsted all of ten seconds before he went down in a dogpile, and the game was on.

    There was a brief interruption when they all noticed Marksi on his neck and everyone stopped so they could ask his name, pet him, and coo at how cute he was. Marksi loved the attention, and rubbed the children¡¯s hands with his head when they pet him, purring all the while. Eventually the novelty wore off and they went back to their game.

    Marksi toughed it out on Brin¡¯s shoulders, but after ten minutes he bit a kid. It didn¡¯t break the skin, but Brin still made him sit out the rest of the game on the sidelines.

    After a while, some mothers came by to fetch their sons away, and the group broke up, to Brin¡¯s intense relief. Again, he got a notification.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Will+1

    It was a good day. A tortuous day, but rewarding.

    Marksi was sad though. He¡¯d been softly whimpering the entire time at having been left out of the fun.

    ¡°Tell you what, Marksi, we¡¯ll y when we get home. Just me and you,¡± said Brin.

    Brin picked up some groceries on the way home, to rece all of Hogg¡¯s food he¡¯d eaten and to prepare for all the binge eating he nned to do in the future. He bought chickens straight from the farmer, but everything else came from the general store. That meant the real general store run by a sharp-eyed [Merchant] woman, not the adventurer¡¯s outfitter shop that Perris ran. He noticed the store sold the leather balls that the kids used, and he asked the shopkeeper if she had smaller ones. To his surprise, she did. She showed him a golfball-sized leather ball, and when she saw how excited Marksi got, let him have it for free. Everything together cost him half a silver. He was going through his nest egg rather quickly now. He didn¡¯t want to have to ask Hogg for money, but soon there wouldn¡¯t be another way around it.

    Back home, Marksi couldn¡¯t wait to try out his new toy. Brin wondered what a snake would do with a ball, but Marksi was full of ideas. He would slither along after it, bouncing it forward. He wrapped himself around it, tighter and tighter until it popped out. He flicked it with his tail, trying to see if he could get it to go straight up.

    Hogg waspletely fascinated, and kept asking Brin if there were any other toys that Marksi might like. Brin couldn¡¯t think of anything. He couldn¡¯t think. It¡¯d been the most physically difficult day he¡¯d had since the day he¡¯d been forced to run ten miles and then fight all those Undead Soldiers.

    He tried to be a good sport and cheer Marksi on, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he passed out right there on the porch.

    The next day he did the same routine. He woke up early and got straight into his weights routine. He was sore all over and wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d get through it, but he was surprised at how fast the soreness went away. Was this what it was like to be a kid again? In his past life when he went too hard at the gym, it usually meant a recovery day afterwards, but now his body seemed to be willing to take all the punishment and then ask for more.

    He didn¡¯t get any alerts from the System that day, but the day after that the [Millers] needed fifty bags of flour delivered across town, each of them weighing forty pounds. Even better, Davi wasn¡¯t working with him that day so there was no one to steal all the work. He asked the other boys to let him handle the entire thing, and they happily obliged.

    That left Brin, taking the flour sacks two at a time on his shoulders, walking across town back and forth, back and forth, with Marksi riding on top of his head like a hat. Some of the people on the street gave him the side-eye, but most smiled or openlyughed at the sight.

    By the end of the chore he thought he might have overdone it. His lungs were burning, and his throat was so raw from heavy panting that he was sure he¡¯d given himself a cold. It took him an hour longer than the work shift was supposed to, and he was so worn out that he¡¯d have to skip ying with the kids, but it was worth it.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength+2

    For the rest of the week, he kept to his routine. He didn¡¯t get any more popups, but he noticed a change when he took a rest day at the end of the week. Without any kind of notification, his Strength had gone up another point. That must''ve been the system reflecting his natural strength increase. His goal had been to get seven more points of Strength, and in one week he was past halfway there.

    Two weekster, Brin got the notification he was waiting for.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Strong I (Common) You have reached 26 Strength. +10 speed with Strength-rted activities. +10% Strength attribute growth.

    What counted as a Strength-rted activity? Wasn¡¯t <em>everything</em> a Strength rted activity? He tried a few simple exercises, and nothing felt different, but that didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t doing them faster. He hadn¡¯t exactly clocked his times before.

    He jogged around the Hogg¡¯s house a couple times, and he did feel faster than before, but honestly that could all be in his head.

    The ten percent modifier was pretty cool. It was nice to know that not everything was tied to sses and levels. Maybe if he got a ss he absolutely hated, he¡¯d be able to sort of build his own ss by gathering all the right achievements.

    He also noticed that the achievement had only said he reached 26 Strength. Nothing about reaching it before unlocking his System. Sure enough, he got another a momentter.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Workhorse (Rare) You work like a horse. You have earned Strong I before unlocking your System. +1 Strength per level

    This one was Rare, while Strong I had been Common. It made sense that most people got Strong I at some point, it was lessmon for them to get it before their System day. One Strength per level sounded <em>really</em> good. What would it be like if he got to Strong II before his System day?

    Another thing happened on the same day. His ¡°age¡± had gone up from 12 to 13. It was nice to know his birthday. Only one year left until he unlocked his System. He checked his status. <strong>Information</strong> Name Brin isu Yambul Age 13 Race Human ss Child of Travin''s Bog Level 1 <strong>Attributes</strong> Strength 26 Dexterity 19 Vitality 23 Magic 9 Mental Control 13 Will 20 <strong>Titles</strong> Survivor of Travin''s Bog Locked Traveler Locked Otherworlder Locked <strong>Achievements</strong> Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat. Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath. Strong I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Strength.

    +10 speed with Strength-intensive activities. +10% Strength attribute growth. Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned Strong I before unlocking your System.

    +1 Strength per level <strong>Skills</strong> Know What''s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream.

    <strong>Oaths</strong> Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 2: Chapter 7

    Book 2: Chapter 7

    The next day Brin worked with Davi at the mill again, and the 10% speed boost really started to make itself obvious. Keeping up with the hulking youth wasn¡¯t as much of a struggle. In fact, Brin felt a little bit misled. Maybe Davi wasn¡¯t some sort of prodigal hard worker. Maybe his achievements were doing all the work.

    After the shift, Hogg surprised Brin by meeting before lunch. Usually the people he worked for provided lunch, which would be bread and butter since it was the [Millers], but Hogg decided to take him to the public house.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about? News about the¡­ army?¡± he asked quietly.

    ¡°No, nothing new on that front. The others have all gone home. The scouts from the army and a few from Gn¡¯s order have set up a camp at Travin¡¯s Bog, but they¡¯re more interested in hunting the monsters in the deep woods than actually searching for an army of undead. An army of ghosts, ording to them. I¡¯m keeping a couple mirror images on the case, but it¡¯s a pain in my neck and <em>someday</em> I¡¯d like to finally¡­ well nevermind. No, nothing new. No, I wanted to talk about you. Your training.¡±

    Brin pondered that as they walked. Why not just tell him back at home? Dancing around every little topic because of who might overhear made any conversation about System stuff painful unless they were sure they were alone. Unless¡­ Hogg <em>wanted</em> someone to overhear. Maybe he wanted people to see him having this conversation with Brin.

    Or maybe Hogg just wanted lunch. If Brin kept being so paranoid he was going to end up with a really weird ss, he just knew it.

    The public house had pretty good stuff. H, the owner, definitely had cooking Skills. She might have also had Skills that let her predict customer needs, because she ced a steaming pile of honey zed ham and vegetables in front of each of them only a moment after they sat down. Beer, too. Brin¡¯s beer was heavily watered-down, but he still found it funny that they had no problem serving alcohol to children in this town.

    He dug in, and the meat especially was delicious. It was spicy and sweet, although not exactly what he was expecting.

    ¡°I thought this was pork, but it tastes more like chicken,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Chimera,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin dropped his fork. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Fascinating species. You never know what they¡¯re going to be, except that they all have venom and they¡¯re always a mash-up of at least two different things. This was some kind of scorpion bird. Why did you think I wanted toe in here so bad? Not everyday someone finds a chimera,¡± said Hogg.

    Marksi took advantage of Brin¡¯s distraction to slither down and pull the bite right off Brin¡¯s fork. He then rolled off the te andy there, stomach bulging, looking very fat and happy.

    ¡°Can he eat this?¡±

    ¡°Once in a while is ok,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That sounds like no,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°He can eat anything you can eat. It¡¯s just that meat takes a baby like him longer to digest. If he eats too much meat he¡¯ll die of starvation. Weird, but true. He can eat one or two bites of steak just fine, though.¡±

    Honestly, he should¡¯ve guessed. Hogg wouldn¡¯t have let Marksi anywhere near if there was actually a danger. He loved the little snake.

    ¡°So listen, your System Day ising up. Just over six months from now,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Uh, check your math there chief. I just turned thirteen yesterday,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You did what? Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±

    ¡°Honestly it¡¯s been years since I celebrated my birthday,¡± said Brin. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was a thing here.¡±

    ¡°Well it is. Lumina sent me something. Told me to give it to you on your birthday,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You can see it when you get home,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now as I was saying. Your System Day is in six months¨C¡±

    ¡°Yeah, exin that,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg snorted in annoyance. ¡°Every year at spring solstice, everyone who has or will be turning fourteen that year has their System unlocked. We make a big party of it. The whole town will be there.¡±

    ¡°What? I didn¡¯t know that! I thought it happened on your birthday!¡±

    ¡°Well, it would, except Hammon¡¯s Bog has a Skill,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Towns can have Skills?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Obviously. You thought you were doing all this on your own? The Prefit manages them,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now, I know you were looking for Strength II before that happens, but I¡¯m getting concerned your Dexterity isgging behind.¡±

    ¡°Now that I think of it, they usually send girls to do the fine-motor-skill type jobs. How many of the girls my age are over 26 in Dexterity?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°All of them,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And that¡¯s going to change. For the next six months, your education is going to be a lot more intentional. Less mindlessbor, and a lot more learning directly from the adults in the town. Tomorrow, you¡¯ll be visiting Toros, the [Smith].¡±

    ¡°That sounds awesome!¡±

    ¡°The day after that is [Weaver] Tawna.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Brin dropped his fork and folded his arms. The te waspletely empty by now, but he was sure the gesture still stood.

    Hogg sighed, mashing a carrot with his fork. When it was pulped, he slid a little in Marksi¡¯s mouth, who cleaned the fork with his tongue without moving from hisid back fooda position.

    ¡°You need to get over this. She¡¯s the most influential woman in this town. Her time is extremely valuable and she¡¯s doing you kids a real favor by teaching you lessons. She is <em>not</em> out to get you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°She¡¯s one of the worst people I¡¯ve ever met, and she is one hundred percent out to get me!¡± said Brin. ¡°She calls me a pre-[Witch].¡±

    ¡°Shut it,¡± said Hogg. ¡°That¡¯s not a word you can use in this town.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who¨C¡±

    ¡°I said shut it.¡±

    Brin stood up. ¡°Alright. Thanks for lunch and all, but¨C¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± said Hogg. He didn¡¯t borate right away. He looked down, seeming to chew something over before finallying to a decision. ¡°I was nning on heading over to the Peck¡¯s. Why don¡¯t youe along?¡±

    ¡°The Peck¡¯s. As in, Siphani Peck? The¡­¡±

    ¡°The [Witch],¡± said Hogg. Apparently it was ok for him to say that word. ¡°We¡¯ll be helping her parents. If you... want toe along.¡±

    Brin chewed on that a minute before he answered. He was still a bit annoyed with the way Hogg had shut him down just now, and the sudden shift in conversation threw him. Hogg looked a little hesitant, almost vulnerable. This was an olive branch, a chance for Brin to see why the W-word was such a taboo. He sighed and said, "Alright."

    As if she''d been waiting for his answer, H appeared at their table with a covered basket, full of the same delicious chimera meat and vegetables they¡¯d just eaten, from the smell.

    The walk over to the Peck¡¯s wasn¡¯t long. Past the main thoroughfares with three story buildings with shops and businesses and painted signs, to the more run-down section of town towards the northern wall. The homes here were single story, many of them not anyrger than the huts in Travin¡¯s Bog. These at least had the advantage of not being burned down.

    The particr house they arrived at would''ve looked better if it had burned down. The wooden beams making up the frame were warped and covered with mold. The siding had been painted white at some point, but was so patchy and chipped that it looked like it was suffering from leprosy. The houses around it had probably been built at the same time, for all that they looked at least a century newer. It was as if this house in particr were decaying at ten times the speed as the area around it.

    A man sat on the front porch in a rocking chair. He had thin ck hair without any gray, and he looked to be in his fifties, Hogg¡¯s age. At the same time, the man in the rocking chair looked old, like he¡¯d die of old age any minute now. It wasn¡¯t any one thing, just the look in his eye. Brin recognized that look from some of the people he¡¯d seen while visiting his grandma in the nursing home. It was the look of someone who was thoroughly done with life, whose spirit was already dead, and was just waiting for his body to catch up.

    ¡°Afternoon, Micah,¡± said Hogg.

    Micah¡¯s eyes found Hogg, but he didn¡¯t speak, and eventually those tired eyes fell back to the floor.

    Hogg stepped past him into the house. Brin followed.

    The smell hit him first. Marksi, who had better sense than him, squeaked and jumped off his shoulder and fled out the door, but Brin could only stand and stare. The house was a living, rotting pile of trash.

    Discarded vegetable peels, eggs shells, and heels of bread with blue mold, were strewn about on the floor, intermingled with clothes, torn books, and dishes and jars. Arge crystal bowl had clearly been used as a chamber pot, and not two feet away on the reclining chair sat a pale woman.

    Brin hadn¡¯t noticed her at first, because she didn¡¯t stand out in any way from the other grime. She was wearing a thin, dirty nightgown. Her feet were ck with mud, and her hands had stains he didn¡¯t want to think about. She sat unmoving, and didn¡¯t even bother to flick a finger when a fly crawled down her arm. She didn¡¯t flinch when a rat chased a spider across the floor before disappearing into a burrow dug into the pot of a dead housent.

    He knew what he was looking at. He¡¯d seen this type of thing in the TV show about hoarders. There were hoarders who became that way because they couldn¡¯t throw things away, and others who simply would not or could not clean up after themselves. This woman was clearly in the second camp. The only difference was that the pile of trash was only inches deep, instead of mounds that went to the ceiling. Clearly someone came by to clean often enough to prevent that. No, the biggest difference from the TV show was the smell. Nothing had prepared him for the smell.

    He jumped when the woman spoke. Her voice was disturbingly normal-sounding. ¡°Oh, Hogg, hello. Pardon me if I don¡¯t get up. Is that chimera I smell? It smells wonderful. So kind of you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Afternoon, Effa,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Here, let me fix you a te.¡±

    He eyed the table, also covered with detritus, then shrugged and swept it all to the floor with his arm. He put the basket on the table and brought out a clean te, and started to pile it with food, then handed it to her on the chair.

    Effa dove in as soon as the te reached herp, forgoing a fork and knife to scarf everything down with her dirty hands. Brin almost threw up at the sight. How could you eat in a ce that looks like this? How could you eat with your own poop in a bowl two feet away from you?

    When Hogg handed him another te for Micah, he dashed out of the house in relief and gulped a big lungful of fresh air the second he crossed the threshold.

    Micah ate much more sedately, but also much more cleanly. He didn¡¯t make any noises of appreciation, just chewed mechanically, eyes listless.

    When he was done, Brin took his te, and steeled himself, ready to go back in.

    ¡°We would¡¯ve given that girl anything,¡± said Micah.

    The statement was so matter-of-fact, and so out of the blue, that Brin didn¡¯t know how to react. Obviously it was a tragic situation, but the suddenness made it hard to summon a lot of empathy. He tried regardless.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If only she¡¯d asked,¡± said Micah. ¡°Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No. You don¡¯t understand. We would¡¯ve done anything for that girl.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Brin. He didn¡¯t know why he was apologizing. He hadn¡¯t done anything wrong; this was all Siphani¡¯s fault. If anything, he was due an apology. Siphani was the one who¡¯d poisoned this town against orphans. It was a lot of the reason he had such a hard time fitting in with some people. Myra had outright said that¡¯s why she and her mother hated him.

    Micah didn¡¯t say anything more. He stared out into the distance with ssy eyes.

    Brin took his te and went back inside. Hogg was piling trash from the floor into a sack, chatting. ¡°It was a nice morning. A little warm, but a cool breeze from the east beat that back to make perfect weather for a nice stroll into town. That cool breeze will get stronger and stronger, I think, until winteres with the rains¡­¡±

    He talked lightly, unmoved by the filth around him. It was so unlike Hogg that Brin did a double take.

    Effa¡¯s responses seemed disingenuous as well. She talked like a normal woman would talk to her neighbor. Not like a mentally sick person at all, with no acknowledgement of her disgusting circumstances. Also left unsaid was the fact that Hogg had killed her daughter.

    When Hogg noticed Brin, he handed him the bup sack, and Brin took it, relieved to be out of there again. Everyone brought their organic waste to one of the mulching pits near each of the gates, for farmers to use if they wanted. Brin might¡¯ve walked a <em>little</em> slower than he normally would¡¯ve, but not by much.

    As disgusting as it was, this was good work. Important work. Back in his old world, they just let hoarders waste away until they died or got evicted. It was good that people were watching out for the Pecks.

    It also made some things click in ce about this town. Sure, he¡¯d heard Sihpani¡¯s story, but he¡¯d never really understood it until now. There had been a shadow over this town since he¡¯de here, but now he knew why. It was like he¡¯d finally looked up and seen the big ck Siphani-shaped cloud covering the sun.

    When he grew up and proved that he was a good man, nothing like their old [Witch], maybe that would finally serve to pierce that ugly old cloud.

    He got back, and Hogg had the sink running, washing dishes. This house had enchantments to give them running water in the kitchen area, which meant they weren¡¯t poor. They just lived poorly.

    There was another sack ready for Brin to take, and this time he made the trip there and back much more quickly.

    When he got back, he helped Hogg with the clutter. They put the books back on the bookshelf and made the bed. Brin washed the clothes with a washboard in the sink, then hung them up to dry on a line outside. When everything else was done, they scrubbed the floor, scouring ayer of dirt to find the wooden floorboards beneath. He slept on actual dirt floors in Travin¡¯s Bog that were cleaner than this ce had been. But now it was as clean as a whistle.

    Brin stood and wiped the sweat from his face, eyeing the newly cleaned room with pride. Effa didn¡¯t thank them. She¡¯d started ignoring the both of them a half hour ago. She was a rotting queen on her throne, unheeding of the scurrying of her servants. Well, he didn¡¯t care. He couldn¡¯t fix her brain, but he was doing what he could.

    He didn¡¯t get any notifications. The System didn¡¯t make any indication that it had noticed their efforts and didn¡¯t try to reward them. It would probably only take a week or two for the Pecks to recreate the disgusting mess they¡¯d just cleaned up. Regardless, Brin felt more aplished walking home that afternoon than he ever had after an evening spent lifting weights.

    The walk home was a quiet one. Marksi found them as soon as they were a fair distance away from the Peck¡¯s house. Hogg picked him up and stroked him up and down the spine. Brin didn¡¯t object. Hogg needed Marksi more than he did, considering where his mental state must be right now.

    Brin was full of questions, but didn¡¯t know how to ask. How did you walk up to someone and ask them about the time they killed a teenage girl? Well, if Hogg didn¡¯t want to talk about it, he¡¯d just say so. He wasn¡¯t the type to be pressured into anything.

    ¡°How did it happen?¡± Brin asked.

    Hogg responded immediately, like he¡¯d been hoping for the question. ¡°After she cursed her parents, she ran into the forest. She moved quickly, and though a few [Hunters] could track her, <em>no one</em> could catch her. You understand? Not even me. But then I broke away from the rest of the group and¡­ somehow caught up with her.¡±

    <em>A mirror image.</em> No one was nearby, but Hogg wasn¡¯t going to say that out loud, not in town where someone might possibly overhear.

    ¡°Then how did she die?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I snuck up on her and put a knife to her throat.¡±

    <em>An illusory knife. A bluff, </em>Brin filled in mentally.

    ¡°I made her swear an Oath, on her ss and Levels. I had the wording all worked out beforehand to make it foolproof. I think I knew from the very start that it would end up that way. I made her swear to never use her [Witch] powers to harm or deceive another person. She swore to not even attempt it, to limit all her offensive magics to beasts or monsters.¡±

    ¡°When I lowered the knife, she immediately broke her Oath. I think she thought that she could get away with onest curse and take me down with her, but it didn¡¯t take. Before she could do a thing, the System took it all away. Then she¡­ she drowned herself in a pond. I couldn¡¯t stop her in time.¡±

    Because he hadn¡¯t really been there in person. His mirror image had stood there helpless, and watched.

    Chances were even if Hogg had been able to fish her out of the pond, the town still would have burned her at the stake. In this world, they did not suffer [Witches] to live.

    ¡°I got the notification for it. You have defeated: Human. Level 1,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Didn¡¯t even get the experience for her. Breaking her Oath took it all away. Old battlefield tactic, that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s clever. Any Oath will do?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Most soldiers swear a backup Oath before going into battle, just in case. They¡¯ll swear to never say Dandelion three times in a row, something like that. It can also grant you mercy if you¡¯re too wounded to survive, but too tough to die quickly,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Nothing someone your age needs to worry about.¡±

    ¡°One thing I¡¯ve been wondering, now that we¡¯re on the topic of battles and armies, is why they don¡¯t use [Witches]. If they¡¯re so powerful, then why doesn¡¯t everyone have one?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°How do you know she¡¯ll do what you say?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Make her swear an Oath.¡±

    ¡°And how do you know she swore an Oath to you, instead of bewitching you to make you only think she did? How do you know the [Witch] in your army serves the general, instead of the other way around? And saying she does serve, how do you know she¡¯s trying to keep her soldiers alive, when their deaths will serve her magic even better? You¡¯d have to be mad. Or truly desperate.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also the possibility that [Witches] are moremon than you think,¡± said Brin. ¡°The smart ones would stay hidden.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s possible,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But the psychopathy and narcissism that would motivate someone to take the [Witch] ss in the first ce also selects for people who aren¡¯t good at hiding their ambition. To be fair, I should add that there is one exception. There is one nation where a [Witch] fights openly with the army. The Queendom of Arcaena.¡±

    ¡°Let me guess. The Queen is the [Witch],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Got it in one. And even she kills every other [Witch] she finds. She knows better than anyone that you can¡¯t trust a [Witch]. You know, Lumina and I talked about her a lot, before she left for home. Lumina is starting to discard the Burrow City theory. If there¡¯s a million angry undead out there, then where are they? From what we¡¯ve seen, we¡¯re fighting a smaller, smarter, highly trained, more specialized, and most of all more <em>restrained</em> group of undead.¡±

    ¡°You call that restrained?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Compared to the way most [Witches] behave? Extremely. And that suggests Arcaena.¡±

    ¡°What does it mean if it is her we¡¯re up against?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I barely understand what a low-level [Witch] can do. Arcaena is ancient. She has a kingdom full of people who literally worship her. If she really does have her eyes on the Bonds, then she¡¯ll be able to take it. Let¡¯s just hope it¡¯s not her.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 8

    Book 2: Chapter 8

    Somewhere in all the tense, ufortable conversations with Hogg, he¡¯d mentioned that Lumina had sent Brin a birthday present, a fact whichpletely escaped Brin¡¯s memory until he and Hogg got home that evening.

    Hogg disappeared into his room and came back out holding a wooden chest, which he ced down in the center of the woven rug. Itnded with a heavy thunk.

    It looked like a treasure chest. It looked exactly like if a movie director told a set guy to create a fantasy world treasure chest. It was so surprisingly cliche that he knew there had to be something else in there. There was no way that Lumina had sent him a big pile of gold for no reason. This was probably how all luggage looked in the era before teflon and stic.

    In fact, the chest was probably supposed to look ordinary. The fine craftsmanship was typical for this world. No factories here, everything was made by an artisan, so despite being beautiful, it was also normal. An ordinary chest of polished wood, with leather straps. The only part that stood out was the lock. It faintly glistened, in a way that he was starting to recognize as some kind of enchantment. Hogg handed Brin the matching key.

    He put the key in the slot, and the chest sprung upon.

    He blinked at the sight, trying to make sure that what he was actually seeing what he was seeing. [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t sound any rm. It was real.

    The treasure chest was full of treasure.

    Golden coins sparkled in themplight. They were piled all the way up to the brim, and when Brin picked up a couple they had the real weight of heavy metal. He tried to push his hand inside, but you couldn¡¯t actually swim through piles of gold like Scrooge McDuck. It was too solid. That duck should¡¯ve broken his neck the first time he jumped off that diving board. If he ever got back to his world he¡¯d make sure that everyone knew that the trillionaire cartoon duck waspletely unrealistic.

    ¡°What are you smiling at?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine why someone would be smiling in this situation,¡± said Brin. Hogg snorted augh.

    Brin''s eyes went back to the gold. So shiny! This waspletely different from opening a suitcase full of paper bills, not that he''d ever experienced that. There was something very real about seeing a chest full of gold that waspletely different from reading a bnce on a phone app.

    He picked up a handful of coins, and listened to the tinkle as he dropped them back down again. It was a deeper sound that he''d expected. Was all of this really his? Normally when people won the lottery, they''d be jumping down in excitement, but that was because they were ready for it. They''d bought the tickets, then waited and hoped. This had juste out of nowhere and he hadn''t been ready for it. Augh escaped his mouth, almost panicked-sounding.

    There was an ornate wooden case with golden iy nestled into the side. He pulled it out and opened it, and inside were rows of precious gemstones. If this was a movie, the set guy would¡¯ve definitely thrown the jewels in all topsy-turvy with the gold. In real life, you wouldn¡¯t want them to get crushed or scratched.

    He wasn¡¯t watching Marksi, and the rascal slithered up into the jewel case and tried to swallow an entire thumbnail sized ruby. Brin snatched it out of Marksi¡¯s throat, then put his pet in the tank. Marksi squeaked furiously and mmed himself against the wooden sides, but to no avail.

    Eventually he quieted down, and Brin noticed a little snake head peeking up over the wall. Marksi must¡¯ve been standing uppletely straight to look over the side, which was quite a feat. Brin pretended he didn¡¯t notice.

    The chest also contained a paper note, written in beautiful calligraphy on thick card stock paper.

    <em>My dear Brin,</em>

    <em>I had hoped to be able to visit you in person, but circumstances have pulled me back to the Tower. It was never my intention to pledge myself as your mother and then miss your entire childhood, but the call of duty was unavoidable in this case.</em>

    <em>Regarding the subject of those who destroyed your home, I have been thinking over the immediate conclusion I drew when we were together, as well as the alternate conclusion I expressed many times to Hogg when we traveled together. Both of these exnations would be disasters of apocalyptic proportions, but take heart in the fact that neither of these exnations truly match the evidence. We must search for a third possibility. I hope you do not mind that I discuss these things in vagaries; this letter will most certainly be read many times before it reaches you. A chest full of gold attracts notice and Skills to read letters through walls do exist, unfortunately. Something to keep in mind for your return letters.</em>

    <em>I hope that there will be return letters. I am most eager to hear of your life in Hammon¡¯s Bog. It pains me that we didn¡¯t have time to create a proper rtionship, but perhaps such a thing will be possible through correspondence. I understand that sending letters from the frontier can be expensive, so I¡¯ve dispatched this small allowance. Understand that this is the </em><em>least</em><em> of what you are owed.</em>

    <em>Your dutiful mother,</em>

    <em>Lumina</em>

    Brin handed Hogg the paper and said, ¡°The least of what I¡¯m owed, huh? I¡¯m starting to wonder if I should really keep all this. I don¡¯t feel like I deserve it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t, and it¡¯s good that you can see that. But so what? Who cares what you deserve? The only thing that matters is what you can get,¡± said Hogg, scanning the letter.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t do anything for this. You and Lumina and Lurn and Gn did all the work,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s more like what you didn¡¯t do. Let me ask you this: What do you think Lumina would have given you if you¡¯d held the rewards for that Quest hostage?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Anything. She would have given you everything. Her entire fortune. Ten years of servitude. Literally anything she could,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Well, when you put it that way¡­¡± He turned the paper over in his hands. ¡°Can you send a response?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a mirror image in Steamshield right now. I can¡¯t maintain them over that distance for very long,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I meant isn¡¯t there some sort of long rangemunication that you can use?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°There probably is. With that radio thing you keep telling me about it should be possible. No, it is possible. I¡¯m certain that the King''s Court [Illusionist] and his cabal have a method; it would exin too much. But anyone that¡¯s found out the trick of it has kept it secret. I¡¯ll have to figure it out on my own, and once I do, I would need someone on the other end to receive the message. This isn¡¯t something we¡¯re going to crack anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°Then normal letters it is,¡± said Brin. Writing a letter to Lumina, thanking her for this, suddenly felt like the most important thing in the world. ¡°How often can I get a letter out?¡±

    ¡°You can send one with each merchant train, so about once a month. It¡¯s been a month and a half, so we¡¯re due for one." Hogg seemed to mull something over, then said. "Fine. Tell you what I can do. Write the letter, and I can dictate it to one of my people in Steamshield. It''ll still take me a week or so to get another mirror image out there, but it''s better than waiting months, and... this sort of gift deserves a quick response, I think."

    Brin rushed to grab some paper and mmed it on Hogg''s writing desk. Surprisingly, paper was anothermodity that wasn''t in short supply. There were big "paperbark" trees in the forest, tall windy trees whose bark came off easily in thin sheets. A [Tanner] could treat the bark in an instant to turn it into crude but workable paper, and they sold it on the cheap. Real paper, like what Lumina''s letter was written on, was still pretty expensive, though. She''d probably paid an entire gold coin for the one sheet. Only, now one gold it didn''t seem all that expensive. Was he already getting used to being rich?

    He wrote out a reply with a charcoal pencil. He talked about his life in Hammon''s Bog, about the kind of chores he did, the training he did, everything that happened. Only, he wasn''t a psychopath so he made everything sound a hundred percent happier than what had actually happened. There was nothing Lumina could do about the troubles he faced, so there was no need to worry her about Hogg''s insane twelve-hour training regimen when he''d first gotten to town, and he omitted the fact that half the town thought he was going to be a [Witch] when he grew up. He didn''t talk about the nightmares, or his fears that the undead army was still out there, surrounding the town just out of sight.

    He made the chores sound fun and interesting, like he looked forward to them every day. He talked about how excited he was with his training progress--that part at least was all true. He also made Zilly and Davi sound like they were his close friends, and not just a couple kids he''d only hung out with a couple times. He kept Myra as-is, though. A mean, stupid girl who seemed to follow him around just to throw insults at him. If he didn''t write <em>anything</em> negative Lumina would know he was hiding things.

    When he was done, he handed the letter to Hogg, who immediately started reading it. He chuckled and couple times, and broke outughing at one point.

    "You know, it''s rude to read other people''s mail," said Brin.

    "How am I going to do this without reading it? Come on, now," said Hogg.

    "Listen, I know how it sounds, but I didn''t want to worry her," said Brin.

    "I get it. Yeah, this is good," said Hogg, but that didn''t stop him from chuckling at him. When he finished, Hogg folded up the letter and put it in his pocket. His expression turned serious. "Alright, enough about that! We need to talk about what you¡¯re going to do with all that money.¡±

    Brin knew something bad was going to happen. He wouldn''t <em>actually</em> get to keep all this money, right? He tried to temper his expectations. And failed. He was going to buy <em>all</em> the cool stuff he¡¯d been drooling at in Perris¡¯ adventurer¡¯s outfitting shop. But he couldn¡¯t lead with that, or Hogg would lock the whole thing down.

    ¡°First I¡¯ll need to break one of these gold coins. I¡¯m running low on my stash from Travin¡¯s Bog, just buying all the extra meat.¡±

    ¡°How much do you eat?¡± Hogg asked, rmed.

    Brin flexed his biceps. It wasn¡¯t body-builder big yet, but still impressive and he was <em>thirteen</em>. ¡°How much does it look like I eat?¡±

    Hogg scowled.

    ¡°For most of it, I¡¯d like to invest it, although I don¡¯t know exactly how that would look in this world, I can think of one or two businesses that could use a silent partner. It would be easier to use you as a go-between if you¡¯re up for it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, sure, I could do that. You could also think about funding a caravan,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What would that look like?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, you have to have noticed, or maybe not since you¡¯ve only lived here, that the prices in this town are ridiculously cheap. Perris puts on a show like he¡¯s this ruthless price-gouger, but the honest truth is that he could sell his things for twice as much in a bigger city. The merchants thate through help, but they pay our prices, not city prices. The solution is for people in the town to pool their money and put together a caravan to head to the city and sell everything at once. If you fund a caravan, you¡¯d be doing the town a service and making a tidy profit.¡±

    ¡°And if the caravan gets eaten by monsters, I lose everything. Full disclosure, how often do you fund one of these?¡±

    ¡°About once a year, but only as a way to help the town. I travel enough that I have better options, to be frank,¡± said Hogg.

    That statement made Brin notice something he should''ve picked up on right away. Hogg wasn''t staring at the gold like it was a world-changing bombshell. He looked at it like it was slightly impressive but mostly annoying. No envy, though. Too much money for a kid to have, but not more than <em>he</em> had.

    "Just how rich are you?" asked Brin.

    "Things are more expensive in the cities," said Hogg.

    "That''s not an answer."

    Hogg shrugged. "About the caravan..."

    ¡°It sounds like a good idea,¡± said Brin, ¡°as long as I offset the risk with some safer investments here at home.¡±

    ¡°You sort of sound like you know what you¡¯re doing here. It''s weird,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know, I had a very well vested and diversified portfolio in my old life,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg chuckled. ¡°You know, I half expected the first thing you¡¯d want to do would be to run out and buy a cool sword.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, not at all. I don¡¯t want to buy a cool sword. I want to buy the <em>coolest</em> sword.¡±

    Hogg snapped the lid of the chest shut, and snatched the key from Brin¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Aw,e on! I was kidding,¡± lied Brin. He was not kidding. He was most definitely going to get a cool magic sword.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s your money, I¡¯m not going to tell you not to spend it. But this is <em>way</em> too much. Lumina is out of her mind trusting a thirteen-year-old with this. Your idea to invest it is solid, but we need to do this discreetly. If everyone catches on that you¡¯re richer than half the town put together, life won¡¯t get simpler for you, let¡¯s just say it like that. People still ask <em>me</em> for money, and I¡¯m¡­¡±

    ¡°Wildly unapproachable?¡± suggested Brin.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Hogg. ¡°So you don¡¯t want to walk through town carrying half of Perris¡¯ inventory on your back."

    Weirdly, that was the problem. There was no real limit to his funds, the limit was how many things were actually avable for sale around here, and how much of it he could buy without raising suspicion.

    "Besides, you¡¯ll poke your eye out,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful. And no one will see me. Like you said, we¡¯ll do this discreetly.¡± He slowly pulled the key out of Hogg¡¯s grasp.

    A man didn¡¯t need a reason to want a magic sword, but Brin had one regardless. There was <em>definitely</em> an achievement for killing a monster before your System unlocked. And if he had to guess, you had to do it alone without help from an adult. Otherwise, there was no way the parents of this town wouldn¡¯t have each of their kids finish off a captive monster. They talked a big game about not seeking achievements before your System day, and then did everything they could on the sly to make it happen.

    Normally gunning for something like that would be much too dangerous, but what if he had an overpowered weapon and was decked out in magical armor? Perris had told him earlier that the real power in this world was money. The right equipment drew a wide line between the haves and have-nots.

    There was no way Hogg would be onboard with this n, so he thought quickly. ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll requisition some equipment from Perris in preparation for my System day, so that I¡¯ll bepletely ready to go if I get [Warrior]. And with an achievement like Warbound, you have to think I¡¯m a shoe-in, right? Until then, it¡¯ll all stay right here in this clearing, somewhere I can practice with it without anyone seeing it."

    Hogg reluctantly agreed, and Brin inwardly cheered. He didn¡¯t run to Perris right away. One, the shop would be closed, but also because he didn¡¯t want Hogg to catch wind of what he was nning. There was no emergency. If there was an achievement for killing monsters as a child, it wouldn¡¯t matter if he did it now or the day before the town¡¯s System day.

    Instead, they spent the rest of the evening carefully counting the coins. They even let Marksi out, and once they impressed on him how important it was that he not eat any of the treasure, the little snake ¡®helped¡¯ by moving coins from one stack to another with his mouth.

    The end tally was 520 gold coins. ording to Hogg, the gemstones were worth another thousand gold coins, which all together meant that Brin was now ridiculously wealthy. How rich was Lumina that she could give away this amount of wealth as a mere allowance?

    Well, he¡¯d already known Lumina was rich. He just didn¡¯t know what the rich really looked like in this world, especially in a town like Hammon¡¯s Bog where even the wealthiest vigers still went to work every morning like everybody else. Gustaff¡¯s movies gave a little bit of insight into the wider world, but not nearly enough. His movies were basically recorded stage-ys, with illusory sets and painted props. He had no idea what was really out there. One day, he¡¯d find out for himself. Until then, he just needed to focus on getting stronger.

    "Hey could you show me a thing or two, as far as sword fighting goes? I just realized I''ll have a sword, but I won''t know how to use it.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as showing you a thing or two. I¡¯m either going to train you or I¡¯m not going to train you.¡±

    ¡°Then train me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Get your Dexterity up, then we¡¯ll talk,¡± said Hogg.

    "Why are you so worried about Dexterity? There are other attributes I could be focusing on," said Brin.

    "Your Will and Vitality are both high enough that they''ll probably happen on their own. I don''t have a good way for training your Magic or Mental Control. That leaves Dexterity."

    "Alright, then I''ll start there."

 Book 2: Chapter 9

    Book 2: Chapter 9

    The next day he lined up early outside of Toros¡¯ shop. Normally his chores would involve him and two or three other boys, except for days when he worked in the fields outside the walls. Today was another exception apparently, since there were more than a dozen kids with him, including Zilly and Myra.

    He tried to edge away from Myra by hiding behind Davi, but Zilly made a beeline for him, which meant that of course Myra came too.

    ¡°How¡¯s Marksi? Can I hold him?¡± asked Zilly, and Marksi slithered into her arms before she even finished the question.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here,¡± said Myra. ¡°I thought this was only for children from the town.¡±

    ¡°Nope, beasts from the forest were invited, too. Otherwise, why would you be here?¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Me? You literally live in the forest, Brin. I bet you¡¯re doing evil¡­ forest things. Did you get those clothes from thest child you ate? Is that why they don¡¯t fit?¡± asked Myra.

    Brin looked down. She was right. He was growing fast, and nothing fit him very well anymore. His pants were up past his calves. It was too bad, these were the clothes he¡¯d been reborn into, and they were dyed a dark blue. He had a few pairs of clothes that he¡¯d bought here in town, but they were made of uncolored ck wool. For some reason he could never seem to get to the general store when linen was in stock, the only other local fashion option.

    He also had the thin overcoat he¡¯d been wearing when he woke up in this world. It was half worn away at this point, but he wore it because Marksi liked to stay in the hood.

    He generally hadn¡¯t noticed that his clothes were getting this small, but now it would be the only thing he could think about for the rest of the day.

    Trying to y it off, he flexed his hard-won muscles. ¡°Maybe this is how they¡¯re supposed to fit.¡±

    Zillyughed and put a hand to her mouth, and Myra sneered and started to say something, but Davi cut in. ¡°Cut it out, you two!¡±

    They were spared further banter by the arrival of Toros. Brin would say he was a stereotypical dwarf, but didn¡¯t really know if that was a thing here. He needed to ask. For all he knew it wasmon knowledge that there were elves and dwarves around.

    Either way, if there were dwarves, Toros could totally pass for one. He stood maybe four and a half feet tall, had absurdly muscr arms, and wore a thick leather apron and leather gloves that went to his elbows. His face had a racoon tan, it was dark red on his cheeks and nose, but his eyes were the normal ruddy tan of the people of the city. The roon tan probably came from using the goggles on his forehead; they had dark lenses and looked like steampunk sunsses.

    He walked energetically, and his hands were always moving. Checking the tools on his belt, stroking his long ck beard, or gesticting as he spoke.

    ¡°Alright, gather round, that¡¯s it,¡± Toros said to the gathered children. ¡°I¡¯m Toros the [Smith]. Don¡¯t call me a cksmith, because I work with more than just iron. You could call me a ck and metalsmith or just a metalsmith, but [Smith] is the name of the ss the gods gave me, so [Smith] is good enough for me. Now, you¡¯re here to learn the ins and outs of the trades of the town, but I¡¯m not much for fancy speeches. So why don¡¯t youe inside and I¡¯ll show you around.¡±

    He darted inside the Smithy and they followed into arge open room, all made of brick with a cement floor. There was a line of six anvils, a long work table with various tools, and a grinding stone. Brin was surprised to see a metal drain in the center of the floor. He wasn¡¯t sure what it would be used for. In case they needed to douse the room to put out fires? Now that he was looking for it, he saw a waterspout attached to a rubber hose, strung up to the side. It was a match for the enchanted waterspouts that many of the vigers had in their homes, only much bigger.

    Toros¡¯ apprentice Simao was hard at work pumping the bellows into the big furnace in the center of the room, but he stopped and pulled up his goggles when they entered. ¡°The temperature is just about right. Maybe five minutes before you can get started.¡±

    ¡°Alright, well, keep it going, it¡¯ll take longer than that to cover the basics,¡± Toros answered. ¡°Look over here, kids, let¡¯s start with the anvil. You ever wonder why they¡¯re always shaped like this. Well¡­¡±

    Toros went through the room, offering exnations for every piece of equipment, in a happily excited tone. He clearly loved this stuff and showed them tongs and mps with all the energy of a two year old showing off a stuffed animal collection.. Lots of it Brin already knew from being a fantasy nerd, but lots of the specifics were new to him. Especially in the ways that things were enchanted or changed to harmonize with Toros¡¯ skills. The furnace got hotter than it should be able to, enabling Toros to work with steel. Part of the heat came from the bellows, which only worked as well as they did because he and Simao had the right skill. Some of the hammers were stronger than steel, but some were softer for more brittle materials.

    As Toros went through the room, exining the tools, Marksi jumped out of Zilly¡¯s arms and moved up to get a closer look at the things Toros was pointing out. The [Smith] pretended not to notice, but by the end he was talking to Marksi instead of the children.

    Toros went through workce safety as well. Leather gloves and aprons were to be worn at all times. The ck-ss goggles needed to be worn any time they were going to look directly at the me or molten metal, and also to protect against sparks. There was a special iron helmet that looked like a welder¡¯s helmet from his old world, that they used when working with the most dangerous mes, although Toros¡¯ high Vitality protected him for day-to-day activities.

    After that, he surprised Brin by picking out six of the children, half the ss, and having them don sets of aprons, goggles, and gloves that he¡¯d prepared in advance. He was really going to let them try it out.

    Sadly, Brin wasn¡¯t in the first batch, but Davi and Zilly were, so this meant he got to watch his friends go first and learn from their mistakes.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be making nails today, from iron. This is the first thing a [Smith] learns to make, and one thing we spend most of our time making. Unless we have an apprentice, then we make them do it. Simao makes two hundred and fifty a day and he¡¯s so sick of it just thinking about them is liable to make him puke. Ain¡¯t that right, Simao?¡±

    ¡°Nah, don¡¯t listen to him,¡± said Simao with a smile. ¡°[Smiths] love smithing, otherwise we¡¯d have a different ss.¡±

    ¡°Bah!¡± said Toros. He walked over to the forge, and used a pair of tongs to draw out one of the thin metal rods that were sticking out of the me. It was bright yellow on the end that was in the fire, then red towards the middle, and regr iron gray at the end where Toros held it by the tongs.

    ¡°This is your starter. I¡¯m grabbing it here at the end with the tongs. It would be cool enough to touch with your bare hands right here, but we aren¡¯t going to touch it with our bare hands. We never touch <em>anything</em> thates out of the forge with our bare hands, or with gloves for that matter. We always use tongs. I have a Skill to resist burns, and I still use the tongs, even when I¡¯m alone.¡±

    He ced the hot part of the thin pole onto the anvil. ¡°Now, there are seven techniques that you need to work metal. We¡¯re going to use two of them to make a nail, so if you can do these two things you¡¯re about a third of the way to being a smith. The first is called drawing. It means drawing out, making something taper into a point.¡±

    Marksi started to slither towards the anvil, and Simao snatched him up from the floor and gave him back to Brin. Marksi squirmed around in his arms until he could get a good look at what Toros was doing.

    Toros hit the metal with a ck hammer. He stopped after the first hit and nced at Marksi, but the loud sound didn¡¯t bother the snake, though some of the children put fingers in their ears. He nodded, then kept going.

    He struck carefully and precisely again and again, and drew the metal out, making it thinner, and making it end in a sharp point. The nail wasn¡¯t circr like Brin was used to, but square shaped, with four sides all the way to the needle point.

    The [Smith¡¯s] blows were softer than Brin expected. He wasn¡¯t banging with his full strength, but looked like he was tapping softly, mostly concerned with not sttering the metal or ttening it too much. The nail shaped up quickly, almost magically quick, but at the same time Brin got the idea that Toros was holding back and going slowly so that the children could see what he was doing.

    ¡°The second technique is called upsetting. That¡¯s where we squash the material and make it thicker. That¡¯s how we¡¯ll make the nail head.¡±

    Toros grabbed the hot part of the nail with the tongs, then took out a pair of pliers and snipped right through the hot iron as if it were made of cheese. ¡°There¡¯s another way to do this in case you don¡¯t have the Strength, but for today just ask when you¡¯re ready and we¡¯ll cut it for you.¡±

    He put the nail in a vise on the work table, and tightened it shut. Then he hammered the top of the nail until the end of it ttened out and made the nail head. That done, he dunked the nail in a bucket of water for cooling before setting it on a shelf.

    It was a bit bigger than the nails Brin was used to. About three inches long and a quarter inch thick, but Brin supposed that since they all had to be made by hand, they probably preferred to use fewer,rger nails here.

    He also noticed that the other nails on the shelf were perfectly round. Ah, he¡¯d made this one square for their benefit. Because it would be easier, probably.

    Davi, Zilly, and the other four children in the first group used tongs to pull their rods out of the fire, and brought them to their anvils. Davi started banging right away, and his rod flew out of his tongs andnded on the floor, which drew a round of loudughter from Myra who was watching with Brin on the sidelines. He picked it up, embarrassed, and tried again. By the third try he got the hang of it, and started making huge dents in the metal.

    Zilly held the tongs more confidently, and tried out a few testing taps, which made no visible dent in the metal. She hit it with the hammer harder, probably as hard as she could, and finally there was a noticeable dent. She kept hitting, slowly thinning the metal out and driving it to a point.

    Davi finished his nail in minutes, and frankly it looked like garbage. It sort of went to a point, but it took so many twists and turns to get there it hardly counted as a nail. Simao finally ordered him to stop abusing the metal, so Davi took it over to the mp and put a head on it with a few hard taps, then dunked it in the water. Despite how it looked, he seemed very pleased with what he had made.

    The other three boys in the group ended up with crooked nails, all done in a matter of minutes. Zilly and the other girl took a lot longer. They tap, tap, tapped away over the course of fifteen minutes, switching arms when one got too tired. Eventually though, she ended up with a nail that was nearly a perfect match for the one Toros made.

    Then it was Brin¡¯s turn. He handed Marksi off to Zilly¡¯s eager hands, then took his rod out of the me and set it on an anvil, determined to follow Zilly¡¯s example and not Davi¡¯s. Zilly had much higher Dexterity than him, Hogg had said all the girls had Dexterity over 26. Brin couldn¡¯t match that, but he could at least be as careful as she had been. He tapped the metal softly, then harder and harder until it just barely started to move the metal. It was harder than he expected, but still perfectly within reason. He could still hit it a lot harder, but he wanted to do it right.

    Slowly, carefully, he hammered out the metal, keeping it perfectly t and tapering it down to a nice point. It took him ten minutes, and some of the boys snickered at him,pletely oblivious to the fact that their nails looked likeplete garbage.

    ¡°Nicely done. Go ahead and put the head on it,¡± said Simao, breaking Brin out of his concentration. His nail was done, thest minute he¡¯d been tapping out imperfections that were too tiny to really matter. Simao cut off the end, and Brin brought it over to the mp. He made sure it was tight, and gave it a strong, solid hit. Again, the metal was surprisingly hard for how brightly yellow it was glowing, but still well within range for him to move it how he wanted. A few more hits and it was done.

    He doused it in the water, and moved to ce it on the shelf, but Simao said, ¡°Go ahead and take it. It¡¯s cool enough to touch, we¡¯ve got a Skill working on the bucket.¡±

    ¡°I can keep this?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Simao. ¡°No one has the right to take something you made with your own hands.¡±

    ¡°Unless they own the smithy and the metal and the tools and use their skills to help you every step of the way,¡± said Brin. ¡°But thanks!¡±

    It was just a nail. He was crazy rich now, he could afford a wagonload of nails without making a dent in his wallet. But this nail was special. No amount of money in the world could give you something you¡¯d made with your own hands. Only effort, sweat, and blood could do that. It was a good nail, as good as anyone in the group had made. He was certain he¡¯d keep it for a long time.

    Through your efforts you have increased the following attributes. Dexterity +1

    Well, that was nice. He¡¯d probably gotten it since he¡¯d been careful to do it right. He¡¯d aplished a task, and it was a Dexterity-intensive activity. At least for him.

    ¡°Hey, did anyone else get a point for that?¡± he whispered to the other kids.

    ¡°I got a Strength,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Aw man, I didn¡¯t even think of that!¡± said Davi.

    ¡°How are you doing on Dexterity?¡± asked Brin. He was taking a risk. Adults did <em>not</em> like to talk about this, but maybe kids his age would be different.

    ¡°I¡¯m still four away,¡± said Davi.

    So people <em>did</em> talk about earning achievements as children. He knew Hogg had been overreacting.

    ¡°Oh, I got that ages ago. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll make it to the second threshold before System Day, though,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to stop trying and go for Strong I instead.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, guys!¡± said Myra. ¡°Achievement-chasing is a sure way to get an evil ss. Mom says so.¡±

    ¡°She would know,¡± said Brin.

    Toros must¡¯ve overheard them, because he said, ¡°You¡¯ll get attributes for aplishing new things. It¡¯s one of the reasons we do this. You¡¯ll all get another chance to make another nail, in case you did a crappy job this time,¡± said Toros, eying some of the boys.

    ¡°Don¡¯t need it!¡± said Zilly, proudly holding up her pristine nail. ¡°Girls rule!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but it took you forever!¡± one of the boys shouted back.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, at least we did it right. Girls rule!¡±

    ¡°Ok, but Brin did it pretty fast and he made the best nail in the group,¡± said Davi.

    Everyone stopped and looked at him. They¡¯d divided into groups, boys on the left and girls on the right. Brin looked between them, and then stepped to the girls side and raised a fist in solidarity. Marksi nodded from his shoulder and chirped in agreement. The boys groaned while Zilly cheered and patted him on the back.

    ¡°Alright now, enough of that,¡± said Toros, smiling in amusement. ¡°So what do you all think about being a [Smith]?¡± said Toros.

    ¡°It was fun!¡± said one of the boys. ¡°Can I make a knife?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it is fun!¡± Toros replied to thement but ignored the question. ¡°Smithing is hard work, but it¡¯s rewarding. You get to make neat things, you get to provide a service that everyone needs, and there¡¯s always another challenge to keep the levelsing. I get to make meat hooks, gears, pulleys, all sorts of clever little mechanisms. Those are the days that reallyunch me out of bed in the morning.¡±

    Toros had some examples out. In addition to the gears and pulleys he¡¯d mentioned, there was a little cage on a chain that Brin knew was for lowering food down into a well for people who couldn¡¯t afford refrigeration enchantments. There was a meat hook, and set of what could be oddly shaped shackles, too wide for human feet.

    ¡°What are those?¡± he found himself asking.

    Toros smiled beneath his beard. ¡°Hobbles. Horses are pretty good about learning not to kick you when you¡¯re shoeing them, but oxen need to be held down. These were a right puzzle to make; it was great! Challenges mean growth, and growth means better challenges!¡±

    ¡°But there are things about smithing that aren¡¯t so good. One thing, it¡¯s expensive. It¡¯s expensive to get started, and it¡¯s expensive to learn. Hammon¡¯s Bog helped me get started, and I owe the town for that, but not everyone is so lucky. A lot of [Smiths] take years and years doing lesser crafting, tinkering, or repairing before they can finally afford what they need to really get started. If one of you gets [Smith] I could take you in as an apprentice like Simao over there, but to tell you the truth, there isn¡¯t even enough work in this town for Simao and I. Metal is expensive, and there¡¯s not a lot who can afford my best work. People need regr stuff. Horseshoes, nails, simple implements, stuff you don¡¯t even really need the ss to make. Most people in town have one or two really nice tools they got from me, and for everything else cheaper stuff that doesn¡¯t help my levels, or what they can have Ademir the [Crafter] make.

    ¡°I also make weapons to sell out of town, and I service the nearby Bogs, although of course some of that dried up when¡­¡± He nced at Brin, then cleared his throat. ¡°Point is, getting started as a [Smith] is tough. The normal path for a [Smith] is to follow around a [Warrior] or something simr. Weapons and armor break duringbat way more than most people think, and just one physicalbat sser can provide a [Smith] with a decent amount of work. Some [Smiths] <em>are</em> adventurers or soldiers. There¡¯s a strike Skill that can be used inbat, and imagine repairing your armor right in the middle of a fight!¡±

    Toros went on for a bit about the joys and pitfalls of being a [Smith], and Brin listened while turning his nail around and around in his hands. Yeah, it made sense that it would be hard to start out as a [Smith]. If you had a clump of iron, or maybe even something rarer, why would you give it to a low-level [Smith] when you could give it to someone like Toros and get something amazing?

    Turns out Perris¡¯ speech about how money was everything actually held some water. If you could afford to waste materials, it didn¡¯t matter if anyone hired you. You could get to a high level on your own. Were other professions like that? Probably not to the same degree. Wood workers wouldn¡¯t have the same trouble getting materials. Leather workers might, though. Perris was a [Leatherworker]. He wondered if he had a hard time getting good materials.

    Toros finished his lecture and the kids went their separate ways, but Davi walked beside Brin as he made his way out of town.

    ¡°How are you doing it?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Brin, instantly panicking on the inside. Which one of his secrets had Davi seen through.

    ¡°How are you getting so strong so quickly? I was miles ahead of you when you first got to town, but you¡¯re catching up quick. Meanwhile I¡¯ve been stuck at 33 Strength for four whole months now,¡± said Davi.

    Brinughed, mostly at the sudden release of tension. He didn¡¯t need to keep this a secret, just whose idea it was. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy. Hogg says that you need to do three things to bulk up. Eat a lot, sleep a lot, lift a lot¡­¡±

    He talked through his morning and evening exercise routines, and Davi nodded along with enthusiasm. When he got to the part about his diet, he saw Davi¡¯s face start to fall.

    He felt like a jerk. His high-protein diet was expensive, too expensive for whatever allowance Davi was getting, which could very easily be nothing. How to fix this?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It¡¯s not that hard to eat right. Is this about cutting back on sugar? I¡¯ve seen the bakery near your house, so I don¡¯t me you for non-stop binge eating pastries, but if you want to get stronger you need to cut back.¡±

    Davi looked like he¡¯d swallowed a frog. ¡°That¡¯s not¨C¡±

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll make it easy for you. Come at dawn and we¡¯ll work out together, and you can eat what I¡¯m eating. It¡¯ll be easy; you won¡¯t even have to think about it.¡±

    Davi¡¯s face darkened. ¡°My parents won¡¯t want me taking a handout..¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s offering a handout? Marksi, did you hear me offering a handout?¡±

    Marksi chirped, happy to be part of the conversation.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that weird to eat breakfast at your friend¡¯s house, is it? If we went to your house right now, your mom would try to feed me, and don¡¯t try to tell me that¡¯s not true,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure¡­¡± said Davi. ¡°Then you shoulde to my house at least once a week. That way my parents won¡¯t think you¡¯re giving me charity.¡±

    ¡°That could work. Actually, that could be better. People are already starting rumors that I¡¯m doing ¡®evil forest things¡¯. It might be a good idea to work out right in the middle of town once in a while,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Nobody¡¯s saying that except for Myra and she¡­ listen, she¡¯s really not that bad once you get to know her,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± said Brin.

    Brin spent the day after the lesson working with Hogg on Dexterity. Hogg had him learn to juggle, and he managed to get a hang of juggling three balls in an hour, and then spent another four hours moving up to four and then five balls. The System didn¡¯t reward him, but Hogg seemed to think they were making good progress.

    The next morning Davi was as good as his word and showed up at exactly dawn. Brin went through his regr set of exercises, but having someone else along motivated him to work harder than ever. Someone else other than Marksi, that was. The little snake did his typical mimicry of the workout routine, which sent the boys into fits ofughter more than once.

    To his surprise, he got a notification when the workout was done.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength +1

    Only two days after hisst one, that was terrific news. It would be difficult, but he still thought he¡¯d be able to get to Strong II on top of getting the Dexterity, Will, and Vitality past the first threshold. He just had to stay on top of things. Davi got the same notification, and he was also over the moon about it.

    After the workout, Brin made breakfast and put six eggs, half a roast chicken, a couple slices of bread, and a ss of milk in front of Davi. The boy¡¯s eyes widened in surprise at all the food, but Brin put the exact same meal in front of himself, too, and tucked in like it was the most natural thing in the world. Neither of them saw Hogg that morning, but he tended to sleep in most mornings, and he was a coffee for breakfast type of person regardless. Brin put the kettle on for him, and then he and Davi set off for the day.

    He was in such a good mood after getting another point in Strength that he didn¡¯t remember what they were going to be doing that day, so it hit him all at once when they crossed the gates into town.

    Today was the day they were supposed to learn from [Weaver] Tawna.

 Book 2: Chapter 10

    Book 2: Chapter 10

    Brin arrived with the rest of the children at the [Weaver¡¯s] hut, which looked exactly like the type of ce a [Witch] would live. Even in this crowded part of town it was alone in an open grassy in, and instead of being made with normal wood, which was abundant, it was built of seamlessly woven straw.

    [Weaver] Tawna pretended to hate the idea that people would think of her as a [Witch], but then did everything in her power to make herself look like one. She wanted all the clout of a [Witch], but none of the stigma.

    The children with him seemed pretty excited. Myra was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet since this was her mother, but the other kids seemed excited as well, and more than a little nervous. Tawna was a local celebrity, and frankly the lesson with Toros yesterday had been awesome. If that was the quality of lessons they had to look forward to, then obviously they would be excited. The only one dreading this day, apparently, was Brin. He just wanted to get through it.

    The door to the hut opened; the various fibers making it up wriggled and squirmed their way into the walls, clearing the way.

    Out stepped [Weaver] Tawna. She wore a shimmering violet gown covered in a gossamer shawl, with the sleeves together so that her hands were hidden. Her head was high, her expression impassive, and her ck hair wasbed so smooth and straight she could be in a shampoomercial.

    This wasn¡¯t the Tawna he¡¯d ever seen before. What was she trying to pull? He already knew she was a shrieking harridan. Was she trying to act cool for a group of thirteen-year-olds?

    She approached the group, and separated her hands, but the sleeves were so long only her fingertips were visible. She gestured to the area in front of her, and spoke in a cool, almost monotone voice. ¡°Gather round. Form a circle if you please.¡±

    Theyplied, forming a circle with her. Myra stood on her right and Zilly on her left.

    ¡°A [Weaver] weaves,¡± said Tawna, as if it were the most profound thing in the world.

    She let the words hang in the air. For too long. There was silence for thirty seconds. Then a minute. The children started to look at eachother, maybe wondering what they were supposed to do. Myra looked up at her mother with adoration in her eyes.

    Out of nowhere, Tawna finally continued her lesson. ¡°To weave, one must understand threads. This is the base Skill of our ss¨C[Thread Mastery]. Threads of cotton. Threads of silk. Threads of linen.¡±

    Myra dashed out of the circle to the hut, and returned quickly with a worn and ragged farmer¡¯s shirt. It was clean, but it was heavily frayed and had holes in ces. She gave it to Tawna who took it without looking.

    Tawna tossed the shirt into the air. It floated there for a moment, pped in the wind, and then <em>unwound</em> itself. Each thread of the shirt unwove itself from the rest in less than a second, and then just as quickly, the shirt reassembled. What fluttered to the ground was a perfect coat jacket, green where the shirt had been tan, with twisting dragons embroidered down the arms. It was a smaller size than the shirt had been, but looked thicker.

    That was a coat someone would pay six silver for, and she¡¯d made it in <em>seconds.</em>

    The children gasped, and Marksi looked like he wanted to leap over for a closer look. Brin caught him and stuffed him into his hood. ¡°Stay!¡± he whispered.

    That brought his attention to his own clothes. He¡¯d never gotten around to recing anything, so they were still too small and the hard chores and harder y meant that they were getting almost as ragged as that farmer¡¯s shirt. Just like yesterday, he felt terribly underdressed.

    In his old world, everybody had thirty outfits and they were all mass produced trash. Here, everyone had one, two, maybe three outfits, and they were generally beautiful. The best materials they could afford, all sorts of color, embroidery, and embossment to give themselves unique vor.

    In fantasy movies in his old world, everyone had ratty hair, mud on their faces, and only wore brown. If there were any other colors, it was also covered with mud. But it turns out,bs were very low-tech, washing your face was not that hard, and if you could only afford one outfit, you¡¯d find a way to make it something you could be proud of.

    A lot of the reason they dressed so well, however, was probably because of this [Weaver], who could rece an entire textile factory by herself.

    ¡°[Weaver] is amon ss, but not often is it offered to children on their System day. Does anyone know why? Brin?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Brin had been hoping to fly under the radar, but he should¡¯ve expected she¡¯d call him out. ¡°Uh, no. I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°I thought not. You¡¯re not from here. You don¡¯t seem to be from anywhere,¡± said Tawna. She gestured to Myra.

    ¡°Most of the time you¡¯ll get [Spinner] first. [Spinner] can be evolved into [Weaver],¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Quite right. But I cannot suggest you take this ss. Do you know why, Brin?¡± she asked.

    He met her gaze. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°One wonders if you know anything at all. Perhaps if you spent less time courting abomination and more time learningmon knowledge your fate would not be so¡­ but I¡¯m getting ahead of myself.¡± She gestured to Zilly.

    Zilly at least had the courtesy to look ufortable at being used as a weapon against Brin, but she answered, ¡°[Spinners] can¡¯t do much with the ss that can¡¯t be done with a spinning wheel. And, um¡­ [Weavers]...¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± said Tawna. ¡°Since my ss is an evolution of [Spinner], I can do anything a [Spinner] can do.¡±

    She smoothly bent down and tore some grass from the ground, and flung it into the air. It all copsed into itself and then spun out into a long, green thread.

    One girl raised her hand.

    ¡°Ask,¡± said Tawna.

    ¡°Is it true you can see the future?¡±

    ¡°Yes of course,¡± said Tawna. ¡°And so can you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You see the world around you, and can tell that it is autumn. Tell me, then, in the near future, will the days grow colder or warmer?¡±

    ¡°Colder, but that¡¯s not seeing the future,¡± said the girl.

    Total cringe. What was that forum called that made fun of stuff like this? ¡°I¡¯m 14 and this is deep¡±. But the other kids were drinking it in, so snickering in derision wouldn¡¯t win him any friends.

    ¡°You have seen the present, and extrapted the future. This is what [Weavers] do. Only we can predict more, because we can see more. To be a [Weaver] one must understand threads.¡± She closed her eyes and rocked her head back and forth side to side as she spoke. ¡°One must truly understand them. See them. Feel them. Know them, how they twist and turn, how they move and wind around the others. Threads of cotton. Threads of silk. Threads of linen.¡±

    She opened her eyes. ¡°Threads of fate.¡±

    There were gasps throughout the circle. ¡°If I can see your current path, can I not conclude that you¡¯ll continue to walk down it?¡±

    Brin resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but only because she was staring directly at him. ¡°Oh? And what do you see in my fate, [Weaver]?¡± he asked, but not because she was starting to get to him. Was there something wrong with his fate? What did that even mean?

    ¡°I see one who pursues power to the exclusion of all else. You y, but only if it makes you stronger. You eat, but only to build muscle. You smile, but only to put others at ease. There is no dness in your heart. Your fate is to bring chaos out of order, to push the fates of those around you into disarray.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t <em>really</em> see the future, right? He felt like someone should have warned him if that were the case. The stuff about him chasing power was true, but it wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t care about anything else. He chased power <em>because</em> he cared. And the fake smile thing? That was a lie, a mean one, because it was impossible to disprove. He smiled sometimes. He¡¯d been smiling today. Until he came here.

    To his surprise, not all of the children looked like they were on Tawna¡¯s side at this deration. Some of them red at him with suspicion, but Davi was ring at Tawna, his face starting to darken. Zilly looked downcast. Even Myra looked concerned. She was biting her lip, eyes moving back and forth between Brin and her mother.

    ¡°You¡¯re¨C¡± Brin started.

    ¡°What about me?¡± Zilly interrupted. ¡°What do you see in my future?¡±

    Tawna¡¯s eyebrow twitched. Her lip trembled, as if she were resisting putting her mouth into a sneer, but only with great effort. Her face smoothed, and finally she tore her eyes away from Brin and looked at Zilly. ¡°You shine brightly. So brightly as to bring the shadows around you into stark relief.¡±

    The other children all wanted their fortunes told, and Tawna answered them all with trite astrology-style nonsense. Stuff that could apply to anyone.

    Tawna pped her hands. ¡°Now then, an activity. We will practice weaving.¡±

    Myra rushed into the hut again, and came out with six wooden squares. Tawna took one out of her hands, and exined what they were.

    The squares were weaving frames, except with a catch. The weaving would have to be done in pairs. One child would hold one set of threads, and the other would hold the set on the other side, and they¡¯d take turns weaving them into each other.

    They paired off, Zilly with Myra, and Davi with Brin. Then Tawna said, ¡°Davi, why don¡¯t you work with me?¡± leaving Brin alone.

    It was a small, petty gesture. Exactly the type of thing he¡¯d been expecting. This didn¡¯t even look that hard, he probably wouldn¡¯t earn a Dexterity for it, even if he had been allowed to participate.

    He wanted to say he was above it, that he didn¡¯t care, but somehow it still stung.

    He waited, jaw clenched against any insubordinate words, until the lesson was over. She obviously wanted him tosh out, to say something disrespectful so she could give him some sort of punishment, but he didn¡¯t give her the satisfaction.

    He waited.

    When the lesson finally wore down, he turned to go, but then took onest nce at the woven coat, stillying on the ground.

    A thought urred to him. He smiled. A genuine smile.

    Tawna reeled backwards, as if physically struck. Did the sight of him with a genuine smile bother her that much? She totally looked like the type to drink her own Kool-Aid. Or maybe she really could see fate, and his had changed. Changed with a single thought.

    He didn¡¯t make an usation. He didn¡¯t have any proof. Just a thought.

    The thought was this: The undead in Travin¡¯s Bog had worn clothes. A uniform, tight ck nondescript clothing. Not the clothes they had died in. And while some of them had looked frayed, they¡¯d mostly been in good repair. Whoever had reanimated them had also redressed them. And who would bother? No one, unless it was easy. Unless they could do it in seconds with barely a swish of their fingers.

    [Necromancers] evolved from [Witches]. But where did [Witches]e from? He would bet his left eye they evolved from [Weavers].

    Why, in Hogg¡¯s stories, was it always [Weavers] who got burned at the stake when [Witch]-paranoia overtook a town? Superstition, but superstition didn¡¯te from nothing.

    That thought alone would make you want to stay away from any [Weaver] you knew. To treat her with extra respect, but to take steps to stay away from them as well, such as not building your house too close to hers. Deference, but ostracization.

    He¡¯d almost feel sorry for Tawna if she wasn¡¯t so vile.

    He didn¡¯t know she was a [Witch]. Honestly, he didn¡¯t even really think she was. It was just a thought. But it was a thought worth thinking about.

    And even if she wasn¡¯t one, so what? She knew what it was like to be isted and shunned, to have suspicionsid on you that you didn¡¯t deserve. She knew exactly what it was like, but instead of being more empathetic to someone in the same situation, she did everything she could to make things worse for him. She was so <em>petty</em>.

    And¡­ the undead had been wearing matching clothes. Just a thought.

    After the lesson he ignored the calls of his friends and marched to the general store. [Merchant] Julinha stood behind the counter, and scowled at him as he entered. The sharp-eyeddy really didn¡¯t like him, and now he was starting to understand why. Sometimes resentment rose from some kind of offense, and sometimes it originated from guilt.

    ¡°I need clothes, obviously,¡± he said, looking down at himself in a self-deprecating way.

    ¡°I can make you something from Ademir¡¯s wool, but I¡¯ll need a silver and two coppers for the entire set,¡± said Julinha.

    That was gouging, in and simple. It¡¯s not like he couldn¡¯t afford it, but a set of woolen clothes were worth four coppers, tops.

    ¡°Come on, that in ugly wool?¡± asked Brin. ¡°I¡¯m not asking for a lot, Julinha. I just want to look like everyone else in the town.¡±

    He stepped up to a shelf with reams of colorful linens. All of it would have been woven by Tawna. He picked up a nice blue fabric. ¡°This looks good.¡±

    She snatched it out of his hands. ¡°It¡¯s spoken for.¡±

    Brin met her eyes, and held them for a long moment. ¡°She won¡¯t let you sell her fabric to me, will she?¡±

    ¡°Get out!¡±

    He didn¡¯t move. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go. But I¡¯ll be back with the Prefit. And if he won¡¯t listen, I¡¯ll bring Hogg. You know, after what happened to me, Hogg, he bragged to the other Heroes about Hammon¡¯s Bog. About how it¡¯s a great ce for children. He thought it would be a good ce for me to heal my¡­ scars.¡±

    Her anger started to fade, reced by sorrow and sagging shoulders. He¡¯d been right about her guilty conscience.

    ¡°I get it. I¡¯m not going to force the issue. But at the same time, I don¡¯t have anywhere else to go, you know? What am I supposed to do?¡±

    She seemed to wilt before his eyes. She let out a long sigh and said, ¡°Three coppers. I can¡¯t do anything about the linen. She has the right to refuse you, no matter what I¡­ She has the right.¡±

    It was a good price, even if his clothes would be uniquely nd and undecorated. ¡°One copper. And two bits.¡±

    She winced, but nodded. ¡°Come back in three hours.¡±

    How long had it been since he¡¯d stood up for himself? It felt <em>good</em>. He turned to walk away with his head held high, but paused in the doorway. Maybe he should have paid full price? He wasn¡¯t really mad at Julinha. The problem was Tawna.

    He chuckled. ¡°You know, I was just thinking about clothes. It¡¯s kind of funny, but even the undead were dressed better than me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The undead soldiers. They weren¡¯t wearing the clothes they died in. Someone dressed them. Why? I can¡¯t think of anyone who would bother, unless it was no trouble at all for them, I suppose.¡±

    Just a thought. Had that been petty of him? He could be a little petty. Petty enough to leave simrments with three other people on the way out of town.

    When he reached the town¡¯s gates, he was surprised to find Myra waiting there.

    ¡°Leave me alone. I¡¯m not in the mood,¡± he said, intending to walk right by her.

    ¡°Why?¡± she shouted.

    He stopped, stunned.

    Looking at Myra, he saw that she was crying. Well, she was about ten years toote to manipte him like that. ¡°Oh, cut it out, that¡¯s not going to work.¡±

    ¡°Why, Brin? Why do you want to kill my mom?¡± she asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? I don¡¯t want to kill anyone!¡± he shouted. He looked to his left. This area of town was never very busy, but there were two women on the street a block away who¡¯d stopped their conversation to stare at the tall, muscr boy shouting at the pretty, crying girl.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill your mom,¡± said Brin, a little more softly. ¡°Did she tell you that?¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t have to. I¡¯ve seen it. She keeps it right up in the middle of the room. <em>I grew up </em>with it, Brin, so I know,¡± she said.

    He had no idea what she meant by ¡°it¡±. Some kind of [Weaver] thing, he guessed.

    ¡°Why do you hate her?¡± Myra finished.

    ¡°Why does she hate me? There¡¯s only one person in this world who has a reason to hate me, and that¡¯s the [Witch]. The [Witch] that destroyed Travin¡¯s Bog and tried to kill me and <em>failed.</em> If that¡¯s not your mom, then tell me why she hates me. Tell me. Tell me why, and I¡¯ll fall down at her feet and apologize.¡±

    Myra pped him. She clearly hadn¡¯t earned Strong I yet, but it took every bit of willpower he had in his body not to return the blow.

    ¡°My grandmother died in a [Witch]-hunt, Brin,¡± said Myra. ¡°My mom knows better than anyone¨C¡±

    ¡°Oh, I guess that it¡¯s wrong to spread rumors, then. But what do I know? I¡¯m just a pre-[Witch],¡± said Brin.

    He stomped away, and she didn¡¯t try to follow him.

    The walk down the road to Hogg¡¯s house in the forest felt shorter than it normally did. He was walking too fast, his long steps eating up the ground. He¡¯d be there soon, and he wasn¡¯t ready for it.

    Yes, the adult part of him was telling him that he could have handled that better. That sometimes people just didn¡¯t get along and he should let it go.

    But he was in a teenager¡¯s body, and that part of him was liable to boil over. His blood roiled in his veins. He wanted to punch something.

    ¡°Get down, Marksi,¡± said Brin.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if Marksi would understand, but the little snake understood the tone if not the words. He slid down Brin¡¯s back and slithered a few feet down the road.

    Brin picked up a stick on the road, and swung it into a tree, as hard as he could. It shattered immediately.

    He grabbed a branch from the end of a limb on a tree, and pulled on it, trying to tear it free. It bent, but didn¡¯t break, and his pulling on it swished it back and forth and made him feel stupid. He growled, buckled down, and really pulled. Eventually the branch started to give, but the tear was uneven, and pulled a long strip of green bark away until finally it came free.

    He hit the tree with the branch a dozen times, until the green stick started to give way and turn into an awkward il.

    He threw it on the ground and took a breath. That was immature, but he felt a lot better.

    ¡°Come on Marksi,¡± he said.

    The snake had been watching him with wide eyes, but when he heard the warmth in Brin¡¯s tone, he squeaked and climbed up to his usual spot.

    When Brin got to the house, he was serene as a summer morning. Hogg was sitting on the porch with a vacant expression. Concentrating on a mirror image somewhere, probably.

    His gaze focused when Brin walked and he said, ¡°What happened to you?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I''m as serene as a summer morning,¡± said Brin. ¡°Hey listen, can I ask you about [Weavers]?¡±

    ¡°Oh geez, this again,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with their fortune telling? Can they really see fate? And what does that even mean?¡±

    He could see Hogg mentally calcting whether he actually had to answer or if he could tell Brin to get lost. The Oath to uphold his fatherly duties must¡¯ve forced his hand, because Hogg growled and said, ¡°They¡¯re pretty tight-lipped about it. But it¡¯s real, whatever it is. They can see¡­ something. Maybe it¡¯s better if I tell you what they can¡¯t do. They can¡¯t see the future. All sorts of surprising things happen to people, and Tawna doesn¡¯t predict any of it. She doesn¡¯t even try. They can¡¯t read your mind. I¡¯ve yed against [Weavers] in cards, and they can¡¯t predict my bluffs and they can¡¯t tell if their hand beats mine. I think they can see a general impression of who you are. What you like and dislike, what you want, that kind of thing. So in the card games, a [Weaver] could tell that I wanted to win, but couldn¡¯t tell how I meant to go about doing that. Does that answer your question? Please say yes, I¡¯m kind of in the middle of something.¡±

    ¡°Tawna says my ¡®fate¡¯ shows that I¡¯m evil and bad and I want to kill her,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That checks out,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Shut up,¡± said Brin. ¡°She¡¯s annoying but I¡¯m not nning on killing her. The only person in this world I want to kill is the W¨C the [Necromancer] who destroyed Travin¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°Stop. I see where you¡¯re going with this and [Weaver] Tawna is not a [Witch]. I¡¯m ten times more paranoid than you, and I¡¯ve already verified it six different ways. I¡¯m not guessing; I¡¯m certain. Drop it,¡± said Hogg.

    He wanted to ask if [Weavers] evolved into [Witches]. That would actually be an argument <em>against</em> Tawna being a [Witch], because if [Weavers] could spin then [Witches] could weave, so any [Witch] would¡¯ve been able to clothe her zombies. But what was the point? Hogg would just think the worst of him, and he probably wouldn¡¯t even answer the question.

    ¡°Fine. Whatever,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m going to go train my Dexterity or something.¡±

    He made it two steps before he stopped and face-palmed.

    ¡°What?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I forgot I ordered clothes. Looks like it¡¯s a Vitality kind of day. I¡¯m going back to town.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 11

    Book 2: Chapter 11

    The next day was Brin¡¯s day to work out at Davi¡¯s ce, so he set off a little early. Marksi didn¡¯t want to wake up, but he knew the little guy would be sad if he left without him, so he put him in the hood of his new drab woolen shirt. Julinha had been as good as her word, and if the clothing was in it didn¡¯t look bad by any means. He¡¯d ended up paying her full price after all, and felt confident that he¡¯d fairly well won her over from Tawna¡¯s side.

    Davi¡¯s family had a house in the city, but for the workout they¡¯d decided to meet at his family¡¯s farm. It was close enough that it was faster to go around the outside of the walls rather than cut through town.

    Brin crossed the distance in a steady run. His Vitality was close to hitting the first threshold, so he wasn¡¯t even winded when he got there.

    First he walked past the fields of mato. The nt looked foreign and otherworldly, long purple vines covered the ground without seeming to go in anywhere. The field looked like someone had dropped a big pile of purple spaghetti on the ground. It was nowhere close to ready to harvest, so the pods that would eventually grow the mato were just lumpy tumors on the vines.

    There wasn¡¯t a lot of mato here, just an acre and two acres of hay, since Davi¡¯s family had an entirely different focus.

    After the hay, he passed the herd of grazing cows, cows being a somewhat imprecise term in this case. These animals were muscr and fierce looking, with gray, hairless skin that reminded him of rhinos. Their horns were much thicker and longer than any animals he¡¯d seen on earth, and they spiraled out to the sides.

    Despite how fierce they looked, they werepletely docile, and didn¡¯t even raise their eyes as he went past.

    He didn¡¯t know why they looked like this. Maybe they had been normal cows at some point, and transformed by magic or sses. Or maybe it was simple evolution. Brin guessed it was the former; Davi¡¯s parents, Alvir and Bruna Pimental, were both [Cattle Farmer], an evolution of [Farmer] that focused on raising and breeding livestock.

    Last, he passed the Pimental family treasure.

    A bull stood proudly in a fenced off area. A huge, towering beast, Brin¡¯s head didn¡¯t even go to his shoulders. He had an intelligent look in his eye, while all his females seemed a bit dull, and he surveyed hisnd with cold calction. The fence was covered in signs warning people not to enter his private pasture, and the way he met Brin¡¯s eye with such unwavering dominance made him sure that the fence around him was nothing more than a polite fiction.

    Davi had told him all about the bull, of course. The way that Brin didn¡¯t really worry about money must have made Davi feel insecure about his own family¡¯s wealth, though he really didn¡¯t need to. Brin didn¡¯t look down on people for being poor, and besides, Davi¡¯s family really wasn¡¯t even close to poor by Hammon¡¯s Bog standards.

    The bull was proof of that. A normal adult with a ss in Hammon¡¯s Bog made a silver a day, but the Pimentals could rent the bull out for four silvers a day. He had the strength for jobs that even people with System-enhanced Strength had trouble doing on their own. Pulling up boulders, pulling up stumps, pulling wagons the size of school-buses for bringing in the harvest. <em>Sometimes </em>plowing fields, but he was a bit pricey for that.

    The System could increase your Strength, but it used your species as a baseline. A level ten bull would <em>always</em> be stronger than a level ten person, no matter what ss they had or how many pushups they''ve done.

    The bull snorted and Brin tore his eyes away. <em>Don¡¯t offend the expensive murder-bull.</em>

    Davi exited the milk shack, carrying something strange. The hulking pre-teen had a long stick on his shoulders. It looked like the yoke a bull would use, only it was obviously made for him. It had four hooks, and each of them held up a five-gallon barrel. He¡¯d be willing to bet each of them were full of milk. Those had to weigh something like forty pounds each, and his yoke had four of them.

    ¡°So what¡¯s this?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I made these yesterday!¡± said Davi. ¡°And I got a Dexterity for it!¡±

    ¡°Nice! But what are they?¡±

    ¡°I figure today could be leg day! We can put on these bad boys and do walking squats while we bring the milk into town,¡± said Davi. ¡°Plus, this is a job that really does need to be done, so it might even count for¡­ you know. System stuff.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you, Davi. That sounds like absolute hell. It¡¯s a good idea, though. Let¡¯s do this!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Davi pointed at something behind Brin.

    He turned to see Zilly, walking down the roading from the town¡¯s gate. ¡°What¡¯s she want?¡± They started walking towards her but she held up a hand indicating they should wait and dashed towards them.

    Since they were waiting for her to catch up, Brin spent the time figuring out how to put on the yoke. It was surprisingly well-bnced and fit over his shoulders easily, although it was heavy as sin.

    ¡°You made this? Did you carve it yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Davi said proudly. ¡°Dad helped a little.¡±

    Zilly caught up with them a minuteter, and was still gasping from the sprint, ¡°I knew it¡­ you guys¡­ are training your Strength!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not against the rules,¡± said Davi defensively.

    ¡°Well it sort of is,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Everyone knows you¡¯re achievement chasing. But who cares? I want in.¡±

    Brin and Davi nced at each other. ¡°You sure?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zilly said with a sharp nod that shook her curls. ¡°I¡¯m not going to get to Dextrous II before System Day. I just don¡¯t have the knack for it and I¡¯m wasting my time trying. I¡¯d be better off trying for Strength I. Girls never get the¡­ the special one. What¡¯s it called?¡± She asked thest part in a conspiratorial whisper.

    ¡°Workhorse,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Huh. That doesn¡¯t sound that ttering,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°You know what they say. The reward for work well done is more work,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Who says that?¡±

    ¡°Well, I just said it. So there¡¯s at least one person,¡± said Brin.

    Zillyughed. She was one of the few people that even noticed his dry sense of humor. Most people just thought he was being obstinate.

    ¡°So this is what you do? Carry heavy things around a lot?¡± asked Zilly.

    There¡¯s a little more to it than that,¡± said Brin. ¡°Tell you what. We have some extra time, it won¡¯t take that long to bring this into town. Why don¡¯t we go through our routine a little bit as a warm up? We can show you how it¡¯s done.¡±

    Davi looked a little nonplussed as he looked between Zilly and Brin. Then suddenly he smiled and said, ¡°You two¡­ why don¡¯t you two.. You two get started while I go grab some stuff from the shack.¡±

    Davi wasn¡¯t subtle for a thirteen-year-old, and thirteen-year-olds weren''t famous for being subtle. He obviously thought that Brin and Zilly were crushing on each-other. Well, that wasn¡¯t going to happen. Zilly was a kid. The good news was that as far as he could tell, Zilly also only saw him as a friend.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s start with pushups.¡±

    Surprisingly, or maybe he shouldn¡¯t have been surprised, but Zilly had no problem knocking out fifty push-ups. He started on situps, but that woke Marksi up, who started squeaking insistently.

    ¡°Good morning, sleepyhead!¡± Zilly said to him.

    Marksi ignored her, and slithered towards one of the cows. Brin thought he was going to spook it and get him in trouble with the bull, but Marksi stopped and pointed at the air with his tail.

    There was a swarm of shiny green flies, buzzingzily over an old dry cowpie. Marksi wanted Brin to get him some for breakfast.

    ¡°Yeah, no. I¡¯m not catching flies for you.¡±

    Marksi copsed on the ground, breathing heavy, wheezy breaths.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Zilly said with a melodramatic ir. ¡°I think you¡¯ve broken his little heart!¡±

    Brin chuckled, but bent down to scratch Marksi¡¯s head. ¡°Listen, buddy. I hope you know I¡¯ll always take care of you. But you¡¯re going to be a big, strong hunter someday! Just like how me, Davi, and Zilly are practicing to get strong, you need to do the same. Why don¡¯t you practice your hunting skills on those flies? If you can¡¯t get any, I¡¯ll still find you breakfast. But it¡¯ll be fruit.¡±

    Marksi looked at Brin, offense written clearly on his little snaky features.

    ¡°I¡¯m only saying it like that because I believe in you! You can do this.¡±

    Marksi nodded twice, then sank down low, and disappeared into the grass.

    Back to the workout, Brin took Zilly through lunges, squats, and a few other exercises that didn¡¯t need equipment, and talked about things like curls and bench presses.

    ¡°Hey, so listen,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I saw Myrast night. She looked pretty bad. Do you know what¡¯s up with her?¡±

    There was no sign of duplicitousness on her face, but it could be because they were in the middle of a five-minute nk. Brin would be willing to bet this was the real reason Zilly had sought them out today. For the gossip.

    Not that he minded. He <em>wanted </em>to get his story out there.

    ¡°She found me on the way back home after the lesson, and she was <em>sobbing</em>. She used me of being a monster, like always, and said I was going to kill her mom.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zilly nearly dropped her nk.

    ¡°It¡¯s not true, obviously. She¡¯s not my favorite person, but I don¡¯t want her dead,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But if she thinks¡­ Brin, she¡¯s a [Weaver]!¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s right. Hogg exined it to mest night,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Myra said you were kind of mean,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin groaned, but only because they were pretty far into the nk. He <em>hated</em> nks. ¡°I may have gone a little too far. But they haven¡¯t made things easy for me either. Could you tell them something for me? Tell them I just want this to be over. If they need me to take an Oath or something to prove I¡¯m not evil, I¡¯d even be willing to do that. I get that chasing achievements has people worried that I¡¯m going to take an evil ss, but I¡¯m not going to.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really not?¡±

    ¡°No! I want to get stronger. These achievements will make our whole life easier.¡±

    Zilly copsed from her nk, her core finally giving out. She rolled around onto her back. ¡°Maybe. A [Basketmaker] doesn¡¯t care if she has fifty Strength or a hundred.¡±

    Brin dropped out of his nk as well, even though he probably could¡¯ve kept going another minute. ¡°Until she has to care. This world isn¡¯t always safe.¡±

    ¡°This world, huh? What other world is there? Besides ¡®this world¡¯ is even more unsafe to people with evil sses.¡±

    ¡°If I get offered an evil ss because I have too many achievements, well so what? I just won¡¯t take it. What about you? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone our age with higher scores than you, except maybe Davi. And I don¡¯t believe you about not getting Dexterity II, by the way.¡±

    ¡°I think I could be happy being a [Collier] like dad, or a [Fruitier] like mom. But if I don¡¯t even get <em>offered</em> anything else¡­ I don¡¯t know. I think I at least want to have a choice.¡±

    Theyid on their backs staring at the morning sky. The conversation didn¡¯t start up again, and he didn¡¯t know if it was apanionable silence, or an awkward silence. He could never tell.

    Brin tried to think of something to start up the conversation again, when Marksi got his attention. The snake had tried a couple times to snatch the shiny green flies out of the air, but always missed. He even <em>pounced</em> at them once, and Brin was pretty impressed to see a snake jump, it didn¡¯t get him any closer to his goal.

    The little snake stopped and pouted, but Brin didn¡¯t help. After a minute or two, Marksi stopped trying and curled around himself. Brin thought he¡¯d given up, but after a while, Marksi started changing colors. Or rather, he was always changing color; instead, he stopped changing color. He turned the exact same emerald green as the flies.

    Then he lifted up his head, slowly, ever so slowly. One of the fliesnded on his nose. He bit it out of the air.

    Marksi got three more flies that way, and when he returned to Brin, all fat and happy, Brin praised him with full enthusiasm. Zilly was all too happy to join in as well. See? He didn¡¯t need to torture Marksi. Positive reinforcement and encouragement worked even better.

    Davi returned from whatever it was he was doing in that shack, still smiling happily.

    ¡°So what¡¯s up with you two?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Brin was just telling me about Myra. They had a fight,¡± said Zilly.

    If anything, Davi¡¯s smile got brighter, but then he forced on a re, though Brin could tell it was for appearances sake. ¡°Aw,e on Brin. You need to be nicer to her!¡±

    Oh, so that was it. Davi liked Myra. Poor guy. Well, Brin didn¡¯t have anything against teenage love triangles in principle, but he had no desire to be part of one. Besides, Davi had nothing to worry about. Myra <em>despised </em>Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Well, we should go,¡± he said..

    They put their yokes back on, and Zilly grabbed one of the milk barrels by the handle in each hand. He was impressed, they had to be forty pounds each, but she didn¡¯t seem to be straining too much.

    They made their way towards town. At first they tried squat-stepping, but thatsted for all of ten steps. Brin felt like the walk alone would be pushing his body to the limit. There was no way he¡¯d be able to do anything extra. Even those ten steps left his knees burning, and it wasn¡¯t getting any easier.

    They made it to the town walls when Zilly put her jugs down and begged for a break. Brin kept his yoke over his shoulders while they waited for her to catch her breath. If he put it down, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to pick it up again.

    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s been something I¡¯ve been wondering. Why do we never train Magic? How would we even do that?¡± asked Brin. Hogg shut him down hard when he asked him about it, but so far Zilly and Davi had been an open book with this type of thing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there is a way,¡± said Davi. ¡°You need a magical ss to use magic.¡±

    ¡°Most sses use a little bit of magic. Dad can make his charcoal burn super hot, and he can shoot it like an arrow, and it uses his magic to do that,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Ok, but that¡¯s still a ss. There¡¯s no way for us to do magic.¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°That can¡¯t be true. I have a belt that unsps whenever I say the word ¡®Yonkers¡¯,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s the belt¡¯s magic that¡¯s doing that,¡± said Davi.

    Davi was probably right, since Chamy had said his magical objects would stop working when Marksi sucked all the magic out of them. Actually, that was a question he hadn¡¯t thought of. Were there magic items that <em>did</em> use the user¡¯s magic? If so, he might be able to train his magic that way. He¡¯d have to ask Perris.

    ¡°There¡¯s a way,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I heard mom and Aunt Ema talking about it. You¡¯re not really supposed to do it to your kids but Ema was saying that noble families do it anyway, in the hopes of giving their kids a better shot at a magical ss. Did you know that nobles get normal sses just like us? They get [Butcher] and [Baker] and stuff, and they have to try to advance it to [Nobleman] and [Lady] from there. I¡¯ve never seen a noble, but Aunty Ema has seen <em>loads</em>.¡±

    ¡°I think Prefit Elmon is technically a noble,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°How do they do it?¡± asked Brin hungrily.

    ¡°Oh! So say you¡¯re a [Baker] ss, but instead of doing any work yourself you buy a bakery. Then¨C¡±

    ¡°Not that! How do they train in Magic?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Oh, no idea. Ema says it¡¯s bad, though. I think they use drugs and stuff. That¡¯s probably why so many nobles go crazy.¡±

    So there was a way. He just needed to get Hogg to fess up to it. Easier said than done.

    ¡°Are you ready to go yet?¡± asked Davi.

    Zilly jumped to her feet, ¡°Yeah. Sorry.¡±

    She moved to pick up her milk barrels, one in each hand like before, but it quickly became obvious that she wasn¡¯t going to get very far.

    Davi moved before he could. ¡°Here.¡± He grabbed one of the milk jugs in one hand, and used the other to bnce his yoke. Zilly lifted the remaining one with a lot more confidence, and they were off again.

    The walk into town was pure misery. He needed to have a talk with Davi and his ¡°great ideas¡±. This was the worst idea Brin had ever heard of. Sure, he wanted to get stronger, but who yoked themselves like an animal? Honestly.

    Despite his internal grumbling, he didn¡¯t actually chew out Davi. He concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

    After what felt like an eternity, they finally stumbled into Davi¡¯s house, and he was greeted by a soothing st of crisp, refrigerated air. This front room was a business area, where they stored the milk before delivery, he noticed. He loved it. The cold air was soothing on his overheated body, and even all these monthster, coolness still felt like safety to him.

    Many other big barrels of milk were stored here, and there was a big funnel leading into a contraption to help fill bottles.

    One interesting fact of the economy here was that milk was so cheap as to be practically free, as long as you were willing to bring your own bucket and visit the farm. The Pimental¡¯s made most of their money from <em>delivering</em> milk.

    Brin carefully set his burden down, and immediately got a notification.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength +1 Will +1

    ¡°Nice!¡± said Brin. ¡°I got a Strength and a Will.¡±

    ¡°I got a Strength, too!¡± Davi cheered.

    ¡°Strength and Vitality for me. Still, that was¡­ too much,¡± Zilly said, panting. ¡°It was good, though. That put me up to twenty-two Strength!¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s insane! I had no idea you were that high,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m stronger than I look,¡± Zilly said, a little defensively.

    ¡°And she¡¯s also almost a year older than you,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°My fourteenth birthday is in two weeks,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°But System Day¡­ oh,¡± said Brin. He¡¯d been wondering why everyone was so happy to have all the kids unlock the System on the same day if it meant that their childhood would be cut off six months early. But that would only apply to kids whose birthday was in thete summer, like Brin. Kids in the early fall would have their System Day dyed by six months. He wondered if Zilly¡¯s parents had timed her conception for that, or if it was just luck. Not exactly something he could ask her.

    It was also extremely unfair. She got almost a year longer to earn her achievements than he did. If he was in charge, it would be <em>illegal</em> to have kids with Brin¡¯s birthday. Did this world conspire to screw him over every single way?

    ¡°Alright,¡± said Davi. He opened the door to a bright and cheery dining room. ¡°Let¡¯s get some breakfast."

 Book 2: Chapter 12

    Book 2: Chapter 12

    Davi¡¯s mother, Bruna, greeted them with aplete match of Davi¡¯s tireless energy. She never stopped moving, always doting on them, putting things in order, tidying and straightening. He would have picked her out of a police line-up as Davi¡¯s mother, despite how she didn¡¯t look much like him. She was a tall, thin woman, with her hair in a tight gray bun. ¡°Oh, Zilly, how wonderful to see you, too! Have a seat, no, don¡¯t worry about a thing, breakfast is already done. And Brin! We haven¡¯t formally met but Davi¡¯s told me a bit about you.¡±

    She seated them at an impressive dining table, which was so farpletely clear. Brin had a certain mental image of a farmer family¡¯s dining room, but this was something else entirely. The long dining table was a work of art. The smooth surface was made of different shades of wood all stuck together perfectly in geometric shapes, while the legs were stylized into feathered lions. Griffons, maybe? Somehow it all worked together in a very elegant way. The rest of the dining room matched the table, although the ck iron standingmps and the hardwood china cab gave it a distinctly Bavarian feel. Davi might not have Brin¡¯s ridiculous allowance, but obviously his family was far from poor.

    Bruna came back with three tes of eggs, steak, and mashed mato for the three of them. It looked absolutely delectable, and they¡¯d gone a little harder than usual on their workout that morning, so Brin was famished. Bruna waved them to start, and he tucked in without a second though.

    ¡°How do you like your yogurt, Brin? Sweet or savory?¡± asked Bruna.

    At his surprised expression, Davi said, ¡°Mallowsweet or pork?¡±

    ¡°M-mallow, please,¡± said Brin.

    Davi shrugged. ¡°Your loss.¡±

    Bruna came back to the room with three sses of yogurt. Thicker than milk, but he could see it was still thin enough to drink rather than eat with a spoon. Yogurt! Of course they would have that here. He should¡¯ve thought of that. Hogg paid extra to have someone deliver milk all the way out to his house every morning, so Brin had never had to visit a dairy.

    He took a sip, and yeah, it was marshmallow-vored. Surprising choice, but honestly pretty awesome. At least it wasn¡¯t mato-vored. Zilly and Davi had both gotten pork, apparently Bruna already knew their preference.

    ¡°Have you ever tried pork vor? Come on, take a sip,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Uh¡­ I was raised better than to turn my nose up at any kind of food¡­¡± Brin started. He gave Bruna a nervous nce, but she smiled encouragingly so he kept going. ¡°... but that sounds absolutely terrible, Davi. Why subject yourself to that? You should treasure yourself more.¡±

    Zilly burst outughing so suddenly she sprayed yogurt on the table. Bruna seemed amused rather than offended and tossed her a rag to clean it up.

    Bruna called the rest of her family down, and served them breakfast as they took their ces at the table. Davi¡¯s father, Alvir, was stocky like Davi but a half foot shorter than his wife. Apparently Davi was a middle child, with two older sisters and two younger brothers.

    The two sisters were sixteen and eighteen. Both of them had Callings, which told him that parents didn¡¯t kick out their kids the second they got their sses. He had assumed as much, but it was nice to have a confirmation.

    The family was boisterous and happy, which Brin didn¡¯t really know how to deal with. They all talked over each other, two or three conversations going on at once, and while Zilly chimed in like she was born to it, he didn¡¯t really know how to contribute so he stayed mostly silent.

    The conversations were punctuated by loud, wall-shakingughter when someone made a joke. Their humor was different. Bruna would ask Davi¡¯s brother, ¡°And will you be helping the [Carpenters] today?¡± and he would respond, ¡°Yes, and when I go I¡¯ll have a duck on my head!¡± to which everyone would explode withughter.

    Brin didn¡¯t get it. If he had to exin, he¡¯d say that it was probably funny because he said there would be a duck on his head, while people don''t normally have ducks on their heads. He knew enough tough along when everyone elseughed, though, so he didn¡¯t make a fool of himself.

    He looked down at his breakfast. Half the steak was left, he¡¯d saved the best forst, but for some reason he was having a hard time finishing it. There was a lump in his throat.

    Right. This was probably the first time he¡¯d been around people since he¡¯d arrived in this world. Not just people, but a family. They were kind and weing and he¡¯d never felt so alone in his life. He¡¯d had something like this once, too.

    He forced himself to take a bite. He needed to eat to build muscle, after all.

    As breakfast got over the family trickled away, and Brin, Zilly, and Davi went off for their daily lessons. The other two talked happily the entire way, and hopefully didn¡¯t notice that he couldn¡¯t manage to do more than grunt an asional affirmation.

    Today they were with Oleg the [Wheelwright]. They entered a workshop that didn¡¯t look much different from the [Carpenter¡¯s] ce that he¡¯d worked at so often. There was a big table saw, and all sorts of tools for cutting, sawing and sanding, as well as lots of work tables.

    The [Wheelwright] himself hadn¡¯t arrived yet, so the children milled around, murmuring conversation. Myra didn¡¯t march up to him and start in with the insults as usual. She stayed on the other side of the room by herself, looking subdued.

    The door banged open and a cheerfully dressed man sauntered into the workshop. He wore reds and blues, including a matching striped hat with a feather. He had a spring in his step. Maybe something good had happened to him? Or maybe he was always this chipper. Brin couldn¡¯t imagine it; that had to be exhausting.

    Oleg the [Wheelwright] put his hands on his hips. ¡°Wow, we have a good-looking bunch of young adults here today. Is everyone excited to learn about making wheels?¡±

    The children grunted affirmations.

    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you!¡± said Oleg, making Brin hate him immediately.

    The children shouted ¡°yes!¡±, several of them perking up noticeably. Well, he couldn¡¯t me them for it. Wait until the thousandth time a public speaker pulled that trick, and they¡¯d be as sick of it as he was.

    ¡°The [Wheelwright] is an evolution of [Carpenter], so we¡¯ll be starting off the day talking about lumber,¡± said Oleg.

    He went straight into a lecture about the collection and preparation of lumber, and Brin realized he¡¯d been wrong before. Woodworkers absolutely <em>did</em> need to worry about getting materials. They had to find the right kinds of trees, and they needed trees that were tall and wide and not too twisted and gnarly which could be a chore in this forest. Then they needed to get the logs into town, where they seasoned it, cut it, sanded it, and basically prepared it about seven different ways before it was ready to be used.

    Brin had to give Oleg his due, he made the lecture interesting. He asked questions and got the kids involved, and exined things in a way that was on the children¡¯s level while also still being interesting to Brin¡¯s adult mind. Still, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to be impressed with someone, so his original opinion that Oleg was an annoying kind of person stayed firmly in his mind.

    It turned out that a lot more went into making wagon wheels than Brin had assumed. They had to be extra strong to ount for the ridiculous loads they used them for. And there were no trees big enough to cut the whole rim out of; instead it had to be locked together perfectly from several different pieces. Each piece had to be exactly the right shape and every wheel needed to be exactly the same size. Oleg imed that a [Carpenter] needed a whole week to make one wheel, while he could make an entire wagon in a week.

    ¡°So. [Wheelwright], not [Carpenter]. Did you notice? Can anyone tell me why the more specific your ss is, the better it is?¡± asked Oleg.

    ¡°Well that can¡¯t be true,¡± said Brin. ¡°Toros is just a [Smith], and he¡¯s one of the highest-level people in town.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a little different. Toros needs a broad ss because he needs to do the work of the entire vige. If he couldn¡¯t work with iron, for example, then we¡¯d have no one else to ask. But if he could focus on just one thing, he¡¯d be much better at it.¡±

    ¡°What about [Spinner]? It¡¯s specific, but [Weaver] is obviously the stronger ss,¡± said Brin.

    Myra red at him warily, but he didn¡¯t mean anything bad by it. It was just a useful example.

    ¡°Ah, you see? Not that useful unless what you want to do is spin, in which case [Spinner] is the better ss. Not very good at low levels, perhaps, but I know of high level [Spinners] who can literally spin straw into gold.¡±

    The children gasped, impressed. Brin couldn¡¯t help but start to think that [Spinner] might not be that bad of a ss to get after all, until he thought about the ¡°high level¡± part. How high of a level? Because being high level in any ss could make you rich. And how much gold could they produce per day? If Lumina could spin straw into gold, she probably wouldn¡¯t. It wouldn¡¯t be worth her time.

    Could [Spinners] manipte thread the way [Weavers] could? Did they have any self-defense abilities? Because if not, they¡¯d just get locked up by some [Noble] or [Bandit] or something and forced to work all day for free. Come to think of it, isn¡¯t that exactly what happened in that fairy tale?

    He thought about asking some of these questions, but honestly Oleg wasn¡¯t really a bad guy. Brin was just in a confrontational mood. He didn¡¯t need to be a pest.

    After the lecture Oleg guided them in making little wagon wheels of their own, about two inches tall, using some of his carpenter tools. It was surprisinglyplicated, but Oleg guided them through it with admirablepetence and patience. The end result was a neat souvenir and he got a notification when it was done.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Dexterity +1

    Alright. He could admit when he was wrong. Oleg was cool.

    After that, Brin was able to vent some of his irritability into a rowdy game of ball, but when that was done he still didn¡¯t want to go home. He decided he¡¯d go see Perris.

    When he got to the store, an adventurer carrying a halberd and decked out all in furs was exiting the store. Terrible clothing for this weather, but the young man didn¡¯t seem ufortable. At least not from the weather. He seemed very ufortable by the string of curses chasing him out the doors.

    ¡°Ten gold? You flea-bitten son of a goat! Come back when you¡¯re a real adventurer! You can¡¯t buy a bottled fart in this store with ten gold, much less a bottomless sk!¡±

    Brin snuck past the unfortunately poor adventurer and through the door, and the yelled tirade immediately stopped.

    ¡°I¡¯ll sell you a boot to your¨C Ah, Brin. Good to see you, son.¡±

    ¡°Hey Perris. Rough day?¡±

    ¡°Not for me!¡± Perris put on a sleazy smile. ¡°Can I make an observation? Just something out of the blue, for no reason, but I must say: Tawna sucks. Shees in at least once a week to stare at me for five minutes, then she leaves and never buys anything. Again, only an observation. You know I don¡¯t often talk to people and I <em>never</em> listen to them, so this is to do with nothing, just an observation.¡±

    Brinughed, a full bellyugh that chased away a lot of the anxiety he didn¡¯t realize he¡¯d been carrying. ¡°Thanks, man.¡±

    ¡°Now, Marksi, you¡¯re looking¡­ bad,¡± said Perris with a sneer at the little snake on Brin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You look fat and slow and dumb. Do you even hunt?¡±

    Marksi hissed, and then hid in Brin¡¯s hood.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t listen to him, Marksi! You¡¯re a <em>great</em> snake. Very fierce. Remember those flies you caught this morning?¡± Brin reached back and gave Marksi a scratch.

    Perris winked at him. ¡°Now Brin. Are you in for anything special today?¡±

    ¡°You could say that,¡± said Brin. ¡°So listen, I convinced Hogg to buy me adventurer gear for my System Day. You know he¡¯s loaded, right? Well I want to lighten that load.¡±

    Brin would actually be the one paying, but they¡¯d decided to let everyone think that Hogg was footing the bill.

    An evil glint entered Perris¡¯ eye. ¡°Spending someone else¡¯s money, I see. I approve! An enchanted sword?¡±

    ¡°Or two.¡±

    ¡°Potions? Equipment? Single-use enchantments? Armor?¡±

    ¡°The best leather armor you can make.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a look around?¡±

    Brin held up a hand. ¡°I¡¯ve got one condition. I want your <em>best</em> price.¡±

    ¡°Never!¡±

    ¡°I want your best price¡­ plus ten percent. On the condition that you identally deliver the goods a little early. I¡¯d like to break them in before my System Day if you catch my drift. Hogg doesn¡¯t need to know.¡±

    A lot hung on this conversation. Perris had let it slip a while ago there was an achievement for killing a monster before your System Day, something Brin had already deduced. The only issue was, why didn¡¯t he already have it? He already killed ten undead. But the System hadn¡¯t called them monsters, it had called them soldiers. So there was probably a different achievement for killing monsters. Whatever it was, he wanted it. Assuming Perris went along with it.

    Perris twisted his mustache. ¡°An extra ten percent? Now you¡¯re speaking mynguage.¡±

    They went to the sword disy case first, and Perris picked out two swords without even asking Brin¡¯s opinions. Both of them were dull gray, and neither were the blue Sapphire sword that Brin wanted the most.

    ¡°Wait, why not that one? Or the red one with fire magic?¡±

    Perris dropped his viinous sneer, looking uncharacteristically serious. ¡°Let us be clear about what we¡¯re talking about here. There are <em>no </em>monsters in the forest that a child can safely defeat. I¡¯ve noticed you think best with numbers, so let¡¯s put it like this. The weakest and mostmon monsters are a difficult fight for a level ten [Warrior], meaning level twenty for amon ss. Now, I have swords here, good swords, that can make someone ten, or even twenty percent stronger. That won¡¯t be enough, not for you. You need to be twenty <em>times</em> stronger. So choose. Strength,¡± he held up the sword on the left, ¡°or speed.¡± He held up the sword on the right.

    ¡°Strength,¡± said Brin on instinct.

    Perris ced the sword on the table in front of him. ¡°A <em>slight</em> enchantment to speed, but the greatest feature of this sword is the core of silver ss. It will drastically improve the strength of your blows. For one or two strikes, you¡¯ll have the hitting power of a level thirty [Warrior]. But it¡¯s fragile. It will shatter on the killing blow. This is a sword for killing a single enemy.¡±

    ¡°What if I have more than one enemy?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t have more than one enemy,¡± said Perris. ¡°If you meet more than one monster in the forest, run away. You aren¡¯t a legendary hero. You are a child. I understand the need a man has to forge his own foundation, but make no mistake, even with this sword it¡¯s a coin-flip whether or not you¡¯ll survive. Two coin flips isn¡¯t a bet worth taking.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Do you have something for running away?¡±

    Perris smiled and lifted the other sword. ¡°Sword of speed. Don¡¯t try to use them at the same time. The ss core will explode if it¡¯s unsheathed near the sword of speed. You can¡¯t assume enchanted equipment will all work together, and never put something on if you aren¡¯t sure of where it came from. Get it appraised first, by someone who knows what they¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Good advice. What¡¯s the sword of speed do?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°A small, persistent increase in speed over a day. Or, you can flip this switch on the pommel and use it all at once. You¡¯ll have a quick, intense burst of speed, to flee one enemy. Or kill it perhaps. It won¡¯t shatter when the magic is done, and it¡¯ll still work as a sharp piece of metal. Come and get it re-enchanted if you¡¯re smart and choose life.¡±

    ¡°Good to know,¡± said Brin.

    Perris let the swords go for thirty and forty gold, and Brin was happy to let him add his ten percent.

    ¡°Hey, I just remembered something I¡¯ve meant to ask you. Do these swords use my magic to fuel their enchantments, or is it built in?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s built in,¡± said Perris. ¡°Chamy has to make a battery of sorts for each one, it¡¯s one of the main drivers of cost. Even more expensive is when the sword needs to recharge itself by absorbing ambient mana, rather than single-use enchantments like these two have.¡±

    ¡°Do any of them use their wielder¡¯s magic?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I just think¡­ if using your muscles makes you stronger, then¡­¡±

    Perris raised an eyebrow, then turned and walked back to his counter. Behind the counter were shelves full of lockboxes. These were full of expensive small steble items that he guarded with enchanted locks and with his body whenever adventurers drew too close.

    He pulled out a wicked-looking metal object that sort of looked like an evil starfish. It has six wed points and a long, thick needle jutting out of the middle.

    ¡°Press this into your flesh. The needle will drain your mana at great speed. Make sure you¡¯re alreadyying down before you start. It will be pain like you¡¯ve rarely experienced. The needle will disengage on its own when you¡¯re empty, so it won¡¯t kill you. Have Marksi stand by, to get help if something goes wrong. You can at least do that, can¡¯t you, Marksi?¡±

    The little snake shuddered inside of Brin¡¯s hood at the sound of his name, but didn¡¯te out.

    ¡°Also, visit the [Pharmacist] on the way home to get something for the scars. I don¡¯t want anyoneing here to ask where you got them. You will <em>not</em> punish me for trusting you with this, do you hear me?¡± Perris asked, unusually stern.

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Also, I should mention that it isn¡¯t going to work. You¡¯ll get a few points, but you¡¯ll never hit the threshold in time before your System day, not unless you¡¯re already at twenty.¡±

    ¡°I understand, but I still want to try. And thank you. Every other adult in this town would just tell me to stop chasing evil sses,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Hypocrites! Besides, if they could have dissuaded you, they already would have. All that¡¯s left is to help you survive.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a good person.¡±

    Perris raised a finger and red. ¡°DON¡¯T! Call me that!¡±

    Brinughed, and Perrisughed along, with his usual dramatic cackle.

    ¡°Alright, so what else you got?¡±

    Perris had a few regr things, like apass and a crude map withndmarks of the immediate area. He had some awesome things, too. A smoke bomb that would also send off sparks and heat. It would work against undead, and also creatures that hunted using electrical senses. He sold him a wand that fired a one time fire beam spell. ¡°Don¡¯t point this at anything you don¡¯t want to destroy.¡± He also sold him two more cheaper wands that fired illusions that looked like the me beam spell. ¡°For bluffing, in case the first one doesn¡¯t finish them off.¡± The thing Brin was most excited about, however, was a ck, swirling potion.

    ¡°A potion of Turn Undead,¡± said Perris. ¡°Eighty gold.¡±

    ¡°Eighty gold? That¡¯s crazy. That costs more than <em>both</em> swordsbined.¡±

    ¡°Cost isn¡¯t always the same thing as value,¡± Perris said in a low voice. ¡°Everyone else can ignore what¡¯s right past their noses, but I can see the writing on the wall. The tidings you brought from Travin¡¯s Bog. The fact that the merchant caravan is half a monthte. I haven¡¯t talked to Hogg in a while. And you don¡¯t see the Prefit around town much, do you? Any other time perhaps I¡¯d agree with the others and tell you to slow down, but now? Get stronger, Brin. And I¡¯m going to need eighty gold to part with this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Let me not oversell what this is. It is a potion; it must be drunk, or the majority of it must be poured upon open skin. It will free the departed¡¯s living soul from envement, but you will not be their new master. There¡¯s no telling what they¡¯ll do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± said Brin.

    The one thing he didn¡¯t get was healing potions, because Perris didn¡¯t have them. Healing wasn¡¯t as convenient in this world as it should¡¯ve been. The only two people in town with healing-rted sses were the [Pharmacist] and the [Midwife], and while both were impressivepared to medieval medicine from his world, neither could heal wounds in seconds or regrow limbs.

    ¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Armor. How good is your leather?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I got a piece of that chimera the [Hunters] brought in. My next set of leather armor will be the best armor ever produced in this town,¡± said Perris with no small amount of pride.

    ¡°I want it, but I need to ask first. Could you let it out to make it bigger as I keep growing?¡± asked Brin.

    Perris showed Brin a scrap of leather. He cut it in half with a knife, then put his pieces back together and ran a thumb along the seam. The leather was healed<em>,</em> bing one piece again.

    Brin smiled. ¡°I want the chimera leather armor. But I have one condition: all of it needs to be seamless. Don¡¯t use any thread at all. Can you do it?¡±

    Perris¡¯ face lit up in delight. ¡°My boy, I knew I liked you for a reason.¡±

    He didn¡¯t take any of the things home with him, except for the magic-drainer. The rest, Perris would deliver it sometime before his System Day, and before that he needed to find a way to sneak three hundred and twenty gold out of the house. Not that it would be hard. Hogg had been distractedtely.

    Still in a good mood from talking to Perris, and thinking about the terrific breakfast, Brin decided to make dinner. Something from home. Could he make enchdas? After a trip to the [Pharmacist], he went to the bakery. The [Baker] was more than happy to make a pile of tortis for Brin once he exined what he wanted, and he found some seasonings and spices that could work, along with a nice cheese.

    When he got home, though, he was alone. So, so empty, especially after seeing Davi¡¯s family and remembering that people really did still live like that. Hogg was away somewhere, and Brin lost all motivation to make enchdas. He skipped dinner and then went to bed. Heid there and stared at the ceiling.

    He pulled out the mana-drainer. The [Pharmacist] had sold him something to prevent scars, but was he supposed to put it on before or after? After, probably. He¡¯d go back tomorrow and ask, just to be sure. For now? No time like the present.

    He jammed the device, needle first, into his forearm. The pain hit immediately, like a bull had kicked him in both temples at once. He would¡¯ve thrown up if he¡¯d eaten dinner, and Marksi squeaked in worry and tore through the house, frantic, but there was no one to ask for help.

    The device clicked and disengaged from his arm, bringing out a squirt of blood. The hole pumped twice, shooting little lines of blood, then stopped.

    The pain didn¡¯t stop. The headache pounded in his brain, and he weed it, with the way that it chased away every other thought, even the loneliness.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Magic +1

    The end of Part 2

 Interlude - Hogg

    Interlude - Hogg

    Five monthster

    Hogg could more or less run his illusions all day, but for something that needed extra attention, it was better if his regr body wasn''t doing much. Brin, along with everyone else in town, was off with that merchant caravan that came in, so there really shouldn''t be much for his normal body to do today. He made himself a ss of lemonade, and then leaned down on his reclining chair and went to work.

    When people thought of an [Illusionist], they thought of a ss. They thought of entertaining but mostly useless magical light. Dangerous? No. Who would be afraid of an [Illusionist], when <em>everyone</em> had at least one Evdisying around the house? To that, Hogg would say ¡°Why do you own an Evdis if you aren¡¯t afraid of [Illusionists]?¡± Well, he would say that, except nowadays he was sick of the entire conversation.

    If [Illusionist] was just a ss to you, then you were doing it wrong. To him, [Illusionist] was awork.

    Take Brin¡¯s letter for example. First, it was scribbled on bark paper. Then, with one blink of his eye, hemitted the entire thing to memory in his second brain, the one he¡¯d created with his ss.

    The letter traveled with his consciousness as an invisible eye through the forest, passing all his other invisible eyes. He¡¯d never be able to use so many without his level thirty capstone Skill, Split Focus. Even his absurdly high Mental Control couldn¡¯t have let him manage them all alone, but now it was barely an effort at all to keep them scanning the forests, hoping to run into the <em>other</em> invisible illusions and hopefully figure out where they came from. An entire one-man information war. There was a time where that effort alone would¡¯ve absorbed all his attention, but now it was merely an inconvenience. Awork, inside awork ofworks.

    The eye shot along like a bird, assuming birds didn¡¯t need to eat, rest, or sleep, arriving in Oud¡¯s Bog in a matter of hours.

    Oud¡¯s Bog was a nexus of civilization, where the forest ended and you could get on the road to any of Frenaria¡¯s major cities with barely any threat of monster attack, though of course bandits were always a problem.

    He turned his invisible eye into a mirror image and walked into town. He had a person in town, of course, just like he had someone in every major crossroads. Awork.

    His guy in Oud¡¯s Bog was a [Shoemaker], who¡¯d been a [Cobbler] before Hogg had invested in his growth. The man was more than happy to transcribe Brin¡¯s letter and send it off with the fastest [Messenger].

    Sure, he could send his invisible eye all the way to Steamshield, but it was better like this. Any kind of magical interference, no matter how slight, would disrupt his magical eye and he¡¯d have to start all over. Instead, he traveled along with the messenger as an invisible stamp on the letter, where he didn¡¯t have to devote any attention to it and where it would be protected by the [Messenger¡¯s] enchanted tote bag.

    The first time he¡¯d sent a letter to Lumina it had been moreplicated, but now they had a system down. The guards at the gate, the guards at the tower, the various bureaucrats and tax collectors, all of them knew that the letter was to be delivered directly to her, without any scans for threats or magical interference.

    So many obstacles were eliminated, all because of one connection he¡¯d made. And he had many such connections. Awork. He¡¯d built thatwork up over a lifetime, and now? He didn¡¯t know how much longer it couldst.

    Somewhere, unconsciously, that old notification blinked. He didn¡¯t need to pull up his notifications to know it was there. He had it memorized with his real brain, not the artificial memory he¡¯d created. It was only one line after all.

    Would you like to upgrade a Skill? [Yes] [No]

    He wanted to say yes. Goodbye to his illusions. Goodbye to hiswork. Hello to <em>real power.</em>

    Soon. It would take time to learn to use that power, and he wasn¡¯t irresponsible enough to weaken himself while there was an entire army of invisible enemy spies creeping around the forest outside his home. Just as soon as he knew Hammon¡¯s Bog was safe. Maybe after Brin¡¯s System Day. Maybe then.

    Or maybe sooner, if Lumina could get to the bottom of who those spies belonged to and what they wanted. Hence the stamp on the letter.

    While the stamp traveled with the letter, he turned his attention to other things. Negotiating a trade deal for one of his holdingpanies. Looking over a new contract with the bank to renegotiate his interest rate. A mirror image investigating a rumor he¡¯d heard on the border of Ond. That one was expensive on the mana so he had to cut it off when he felt someone opening Brin¡¯s letter.

    He transformed the stamp into an invisible eye first, just to be safe. Normally there was nothing anyone could do to hurt his real body just by finding one of his illusions, but normal didn¡¯t mean anything when it came to the Tower.

    His first glimpse from the invisible eye showed Lumina¡¯s face, wearing a pair of brass spectacles that screamed <em>danger</em> to someone like him. At least she was alone; the lush walls of her private study in the background.

    Aplete idiot or maybe someone from a different like Brin would say that her study looked like a normal [Lady¡¯s] sitting room. Extravagant, but nothing unusual. Maybe they would¡¯ve missed the woven tapestry on the wall that moved and shifted somewhat; a high-level [Weaver¡¯s] masterwork. Maybe they would¡¯ve missed the ominous glow of the enchanted mirror or the painting that blinked through different views of the hallway outside her rooms.

    No one, however, would miss the map, floating on its own in the middle of the room,plete with symbols for logistics and numbers for troop movements. She noticed him watching. No doubt those spectacles could see right through him, and she flicked her wrist. The map rolled up and then disappeared, but not before he recorded a <em>very</em> valuable little picture.

    It didn¡¯t pay to be rude, so he turned his invisible eye into a mirror image, and bent at the waist, greeting her formally. ¡°Lady [Mage].¡±

    Creating the mirror image hit his mana pool like a physical blow. Keeping a mirror image going at this distance was like trying to hold up a frostbear with a nose ring, but keeping up a working rtionship with Frenaria¡¯s new [Archmage of the Mystical Elements] was more than worth it.

    ¡°Hogg.¡± She nodded at him, then turned her eyes to the letter.

    ¡°Tell me you have something, because I¡¯ve been running myself ragged trying to¨C¡±

    She held up a finger. ¡°Let me read the letter from my son. You¡¯ve taken great care to deliver it, after all.¡±

    Oh, yeah, of course, why shouldn¡¯t he just sit here and burn mana while she read a letter from a child? For Nedramus¡¯ sake. This was the third letter he¡¯d delivered from Brin and it was the same every time. His letters were always so trite, too.

    Lumina read the whole thing, smiling in some ces. In one spot her eyes teared up a bit, but then she frowned, and her frown became deeper and deeper as time went on.<blockquote>

    Dear Lumina,

    I loved reading yourst letter, especially the part about finding a good [Tailor]. Hopefully you¡¯ll never go back to that shop! That sounds like a nightmare. I¡¯ve had some problems getting my own clothes in order around here. My clothes keep getting too small! I think I¡¯m going through a growth spurt. I hope you still recognize me when we meet again.

    I¡¯ve been keeping busy. Most days I y with Davi and Zilly, and even Myra has been mostly tolerable. Please don¡¯t worry about what I said about [Weaver] Tawna. Hogg talked to her for me and she¡¯spletely left me alone ever since.

    At least once a week I eat with Davi¡¯s family. They¡¯re all so nice to me, and it makes me feel like I¡¯m part of a real family again.

    The lessons are going well! Toros finally let us each make a knife. He said mine looked the best in the whole ss and let us keep it. I talked to an [Enchantress] about having it enchanted so that I can keep it forever. The lesson with [Crafter] Ademir was also a lot more interesting than I thought. Despite having a very basic andmon ss, he¡¯s one of the highest level people in town, mostly because he can craft anything. He¡¯s the only one in town who can make ss.

    The town holds a big celebration every year for the spring solstice, and there¡¯s a dance. I hope it doesn¡¯t rain. It always seems to be rainingtely. Mostly the kids just run around and stuff, but those of us who are unlocking our System this year will be expected to dance properly. With partners. Is it strange that I¡¯m more nervous for the dance than I am for System Day?

    I miss you, and the other two as well. I¡¯m d to hear that Gn is doing well. Has Lurn found that giant Sanadil he was looking for? Hogg showed me a drawing of what it¡¯s supposed to look like, and I can¡¯t believe that there are really people who could hunt something like that.

    I hope to hear from you soon.

    Your son,

    Brin.</blockquote>

    Lumina red at him.

    ¡°What? Sounds like a good letter,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°So thought I, as well. I¡¯m not very good at these things, you see. To address that, there¡¯s a piece of advice my Master told me the first week I arrived here. He said, ¡®If you¡¯re not good at something, <em>hire someone</em>.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t used to having wealth, you see. I didn¡¯t understand what money can be used for.¡±

    Lumina crossed the room and pulled on a length of rope. A servant immediately opened the door to the study.

    ¡°Fetch me Ardvard the [Informationist] and Duarda the [Reader of Fates]. Oh, and Griopsis the [Psychologist]. If you please.¡±

    Hogg snorted in false humor. Wouldn¡¯t do to let her know he was impressed. Most people didn¡¯t hit level forty in their entire lives, but she could summon three over-fifties with one pull of a rope. She probably didn¡¯t even need to pay them. With her new ss, they¡¯de from the power of her name alone. There weren¡¯t many people in this world that could make Hogg feel poor, but Lumina was one of them.

    He didn¡¯t have to wait long. Two minutes, and they were there. Apparently, she¡¯d anticipated the letter and set this up beforehand. A bookish fellow in tweed, a woman in ck robes that covered everything including her face, and a genial looking gentleman in schr¡¯s clothes.

    ¡°Duarda, I¡¯d like you tobine your Skills with those of these two gentlemen to analyze this letter, the boy, and his fate, and reveal to me the words left unsaid. Read between the lines, and tell me what he means. Just as we did with the letter we intercepted from the Prinnashi scoutst week,¡± said Lumina.

    She swirled her hand, and the letter appeared in the air, erged like a poster. Lumina¡¯s new elements gave her many more tools to work with, but she wasn¡¯t content with simply epting what the System gave her. She was unmatched in her dedication to magic, and she had all the best talent of the kingdom at her disposal. She erged her ss. The System gave her new elements and she broke them down andbined them in new ways, letting her create¡­ nearly anything. She could even make light. Unfair is what that was.

    The trio worked their power, and Hogg watched them, fascinated, recording every second. The [Reader of Fate] especially, that was a [Weaver] who¡¯d abandoned all skill with thread, and focused solely on <em>seeing</em> fate, even so far as to give up her ability to manipte it.

    The power resolved itself on the letter. It moved the words up and down, squeezed them to make more space, and then it wrote.

    Hogg took a nce and knew he was in trouble. ¡°Well, burn me.¡±<blockquote>

    Dear Lumina,

    I loved reading yourst letter, especially the part about finding a good [Tailor]. Hopefully you¡¯ll never go back to that shop! That sounds like a nightmare <strong><em>the exact sort of non-problem that you¡¯d expect a richdy to have. It makes me think that you¡¯re doing the same thing that I¡¯ve been doing¨Chiding your real problems so as to not worry me. After all, why burden me? It¡¯s not like I can do anything about it. Still, it¡¯s a problem, because a real mother and son would be able to talk about anything. There¡¯s a divide in our rtionship, and I don¡¯t know how to get over it.</em></strong>

    I¡¯ve had some problems getting my own clothes in order around here. My clothes keep getting too small! <strong><em>Which isn¡¯t the problem, not with all the money you sent me. There¡¯s only one [Weaver] in town and she refuses to sell to me. I look poor and inpared to everyone else in town. I look different. I wish I could fit in in this town. It¡¯s a nice town, and some people are very kind to me, but I stick out wherever I go.</em></strong> I think I¡¯m going through a growth spurt. I hope you still recognize me when we meet again. <strong><em>Do you really care about me, or is this just a fun diversion to you? We only met for a short time, but I¡¯ve built you up into something in my mind. I think of you as something like family, someone I can rely on. I wonder if you feel the same? There¡¯s no way I can ask.</em></strong>

    I¡¯ve been keeping busy. <em><strong>I work all the time. Too hard. I push myself past reason, doing everything I can at every moment of the day to raise my attributes. I¡¯ve be obsessed with getting every achievement I can. I need to be stronger, because there¡¯s no one you can rely on except yourself. This town looks safe, but the undead army is still out there. I know they are. They¡¯reing here, and I need to be ready.</strong></em>Most days I y with Davi and Zilly, and even Myra has been mostly tolerable. <strong><em>I treasure their friendship despite the fact that they are so far beneath me. They are simple children, while I am stuck with a weight of maturity due to my experiences that far outweigh my years.</em></strong> Please don¡¯t worry about what I said about [Weaver] Tawna. Hogg talked to her for me and she¡¯spletely left me alone ever since. <strong><em>Hogg talked to her, but he mostly took her side. He told both of us to stop spreading rumors, but she didn¡¯t. I can¡¯t walk down the street without being chased by suspicious whispers. Tawna believes that I¡¯m going to destroy this town. Some days, I want to.</em></strong>

    At least once a week I eat with Davi¡¯s family. They¡¯re all so nice to me, and it makes me feel like I¡¯m part of a real family again <strong><em>more lonely than ever. They try so hard but I¡¯m still an outsider. I dread going to visit them more than I dread the res and suspicion from the rest of the town</em>.</strong>

    The lessons are going well! Toros finally let us each make a knife. He said mine looked the best in the whole ss and let us keep it. I talked to an [Enchantress] about having it enchanted so that I can keep it forever <strong><em>defend myself with it. Perris hasn¡¯t delivered the swords yet, and I couldn¡¯t take them with me everywhere even if he had. I have a good excuse for owning this, no one will look twice</em></strong><strong>.</strong> The lesson with [Crafter] Ademir was also a lot more interesting than I thought. Despite having a very basic andmon ss, he¡¯s one of the highest level people in town, mostly because he can craft anything. He¡¯s the only one in town who can make ss. <strong><em>His crafting ss is only that good because it has NO self-defense capabilities. He¡¯s a pure crafter; he literally cannot fight. What would it be like to have that much trust in the people around you? Sometimes I think he¡¯s the biggest fool I¡¯ve ever met. I envy him.</em></strong>

    The town holds a big celebration every year for the spring solstice, and there¡¯s a dance. I hope it doesn¡¯t rain. It always seems to be rainingtely. Mostly the kids just run around and stuff, but those of us who are unlocking our System this year will be expected to dance properly. With partners. Is it strange that I¡¯m more nervous for the dance than I am for System Day? <strong><em>Possibly an exaggeration, but I¡¯m still worried. Even though they are so small</em> ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ <em>and young and</em> ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€.<em> But my friends are the only thing still keeping me grounded, and I¡¯m terrified that puberty is going to drive a wedge between us.</em></strong>

    I miss you, and the other two as well. I¡¯m d to hear that Gn is doing well. Has Lurn found that giant Sanadil he was looking for? Hogg showed me a drawing of what it¡¯s supposed to look like, and I can¡¯t believe that there are really people who could hunt something like that.<strong><em></em><em>I believe the four of you can do anything.</em></strong>

    I hope to hear from you soon.

    Your son,

    Brin.</blockquote>

    Fascinating. That blocked-out part, that had to be rted to Brin¡¯s status as an Otherworlder. What was it about that detail that evaded their scrutiny when everything else wasid so bare?

    This wasn¡¯t the time to think about it. That was a problem Hogg had, getting so interested in details that he missed the big picture. And the big picture, well, that didn¡¯t look good.

    Sure, some of that he¡¯d already known or guessed, but he¡¯d missed the full extent of it. In his defense, Brin wasn¡¯t the type of person to let on if something was bothering him. From Hogg¡¯s perspective, the guy had seemed like was doing just fine.

    The biggest problem was that they didn¡¯t know Brin actually had the mind of an adult. A lot of that stuff looked really bad without that key detail. He could tell them. He hadn¡¯t taken an Oath not to, but¡­ no he couldn¡¯t. Apparently, he¡¯d been failing Brin in a lot of ways. He would at least keep Brin¡¯s secret.

    ¡°Time to go,¡± said Hogg, and pulled on his power to copse this mirror image.

    ¡°¡± ordered Lumina in the Language.

    Power hit his mind like fire through tissue paper, and every single mirror image, invisible eye, ward, and rm vanished, all except for the one in this room in the tower. He couldn¡¯t even feel his regr body; it was as if this little mirror image was all that was left of him. It was painful, pins and needles all across his fake body.

    Unfair. Esoteric elements or not, she shouldn¡¯t be able to do this. It was that tapestry on the wall, wasn¡¯t it? It was a fool¡¯s errand to challenge a [Mage] in her domain, but that wasn¡¯t what he thought he¡¯d be doing today. He thought he was going to check in real quick with a friend and maybe get an update on the political situation. Not get tortured over Brin, who letter or not, was doing <em>fine.</em>

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stay,¡± said Hogg. Not that he had a choice.

    Lumina studied the letter in the air, tapping her cheek with a wand. ¡°This Tawna woman, can she be removed?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re asking me to murder a friend I¡¯ve known for almost fifteen years, I¡¯ll have to decline,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to do it yourself,¡± said Lumina. ¡°I could send for someone.¡±

    His mouth went dry. Even as an illusion, he was sweating. This wasn¡¯t like her. He had a pretty good eye for people, and the Lumina he knew wasn¡¯t like this. Something else was going on with her. ¡°Come on. You wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make the mistake of believing your little town is important to me, Hogg. It is not. If it weren¡¯t for situation with Prinnash I would be flying to Hammon¡¯s Bog as we speak to put this right myself, even if that meant¨C¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with Prinnash ?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to change the subject. What have you done? When I left that boy to you, he was a kind-hearted, humble, innocent little thing, with a good heart. And what do I see here? Hatred. Anger. Paranoia. Megalomania.¡±

    Lumina¡¯s grew angrier as her tirade went on. Rather than be flushed, her face went white, icy white, as she spoke. Literal sparks flew from her eyes and the temperature in the room rose to a stifling temperature.

    Griopsis the [Psychologist] cleared his throat.

    Lumina¡¯s eyes shed to him. ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°I feel it incumbent on me to point out that this is not so bad as it perhaps seems to you. The thoughts we¡¯ve uncovered here are¡­ not so unusual for a boy his age. If we factor in his recent trauma, I¡¯d say he¡¯s handling things remarkably well.¡±

    ¡°That was my thought, too,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°If you can remember the kind of thoughts <em>you </em>had when you were his age, perhaps that would make for an aptparison. Or perhaps not?¡±

    Lumina sank down a couple inches. <em>By Nedramus</em>, she¡¯d actually been hovering in the air! ¡°No, you¡¯re correct. I was fourteen when I came to the tower and waspelled to align my loyalty to the kingdom by swearing Oaths to my Master. I thought he was going to¨C I¡¯ll admit, my daydreams were very irregr back then.¡±

    Griopsis bravely continued. ¡°As you can tell by the missing sentence, neither I nor our [Reader of Fates] have been able to summon enough information to truly read his true thoughts. We¡¯ve missed something vital, especially near the end. That entire paragraph should be cast into doubt, if you¡¯ll forgive me for saying so, Duarda.¡±

    ¡°I will allow it,¡± said the mysterious woman.

    ¡°But the things he said¨C¡± Lumina started.

    ¡°Lastly¡­¡± Griopsis interrupted, then hesitated. He was sweating heavily though his face kept the look of schrly dispassion. ¡°Lastly, we must keep in mind that the child did <em>not</em> say these things. We pulled these thoughts from his subconscious, from a psychological profile that I created, from an extraption of the observable data, and from the bends of fate. We must view this exercise as a vition of the boy¡¯s privacy. In fact¡­ I came here to aid in the war effort. If I had known what we were doing here today I would not have participated.¡±

    Lumina bowed her head. ¡°You¡¯re correct of course. I apologize, to all three of you, for using your high talents on such a selfish request. Consider this a favor owed. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I must think on this.¡±

    She made the correct gestures and said all the right words, but Hogg could tell she was still furious.

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Griopsis, looking somewhat relieved. ¡°And please never think that I think this a mar on your character. I have nothing but the utmost respect; I simply felt it my duty¨C¡±

    ¡°I understand, and thank you for your honesty,¡± said Lumina.

    The robed [Reader of Fates] left without a word, and the [Informationist] bowed and said perfunctory goodbyes.

    When they were gone, Lumina turned her fury back to him. ¡°Normal teenager or not, that boy is not happy. You will fix this or¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll fix it.¡±

    Her wand was inches away from his nose. She nced at it, then seemed to wilt. She copsed in her sitting chair, the fight apparently gone out of her. ¡°You better.¡±

    ¡°Now will you tell me what¡¯s put a burr up your dress? This isn¡¯t like you, Lumina,¡± said Hogg. "Is this about the Queendom of Arcaena?"

    She rubbed her eyes and flicked her wrist. Brin¡¯s letter disappeared, and in its ce the map returned. Only this time all the confidential information on the kingdom¡¯s troop movements had been scrubbed away.

    ¡°No, for once the [Witch]-queen is silent, which is worrying on its own. No, our problems are much more immediate. Prinnash is invading.¡±

    ¡°So soon? I¡¯d heard rumors, but you make it sound like they¡¯re already mobilizing,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°It¡¯s happening. It was one thing when they were simply sallying their [Knights] back and forth, but now they¡¯re starting to take conscripts. It¡¯s all preparation now, but armies are expensive. You don¡¯t muster one unless you intend to use it.¡±

    ¡°Do we know why?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think even they know why. They say it¡¯s to defend against our invasion, and when we muster our armies to defend against theirs, it will hardly matter who strikes the first blow.

    ¡°Gn is involved, did I tell you? He¡¯s already taken ance and started harrying them in the mountains. Prinnash doesn¡¯t want any more trouble with Ond so they¡¯re treating him like a bandit for now, but it¡¯s not helping to de-escte things.

    Their [Generals] have gathered armies outside the four fort cities, and another is making its way slowly around the mountains. I think the only reason they haven¡¯t invaded already is because they don¡¯t know where Master is.¡±

    ¡°And because they don¡¯t know where you are,¡± said Hogg.

    Lumina nodded. ¡°Imposters have been sent to all four locations, of course. And I¡¯ll be leaving for the border within the week. Even I don¡¯t know which city I¡¯ll actually defend. It¡¯s the world¡¯s most demented version of the shell game. If they guess right, then I will face the [Archmage of the Hungering Dark]. If they guess wrong, then¡­¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll be forced to ughter thousands of people,¡± said Hogg.

    She didn¡¯t say anything for a long moment. She stared at the map, with an expression of absolute bleakness on her face.

    Finally, she turned her eyes back to him. ¡°Master protected me, when I first came to the tower, from this sort of thing. All my fighting experience was truebat, not ughtering what may as well be ants.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a heavy thing. I won¡¯t insult you with trite titudes. It¡¯s a damned heavy thing. But if I was in charge, I¡¯d put both you and your master in Bragora.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ludicrous. If we don¡¯t defend Farova, it¡¯s only one quick march to the capitol,¡± said Lumina. ¡°Why Bragora?¡±

    ¡°This is just a hunch, but¡­ they¡¯ll attack there because that¡¯s the city you¡¯d need to take if you nned on marching to the Bonds.¡±

    Lumina scoffed. ¡°The whole world doesn¡¯t revolve around your home town.¡±

    ¡°No, but all the other major yers are ounted for. The biggest unanswered question we have left is, what happened to that giant undead army,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Hm. You have a point. If I hadn¡¯t fought it myself I wouldn¡¯t believe it really exists,¡± said Lumina. ¡°Although, we must never assume that we know all of the unknowns. It¡¯s only by luck that we learned of the existence of that threat in the first ce. There could be yet another piece to this that we haven¡¯t discovered. Regardless¡­ I will ry these thoughts to Master and the Knight-Captain Commander.¡±

    She tapped her wand against a writing table, and the hold on his power disappeared. He felt his regr body again. He almost gasped in relief; it was hard to hide how unnerving her little entrapment had been. People assumed that it would be easy to hide your emotions with a mirror image, but it wasn¡¯t any easier at all. If you put enough of yourself into it to be convincing, then you run the risk ofmunicating things that you didn¡¯t intend as well.

    He kept the conversation going with Lumina, trying to suss out more details on the uing war, but thank goodness for Split Focus, because something was going on with his other body.

    Zilyana, one of Brin¡¯s little friends, was standing in his house. She was panting and red faced, like she¡¯d run the entire way from town, and Marksi was on her shoulder.

    ¡°Hm, what?¡± he said, as if confused while waking up from a nap. Hopefully his eyes hadn¡¯t been open.

    ¡°Oh thank Solia! I thought you were dead. It¡¯s Brin! The Prefit¡¯s back in town with a caravan and¨C Brin. He¡¯s been arrested.¡±

 Not a Chapter: Patreon Notice and FAQs

    Not a Chapter: Patreon Notice and FAQs

    Hey.

    Sorry, not a chapter. Normally I wouldn''t do this type of thing, but I left you all on a bit of a cliff-hanger, and I''ve got a LOT ofments and messages on discord asking me for advance chapters, so I figured you''d forgive me if I interrupted our regr schedule to give you some news.

    Let''s to the bad news first. I am nowhere close topleting a map of Frenaria. I know a lot of people are disappointed by this and I promise to... Ok I''ll stop.

    Onto the good news! My Patreon is set up now has two advance chapters on the $5 tier! /MilesEnglish I''ll also be using it as a blog and a ce to share some AI art I''ve made for Bog Standard, and that stuff will stay free, so it might still be something cool to check out even if you don''t feel like donating.

    One thing I''d like to make clear is that I really appreciate each and every one of you! My biggest reward for writing this story is seeing so many of you enjoying and sharing the story. Having said that, money is very useful for a lot of things so I''m not going to say no to it. I''m determined to see Bog Standard through until it''s done (whenever that may be), but my ability to keep writing this story at a good pace is tied to whether I can justify it financially. Hence, the Patreon. Right now it''s two chapters ahead, and I''m hoping to bump that up to three chapters by the end of next week.

    Let''s do some FAQs.

    Q: What''s Brin''s ss going to be?

    A: Part of the fun of the story is finding these things out when Brin experiences them! Having said that, I''ve had one ss in mind the entire time I''ve been writing this, it''s part of the original outline, and I won''t change it. This will no doubt disappoint some of you who have your heart set on something else, but hundreds of you have chimed in with opinions or ideas and I can''t choose them all. I really appreciate yourments and enthusiasm!

    Q: How much of a backlog do you still have left before you go to once-a-week chapters?

    A: I ran out of backlog two weeks ago. This story exploded far beyond my wildest expectations, so I dug deep and did everything I could to keep up the MWF posting schedule. This won''tst forever, not if I want to keep up the current quality. I''m not a fast writer, and I''ve gone through multiple rounds of editing for each and every word you''ve read in this story. I nearly drove myself crazy writing the two extra chapters for Patreon. I''m doing this now out of gratitude, and I''ll keep it going as long as I can, but at some point I''ll have to slow down a bit. Expect me to take holidays off, to take vacations, and expect a week break in between books.

    Q: How does (this one specific part of the magic system) work?

    A: Part of the fun of the story is finding these things out when Brin experiences them! ;) Honestly though, I could answer some of these questions, but I think you''d rather I write more chapters.

    Q: When is Brin going to get his ss?

    A: Soon! Honestly, in my first outline he would''ve already had it, but one of the things I wanted to do with this project was take my time, be disciplined, and tell every single part of the story that needs to be told, when it needs to be told. There was a lot of story that needed to happen with Brin as a child, and I think you''ll be pleased with how it turns out.

    Q: How in the world is your first RoyalRoad story doing so well so quickly?!

    A: I don''t know if I can really answer this, since it''s done absolute gangbusters. I have nothing but gratitude. But while this is my first RoyalRoad story, this isn''t the first novel I ever wrote. It''s the fifth. My first novel isn''t anywhere right now, but I may give it away to Patrons at some point. The other three are on amazon, starting with ''In another world, I must defeat the demon king.'' Point is, I''ve been learning how to write for years now, and honestly I''m still learning. Writing is difficult to learn, so if you''re here in the trenches with me me, all I can say is keep on truckin!

    Ok, this is Miles, signing off. I''ll be back here Monday at the usual time, with the first chapter of Part 3.

 Book 3: Chapter 1

    Book 3: Chapter 1

    ¡°Oh,e on. Where are we going?¡± asked Brin, being tugged along by his wrist.

    ¡°To the gate,¡± said the Prefit.

    Somewhere his new merchant friends couldn¡¯t see him abusing a child, huh? What a jerk. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°You are to be pilloried,¡± said Prefit Elmon.

    Pilloried. Just like that, like it was a normal thing. Crime and punishment in Hammon¡¯s Bog was distinctly different from his old world. It wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d really thought a lot about, until the day the Prefit came back with the merchant caravan. Brin hadn¡¯t seen much of the Prefit, and there was a reason for that. For the year Brin had been here, the caravans had been onlying half as often as they should have, and the Prefit had been on a one-man mission to find out why.

    For Brin, those months had been full of training. He¡¯d worked out with Davi and sometimes Zilly, and then hung out with the two of them most afternoons. He and Myra hadn¡¯t be best friends, but they¡¯d at least learned to put their bickering on hold in order to stop making their other two friends ufortable.

    If things with Tawna didn¡¯t get any better, well, at least he could say he¡¯d gotten used to it. A person could limate to anything, and they¡¯d approached something like an equilibrium where mostly they just stayed out of each other''s way.

    He learned that Prefit Elmon¡¯s year, on the other hand, had been full of frustration. He hadn¡¯t been able to learn why caravans were bing less frequent, and he¡¯d had a terrible time enticing more of them to visit. One caravan had disappearedpletely, while another two had simply changed their course without telling anyone. For this one, he¡¯d actually had to travel to Oud¡¯s Bog himself and offer to guard the caravan for free to convince them to visit the town. They¡¯d taken him up on it, of course. A level forty [Warrior] had little to fear in this world. But if he had to guard <em>every </em>caravan that visited, he wouldn¡¯t have any time to do anything else.

    When he arrived in triumph, the whole town had turned out to meet the caravan in the town square, and there was something of a festival atmosphere. Brin couldn¡¯t help but be caught up in it. Sure, there were plenty of people in Hammon¡¯s Bog whose names he didn¡¯t know, but there was something strange and exotic about meeting <em>real strangers</em>. He¡¯d never have understood it in his old world, but here, when you were surrounded by the same people every day, there wasn¡¯t anything more enticing than novelty.

    The merchants set up their wagons in a ring, looking like a cross between a pioneer reenactment and a mini-mall. He¡¯d immediately set out looking for fabrics, but who would bring fabrics to a town with a high-level [Weaver]? They had many very beautiful spools of thread, which he could do exactly nothing with. This town didn¡¯t even have a loom, although Myra had bragged that her mom was getting onemissioned in preparation for her System Day.

    Still, there were other things he could buy, and the great thing about merchants from out of town is that they would take his gold <em>without</em> needing permission from his adoptive father. He had barely started looking at the enchanted items when Prefit Elmon had charged him, furious, and pulled him away.

    The Prefit had taken him to his home first, and tossed him in the holding cell in the front room before going to converse with some people in the other room. Brin didn¡¯t know who was in that room, but he¡¯d bet his left eye that [Weaver] Tawna was there, from the way the Prefit hade out even angrier than before.

    He was a big man, every inch a [Warrior], even in his fine clothes and immacte hair. He sort of looked like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, except a bit older and better dressed. This was sort of conflicting for Brin, who actually liked the character from the old cartoon. Prefit Elmon, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t his favorite person at the moment.

    ¡°Pilloried?¡± asked Brin. ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°For spreading illegal rumors,¡± said Prefit Elmon.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± said Brin. ¡°What about the people spreading rumors about me? If you¡¯re going to pillory people for spreading rumors you¡¯ll have to do it to half the town. Are you going to do them one by one, or make one huge pillory the size of the town walls?¡±

    The Prefit didn¡¯t even look at him, just clenched his jaw against a sneer of disgust. ¡°You are the one at the heart of the rumors against [Weaver] Tawna. Rumors that may well turn to violence if I let them go unchecked.¡±

    ¡°ording to who? Seems like you¡¯ve talked to everyone but me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Do you deny the charge?¡± asked the Prefit.

    ¡°Would you listen if I did?¡± He tried to summon some anger for his words, but honestly he was just so sick of this. Why did he even try? The day had started off so well and now all he could think about was going to bed and sleeping for a week. Or a year.

    Prefit Elmon dragged Brin by the wrist all the way to the gate on the town¡¯s west end. A carpenter had already put the pillory right in the middle of the street. They really had moved them away from the usual spot near the town square, so that the merchants wouldn¡¯t see this.

    A small crowd had gathered nearby. The Prefit didn¡¯t pause for speeches, just yanked Brin by the arm towards the pillory.

    He braced himself for it. As far as he knew, it wouldn¡¯t be any worse than the pillory on earth, where they used to lock people¡¯s hands and neck at an awkward angle and make them stand there for a while. It wouldn¡¯t actually hurt, not with his stats, not unless he was left there for an entire day or more. It was more the humiliation aspect that made people want to avoid this.

    He could be thankful this wasn¡¯t a whipping, but then again, he¡¯d only ever seen one whipping, and that was for a man assaulting a woman. Stocks were much moremon, where they only locked in the feet, and most things got settled with a fine, with no need for physical punishment at all.

    Brin saw an invisible something approaching at great speed from past the city gate. Some small part of him thrilled in the possibility that it was an invisible monstere to start tearing all of the rubberneckers apart. Elmon would watch in horror as he realized he¡¯d been so preupied with a non-problem like Brin that he¡¯d missed the true threat.

    But of course it was just Hogg.

    The [Illusionist] appeared in a ball of ck smoke, and Brin could really smell the smoke. That was Hogg for you, always careful to think of the small things. He had used his illusion magic for the invisibility, but not for the smoke bomb. After all, a [Rogue] would use real smoke.

    Brin would be impressed except for the fact that the old jerk was probably going to give a half-hearted attempt to argue for Brin and then immediately back down. Or maybe he wouldn¡¯t even try, and he was here to take Prefit Elmon¡¯s side and deliver Brin a stinging lecture while he was locked in the wooden frame.

    The onlookers must¡¯ve expected something different. The entire crowd flinched when they saw him appear, and many of them immediately decided that they had somewhere better to be, like they¡¯d gotten caught doing something naughty. He saw [Weaver] Tawna in the crowd. She stayed.

    ¡°So what¡¯s all this?¡±

    ¡°Stand aside, Hogg.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s what it looks like then?¡±

    Elmon gritted his teeth, but stopped, staring Hogg down.

    ¡°I¡¯m this boy¡¯s legal father. You should¡¯ve talked to me first.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be hearing from me next. This is mostly on your shoulders, for letting it get this far,¡± said Elmon.

    Hogg sighed. ¡°That¡¯s more true than you know. You know, this town has been my home my entire life, except for my adventuring years. I remember the day you were born and I remember the day you became Prefit. In all that time, I¡¯ve <em>never</em> seen you put a child in the pillory. Not even when the Giovi twins killed all those chickens. You talked to their parents and the parents paid for the damage."

    ¡°There¡¯s never been a time before where a single child¡¯s action endangered the entire town,¡± the Prefit responded.

    ¡°There still hasn¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    The Prefit put his hand on the pommel of his sword. ¡°Stand aside.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s eyes went wide in shock. Then they narrowed, and he stopped being real.

    Prefit Elmon let go of Brin¡¯s arm as Hogg reappeared right in front of them, delivering a sucker punch to the Prefit¡¯s middle.

    The [Warrior] staggered backwards, trying to draw his sword. Hogg mmed it back into its sheath, pushed a punch away with contemptuous ease, and then mmed his fist into Elmon¡¯s jaw.

    That Elmon stayed standing was impressive; Brin had literally seen that fist shatter skulls.

    Hogg¡¯s movements were strange, because he looked like he was dominating the Prefitpletely, but [Know What¡¯s Real] was ring rm bells. Hogg was hiding his true movements, probably making it look easier than it was. Whatever Hogg was doing, the effect on the Prefit was real.

    Hogg turned and delivered a roundhouse kick to Elmon¡¯s shoulder. The Prefit got his hands up to block, but the kick blew straight through his defense and knocked him off his feet, across the street, and through the wall of the nearest house.

    He exploded out of the mess, flinging rubble in every direction. Hogg caught him by the shirt and neatly threw him to the ground. Elmon moved to stand again, but stopped when he noticed his own sword at his throat.

    ¡°Is this what we¡¯re doing now? Strongest is in charge? Because if that¡¯s what we¡¯re doing, I¡¯m happy to oblige. This isn¡¯t new ground for a [Rogue]. This is where I¡¯mfortable.¡± Hogg stood and threw Elmon¡¯s sword into the dirt in disgust. ¡°You¡¯re the Prefit here, and up until now I¡¯ve been satisfied with that, because until now you¡¯ve governed withws. Not with bullying and temper tantrums. But that¡¯s over, I guess. Strongest is in charge. So here¡¯s your first neww: if you <em>ever</em> put your hand on your sword when you talk to me again, you¡¯ll lose it and that¡¯s a promise.¡±

    Elmon stood, dusted himself off, and met Hogg¡¯s eyes, somehow reiming some of his lost dignity. Brin would¡¯ve wilted under either of these men¡¯s stares, and the air between them practically sparked with lightning.

    ¡°You and Brin are banned from town for three days,¡± said Elmon.

    ¡°Fine. That¡¯s fine,¡± Hogg said, a bit of mockery in his voice. ¡°But I want you to¨C¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare¨C¡± Elmon started.

    ¡°Ah, ah, ah,¡± said Hogg, making a cutting motion. Elmon¡¯s lips kept moving, but no sound came out. ¡°I¡¯m talking. I want you to keep an eye on that [Weaver] for me. I don¡¯t like the kinds of things she¡¯s been saying about my¡­¡± he nced at Brin. ¡°Son. I want you to be at her door before she leaves in the morning and drop her off again at night. You¡¯re going to hear the tinkle when she uses the privy. You¡¯re really going to do it, too. You hear me? I won¡¯t be around for a few days, but don¡¯t forget: This is Hogg Town now. Alright, you can talk, but don¡¯t say anything stupid.¡±

    Elmon was clearly taking great pains to contain himself. Apparently, he could contain his temper as long as the person talking to him could beat him ck and blue with little effort. Still, he looked like he was going to disagree, until Tawna stepped to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder with pleading in her eyes.

    ¡°I will consider your suggestion, sir,¡± said Elmon.

    ¡°Consider it an order. Come along, Brin.¡± Hogg turned on his heel and left the town by the gates. ¡°And send me the bill for that house!¡±

    Brin hurried after Hogg.

    He tried not to feel too much satisfaction at this. Prefit Elmon was probably a good¨C well, an ok person. He probably treated people well most of the time, and he¡¯d only acted like that with Brin because [Weaver] Tawna had filled his ears up with poison. He knew all that, but it wasn¡¯t a bad feeling to see someone who was mean to him get some sense knocked into him. It wasn¡¯t a bad feeling at all.

    He noticed his hands were shaking. Right, even though he was weaker than Hogg, Elmon was still strong. He¡¯d gone through that wall and came out without a single bruise. He could kill Brin with a flick of one finger, and Brin¡¯s instincts knew that even if his brain tried to forget it.

    He jogged to catch up with Hogg walking down the road and matched his pace, walking next to him, even though he was walking pretty dang fast.

    He needed to take a second to process. How did he feel about what had just happened? Everything. Gratitude that Hogg had stepped in to help him. Anger that it had taken this long. Sadness that it had been necessary. Fear, an aftershock of seeing such high level people fighting, even if this had been a fairly restrained dust-up. Vindication, at seeing Elmon get beat down, although he wished it had been Tawna instead.

    Not sure where to start, Brin opened the conversation on more neutral ground. ¡°How did you do that? [Know What¡¯s Real] told me what I was seeing wasn¡¯t really what happened, but I couldn¡¯t see what did happen.¡±

    A big ck mallet appeared on Hogg¡¯s back, then turned invisible again. It was ck iron, but the ends were covered in leather. That would probably feel like getting hit with a fist, more or less. ¡°If you want people to think you punch like a hammerstrike, then hit them with a hammer,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Nice,¡± said Brin. There was a silence for a moment.

    ¡°So wh¨C¡±

    ¡°Listen, I¨C¡±

    They both stopped.

    ¡°You go first,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Listen, Lumina shared that letter you wrote to her with me,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Yeah, ok.¡± Brin scratched the back of his head. ¡°Maybe it was a little corny, but I don¡¯t know how to write things like¨C¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. Lumina, she has a way of reading in between the lines. She read a lot in that letter, more than you thought you were letting on,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Really? Love her to death, but she didn¡¯t seem like a super perceptive-type person, at least not when ites to social stuff.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯d surprise you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°She could tell from the letter that you¡¯re not having a great time of it.¡±

    Brin sped Hogg¡¯s shoulder as they walked. ¡°Hogg. I¡¯m <em>fine</em>. Honestly.¡±

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re not fine, and a lot of that is on my shoulders.¡±

    He started to object, again, to say he was fine, but was he fine? To be honest, he was still a little pissed off at Hogg. One act of public violence didn¡¯t undo a year of negligence. But it did help.

    ¡°Come on, ki¨C man. I¡¯m no good at this. You got to meet me halfway. Say something,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You could¡¯ve just¨C Arg! No,¡± said Brin. He took a breath. ¡°This kid body is inconvenient. My emotions are always all over the ce. Ok, so you know in the before, I had a girlfriend for a while. Long story short, she left me, but to get over it a guy¡¯s got to think of all the reasons he¡¯s actually better off without her. One thing she did that drove me <em>crazy</em>, was that she always punished me when I did something right. ¡®I took the trash out.¡¯ <em>You should¡¯ve done that two days ago!</em> ¡®I took the day off work.¡¯ <em>For the first time this month.</em> I¡¯m not going to do that. You helped me out today. Thank you. Let¡¯s leave it there.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s spat in disgust. ¡°Cut the bull. I¡¯m not a baby, and I¡¯m not your girlfriend. You don¡¯t need to protect my feelings.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just drop it,¡± said Brin. ¡°Hey, is that Zilly?¡±

    Zilly wasing down the forest road from the direction of their house. She must¡¯ve been the one to inform Hogg. He¡¯d have to thank her for itter.

    ¡°Hey Zilly!¡±

    ¡°Walk with us,¡± Hogg said to the girl.

    She looked between the two of them. ¡°Are you sure? What happened at town? I thought the Prefit was going to pillory you for sure.¡±

    ¡°He was, but Hogg beat him up. It was awesome,¡± Brin said.

    ¡°Stop changing the subject! Brin here was just going to tell me all the ways that I¡¯m a bad dad. Only, I can¡¯t get him to say anything.¡±

    Zilly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s typical. It¡¯s hard to get Brin to say anything about anything. It¡¯s like pulling teeth. I can¡¯t even get him to answer if he has a crush on Myra or not.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°See what I mean?¡± said Zilly.

    Hogg eyed her contemtively. ¡°But you don¡¯t have that problem.¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡±

    ¡°Then you do it. I¡¯ll give you ten silver for every good reason you can think of,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly Brin, of course I¡¯m going to do it. We¡¯re not all rich like you,¡± said Zilly.

    She scooted in between him and Hogg, pushing him to the side. As she did, she also handed off Marksi, who slithered up and down Brin¡¯s body, looking worried and checking for injuries.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Marksi!¡± he said, and rubbed the snake¡¯s head. He couldn¡¯t figure out how exactly Marksi had ended up with Zilly. He hadn¡¯t even noticed the snake was gone. The only thing he could think of was that Marksi had gone for help, found Zilly, and then Zilly had taken him to go get Hogg. That was a lot ofplex reasoning for a little snake. He had been treating Marksi like a pet, but it was possible that Marksi was smart. Like, human smart. It was something he needed to look into.

    Later. Right now, Zilly was ruining his life.

 Book 3: Chapter 2

    Book 3: Chapter 2

    ¡°Ten silver for each way I¡¯m a bad dad. Go,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°The first thing is that you¡¯re never around,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Other kids have parents that go to town, talk to the other adults and do the shopping. But you <em>never </eme to town. We don¡¯t even see you if wee to your house. Brin does all the shopping and the cooking, or he goes hungry.¡±

    Hogg smiled and stroked his chin. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s two things. Twenty silver. Keep going.¡±

    Brin groaned, but Zilly had stars in her eyes.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t try to stop Tawna from saying bad things about him. Anyone else would¡¯ve been hopping mad from day one, but you just let it sit. You¡¯re a [Ro¨C a sneaky person, so you could¡¯ve followed Brin whenever he met with Tawna, at the very least you could¡¯ve watched the lesson, but you didn¡¯t. Myra told me what her mom said to you about what happened that day, and it wasn¡¯t the true story at all.¡±

    Hogg nodded. ¡°Good point. You¡¯re up to thirty.¡±

    Zilly said, ¡°Um¡­ and¡­ that¡¯s all I got.¡±

    ¡°What about you Brin? If you can think of anything, I¡¯ll add it to Zilly¡¯s pool.¡±

    Zilly immediately turned to him, with pleading in her eyes.

    ¡°That is foul maniption,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It sure is, but that one doesn¡¯t count,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin sighed. ¡°Fine. You never listen to me. I¡¯ve told you all this before. Well, some of it. And I shouldn¡¯t have had to tell you any of it! Oh, gross, now I sound like my¨C like <em>her</em>. See why I didn¡¯t want to do this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m counting all that as one,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You treat me like a kid,¡± said Brin. ¡°You said when I moved here that I¡¯m already mostly grown so you¡¯d treat me like an adult, but in every conversation I¡¯m just ¡®kid¡¯. You won¡¯t tell me what you¡¯re up to all day. That¡¯s adult stuff, and I¡¯m just a kid.¡±

    ¡°Fair,¡± said Hogg.

    Theplete eptance to all these usations just made Brin more angry, but he found that he was tapped out.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I got,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Really? You haven¡¯t even touched my personality,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You want to talk about how I hide behind a wall of sarcasm?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t mind that. Overly sincere people make me ufortable,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, if you think of one more Zilly will be at a gold,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°The way you dress!¡± said Zilly. ¡°You don¡¯t dress like a dad, you dress like an adventurer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll allow it, but only because I¡¯m not carrying any change,¡± said Hogg. He flipped a gold coin towards her and she snatched it out of the air. ¡°Now get lost!¡±

    ¡°Later Brin!¡± said Zilly, and took off down the road.

    They listened to her footsteps retreat behind them. Then they listened to the rustling of the breeze in the trees, the buzzing of the insects and the ever present calling of the birds, until Hogg finally spoke. ¡°It¡¯s not like I <em>never</em> cook.¡±

    ¡°Right? It¡¯s weird she just assumed that. You make a decent stew,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Bite your tongue. I make a <em>great</em> stew.¡±

    The conversation dwindled again. They walked. The weather, the scenery, the birds in the tree, they were all absolutely normal and Brin couldn¡¯t find a single thing to remark upon to break up the stiflingly awkward silence.

    ¡°Thatst one, I don¡¯t think it waspletely true,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Damn right. There¡¯s nothing wrong with the way I dress!¡± said the ck-d man.

    Brin didn¡¯t match his smile. ¡°I meant the one before that.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Hogg, and looked solemn.

    ¡°You don¡¯t treat me like an adult <em>or</em> a child. If I was a child you¡¯d care for me and if I was an adult you¡¯d befriend me. But you haven¡¯t done either. You haven¡¯t done <em>anything</em> because you don¡¯t know which one I am. I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m a child or an adult. I have the power of a child, the body of a child, and the social status of a child. I have the memories of an adult, sure, but they don¡¯t help at all. None of those memories are useful; they don¡¯t do anything for me, they¡¯re just an anchor tied to my back. For all intents and purposes, I¡¯m even younger than I look, because I have no idea how to act in this world. When I look at Zilly and Davi, I don¡¯t see children any more. I see <em>the big kids</em>. Because they have fourteen years of experience living in this world and I don¡¯t even have one. I have no idea how to live. I don¡¯t¡­ I just don¡¯t know how to live.¡±

    His voice cut off, and there were tears in his eyes. In front of Hogg of all people. So embarrassing. This is why he hadn¡¯t wanted to do this. Why couldn¡¯t people leave well enough alone? He was <em>fine.</em>

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m always trying to get achievements all day every day. I don¡¯t know how to do anything else. I don¡¯t have anyone.¡±

    ¡°I told you I don¡¯t know how to do this,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then try!¡± said Brin. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do anything! But I try, don¡¯t I? No one can tell me I didn¡¯t try.¡±

    ¡°All right. Ok,¡± Hogg said quietly. ¡°I¡¯ll try. Burn me, I¡¯ll try.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± said Brin, snorting up a runny nose. ¡°That¡¯s all I ask.¡±

    ¡°Are we supposed to hug now or something?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Please no,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Damnit, I think we have to hug anyway,¡± said Hogg.

    Hogg grabbed Brin¡¯s shoulder to turn him around and pulled him into a hug, pressing Brin¡¯s head against his chest. Hogg was still a lot taller than Brin, but not for very much longer at the rate he was going. Hogg held him there for a minute, and patted his back.

    It was the most awkward, mortifying, and embarrassing thing Brin had ever experienced in either of his entire lives. Despite all possible rhyme or reason, it still made him feel a lot better. Brin hugged him back, tightly, and let it all fall away. It felt like a weight had been lifted. When Hogg finally let him go, he realized it was a beautiful day. Had the sun always been that bright?

    ¡°Can I say something in my defense?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If I had a child, a real one, I would never treat him the way I¡¯ve treated you,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin snorted, thenughed. Theughter felt good after all those heavier emotions. ¡°Oh, awesome, good to know.¡±

    ¡°No, listen. I would¡¯ve tried to give him what you needed. What those parents in town give their kids. Stability, good influences, support, all that dumb crap. On the other hand, if I had the same opportunity that you had to go back and do things over, I would do everything <em>exactly</em> like you. I would forget everything else and get every single achievement I could. Friends, rtionships, peace of mind, good food, rxation, a good reputation? You can get all those things <em>after</em> your System Day. But if you don¡¯t get those achievements now, then you lose your only chance.¡±

    ¡°Thank you! Why does everyone act like I¡¯m crazy for going after them?¡±

    ¡°Think about it from their perspective. If you had a son your age, would you do all the things to him that you¡¯re doing to yourself?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Of course not. But it¡¯s <em>my</em> choice. No one is forcing me into this.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t know that. They don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside you. All they see is a sullen, angry boy named <em>Scar the Mistaken</em> who¡¯s doing everything in his power to turn himself into a killing machine. I let you go at it, because from my perspective you were doing everything right. And because there are some achievements you can¡¯t get if someone helps you, and there¡¯s even some you can¡¯t get if someone tells you to do it.¡±

    ¡°Oh. So is that why¨C?¡±

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t even talk about it, just in case. If you¡¯re going to do something, then make sure I don¡¯t know about it.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± said Brin. As excuses went, that was a fairly good one. But it had still hurt.

    ¡°But I still should¡¯ve been there. As a person. I definitely shouldn¡¯t have let that thing with Tawna get as far as it did. That¡¯s on me. I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Hogg.

    He felt like he had mostly forgiven Hogg, assuming the guy really did follow through, but it was too early to say so. ¡°Thank you for the apology. And for what it¡¯s worth, thank you for helping me out in town. Are you sure what you did back there was smart? It¡¯s not going to make us any more popr.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going to make you a lot more sympathetic. And I¡¯ve never been popr. I am feared and respected, and it¡¯s about time some people remember why.¡±

    ¡°What about the thing with Tawna?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Neither the Prefit nor Tawna like me. Putting their heads together is sure to end up with some new scheme.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll be surprised how that turns out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it for now, but I still think it¡¯s going to backfire,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If it does, I¡¯ll deal with it when ites,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°So, three days, huh?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You still want those achievements, or have you finally figured out that life is about more than¨C¡±

    ¡°The achievements, please.¡±

    Hogg grinned. ¡°Oh, thank the gods. I don¡¯t know what a healthy, bnced lifestyle looks like but it sounds boring as all the hells. So walk me through it. What have you tried, and what have you got?¡±

    Brin jumped at the chance. He¡¯d been trying to get Hogg to help him with this since day one. If the old adventurer was willing to extend an olive branch and finally give more than tiny hints and really help, then he would be d to ept it.

    ¡°Davi and I have been working out every day, and Zilly joins in sometimes. We were sort of stalled out for a while, only getting one natural Strength every two weeks, until we made a breakthrough by training muscle groups that weren¡¯t getting worked in our regr routine. Zilly got Strong I, Davi shot up past Strong II in no time, and I¡¯m at 36, so only three away from the second threshold. I don¡¯t have any doubt that I¡¯ll be able to get it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good. Then be done with Strength for now. You won¡¯t have a problem,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I still need three more, but I¡¯m confident¨C¡±

    ¡°You can never have too many, but I¡¯m <em>saying</em> that you won¡¯t have a problem,¡± said Hogg.

    Oh. Hogg meant that an achievement would push him over. One that they couldn¡¯t talk about or it might disqualify him. Killing a monster in the forest. It had to be.

    ¡°Dexterity was <em>really</em> stalled out for the longest time. Then Zilly had the answer for me. I should¡¯ve asked her ages ago. Apparently when I worked on Dexterity, I only worked on one aspect of it, the fine-motor control. Apparently flexibility and acrobatics y a big role in it as well. Once I started working on that stuff, it skyrocketed. I¡¯m at twenty-four.¡±

    ¡°Vitality and Will are doing well at thirty. I noticed when I got them, I didn¡¯t get new Rare achievements. Workhorse just upgraded to give a Vitality and Will per level. Zilly has Adept, and all her Rare attribute achievements got carried into there.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Ok. Maybe I could go for the second threshold on one of them? But I don¡¯t have a way to directly train them. Mental Control and Magic are the hardest.¡±

    ¡°I know about your mana-drainer,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, well in that case it gave me five points in Magic, but it¡¯s pretty much stopped doing anything except give me headaches. I made a breakthrough in Mental Control by using the mana-drainer to fry my brain and then try to read or do math. I got five points that way. You know anything that could help?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Lumina, but it¡¯s a long shot. Most children that get the Magic achievement start when they¡¯re five,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s the one attribute that¡¯s not worth it, especially with how easy it is to get magic with a ss. Mental Control might be possible, but we¡¯re pretty close to the deadline. I¡¯d suggest we start with Dexterity.¡±

    ¡°Works for me.¡± Brin shrugged.

    ¡°Have you tried sleight-of-hand? Stealth?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°No?¡±

    ¡°Hm. Ok, I¡¯m going to suggest something, but if you don¡¯t want to do it, we don¡¯t have to,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    ¡°What I should do is take you out for ice cream. And don¡¯t even say it, because no one is too old for ice cream. There¡¯s no parlors around here and we¡¯re banned from town regardless, but I know how to make it. We should spend the next three days¡­ bonding, or whatever it is that we were supposed to be doing this entire time. Then you can spend the next three weeks until System Day shoring up your achievements,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You had me at ice cream,¡± said Brin in an over-the-top way, pretending to swoon.

    ¡°The other option, is that I go theplete opposite direction and be the drill instructor from hell for the next three days, with an absolute focus on attributes and achievements.¡±

    ¡°Does the drill instructor from hell still make ice cream?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Fine, ok, yes. But don¡¯t enjoy it too much!¡±

    Brin took a deep breath. Taking a break was the healthy choice. Bonding time, and focusing on fixing his rtionship with the only real parental figure he had in town was probably the right decision. But he <em>wanted</em> those attributes.

    ¡°I want to train,¡± said Brin. ¡°We can do all that other stuff after System Day. For now, it¡¯s good enough to know you¡¯re on my side.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then follow me. Do what I do. Don¡¯t talk.¡±

    Hogg turned into the forest, and disappeared. For once, [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t say anything. He was just gone.

    Brin went to the spot where Hogg had disappeared, and saw him creeping along the shadow of a tree. In the bright daylight, suddenly moving behind a tree and then into a spot of dark shadow had made him incredibly hard to see. It was impressive considering it was the middle of the day.

    Brin followed his path, crouching down the same way and walking through the same ce. He followed the way that Hogg walked. He ced his feet in the same ces, then noticed <em>how</em> Hogg was stepping, with toes first, and copied that, too.

    A bird called in the tree, and Brin only nced at it for an instant, but by the time his eyes went back Hogg was gone again. It didn¡¯t take him long to find him,ying down behind a patch of grass he would¡¯ve sworn wasn¡¯t big enough to hide a person.

    ¡°Let me ask you something,¡± said Hogg, standing up. ¡°Did [Know What¡¯s Real] tell you that the bird call was from me?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± said Brin, but then really thought about it. He hadn¡¯t noticed at the time, but now thinking back on it, his Skill <em>had</em> been disturbed by something. ¡°Actually, yeah. I think it did. I didn¡¯t notice at the time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a visual person. Just now, you were matching the way I look when I walk. You¡¯re a natural at thinking about things like sight-lines, and you¡¯re generally good at noticing things with your eyes, but I don¡¯t think you were thinking about sound at all. You¡¯re loud. So for now you¡¯re going to practice moving quietly.

    ¡°Although stealth is about more than moving quietly. You¡¯re not being quiet for quiet¡¯s sake, today you have a purpose, and that purpose is to improve and refine your control over your physical body. It¡¯s about control. Moving silently means moving withplete control, total precision and intentionality. You aren¡¯t letting chance decide how much noise your footsteps are going to make. You¡¯re taking control. Think about a cat moving around a house. Even at home its every step is measured, itsndings are controlled, and all needless sound is avoided.

    ¡°Stealth is also about awareness. Awareness of yourself, your body, and the world around you. Some people practice awareness by sitting around all day trying to think about nothing. What a waste of time. You never really know who you are until you''re fully, truly engaged.

    ¡°Stealth is something you learn by doing, so I¡¯m going to give you time to practice. Listen to the way things sound. Feel the difference in the way you engage your muscles when you¡¯re trying to be stealthy, versus how you move normally. You¡¯ll find yourself tensing muscles you¡¯d normally rx, and rxing where you¡¯d normally be tense. It might be tiring at first, but mostly it¡¯ll be dispersing the strain of each movement throughout the body. Think about it like this: a loudnding is a heavynding. The softer the impact, the less sound it makes.¡±

    ¡°And Stealth will help with Dexterity?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a type of Dexterity that you haven¡¯t been focusing on. Here.¡±

    A thin white circle appeared at the edge of his vision. His Skill told him it was an illusion, but that was obvious. ¡°What¡¯s¨C¡±

    The white circle expanded wildly with the sound of his voice, turning yellow and then red. A sound detector?

    ¡°That will pick up any sound within three yards of you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Keep it white; anything higher and people will hear you. Well, [Rogues] will hear you no matter what, and there are some other sses you can¡¯t sneak up on.¡±

    ¡°Like [Illusionists]?¡±

    ¡°Not all of them. You could sneak up on Gustaff, easy. But for the most part, yes,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And sensory sses are rare. That¡¯s why [Rogues] are so¡­ well not valued, but tolerated.¡±

    ¡°Good to know,¡± said Brin.

    A cricket chirped near Brin. He¡¯d been expecting it this time, so he noticed when his Skill pegged the sound as an illusion. He also noticed his sound detector circle expand into the red.

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not fair. I didn¡¯t do that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°People will nce at random sounds, even if you don¡¯t make them. Stay aware of your surroundings. All right. I¡¯m off. Come home when you get a point in Dexterity.¡±

    Hogg turned and ran into the forest. He climbed a tree, jumped off it to grab a branch on another tree, swing around it, and then hit the ground in a roll. It was unnatural how quiet he was, like watching a movie on mute. Brin had been watching, and listening, carefully. No illusion magic had softened the sound. Hogg really was that sneaky.

    If he thought this was an important Skill to learn, even for someone who had magic to make itpletely unnecessary, Brin would try his best.

    Hogg ruined the air of mystery by immediately returning for Marksi. ¡°You already know how to do this. Anything your size that can sneak up on a fly and catch it with your mouth has already mastered Stealth.¡±

    Once he was really gone, Brin got started. His first step made the circle turn yellow. This was going to be slow going.

    So he took it slow. He crept at a snail¡¯s pace to start, until he was sure he could move without disturbing the circle, then moved quicker until he was walking normally.

    Then he started to jog, then to run. It surprised him how intuitive it was, like it was something his body already knew how to do and had just been waiting for him to try. He could feel how to tense his legs to soften the blow with the ground, how to adjust his center of gravity to make everything a bit smoother.

    He could <em>mostly</em> run silently, but every ten feet or so he¡¯d do something or step on something that would make his white circle expand. That wasn¡¯t any good at all. He needed to be silent dependably, not only in spurts.

    So he started over, paying attention to the types of things that would make sounds if he stepped on them. It wasn¡¯t so much a matter of cing his feet as it was navigating his path. Roots and the hard ground near trees were mostly safe, as long as he watched out for twigs. Tall grass shushed too much when he ran but would actually cover his sound if he walked slowly. Open ground was almost always wet, and sshing or the sucking sound of mud would give him away. Plus, he¡¯d get mud on his shoes.

    It was strange to be doing this in daylight, but really he was practicing being quiet rather than actually sneaking, and the sunlight made it easier to see things he shouldn¡¯t step on.

    It surprised him how quickly he picked it up, but he was probably only out there for two hours before he could dependably run through the forest without disturbing his white circle. It was thrilling; it felt like a superpower.

    He was almost disappointed when the notification popped up; he was having too much fun.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    He wanted to keep going. There was no reason to say he <em>had </em>to go home right away. He tried doing what Hogg had done, and climbed a tree.

    He climbed a tree silently on his first try, until he put a foot down too heavy on a branch and it made the leaves shake. His circle didn¡¯t move, but in real life someone would¡¯ve noticed so he counted it as a failure.

    Besides, Hogg hadn¡¯t climbed a tree. He¡¯d run straight up it. Brin tried what Hogg had done, and was surprised at how well his body followed his mental image of what it should do. He¡¯d noticed how easy his Strength had been making things, but all his attributes were a lot higher now, including his Dexterity.

    He ran straight up the tree, jumped off, andnded on the ground sort of hard but at least on his feet, and turned it into an awkward roll. Not perfect, but not a bad start and¡­ parkour! This was parkour! Why hadn¡¯t he done this before? This was one of the things he¡¯d always sort of dreamed of being able to do, ever since ying Mirror¡¯s Edge the first time, but in his past life he¡¯d never believed it was something he¡¯d be able to do.

    Now, though, there was no stopping him. He kept working until he could do the exact move-set that Hogg had showed him <em>without</em> disturbing that white circle. It didn¡¯t give him another Dexterity, but by the time he stumbled back home he was walking on air, dreaming about all the awesome things he¡¯d be able to do now.

    Hammon¡¯s Bog, with it¡¯s two and three story buildings all tight together, would be <em>perfect</em> for parkour. Yes, he¡¯d be arrested immediately and he¡¯d even kind of deserve it, but if he was <em>quiet</em> enough¡­

    ¡°Took you longer than I thought,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Nah, I got the Dexterity a while ago. I didn¡¯t want toe back, though, I was having too much fun.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. Now try this,¡± said Hogg.

    He was seated at the dining room table with a deck of cards. He pulled one off the top, and showed it to Brin. Then he moved his other hand in front of it, and the card was gone. He wiggled his fingers.

    Brin had seen this one before. It wasn¡¯t in the hand that had gone over it, it was held on the back of the fingers of the original hand. The wiggling fingers covered the movement of the card falling behind the wrist to fall into the crook of the elbow. Nobody looks at elbows and you could do all kinds of things from there.

    Brin sat down and copied the trick. It took him three tries to get it right. A slew of notifications appeared.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    <strong></strong>

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Dexterous I (Common) You have reached 26 Dexterity. +10 speed with Dexterity-rted activities. +10% Dexterity attribute growth.

    <strong></strong>

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Workhorse (Rare) Now gives you: +1 Dexterity per level.

    ¡°Ta daaaa!¡± said Hogg, letting the sound hang in the air.

    ¡°Oh,e on!¡± Brin said, and mmed his open hand against the table. ¡°I¡¯ve been working my butt off this whole time, when three words from you could¡¯ve gotten me <em>miles</em> ahead.¡±

    ¡°Ohe off it, it¡¯s not that bad,¡± said Hogg. ¡°The more attributes you get, the harder it is to get them. Even that ten percent boost doesn¡¯t help the slow-down much. If I¡¯d given you these tips right away, it would¡¯ve made the other training you did less effective. Now that we¡¯re up against your System Day, we can start plucking all that low-hanging fruit.¡±

    ¡°I still think it would¡¯ve gone better if you¡¯d trained me the whole time,¡± Brin griped.

    ¡°I had another reason, you remember? Whatever you are in your head, the gods still see you as a child. The world might punish me for doing this. Or it might not. I¡¯ve decided to do it regardless,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What made you change your mind?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Lumina, mostly. But also¡­ you know, if I ever had a son he¡¯d probably be around your age. Your real age, not this teenage boy. Now buck up, next we¡¯re going to learn the most important Dexterity ability of all. Something you¡¯ve been woefully inadequate in.¡±

    ¡°Fighting? Are you going to teach me how to fight?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to learn how to steal stuff.¡±

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    Child of Travin''s Bog

    Level

    1

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    36

    Dexterity

    26

    Vitality

    30

    Magic

    15

    Mental Control

    18

    Will

    30

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    Locked

    Traveler

    Locked

    Otherworlder

    Locked

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Strength.

    +10% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +10% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Dexterity.

    +10% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +10% Dexterity attribute growth.

    Lively I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Vitality.

    +10% recovery from wounds. +10% stamina. +10% Vitality attribute growth.

    Disciplined I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Will

    +10% spell power. +10% skill power. +10% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +1 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Vitality per level

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 3: Chapter 3

    Book 3: Chapter 3

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe we should switch to Vitality?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nah. Today feels like a Dexterity kind of day,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Let¡¯s get some more of that low-hanging fruit before we move on.¡±

    Brin shrugged. This was more help than anyone had ever offered with gaining attributes. He wasn¡¯t going to turn his nose up at it, even if it wasn¡¯t in the exact order he would¡¯ve chosen.

    Hogg took him through the ne¡¯er-do-well masterss. How to walk down the street without seeming suspicious but also not letting anyone see your face. How to case a house or a business. How to tell if someone was home. The psychology of stealing: how to get yourself in the right frame of mind. How to predict where someone would hide their most precious possessions. How to steal enough to get by, but not enough to get caught.

    Then they moved on to more practical applications. First was pick-pocketing. It started with a game. Hogg put two gold coins in his hand, one on top of the other and then close his eyes. Brin¡¯s job was to take the one on top without letting Hogg feel it. If Hogg felt something, he¡¯d close his hand and Brin would lose.

    It wasn¡¯t easy, and after several hundred tries over the course of two hours, Brin started to get frustrated.

    Hogg called a break. They ate dinner; Hogg cooked, and it wasn¡¯t stew. He made a roast, covered in a spicy rub, with steamed vegetables on the side.

    After dinner, Hogg brought out a finely carved wooden barrel. There was a smaller barrel on the inside, and Brin was surprised to see he recognized the device. This was an ice-cream maker!

    Hogg filled it up with saltwater and ice, and filled the inner barrel with heavy cream and sugar. ¡°What vor?¡±

    ¡°Not pork,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Not really a fan of savory ice cream, either,¡± said Hogg. He suggested blueberries, which were actually baby-blue berries in this world, that tasted more like ckberries. Brin agreed.

    Making ice cream wasn¡¯t a fast process, and Hogg didn¡¯t go out of his way to speed it up. Instead, they sat and chatted about normal things. About Davi¡¯s obvious and inexplicable crush on Myra. About Marksi, and how cute he was. They talked about town gossip, the safe stuff, who was going to marry who, and what businesses had recently leveled up.

    The ice cream was <em>transcendent.</em> It was perfect, thick and creamy, like the good stuff from an Italian Ice Cream parlor, not at all like the crap he¡¯d had the few times his parents tried to make it at home.

    Generally, he tried not to get nostalgic about things from his old world, but this broke down a few barriers. He was back again, and it felt oh, so good. How long had it been since he¡¯d had a treat? Something good, just because he wanted it? Had he even done it a single time in this world?

    It almost broke him down and made him tell Hogg to forget training and that they were in vacation mode. But he didn¡¯t. Vacation could wait. He still wanted those achievements.

    After the ice cream, Hogg had Brin put the two coins in the palm of his hand and close his eyes. Brin said ¡°Ok, I¡¯m ready¡±, and prepared to close his hand at even the slightest brush of air. Hogg immediately answered, ¡°Open them.¡±

    He opened his eyes, and both coins were gone. He hadn¡¯t felt a thing. He found himself rubbing the palm of his hand with his thumb, just to check it hadn¡¯t gone numb.

    Hogg put the coins back into his own hand and closed his eyes.

    Before trying again himself, Brin had an idea. Marksi had been getting antsy, wanting to join the fun. Brin picked up the snake and carefully brought him near to Hogg¡¯s hand.

    The snake watched his target with full concentration, the way he looked at a dragonfly he was nning to snatch out of the air.

    Brin wondered what he would try? His mouth wasn¡¯t quite big enough to grab the coin front-wise, and he couldn¡¯t imagine being able to grab it from the side without bruising Hogg¡¯s hand.

    Marksi delicately let out his tongue. It twitched back and forth, testing the currents, and stuck out further and further. He had a really long tongue. It just kepting.

    He delicately brought it around the rim of the coin, propped it up, and then in an instant it was in his mouth and the snake was retreating up Brin¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Did you finally get it?¡± Hogg asked. ¡°See, it¡¯s like I keep saying, you have to think about pressure and¨C¡±

    ¡°Marksi got it,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg stared at the snake with his mouth open. He finally gathered himself and said, ¡°Well of course he did! I told you Marksi didn¡¯t need this lesson. He¡¯s already a master of stealth.¡±

    Marksi preened, and they had to take a break for snake-appreciation time, but when Marksi finally got his fill of scritches Brin was ready to go again.

    It was possible. This wasn¡¯t some weird kind of punishment; there really was a way to do it.

    He reached out slowly, feeling the pressure of the air the way Marksi had. He felt the slight body-heat from Hogg¡¯s hand, the slight movement in the air. Slowly, delicately, he reached down. His fingers were on the rim of the coin and starting to pull it away when Hogg pulled his fingers shut.

    ¡°Keep trying,¡± Hogg ordered.

    Brin kept at it, until finally, <em>finally</em> he managed to pull the top coin from Hogg¡¯s hand.

    Hogg immediately jumped into the next lesson.

    This time, it was about pulling coins out of a pouch that Hogg kept at his side. No one had external pouches like that to keep their money in, especially not with a dangling p that woulde right open. Most people had pockets sewn onto the inside of their clothes, and rarely carried more than coppers around. Shopping would usually involve running up a tab to be paid off monthly, or swapping credit.

    Still, he understood the assignment. Just for fun, he had Marksi go first, and the snake leaned down to the pouch from on top of the table and immediately came up with a mouthful of gold coins. The little guy was a natural.

    Brin didn¡¯t find it too hard either. Compared to pulling a coin off Hogg¡¯s hand, this was a lot easier to manage. He just had to make sure he didn¡¯t move the pouch <em>at all</em>. Harder was taking without changing the way the weight applied pressure against Hogg¡¯s side, but it didn¡¯t take him too long to figure out.

    Even after seeding, Hogg had him keep trying. He needed to be able to do this quickly. No one would sit still and let him pick their pockets over the course of thirty seconds. He kept practicing, getting better and better. A notification interrupted their exercise.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    ¡°How do you know all this?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°When everyone thinks you¡¯re a [Rogue], you need to know how to do [Rogue] stuff. It wasn¡¯t easy. I didn¡¯t have the System to guide my fingers; I had to learn all of this on my own.¡±

    Brin expected that to be the end of it for now, but Hogg kept going. He had Brin sneak around the house, telling him where to step and how to tell which floorboards would creak. The sound-detector was still active, and Hogg had him do things like open and close cupboards, clean and put away the dishes, and sweep the floor, all without making any sound.

    He randomly threw spoons and forks, and Brin had to catch them without dropping the broom or the sponge he was working with, and without making any sound.

    Honestly, he probably should¡¯ve figured it out sooner, but it wasn¡¯t until Hogg showed them how to silently jimmy locks, that it finally urred to him why they were doing this.

    There was an achievement for stealing stuff. Hogg wanted him to sneak into Hammon¡¯s Bog and steal something.

    ¡°Not like that,¡± said Hogg, as Brin tried to jimmy the lock to the house. ¡°You¡¯ve got to do it <em>silently</em>. If you can¡¯t get into the house, you can¡¯t do anything.¡±

    Marksi slithered under the door, and an instantter, the door silently swung open. A smug-looking rainbow snake rode on the doorknob on the other side.

    Hogg stared for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°That works.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask you something? Did you predict this entire thing, or are we just taking advantage of an opportunity?¡±

    Hogg crooked an eyebrow. ¡°Now, how would I have guessed that Elmon would ban us from town? He should¡¯ve had me whipped.¡±

    ¡°Could he have? Would you have let him?¡±

    Hoggughed. ¡°Course not. Well that¡¯s enough Dexterity training for now. Let¡¯s do what you said and work on Vitality. Run to Hammon¡¯s Bog and back. Six times.¡±

    Brin blinked. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Don¡¯t let that sound circle get to yellow while you¡¯re out there.¡±

    Brin took off running. The distance was a little much, but he was in fabulously good shape. He was careful not to make a sound, but the road was free of branches or leaves and as long as he didn¡¯t slip his concentration, he managed to keep up his stealthiness. Night fell as he ran, and he didn¡¯t get a Vitality. He didn¡¯t get a Dexterity, either.

    When he got back, Hogg started the day over. He brought Brin out into the woods. He gave Brin the exact same speech about stealth as before, and then left Brin with the same instructions.

    In the dark, it was harder to move in the forest without making a sound. Much harder. He couldn¡¯t see what he was stepping on; he had to guess based on what he <em>could</em> see. The vague outline of trees meant that the nearby ground would be solid, but not necessarily empty of twigs or leaves.

    He had to sort of feel with his feet if he was going to step on something that would make a noise and quickly readjust where his foot was going to fall. It was hard to do through his leather shoes, but not impossible.

    Running made it even harder, but again, not impossible, notpletely. When he finally got to the ce where he wasfortable, it waste into the night and he was getting so tired it was difficult to concentrate.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    He went inside, and it was pitch ck. Hogg magicked up an orb of light, so that Brin could see that he was holding two coins in his hand. Then he made it dark again.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Find a way,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin moved his hand slowly, reaching out into the dark. He brushed up against Hogg, who immediately said, ¡°Fail. Try again.¡±

    He tried slower this time. He concentrated on the air, on feeling the currents. When he felt Hogg¡¯s body-heat, even without touching him, Hogg said, ¡°Fail. Try again.¡±

    This time he did the same, but stopped when he felt the still air, air that was <em>near</em> the body heat, but not warm yet. This time, he touched the coin before Hogg said, ¡°Fail, try again.¡±

    He tried again, and again, and again. The darkness and the stillness tried to lull him to rx, but he fought against it. His exhaustion warred against his concentration, and when he finally got the coin he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d learned something or if it had just been a fluke.

    The next part with the pouch was easier, and he got it in a couple minutes.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Mental Control +1

    It wasn¡¯t over. Hogg had him do things around the house again, and again he threw things at Brin. Brin had to catch forks and spoons after they hit him but before they hit the ground, and Hogg would even ding him if the forks made too much sound <em>when</em> they hit him. He had to roll with the hits to soften the blow.

    Hours passed, and Brin thought he could see the glow of dawn in the distance. All in all, he had to say it had been a good day. He¡¯d gotten a frankly absurd amount of attributes. Hogg¡¯s hellish training was exactly what he¡¯d been asking for.

    He tried to keep that in mind, but when Hogg finally told him it was enough, he didn¡¯t even say goodnight. He went to his room and was asleep the second he hit the bed.

    He woke up the next day feeling bleary and sore. Hogg made him breakfast, though it waste in the afternoon.

    ¡°Davi came by. I told him to let you sleep,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin mumbled ¡°Thank you¡± through a mouthful of eggs.

    ¡°So listen, tonight I have a lot of stuff I need to focus on, so I won¡¯t really be present for the rest of the day. You can shake me awake if you really need me, but other than that you¡¯re on your own. You should do your regr workout before dark. After sundown you are absolutely <em>not allowed</em> to go out of the house. I¡¯m saying this as your legal father. Do you understand?¡±

    Hogg wanted him to go rob Hammon¡¯s Bog, but he couldn¡¯t give him permission. ¡°I understand. But I still have to know. What is it you do every day with your illusions?¡±

    ¡°None of your concern. You just focus on tonight,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I will, but I still need to know. You promised you wouldn¡¯t treat me like a child,¡± said Brin. ¡°This is part of that.¡±

    ¡°Some of it is business. I have a lot of contacts all across the country, and being able to coordinate them all in real time can be very lucrative for trade,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What¡¯s the real project? You¡¯ve been consumed with something,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg bit his lip. ¡°I did promise. This is the issue: someone is surveilling the Bonds. There are invisible watchers <em>everywhere</em>. There are ways for invisible illusions to find each other, and we¡¯ve been ying a never-ending game of cat and mouse. Against a less talented [Illusionist] I should¡¯ve been able to pinpoint their location by now. We have a range, we like to have more illusions closer to us, and new illusions need toe from where our physical body is, so you can use that to kind of narrow it down, but so far I¡¯ve got nothing. Whoever it is, this person is very, very good. You remember that Phasmid? Its level was absurdly high. Well, whoever is watching us is better than that Phasmid was.¡±

    ¡°Arcaena?¡± asked Brin. ¡°One of her people?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. Ond and Prinnash both have [Illusionists] who could do something like this. It might even be our own Court [Illusionist]. It might be more than one country; actually that¡¯s more likely. It would exin why it¡¯s so hard to trace the source. One thing I do know: this isn¡¯t about Hammon¡¯s Bog specifically. I think they¡¯re looking for something here in the Bonds.¡±

    ¡°Like what? The army of undead?¡±

    ¡°Could be. I¡¯ll tell you something else. Prinnash is invading. I don¡¯t mean to worry you, but you have a right to know. Gn is already fighting, sort of as a mercenary since Ond isn¡¯t involved, and Lumina is on the way. I¡¯ve got a hunch that this war is rted to that undead army somehow, but right now we don¡¯t have enough information to even make a guess.¡±

    ¡°So now instead of just worrying about an undead army destroying the town, we also have to worry about a real army?¡±

    ¡°If Prinnash invades it¡¯ll be bad, and thousands will die. But if they somehow march on Hammon¡¯s Bog¡­ then obviously we¡¯ll surrender without a fight. The worst that¡¯ll happen is that they loot our storehouses and we switch who we pay taxes to. Prinnash is a civilized country; they won¡¯t waste the lives of people with Common sses. Rare ssers might get culled butmoners are much more valuable alive. Me and the Prefit will have to duck out of town, though. Probably Tawna, too.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask about¨C¡±

    ¡°No!¡± said Hogg. ¡°That¡¯s enough for one night. Go chew on that news that you can do nothing about and that¡¯ll just distract you from what¡¯s important, and stop trying to get more for five minutes. We only have three weeks until System Day. We need to make every second count.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine, I hear you.¡±

    Hogg was right about one thing: there was nothing he could do about that. In his old life the news had always been full of apocalyptic portents of doom, and he¡¯d still managed to put all that aside and focus on his own life. He was lucky that the skill seemed to transfer over.

    Tonight he could do nothing about war or the undead. He had an achievement to collect.

 Book 3: Chapter 4

    Book 3: Chapter 4

    Hogg had a cer in his house, and he didn¡¯t let Brin sleep in it. Quite rude of him, although the need to sleep underground in the cold in order to feel safe had been fading. He barely thought of Travin¡¯s Bog at all any more.

    It turned out there was a [Cerman] in town, and he was the one who dug cers for everyone. He had the Skills to dig faster, could do limited enchantments for cold, protection against pests, and even to keep water out even with the town¡¯s extremely high water table. Brin had doubted that the town would have enough work to keep a [Cerman] employed. After all, wasn¡¯t everything already built? But apparently he was one of the busiest people in town, with a backlog more than a month long.

    Brin didn¡¯t need any of the food in the cer, but Hogg¡¯s cer was extrarge and he kept other stuff down here as well. Shelves were piled with souvenirs, memorabilia, not a small amount of treasure, and what Brin was looking for: old adventuring gear.

    There was a big hiking backpack, the same one Hogg had been wearing when he¡¯d rescued Brin. It was too big, but Brin found a smaller ck one nearby. Inside both backpacks were lots of divided sections, padded so that the things inside wouldn¡¯t clink around. It made Brin wonder why Hogg would need that, but he supposed that even if you weren¡¯t a thief, there were lots of times where you¡¯d need to be stealthy and not have the things in your backpack clink around. What did it say about Hogg that he still put this much effort into being stealthy, even when he could make magic muffle sound?

    He took the smaller backpack and put pliers, scissors, a file, and a small saw inside. He was hoping to do this without breaking or vandalizing anything, but better to not need something and have it, rather than need something and not have it.

    The one thing he didn¡¯t take was any kind of weapon. This was going to be an exercise in cat-burry. As much as they aggravated him, this was still more or less his hometown. He wasn¡¯t going to hurt anyone. If he got the choice between hurting someone and getting caught, then he¡¯d get caught. End of story.

    He considered a ck mask. Would that help? Probably not. If anyone saw him at all tonight, they¡¯d identify him by his build or his clothes even if they couldn¡¯t see his face. No, his only chance to get away with this is if no one saw him at all. He was banned from town, so he had to consider this a hostile encampment. Even one witness would end with him at the pillory again, and this time he¡¯d deserve it.

    Was that why he was so willing to do this? He¡¯d never stolen in his past life. Never, not a pack of gum, nothing. Not even a single time. So why was he so ready to throw that away and turn into a thief, not even with a suggestion but only the barest hint that there may be a reward?

    It wasn¡¯t even that he was angry at the town. Well, maybe a little, but that didn¡¯t factor into this. No, the only reason he was willing to do this was because¡­ he wanted to. He¡¯d never done anything bad in his old life, and where had that gotten him? It was possible to live a safe, unobtrusive life, and then still die of a car crash out of nowhere. It wasn¡¯t like he wanted to be evil, but it did seem strange that he¡¯d never been just a little bit naughty.

    He paused at the grappling hook. He needed to decide how he was getting into town.

    The obvious answer was to go through the gates. They didn¡¯t close them at night; he¡¯d never seen them closed. People usually went inside when it got dark outside, so there was little chance anyone would spot him if he waited until a few hours after sundown.

    But few people didn¡¯t mean zero people, and the areas around the gates were thergest streets in town. The chance was too high.

    That left another question. Prefit Elmon had all sorts of ¡°town¡± Skills. Was knowing when someone crossed through the gate or over the wall one of them? He should¡¯ve asked Hogg. Well, probably not. He already knew monsters didn¡¯t really go into the Bogs, that¡¯s why they settled here in the first ce. What was the chance there was a town Skill on top of that? It was probably something he would¡¯ve heard of. Also, Hogg wouldn¡¯t have put him up to this if he needed to worry about something like that.

    No, he just needed to worry about being seen. He should go over the wall. And that meant the grappling hook.

    Did he even know how to use it? It couldn¡¯t be thatplicated; it was just a rope on a head with four hooks that could catch from whatever angle itnded on. It was still before sunset; he had some time to burn.

    He went out to the trees and threw the grappling hook on one of the branches. It hooked on his first try, with only two slight problems. One, it was just a <em>bit</em> too loud. Hogg had left his sound circle up, and it went into the yellow. The other problem was getting it back down.

    He pulled on the branch a couple times, bending the branch and shaking all the leaves, until he managed to scrape it off the branch and back to the ground, where again it made too much noise.

    He tried again, trying to throw it softer, but it still made too much noise when itnded. This time, Marksi darted up the tree to check out what was happening. When Brin started pulling to loosen it, Marksi helped by nudging the grappling hook up and over, letting it fall. Brin caught it carefully, and this time the sound circle didn¡¯t budge at all.

    ¡°Marksi,e down here,¡± he whispered. What was he doing? They didn¡¯t need to be quiet yet.

    Marksi slithered down the tree and Brin looked at him in his little snakey eyes. Marksi had just been a pet when Brin got him. A happy, cute little thing, but not smart. It hadn¡¯t been until he¡¯d fed the little guy a steady diet of magic, supplemented by Hogg¡¯s illusions more than the man probably admitted, that Marksi had started to be more.

    It had happened so smoothly that Brin couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact moment that he knew that Marksi understood human speech. He¡¯d just started talking to Marksi and the snake had understood. But Marksi had still been content to y the role of the family pet. He¡¯d begged for scraps and scritches, he¡¯d hunted insects and sat on Hogg¡¯sp, purring after the evening meal.

    Was Marksi really happy with this state of affairs, or was he just acting the way he thought he was expected to? And was Brin helping him by treating him this way, or was he holding him back by treating him like less than he was? Perris¡¯ advice from that time had mostly been ignored, but never forgotten.

    He needed to have a real conversation with his snake. Brin picked Marksi up in his arms, looked him in the eyes and¡­ avoided it. That could wait for another time. Tonight was about the mission.

    ¡°Hey Marksi, we¡¯re going to y a game tonight. We¡¯re going to town and we¡¯re going to y a game of hide and seek. Would you like that?¡±

    Marksi immediately engaged his camouge, blending in nearly perfectly with Brin¡¯s arms. They¡¯d yed hide and seek a couple times, but Brin couldn¡¯t find him any more no matter how long he looked.

    ¡°No, not right now. When we get into town. We¡¯re both going to hide, and we can¡¯t let <em>anyone </em>see us the entire night. Even if we know them. Even our friends. Does that sound fun?¡±

    Marksi turned around in an enthusiastic circle.

    ¡°Good! When we¡¯re in town I probably won¡¯t be able to see you since you¡¯ll be too hard to find, so you¡¯ll have to follow me. Can you do that?¡±

    Marksi gave Brin an unimpressed look. During their games of hide and seek, he¡¯d always been able to find Brin in seconds.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t be so sure. I¡¯ve been practicing. Anyways, I won¡¯t be able to talk to you in town. Maybe whisper when no one else is nearby, but we shouldn¡¯t count on it. So I¡¯ll need to give you signals. For example, say I tap on a door three times like this. That means I want you to go inside and open it. Can you do that?¡±

    Brin tapped the front door, and sure enough, Marksi slithered underneath the closed door and opened it from the other side. He swung open with the door, hanging off the handle.

    ¡°Terrific!¡± said Brin. ¡°Ok, there¡¯s one more thing I want to try.¡±

    He¡¯d been nning to use the grappling hook to get up on a watchtower as a way into town and then leave it there for his exit, but now he thought he could use it for more.

    He told Marksi to take the grappling hook and climb up a tree while holding it. It took a couple tries for Brin to exin what he wanted, but when he put it in his own mouth and mimed climbing the tree, Marksi understood.

    The problem was that it was much too big. Marksi had a hard time climbing while holding the heavy four-sided hook. He managed to do it eventually, but it banged against the tree so much that it would be quieter for Brin to throw it up there.

    He switched out the head for a single hook, and had Marksi try that. Marksi climbed the tree with little effort and hooked it into the wood of a branch.

    Brin free-climbed the rope, surprised at how easy it was. He¡¯d climbed up and down a rope with Davi, Zilly and Myra when they¡¯d gone to the snake pond that one time, and while he¡¯d managed it had been difficult and awkward. This time it was as easy as climbing adder. He climbed up the rope, then down again, and then asked Marksi to pull it down.

    Marksi had some trouble, Brin¡¯s weight had dug it into the wood somewhat, but he eventually got it out, and Brin caught it softly. Other than giving Marksi instructions, the sound circle hadn¡¯t moved a single time.

    He called Marksi down and congratted him on a job well done, giving the snake a generous amount of the belly rubs he wasing to enjoy so much.

    ¡°Ok, Marksi. When we do it for real, I won¡¯t be able to talk to you. We¡¯ll have to use hand-signals. Maybe if I point up three times, it means I want you to put the hook up somewhere. Did you get that?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t get it, but after exining it a few times and miming what he wanted, the snake understood and they practiced getting the hook up and down in absolute silence a couple times.

    When they were done, it wasn¡¯t quite dark enough for them to set out. He wanted it to be sundown before he even got on the road.

    Marksi started acting weird. He kept turning in circles over and over. Then he would hold up the tip of his tail and twitch it towards Brin.

    ¡°You¡­ Do you want to make hand signs you can use to talk to me?¡±

    Marksi spun around in a circle.

    ¡°Oh!¡± said Brin. This was good. They didn¡¯t need to have a big heart-to-heart. They <em>couldn¡¯t</em> have a heart-to-heart. They needed simplemunication first.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start with that. It must be exhausting to do that every time you want to say yes. Show me something for ¡®Yes¡¯.¡±

    Marksi thought for a second, then twitched his tail upwards.

    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s ¡®yes¡¯. Now show me ¡®no¡¯,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi hissed.

    ¡°That¡¯s an angry ¡®no¡¯. Show me a normal ¡®no¡¯.¡±

    Marksi thought again, then twitched his tail side-to-side.

    ¡°Great! So that¡¯s yes and that¡¯s no. Are there some other things you want to say?¡±

    Marksi waved his head side to side, tasting the air with his tongue.

    ¡°I already know that one. That means you¡¯re hungry,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi spun around in a circle, and then remembering their sign, stopped and twitched his tail up and down.

    Next, the snake slithered away from Brin. He made a chirping sound, kind of like the sound he made when he was scared, but it started lower in pitch and rose up. Then he darted towards Brin lightning-fast. He did it a couple times, and grew frustrated when Brin didn¡¯t know what was going on. The next time he made the sound, then looked at Brin expectantly. Brin didn¡¯t know what to do, and Marksi twitched his tail ¡®no¡¯.

    It took several tries until Brin finally got it. ¡°When you make that sound, you want me toe running as fast as I can.¡±

    ¡®Yes¡¯. Marksi went away a few paces, and made the sound, and Brin dutifully charged towards him full-bore. Marksi was pleased.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll do it, but you can only use that for emergencies. Understand? Only when you¡¯re scared or hurt, or someone else is hurt. We need a different sound for when I¡¯m supposed toe, but things are normal. I¡¯lle anyway, but I need to know if it¡¯s an emergency.¡±

    They settled on another rising chirp, but this one didn¡¯t have the note of fear in it from before. Brin demonstrated that he woulde when Marksi made the sound, though he would walk instead of run.

    The next thing Marksi wanted Brin to learn was a sort of huping sound, which meant that Marksi wanted Brin to pick him up. That was a strange one. Marksi could climb straight up his body easy as pie, but if it was important to Marksi it was important to him.

    ¡°Marksi, are we¡­ ok?¡± Brin found himself asking. Shoot, where had thate from? He¡¯d said it before thinking.

    The snake eyed him curiously.

    Brin sighed. Why did he do this to himself? He¡¯d already decided to ignore this issue, and now he¡¯d gone and opened the can of worms. Well no use but to trudge onwards. Hopefully this wouldn¡¯t be as dramatic as him and Hogg¡¯s heart-to-heart. He¡¯d had enough emotions in that one day for an entire year.

    ¡°You¡¯re smart, Marksi. I know I say that all the time. Clever Marksi! But you¡¯re smart. Like, really smart. You understand me. Maybe not every word, but you get what I¡¯m saying, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t respond. He didn¡¯t twitch his tail. His eyes were sky blue and looked like they had scales on the inside as well as the outside, but Marksi could change his eye color as easily as the rest of his body. He didn¡¯t give anything away.

    ¡°Marksi, I¡¯m trying to ask if you¡¯re happy. Are you happy with me and Hogg?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t answer, but Brin could be patient. He waited for a full minute, for what felt like an hour, until Marksi timidly twitched his tail.

    ¡®Yes¡¯.

    Brin smiled. ¡°Would you find a way to let me know if there was something I was doing that was making you sad?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t answer.

    Brin had a thought. Marksi was smart. Crazy smart. But he was a <em>kid</em>. ¡°Pick me up, feed me,e now,¡± those were all the first things that babies learned how tomunicate. He was right to assume Marksi was smart, but wrong to assume Marksi <em>knew</em> things. He needed to simplify.

    ¡°Hiss at me if I ever make you sad. Can you do that?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail. ¡®Yes.¡¯

    Brinughed in relief. He and Marksi were fine. They really were fine. He¡¯d known that, but it was nice to know for sure.

    ¡°Anything else?¡± asked Brin.

    Marksi waved his head, tasting the air.

    ¡°Hungry? Me, too. Let¡¯s get dinner.¡± He looked out at the night sky. It was time. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll go y our game.¡±

    Not a long timeter, he stood at the edge of the forest, Marksi on his shoulders. He would cross the fields to the town walls soon enough, but he wanted to take a minute and look out at the town.

    His memory showed him pictures of breathtaking cityscapes. The view from his hotel bedroom the one time he¡¯d gone to New York City on vacation. The city lights zing in the night, the sight of the skyscrapers towering into the heavens, all of it looking like a turbulent sea of stars, it was a memory that would always stay with him, even now in another world.

    The sight of Hammon¡¯s Bog was very different, but somehow it felt the same. They both gave him a feeling of being grounded, of being in civilization.

    Thenterns on the street were much dimmer than the city streetlights, but they still fought back against the darkness, providing order andfort.

    The first time he¡¯d seen Hammon¡¯s Bog had been at night, he realized. Hogg had carried him through on the way home. That¡¯s why he was feeling so nostalgic right now. Hammon¡¯s Bog had been his first real assurance that there was such a thing as safety in this world. Sure, seeing the Heroes had proved to him that it existed, but it wasn¡¯t until he got here and saw normal people living normally, that he¡¯d started to feel it.

    Thenterns lit up the night, but they couldn¡¯t shine on everything. They failed to reach the shadowy ces, and the way the light hit the smoke from the chimneys gave the town a lowly, murky sort of feeling.

    It was aplicated ce, and it gave himplicated feelings. The town had been good and bad to him, and now he wasing as an invader. It was enemy territory, and he decided he didn¡¯t actually like the way that felt.

    Only for tonight. He¡¯d take his toll tonight, and then it was over. He would forgive Hammon¡¯s Bog, and love it the way everyone <em>should </em>love their hometown. That didn¡¯t mean he was ready to forgive all the people in it. He wouldn¡¯t pee on Tawna if she was on fire. But the town itself, yes. After taking what he wanted, any bad blood between himself and the town would be over.

    The streetnterns seemed to wink a little as if to nod in eptance. Or perhaps in challenge. He imagined the soul of the town nodding down at him and saying <em>Your terms are epted. Come and ransack if you dare; I am not so defenseless as I look.</em>

    Brin took a step forward, smiling in nervous anticipation.

 Book 3: Chapter 5

    Book 3: Chapter 5

    Brin exited the forest and ran straight across the open in between the trees and the walls; there was no cover out here, but there was also no reason to be out here looking in this direction. He should be safe, but still he ran quickly.

    He decided to climb up the guard tform. Sure, he could simply climb the wall, but the town walls were just big straight logs with sharpened tips all pressed together. It would be a little awkward, and jumping down the other side would make a sound. Probably not an issue, but he didn¡¯t want to start the night taking needless risks.

    Once he got to the wall, he threw his grappling hook up to the tform up on the watchtower. It hit with a noticeable <em>ck</em>, but not so loud that anyone would hear it unless they were right there. Hopefully.

    He waited for thirty seconds and when he didn¡¯t hear any sign of movement on the other side of the wall, he started climbing.

    He climbed to the top with Marksi and the backpack on his back, and it wasn¡¯t difficult at all. It still surprised him all the things his body could do with Dexterity after the first threshold. Sure, he¡¯d been close for a while, but he had a whole lifetime of experience in his old body, and it still adjusted his perception on what was possible. It made him more careful than he needed to be. That might be a problem some day, but for tonight, it was perfect.

    He got to the top, wasted no time in rolling up his grappling hook and stashing it away, and then crept down the stairs. Hogg¡¯s sound circle had disappeared the instant he¡¯d started on the road away from the house. Clearly Hogg didn¡¯t n on helping him with this. He was wondering if the old guy was even watching, or if he was determined to ignore the whole thing in the hopes it would give Brin a better achievement. Either way, he couldn¡¯t depend on him.

    Besides, he didn¡¯t really need the sound circle. It had been a useful training aid, but it had served his purpose. He walked down the stairs <em>silently</em>.

    At the bottom of the watchtower the only thing in sight was the backs of the nearby houses. Before he could second guess himself, he walked up to the nearest house and pressed his hand against the doorknob. He turned it slowly. It wasn¡¯t locked.

    He crept inside and closed the door behind him. The interior was dark but he could still make out the shape of obstacles. He was in a hallway that went straight through to the street, with a staircase on the left and a doorway to the kitchen on the right. The only obstacle was a little entryway table.

    He ran his hands along the entryway table, and found that it was the kind with a little drawer. He opened it, and felt inside very carefully, so that whatever was inside wouldn¡¯t roll around and make a noise. He felt a hand-mirror, a pin-cushion, and then a cheap deck of bark-paper cards. He took the cards.

    There was no achievement. He hadn¡¯t really expected there to be one, but he¡¯d hoped.

    There could be two reasons. The most obvious, and the thing he <em>hoped </em>was the problem, was that he hadn¡¯t gotten away with it yet. He needed to get out of the house, probably out of the town, before he could count this as really ¡°stolen¡±.

    That was easily testable. He left the house the way he¡¯de, then walked up the watchtower and rappelled down the other side. He walked into the forest.

    To his surprise, he got a notification.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Thief (Common) You have temporarily stolen something with every intention of giving it back.

    There was no reward. Just like his Blessing of the Hidden Guardian achievement, it acknowledged his aplishment, but didn¡¯t give him any rewards.

    Unlike the other achievement, this one gave him a very obvious clue as to what he had done wrong. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had every intention of giving the cards back.

    Curse himself all he wanted, but he knew he was going to give <em>everything</em> he took tonight back, hopefully before the owner realized it was gone. He could tell himself all he wanted that he was going to keep these cards forever, but as soon as he got the achievement he¡¯d probably change his mind.

    This wasn¡¯t going to work unless he changed his determination. Or his strategy.

    He made his way over the wall, same as before. He walked through the same house. He thought about giving the cards back on his way through, but giving heed to morality was no way to start a night like this.

    He walked through the hallway, opened the front door just a crack, to look at the street beyond. Nothing in sight.

    The moon was a thin crescent tonight, and right now it was behind the clouds, which gave him a wonderful darkness to work with. The streemps were somewhat scattered, only one for every ten or so houses, and they weren¡¯t the bright electric streetlights of his home, so there were more than enough areas still cast in shadows for him to move around without being seen, even if there were anyone to see him.

    He started walking on the boardwalk, careful to keep his footsteps silent, and close enough to the side that he would be able to easily duck into an alleyway or doorstep if he needed to get out of sight.

    People rarely moved around at night, but that didn¡¯t mean they never did. The fact that they had streetlights at all meant that they recognized there might be reasons to be outside past nightfall.

    Also, with winter the nights were so long that there was a weird midnight culture. Instead of sleeping through the night, people would wake up for an hour or two in the middle of the night. They¡¯d mostly read, or work, or do other¡­ nighttime things. But some people would go on walks. He figured he had about two hours until then, but he didn¡¯t really know what to expect. He¡¯d never been out thiste in town; he only knew what he¡¯d picked up from conversation.

    The public house would be open for that, so Brin was going to stay away from that entire section of town. That meant he couldn¡¯t steal from Perris, but honestly he didn¡¯t want to. Except maybe to take all the stuff he¡¯d already paid for, but that probably wouldn¡¯t help him get an achievement. If he didn¡¯t get the stuff by the time his exile was over, he¡¯d go talk to Perris again.

    Random night-time walkers were a concern, but his biggest threat was thentern-man.

    Lantern-man was a job, not a ss. Every night, someone would light thenterns in the evening and then douse them again in the morning. Then during the night they¡¯d patrol the town, walking up and down the streets. This was the closest thing that Hammon¡¯s Bog had to a police force.

    Zilly¡¯s dad was one of the chiefntern-men, because of all his Skills rting to charcoal. He could basically mass-produce it, and make it burn longer and brighter, to the point where the town¡¯snterns were charcoal burning instead of oil which is what Brin thought they did in his world¡¯s equivalent era.

    Hopefully Zilly¡¯s dad wasn¡¯t thentern-man tonight. How embarrassing would it be to get caught by his friend¡¯s dad? Another reason not to get caught.

    He kept his eyes scanning, ready to pick up any amount of approaching light. He didn¡¯t see any moving light and no one on the street, until he got to his first destination.

    The gap in the tall building where the [Weaver¡¯s] house stood.

    After all, if there had to be victims tonight, why shouldn¡¯t it be the people that Brin really didn¡¯t like?

    This was probably the most dangerous target for tonight, so he figured to get it out of the way first. He¡¯d either seed or fail right here.

    He had a brief moment of panic when he remembered that Hogg had ordered the Prefit to watch Tawna day and night, but no, only day. The Prefit was supposed to watch her whenever she left her house. He wouldn¡¯t wait outside her door all night.

    Brin approached the house. Just as he was in the middle of the free space between the house and other buildings, the moon came out of the clouds, and the world lit up. He looked around in panic, but no one seemed to be around. And besides, even if there were someone around, they probably wouldn¡¯t see him. It looked bright to his night-vision adjusted eyes, but still dark enough. He kept walking. He stopped by the house, pressed up close to the woven fibers so that his profile would blend in with the house¡¯s.

    He heard two sets of heavy breathing inside. They were asleep. He backed up, back to the side of a building.

    He needed a conversation with Marksi first. He should¡¯ve nned this out earlier.

    ¡°Marksi, listen,¡± Brin whispered. ¡°We need to get in there, but there isn¡¯t going to be a doorknob. She opens and closes the door with her Skills. Except Myra doesn¡¯t have Skills and there¡¯s no way she can¡¯t get in and out of her own house, so there¡¯s probably something else that triggers it automatically. Can you help me find it? Find something that opens and closes the door.¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail for ¡®yes¡¯ and then disappeared. Brin crept to the house, and when he got there found the door already open. That was quick. Good job, Marksi.

    He approached from the side and waited next to the door, listening for the sound of breathing.

    Only one set of heavy breathing. Someone was awake.

    He waited. He heard a click.

    A beam of light shot out of the doorway, so bright that it made Brin shield his eyes. Probably just normalntern light, but blindingly bright since he was so used to the dark by now.

    He didn¡¯t run; that was the dumbest thing he could do. The light wasn¡¯t shining on him, so it would actually make it harder to see him.

    Someone had woken up, probably Tawna feeling one of her Skills move. Would she know the reason? If so, he might be in trouble. He slowly started to walk around the side of the house, so that if she did notice the door was open and peeked her head outside she wouldn¡¯t see him.

    The light turned back off. He waited.

    Ten, fifteen minutester, he started to hear both sets of heavy breathing again. She was back asleep.

    He walked into the house. The entire thing was onerge room, and the woven floor and walls and ceiling gave the ce a nefarious feeling.

    In the center of the room, hanging in the air, he saw something awful. A shifting, writhing monstrous tapestry took up the center of the room. The threads that made it up wriggled like worms, and changed colors like Marksi, changing the picture. He saw Hammon¡¯s Bog, ck and crumbling. Due to fire or something else, he couldn¡¯t tell; the image was very stylized. Those red threads could be fire, but those light blue ones might mean lightning. For some reason, Brin expected to see himself in the picture, but he wasn¡¯t there. The only human figure was a ck-haired girl that could be Myra, hiding in a well.

    The moon must¡¯ve gone behind a cloud, because the room darkened to the point he couldn¡¯t see the picture anymore.

    What even was that thing? Was that some kind of augury for the future? Hogg had said that [Weavers] couldn¡¯t actually see the future, but what else could it be?

    He could think about thatter. He needed to steal something and leave. He couldn¡¯t see much anymore, but he¡¯d gotten a pretty good look at the room before the moon had been shadowed, and he knew there was a table to his left.

    In the darkness, the breathing of the Myra and Tawna made them seem much closer. Right, there was a woman and a girl in this house, right over there, while he snuck around in the same room. He¡¯d thought being a thief would make him feel cool, but honestly he kind of felt like a creep.

    He ran his hands along the table, hoping to touch something he could take. He needed something normal; he wouldn¡¯t take <em>anything</em> that might be touched by Tawna¡¯s power. He found a little brass tablemp, and grabbed it, then retreated from the house as quickly as he could without making a sound.

    Onest look inside, and the moon peaked out long enough to give him another glimpse of the demented tapestry. It was all chaos except for four figures. Cartoonish renderings of Elmon, Hogg, Tawna, and Toros the [Smith], judging by their hair and clothes. Theyy down and had ck X¡¯s on their eyes.

    He wanted to stay and watch, but forced himself to move on. He had what he¡¯de for.

    Outside, and with some distance between himself and the house, he asked Marksi to close the door again. He waited in silence until he felt Marksi¡¯s familiar weight climb up onto his shoulders again.

    A light,ing down the street. Still faint, but antern-man wasing this direction. Brin hustled around towards the back of the houses, and then walked alongside the waste canal until he came to another alleyway and went up. There was a light over here, too.

    The alleyway was full of tall grass; things were always growing in Hammon¡¯s Bog unless someone cut them down. He walked slow enough to move through it without making a sound, and then got down to crawl thest little bit. He spied on the street through the grass.

    There were twontern-men. Curse his luck. Was that every night, or had something tipped them off? Either way, there were two out tonight, at least two, and he needed to deal with it.

    He had the tablemp in his backpack. He probably wouldn¡¯t give it back, right? He¡¯d keep it. Start amp collection. Except, he¡¯d have to keep it hidden while he lived in Hammon¡¯s Bog. Zilly might recognize it. Aw, who was he kidding? There was at least a thirty percent chance he¡¯d end up feeling guilty and returning themp. He needed better.

    He needed to steal from someone who he¡¯d never see again. He needed to rob the merchants; they would leave soon and he¡¯d never get a chance to return what he took.

    He watched thentern-men. They talked in the middle of the street, both carrying high poles from which theirnterns hung. Neither were armed, but honestly that didn¡¯t matter. If they saw him, it was over. He couldn¡¯t see either of them well enough to tell if he knew them, not without sitting up more for a better look, and he wasn¡¯t going to do that.

    He waited until they separated, both going in a different direction. When they were well and truly out of sight, he started to move again, but froze when he heard a sound.

    A door on the street opened, and Briny down t. Someone walked out and down the street, and he resisted the urge to get up for a better look.

    Another door opened a momentter, and five minutester another. People called ¡®hello¡¯ to each other on the street. Apparently this ¡®midnight stroll¡¯ thing was a real event.

    Any other night, and he could just walk down the street as well, but tonight there was too good a chance that someone might recognize him. Hopefully the added difficulty would make his achievement better? He wished he had a better idea on how that worked, but apparently <em>not knowing</em> worked in his favor.

    Hey in the grass for an hour, until the midnight strollers returned to their beds, and then until thentern-men passed by again, and then ten minutes after that.

    Crime was much more boring than he¡¯d expected.

    When it was finally quiet and dark again, he got up out of his hiding spot and walked down the street towards the center of town.

    The merchants had circled their wagons together and shut them tight. A man sat on the endboard of one, holding a pipe. He looked rxed, like he¡¯d just stepped out for a smoke, but he didn¡¯t actually seem to be smoking, and he didn¡¯t leave even after Brin watched him from a hiding spot for twenty minutes.

    He was a lookout. The merchants knew they were targets for theft, that people who would never consider robbing their neighbors might not extend the same courtesy to them.

    Each of the wagons hadnterns on the front and back, so there was no area that was in shadow in a wide ring around the wagons. There was a blind spot, though, directly behind the lookout.

    Brin would just have to walk straight into the light, right here in the middle of town. Brin scanned the surroundings, trying to peer into every window, scanning for any eyes he might be missing. There was never going to be a guarantee. He needed to take a chance.

    He walked straight up to the wagon, focusing only on being quiet. He reached it, somehow. Adrenaline screaming, he forced himself to carefully climb onto the roof instead of the mad scrabble his body wanted to try.

    He made it. Thankfully, the wagons were strong wood all the way around, and he got on top without a single creak. He could hear snoring inside from up here, and nothing else.

    Hey there, internally freaking out at how scary that had been, forcing down the panicked scream and the relievedughter that was fighting its way up his throat.

    When he was ready, he reached over to take the second big risk. Thentern on the far end of the wagon was a gasmp, and while it had a little twisty switch to turn it on and off, that would make a clicking sound. Instead he opened the ss door, leaned precariously over the edge of the wagon, and blew it out.

    He waited, but the watchman hadn¡¯t seemed to notice themp back here had gone out.

    Brin tried to pick it up, to lift the loop off the hook on the end, but then he noticed a link of metal chained thentern to the wagon. How paranoid. Who would steal theirnterns? Well, he would, for one.

    He brought out the file and started to saw. He went slow enough that it wouldn¡¯t make a sound, but that meant he was going <em>slow</em>. He couldn¡¯t stay up here all night.

    He put two fingers in the little metal link, and pulled with all his might. It wasn¡¯t one piece, there was a little gap, but as soon as he stopped pulling, it closed again.

    He tried again, pulled the metal link open just enough to get it off the hook. It scraped the metal a little, but barely made a sound.

    When he got the link off, he identally dropped thenternpletely, but managed to snatch it with his other hand, just in time. He put it in his bag, got down from the roof of the wagon, probably too quickly but his nerves were shot and darted away into the blessed darkness.

    The blessed darkness didn¡¯t stay blessed for long. A light was moving up a side street. In literal seconds, he was going to be trapped between antern-man on one side and the caravan lights on the other. He ran to a building, and pointed up, hoping Marksi would remember themands.

    Like a moving shadow, Marksi grabbed the grappling hook and slid up the building. Brin felt the rope catch on something, and climbed up. He barely pulled the rope up and got to the other side of the roof in time before the light from thentern-man cast that side of the building into rity.

    Brin climbed down the other side.

    He followed the canal down a ways, and nearly stumbled right on top of a man who¡¯d gone out back to relieve himself. He waited until the man finished and went back inside before moving on, but that even got his pulse up even more than stealing thentern from the caravan had. He was on high alert the rest of the way back, so it was almost a letdown when he got back to the watchtower without issue.

    He rappelled down the side, and Marksi undid the hook and tossed it down before jumping down himself. Brin caught them both, then started the walk back home.

    He didn¡¯t get the notification when he reached the forest. Well, if he had he would probably have turned right around to give all this stuff back. Particrly thentern. He was feeling bad about that already. If Hammon¡¯s Bog got the reputation for stealing from merchants, it would be hard to get more caravans toe out here, and that was already a problem.

    He didn¡¯t even get the notification when he got back to the house. He opened up his pack, to look at his gains. A deck of cards, amp, and antern. How ugly. Worth a few measly silvers at most. This is what he got for selling out his morals?

    He waited. He paced back and forth. He watched the night sky, waiting for it to get brighter. He debated going back. He was so pathetic. This wasn¡¯t even that big of a deal. Nobody would probably even notice it was gone.

    Hogg didn¡¯t get up when he arrived, just stared into space which meant he was focused on his illusions.

    Brin waited, until finally the barest hint of light appeared on the horizon, warning that morning was nearly there.

    It was toote. The merchants would leave in the morning. He¡¯d lost his chance to give thentern back. Whatever was going to happen, would happen.

    He got a notification.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Thief (Rare) Without aid or instruction, you have snuck into a hostile territory and stolen from right under the nose of a lookout. +10% Dexterity. Improved hearing. Improved darkvision. You can estimate the approximate value of things.

    He couldn¡¯t help but smile. Thatst one was probably the most valuable part of this, at least to him. He knew what things were worth in his old world, but had a hard time relearning it all in this one.

    Hogg¡¯s eyes focused on him. ¡°You got it, didn¡¯t you? You get a certain look on your face, like you¡¯re mad to be interrupted but also really excited.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I got Thief,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Obviously, but what did it give you?¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°It¡¯s not always the same?¡±

    ¡°It depends on the circumstances.¡±

    Brin recited the achievement¡¯s description.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Hog said, drawing it out. ¡°That value estimation, that¡¯s going to be a lot more useful than I bet you¡¯re thinking right now.¡±

    ¡°Really? Because I thought it was going to be a game-changer,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, good.¡± Hogg nodded. ¡°All right. Hand it over. I can still put this all back before anyone notices it¡¯s gone.¡±

    ¡°Wait. Really?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yep. Unless¡­ you wanted to keep it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°No! Please, take it all back. I¡¯m not cut out for this,¡± said Brin. ¡°The cards¨C¡±

    Hogg cut him off. ¡°I was watching. I need to get at this quick though. Be back soon.¡±

    Brin watched him go.

    Behold! Anshar spits at yourck of resolve. Achievement: Thief has been confiscated.

    His heart sank. Well, it was probably better this way. It hadn¡¯t sat right with him to¨C

    Behold! Solia smiles upon your act of contrition. +10% Dexterity bonus from Thief transferred to Dextrous I. Improved hearing, vision, and value estimation merged with [Know What¡¯s Real].

    Checking his Status, he saw that Dextrous I now had a 10% Dexterity bonus. The description for [Know What¡¯s Real] had updated as well..

    Brin went outside, into a dark part of the forest, the darkest he could find. Yeah, he really could see better in the dark. Only a tiny bit better. But a small bit of light went a long way in absolute darkness.

    He sent off a quick prayer of gratitude to Solia. It was only right.

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    Child of Travin''s Bog

    Level

    1

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    36

    Dexterity

    31

    Vitality

    30

    Magic

    15

    Mental Control

    19

    Will

    30

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    Locked

    Traveler

    Locked

    Otherworlder

    Locked

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Strength.

    +10% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +10% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Dexterity.

    +10% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +10% Dexterity attribute growth. +10% Dexterity

    Lively I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Vitality.

    +10% recovery from wounds. +10% stamina. +10% Vitality attribute growth.

    Disciplined I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Will

    +10% spell power. +10% skill power. +10% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +1 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Vitality per level

    <strong>Skills</strong>

    Know What¡¯s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You can now approximate the value of things.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 3: Chapter 6

    Book 3: Chapter 6

    A mirror image of Hogg returned minutester. Brin expected to get right back into training, but Hogg said, ¡°Hey, how much money you got left?¡±

    ¡°More than a thousand gold. Why?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°The merchant caravan is leaving soon.¡±

    ¡°I know. They¡¯re only staying for two days, and I¡¯m banned for three. I think Elmon was thinking of that when he banned us from town for three days,¡± said Brin. ¡°He saw how excited I was to see it.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Like he even thinks about you that much. Anyway, you still want to invest some of your money? If so, we¡¯ve got a good opportunity here. I don¡¯t know if you knew this, but the average level of Hammon¡¯s Bog is quite a bit higher than the average in a city. Being isted like this can mean a lot of extra work and danger, but it also means levels. We have some crafters here who can make things as good as the very best in the city.

    ¡°Since caravans have been so rare this year, the town has a lot of built-up inventory on their high-Skill, high-quality stuff, especially Toros and Chamy. We could front the merchants the money to buy it here, and they¡¯ll sell it for you for a portion of the profit once they get to the city. And they¡¯re headed straight to ckcliff after this. With the Prefit guarding them on the way back as far as Oud¡¯s Bog, well, it¡¯s about as close to a sure thing as you¡¯ll ever get in this life.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Five hundred gold, I think. More than that and they won¡¯t bother to haggle,¡± said Hogg.

    A huge chunk of his savings, but honestly he was d to finally invest some money. He hated the idea that it was just sitting there. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±

    ¡°Good. Someone wille by the houseter to finalize things, but just to be clear: You¡¯re fine with me negotiating on your behalf?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°They¡¯re going to have to meet me at the town gates and then do all the purchasing by running back and forth across town. It¡¯s going to make Prefit Elmon look like a jackass.¡±

    ¡°Somehow I can live with that,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg chuckled. ¡°Me too. Now let¡¯s talk about training. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to get to the second threshold on Will or Vitality, but with that 10% bonus it may be in reach for Dexterity.

    ¡°I¡¯d really like to get to the first threshold in Magic and Mental Control,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°In that case, getting Mental Control to the first threshold is your best bet for locking in onest achievement before System Day.¡±

    Brin had thoughts on that. It still bothered him that System Day gave nearly every other kid in town <em>more </em>time to rack up achievements, while it had stolen nearly six months from him, just because of an inconvenient birthday. If he left town, could he get more time? Maybe he could get to the first threshold in every attribute. There <em>had</em> to be something cool for doing that.

    He didn¡¯t bring it up, though, in case Hogg actually said yes and wanted to start packing immediately. He still wanted to hunt alone in the forest first. Once he¡¯d killed a monster and got the achievement for that, then he¡¯d bring it up.

    ¡°What about Magic?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°If we had another year, and Lumina¡¯s help¡­ maybe. As it is, Mental Control will still help your chances at getting a magical ss, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re aiming at. It¡¯s <em>by far</em> the most important attribute for magic. Hands down.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Mental Control it is.¡±

    ¡°Did you ever get any while practicing with Jeffrey?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Brin guiltily thought of his lute gathering dust in his room. ¡°I got a few Dexterity for it at first, but I sort of stopped ying after the attributes dried up.¡±

    Thinking about it, he hadn¡¯t wanted to y music for the sake of gaining attributes. He¡¯d wanted to make music. He¡¯d learned the first few songs Jeffrey had taught him with gusto, and figured out how to y <em>Sweet Home bama</em> from memory, even including the sweet little guitar solos between the verses. He didn¡¯t remember the words past the first verse, but he¡¯d started revising the lyrics to match his new home. At the time, he hadn¡¯t been thinking about attributes at all. He¡¯d been doing it because it was fun. When had that stopped?

    Maybe everyone was right about him. He¡¯d been consumed with his goals of gaining as much power as the System would give him, andpletely forgotten to enjoy his life. Even if he wasn¡¯t just a kid, an ambitious adult should remember to have fun now and again. He promised himself that after System Day, he¡¯d slow down and live his life a little.

    He realized he was zoning out while Hogg was talking. It almost felt good because <em>that</em> was a key personality trait from the old Brin, back when he had been Mark.

    ¡°...from concentrating on more than one task at once, and from taking control of your mind. Music is a good way to do that, but you have to be learning deliberately. Just ying your favorite three songs over and over won¡¯t do anything. Actually, I¡¯ll have someone fetch Jeffrey over. I¡¯ll summon Gustaff too, if you catch my drift.¡±

    Was Hogg hinting that he was going to use a mirror image to create a fake Gustaff? Wait a second. Did he do that all the time? He could. Now that he thought about it, had Brin ever actually seen Gustaff? Like, the real [Illusionist]? He only ever remembered seeing mirror images of the man, like the one near the town square that yed movies and stuff.

    ¡°Is Gustaff real?¡± Brin asked.

    Hogg¡¯s hand twitched, like he wanted to p Brin on the back of the head, but he didn¡¯t. Well, he couldn¡¯t because he was a mirror image, but he likely wouldn¡¯t have anyway. Instead, he frowned and said, ¡°Of course he¡¯s real. You think I want to waste my magic with that garbage? Get a grip.¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Brin, emphasizing it hard enough to make it clear he wasn¡¯t really sorry.

    Hogg shook his head derisively. ¡°We¡¯ll have you meditate, I think.¡±

    ¡°Meditate? Isn¡¯t there something useful I could be doing?¡±

    ¡°Meditation is useful. It trains your concentration. You¡¯ll likely be able to snatch up a point in Mental Control or two before I get home. Now sit down.¡±

    Brin sat. ¡°Do you do this?¡±

    ¡°Not for years,¡± said Hogg. ¡°My ss and achievements give me an absurd amount of Mental Control. One more point isn¡¯t worth the days or weeks of daily meditation I¡¯d need to get it, not when I can train it by using my illusions to their fullest instead.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s instructions were surprisingly simr to stuff he¡¯d learned about meditation in his past life, but like everything he went a bit harder. Where Brin had learned that it didn¡¯t matter how you sat, Hogg was adamant that he do the ssic crossed legs and ramrod straight back. ¡°We¡¯re learning how to concentrate, not trying to put you to sleep.¡±

    He talked about breathing, and set a long, slow rhythm. ¡°Don¡¯t try to stop yourself from thinking. If you¡¯re thinking about not thinking then you¡¯re getting distracted. Let the thoughtse and go, but never stop concentrating. Now, is there a prayer you like to do?¡±

    ¡°No, not really,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then make a sound with your voice. Anything you want. You¡¯re going to concentrate on making the sound and on listening to the sound. Only that.¡±

    Brin thought back to the old cliche of the buddhist monk sitting exactly like this saying ¡°Aum¡± over and over. He always thought that was a Hollywood exaggeration. Was that a real thing?

    ¡°Aum.¡± He gave it a try, and to his surprise, meditation was actually kind of hard. His mind kept going to Jeffrey, the merchants, his night in town. Sure, he wasn¡¯t supposed to try to stop all thoughts, but he was supposed to acknowledge those thoughts and then dismiss them, rather than dwell on them.

    Part of what made it so hard was that he was exhausted. His rhythm was all messed up now that he¡¯d been awake through the night two nights in a row. But doing mental work while you were tired was one of the best things for training Mental Control. He¡¯d figured that one out all on his own.

    He was a little jealous of Marksi, actually. The snake had climbed into his tank and passed out the second they got back from town.

    ¡°Stop saying it over and over. Say it once and draw it out as long as you can,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now concentrate!¡±

    Brin tried again. It was still difficult, but he gave it his all, and after what was probably two hours or more, he got his first notification.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Mental Control +1

    ¡°Huh. You got that in twenty minutes. Not bad,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°This is harder than I thought!¡± said Brin, feeling gratified but also a little annoyed that his ¡°two hours¡± was actually only twenty minutes. Could he me this on the child body, or was he really that impatient?

    ¡°Take a break. Do some pushups or something, then try again,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin scowled at him, but he did the pushups and they really did make him feel better. He hadn¡¯t gone this long without weight training for months now and he was starting to feel the itch.

    The second time he tried it went a lot easier, but that also meant that he wouldn¡¯t get rewards as quickly. He chased that thought away with every other, and meditated.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scratch your nose! Concentrate on your Aum. All other thoughts are irrelevant,¡± said Hogg, about halfway through.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Mental Control +1

    Two in one day. And the promise of more on the way. Maybe he really could do this. Three weeks was a tight deadline and he knew that he¡¯d run into dwindling returns, but if Hogg only knew two or three more tricks like this, Brin would be there. He wasn¡¯t as excited as he should be; sitting still for so long really drove home how tired he was. He pped his cheeks a couple times, trying to jolt himself awake.

    ¡°Got one more, huh? Good work. I wasn¡¯t sure if you were really awake there for a minute.¡±

    Brin yawned. ¡°I¡¯m awake. Somehow.¡±

    Hogg wasn¡¯t in his usual lounge chair and he didn¡¯t have a drink; he was standing stock still. Easier to render that way. This was still the mirror image, and Jeffrey wasn¡¯t anywhere in sight.

    ¡°Jeffrey wouldn¡¯te. He¡¯s still asleep, which I should have guessed. [Bards] keep odd hours. But I got him to spill on a good way to train Mental Control. Better this way, actually, since now I don¡¯t have to conjure up a pretend Gustaff. Basically, you¡¯re going to y some music and I¡¯m going to be a very annoying and distracting audience, just like what a real [Bard] has to go through. Let¡¯s get started. y something.¡±

    Brin went to his room, dusted off his lute, and brought it out. Wanting to show off a little, Brin yed his ¡°Sweet Home in the Bonds¡±. Hogg interrupted him after two bars.

    ¡°Did you make that up?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s from Earth. I adjusted the words a little,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s never going to work. No [Bard] in Frenaria would write lyrics like that. It needs to be more poetic,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Now that I think of it, the songs [Bards] sing are really snooty and pretentious-sounding,¡± said Brin. ¡°What¡¯s with that?¡±

    Hogg smiled at the insult to his people¡¯s music and culture. ¡°That¡¯s High Frenarian. It¡¯s a little archaic-sounding, on purpose. It¡¯s how the nobles are taught to speak and it¡¯s how they speak at court. Maybe in your world it¡¯s cool to pretend to be dirty and ignorant, but here people want to be elegant and refined. Everyone likes to think they¡¯re good enough for high society, so you¡¯ll never find a [Bard] alive or dead singing any other way. This is good, though. Trante your song, not just from English to Frenarian, but from English to High Frenarian.¡±

    That would be difficult. The System had imprinted Frenarian straight into his brain, but High Frenarian he¡¯d learned by picking up bits and pieces here and there from music and movies.

    Brin cleared his throat and started to y what he was now calling ¡°Fair Home in the Bonds.¡±<blockquote>

    <em>¡°Oh faithful wheels, thou stalwart rollers,</em>

    <em>Bearing me forth past trees and boulders,</em>

    <em>To thend where dwells my family,</em>

    <em>And I will deem it sinful, verily!¡±</em></blockquote>

    The meter was all off. He was trying to cram twice as many sybles into the same line of music, which made the whole thing even harder. Even that wouldn¡¯t have been too bad if Hogg had just sat and listened quietly.

    Hogg didn¡¯t listen quietly. He walked around, bumped into a table which sent a ss of water to the ground, where it shattered. Neither the bump nor the ss were real, but the illusion was good enough that it was pretty distracting.<blockquote>

    <em>¡°I hearkened well to Master Young who sang her woe,</em>

    <em>Also hearkened I to Master Neil who scorned her so,</em>

    <em>I hope Master Niel will bethink to hear this truth,</em>

    <em>A boggish man doth not require him, forsooth!</em></blockquote>

    Hogg met his eyes. He summoned up some colorful lights, then casually started to juggle them. The lights started to strobe, shing different colors. It was enough that Marksi peeked out of his cage, before sneezing at the racket andying back down to sleep. Brin pressed forward, trying to trante the words without slowing down the song.<blockquote>

    <em>Fair home in the Bonds! Thy skies are of umon blueness,</em>

    <em>Oh, home in the Bonds sweet, I hasten back to thee with trueness.</em></blockquote>

    Hogg bit his lip. His juggling orbs started to make chirping sounds.

    Brin held his gaze steadily, and then blew through the solo without skipping a beat. He really had practiced the song quite a lot, this wasn¡¯t enough to throw him. Then he went into the solo from after the second verse as well, because he still didn¡¯t remember the rest of the words, and there was no way he was going to be able to make something up.

    He only remembered one more line, and he tranted it on the fly.<blockquote>

    <em>¡°In Oud¡¯s Bog they love the ruler. Fie! Fie! Fie!¡±</em></blockquote>

    Hogg burst outughing, and his colorful distractions disappeared. ¡°Ok. Ok. You got me. That song. I can¡¯t handle it. Is that what music is like in your world? It¡¯s killing me.¡±

    For your feat of mental discipline, you have been awarded the following. Mental Control +1

    Brin smiled, more at the notification than at Hogg¡¯s insult to his people¡¯s music and culture. A feat! That means the reward was probably more for ousting Hogg than from the training itself. Which meant that he likely still had another point in store frompleting the actual training. ¡°It sounds better in English.¡±

    ¡°It has to. It literally has to,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think people are really going to like this,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t like it. I just don¡¯t think they¡¯ll like it for the reasons you think,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I mean,e on. The only good thing you can think to say about it here is that the skies are blue? The skies are blue everywhere.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re umonly blue,¡± Brin said, grinning.

    ¡°They¡¯re less blue than almost anywhere! They¡¯re usually gray,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Ten years from now, everyone is going to be singing this,¡± said Brin, mostly enjoying how much this was getting under Hogg¡¯s skin.

    Hogg rubbed his face. ¡°Please no. Well if you¡¯ll take some notes, there are some [Bards] who have songs trashing the Bonds. Guibertil and Hipolit, to name two. Only [Bards] aren¡¯t Master, they¡¯re Maestro.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll work that in. I just decided; I¡¯m teaching this to Jeffrey. I¡¯ll pay him to y it if I have to,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then all I have to do is convince him to leave with the merchants, got it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Won¡¯t they leave in a couple hours? He¡¯s not going to wake up that early,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°So you do understand [Bards].¡± Hogg looked up into space. ¡°I¡¯m almost back with a merchant. Remember, I¡¯m not an [Illusionist], I haven¡¯t been here and you haven¡¯t seen me at all today.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s illusion faded away.

    Soon after, Brin saw the real Hogg walking up the street with a merchant. The man wore traveling clothes, a long overcoat and hat, and kept a spear on his back. From what he¡¯d seen of them in town, the merchants had been wearing bright, colorful robes. Fun, but also expensive-looking. Now the merchant could easily pass for a soldier marching off to war.

    ¡°Hey Hogg!¡± said Brin. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you all day!¡±

    Hogg scowled at him, then remembered hispany. ¡°I¡¯d like you to meet Master Moura. Master Moura, meet Young Master the Mistaken.¡±

    The formal use of honorifics andst names was sort of surprising. In Hammon¡¯s Bog everyone used first names, to the point where he didn¡¯t know thest names of many of his acquaintances. Apparently, that wasn¡¯t the norm in the wider world.

    The merchant widened his eyes in surprise when he entered Hogg¡¯s living room. He probably expected the man¡¯s house to look as weather-worn and practical as the man himself, but Hogg lived in style. Moura stepped gingerly on the plush rug, as if not sure he should really be allowed in.

    The negotiations were already done, so all Brin had to do was sign the document and let Hogg hand over the gold. Gemstones, in this case. He¡¯d negotiated to have the entire original sale price plus eighty percent of the profits go to Brin, which was much more than he expected considering he wasn¡¯t doing any of the work. Then again, the merchants had nothing to lose by bringing along extra cargo on a route they were already nning on traveling, so this was a win-win.

    The entire affair was concluded in minutes, without Master Moura ever sitting down or taking off his hat.

    Then he and Hogg were back to training.

    Hogg found some sheet music for Brin, and while he¡¯d never learned to read music in this world¡¯s style, Hogg also had a guide on where to ce fingers for each note. He had Brin use that to try to learn the songs while learning to read sheet music in the first ce, all while being as annoying and distracting as possible.

    Marksi woke up after ten or so minutes of that, and chirped angrily at Hogg for waking him up, but when he realized the point of all of it was to annoy Brin, he joined in. The little monster scrambled around the floor, shing all different colors. The part that really tested Brin¡¯s concentration was when Marksi went into camouge, snuck up close, and then changed back to rainbow colors all at once.

    Brin thought he made a pretty good showing. If he had a main stat in his past life, it would be Mental Control. Going through a Computer Science degree when all his roommates had part majors like Education and Art History had been an extreme test on his ability to stay focused when the people around him were acting stupid. Compared to that, this wasn¡¯t much.

    After an hour of work, and with no point in Mental Control to show for it, Brin had learned to y through the first song.

    ¡°Sounds pretty good,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m not sure if it sounds right, not without hearing someone else y it,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg took the lute from Brin¡¯s hands. He yed through the entire song effortlessly, and yeah, it turned out Brin had misunderstood a little sh through some notes and held them too long instead of cutting them short.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t ask me to sing,¡± said Hogg.

    Personally, Brin thought Hogg had a great voice for singing. He could really pull off the rugged cowboy style, which apparently was <em>not</em> an appropriate way to sing in Frenaria. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you can y at all, honestly.¡±

    ¡°It pays to be able to do all kinds of things,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And with high Dexterity you¡¯d be surprised how easy it is to pick these things up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that, actually.¡±

    Hogg handed the lute back. ¡°Let¡¯s switch things up a bit. I want you to keep practicing that song, but now you¡¯re going to start dancing with your feet.¡±

    ¡°[Bards] dance?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Some do. This will also help you learn the steps for your first dance at the solstice festival. Which if you think about it, the Prefit might¡¯ve <em>shortened</em> our exile to only three days so that you wouldn¡¯t miss it.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Like he even thinks about me that much,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Touch¨¦,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But maybe he does. Alright, on your feet.¡±

    Not for the first time, Brin regretted not taking the three-day vacation option. But he¡¯d asked for this, and he¡¯d see it through.

 Book 3: Chapter 7

    Book 3: Chapter 7

    The solstice dance was surprisinglyplex, like a wandering riverdance but while holding the hand of a partner at arm¡¯s distance. The partners switched as the dancers moved in rotating circles, and you had to keep track of the steps because the circles would suddenly switch direction. Hogg magicked up a couple dozen figures for him to dance with. They were sort of blurry and low-definition, but good enough for him to keep track of his ce.

    He did all that while also ying the music on his lute, and Hogg also provided back-up music to make sure he would never miss a beat. His hands were full with the music, but the girls in the dance still held their hands up to him and acted as if he were holding them.

    They used the grassy clearing outside the house, which added anotheryer because the ground wasn¡¯t exactly t. He didn¡¯t actually know where the real dance would take ce; there wasn¡¯t a dance hall or anything. It would probably be in the town square.

    It was noon by the time Brin got another point in Mental Control. They had plenty of time to keep going, but he was done. He didn¡¯t think he could tie his shoes, much less try to recite the alphabet backwards while doing a handstand under a waterfall or whatever psychotic thing Hogg would dream up next.

    ¡°Good time for a break anyhow. Look alive, we gotpany,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin dragged himself off the ground and over to the chair on the deck, just in time for Prefit Elmon to appear on the road leading from town.

    Like the merchant earlier, therge man wore a traveling cloak, a wide-brimmed hat and had a sword at his side. Unlike the merchant, the metal of a full suit of armor peeked out from under the heavy clothes, which Elmon wore with the same casual ease as Gn had. Instead of only looking like a soldier, this was a real [Warrior].

    He approached Hogg first. ¡°I was present with Tawna for every moment she spent outside of her house for thest two and a half days. However, I must now hurry to catch up to the merchants if I am to uphold my agreement with them. I trust this fulfills your requirements?¡±

    Hogg thought it over, while scratching at the stubble on his neck. ¡°We¡¯re square.¡±

    ¡°May I speak to your son?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Prefit,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin stood up and approached, while Hogg went inside, although there wasn¡¯t a doubt in anyone¡¯s mind that Hogg would hear every word that was said.

    Prefit Elmon folded his arms and looked down at Brin. ¡°First, I need to make it clear that you were absolutely guilty of the crime I charged you with. You <em>did</em> spread those rumors, and a few hours or even a few days at the pillory would not have been too much.¡±

    Another time, Brin might have argued, but after a night robbing the town he didn¡¯t feel all that innocent, and after a night robbing the town and then half the day training Mental Control, he was too drained to summon up the energy to argue about anything.

    ¡°I understand,¡± he said neutrally.

    ¡°That being said, I was too hasty in passing judgment. After spending two days with Tawna¡­ suffice it to say I learned that she was far from meless in this matter.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°Thank you for saying so.¡±

    Elmon searched his eyes, and apparently didn¡¯t find what he was looking for, because he frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you felt at the time that justice was being applied unevenly. Do you still feel the same way?¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t have any reason to lie. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then think on this: I¡¯ve not visited everywhere or seen everything, but to my knowledge there¡¯s never been a [Witch]-burning of a pre-System child. Perhaps, somewhere, it¡¯s been done, but for all intents and purposes, it simply doesn¡¯t happen.

    ¡°On the other hand, when friendless, unpopr [Weavers] are concerned, I¡¯ve personally seen it happen <em>twice.</em> Not here, thank Solia, but there¡¯s nothing different in our makeup that makes us immune to human foibles. Only with diligence and caution have we avoided it so far. You might think a [Witch]-hunt is a surgical procedure, a knife in the dark to remove an unpopr neighbor. You haven¡¯t seen it, so you don¡¯t understand the <em>madness</em>. The sheer chaos that¡¯s unleashed upon a town when fear and paranoia are stoked into an inferno. For however dangerous [Witches] are, the fear of [Witches] is even worse.

    ¡°Do you think I could stop it if a mob came for Tawna? Hogg aside, I could easily defeat any two men or women in this town. But what about ten? What about a hundred? Impossible. To prevent a tragedy, I must stop it before it gets that far. I can¡¯t let that happen here.¡±

    ¡°For the record, I don¡¯t want that either,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good. Officially speaking, your rumors against her were damaging and illegal. Her rumors against you were not. As Prefit, that¡¯s my only interest in the matter. On a personal note, however, I¡¯ve warned Tawna and Myra against continuing such rumors, and I have asked them both to be nicer to you.¡±

    Even through the weary haze, thatst part shocked Brin. He hadn¡¯t expected a red cent from Prefit Elmon. After the browbeating and public humiliation Hogg had given him, Brin expected to have an enemy for life. Instead, the Prefit was trying to fix things. It wasn¡¯t exactly some grand gesture, and he really doubted Tawna and Myra would change their attitude, but it was still something.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Brin.

    The Prefit finally must¡¯ve found what he was looking for in Brin¡¯s expression, because he smiled and thumped Brin on the shoulder. ¡°Goodd.¡±

    The Prefit left, and Brin didn¡¯t even remember stumbling off to bed.

    He awoke at dawn the next morning, having slept away half the day. Just like that, his three-day exile was over.

    His mind was a lot clearer after a good night''s rest, even though he was a little irked that he¡¯d slept so long. Yesterday might have been exhausting, but it had been worth it. He¡¯d gotten four whole points of Mental Control in one day, which meant that he only had three left for the first threshold. That was looking entirely possible.

    Not to mention all the other gains. The 10% increase to Dexterity, the improved vision, the value sense. He¡¯d totally forgotten about that one, but now that he remembered it, he wanted to try it out.

    Why had he not noticed a changest night? He¡¯d noticed his night vision get better, but he hadn¡¯t seen the value of things. He looked at his nket, and¡­ five silver. Oh, that was all; it wasn¡¯t automatic, but only needed a little bit of intentionality.

    The lute in the corner, four silver. The dresser with his clothes cost six silver. There wasn¡¯t much else to look at in here; he was pretty spartan with his personal space. Not by choice so much as by omission.

    The door cost another five silver, but he couldn¡¯t really get a feel for what the walls were worth. Until he thought of the house while looking at them, and the two-hundred-fifty gold came to mind. It was strange how the Skill operated. It worked the same way as how he knew what was real or fake. There was no pop-up or line of text in his mind. He just¡­ knew. The information just arrived as part of his perception. The same way he knew that the door was brown, he knew that the doorknob cost two silver, eight copper, four bits, give or take.

    Outside, he saw Hogg, and was relieved when the Skill didn¡¯t give the man a price tag. That would be ufortable. Marksi, on Hogg¡¯s shoulder, cost a whopping eighty-five gold. <em>No. Marksi is not for sale.</em>

    The Skill didn¡¯t change its assessment. Was that on him? Did he think of Marksi as an object? Well, whatever the Skill said, Marksi was family. End of story.

    It was rare to see Hogg up at the hour, and not only was he up, he was making breakfast. Good stuff, too. Bacon, eggs, and fried bread. No weird Hammon¡¯s Bog stuff like mato mash or barf yogurt. Although, the marshmallow yogurt hadn¡¯t been half bad.

    ¡°This new value sense is pretty crazy. It¡¯s going to take a minute to get used to,¡± said Brin. ¡°Does everyone have the Thief achievement?¡±

    ¡°You have a pretty advanced version,¡± said Hogg. ¡°The value sense part is hard to earn.¡±

    Brin looked around the room, putting a price to everything. The beautiful reclining lounge chair¨Ctwelve gold. The finely carved end table next to it¨C20 silver. The carpet was fourteen gold. It almost cheapened the experience to see exactly how much everything cost. The real value of the room was how everything worked together to give a feeling of civilizedfort.

    The plush yellow loveseat¡­ Brin¡¯s eyes bulged out. Two hundred gold. What in the world could make a <em>couch</em> cost two hundred gold?

    ¡°Food¡¯s up,¡± said Hogg.

    Still looking at the loveseat, Brin took a seat at the table. ¡°Can the value of an item increase based on what¡¯s inside it?¡± Maybe Hogg was hiding something in there? It was the only thing Brin could think of.

    ¡°Nope, if you see a chest, you¡¯ll see the value of the chest itself. That¡¯s one of the key loopholes,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then why¨C¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I meant to keep it a secret forever,¡± said Hogg, noticing Brin¡¯s eyes glued on the couch. ¡°But why don¡¯t you eat first and then figure it out.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± said Brin.

    He looked back down, and saw that the meal was worth twenty gold. ¡°What in the world? The Skill must be buggy. No offense, but you¡¯re not that good a cook.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s taking the value of my time into ount,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Another way you¡¯ll get swindled if you¡¯re not careful.¡±

    ¡°Every merchant needs this. They¡¯d be stupid not to have it. Are they all thieves, then?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nah, there¡¯s a slow, honest way to get the value sense. I thought you¡¯d appreciate the quick way,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    He took a bite, still watching that yellow loveseat. Could it fly or something?

    The bacon was pretty good, though, and for a moment that was enough to distract him. ¡°Thanks for breakfast. This is good. Didn¡¯t expect to see you up this early,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, well, you¡¯re up. Besides, it¡¯s the day of the solstice festival and all. Plus I wanted to be here when you figured out that loveseat.¡±

    Brin shoved the rest of his eggs into his mouth and walked over, poking at the chair. He pulled off the pillows, searched around for a button. Anything. He tried lifting it to look underneath and found that he couldn¡¯t. It was too heavy, or maybe bolted to the floor.

    He ran his hands along the bottom of the chair, and felt a little catch. A lever. He pulled, and the seat flipped open. He¡¯d been right; there was something inside it.

    Looking inside, he saw a warehouse for faeries. Little swords and spears, tiny suits of armor, a pile of ck weapons like the sword he¡¯d taken from the undead except toy sized, a little shelf full of potions, some glowing, and all sorts of other random trinkets.

    One little table in the corner had a suit of leather armor, two swords, and a little ck potion. He recognized that stuff! That was the stuff he¡¯d bought from Perris, except mini.

    The loveseat was some kind of chest of holding. He reached inside, and met a firm wall of electricity that zapped his hand.

    ¡°Ow!¡±

    Hoggughed.

    ¡°That¡¯s my stuff!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, Perris brought it overst week. Hold on, it¡¯s set to only ept me,¡± said Hogg. He reached inside, then brought out Brin¡¯s items, one by one. It looked sort of like he was reaching into water, except his arm got really small when it passed that lightning barrier and seemed to detach and float around like a mouse cursor. ¡°Put all this in your room; you won¡¯t need any of it today.¡±

    When Brin was finished securing his awesome adventuring gear in his room, he asked, "I assume you had a good reason for hiding my stuff from me?¡±

    ¡°For reasons I¡¯ve half-exined, I need to pretend not to know what you¡¯re nning on doing with it. But <em>whatever it is</em>, I knew you¡¯d need every attribute you could get first. I nned on giving it to you two days before your System Day.¡±

    ¡°You could¡¯ve just told me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah. I promised to do better, and giving thus to you now is part of that. We good?¡±

    Brin rubbed temples, then dropped his hands. ¡°Fine, yeah, we¡¯re good.¡±

    Marksi had been sneaking up in pounce mode. He leapt, and Hogg snatched him out of the air before he could get electrocuted by the defensive barrier.

    ¡°No,¡± said Hogg. Marksi looked at him with wide eyes. Hogg <em>never</em> told him no. The snake chirped sadly and Hogg stroked his back but didn¡¯t relent.

    ¡°What is this thing? How did it get past my [Know What¡¯s Real]?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg¡¯s eyes lit up, clearly excited to talk about his cool toy. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t buy it to fool your Skill specifically, but I did want something that would fool someone who could see through illusions. It¡¯s not an illusion, see? It really is a couch. I had to build the whole living room around it, to make it so it wouldn¡¯t look out of ce.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why everything here is so nice! I knew you weren¡¯t the type to care so much about color coordinating your furniture,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg looked offended. ¡°No, I do. What¡¯s the point of having all this money if I can¡¯t live well? I had the storage sofa custom built. Oh, but maybe I¡¯m traveling?¡±

    He kicked the sofa, and it turned itself inside out. The walls inside the storage space were now plush yellow. The outside was an old wooden crate, with the lid off. Hogg kicked it again, and it went back to a partially dismantled sofa.

    ¡°How is it doing that without magic?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s magic, just not illusion magic. And the magic is all on the inside, holding it together, holding itself contained. Nothing leaks out, no sign that anything magical is going on from the outside,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That¡¯s really neat. Do they make these travel sized? Like a backpack?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, yeah. We¡¯ll get you set up with one sometime,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin thought back to when the Heroes had rescued him. Hogg had carried a big ck hiking backpack. ¡°Let me guess, you carry your bag of holding in a muchrger backpack so that no one will be able to identify it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Clever,¡± said Brin.

    He gave a nce back at his room. There was nothing stopping him from going through with his ns to go kill a monster in the forest. Well, nothing except the festival. Tomorrow, he promised himself.

    ¡°Time to go?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Onest thing,¡± said Hogg.

    He walked into his room and came back out with some folds of cloth over his arms. ¡°The harvest festival is a day when everyone trots out their best dress. You can¡¯t go like that. Put this on. It¡¯s supposed to look like this.¡±

    Hogg threw up an illusion of Brin, standing in the clothes that Hogg was apparently holding. There was a paper white cored shirt underneath a navy blue overcoat. The overcoat had glistening gold trim and as the model rotated, he could see a stylized rainbow dragon, like an adult Marksi, flying across the back. There were tasselsing off the sleeves, a vibrant red sash to tie across the middle, and matching blue trousers. The illusion wore shiny leather boots, and Hogg carried a matching pair in his hands.

    ¡°For me? But¡­ who would sell to you? The merchants? How did you order it?¡±

    ¡°Think. There was a solution. Who¡¯s the only other person in town who makes clothes that Tawna never touches?¡± asked Hogg.

    Even now that Hogg had agreed to treat him like an adult, he could never simply answer a question. Everything had to be a puzzle or a test. Looking closer, Brin noticed how thick the cloth was. No, not cloth.

    The answer came with a memory of the first time he¡¯d ever met Perris, and noticed that the man¡¯s ck and white clothes were made from leather, cleverly disguised to look like fabric. Natural, for a [Leatherworker].

    ¡°Perris did this?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I had to twist his arm and pay way too much,¡± said Hogg. ¡°He definitely didn''t tell me to say that. He definitely didn¡¯te up with the idea and then insist on doing it for free as a gift.¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°That sounds like him.¡± He mockingly raised his fist. ¡°Curse that greedy salesman! We¡¯ve been had!¡±

    Hogg smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll tell him you said that.¡±

    Brin put it on in his room, and did his best to hide how <em>good</em> it made him feel to look this good. He eyed himself in the mirror in the living room, and it took every ounce of willpower to not strike a pose. They fit perfectly, and he looked <em>good</em>. The style was the same as what the vigers wore, but elevated. For once, he¡¯d stand out because he looked better than everyone instead of worse.

    Brin picked Marksi up, who slithered around to the normal spot around his neck. ¡°No outfit isplete without your Marksi!¡± said Brin. The snake acted a little put out that there wasn¡¯t a hood, but the leather was soft and felt pretty nice, and it wasn¡¯t too long before Marksi was settled in and purring.

    Hogg wore his normal ck leathers. Well, the old guy was clearly capable of getting clothes if he wanted them. Brin only gave him a little bit of teasing for it, but Hogg was incapable of self-consciousness. He wore what he wanted, end of story.

    The trip into town went quickly, and as soon as they crossed the gates, Brin started looking for his friends or really anyone he recognized so he could show off. The first person he saw wasn¡¯t Davi or Zilly, or even Myra.

    It was a figure in immacte white robes and a tall headdress. The priest, Ellion.

    Brin turned around. ¡°Time to go.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Brin. I was wondering if we could have a word,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°Uh, sure,¡± said Brin. ¡°We can talk about whatever you want here. Right here.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you would be morefortable if we retired to the temple,¡± said Ellion, a twinkle in his eye.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s fine, but it¡¯s just you, right? We¡¯re not going to meet anyone else there, are we? No, um, statues?¡±

    ¡°The gods will do as they will,¡± said Ellion with a world-ss poker face. ¡°I am only their messenger.¡± He was teasing him, right? He had to be.

    ¡°You¡¯reing with me, right Hogg? Hey, where¡¯d Hogg go?¡± The treacherous old [Illusionist had abandoned him. Even [Know What¡¯s Real] wasn¡¯t spotting anything.

    ¡°Come along,¡± said Ellion.

    Maybe Brin was being a little melodramatic about being terrified of the temple, but that was only to cover up the real, actual terror he felt at the idea that a goddess would want to speak to him again. She¡¯d imprinted all sorts of knowledge into Ellion so she wouldn¡¯t have to do that again, right? Brin gulped, and followed Ellion down the street.

 Book 3: Chapter 8

    Book 3: Chapter 8

    ¡°Ok, but if I see a single statue in there, I¡¯m out,¡± said Brin. He and Ellion the priest walked side by side down the town¡¯s boardwalk, and everyone gave them a wide berth, even so far as to cross the street to the other side. No one was rude, though, and most everyone also stopped when Ellion passed them to put a hand on their hearts and bow their heads.

    Everyone was busy with the festival, and all were wearing their finest clothes, which Brin had to admit were on a whole other level than what he was used to. Tall hats and bright colors were everywhere,yered skirts, loads ofce, andplex patterns were sewn into every inch of fabric. Brin wasn¡¯t underdressed in his new clothes, but he wasn¡¯t even close to overdressed either.

    Everyone moved with an excited urgency, hanging up banners and putting out flowers, but no one was too busy to pay proper respect to their priest.

    Ellion quirked an eyebrow. ¡°And you believe that would protect you? Do you believe that if you do not enter the temple they cannot find you? Never fear, if they want to destroy you, or to give you another traumatic vision, or anything else, they could do so here as easily as anywhere else. The gods are not limited, Mark.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a little weird to be called that,¡± said Brin. He still didn¡¯t know the entirety of Ellion¡¯s vision, just that the goddess had put English into his brain and given him some instructions.

    ¡°I apologize,¡± said Ellion. ¡°But did you stop being Mark when you became Brin, or are you both?¡±

    ¡°Something to think about.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. But I didn¡¯t seek you out to speak of names. The events of the earlier day made me wonder if I was truly doing all I could to help you adjust to your new reality. In fact, I¡¯m sure that I have not.¡±

    ¡°Look about the thing with Tawna¡­¡± started Brin.

    Ellion held up a hand. ¡°I did note to chastise you. I only wonder if there¡¯s more I could be doing to help. Perhaps you have questions about our world, or the System, that would be strange to ask someone who doesn¡¯t know your circumstances.¡±

    ¡°Is there any way to avoid System Day? It¡¯s unfair that the other kids get more time than me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Why would you want to avoid it? Are you not anxious to finally get your ss, and the power thates with it?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Brin. ¡°But I¡¯m <em>so</em> close to crossing the first threshold in every attribute. I¡¯m sure that with six more months I could figure out Magic.¡±

    ¡°In that case, you¡¯d need to obtain legal residency in another vige or city,¡± said Ellion. ¡°Leaving Hammon¡¯s Bog for a long time would also work, but two weeks isn¡¯t enough.¡±

    ¡°My ss is [Child of Travin¡¯s Bog], not Hammon¡¯s Bog. Is there any way I¡¯m still a legal resident over there?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No,¡± said Ellion. ¡°Hogg registered you when you came to town. There¡¯s paperwork involved.¡±

    ¡°What does the [Child] ss do anyway?¡± asked Brin. ¡°What¡¯s the benefit of having one town versus another?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, and there are none. Though, there are some interesting Skills if you select [Child] on System Day, mostly around learning and apprenticeship,¡± said Ellion.

    Brin mulled it over as they walked. They approached the town square, and Brin almost didn¡¯t recognize it. Men and women carried polished nks of wood and were in the process of boarding over the entire grassy field in the center. Since they were adults with levels doing the work, it was going <em>fast</em>. So the dance really would be right here, only it wouldn¡¯t be in the mud and it wouldn¡¯t kill the grass; grass could be covered for one day without damaging it. It was a bit jarring to see them do an amount of work in one day that his modern world would never even consider.

    ¡°What about Oaths?¡± asked Brin. ¡°What¡¯s the consequence of breaking an Oath as a child?¡±

    ¡°What did you swear on?¡± asked Ellion.

    ¡°My ss and levels,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°And do you have any of those?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a [Child of Travin¡¯s Bog],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If you broke your Oath, you would lose that ss. The System would then automatically reassign your ss to the next avable one. I expect it would be [Child of Hammon¡¯s Bog]. If you were to break an Oath again, I think it would still give you [Child of Hammon¡¯s Bog] again, though in your adulthood, don¡¯t expect to be offered a ss again if you lose it the first time.¡±

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it?¡± asked Brin. ¡°I could break my Oath right now, and nothing would happen?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Perhaps Solia would be slightly irked, since you swore by her. And I¡¯d urge you to remember the exact wording of the Oath,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°The Oath had us swear that we¡¯d avenge each other if one of us was ever forced to break our Oath. But it never said anything about voluntarily breaking the Oath. I thought it was a strange omission.¡±

    Ellion nodded. ¡°And which of the five of you would be most likely put in that position? You. They added that use to protect you. If anyone asks you to betray that Oath, you can truthfully tell them that four of the highest level people in the country will be forced to <em>destroy them for it.</em> However, perhaps you¡¯d rather not risk it. Every Oath is a vulnerability, and perhaps it¡¯s not one you care to adopt. Choose what you will, but do so before System Day or you really will lose your ss.¡±

    They arrived at the temple, and Brin paused outside the door and faced Ellion. He pretended it was casual, but really he didn¡¯t want to go in there. At least he didn¡¯t see any statues today. ¡°But what about after that? If I break an Oath after that, but I¡¯m only level three or four, it¡¯s not a big deal, right?¡±

    Ellion walked inside, forcing Brin to follow him if he wanted an answer to his question.

    ¡°Correct,¡± said Ellion, once Brin was inside and walking with him again. ¡°sses are not very. If you really don¡¯t like the path you¡¯ve begun to walk down, there¡¯s no shame in trying again with something else. You¡¯ll keep your attributes you earned with training and feats, as well as any achievements or titles, or and Skills not tied to a ss. You only lose what you swore by, your ss and levels.¡±

    ¡°Why are you pointing out all the loopholes? We swear by the gods, so shouldn¡¯t you be telling me to keep all my Oaths?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Ah, yes, you¡¯re quite right,¡± said Ellion. ¡°Sit there.¡±

    Ellion indicated a bench on the front row and Brin took a seat, then Ellion walked around to the lectern, as if he were going to give a sermon to an audience of one. Well, that was exactly what was happening.

    Maybe a year ago he¡¯d find it odd that in a town where stone was so rare and precious, there would be a massive stone structure in the middle of town, and it would be virtually empty most of the time, but now that he was here, it wasn¡¯t weird at all.

    Ellion was a good guy, but this ce could be a little intense sometimes.

    ¡°What is an Oath? Why do we have them?¡± asked Ellion.

    Brin thought about it. ¡°That¡¯s a really good question. You said sses aren¡¯t very, but Oaths sure are. Or, they can be. What if I went around kidnapping people and forcing them to take Oaths to obey me, and then had those people gather more victims? I could own this country in like, a month.¡±

    ¡°What you are describing is called Oath-very, and it is exactly what Oaths are <em>not</em> supposed to be. We swear by the gods, because Oaths are meant to be <em>for</em> the gods. We swear as a proof of our faith. Perhaps we swear to avoid a temptation that has been troubling us in order to increase our righteousness. Perhaps we will swear an Oath as a sacrifice to increase our faith. But always, it should be in service to the bond between men and gods. Do not use Oaths to enforce simple business contracts; this is a sacrilege.¡±

    At first, Ellion had kind of seemed like a <em>cool</em> priest, like a youth pastor who lightly nudged you in the right direction sometimes, but never at the cost of being too harsh or uncool. It turned out, Ellion was <em>extremely</em> dedicated, it was just that the things he was dedicated to were totally different that Brin had expected.

    ¡°If it doese into your head to build a tiny empire through the use of Oath-very, I will warn you: Do not. Do not think that your victims can protect you. I am authorized to remove unrighteous Oaths as a token of my service. Your own Oath-ves will be the first to condemn you to the chopping block.¡±

    ¡°You can <em>remove</em> Oaths?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I can. If you ever swear an Oath you regret,e to me. Perhaps I can remove it, sometimes I will mediate it, but often I willmand you to keep it. Do not swear careless Oaths.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°There is one other matter,¡± said Ellion.

    That couldn¡¯t be good. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°You have offended Anshar. This is unwise. You should make him an offering.¡±

    Brin gulped, looking around. ¡°What¡¯s Anshar the god of?¡±

    ¡°This is a silly question, and you know better. If I told you that Solia is the goddess of rivers, protection, and maternity, what would you say to that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say that you are vastly oversimplifying a being beyond yourprehension,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Just so. By that token then, think of Anshar as the god of conquest,¡± said Ellion. He gestured with one robed hand towards the offering bowl on a raised column.

    Brin thought carefully before he moved. Did he even care if Anshar hated him? Yes, he did. He wanted to grow and get stronger and defeat any enemies who came at him. That meant he wanted to conquer, at least to some degree.

    It wouldn¡¯t do toe at this half-heartedly. These gods were very real, and very present, and he shouldn¡¯t try to lie to them, even in his own mind. Did he actually feel penitent about how he¡¯d treated the god of conquest?

    He didn¡¯t regret letting Hogg give all the stuff back. He didn¡¯t want any of it in the first ce. That was the problem right there, though. He¡¯d stolen a bunch of stuff he didn¡¯t need or want, just to game the system. He didn¡¯t need Thief right away; there was no time limit with System Day like with the attribute achievements. Not that he¡¯d known that, but he could¡¯ve learned by asking around if he¡¯d cared to.

    He could¡¯ve waited to get the achievement and found a better target or figured out some kind of Robin Hood deal where he¡¯d be able to steal without viting his own sense of principles. Instead, he¡¯d just gone for it. It had been entirely selfish; he got the achievement, while the town might miss out on future caravans due to having a reputation for thievery. That much, he regretted.

    ¡°How much should I offer?¡±

    ¡°Everything you have with you, I should think,¡± said Ellion.

    Brin winced. Only five silver, but he¡¯d brought that money for the festival. Oh well, no use trying to cheat the gods.

    He bowed before the offering tray, and whispered. ¡°Anshar. By returning what I stole, I have stolen from you. I repent. Amen.¡±

    He ced his silver in the tray, and faintly felt the impression of an eye that had been staring angrily at his back suddenly turning away.

    Maybe it was his imagination.

    <em>IT WAS NOT HIS IMAGINATION. IT WAS REAL.</em>

    Brin shivered. Never doubt anything you see or feel in this ce. Got it.

    ¡°And perhaps something for Solia? You wouldn¡¯t want to seem ungrateful,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°I¡¯m out of money,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Borrow from me,¡± said Ellion and handed Brin a little corduroy bag with five silver inside.

    He didn¡¯t have to think long for this one.

    ¡°Blessed Solia. I am ovee with gratitude for the grace and mercy you have shown me. I apologize for my failings, and implore you to continue to watch over me. Amen.¡± He ced the offering in the bowl.

    He felt¡­ not much. A nod of eptance, perhaps? He wouldn¡¯t question it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d spot me another five silver for the festival, would you?¡± asked Brin, kind of joking.

    ¡°Of course!¡± said Ellion with a cheerful smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re a scary person, you know that?¡±

    Ellion waved. ¡°Please. Don¡¯t worry; you¡¯re a child. I will collect from Hogg.¡±

    ¡°Oh in that case¡­¡± Brin snatched a second corduroy bag from Ellion¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Onest thing, then you can be on your way,¡± said Ellion. ¡°I wonder if you would consider worshiping Solia.¡±

    Brin had figured Ellion would ask him this at some point, so he was ready with an answer. ¡°There¡¯s a relief sculpture of all the gods outside, in a pyramid. That one at the very top, he¡¯s the <em>real</em> god, right? The god of everything. It seems like he¡¯s the one I should worship.¡±

    Ellion nodded. ¡°And you will, through Solia. This wasn¡¯t your exact faith culture, but in your old world there were many who found it daunting to try to pray to the all-powerful Lord of everything. Instead, they worshiped the almighty with one of the righteous dead as an intermediary. The Saints, they call them. Perhaps you could think of Solia as one of these?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you make a pretty good point,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Did Solia tell you to say that?¡±

    ¡°She did.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    ¡°You will. Now run along and enjoy your festival day. I¡¯ve used enough of your time,¡± said Ellion, and waved him out the door.

    Brin bolted.

    He didn''t have long to think about Ellion''sst question. Davi was waiting for him outside the temple with Marksi.

    "So what happened?" Davi asked, before even saying hello. It took a minute for Brin to figure out what he was talking about. Right, Davi hadn''t seen him since he''d been exiled from town. He probably only learned what happened from hearsay.

    "The Prefit tried to pillory me. When Hogg showed up and said he couldn''t, he banned me from town for three days."

    Davi frowned angrily.

    Right, the big guy was a real rule-follower. He wouldn''t be happy to hear that Brin had trouble with thew, so it was natural that he''d want to side with the Prefit.

    "What a jerk," said Davi. "He has no idea what''s going on."

    "Wait, you''re taking my side?" asked Brin. That''s what it sounded like, but he wanted to be sure.

    Davi huffed. "Obviously. My best friend got grounded for three days, whose side should I be on?"

    "I''m your best friend?" asked Brin. That was a position with a lot of responsibility, and honestly he wasn''t sure if he was living up to it.

    "I''m at your house every single day. Who else would it be? Do you not--"

    "That''s not it!¡± Brin said in a rush. "Obviously you¡¯re <em>my</em> best friend. I just didn¡¯t want to take it for granted that I¡¯m your best friend. You¡¯re one of the town¡¯s golden children and the fact is that I''m¡­ kind of weird. You know?"

    "I''m weird, too. You''re the only one who doesn''t make me feel stupid for wanting to try my best. The adults like me I guess but they¡¯re always telling me to slow down and people our age call me a try-hard. Cole says I''m exhausting to be around. You don''t get exhausted. You pull me along behind you." Most people would be embarrassed or awkward in this kind of conversation, but Davi talked inly, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world, likementing on how the sky is blue or the grass is green.

    "Thanks," said Brin. "Those kids are stupid. You¡¯re one of the coolest people I¡¯ve ever met. And I don''t feel like I''m dragging you along. If anything, I just want to catch up to you."

    Davi pushed Brin''s shoulder. "Come on. Tell me the whole story."

    Brin told the story.

    He told the whole story, about how Tawna had done every little indirect and passive aggressive thing possible to screw with him, about how he''d hinted that it was possible that the [Witch] was a [Weaver], although he was very firm in the fact that he''d never actually used her of anything, or even brought her name up for that matter.

    He told the story, about how Hogg had given the Prefit an epic beatdown and how he''d been banned for 3 days. He even mentioned how the Prefit hade over and offered a half-apology. He omitted the stuff about sneaking into town and stealing stuff, of course, but he did talk about all the training Hogg had given him with attributes. Davi didn''t need the Dexterity, and it was a longshot for him to earn Mental Control, but he still found it all interesting.

    "You can get Mental Control from sitting around thinking about nothing? No wonder I don''t have very much," he said.

    ''It''s a bit moreplicated than that, but yeah. I should be a lot higher in Mental Control than I am," said Brin. He hesitated, but decided to say a little more. He couldn''t tell Davi everything, but he also wanted his friend to understand him at least a little better than he did. "I don''t know everything that happened to me before... you know. But I really have a strong feeling that Mental Control is supposed to be my strong suit. I don''t know why all my attributes were so low when I.... woke up. Maybe they were always low, or maybe something happened to get them taken away."

    Davi nodded gravely. "That makes sense."

    "No it doesn''t," Brin said. Then heughed. "I must sound crazy."

    Davi shrugged.

    Zilly found them next, and then he had to tell the entire story again. This time, he gave extra care to detail Zilly''s quick thinking and heroism in running to fetch Hogg, to her intense satisfaction.

    Marksi looked a little put out that his part in the story had been passed over, so Brin took great pains to y up Marksi''s role in helping him train his Dexterity and Mental Control, and then together they showed Zilly and Davi all themands that they''d taught each other. That was fine for Marksi¡¯smands to pick him up ande quickly, but then Marksi insisted on showing off how he could open doors and climb up to the top of a building with a rope in his mouth.

    "Huh. Those would be really useful for a [Rogue]," said Zilly.

    "Please. I''m not going to be a [Rogue]. I''m way too honest." For once, he was actually sort of telling the truth.

    Zilly giggled. "Sure, Brin."

    "That¡¯s exactly what a [Rogue] would say, though," said Davi.

    "You too, Davi?"

    Marksi was chirping furiously, and running around in circles. Clearly, he wanted Brin to talk about their awesome adventures sneaking around robbing people. For once, Brin was d that snakes couldn''t talk. "Are you hungry, Marksi? You know, I bet they''re selling those honey-coated grasshoppers."

    Sadly, that actually was a thing here. They trotted them out in ce of popcorn or roasted peanuts and sold them in little bark paper bags. They weren''t even that bad if he could trick his brain into forgetting he was eating bugs. Normally he avoided them, but if it would get Marksi''s mind off of Brin''s little omission, then it would be worth it.

    The adults were still mostly busy setting up, but ady had already set up a booth and was doing good business. Brin bought three bags for his friends. It worked like a charm. Marksi immediately dunked his head into his bag and didn¡¯t bothering up for air.

    He decided right there, that he was going to spend the rest of the day screwing around and having fun. A part of Brin screamed at him that he was wasting precious attribute-earning time, but he shoved it down. He could take one day off.

    Yeah, he was excited for System Day, but in two weeks his second and hopefullyst childhood would be officially over. He would probably miss days like this.

    They ran into Myra and Tawna soon after. Tawna scanned the group once, but then walked away without a word like she hadn¡¯t even noticed them.

    Myra approached timidly, no doubt wondering if they were going to have a fight. Well, you couldn¡¯t choose your parents. Besides, he¡¯d already decided to enjoy today. He could fight with Myra any other day.

    Brin held out his uneaten bag of grasshoppers. ¡°Want some¡­ what do you guys call these? Chapulines? I¡¯m cutting Marksi off.¡±

    She took them, and took them for the peace offering they were. ¡°Thanks.¡± She gave him a slight smile, then walked over next to Zilly. Of course Zilly got the wrong message and stared at Brin with a bright smile and a raised eyebrow. He shook his head at her.

    They wandered around town, yed a coin toss game with a group of kids, yed a beanbag game the adults set up. Brin saw some men ying a board game on the street and stopped to watch them y a game that looked like a cross between Go and Chess. They let him y the next round, and even though he lost quickly, he thought he really had a knack for it. The kids dragged him away before he could y again, but he promised himself he¡¯d get a set. Maybe Hogg could y.

    They watched one of Gustaff¡¯s movies, bought more snacks, yed more games, but mostly just clowned around. Myra didn¡¯t have any new barbs for him; even she must¡¯ve realized how ridiculous it was for her mom to try to get him pilloried.

    The day passed quicker than he expected, and as night began to fall,nterns were lit and the whole town descended on the square, now an impromptu dance hall.

    The men lined up on one side, wearing their best formal clothes. At once, they bowed to the women.

    The women were lined up on the other side. He saw Zilly and Myra there, with all the other women, each of them in their best formal dresses. They bowed back to the men.

    They approached each other until they were close enough to just barely grasp the tips of each other''s hands, and the dance began. The dance was fun, but it was ordered and civilized and painstakingly regimented. The children ran around in the darkness around the dancefloor,ughing and cavorting like animals.

    The symbolism of it hit him all at once. He¡¯d kind of know what it meant to be an adult in this town, but now it was written out inly before him.

    Soon, it wouldn¡¯t be so simple for him and Davi to spend a carefree afternoon with Zilly and Myra.

    Dating and courtship were very formal in this town. They didn¡¯t trust in idents of proximity; you had to go through the proper channels. It started with a conversation with the parents, and then every outing would be heavily supervised. Not that he cared about Myra, but Zilly was his friend. He had no interest in actually courting Zilly, but if he didn¡¯t go through those channels, hanging around her at all would be seen as highly suspect.

    Things would be different from now on. There was a lot to look forward to, but things would be different.

    The circles shifted, and now Zilly was the one holding his hand. She smiled brightly at him, and made a mocking ¡°O¡± of surprise when she noticed that he didn¡¯t stumble his steps. Nothing had changed with her yet, at least. She was still just Zilly, and enjoying the moment. Heughed.

    A bittersweet moment, and a fitting end to his night, and his childhood.

 Book 3: Chapter 9

    Book 3: Chapter 9

    The next day, Brin had been nning on setting off to fight a monster, but Hogg suggested another idea over breakfast. ¡°I had an idea for how you could knock out thosest three points in Mental Control. What¡¯s your background in math?¡±

    Brin wasn¡¯t a huge lover of mathematics, but he¡¯d taken enough to get through his degree. Algebra, Calculus, and Discrete Mathematics. He wasn¡¯t certain, but he¡¯d be willing to bet that was more than they had here. ¡°I¡¯m pretty confident, honestly. Why, can you train Mental Control by learning math? I don¡¯t know if that¡¯ll work for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes. You can also get Mental Control as a feat, for proving that you know it. I have two tests, they should give you one each, but you have to get a perfect score,¡± said Hogg. ¡°After that, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to get thest one with meditation.¡±

    Would that really work? If so, this would be the first time he could remember his past life gave him a real, measurable advantage. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡±

    So instead of fighting monsters, Brin spent the entire day with a math primer. He was right that math wasn¡¯t as advanced here, or at least that the math Hogg wanted him to do wasn¡¯t as difficult as his university courses. They heavily emphasized geometry, and had algebra which shouldn¡¯t be surprising, since you¡¯d have a hard time understanding the System without even a little bit of algebra, but it never approached calculus.

    It was still harder than he expected, though. He had to learn a brand new notation, he was using new numbers, and while he recognized the numbers, he couldn¡¯t put them together on instinct the way he could with the numbers he was used to.

    The primer went into great depth in Geometry, focusing on practical applications. The practice questions wouldn¡¯t simply ask for the missing angle of a triangle, it would ask how to calcte a ship''s location based on its speed and the location of the stars, or calcte the height of a tree based on the length of its shadow.

    There was also arge emphasis on Newtonian physics. Calcting forces, estimating power and impact. He didn¡¯t miss the implications here. The System did a lot of work in quantifying things like Strength with numbers. This math could help someone figure how Strong a person would need to be to throw a spear that could break your shield, or how fast an arrow needs to fly to break through a Mage¡¯s barrier. It¡¯s possible that high-levelbat had lots of people doing these kinds of calctions on the fly, as hard as that was to imagine. These calctions would especially be more valuable to someone with a magical ss. He wondered how much Lumina actually ran the numbers, or if she could just fire her spells off and let magic do the rest.

    In his past life, he¡¯d rarely done homework and barely studied for his math sses, preferring instead to procrastinate and then cram at thest minute. C¡¯s get degrees. But this time, he needed to get a perfect score.

    He took his time, and went over the material again and again, making sure he had each step mastered before moving on. He didn¡¯t get to the point where he felt he was ready by the end of the day, but that was fine. This was thest threshold he could realistically get over, aside from Strong II, and he had the entire two weeks.

    The next morning, Davi came over. They went through their usual exercise routine, not that they had any real reason other than habit, since Davi already had Strong II and Brin was hoping the monster hunting achievement would push him over. Hogg had implied that it would, and Brin was counting on it.

    Brin made breakfast, biscuits and gravy. They had all the ingredients for it already; it was only a matter of putting it all together.

    ¡°I have to admit, this isn¡¯t half bad,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°It¡¯s good,¡± Davi said through a mouthful. ¡°But I¡¯m surprised you made this. It¡¯s basically pork yogurt on rolls.¡±

    Brin gasped. ¡°You take that back!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Hogg chuckled.

    ¡°It¡¯s not even close. You eat the yogurt <em>cold</em>,¡± Brin spoke with a mournful tone, remembering the trauma of seeing someone eat something really gross. ¡°There¡¯s a solidyer of fat from the pork on top. It¡¯s hard, and you break it up with your spoon and mix it in.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the best part,¡± said Davi. ¡°Although this really isn¡¯t all that bad served warm.¡±

    Brin sighed and took a bite. It <em>was</em> good. They even had a decent ck pepper here. He wouldn¡¯t let the unwashed heathens ruin this for him.

    ¡°So what¡¯s your n for today?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Brin. A person couldn¡¯t do math all day or they¡¯d go crazy. He¡¯d take a break, he decided, and do his homework in the afternoon. This wasn¡¯t procrastinating. This was <em>mental health</em>. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll head into town for a bit. Actually, I had an idea.¡±

    He went back into his bedroom, and took out a heavy ck sword he¡¯d kept under his bed. A souvenir that Hogg let him keep. He could pick it up with little effort now, though it was still too heavy to be practical as a weapon.

    Davi¡¯s eyes widened as Brin returned.

    ¡°Is that¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin. ¡°It¡¯s a sword from one of the undead that Hogg killed. He let me keep it.¡±

    It was actually the sword Brin had used to kill a whole team of undead, but telling that story would give away Hogg¡¯s secret.

    Davi blinked at it, chewing on his lip. ¡°Everyone¡¯s heard by now that there¡¯s undead out there. And I never heard anyone say they didn¡¯t believe it, Hogg¡¯s not the type to lie about something like that. But seeing a real sword like this¡­ now I <em>really</em> believe it. You know?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Even for me, it¡¯s easy to forget once I get caught up in the normal routine,¡± said Brin. ¡°I was wondering, Hogg, did you ever get someone to look at these? Try and figure out where they came from?¡±

    ¡°Of course I did. What do you take me for?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You know what? Take it to Toros. Ask him to tell you what he told me. Davi isn¡¯t the only one who could use a reminder,¡± said Hogg.

    That worked for Brin. His main goal here was to have something to do that wasn¡¯t math.

    He and Davi walked into town, Marksi darting through the trees nearby. The snake was getting bolder; where before he stayed on Brin¡¯s shoulders whenever they left the house, he would now dart into the forest and only reappear several minutester.

    In town he and Davi went directly to Toros¡¯ ce. The short, muscr man was bent over his work table, etching at a purple gemstone, with his goggles over his eyes. They weren¡¯t the usual ck ss from before, instead they were clear and clearly magnified, so his eyes looked twice asrge as normal. The goggles must be able to switch out lenses.

    Toros stood when he noticed them enter.

    ¡°Davi, Brin, what brings you in?¡±

    ¡°I was hoping you could take a look at this. Hogg wants me to hear what you told him,¡± said Brin. He put the heavy ck sword on an empty worktable.

    Toros'' eyes grew more serious, and he stroked his beard with a leather glove. ¡°I see. What do you know about cksteel?¡±

    ¡°Not a thing,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s stronger than steel, but also much heavier,¡± Davi offered. ¡°It¡¯s cheap, too, but so heavy we only use it for things we never n on moving, like stakes for fence posts.¡±

    Toros nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Doesn¡¯t hold enchantments very well, either. I can make it easy as pie, but it¡¯s not my go-to for anything, really. Regr steel is better for most things, unless weight really won''t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°For example, if you¡¯re outfitting an army of super-strong undead soldiers,¡± said Brin.

    Toros nodded seriously. ¡°The important thing here is how cksteel is made. Unlike most esoteric metals, you don¡¯t need a ss to make cksteel. You can make it by taking regr iron, pounding it into dust, then bond it together with Enfula, then pound it to dust again. Over and over, until it stops being so brittle. Then you melt the ingots and pour it into a mold, shaped like whatever you wish. After that, all you need is a bit of sharpening.¡±

    ¡°To be honest, that doesn¡¯t sound the best,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the best,¡± agreed Toros. ¡°But it¡¯s good enough. More importantly, you can mass produce it if you have a lot of free, unskilledbor.¡±

    ¡°For example, if you had a giant army of undead,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s the way it looks,¡± said Toros.

    ¡°Onest question,¡± asked Brin. ¡°Can you tell how long ago this was made?¡±

    ¡°Less than three years, I¡¯d wager,¡± said Toros. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind leaving it here, maybe I could take another look. It¡¯s starting to itch at me that this happened almost a year ago and we still don¡¯t know anything.¡±

    ¡°Be my guest,¡± said Brin.

    They left him to it and Toros went back to working on his gemstone, but the sword stilly prominently on the main worktable. Brin already knew where he wanted to go next, but Davi might not agree so he just started walking.

    Davi asked, ¡°So what¡¯s that mean?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s two big possibilities for the undead army, and they''re both horrible. One is that some random [Witch] discovered a Burrow City. That means they have millions of undead at their disposal, but nothing else. I think the fact that they have to mass-produce cheap weapons points to that.

    ¡°The other possibility is that the undead are from the Queendom of Arcaena. The special high level troops I saw with the Heroes points to that, but then where are these other undeading from? And what are they even doing here?¡±

    ¡°We should ask Gustaff,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Gustaff?¡± To Brin, the other [Illusionist] was basically aflix. He¡¯d never really thought about actually <em>talking</em> to the man even though after Jeffrey and Hogg, Gustaff was probably the most well-traveled person in town. ¡°I doubt he¡¯d know anything that Hogg doesn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°What does Hogg think it is?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°He goes back and forth,¡± said Brin.

    They walked in silence for a bit. Past the town square, already back to the regr grassy field.

    Davi noticed where they were walking and asked, ¡°Why are we going to the public house?¡±

    ¡°Not there. Next door,¡± said Brin.

    Davi stopped. ¡°Perris¡¯ ce?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah. The caravan just came through town. I want to see if he has anything new,¡± said Brin.

    Davi gulped, then noticeably steeled himself. He nodded, and they kept walking. At the front door, he paused outside and took a deep breath.

    ¡°Oh,e on! He doesn¡¯t bite,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I do!¡± Perris called from inside. ¡°But rarely hard enough to break the skin. Come in.¡±

    Davi followed him inside, but eyed the adventurer¡¯s tools and armor warily, as if something were about to jump out at him.

    Marksi slithered up to Brin and made the hup sound that meant he wanted to be picked up. Brin did, but then Marksi changed his mind and leapt over to Davi. Once secure in therger boy¡¯s arms, he turned to Perris and <em>hissed</em>.

    ¡°Oho! Grew some spine, did we? Maybe you¡¯ve got some new skills you¡¯ve been showing off? Well, don¡¯t be too proud of yourself. You¡¯re still only <em>barely</em> useful.¡±

    Brin squinted at Perris. How much did that guy know? Did he know Marksi could open locked doors now? Or was he referring to something else? Perris only crooked an eyebrow, looking back. Well, it¡¯s not like he could ask with Davi here. He¡¯d have to drop it for now.

    He eyed the wares as he approached the counter; he¡¯d never been in here with value sense before. Pickaxes, canteens, leather boots, their prices were pretty close to their actual worth. The swords in the enchanted ss case, though, were only selling for about half what they were worth. Being in the frontier really was difficult for those selling high-value goods. No wonder everyone was so anxious to get a caravan here.

    Brin put his elbows down on the counter. ¡°So what did you get?¡±

    Perris stroked the polished end of his mustache. ¡°My boy, whatever could you mean?¡±

    ¡°A merchant caravan came through herest week, so there¡¯s <em>no way</em> you didn¡¯t get anything cool. Come on, you old viin, out with it,¡± said Brin.

    Davi looked at Brin with wide eyes, and even took a step back. Honestly though, there was a certain way Perris liked to be talked to, so Davi might as well see it in action if he ever wanted to be able to shop here.

    Perrisughed in maniacal glee. ¡°Happy to! Delighted to, in fact. Because unlike you, I had <em>full reign</em> of the merchant¡¯s caravan for the entire duration of their stay. Oh, but not to fear, I¡¯ll sell you what I got. At a <em>significant markup.</em>¡±

    Brin stroked a finger across Perris¡¯ counter, then examined his finger, pretending to be disgusted at the dust that wasn¡¯t there. ¡°I¡¯m sure you heard of the incident that preceded that? Where Hogg beat up a high level [Warrior]... <em>for me?</em> It would be a shame if something happened to your little shop here.¡±

    Perris titled his head back as if struck. ¡°Is that a threat?¡±

    ¡°Of course¡­¡± Brin let the word hang in the air for a full five seconds before ending with, ¡°...not.¡±

    Perris smiled. ¡°Good. You¡¯re learning.¡± He wiped a fake tear from his eye. ¡°They told me you were growing up, but I didn¡¯t believe it until right this moment. But enough of that. Feast your eyes on this!¡±

    Perris lifted a heavily gilded ss bottle from under the counter. The green ss held a liquid that looked to be a heavenly light blue, with abel in flowing letters that were hard to read. Quennochet? Guerrochet?

    The bottle was impressive, and his value sense appraised it for an eye-popping one hundred and twenty gold.

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy. Who would pay more than a hundred gold for a drink?¡± asked Brin.

    Even Davy overcame his fear long enough to step forward and eye the bottle with awe.

    ¡°What an interesting achievement you must have, to know how much this costs,¡± said Perris. ¡°Yes, one hundred and twenty-two gold. This bottlees from the winery that serves the royal family of Ond, and I promise you this: I¡¯m going to sell it for <em>full price</em>.¡±

    ¡°Not to me. Come on, you know I don¡¯t have any taste,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ah well, such is the weakness of youth,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°Come on! Show me the cool stuff!¡±

    Perris did have quite a few new interesting little trinkets. No new weapons, though. Perris wasn¡¯t in the business of buying weapons since Toros already made more than he could sell.

    Brin left the store with a bottle of anti-venom, a little enchanted cylinder that could make a candle-sized me, basically a lighter, and the board game he¡¯d seen the adults ying at the festival. It was called Jogosa, apparently, and Davi imed he knew how to y.

    As soon as they exited the store, Davi looked around, and when he saw they were alone, asked. ¡°You¡¯ve been shopping from Perris for a while. Adventuring stuff?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Are you going for Monster Hunter?¡±

    So that was the name of the achievement. Of course Davi would know about it. Was it safe to talk about it, or would discussing it weaken the rewards? Well, probably it was fine to talk with Davi, since he also didn¡¯t have a ss yet.

    ¡°I am,¡± Brin admitted.

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°I can afford to, for one thing. I have all Perris¡¯ best stuff, and he thinks I have pretty good odds. I just know that if I don¡¯t take the risk, I¡¯ll regret it for the rest of my life,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°And Hogg is ok with this?¡±

    ¡°Hogg could stop me if he wanted to. He knows I¡¯m going to try and hasn¡¯t said anything,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°How are you going to do it? Do you know how to find the monsters?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Brin said. ¡°I was just going to set out and hope I get lucky. It might take a couple days.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid. What if you run into a chimera or something? You should ask a [Hunter] where the weakest monsters are,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°They¡¯d never tell me. It¡¯s probably illegal. They¡¯d go straight to the Prefit, and he¡¯d lock me away until after System Day,¡± said Brin. ¡°But¡­ you do have a point. They would know. They just wouldn¡¯t tell me. Who¡¯s out on patrol this week?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know all of them, but [Hunter] Tiago is out this week for sure,¡± said Davi. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Do you know where he lives?¡±

    It turned out, Davi did know, so they went over together. The house was in a narrow corner street, sort of a back apartment that you could only get to by walking through a sidestreet that was almost an alleyway. Brin walked straight by the house, marking it in his memory forter.

    It was strange to him that he was even considering this. Hadn¡¯t he felt so guiltyst time that he¡¯d ended up offending a god? Only this time was different. There was something in there that he <em>actually</em> wanted. Hopefully. And he didn¡¯t actually n on stealing anything, just having a bit of a look around. No one would ever know he was there.

    He stopped and looked around. It was right in the middle of the workday, about two hours after lunch, so there really weren¡¯t that many people around. Yes, it would be smarter toe back tonight¡­ but he didn¡¯t want to. And this house was in the <em>perfect</em> ce for going in and out without anyone seeing.

    ¡°Hold my stuff,¡± he said to Davi before he could second guess himself.

    ¡°Wait!¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Calm down. All you have to do is stand by the street here. If anyonees by, just say hello to them. I¡¯ll hear it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± said Davi, as Brin pushed his things into Davi¡¯s hands and took back Marksi.

    He walked down to the door, and mimed like he was going to knock on the door, while looking left and right to see if anyone could see him. There was no-one around. He tapped on the door, and Marksi slithered inside, then unlocked it from the other side.

    Brin walked in. The front room was clearly not meant for visitors. Ayer of dusty on all the furniture, speaking of someone who wasn¡¯t home often, and didn¡¯t do much cleaning when he was home. A pair of gleaming ck horns were mounted on a wall, no doubt a prize from an especially hard-to-kill beastie. A skinned hide covered the floor, and the only other furniture was a writing desk made of raw wood. It was extremely rustic-looking, which may have been a deliberate choice, considering how easy it was to get something better around here.

    It felt wrong to be in here, in someone¡¯s personal space without an invitation. Wrong, but exciting. <em>No</em>, he told himself. He would <em>not </em>develop a taste for this sort of thing. This was thest time.

    Inside the desk, Brin saw a bunch of folded barkpaper letters. He opened one.<blockquote>

    Date:

    Hunter:

    ? Dense copse

    ? Snake cave

    ? Spinewolf den

    ? Spider nest

    ? Thick brush

    ? Stone dam

    ? Red clearing</blockquote>

    Were those locations? He found six papers with the exact same list on them. A form to fill out after a patrol, he guessed. The seventh however, had a bit more information, written with a different hand.<blockquote>

    Date: 8th of Sommerset

    Hunter: Tiago

    ? Dense copse - clear

    ? Snake cave - clear

    ? Spinewolf den - 2 spinewolves, pups

    ? Spider nest - clear

    ? Thick brush - 3 small spiders

    ? Stone dam - not checked

    ? Red clearing - clear</blockquote>

    Those were definitely locations. They had to be locations that the [Hunters] checked regrly, probably because monsters tended to congregate there. Spinewolves, those didn¡¯t sound fun. And how small was ¡°small¡± for those spiders? Dog-sized, like the one he¡¯d seen? Hopefully they didn¡¯t get bigger than that.

    ¡°Hello there, miss!¡± Davi said from outside. Too loud. Suspicious sounding. Whoever it was, they got drawn into a conversation with the bigd, but Brin knew he should hurry and finish here.

    He had a list of locations, but he didn¡¯t know where they were. He kept digging around, until he found an old piece of bark paper, with some kind of drawing. A map, he thought, but he couldn¡¯t make it out. It had letters in random ces. DC, SC, SD--those could stand for dense copse, snake cave, and spiderwolf den, but he couldn¡¯t figure out where they were in rtion to the town. Then he noticed the one written-out word. ¡°Hogg¡¯s ce - avoid.¡±

    If that¡¯s where the hut was, then that meant this part was the town¡­ He had it. He put everything back and walked over to lock the front door. Then he went around back.

    This was the risky part, he had no way to look ahead to see if anyone would see him as he exited towards the sewage canal. He stepped out, looked around, panic rising in his chest¨Cbut nothing.

    It was possible someone had seen him and simply hadn¡¯t thought anything of it. After all, people didn¡¯t randomly break into houses in the middle of the day, right? So rather than look around and scan the windows, which would definitely look suspicious, he just walked down the canal until he could wrap around to where Davi was.

    Whoever he had been talking to was gone, and he was standing at the entrance to the sidestreet, looking flushed and sweating heavily. He sagged in relief when he saw Brining from the other way.

    ¡°Thanks, man.¡±

    ¡°Any time, Brin.¡±

    ¡°I know this was asking a lot. I promise I¡¯ll find a way to pay you back. Actually¡­ you could use the equipment I bought just as easily as me. After I get it, would you want to¨C¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Davi. ¡°Not for me.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. Smart, probably,¡± said Brin. Honestly, he was relieved. He could risk his own life, but he didn¡¯t know if he could forgive himself for risking Davi¡¯s life.

    Now he had everything he needed. As soon as he finished Hogg¡¯s math tests, he would set out.

    That afternoon, Brin dove back into his studies. In his other life, he¡¯d sworn the day he graduated that he¡¯d never study for a test ever again. Yet here he was.

    It wasn¡¯t miserable work, in fact he felt pretty confident that he¡¯d be able to handle it. But he wanted to be sure to do this right, so he forced himself to concentrate even though there were about a hundred things he¡¯d rather be doing.

    He got a notification right as he finished for the night.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Mental Control +1

    Nice. He only needed two more, and he¡¯d get those from the tests. No more meditation needed.

    He was running out of excuses. He was really going to have to face the monsters, and as much as he tried to put a brave face on it, he had to admit it: He was stalling. There was no reason he needed Mental Control before he fought monsters. It just gave him something else to do while he put it off.

    A coin flip: that was what Perris had said. A coin flip, with his life on the line. A fifty percent chance that he¡¯de out of this alive with a shiny new achievement, and a fifty percent chance that he¡¯d die. What kind of idiot took those odds?

    Even stupider was the fact that he <em>knew</em> he was going to do it. He didn¡¯t want to call it fate; there was no invisible hand pulling him there. It was only that he knew himself. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to talk himself out of it. What were all those hours spent working twice as hard as everyone else, if not for this? One more day, and he would conquer or die. Either way, he wouldn¡¯t have any regrets.

 Book 3: Chapter 10

    Book 3: Chapter 10

    The next day, Davi came over again for their workout and breakfast again, and he stuck around for a bit to y Jogosa. Davi won the first three games handily. It was surprising how good he was, actually. Brin had never thought he was dumb exactly, but he¡¯d also never pegged the big guy as a tactical thinker.

    By the fourth Brin was starting to get the hang of it. He won the fifth game, but then Davi won the sixth game.

    Davi gained a point in Mental Control for it, and left soon after. Brin asked Hogg to y a game, and was surprised when he said yes.

    Hoggpletely obliterated Brin. It was great. He already had ideas on how to do better next game.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have something better to do?¡± Hogg said, looking pointedly at the math primers.

    Brin sighed. ¡°I guess.¡±

    He gave it two hours of solid effort, but then let himself get distracted by lunch. After that, well, he really didn¡¯t want to get started again.

    ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you promise to show me how to use the sword?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, yeah, but honestly we¡¯re this close to System Day, we might as well wait and see what you get. Swords might not even be the best weapon for you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It takes years to master the sword. Not something you can do in a day.¡±

    ¡°Can you get a basic foundation in a day, though?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg tilted his head side to side while he thought it over. ¡°Might be a good idea. Alright, meet me out front.¡±

    Brin waited in the clearing outside the house, and Hogg joined him a momentter, carrying two of the cksteel swords the undead had carried.

    ¡°Make no mistake, these are still too heavy for you. But if we¡¯re doing this, you might as well get a workout,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now. Do this.¡±

    Hogg ced his feet in a forward stance and pulled the sword back to a ready position. Then he walked over and adjusted Brin¡¯s feet and elbows until he was satisfied.

    ¡°Remember that chop I had you do when we were running from the army?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Brin. It was crazy to think of how much he¡¯d grown since that day. This sword that he could barely lift was barely a burden to him now.

    ¡°Do me a favor and forget all that,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It was all you could do to get the sword in the air back then. A real downward strike looks like this.¡± He moved slowly into a two-handed chop.

    Brin moved to copy it, and again, Hogg adjusted his form until he was satisfied.

    Brin went through the motion again and again. Repetition is the mother of learning, or so they say.

    Hogg urged him to chop faster and faster. ¡°You need to count on fighting enemies that are faster than you. Every blow needs to be as quick as you can make it.¡±

    His arms were burning five minutes into it, and after ten minutes, Hogg was satisfied. ¡°Alright, now do this.¡±

    He showed Brin how to sh from the side, and they went through all the steps again. When he mastered that, they went on to the next motion. Brin learned to sh from each side, cut upwards, and then thrust.

    ¡°The thrust is the most important. There are enemies you won¡¯t be able to cut but who can still be pierced. Step forward with this one, you¡¯ll want to give it all the power you can muster.¡±

    Then Hogg had him put them all together. Down, left, right, up, thrust.

    ¡°Yes! Combo attack!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so happy. This isn¡¯t going to work against a real opponent. We¡¯re just practicing your form,¡± said Hogg.

    This time, Hogg stepped forward with his sword in the ready position. ¡°Against me, this time.¡±

    Brin struck with as much strength and speed as he could from the getgo; there was no use holding back against Hogg.

    The older man blocked every blow, easily, just as Brin expected him to.

    ¡°Again. Faster,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin did his best toply.

    He practiced again and again, until the minutes turned into an hour and he thought his arms were going to fall off. Hitting Hogg with the heavy cksteel sword felt like he was striking an anvil, and he¡¯d grown bruises on his palms.

    ¡°Good enough,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now it¡¯s time to learn to block.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s sword came down from above, and it was all Brin could do to get it up in time. He managed to stop the blow, no doubt because Hogg let him, but the old guy went straight into the next one, and the next one, relentless. Brin blocked most of them, but any time his form was even a little bit off, Hogg knocked the sword straight out of his hands.

    By the time Hogg finally let him go, Brin was happy to get back to something as simple as math. He literally couldn¡¯t lift the sword anymore; Hogg had to bring it back inside.

    When he got back and sketched some math problems into a bark paper writing pad, his hands were shaking so much it was barely legible.

    He put it down, and focused on rubbing some life back into them instead.

    ¡°By the way. Don¡¯t go around telling people you know how to use the sword now. You don¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin chuckled. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Hogg suddenly looked pained. ¡°But¡­ I have to admit. You did pretty good out there. I thought you¡¯d give up after ten minutes. You¡¯re no swordsman, but you¡¯ve got the basics. When we met I figured you¡¯d get [Rogue] or possibly some kind of ss that¡¯s intellectual like [Philosopher]. Now, though, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you really do get [Warrior].¡±

    ¡°Th-thanks,¡± said Brin. Hogg was pretty stingy withpliments, which meant that Brin would probably end up remembering this one for the rest of his life. He really had worked hard, hadn¡¯t he?

    He looked down at his math homework. Yeah, that wasn¡¯t happening. He stood up to go sit next to the coffee table, where they¡¯d left the Jogosa game. He looked up at Hogg with puppy dog eyes.

    He hadn¡¯t been <em>that</em> into chess back in his old world, but he had been addicted to games, and now that he¡¯d been reintroduced to one he¡¯d awoken a deep hunger for them.

    ¡°Oh, fine,¡± said Hogg, and pulled a stool over to the other side.

    Brin made the first move, predicting that Hogg would use the same strategy fromst time. Hogg did somethingpletely different that left Brin scratching his chin.

    ¡°What¡¯s ss selection like? Can I ask?¡±

    ¡°Well, I was nning on having this conversation a little closer to the night before System Day, but there¡¯s no real reason I can¡¯t tell you now.¡±

    Brin perked up, extremely interested.

    ¡°Most people get offered two sses. One is [Child]. If you really don¡¯t like your choices, you can take [Child], and you¡¯ll have better options next year. It really is a valid option. No one will look down on you for taking it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Can you¡ª¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t get the pre-System Day achievements that way,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Shoot. Worth a shot,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Everyone will also be offered at least one Common ss. Most people will have two or three. For me, I could¡¯ve chosen from six, but only one was a real temptation,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What was it?¡±

    ¡°[Smoker]. They can do stuff with smoke. Also, lung protection,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°No offense, but I think you made the right choice,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Sometimes I wonder about that,¡± said Hogg.

    Something about the term [Smoker] made Brin picture young Hogg as a stoner. Hogg smoked a pipe asionally, but not more than once a week or so. Had he toned it down for health reasons? Was this the origin story for Hogg¡¯s gravelly voice?

    Brin stared at the board. He seemed to be doing really well, but he didn¡¯t really understand what Hogg was up to. What was he missing? He moved his queen. Hogg moved to block and¨C oh. He was three turns away from losing. Could he turn it around?

    Hogg talked while Brin stared at the board. ¡°Some people get offered a Rare ss. I don¡¯t need to exin to you why they¡¯re worth taking, so let me tell you the exceptions instead. Remember to ask what the pre-evolutions are. If you get offered [Knight], ask if you can have [Squire] instead. If you get offered [Mage], ask if you can have [Student of Magic]. You¡¯ll still end up with the more advanced ss eventually, but you¡¯ll be <em>much </em>better off for it in the long run. Some sses aren¡¯t worth it, though, and don¡¯t bother with Common sses. [Tinker] to [Smith], for example. Don¡¯t take [Tinker] unless you like to [Tinker].¡±

    ¡°I can remember that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Next¡­¡± Hogg looked down, clenched his jaw, then looked back up. ¡°Don¡¯t take an evil ss, alright? It¡¯s not just [Witch]. There are plenty of sses that are predisposed towards the unsavory.¡±

    ¡°Can a ss really <em>make</em> you evil?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No. But actually, yes. The gods won¡¯t take away your freedom, but you can take it away from yourself. There are sses that bend your mind, that remove yourpassion, that give you dark appetites. Maybe you think you have the willpower to resist those appetites. Well, good for you. Resist taking the ss in the first ce and make it easier on yourself.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t see a way out in this game. Hogg had him beat. He made a random move, hoping that maybe something he hadn¡¯t noticed would save him. Hogg¡¯s next move surrounded Brin¡¯s citadel. Sure, they could y it out, but the game was basically over. He started setting up the board to y again.

    ¡°How will I know if a ss is evil?¡±

    ¡°There are obvious things I could say. Don¡¯t take gue sses. Don¡¯t take anything pre-undead. But honestly? Just look at them. The System isn¡¯t going to hide anything from you. Evil sses will look evil. If you take the ss, expect to be the kind of thing that you¡¯re looking at. I know I¡¯m talking in vagaries here, but the process is a little different for everyone. If you¡¯re ever in doubt, find out what you have to do to gain experience.¡±

    Brin was doing better this game. He gave up on long-term strategy and tried to capture as many of Hogg¡¯s pieces as he could, something that Hogg was finding very frustrating from the long pauses he kept taking.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t everyone get experience the same way? Killing monsters? Except people with Common sses, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Except ny percent of people, you mean? You can get experience from killing, but for the most part you get experience from doing what your ss is for. There¡¯s power in that. Lots of sses that seem worthless will turn out extremely powerful due to how easy or fun they are to level up. [Gambler], for one. Nobles will generally try to get a magical ss due to the prestige, but it¡¯s absurd how many high-level [Phnderers] there are in the upper echelons.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Nope. Get a ss doing something you like to do, that¡¯s rule number one. On the flip-side, some sses are strong, but hard to level. [Assassin], for example. On the surface, it looks like it¡¯s an advancement from [Rogue] in every way. Well, there¡¯s a problem with that. [Rogues] can gain experience from all kinds of things. [Assassins] have to kill people, and <em>only</em> people¨Cmonsters are no good. If you ever meet a high-level [Assassin], it¡¯s because they spent years and years leveling up as a [Rogue], and then changed their ss once the levels weren¡¯ting fast enough to be worth it any more.¡±

    There was still a rebellious part of Brin that wanted [Witch], just to prove that he could handle it without turning into a psychopath. Before Hogg¡¯s change in attitude, that had started to seem like a good option. Now, though, it sounded like a whole lot of extra trouble for no good reason. Well, maybe he wouldn¡¯t even get the choice. He couldn¡¯t know until System Day.

    They yed a few games more, and Brin studied the rest of the day.

    The next morning, Brin took both tests. They weren¡¯t exactly easy, but the questions were very simr to the ones in the primer. He didn¡¯t even need Hogg to score them to know he¡¯d gotten a perfect score.

    For your feat of mental discipline, you have been awarded the following. Mental Control +1

    For your feat of mental discipline, you have been awarded the following. Mental Control +1

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Disciplined I (Common) You have reached 26 Mental Control +10% focus and concentration + 10% Mental Control attribute growth

    <strong></strong>

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Workhorse (Rare) Now gives you: +1 Mental Control per level.

    When he shut the book, Hogg gave him a long, steady look that seemed tomunicate trust, but not a little worry.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be busy today. Entertain yourself or whatever. I won¡¯t be watching.¡±

    It was today. Today he was finally going to kill a monster.

    When he¡¯d nned this out in his mind, somehow he¡¯d always pictured it happening at night. Obviously that was stupid. Why make it harder on himself? He was already doing something dangerous; he needed every advantage he could get. Even if night would¡¯ve been more romantic.

    At least the sky wasn¡¯t blue; it was the color of a moody gray, like it hadn¡¯t decided yet if it wanted to rain or not and it was still grumpy from being woken up so early.

    He carefully put on the leather armor. He hadn¡¯t even thought about a helmet, but Perris included it. The armor felt solid. Strong. He looked at himself in the mirror, and saw a young warrior staring back. Excited, he strapped one sword to his back, and put the other in a sheath at his belt. The one on the back would be harder to pull quickly, but two at the sheath would be too awkward. It would have to do.

    He put the rest of the items he¡¯d prepared in a backpack. It didn¡¯t take long at all to get ready. Minutes. He felt like it should¡¯ve taken longer. He walked out the door.

    Marksi came along beside him. Would he get a better achievement if Marksi stayed home?

    ¡°Marksi, I¡¯m going to do something dangerous. You¡¯d better¨C¡±

    That was the wrong thing to say. The snake shed up his back and wriggled around his neck so tightly he almost couldn¡¯t breathe.

    ¡°You cane!¡± he gasped. Then when Marksi loosened up a little, he continued. ¡°But you¡¯re going to stay safe. <em>I¡¯m</em> fighting the monsters. You¡¯re going to hang back. Actually, let¡¯s do this.¡±

    Brin took a minute and taught Marksi that when he yelled, ¡°Run!¡± Marksi was supposed to get away as fast as possible, and not return until Brin called him back. He stayed until he was sure Marksi would listen.

    Then he was out of excuses. It was time to move.

    Thest thing to decide was where he¡¯d check for monsters first. He figured that the ces that [Hunter] had cleared most recently would be the least likely to have new monsters. Or would it be the most likely? He didn¡¯t know why monsters returned to the same spot, or if they really even did. He didn¡¯t even know where monsters came from. Were they justrger-than-average beasts, or did the word monster indicate there was something magical about them?

    He hadn¡¯t made it far when he saw a female figure standing in the middle of the road. Long ck hair, clothes fit for a princess, and a surprisingly pretty face when it wasn¡¯t in the middle of a scowl. Just the sight of her made his stomach clench with irritation and anxiety.

    ¡°I would have a word with you,¡± said [Weaver] Tawna.

 Book 3: Chapter 11

    Book 3: Chapter 11

    Brin wondered why it had never urred to him that Tawna might actually want to kill him. That she hated him was clear, but if she¡¯d actually wanted him dead, she would¡¯ve made her move before now, right? Or maybe she was waiting for the opportunity. This was the perfect one.

    He thought about the sword of speed at his side, priming himself to grab it and then run away. As much as he loved the idea of cutting her through right here and now, he was under no illusions that he could win. He had no idea how high a level she was, but it had to be high. No, he couldn¡¯t fight. He wouldn¡¯t even try.

    He stopped fifteen paces away from her. ¡°You¡¯ve never had a problem telling me what you think in town. Why follow me all the way out here? Unless you had something else in mind.¡±

    ¡°Tempting. But no. You are in no danger from me,¡± said Tawna.

    Brin put his hand on his sword, where he could get to the trigger mechanism quickly. ¡°You don¡¯t seem worried about being in danger from me.¡± It was a bluff, and probably a stupid one, but if she did mean to kill him he¡¯d rather she make her move now while he was ready.

    ¡°Fool boy,¡± she said quietly. Then she raised her voice. ¡°I do not leave the vige often, and when I do I am never unprepared.¡±

    She raised a hand, and a breeze went through the forest. The grass stirred, the leaves on the trees shook, and the trees themselves bent slightly. The wind started a hundred yards behind her and passed down the road, past her, and then past him so he could really feel what was going on.

    There was no wind. She was moving the world with her Skills. Maybe she could bend anything even vaguely thread-like, or maybe she¡¯d covered the area in tiny little threads that she used to move everything else. Either way, the message was clear.

    ¡°Never fear, if I wanted to, I could twist your pretty little head clean off,¡± said Tawna.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m pretty?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Ah, you seek to test my patience. I have practice with this; you test my patience with every breath you breathe.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve hated me from before you ever met me. Why?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°This is what we must speak of, is it not?¡±

    ¡°Then tell me. What did I ever do to you?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You exist. You live and grow and with every heartbeat bring death closer to my home. Before you came, disaster was on the horizon, but it was also clear that we¡¯d find a way to avoid it. Now, everything is in chaos. Every path leads to our doom. If that were all, it could be managed. We could evacuate the town, or I could hide away with Myra. But every path also leads to our salvation, and the threads are ever in flux. If you die, we die. Or not. If you live, we die. Or maybe not. Every path is clouded. There is no way forward.¡±

    He thought back to the pictures he¡¯d seen on her tapestry. In one, the town had been destroyed, but in the other only the four highest level people. ¡°No way forward for the town, or just for you?¡±

    ¡°If I knew that, I could make ns. The patterns are unstable.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t tell the future? How sad. I¡¯m sorry you have to live like, oh, every single other person in the world. But why is this my fault?¡±

    ¡°Because it started with you!¡± Tawna barked. ¡°It started the day you arrived in Hammon¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°But if changing my life doesn¡¯t change the fate of the town, that suggests something rather obvious, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Tawna stared at him, visibly trying to put her face back into a mask of cool indifference. She didn¡¯t answer his rhetorical question.

    ¡°It means I¡¯m not the chosen one! I¡¯m not the one with a ss and levels and the ability to change things. I¡¯m also not the only one who came to town that day! You should be talking to Hogg about this,¡± said Brin.

    Tawna snorted in derision. ¡°Hogg. He will do what best suits you. Your choices drive our fate, like it or not.¡±

    That made Brin feel surprisingly warm. Until recently, the old [Illusionist] had seemed very distant and distracted, but he really did care. But that didn¡¯t make what Tawna was saying any less stupid.

    Brin raised his hand to rub his eyes, but then stopped himself. Better not to block his own vision. He still didn¡¯t trust her. ¡°Have you ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy?¡±

    ¡°Please. Why does everyone think that I don¡¯t watch the same movies from Gustaff and hear the same epics from Jeffrey that the rest of you do? We aren¡¯t fools, child. The first thing a [Weaver] learns is how to tell when her actions are causing that which she wishes to avoid.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± asked Brin. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why have you treated me like garbage since day one? If you¡¯re so against me picking an evil ss, you¡¯d think you¡¯d be nicer to me, instead of going out of your way to sabotage my life at every turn.¡±

    Tawna smiled, a real smile, something he¡¯d never seen on her face. With her straight ck hair framing her face, her perfect white teeth, the slightly manic gleam in her eyes, he had to admit, she was actually kind of cute in a I-hope-she-dies kind of way.

    ¡°What makes you think¡­¡± Tawna breathed out heavily, as if stifling augh. ¡°What makes you think I don¡¯t want you to take an evil ss?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin.

    His heart pounded. His stomach churned. The edges of his vision seemed to turn ck, a dark tunnel with Tawna at the end.

    Obviously. <em>It was so obvious</em> Tawna wanted him to turn evil. He should¡¯ve seen this. All that time, when he let resentment build and he entertained dark fantasies, it had seemed like a rebellion, but it was ying right into her hands. She <em>wanted</em> him to fail. She <em>wanted </em>him to turn dark. Why? What could she possibly gain from that? There had to be something more here; he needed to think it through. He couldn¡¯t, though. All he could think about was flipping the switch on the sword and seeing if her threads were faster than his magic sword.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about that,¡± said Tawna. ¡°Here¡¯s a prediction that you can count on: if you don¡¯t focus on your hunt today, you will <em>certainly</em> perish.¡±

    His vision snapped back into focus. ¡°You¡¯re not going to stop me?¡±

    ¡°Why would Ie all the way out here to stop you, when a single whisper in the right ear would do? No, I¡¯m here for something else. I came to give you a choice.¡±

    She glided towards him, floating above the ground like a ghost. He could faintly see threads, like a million tiny insect legs. She moved unnervingly fast, and stopped inches away from him.

    She put her hand on his chin. Her fingers were soft, and surprisingly warm and he wanted to p her hand away. She pointed his face to the south-west.

    ¡°Go there, to the thick brush. Something small and weak awaits you. You will return home unscathed.¡±

    Brin tried to pull back, but her grip was firm. ¡°Did you just screw up my achievement by helping me?¡±

    ¡°Soon you¡¯ll see that there is no definition of ¡®help¡¯ among gods or men that describes what I¡¯m doing right now. I¡¯m simply giving you a choice.¡± She pointed his face to the north. ¡°Go this way instead. Something deadly has moved into the spinewolf den. I cannot tell you much, as I do not know much, only that if you choose this path, you will face extreme danger. You will also receive extreme benefits from the System, more than you expect. Most importantly, you will find an answer. Information, some vor of knowledge that you desperately want, and that we desperately need. If you survive. Most likely, you will find your death. Choose wisely.¡±

    Tawna patted him on the back with a knowing smile, and then her feet touched the ground. She walked away, down the road towards town. He watched her until she was out of sight.

    She was right. That wasn¡¯t helpful at all. If she hadn¡¯t told him anything, he might¡¯ve went south-west first, nning on hitting every area on the [Hunter¡¯s] map until he found a monster, which would¡¯ve been the first ce he tried. Then he would¡¯ve gone home happy.

    Or maybe he would¡¯ve gone north first, and died the way he was going to die now, because he already knew what he was going to decide.

    He wasn¡¯t going to live a small and careful life. He¡¯d tried that, and still ended up dead on the road. In this life, he was going to try for greatness.

    There was no choice at all. Or maybe there was. After all, he had the whole day ahead of him. Why not choose both? Killing the weak monster would give him an achievement that would make him stronger for the next one. Now that he knew where they both were, it wouldn¡¯t even take that much time.

    He went south first, towards the easy monster. His newfound determination and the fact that he knew exactly where to go made him want to run, but he took it easy. It was important to conserve his energy.

    The weather grew more chilly, although it failed to prate his warm leathers. The sky darkened a bit as he walked. It started to rain, twice, but only for a few seconds each time.

    Normally the forest would be alive with the sounds of birds and insects, but for now they were subdued in the chilly weather. It was quiet enough that he could hear everything; his own breathing, and the asional drip of water onto a stone or tree trunk.

    He tried to focus on the hunt as he walked, but he couldn¡¯t get her words out of his mind. She <em>wanted</em> him to take an evil ss? That had to be reverse psychology. By saying that, she made him want to take the most good, perfect peaceful ss he could. [Child], if he didn¡¯t get offered anything else.

    Unless that was what she <em>wanted </em>him to think. It could be <em>reverse </em>reverse psychology. He could go round and round like this all day.

    And that wasn¡¯t even the most baffling part. If something that he¡¯d done or would do was causing the town¡¯s destruction, why would his death make the town¡¯s destruction <em>more</em> likely? The fact that the town was in danger wasn¡¯t hard to believe. There was an undead army out there somewhere. The fact that he might have a key in saving the town made sense, too. He wasn¡¯t important, but he knew some important people. The rest of it? He didn¡¯t know. He could guess all day, but he didn¡¯t have enough information.

    Information was exactly what the [Weaver] had promised him for risking his life. She sure knew how to bait a trap.

    After an hour of walking, he found what must be thendmark from the map, so he chased all thoughts of [Weavers] and visions out of his head.

    He¡¯d wondered what ¡°thick brush¡± would mean; after all, in this forest there were all sorts of ces where bushes and saplings would grow so thick you couldn¡¯t get through them, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d recognize it until he saw it.

    Four giant trees formed a square, and between them was the biggest mess of tall bushes, tangled vines, and intergrown tree branches that he¡¯d ever seen in his life. It was like a solid block of greenery, surrounded by a wrap of rose-like vines that were as thick as his arm and had six-inch thorns.

    Where was his monster?

    He made a ring around the thick underbrush, and about jumped out of his skin when the back of it was covered in spiderwebs. Giant spiderwebs. The thread of the web was as thick as kite string, and it was all mushed together in a mass, like someone had been tidying up out here and put it in a pile for disposal.

    Looking around, he didn¡¯t see any sign of them. The web also looked old. Spiderweb had a certain kind of look when it was fresh versus abandoned, and somehow that was even more obvious when it was a giant spider web.

    He checked it with his sword, and something moved inside.

    He jumped back, ready for anything, but nothing happened.

    Carefully, he crept forward again. He cut through the spiderweb, and this time nothing moved. Emboldened, he cut harder and harder, hacking his way through. He used the sword of speed, since it wouldn¡¯t activate unless he flipped the switch.

    Finally, he got the glimpse of something ck and wriggling, and jumped back again. He felt stupid for being so cautious, but better cautious than dead.

    He carefully peeled back theyers of spiderweb, and saw a giant spider. It was ck and as big as a basketball, so much smaller than any giant spider he¡¯d ever seen. It was almost small enough to be a regr spider.

    This was a nest, he realized. It had been born here, and then somehow gotten trapped in the web. It was hard to tell what exactly was keeping it trapped here, it seemed like it should be able to crawl straight out. Maybe he¡¯d already cut something away. It wriggled when he exposed it to the light, but lethargically. It was practically dead already, maybe starving. All he had to do was finish it off.

    He looked over at Marksi, still riding on his shoulder. The snake could probably take it. Who knew, this might be exactly the opportunity that Marksi needed to fuel his growth. Would Brin still get the achievement if Marksi helped kill the monster, though? He hated that he was even thinking along those lines.

    ¡°You want to do the honors, Marksi?¡± asked Brin.

    Marksi eyed the spider with suspicion, then snuggled in closer to Brin. He tapped his tail side to side. <em>¡®No¡¯</em>.

    Well, it might be small to him, but it was still bigpared to Marksi. Brin stabbed the spider straight through.

    Alert! You have defeated: Giant Spiderling [1]

    <strong></strong>

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    That second message still made his blood boil. That experience was <em>his</em>. They had no right to take it away. At least it was almost over. Soon he¡¯d have his ss and everything would be better.

    Marksi made a terrified squeak, and Birn turned around just in time to instinctively swat another spiderling out of the air with his sword.

    There were dozens of them, swinging out of the forest on long, nearly invisible strands of spider web. They were bigger than the first little basketball-sized one; these were the size of dobermans.

    Another on his left nearlynded on his arm. Marksi pounced and bore the spiderling to the ground.

    Three more arrived at the same time, and Brin cut one in half. It felt surprisingly solid against his sword.

    The other twonded on his arms and he jolted in a panic, waving wildly. They flew off, but more wereing.

    Panicking, he looked for Marksi. The spider he¡¯d taken down was dead on the ground, but Marksi was nowhere to be seen. Right, sneaky snake. He could take care of himself.

    Brin covered his face with his arm and ran towards the side, trying to get some space between himself and the spiderling horde.

    Theynded on him, climbed up his legs; not too heavy when it was just one but they swarmed all over him, weighing him down. He could feel them skittering around, biting into his armor, but they weren¡¯t even close to piercing through it.

    Then one bit into the exposed back of his neck, and it felt like a bee sting if the bee was a foot long and on fire.

    Panicking, he jumped, as high as he could, andnded on his back. He felt a crunch, saw a slew of notifications which he dismissed, and then rolled. The spiderlings jumped off him when he rolled to avoid being crushed, but were on him again when he got to his feet.

    Only a few, though. He sprinted, trying to outrun the rest while he tore away the few spiderlings on his back.

    One was on his chest, then in his face. He saw its mandibles open to prepare a bite, but he bit first. It jumped away after he snapped an appendage off in his mouth. It felt like a hairy finger. He spit it out, and almost lost his breakfast as well.

    Still running, he pulled thest spiderling off of him, and mmed it against a tree, watching with pleasure as its middle popped like a water balloon full of custard.

    He risked a nce behind him. The spiderlings weren¡¯t in a swarm anymore; more like a line since they had to follow his path through the forest. He¡¯d dropped his sword, but if he could face them one at a time he could win.

    He turned and used the momentum to kick the first off to the side. He hit the next with a front kick and saw its middle crack even before it hit the one behind it.

    He stomped on the next, using it as a springboard to jump andnd on the next one with both feet. It squirted out its insides, reminding him of jumping into puddles as a child. Moving forward, he caught a spiderling jumping towards him. He used both hands to smash its body with his head, grateful for the leather helmet.

    A solid haymaker cracked the next spiderling, and a quick jab knocked the next one out of the air. Once on the ground he punted it like a football.

    Half of them were gone. This was actually kind of fun.

    A spiderlingnded on his back, and wasted no time before biting his hand. Son of a¡­ <em>that hurt!</em>

    He grabbed it off his back and tore its front legs off, then grabbed it by some of the remaining legs and used it as a il to knock back the three spiderlings trying to swarm him.

    He fought with it until it fell to pieces, then returned to punching and kicking his way through.

    Then there was only one left. He stepped forward, smiling.

    Marksi appeared from behind it. He jumped on its back and bit down, then burrowed his way inside, then out through the other side.

    The spider died silently.

    A slew of notifications greeted him. All of the spiderlings were under level five, and all of the experience was confiscated.

    He checked Marksi for injuries, but the snake was unharmed. Just a little tired and a lot full of himself. Well, Brin figured he deserved it.

    ¡°Great job, Marksi! No one can say you don¡¯t hunt now. You really saved me there!¡±

    Another slew of notifications appeared, and this one was much more interesting than thest.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Monster Hunter I (Common) You have in a monster. +5% attribute growth rate for all attributes. Skill granted: Monster Sense.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Monster Hunter II (Common) You have more than 10 monsters. +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes. Skill upgraded: Monster Sense.

    System override: Monster Sense unlocked. You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Warbound (Epic) You thirst for violence. +10% Strength upgraded to +20% Strength

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Workhorse (Rare) +1 Strength per level upgraded to +2 Strength per level.

    Brin cheered, and Marksi squeaked along, probably thinking they were just happy about killing the spider. Monster sense was interesting. It basically confirmed that there was something special about monsters that made them different from regr animals. He¡¯d have to learn more about that; people were suspicious about children who wanted to learn all about monsters, and Hogg had only recently started answering all of his questions, but both of those weren¡¯t going to be issues any more.

    Interesting as that was, the real win here was obviously the upgrade to Strength. He¡¯d broken through to the second threshold!

    He checked his injuries. The bite on his neck and the one on his hand both hurt like he¡¯d been stabbed, but he didn¡¯t have any loss of motion, and after watching it for a minute, it didn¡¯t seem to be getting any worse. Just pain. Well, he could deal with a little pain. He took the potion of cure poison just in case, but he wouldn¡¯t let this end his day.

    This was only the appetizer. The real fight would be in the spinewolf den.

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    Child of Travin''s Bog

    Level

    1

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    40

    Dexterity

    31

    Vitality

    30

    Magic

    15

    Mental Control

    26

    Will

    30

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    Locked

    Traveler

    Locked

    Otherworlder

    Locked

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You thirst for violence.

    You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System. Without aid from an adult, you have defeated at least 10 monsters before unlocking your System.

    +20% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    Monster Hunter II (Common)

    You have defeated more than 10 monsters.

    +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Strength.

    +20% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +20% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Dexterity.

    +10% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +10% Dexterity attribute growth. +10% Dexterity

    Lively I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Vitality.

    +10% recovery from wounds. +10% stamina. +10% Vitality attribute growth.

    Controlled I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Mental Control.

    +10% focus and concentration +10% Mental Control attribute growth

    Disciplined I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Will

    +10% spell power. +10% skill power. +10% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +2 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Vitality per level, +1 Mental Control per level

    <strong>Skills</strong>

    Know What¡¯s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You know the approximate value of things.

    Monster Sense

    You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 3: Chapter 12

    Book 3: Chapter 12

    On the way to the spinewolf den, Brin couldn¡¯t stop his brain from thinking. Was doing all this ying right into the [Weavers] hands? If it was, so what? If Tawna wanted him to do something that he also wanted to do, would it make sense to not do it just to spite her? That would be giving her too much power. The best decision would be to live his life as if she didn¡¯t exist, not to rearrange his life based on every little thing she did.

    She¡¯d given him a choice, and he¡¯d chosen to do what he wanted. What she wanted was irrelevant. Although, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he¡¯d screwed himself by going after the weaker monsters first. What if trying to do both meant he wouldn¡¯t get the information she¡¯d promised? Well, if that was the case, so be it. This was already an extremely lucrative day.

    The clouds continued to darken as he walked, and a chill wind began to blow, but for now the rain stayed constrained to a few drops here and there.

    Around noon, he knew that if he went any further then he would be near where he thought the den should be. Before that, he should take a break. The fight with the spiderlings had taken a lot out of him. He needed to approach whatever this was at his absolute best.

    He found a patch of soft grass, asked Marksi to keep watch, and theny down and closed his eyes. Back in his old life, he¡¯d been the king of the fifteen minute nap. He wasn¡¯t sure if that talent had transferred. With all the preteen manic energy he¡¯d been living with, he¡¯d never needed it. But it was worth a try now.

    Hey on the ground, but couldn¡¯t sleep. His neck and hand hurt too much. Well, even if he couldn¡¯t sleep, a rest would still help.

    He woke up and it was dark. Panicking, he thought he¡¯d slept through the night, but it wasn¡¯t actually that dark. The clouds had gotten a little bit darker and the wind was blowing harder, but he doubted he¡¯d been asleep for more than an hour.

    The pain in his neck and hand had diminished to a dull ache, but for some reason all his other muscles had started to ache more. Oh well, this was as good as he was going to feel. Best to get started.

    He continued north towards the spinewolf den. The trees thinned out, but the water became more and more muddy, until pools of stagnant water started to cut off his path and he had to wander through them like a maze.

    He copied Lurn¡¯s trick of cutting a tree branch to use to test that the ground in front of him was solid. He didn¡¯t fear illusions, but sometimes grass that looked normal was actually floating on top of the water.

    Slowly, he made his way through the swampy forest. He might have gotten lost, but Marksi had no problem swimming over the top of the water, so Brin could send him ahead and use him as a goal post.

    Finally, Brin saw a trail. A game trail, probably. Whatever animals lived in this forest would know the best way to get through on solid ground.

    He followed the trail, astonished at how <em>easy</em> walking was when you didn¡¯t have to fear every step.

    Soon he found a small hill rising out of the swampy surroundings. There was an old dead tree he recognized; it had been drawn on the map. Underneath it on the other side, there would be the mouth of a cave. The perfect home for whatever evil thing happened to be passing through the area.

    The area around the hill was wet and treacherous. Without his stick to test the ground, he would have sunken into the mud a dozen times over.

    He approached cautiously, straining his ears to pick up any sounds. Yeah, something was definitely in there. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was that made him think so, just a strong sense of danger and¡­ wrongness from that direction. This had to be what [Monster Sense] felt like. He¡¯d need to remember this feeling.

    He backed away, and thought about his n of attack.

    Without knowing what it was, he couldn¡¯t really think up a strategy, but the fact that it sought out this hill as a ce to hang out meant that it probably couldn¡¯t live in water. Maybe he could use the swampy terrain to his advantage?

    He also couldn¡¯t swim very effectively while wearing full leather armor and carrying a backpack and weapons, but that didn¡¯t mean there was nothing he could do. He saw a tree covered in vines, some of them hanging down all the way to the water, and that gave him an idea.

    He pulled out the rope with a grappling hook, and had Marksi carry it up to a high branch on a tree overlooking a pond. By getting a running start, he should be able to jump, catch the rope in midair, and swing around to dry ground. Anything following him would either plunge into the water, or have to stop and go around. His biggest saving grace in the fight against the spiderlings had been the fact that he was faster than them. That meant that he had been able to disengage and then fight them on his own terms.

    He tested it, running along the ground and leaping into the air to grab the rope. He was gratified to feel the strength in his arm as he easily held his body¡¯s weight with one arm. The first swing didn¡¯t go quite as he nned, and he had to swing back and forth a couple times to get to dry ground again. The second attempt went perfectly. He swung on the rope, around the tree, tond on solid ground on the other side.

    He only found that tree and one other that would work for this, but that also meant he only had to cut his rope once.

    After that, he spent some time going over every inch of ground in the surrounding area, figuring out what was dry and what was wet. If he was going to be running around here, it would help to know what was safe to stand on. It would be just his luck to die because he stepped on the wrong spot and plunged down to his neck in mud, presenting his head nice and convenient for some monster toe and bite it off.

    The entire time he jumped and flinched at every sound, thinking that it was the monstering out of its den, but the monster stayed put while he got they of thend.

    Finally, he decided it was time. He was as ready as he¡¯d ever be. He did onest mental inventory. He had the smoke bomb that would shoot sparks and heat¨Cgood for fooling undead. He had one wand with a potent me spell, and two fakes, and a lighter. All that, he kept in the various pockets on the armor, where he could get to them quickly if he needed it.

    He had the potions of turn undead, which he left in a backpack a little distance away. He also had his two swords. The sword of speed was still a bit slippery from the pool of spider goo he¡¯d found it in. And the other sword.

    He pulled out his sword of strength. Perris hadn¡¯t really given it a name, but Brin was calling it the ss cannon sword, because it would break after one or two uses, and because of the enchanted ss core that gave it its power.

    In video games, he¡¯d always been the person to die with all his best items unused and a backpack full of health potions. In real life, though, he was going to jump straight into his strongest attack and hopefully end things before they even started.

    If that didn¡¯t work, he¡¯d use the fire wand, and if that failed, he¡¯d use his sword of speed to run away. He already had the Monster Hunter achievement; this was just the victoryp. If things got too hairy, he¡¯d leave.

    He approached the hill, using every bit of stealth to walk as silently as he could. Sure, the monster probably knew he was out here, but he¡¯d rather not let it know he was approaching it now. It was probably too much to hope that he¡¯d be able to sneak up and stab it while it was sleeping, but that would obviously be preferable to a straight out fight.

    He saw motion, and froze. Something rose behind the hill, a line of red and yellow spikes. They were on the back of arge green head; a giant lizard. It had the protruding eyes of a chameleon, but spines along its back like an iguana.

    Monsters roar in movies. The first time you see a monster in any movie, tv show, or video game, it always roars. The giant lizard didn¡¯t roar. It barely even looked interested. It simply climbed over the crest of the hill, approaching in no great hurry.

    It was bigger than any lizards they had on earth. Bigger than komodo dragons, it was more like some dinosaur he didn¡¯t have a name for, especially with the way that its tail curled up and around, with a dagger-length stinger on the end. Its legs were much longer than he¡¯d expected, keeping it high off the ground. Maybe the size of a horse, if a horse was a lizard with the tail of a scorpion.

    It walked casually, moving faster than it looked because of its size. What would it look like if it actually wanted to move fast?

    It stopped only ten feet away and stared at him for a long moment. He started backing up, towards the tree with the rope.

    All at once, the giant lizard charged, jaws open, scrabbling towards him across the mud. It moved unnaturally fast, and was upon him before his brain even registered what was happening. He dodged the stabbing stinger tail on instinct and swung his ss cannon sword towards its head but felt only air. He dodged its bite, but then it spun and the side of the tail clubbed him in across the chest.

    He flew backwards, further than he expected because he skipped across the water once before sshing in. He iled against the water to stay on the surface, and realized that he was right below his rope, so he grabbed it. His wet fingers slipped in his panic, but he tried again, got a hold and started climbing up. It was difficult with his sword still in his hand; somehow he hadn¡¯t dropped it, so he put the hilt in his teeth and climbed with both hands.

    All his strength went into getting a strong enough grip on the wet rope to hold his body weight. Actually moving up was taking forever.

    He couldn¡¯t breathe. The armor had miraculously stopped the stinger from running him through, but he still felt like he¡¯d been kicked in the chest by a bull.

    The giant lizard was hesitating at the side of the shore. Could it not swim, or was it afraid of the water? Was there something in here that was even worse? The panic that thought brought him nearly made him lose his hold. He took a deep breath and kept climbing.

    He noticed the giant lizard had a heavy wound in its side; he¡¯d thought he¡¯d missed with the sword, but apparently it had cut through the monster''s flesh so easily he hadn¡¯t even felt resistance.

    The ss cannon sword had cut and it hadn¡¯t shattered. Lucky. Perris said it would work for one or two blows, and apparently he was getting two. He needed to make the next one count.

    He tried to focus on climbing, but he was still holding his breath, and his vision was starting to go dark. He forced his lungs to move and he managed to suck in air, but his chest screamed in pain.

    He slipped, falling two feet down the rope before barely managing to catch it again.

    The giant lizard liked what it saw. It slid into the water and swam towards him. He was only a few feet above the water; the stinger would hit him easily.

    Unless something changed, his only chance would be to jump from the rope and stab the monster on the way down. The monster would be ready, of course. He didn¡¯t like his chances.

    How dumb had he been when he had gone over the terrain, picturing a long, drawn out battle where he¡¯d have lots of time to maneuver? One way or another, this would be over in seconds.

    Marksi appeared on the surface of the water, a sh of camouged motion that he only barely noticed. The snake must not have watched enough movies either, because he didn¡¯t roar or screech either. He slipped up to the giant lizard, wiggled around an arm that tried to swat him away, and bit the lizard¡¯s protruding eye.

    The monster let out a high-pitched screech, and the water erupted into sshing chaos. Brin couldn¡¯t tell if the lizard had caught Marksi, but he knew that it was angry, in pain, and most important of all: it wasn¡¯t thinking about him.

    He took the sword from out of his mouth, and let go of the rope.

    He brought the sword down in a solid overhand sh, and this time he was watching so he saw the full effect of the ss cannon sword.

    It parted the water like Moses. It split the flesh of the monster like a knife through butter. No, like a knife through <em>fog</em>. He cut the neck just above the shoulder, and if he¡¯d aimed better he was certain he¡¯d taken the head clean off. He wouldn¡¯t get another chance; the sword shattered as it exited the wound, the pieces falling into the water.

    It was definitely a mortal blow. Which is why he was surprised when the monster¡¯s mouth mped down on his leg and started twisting him around in the water.

    His throat filled with water, and he forced himself not to cough as his body churned in circles through the whitewater. And then, slowly, it stopped.

    Alert! You have defeated: Facaldagart [12] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    He was right; he¡¯d mortally wounded it, but its death throes had nearly killed him in return.

    The mouth holding him let go, and he swam to the surface again. The leather armor was more buoyant than he¡¯d have thought, which is why he survived at all, but it was all he could do to strain his way upwards and take gasping, coughing breaths.

    Somehow, he made it to the shore and pulled himself up, just happy to be alive. Marksi was already there, slithering in agitated circles. When Brin pulled himself up, he switched from fear for Brin to extreme pride in his role in the fight.

    Once Brin was sure he wasn¡¯t going to pass out or hack up his lungs, he spared some energy to lift one weary hand and give Marksi some scritches.

    More notifications arrived.

    Alert!

    Due to extreme levels of experience confiscation, your experience will temporarily be transferred to attributes.

    You have 3 free attributes. Please assign them within the next 13 hours or they will expire.

    Alert!

    Due to your actions, you have lost a measure of System protection. You will now give experience to your yer upon your death.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Warbound (Epic) Your thirst for violence cannot be quenched. +10% Vitality upgraded to +20% Vitality +10% Will upgraded to +20% Will

    That was awesome. At the same time¡­ he couldn¡¯t help but feel like it was a bit anticlimactic. It was a nice but expected increase to his Achievement. It wasn¡¯t the earth-shattering, mind-blowing advancement that Tawna had promised. Had she just been screwing with him, in the hopes that he¡¯d die?

    At the same time, it wasn¡¯t as dangerous as she¡¯d said either. True, he could¡¯ve died, but with his magic sword, it was closer to the coin-flip Perris had talked about. Not the [Weaver¡¯s] ¡°most likely you will die¡±.

    That meant that either the [Weaver] was totally full of crap and that Perris was the only one who was actually straight with him, which totally checked out, or it meant that¡­ the danger wasn¡¯t over.

    That thought had him sitting up straight despite his exhaustion. This was a <em>monster den</em>. He shouldn¡¯t expect to be safe here.

    He stood up, groaning at the pain in his middle. He loosened the armor to poke around a little and he didn¡¯t think anything was broken, just very bruised. He¡¯d have to walk it off, he didn¡¯t want to stick around here.

    He did another quick inventory. His wands weren¡¯t broken, the lighter still lit, and the sword of speed was still in its sheath. The other sword was broken and lost, he hadn¡¯t even held onto the hilt.

    Surprisingly, his armor waspletely whole. It was scratched, but none of the monster''s attacks had cut through. Just how good <em>was</em> this armor, Perris?

    He fetched his backpack, ready to leave before something else came to the spinewolf den, but Marksi refused to leave the short. He kept moving around, looking agitated, and pointing at the water where the corpse of the giant lizard, the Facaldagart apparently, was still floating on the surface of the water. Strange, that it could float. The thing was definitely heavy.

    ¡°Well, if you want it, you¡¯re going to need to fetch the grappling hook for me,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi quickly climbed the tree and loosened the grappling hook, then climbed back down with the rope in his mouth.

    Brin threw it out to the monster, where it hooked against the tough scaly hide. He pulled it to shore. Actually getting it onnd was difficult. He couldn¡¯t get good leverage, and the ground was slippery. He ended up using the grappling hook again by stabbing it in deep and then using the rope to pull it up.

    Marksi found the hole in the monsters side, and started biting it, trying to dig itself in deeper.

    ¡°Marksi, I don¡¯t really know how to dress a kill, and I don¡¯t think we could exin where we got the monster parts if we brought it to town. I think we¡¯d better leave it here.¡±

    The little snake wouldn¡¯t give up, so Brin sighed and used his sword to deepen the hole Marksi was trying to dig into. He didn¡¯t know what he was looking for, so he stabbed deep inside in several different directions. The smell was intense. He knew corpses smelled bad when they rotted, but he had nothing to prepare him for the strong, stinging smell of an animal¡¯s insides.

    Marksi disappeared inside the monster. He rememerged, slimy with blood and viscera, holding something in his mouth. It was red and glossy. It looked like a rock. A gastrolith, maybe? It could also be a Mana stone. He¡¯d heard that adventurers collected them from monsters and that Chamy used them for enchanting, but he¡¯d never seen one before. Before could get a better look, Marksi swallowed it.

    ¡°No, Marksi! We don¡¯t know what that is!¡±

    It was toote. Snakes could regurgitate, but it was dangerous; he¡¯d only make Marksi do it if he was sure the thing he¡¯d eaten would kill him. He¡¯d ask Hogg about the stone before he made him do it.

    For now, Marksi curled around in a pile and immediately fell asleep. Right there, in full view of a spinewolf den. Exasperated, Brin picked him up and put him in the backpack.

    Then he took off. He ran from the area at a steady, maintainable pace. He was exhausted, but the worst was behind him and now he just wanted to get home. There was nothing to conserve his energy for.

    No other monsters found him as he ran. He didn¡¯t hear or see anything out of the ordinary. He didn¡¯t even see any animals, and the birds were silent. The rain started toe down steadily, a light drizzle. Not enough to make it cold, especially not to him in his leather armor, but it was enough that the ground started to get slippery, so he slowed down to a walk.

    The walk almost felt worse because now that he wasn¡¯t expending so much effort, he could start to think about how tired he was, and about how much his bruised chest hurt.

    To get himself to stop thinking about that, he started thinking about Tawna instead, which wasn¡¯t any better.

    Danger, rewards, and information. She¡¯d promised him those three things, but hadn¡¯t really delivered. Was it because he¡¯d gone to the thick brush first? Would something different have happened if he¡¯d gone to the spinewolf den right away? He couldn¡¯t imagine what. He¡¯d have fought the same monster, thene home after, walking this same exact direction. The timing would have been different.

    As nice as it would be to have more achievements, he¡¯d aplished a lot today. More than he¡¯d even expected when he set out. He actually <em>hoped</em> that he¡¯d missed whatever it was Tawna wanted him to find.

    The other option would be that he was doing exactly what she wanted him to do. That she would guess that if she gave him two choices, that he¡¯d be greedy and pick both. After all, if she had really wanted him to go to the spinewolf den right away, she could have just not told him about the thick brush.

    The sky grew a bit darker. The rain came down harder, a proper shower now, and the wind picked up.

    His mood began to darken, too. He felt strange, like a thread was connected to his heart and pulling on his heart, guiding him forward. Not to where he wanted to go, but to where <em>fate</em> intended him to go.

    Could people other than [Weavers] feel fate? Could they feel it, when they did exactly what a [Weaver] manipted them into doing, and walked the exact path she wanted him to walk? If so, that¡¯s what he was feeling now. The terrible shackles of fate. He could take them off, if only he was certain they were really there.

    He could turn aside. He could go a different direction, take a longer path home. But he wouldn¡¯t, because he wasn¡¯t sure if that was wise or simply superstitious. Mostly, because he wanted to see it, whatever fate had in store. He knew he wouldn¡¯t turn aside. And so did <em>she</em>.

    Even so, even with the sharp tugs of fate pulling him along, and with all his dark thoughts and terrible expectations, it still took him by surprise. Even after all of that, Brin was <em>still </em>surprised when he found him.

    A manlike figure, wearing tight and ugly ck clothing, sitting on the ground. A crude spear in hisp, also ck. Skin, a terrible gray.

    Absurdly, he didn''t set off Monster Sense. Not a monster. A person? That was highly debatable.

    The figure had his back turned, and Brin thought he might not have noticed he was there. Maybe he could still get away. The figure turned, slowly. He looked Brin in the eye.

    In his eyes, Brin saw death.

 Book 3: Chapter 13

    Book 3: Chapter 13

    This couldn¡¯t be real. Somehow, Brin had convinced himself that these creatures from his nightmares would stay in his nightmares. That was how he¡¯d gotten himself to be able to sleep at night. He¡¯d convinced himself that they were gone, that they were far away, not even real anymore. He¡¯d told himself that he was protected, that he¡¯d never have to worry about them ever again.

    That¡¯s why it felt like an impossibility. It <em>was</em> an impossibility. The dead don¡¯t move. They don¡¯t get up and walk and kill. They don¡¯t hunt little kids and they definitely don¡¯t do it twice in one lifetime. Yet here he was.

    The undead soldier casually stood and faced him.

    With slow, unthreatening movements, Brin slowly withdrew the bottle from his backpack and ced it in a loop at his belt. His mind gibbered in horror, his thoughts reeling, but for some reason his body was calm, like it knew what to do. His hands didn¡¯t shake.

    The undead cocked its head to the side, but was content to watch Brin make ready.

    Brin withdrew his sword from its sheath. Then, oh so slowly, with the kind of slowness that you use when a police officer asks you to put your gun on the floor, he gently set the backpack containing Marksi on the ground. His first goal would be to get away, and to draw the undead away from Marksi. If he couldn¡¯t get away¡­ well he had some other tricks. He wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight.

    The undead raised his spear into the guard position.

    Brin raised his sword straight up in front of him, a fencer¡¯s bow that he¡¯d seen Hogg do, then got into the guard position. He flipped the switch with his thumb.

    The world stopped. The individual raindrops fell noticeably slower in the air. He needed to move; he didn¡¯t know exactly how much time this wouldst.

    In the first second, he dashed to the right. The sword sped up his perception, but it sped up his body even more than that, so he took five steps in the time it felt he should be taking one. The forest flew by around him, hardly more than blurs.

    He nced back, sure he¡¯d already lost the undead, but he realized that he¡¯d never given Hogg enough credit for how much he¡¯d handicapped these things back then, because the undead was keeping up.

    In the second second, Brin weaved to the side, but the undead moved to match him perfectly, as if inertia didn¡¯t apply to him at all. The soldier made up the space between them and shot out with the spear as quick as an arrow.

    Brin deflected it with a forearm, and even the ncing blow cut through his leather armor to scratch his skin. He swung his sword, and the undead jumped back. Brin turned and ran.

    In the third second, Brin ran wildly. He needed a ce where the undead wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge, some kind of narrow gap. He saw a log fallen over a wide andzy stream, more like a pond in slow motion. Or it could be moving quickly for all he knew; he was moving fast, sshing through fields of raindrops.

    He ran to the log, and during the fourth second, he crossed it. It only went halfway through across the stream, so he leapt the remaining distance. When he hit the ground on the other side, he immediately turned and fired his wand.

    Just as he¡¯d hoped, the undead was in midair¨Cno way to dodge. A beam of fire burst from his wand¡­ but it was too slow.

    The undead threw its spear into the ground, then jumped off it, over the fire beam which only singed the end of one foot.

    During the fifth second, Brin turned to run, but something mmed into his shoulder, knocking him to the ground. A stone. The undead had hit him with a river stone.

    He rolled to his back and brought out one of the other wands, one of the illusion ones. He fired it, and the undead dropped the second stone he¡¯d picked up and jumped to avoid the bar of illusory me. He left the stream and charged him, spear forward. Brin had one more illusion wand, but he knew it was useless. The undead could see heat, he wouldn¡¯t be fooled a second time.

    Six seconds. The undead was limping now, but he still closed the distance while Brin got to his feet. Heshed out with a swing from the side. In terror-fueled anger, Brin stepped into the blow, with one arm up to block and the other swinging his sword around.

    His blocking hand caught the shaft of the spear, but he wasn¡¯t strong enough to stop it and the blow came through. His helmet saved him, the spear nced off it, but then slid onto his face. It sliced deeply into his cheek, ncing against his cheekbone and away. Brin¡¯s sword hit its target, too, gouging a deep wound into the undead¡¯s unarmored side. A notification appeared, one like he¡¯d never seen before.

    You have been scarred. Title granted: Scarred System Override: Scarred unlocked. Your wounds heal 10% slower.

    <em>That sucked!</em> You could get bad Titles? In the moment of distraction from the notification, the undead punched him. His vision blinked ck. The hit knocked him back, but he kept his feet and that gained some space between them. He ran.

    Seven seconds. The undead could still run, but he was limping now and Brin quickly outpaced him. He gained ground, getting further and further away, until he nearly made it out of sight.

    Then eight seconds had passed, and the magic ran out.

    The rain poured down quickly again, like the world had been holding its breath, uncertain of the oue, only now it knew. The undead, which had seemed like it was slowing and awkward, now cked towards him at a breakneck speed.

    Brin turned to run, and dropped the smoke bomb behind him. As soon as the plume of hot, static-charged smoke erupted behind him, he ducked down into the shadow of a nearby shrub.

    The undead burst through the smoke an instantter, and kept running, expecting Brin to have made some headway.

    Brin debated in his mind, whether he should run or stay hidden. Ha! Deja vu. Stay or flee. If he ran now, he might get away. He only had to get far enough away that the undead couldn¡¯t see or hear him anymore, then he¡¯d be set.

    On the other hand, if the undead figured out his ruse quickly and returned, running away would give away his hiding spot. Stay or flee? He hadn¡¯t missed this game.

    He stayed hidden, just likest time. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was his n or if he¡¯d just frozen in terror.

    Then undead returned less than a minuteter. He¡¯d been nearby; he would¡¯ve seen Brin if he¡¯d tried to make a break for it. He¡¯d been right, but that didn¡¯t make him feel better.

    The soldier walked with obvious effort. It clutched its wound in its side, still oozing ck blood. Why did undead bleed? Make no mistake, he was d they did. But why?

    How wounded was it? Could he take it now? He didn¡¯t think so. At the same time, he wasn¡¯t sure he would get the choice.

    The smoke bomb was still going, obviously distracting the undead. He looked at it longingly, then shook his head and scanned the surrounding forest, only for his gaze to inevitably be drawn back to the smoke bomb.

    As long as that smoke bomb kept going, he was safe.

    All too quickly, it started to putter out.

    Brin had two items left. The spent sword of speed, and the potion. He had one n left. A bold, stupid, silly n. Perfect. He should die as he lived.

    ¡°Fine! You looking for a real fight? You got it!!¡± He threw the sword on the ground and smiled. He looked at the potion, and startedughing. He was going for triumphantughter, but it came out hysterical. Good enough.

    The undead, sensing that something was up, ran towards him.

    Brinughed, and brought the potion up to his lips.

    The undead jolted in surprise, leapt towards him and got there in the nick of time. He stabbed Brin in the chest with the spear, but his full attention wasn¡¯t on it because it didn¡¯t pierce the armor. His other hand reached out to grab the potion away from Brin¡¯s mouth.

    Brin let him have it. He punched the potion into the undead¡¯s face. He¡¯d liked to have shattered the ss, but ss is actually pretty tough. Even so, the motion poured the bottle''s contents right into the undead¡¯s eyes.

    Brin jumped back, scrabbling away from the undead until his back hit a tree. His feet wanted to run, but that wouldn¡¯t work. If the potion didn¡¯t work, then anything else he tried would be futile.

    The undead blinked.

    It tilted its head to the side again.

    It spoke. ¡°Ah. Freedom. How nice. What a strange freak of fate for the two of us to meet again here. Out of all the days you could have gone hunting. Out of all the scouts you could have run into. You run into me. Here and now. I hazard to guess that¡¯s no coincidence.¡±

    ¡°No. No, I don¡¯t suppose it is,¡± Brin let out a shuddering halfugh, half sob. He breathed in and out, too quickly. He had to force himself to stop hyperventting.

    It was really over. The potion had worked. The undead wasn¡¯t going to kill him. Still, it was standing there, that thing from his nightmares. It was just¡­ standing there, looking at him with those dead, unseeing eyes. Not just standing there. It was talking to him. He wasn¡¯t going to die, but he¡¯d almost rather fight to the death again than hear the dead speak. The undead¡¯s voice sounded like frogs in a blender.

    ¡°You seem to have the advantage of me, sir. Do you recognize me?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Of course, Aberthol. It¡¯s me. I am, unfortunately, your father.¡±

    To Brin¡¯s surprise, the first thing he wanted to shoot back with was that his name was Brin and that Hogg was his father. How strange was that? He hadn¡¯t forgotten about his dad on earth, who for the record was a really good guy. But here in his current world, it was true. For better or worse, Hogg was his father.

    He wasn¡¯t stupid, though. The undead must recognize this body. Aberthol. He finally had the boy¡¯s name.

    His eyes widened in shock, and the undead seemed to ept that response.

    ¡°You must have many questions. We must be quick about them. That potion should be drunk, that you sshed it on me means that we have limited time. I will warn you before I return to my previous master¡¯s control, so that you may y me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re ok with that?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    "How are you talking? I knew the potion would free you from the necromancers control, but I figured you''d go into a blind rampage. I didn''t think it would bring back your personality," said Brin.

    "My soul never left," said the undead. "We remain as we were, only chained, able to act only as directed."

    ¡°That sounds like torture,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ll put you out of your misery soon.¡±

    ¡°I find it quite restful. There is no pain. Anxiety and guilt have fled. I have no will or agency. My body moves on its own. My mind thinks on its own. Without effort or struggle,¡± said the undead. ¡°Bute, I know you have better worries than that.¡±

    ¡°Why were you so much stronger than all the other undead I¡¯ve faced?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You faced other undead? How strange. Were I still a man, I would be sorrowed to hear that. To answer your question, not stronger. Faster. I was a [Scout] in life. I imagine most of the undead you faced were animatedmoners.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about the night you died,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°When we entered the town, you must imagine what they thought of us. A woman and a man traveling alone with a child? And the woman carrying an aura of authority, ordering her husband about and iming to be an [Enchantress]? I think they must have seen the fatigue in our features. The worry in our eyes. You can imagine what they must¡¯ve thought.¡±

    ¡°They thought she was a [Witch]. They shunned us,¡± said Brin, nodding along like he already knew.

    ¡°Well yes they thought that, but¡­ do you remember being shunned? People don¡¯t treat you badly when they <em>actually</em> know you¡¯re terrible and powerful. They weed us with full hospitality.¡±

    The way he¡¯d phrased that¡­ it was odd.

    The undead continued, ¡°The town¡¯s Prefit entertained us in his own home. Fed us from his own table. He and his wife promised to look after you when your mother and I went to face the army.¡±

    ¡°The undead army? Why would you try to face it?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°We were surrounded. What else could we do? I expect she thought she could talk her way out of it. Foolish. You don¡¯t talk your way out of treason to Arcaena. Not even if you¡¯re one of her precious little apprentice [Witches]. They cut me down immediately, and by the end of the night I joined the army. Her death, I imagine, took much longer.¡±

    That confirmed it. His birth mother¡­ was a [Witch]. Not just any [Witch], but an apprentice of Arcaena. Then how had she made that artifact that saved his life, the one only [Enchantresses] could make? Unless¡­ [Weaver] wasn¡¯t the ss that [Witch] evolved from. [Enchantress] was. Chamy.

    Something else about that bothered him. ¡°People here, they say that Arcaena doesn¡¯t tolerate other [Witches] in her queendom.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Of course they would say that,¡± said his zombie dad. ¡°Do you mind if I sit down?¡±

    He sat before Brin answered, still clutching the wound in his side. It was possible he¡¯d bleed out before the magic of the potion ran out. That would be fine by Brin. As much as the undead imed kinship with him, he felt nothing but fear and disgust for the monster. But he <em>needed</em> this information.

    ¡°Could she still be alive?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°If she is, then she wishes that she were not.¡±

    ¡°So the undead army really came from Arcaena. Not a Burrow Kingdom. What¡¯s it doing all the way out here?¡±

    The undead cocked its head in confusion. ¡°Did you really not hear us, when we spoke of this? I know she ordered you never to listen, but can a child really turn his ears off?¡±

    Brin ventured a guess as to what kind of rtionship that child had with his mother. ¡°Fear can make you do crazy things.¡±

    ¡°This is so. I cannot offer you an apology for never interceding. I resented you, as another chain around my neck. Now in death, I cannot im otherwise. The dead have no use for lies,forting or otherwise.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve moved on,¡± said Brin, though if he needed another reason to <em>really</em> not care about this guy, that was it. ¡°Tell me about the army.¡±

    ¡°It was both. Our spies found a Burrow Kingdom in the wastes. When Aberfa learned of it, she rebelled. She could serve someone who wanted to rule the world without hesitation. However, serving someone who <em>actually might</em><em>seed</em> in conquering the world was a different story. There is a level of madness and death that even your mother couldn¡¯t ept.

    ¡°Aberfa tried to take control of the army, but the others beat us there. We fled. We sought to make it to Steamshield. Perhaps if we brought a warning to Frenaria they would offer us sanctuary. This potion¡¯s effects will soon wear out. You should y me soon.¡±

    ¡°Do undead have weaknesses I should know about?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°We are weak to fire. Bright heat blurs our vision.¡±

    ¡°And it doesn¡¯t hurt? Even that wound in your side?¡±

    ¡°No. You need not pity me. What may look like pain or fear or anger is simply a readjustment of tactics due to changing conditions. We must obey our orders. We must preserve ourselves. We must preserve our master. Anything else?¡±

    ¡°Who is your master?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Where is the Burrow Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. In the Wastes.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s their current n for the army?¡±

    ¡°To bring it home. Therein lies the difficulty. If the army is discovered too soon, the whole continent will unite against Arcaena. However, if they can move across the Bonds in secrecy, then only Prinnash lies in their way. They will burn a line straight across Prinnash and then reinforce Arcaena. The world will still unite against her, but it will be toote. She will be unassable.¡±

    ¡°Then they don¡¯t want to destroy Hammon¡¯s Bog...¡± Brin thought out loud. ¡°They want to get past without anyone noticing. If I wanted to get a message to them, to talk things out, is there a way to contact them?¡±

    ¡°You could write a letter. We have orders to retrieve any mail we intercept.¡±

    ¡°Is there another way I¡¯m not thinking of? A way to stop this army before tens of thousands of people die?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps in life, I could have made a n. I have no wish to bend my mind to this now, and youck the means to force me. Oh. One thing I should mention. I had another family, before your mother took me. You have a half-sister, and two half-brothers. They may yet live. A town called Canibri, in Prinnash.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know how to feel about that. A strange sense of longing, maybe, to meet someone rted by blood. Someone who wasn¡¯t a corpse, who hadn¡¯t tried to kill him.

    ¡°My mother was Aberfa, right? What¡¯s myst name? And what¡¯s your name?¡± asked Brin.

    The undead paused, confused. ¡°You are Aberthol Beynon. And I was Cadwy Baines. Cadwy Beynon after I was taken. Are you¡­ are you not Aberthol?¡±

    Brin winced, then smiled, then winced again when the smile reminded him of the oozing gash on his face. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    The undead twitched, then started to shake.

    ¡°Is it the potion? Is it wearing off?¡±

    ¡°y me now, whoever you are. Or perish.¡±

    Brin picked up his sword, and hacked off his father¡¯s head. It took four tries before the head finally tumbled to the ground.

    A tinkling chime sounded as a series of notifications appeared.

 Book 3: Chapter 14

    Book 3: Chapter 14

    May as well get the bad news out of the way first. It was time to look at Scarred again and see if he¡¯d missed anything. It was totally unfair. A fight to the death with an absurdly high-level undead, and he got a <em>decrease</em> to healing speed? He had to be reading that wrong. When he pulled up the status screen, there was a little more information.

    Title: Scarred

    An undead delivered a wound to your face that inflicted necromantic rot. You have been scarred. Your wounds heal 10% slower. This title cannot be lost while the wound or scar remains.

    That sounded like the Title hade from some kind of ability or Skill. The wording ¡°while the wound or scar remains¡± was promising, though. Hopefully that meant that there was something he could do to nullify it, or possibly even turn it into a positive?

    He remembered back in his old world, there were a bunch of people who liked toe up with worthless superpowers, and then find a way to exploit them to be crazy powerful. Your toast alwaysnds on the butter side down? Put butter on both sides and you have infinite energy. Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t think of an exploit for ¡®your wounds heal slower¡¯.

    It was dumb because he wasn¡¯t even scarred yet. Scarring is what happenedter. You weren¡¯t scarred when your wound was still bleeding. The cheek where he¡¯d been punched ached, while the one where he¡¯d been cut felt like it was on fire. He didn¡¯t even have anything for it now, but he didn¡¯t think he was in danger of bleeding out or anything. He could take care of it when he got home.

    The next notification was more exciting.

    Alert! You have defeated: Elite Undead Soldier Scout [32] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    <strong></strong>

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience will be rewarded as free attributes. +5 free attributes. Please assign them within the next 13 hours or they will expire.

    <strong></strong>

    Brin pumped his fist. That was eight now. He could bring Dexterity, Will, or Vitality to the second threshold. Or if he put them all into Magic, he¡¯d only need three more to get to the first threshold. Then he¡¯d have theplete set.

    He could do it, too. He didn¡¯t need to fight monsters alone anymore; he already had that achievement. He just needed a bit more experience. Surely Hogg would help him with that.

    It was also strange that Cadwy was only level 32, when he was so much stronger, or at least faster, than the other undead he¡¯d fought. The word Elite must be important. Levels weren¡¯t always a good judge of how dangerous something was. He¡¯d proven that tonight.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Warbound (Epic) Without aid, you have defeated an enemy soldier before unlocking your System. You sing the song of the battlefield and your enemies fall before you. +10% Dexterity. +50% experience from meleebat upgraded to +100%. Skill granted: Battle Fury

    Notice: System skills are locked pending full System ess.

    <strong></strong>

    <em>Ohe on!</em> Why was he only rolling snake-eyes today? The System had unlocked Monster Sense for him, but not Battle Fury? That was unfair. He couldn¡¯t wait to find out what it did. It sounded awesome.

    Although, the 100% experience increase was incredible. He¡¯d basically level up twice as fast as anyone else, from meleebat, at least. He was starting to realize he didn¡¯t actually <em>like</em> meleebat. Too much a chance of getting his face cut to pieces, even when he won. He should really learn to use a bow.

    The notifications weren¡¯t finished.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Filial Piety (Epic) You performed a noble act of service to your father at great risk to yourself, freeing his captive soul from those who bound him in servitude.

    Extra resistance against mental maniption, soul maniption, and Mana pool maniption.

    You may also pick one of the following options:

    Strength of arm to match your strength of character

    Mental fortitude to always know what must be done

    Magical growth to gain more wisdom of the world

    Brin didn¡¯t have to think about the choice for long. He selected magical growth.

    You have received: +100% Magic attribute growth.

    <strong></strong>

    He had been hoping it would be a straight-up increase to Magic to push him over the threshold, but still it was an unexpected boon. He had never considered that man his father, but apparently it counted even if it was only your birth father. The hundred percent Magic attribute growth was like water in the desert. Hogg had made light of the regr +10% attribute growth he¡¯d gotten with other achievements, saying it didn¡¯t mean much against the natural rule of diminishing returns from training your attributes, but 100% still had to be something special. He might even be able to train up to twenty-six using the mana drainer, never mind getting Hogg to help him hunt monsters.

    As far as the other stuff was concerned, it was kind of scary to hear the System talk about <em>soul</em> maniption. Was that something that could happen? Hopefully that just meant being bound as an undead. Cadwy hadn¡¯t seemed all that bothered by the experience. And mind maniption? What did that look like? Would he even know if it was happening to him? Well, better to know what was out there and have resistance to it, rather than not know and be vulnerable.

    Things were looking up, but he was feeling¡­ down.

    The adrenaline from the fight was wearing off, and now the pain from his wounds were starting to overwhelm him. The burning cut, the aching bruises, not just on his face, but <em>everywhere. </em>Was there any part of his body that didn¡¯t get hurt somehow? Even the spider bites from earlier were painfully itchy.

    He grabbed everything from the area he felt he should. His sword. The spear. The head of his father. He needed proof of what he¡¯d seen tonight. Hogg would believe him, but he figured the town would need to see a zombie head for it all to sink in.

    He stumbled back south¡­ ish. Night was falling and he couldn''t find the sun behind the clouds.

    His journey felt long, although he probably only went ten steps before Hogg caught him.

    ¡°Oh thank G¨C thank Solia,¡± said Brin. ¡°Were you watching?¡±

    ¡°Of course I was watching,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You said you weren¡¯t going to watch.¡±

    ¡°Of course I said I wasn¡¯t going to watch. Otherwise you¡¯d have known there was a safety and your rewards would¡¯ve been smaller,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Look, you can trust me. Just not always my words.¡±

    Hogg eased Brin onto the ground, and then started digging around in a satchel. He had that and a backpack¨CBrin¡¯s backpack. The one with Marksi in it.

    Hogg himself looked pale and worried. Oh, he probably heard all that stuff about the army.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t like it. I knew you wouldn¡¯t want me to intervene in that fight, not when it still looked like you were going to make it, but just sitting there watching you fight for your life and not doing anything? I didn¡¯t like it. I really¨C¡± Hogg stopped abruptly, frowning hard.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin. ¡°Thank you for trusting me. And thank you for looking out for me. Next time, you can step in.¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t going to be a ¡®next time¡¯. Your days of going off on our own are <em>done</em>, you hear me? You want to get stronger, you''re doing it the normal, slow way.¡±

    ¡°Fine with me. But Marksi¨C¡±

    ¡°Huh? He¡¯s fine. He¡¯s in here. Sleeping.¡± Hogg absently patted his backpack, and then apparently found what he was looking for in the satchel. It was a white square. An adhesive bandage of some kind. He pressed it against Brin¡¯s cut cheek.

    He hissed when it felt like he¡¯d been stabbed all over again, this time by something cold, but the pain soon faded, and it took the burning pain with it, drawing it out like oil from the desert. From the corner of his eye, he saw the bandage turn ck and start to steam. Hogg

    ¡°He got you with something potent here. Lucky I got to it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Was it¡­ poisoned? I didn¡¯t know they used poison,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Probably a Skill of some kind.¡±

    ¡°I got a Title off that. Scarred. It¡¯s a permanent ten percent loss to my healing speed,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg winced in sympathy. ¡°Stronger undead have permanent debuffs. Nasty stuff, that. Scarred can be fixed, but it¡¯ll take a specialist. Nobody like that in the Bonds. There are other ways to turn it around, though.¡±

    Hogg prodded his spider bites, then took out an ointment and started dabbing it on.

    ¡°Ok, but Marksi, he ate something,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg paused. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Some kind of stone. Probably a beast core, from the Fecal¡­ Ffel¡­¡±

    ¡°Facaldagart.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that.¡±

    ¡°Bit of an expensive snack, but he can probably handle it. We¡¯ll keep an eye on him.¡±

    Brin sagged in relief. ¡°Oh, good.¡±

    ¡°Alright, where else are you hurt?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°My chest?¡±

    ¡°Nothing broken, but you¡¯ll be sore in the morning,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You¡¯re bleeding somewhere else. I can smell it.¡±

    Brin tried to think. There¡¯d been so much today that trying to think of every time he¡¯d been hit was difficult for his frazzled mind. The spiders had bit him, the giant lizard he knocked him around, but the armor had protected him. The undead soldier¡­ Oh, right. His arm.

    He held up his forearm. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you couldn¡¯t just, you know, see in the dark.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know what else is watching. I¡¯d rather not turn the lights on,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin held up his lighter with the other hand and created a candle-sized me. His forearm looked worse than he remembered it being. Blood ran through the rent in the armor and down to his elbow.

    ¡°I think I can glue this shut,¡± said Hogg, and reached into the rent with a dab of a green substance that smelled like rotten spinach. It stung when it touched the skin. Hogg pinched the cut closed, and the bleeding stopped soon after.

    ¡°Next time I go on an adventure, I¡¯m bringing medical supplies,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You think?¡± asked Hogg.

    Hogg dug in his rucksack again, and brought out a small yellow bottle. ¡°Drink this.¡±

    Brin examined it. Ten silver. He knocked it back and it tasted like nothing, but somehow had a really terrible limey aftertaste.

    He started feeling warm. Light. The pain in his body seemed to melt away, and the fog in his mind lifted. He¡¯d really been fading there for a second; now that he was back to himself, he could tell.

    He wasn¡¯t just free from pain, he felt <em>good</em>. Energetic. He could <em>run</em> the entire way back home.

    ¡°What <em>is</em> that stuff?¡± asked Brin. ¡°You¡¯ve been holding out on me! I know it wasn¡¯t that expensive, so why aren¡¯t we drinking that all the time?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s absurdly addictive. I¡¯m not even going to tell you what it''s called, because you¡¯re going to be craving it for the next two days. Also, it doesn¡¯t actually fix what¡¯s wrong with you. You¡¯re still going to be <em>very</em> sore in the morning, and now your headache will be ten times worse.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± said Brin. Sure that didn¡¯t sound the best, but right now he didn¡¯t care. He tested winding his arms around in circles, marveling at how all the soreness was just <em>gone.</em> ¡°So you heard all the stuff my zombie dad told me?¡±

    ¡°I did!¡± Hogg¡¯s face lit up. ¡°It¡¯s great! Well, no, it¡¯s terrible. The worst possible scenario. But at least now we know! Finally! I¡¯ve been in the dark for so long, imagining every possible nightmare, and now <em>finally</em> we have something to go off of.¡±

    ¡°What are we going to do about it? We have to tell everyone,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Already on it. I have a mirror image in Oud¡¯s Bog as we speak, dictating letters to send to every corner of the nation, and hopefully it won¡¯t matter if they arrive or not, because I have eyes heading to the capitol and the Tower, as well as the front lines with the same message. Soon, everyone will know. We need to warn the town, too, though. You should take that head and bring it to the Prefit. Tell him everything you saw and heard. The undead, the army, and don¡¯t forget to mention that a certain [Weaver] manipted a child into near certain death. She may have saved us all, but that kind of thing is illegal around here, or so I hear.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Brin with a smile. ¡°But what are you going to do?¡±

    Hogg looked off into the forest, then back at Brin, clearly conflicted. ¡°I have to go after them. They can fool my illusions, but I can track them in person. This might be our <em>one</em> chance to find the real army. Even with the letters, and even if it¡¯s me saying it, if we don¡¯t have the army, then¡­¡±

    ¡°Go,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But¨C¡±

    ¡°You should go! Get going now, the trail is getting cold! I¡¯ll be <em>fine,</em>¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m going straight back to town, and you just came from that direction. There¡¯s nothing there. I¡¯ll be safe. Just make sure youe back, ok?¡±

    Hogg clenched his jaw. ¡°Arg! Fine. I¡¯m keeping a mirror image with you, just in case.¡±

    A fake Hogg popped up next to Brin, and the real one disappeared into the forest.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll be getting back.¡±

    He started walking with Hogg¡¯s mirror image by his side. He didn¡¯t engage the man in conversation. Hogg was doing at least three things at once right now, and it wouldn¡¯t be helpful to pull away any of his attention. He contented himself with the cool night air and the feeling that the danger was finally over.

    It was probably the drug potion Hogg had given him, but he felt good. Content. It was a beautiful night. The clouds were blocking the stars, but the rain had stopped and the world felt fresh and that beautiful after-rainstorm aroma hung in the air. It was quiet, the birds and bugs were still asleep from the cold and rain, but he figured they¡¯d start chirping any moment now.

    Hogg knew where to go, so Brin followed him, hands on the back of his head.

    With no warning, Hogg¡¯s illusion disappeared. A secondter, Brin heard crunching footsteps behind him¨Cloud walking so he wouldn¡¯t be startled. It was Hogg, the real one.

    ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t feel good about it. I¡¯m not letting you walk back alone. I¡¯ll pick up the trailter if I can, but only <em>after</em> I see you safe in town.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid,¡± Brin pointed out. ¡°Even if I die on the way back, which I won¡¯t, the army is more important. Figuring out where the army is could save <em>thousands</em>.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. He walked right past Brin, moving quickly so that Brin had to trot to keep up. ¡°I was thinking, see? I was thinking about what the [Weaver] done. She used you, she messed with your mind ying all those games, pushing you to get stronger and meaner. Oh well, people are mean sometimes, I thought. Lots of people are mean to children because they just don¡¯t like children. [Weaver] at least, she got a reason, right? [Weaver¡¯s] always got a reason.¡±

    Hogg was slipping into an ent, one Brin didn¡¯t really recognize. Hogg never had the most meticulous diction, sure, but this was new.

    ¡°Maybe it was a good one,¡± said Brin, not knowing why he was sticking up for someone he truly didn¡¯t like.

    ¡°Yeah, but then tonight. She put you in danger with her ¡®choice¡¯ that was no choice at all. And I¡­ I went along. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been doing wrong, see? A vige elder, she can say ¡®One must die for the good of all¡¯, but a parent, that¡¯s something different. Parents protect their kids no matter what, even if all the rest of the world burns for it. I had no call to let her do that to you. I should have put a stop to it.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s the truth. Well, so what? That¡¯s also part of being a parent. I should have done it anyway. I should have told you that you had to take a break once in a while and have some fun, rather than training all day every day.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a child. I¨C¡±

    ¡°Grown-ups need someone to tell them that, too. You have one week of childhood left and I learn all this now. Noctis¡¯ starry abyss, I¡¯m a slow study.¡±

    Brin put a hand on his shoulder, awkward because of how quick he had to walk to keep up. ¡°I think you¡¯re doing just fine. You¡¯re trying. I can see that, and it¡¯s all I ever asked.¡±

    Hogg grunted.

    They walked along, and Brin expected his energy drink to wear off, but if anything the effect just got stronger and stronger, until he started feeling like they were going too slow. Yeah, people <em>really</em> shouldn¡¯t be drinking this stuff. It hadn¡¯t even worn off yet and he already wanted another one.

    ¡°What¡¯s she doing now?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°She¡¯s with the Prefit,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What are they talking about?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t usually eavesdrop on people I know, but¡­ yep. She¡¯s flirting with him. Awkwardly. He¡¯s not having it. I¡¯m shutting that out.¡±

    Brinughed at the scandalized expression on Hogg¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hey, so listen, I was thinking,¡± said Brin. Now was as good a time as any to bring up the Magic threshold thing. He figured he¡¯d start with asking Hogg to skip town, and when he shot that down he¡¯d ask Hogg to help him hunt monsters. Better chance of getting a yes on the second question. ¡°System day is in a week, and frankly it sucks. It¡¯spletely unfair that I¡¯m losing out on almost six months of preparation just because this town has a stupid Skill. Is there any chance you could get me to another town and register residency there, so I¡¯d have a bit more time?¡±

    To his surprise, Hogg actually took the time to mull it over. Then he nodded. ¡°Sure, we could do that.¡±

    Brin stumbled over his own feet, tumbling to his knees. Hogg helped him up.

    ¡°You mean¡­ just like that?¡±

    ¡°Well, why not? I mean, I want to protect my home. But I also want to protect you, and frankly, Lumina would thank me if I took you away from the center of theing disaster. There are plenty of ces that would be safer than Hammon¡¯s Bog for the next year or two, looks like. I could get you to Eduard¡¯s Bog in a day, or Oud¡¯s Bog in three days if we hurry. Hammon¡¯s Bog won¡¯t miss me if I¡¯m just gone for a week or two. I reckon they won¡¯t miss you at all.¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°No, I imagine they won¡¯t.¡±

    A notification appeared.

    Alert! You have reached majority. Your System will be unlocked. Please prepare for ss Selection.

    ¡°What? What, no. That can¡¯t be right!¡± Brin said, desperately trying to blink away the notification. ¡°I still have a week!¡±

    ¡°What is it? What¡¯s going on?¡± Hogg searched Brin¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s saying I¡¯m unlocking my System. Can people spoof System messages?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg¡¯s eyes zed over. ¡°Damn it all! The Prefit did this! Tawna had him move System day up a week!¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°More like, how did she know what we were just talking about? It can¡¯t be anything else, can it? She doesn¡¯t want us to leave. Burn her! And burn this town! They can¡¯t <em>do</em> this to you.¡±

    ¡°What should I do?¡±

    Hogg wiped his face with his hands, ¡°Get ready, I guess. Let¡¯s find somece dry so you don¡¯t wake up soaking wet.¡±

    Hogg found a pine, and swiped away the lower branches with one sh of his shortsword, making a nice covered little area where they could sit on dry pine needles.

    Brin sat, in shock. Well, no, the sad part was he wasn¡¯t shocked. He knew, somehow, that they were going to take it away from him.

    He had to make a quick decision. Vitality was higher than Dexterity. He put six points into Vitality, bringing it up to the second threshold. Notifications announced that he got the expected Lively II and upgrade to Workhorse. He didn¡¯t read them. He put thest three points into Magic, bringing it up to eighteen. Hopefully it would be enough.

    Hogg couldn¡¯t even look at him. The old guy¡¯s jaw was clenched so tight it looked like he might break his teeth, and he kept gulping.

    Brin sighed. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ss Selection Initiated.

    <strong></strong>

 Book 3: Chapter 15

    Book 3: Chapter 15

    Brin opened his eyes to an unusually familiar sight. This was home, his home from before, the living room of the nice single-bedroom apartment. Everything was exactly as he remembered it. The carpet, the paint, everything was still like new because only he had ever lived here. The armchair matched the sofa and fit with the coffee table and the TV stand. He¡¯d bought them all together with his first paycheck after college, still flush with the novelty of being able to afford things like new furniture. His gamingputer on a sleek, ck desk with a trendy gaming chair¨Cit wasn¡¯t nearly asfortable as themercials imed. Regr office chairs were honestly better for sitting for long periods of time.

    The dining table, too big for him eating alone, but perfect for the weekly game night with his friends. It didn¡¯t hurt to remember them, even though he¡¯d never see them again. A fun group, but he couldn¡¯t really say they were close.

    For a moment, he wanted to pretend that he was really here. That he¡¯d fallen asleep in his chair and that he¡¯d dreamed the whole thing. [Know What¡¯s Real] wouldn¡¯t even let him pretend. He knew this wasn¡¯t real. This was a dream, or illusion, or vision.

    He stood up and went to the mirror, the one on the wall that he¡¯d bought with some other random decorations he¡¯d bought when people started asking why his walls were all so bare. In the mirror, he saw Brin¡¯s scarred face staring back at him. He still had the bruise on one side and the adhesive bandage on the other, though he couldn¡¯t really feel either.

    He suddenly felt sick with anger at being here. This was ss Selection. The System had created this little mind pce. Why? To make him feel at ease? It was rank maniption.

    He calmly, carefully went over to the dining table, picked up a chair, and hurled it at the wall, shattering it.

    <em>He had been so close. He had almost gotten Magic I. Was that really too much to ask?</em> The broken chair disappeared, and reappeared at its ce at the table. Apparently, this space wasn¡¯t going to indulge in his tantrums. He took deep breaths, trying to force the rage down.

    This was Tawna¡¯s n again. Go into ss Selection angry and upset, and he¡¯d definitely pick an evil ss, right? Well, he was upset, but knowing he was angry didn¡¯t make it go away.

    He heard a knock at the door, and it opened before he answered it.

    Mark walked in. It was him, looking as he did in his old life. Somehow too skinny and too fat at the same time, his sandy blonde hair already balding.

    The strangest part was what he was wearing¨Cnothing but lederhosen. No shirt or socks either, just the shorts-suspendersbo that German children used to wear. They weren¡¯t real leather, either; they looked like he¡¯d bought them from a halloween costume store.

    He went to the fridge and pulled out an orange creme soda, and then sat at the table and looked at Brin.

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know where to start. Um. Hi. Wee to ss selection?¡±

    Brin frowned. ¡°Hi. Who are you supposed to be? And can we do thister? I kind of had ns.¡±

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s start there. First off, I feel you. I really do. It sucks what just happened.¡±

    Brin fumed, walking across the floor of the living room that now felt too small. ¡°It sucks? That¡¯s all you can say? I was <em>so</em> close. Why would she do this? What could I have possibly done to earn this ridiculous level of sabotage from her?¡±

    ¡°When I think about it,¡± said the lederhosen Mark, ¡°everything she¡¯s ever done to me hasn¡¯t been because of what I¡¯ve done, but because of what I could do in the future, or not do. I think it¡¯s safe to assume this is to prevent some kind of bad future. The guess that she somehow figured out that I was nning on skipping town and that she needs Hogg here seems the most likely to me.¡±

    ¡°Why are you saying it like that, like you were this happened to?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m you. You can call me the Child.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, because that makes sense,¡± said Brin. He was irritated to find that it actually <em>did</em> make sense. [Know What¡¯s Real] pointed it out; in some strange way, he was talking to himself. ¡°What could she <em>possibly</em> gain from this? It isn¡¯t just me this time. She screwed over the entire town with this stunt. People treat System Day like their wedding day and college graduation all wrapped up in one. This is going to piss <em>everyone</em> off. Why would the Prefit fall for that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that,¡± said the Child. ¡°Hogg is going to murder her. He¡¯s been sticking up for me recently, and even if he hadn¡¯t been, do you really think he¡¯s the type of person who¡¯s fine letting himself be manipted to this degree? This isn¡¯t just mean, it¡¯s stupid.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. I honestly don¡¯t see how she thinks she¡¯ll get away with it,¡± said Brin. ¡°By triggering System Day, she¡¯spletely stopped Hogg¡¯s ability to track down the army. Or maybe that was the point. Are wepletely sure she isn¡¯t allied with the [Witches]? Hogg seemed pretty certain she wasn¡¯t, and the visions I saw on her weaving showed her dead with the rest of the town. But I can¡¯t think of anything else that would exin it. Maybe this is all just about getting me killed. Maybe she assumed Hogg would leave me to fend for myself and that I¡¯d beatose on the forest floor, perfect pickings for some monster toe along.¡±

    ¡°You really think this is all someplex n to get a monster to kill me?¡± asked the Child.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a win-win for her either way. Either I die and her visions clear up, or I bring back word of the army.¡± Brin stopped pacing back and forth and slumped into the armchair. ¡°Well, I could sit here making guesses all day, but we really won¡¯t know until we get back to town. Let¡¯s just get this over with. How do I select a ss?¡±

    ¡°Oh, buck up. You missed <em>one </em>achievement that you wanted, but you still have an incredible start. I don¡¯t think there are even very many noble kids with as good a start as you. But yeah, time¡¯s wasting. I already introduced myself. I¡¯m the Child. I¡¯m here to represent the possibility of choosing the [Child] ss. I¡¯m you, but mostly I¡¯m the you that would choose [Child].¡±

    ¡°If I choose [Child] I¡¯ll go back to looking like I did before? And what¡¯s with the lederhosen? Why aren¡¯t you wearing a shirt? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re goingmando.¡±

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t tell you,¡± said the Child with a wink. ¡°I think your subconscious couldn¡¯t imagine that you would choose my ss, so it had a hard timeing up with what that would look like. But don¡¯t worry! The other guys will get here soon. We just figured I¡¯de on ahead and exin how this is going to work. And by ¡®we¡¯ I mean ¡®you¡¯. We¡¯re all you. Different possibilities of you, based on what you choose today.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really nailing this,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well <em>sorry</em>,¡± said the Child. ¡°I didn¡¯t get any time to prep, ok? I¡¯ve only existed for like two minutes. Or I¡¯ve existed your whole life, because¨C¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re me. Got it,¡± said Brin.

    The Child chugged his orange creme soda, straight down. Then he got up and grabbed himself another. Those were the expensive brand, so he had to drive to a special store in the city for them. He didn¡¯tin, though, because they weren¡¯t even real.

    The Child mmed his empty bottle on the table. ¡°Alright, so first things first. Where are we? This is your soul space. It can be anywhere, but we decided on a ce that would feelfortable and familiar to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t choose Hogg¡¯s ce, or my earth parents¡¯ house.¡±

    ¡°Hogg¡¯s house is Hogg¡¯s house. It needs to be <em>your</em> ce. As for your parents'' house, this should be a time of self-reflection, not a time for breaking down and crying about all the stuff you miss. Which reminds me, time is moving at a normal rate in the real world. We should be able to discuss all your options, but we can¡¯t stay in here forever.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Fair enough. So tell me about [Child], I guess?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, for sure, but first, why don¡¯t we look at all the other stuff, first? As of now, your System is unlocked. You finally get to see what those titles you¡¯ve been lugging around actually do.

    On cue, the notifications appeared.

    Title unlocked: Survivor of Travin¡¯s Bog You survived the massacre at Travin¡¯s Bog that ended your family. +50% resistance to heat, cold and poison.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s cooler than it sounds. You won¡¯t be able to pick up hot coals or tank a frost ray, but it includes temperature resistance. You can basically sleep naked in a snowdrift at this point. Pretty hot, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, dude. That¡¯s fire,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°So like, are we intending our puns now, or what?¡±

    Title unlocked: Traveler You have journeyed to a strange and foreignnd where you now live. +30% movement speed when out ofbat You have argely increased ability to learnnguages.

    ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Trust me, you¡¯re going to need that. You don¡¯t even speak all thenguages of Frenaria right now,¡± said the Child.

    Title unlocked: Otherworlder You have traversed the stars and arrived at an entirely new world. +50% experience while your ss is below level 30. Strengthened immune system. Strengthened magic resistance.

    ¡°What¡¯s magic resistance do?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Lots of sses have that, even if they don¡¯t get an explicit Skill or Title for it. I think it increases with Vitality. You know how a [Warrior] might survive a lightning spell from a [Mage], but still might die from a natural lightning strike?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t know that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s like that.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a nice, broad assortment of bonuses. No one of those Titles are a game-changer, but I figure putting them all together is pretty powerful.¡±

    ¡°Sure, and we¡¯re not done. You still have a locked Skill,¡± said the Child.

    Skill unlocked: Battle Fury (Epic) Your fury in battle lends you greater power.

    +5% increase to the effects of your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality with each wound you take and with each wound you give. +50% increase with each enemy you y. These increases are capped at +100%. These increases expire thirty minutes after you leavebat.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡± Brin said. ¡°That really would¡¯ve made things simple when I fought all those spiders. Although I¡¯m worried this is going to lock me into a melee ss.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to be forced into anything. That¡¯s what today is all about.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± said Brin. ¡°And it¡¯s not like I hate the idea of [Warrior]. Am I going to be offered [Warrior]?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°[Mage]?¡±

    ¡°No. But we¡¯ll get to that! Let¡¯s talk about [Child] first,¡± said the Child.

    Brin sighed. ¡°Fine. Tell me about [Child].¡±

    The Child leaned back in his chair, making the wood creak. ¡°The thing about [Child] is¡­ you don¡¯t want [Child]. It¡¯s not much of anything. It¡¯s got [Unobtrusive Presence] which makes me look smaller and like less of a threat, and monsters will have a hard time noticing me. I¡¯ll also get [Emte] which lets me learn Skills from adults. I¡¯ll be able to use a much weaker version of a Skill that an adult directly teaches me, and I can only hold one at a time. I¡¯ll get <em>zero</em> attribute points from the ss, but one free attribute per level for being human. I also won¡¯t be able to get the pre-system achievements. Those are still gone.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like it sucks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It does.¡±

    ¡°Come on, there must be at least one reason to pick it.¡±

    The child sighed dramatically. ¡°The only good thing about [Child] is that it lets me dy my choice. When I <em>do</em> pick a real ss, it¡¯ll give me all the attributes I missed as if I¡¯d been leveling in that ss the entire time. I <em>guess</em> there¡¯s one other thing. If there¡¯s a certain ss you <em>really</em> have to have, and you have someone willing to teach you, you can use [Child] to give yourself a better chance.¡±

    ¡°I can get [Mage] that way?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Child said reluctantly. ¡°But some nobles have to try six or seven times before they finally get it. That¡¯s six or seven <em>years</em>. That¡¯s the other thing. Choose [Child] and you won¡¯t be able to switch sses for another year. Not even breaking Oaths will work.¡±

    ¡°But that will work for other sses?¡±

    ¡°Sure, if you have a ss you really can¡¯t stand, break an Oath and you¡¯ll get something else. But it¡¯ll be automatic. You won¡¯t get to choose. And [Child] is the mostmon ss to get automatically assigned to. Try to choose something you really want.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

    The Child nodded. ¡°Cool. Now, for the record, please state the reason why you¡¯re not going to choose me.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t really love how the Child acted like he knew what Brin was going to say. He probably did if he really was him somehow, but that didn¡¯t need to act like it.

    But he was right. ¡°I¡¯m done with being a child. I¡¯ve had enough of it for two lifetimes.¡±

    ¡°Yup. Alright, so like I said, time is still moving like normal. We¡¯re probably fine with Hogg watching over us, but for the rest of the¡­ spirit vision or whatever, I¡¯m going to be looking through our eyes and hearing through our ears, just in case. I¡¯ll tell you if something happens.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate it,¡± said Brin.

    The Child took another soda from the fridge, and sat down at the gamingputer, putting on the headphones. He was really going through those sodas. But why not? It wasn¡¯t like he could get fat. Brin stood and got one for himself, a ck cherry. It tasted exactly like he remembered. The rush of sugar was intense after months of eating unprocessed foods. Probably a mistake. They didn¡¯t have anything like this in his new world.

    As soon as he was back on the sofa, the door burst open.

    Brin walked inside, only it was an older version of him in his new-world body. This guy looked to be around twenty. He wore heavily battered and burned leather armor, was darkly tanned, and every inch of exposed skin was covered in scars. They crisscrossed everywhere, some wide and jagged, some thin white lines. The two that stood out were the two he also bore, the one on the forehead and the slice on his cheek.

    The scarred Brin walked in with restless energy. He immediately darted from window to window, peeking outside, and when he was satisfied, set to pacing back and forth across the room like a caged tiger.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Scarred One,¡± said the Child.

    ¡°No,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Just hear me out,¡± said the Scarred One.

    Brin would, but only because he was morbidly curious. Looking at his choices was like looking at what the System actually thought of him, of what kind of person he was on the inside. But he would <em>not</em> be choosing that guy. Hogg said you turn into the thing you choose, and this guy looked like a murder hobo, in and simple.

    Before the Scarred one could make his pitch, the door opened again.

    The next choice to enter was more normal looking. Him, if he was in his thirties. He had Brin¡¯s same scar on his forehead and the scar on his cheek was healed, but no other scars, and he dressed like Gustaff, in a long blue robe bedecked with stars. He didn¡¯t lookical in it, the way Gustaff did. He looked professional, and there was a hardness in his eyes. He gave the [Scarred One] an appraising nce, then took the other armchair in the corner.

    ¡°[Illusionist]?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m the ss you¡¯re going to pick.¡±

    ¡°Nice confidence,¡± said Brin.

    The [Illusionist] shrugged. ¡°But you should really consider the next guy instead.¡±

    The next guy was Brin in his middle years. This one was calmly confident and fairly ordinary-looking. He wore the nice traditional clothes of Hammon¡¯s Bog. He looked solid enough, but not threatening in the way he met the eyes of every other man in the room, one by one. He gave Brin a nod, and then went to the fridge. He took a soda, and clinked it against the Child¡¯s on his way to the sofa.

    He picked up the remote and turned on a football game, which for some reason Brin couldn¡¯t see or hear. The man lifted his drink. ¡°sser. Or ssmaker, whichever you prefer.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± said Brin. That would be themon ss, and for some reason, he already felt oddlypelled by that choice. That was the only version of him that wasn¡¯t hard and lean. He was strong, but soft, like someone who didn¡¯t have to fight with his life on the line every day.

    ¡°Let me go first,¡± said the Scarred One.

    Brin stood up to face him, eye to eye. For some reason, despite the evil ss¡¯s clear penchant for violence, Brin didn¡¯t feel intimidated looking at him. Maybe because [This Was Real] made him sure that this really was some version of him. Even evil Brin still had Brin¡¯s best interests in mind.

    ¡°Not going to lie; I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything you can say that will change my mind,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt anymore,¡± said the Scarred One.

 Book 3: Chapter 16

    Book 3: Chapter 16

    Brin sat down. ¡°Oh.¡± That¡­ was a good pitch. Because he really felt it. The vulnerability. The sincerity. The <em>fatigue</em>. It was like he was the one who was talking.

    ¡°Why is it that everywhere I go and everything I do, I have to hurt so much? Everything is pain. It¡¯s painful to work out all the time, to always be tired, to always have sore muscles. And most of all, it hurts to get hurt. I get cut up and stabbed and poisoned and it hurts. It never gets better. It hurts every time.

    ¡°And the things they say about me. Why do I have to care what a bunch of ignorant dirt-farmers in the middle of nowhere think about me? Rejection, hostility, back-biting, all of that hurts, too. I shouldn¡¯t care. I shouldn¡¯t think about them at all. But I do.¡±

    If ss selection had happened even two weeks earlier, Brin definitely would¡¯ve been swayed by this line of reasoning. Even now, he was still furious at Tawna¡¯stest trick, but he¡¯d also found a certain kind of peace. Not <em>everyone</em> was out to get him. Some of the town had listened to Tawna, but there were others who he now saw had always gone out of their way to be nice to him.

    The Scarred One said, ¡°I can free you from all that. I start right off the bat with [Pain Resistance]. You¡¯ll feel it as information, and as fuel to push you to greater focus and ferocity. That alone would make this worth it. Can you imagine it? A life free from pain? A life where you actually enjoy what you do every day? That¡¯s what I can do for you. I know what you thought when you first saw my face; you didn¡¯t fear me at all. I¡¯m not here to hurt you. I¡¯m here to free you.

    ¡°That¡¯s just one Skill. Next, and this is the base Skill of the ss, [Regenerative Scarring]. My wounds heal faster. And it stacks! Stacks on stacks. The more scars that have healed, the faster my new wounds will heal.

    ¡°Next,ing in clutch is [Ugly On the Inside]. This gives me <em>quick</em> internal scarring. Do you know how many people die from internal injuries? It¡¯s a lot. But not me. I can survive <em>anything</em> that doesn¡¯t kill you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s everyone. Everyone survives whatever doesn¡¯t kill them,¡± Brin pointed out.

    The Scarred One¡¯s eyes glowed with zealous light. ¡°Not like me. And that¡¯s just the level one stuff. Those are the benefits you get right out of the gate. You want to hear about some higher level Skills, like the one of the ones you¡¯ll get offered at level five? It¡¯s called [Mana Scars]. You can literally use Mana to hold yourself together when your muscles get cut or your tendons are shed. That means you¡¯ll have no loss of power or mobility as long as your Mana pool doesn¡¯t dry up. This is the ss that won¡¯t quit.

    ¡°You should know this is a Rare ss we¡¯re talking about. Every level you¡¯ll get two points to Strength, two to Vitality, and one to Dexterity, and that¡¯s in addition to your free stat for being human. This is an opportunity you won¡¯t want to miss.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sort of starting to sound like a salesman,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s the magic scars. Huge bonus to charisma,¡± said the Scarred One.

    Brin gave the others a questioning nce. The Illusionist shrugged, while the sser smirked and shook his head.

    ¡°Look, thanks foring in¨C¡± started Brin.

    The Scarred One put his hands up in mock surrender. ¡°Look. I get it. Evil ss, and all, there¡¯s some stigma attached. So what if I sweeten the pot, huh? I¡¯m prepared to make you a one-time offer. Act now, and [Regenerative Scarring] won¡¯t be applied as a Skill. Instead, it will merge with your Scarred title. Ten percent slower healing turns to ten percent <em>faster</em>. Oh, and did I mention this title is upgradeable? The best part is, it¡¯s a title now. You try the ss, don¡¯t like it? Fine. Lose the ss, but you¡¯ll <em>keep</em> the title.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Brin chuckled with sudden anxiety. ¡°That is <em>very</em> tempting.¡±

    ¡°It may not be as easy as you think to change your sster,¡± said the Illusionist. ¡°Evil sses have a tendency to change your outlook. Perhaps even alter your personality.¡±

    The Scarred One stepped over and put a hand on Brin¡¯s shoulder, facing down the Illusionist. ¡°Maybe for others. My man here has what it takes to live life on <em>his terms</em>. He won¡¯t let something like a ss rule him.¡±

    The Illusionist stared, not answering.

    ¡°It¡¯s true, though, I¡¯m betting he will keep me, once I show him what I can do.¡± He turned to Brin. ¡°I¡¯m what you¡¯ve been working for. All those hours lifting weights, working out, pushing the boundaries and breaking every taboo you can find. All the pain and suffering. All that time, living as an outcast. The lies you told, the crimes youmitted. What was it all for, if not for me? These guys, they¡¯re what you get for being in a town and for having the right father. I¡¯m the ss you earned! You didn¡¯t even think about Magic until recently¨Cyour goal was improving your body. I am your body¡¯s perfection. You want to be strong and brave like Gn. I¡¯m as strong as Gn¡¯s [Knight] and I am absolutely fearless. Don¡¯t believe all that? Fine. Pick me for the free upgrade, and then move one to something else. What do you have to lose?¡±

    ¡°ss selection after breaking an Oath is random. You won¡¯t get to choose a second time,¡± warned the Illusionist.

    ¡°Well!¡± the Scarred One pped. ¡°That was my pitch. Why don¡¯t you go next?¡±

    The Illusionist nodded and didn¡¯t rise from his spot in the armchair. ¡°You already know much of what an Illusionist can do. I have the power to summon light and sound, and I know you¡¯ve already thought much about the possible applications. What you don¡¯t know is that I receive two Magic, two Mental Control, one Will, and one free attribute per level, in addition to the racial free point. I am certain that you will choose me, but for now I would yield my turn to the sser.¡±

    Brin honestly didn¡¯t hate the idea of being an [Illusionist], but Scarred One was¡­ troublingly tempting, and it was a little weird that this guy wasn¡¯t trying at all. He didn¡¯t have any reason to refuse though. He nodded at the sser.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said the sser. He turned off the football game, stood up, and sped his hands behind his back. ¡°I¡¯d like you to think back to the moment of your death.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather not,¡± Brin said with a sardonic smile.

    ¡°Please. This is important,¡± the sser responded evenly. ¡°Think about that moment,ying on the ice, and all the regrets you had. And think about the regrets you had the next couple days, after you realized that life was over. Can you honestly tell me that you wish you had spent more time on your career?¡±

    ¡°Oof,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Exactly. And here you are, making all the same mistakes. I will not make the same mistakes as my past life. I could try to sell you the ss based on its merits, and don¡¯t get me wrong, there are a few. I make ss, and given time I¡¯ll be able to summon, shape, and move it with Mana alone. Also, there¡¯s a memory Skill. At level 10 I can remember <em>anything</em> I ever saw or learned about ss. Flipped past a page of a textbook where the chemical properties of ss was mentioned? Fall asleep with the tv on something about the manufacturing process? I¡¯ll remember all of it. Frankly, I¡¯ll revolutionize the field. You think you might know what ss can do, but you haven¡¯t even scratched the surface. With your memories and my abilities, I can see ss that waves in the wind like grass, a shining ss tower with walls stronger than cksteel, ss weapons that are named in the epics.

    ¡°That aside, though, I think it¡¯s important to recognize what I <em>represent.</em> Look around the room. What¡¯s different about me from everyone else?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a little bit fatter,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°True. I¡¯m not starving¨Cnot even close. I eat dessert every night, and then sleep in my own bed. But that¡¯s not what I meant. How am I different from all the others, even including the Child?¡±

    Brin knew the answer. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who¡¯s happy,¡± he admitted.

    The sser smiled. A kind smile. A smile Brin wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever worn on this face. ¡°I can be happy. My profession isplicated, difficult, and creative. Perfect to capture the attention of my sharp mind. I can be satisfied with my work, but it won¡¯t overwhelm me. I am a respected and beloved member of mymunity. I can get married, have a family, and grow old.¡±

    The Scarred One spat on the floor. ¡°No you can¡¯t. Who could you marry? You¡¯re too old for the kids your age.¡±

    ¡°In this culture, it isn¡¯t strange at all for a teenager to marry a thirty-year-old,¡± said the sser.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that. In my culture that¡¯s <em>weird</em>. You wouldn¡¯t marry a teenager,¡± used the Scarred One.

    ¡°Are we really doing this?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s got a point,¡± said the Illusionist.

    ¡°You¡¯re siding with him?¡± the sser asked, aghast.

    ¡°Do we really have to talk about this?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Who else are you going to talk about it with?¡± asked the Scarred One, dramatically pointing at him with an using finger. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly been thinking about it hard enough.¡±

    Brin raised his hands in surrender.

    ¡°Alright,¡± the sser nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s hash this out then. I don¡¯t think I should rule out romance for my entire life. It¡¯s not healthy.¡±

    ¡°Who are you going to marry? Someone Lumina¡¯s age? Face it, that would be even worse. That would just make her the creepy one. And I¡¯m <em>not</em> marrying a teenager. I¡¯m twenty-six years old, by Anshar,¡± said the Scarred One.

    ¡°You¡¯re really going to swear by Anshar?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to swear by the awesomest god. No teenagers. I mean it. I¡¯m not going to be that creep that hangs around little girls asking if they¡¯re legal.¡±

    ¡°Fine. Ok,¡± said the sser. ¡°But did you notice? You said you¡¯re twenty-six. That was a year ago. Am I twenty-six or twenty-seven?¡±

    The Illusionist stroked his chin thoughtfully. ¡°I think I¡¯m twenty-six. I think I¡¯ll be stuck at twenty-six until this body turns twenty-seven.¡±

    The sser said, ¡°Ok, now we¡¯re getting somewhere. What¡¯s the rule for how young someone can be before it¡¯s weird? Half your age, plus seven.¡±

    ¡°Twenty,¡± said the Illusionist.

    The Scarred One nodded hesitantly. ¡°But don¡¯t go out and shack up with the first random girl you see. I want to live my life a little.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine. Are we in agreement?¡±

    The other aspects nodded.

    ¡°d you got that settled,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, you weren¡¯t going to,¡± said the Scarred One.

    The Illusionist raised a finger. ¡°Actually, that¡¯s an interesting metaphysical question. Technically if we settled it then he <em>did</em>¨C¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s settled,¡± said the sser. ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said the Illusionist, annoyed to be cut off.

    The Child made a thumbs up from the gamingputer, while the Scarred One gave a terse nod.

    They all looked to him. ¡°Yeah, sure. I have other stuff on my mind right now, you know,¡± said Brin.

    The sser pped his hands. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. I can get married to someone twenty years or older, when my new body is also at least that age. I um¡­ geez you guys, you sort of made me lose my thought a little. I didn¡¯t interrupt <em>your</em> pitch, Scarred One. Where was I? Oh yes, the <em>point</em> of all this is that I can live a life of substance. I can have <em>real</em> rtionships, and give them the attention they deserve. I can do all the things that you regret not doing.¡±

    ¡°I regret not traveling more,¡± said Brin.

    The sser waved that away. ¡°If you wanted to travel, you would have. You <em>hate</em> travel. It¡¯s ufortable and boring. Why drive eight hours just to see something you could have looked up on the inte in three seconds? No, you¡¯d much rather stay home with a good book and a mug of something hot.¡±

    Brin thought about it for a long moment. ¡°I wish I was the kind of person who could choose you.¡±

    ¡°You are, or I wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s an army of undead out there. My life isn¡¯t safe. I need to be able to protect myself,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m not defenseless; how about morphic ss armor, sharp des, and ss projectiles that shoot like bullets?¡±

    ¡°But how long will that take? A year? Ten? I need to be able to defend myself now,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll find that the world is less dangerous for people like me. There will always be violence out there; leave it to the violent. The only way to find peace is to be peaceful. What do I care if my town is conquered? I have no loyalty to Frenaria. I¡¯ll pay taxes to Prinnash or even Arcaena; it makes no difference to me as long as the people I care about are ok. And there will be people like that. I will love, and be loved in return.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Brin.

    The sser took that for what it was. ¡°Well, thanks for hearing me out. Think about what I said, will you? There¡¯s no reason an [Illusionist] can¡¯t be happy someday. It¡¯s a perfectly respectable trade, if you want it to be.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I will,¡± Brin said.

    The sser returned to his seat, and the Illusionist stood. He straightened his robes, and walked from his spot in the armchair.

    ¡°My ss¡¯s base Skills are [Summon Light] and [Summon Sound]. From there, you¡¯ll find some branching paths that I¡¯m sure Hogg can better exin than I. I think Hogg is a special case, though. It would probably be wiser to think about doing the things that Gustaff can do. Mirror images, recorded moves, shadows during the day and light during the night. I think you know that there is virtually no end to the possible applications. Blind your enemies with bright light. Deafen them with sound. Is there any enemy you couldn¡¯t defeat if it were deaf and dumb? And that¡¯s just scratching the surface; you know all kinds of things that can be done with light. Lasers maybe? I think they must be harder to create than I¡¯m imagining, but that just means that when I <em>do</em> create them, it¡¯ll be that much more groundbreaking. Radio? I¡¯m sure I can crack it when I work on it myself.

    ¡°Music. You know, I didn¡¯t expect to be so interested in learning to y the lute, but look where I am. I have so many regrets from my old life it¡¯s hard to fit any new ones in, but there¡¯s one. I regret not making more time for music. I hardly spent a minute in my old life without music ying in the background. Forget [Bard]; they¡¯re all about control and maniption, where music is a means to an end. [Illusionist] is a ss of infinite music.

    ¡°Now, the Scarred One has made some interesting points. He said his is the ss I¡¯ve been working for. That¡¯s certainly true, in this life. But wasn¡¯t that out of necessity? I hardly had any other options. If I could¡¯ve spent all that time in a library instead, I definitely would have. In my old life, I had so many more options than I have here. I could¡¯ve be a gym rat or a soldier if I were interested in those things. I didn¡¯t. I worked hard on my mind. I studied the applications of logic on light and sound. I became a programmer.

    ¡°Illusionist is the ss of information Technology. It¡¯s the life I chose, back when I could¡¯ve chosen anything.

    ¡°It¡¯s the life you will choose again. You¡¯ve acted differently out of necessity. I think you¡¯ve acted admirably, most of the time. But that was all a reaction to your situation. It isn¡¯t who you are. You are who you are, and you haven¡¯t changed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve made some good points,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve evaded the heart of the matter. I¡¯ve got all those reasons, and they aren¡¯t the real reason you¡¯re going to choose me,¡± said Illusionist.

    ¡°True,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°For the record, please state the reason you will choose me,¡± said the Illusionist.

    ¡°It¡¯s so simple. I want magic. Sure, I¡¯ll do what I have to in order to stay alive, but when ites to what I want? I don¡¯t want to live in a world with magic and not have any of it for myself.¡±

    Brin stepped forward and offered his hand.

    The Illusionist folded his arms. ¡°In that case, I¨C¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± yelled the Child.

    He tumbled backwards out of the gamer chair. The sight was somewhatical, but Brin could feel the panic the Child was feeling. This wasn¡¯t a moment for joking around.

    The Child was the lookout. He was the one who¡¯d been tasked with keeping an eye out.

    ¡°Stop! Choose the Scarred One. I¡¯m sorry. We don¡¯t have time. Scarred One. Choose now,¡± said the Child.

    Brin looked between them, from the Child who was breaking down in utter anguish, to the Scarred One, who¡¯s battered features looked confused and a little worried.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t let Brin stay confused. He <em>was</em> the Child, and all the others. He knew what would cause him to choose [Scarred One], what it had to be.

    ¡°Well, burn me,¡± said Brin, and chose the evil ss.

    He opened his eyes. His real eyes, and at once the world burst into vibrant sensation.

    He felt a glowing, burning spike of energy in his stomach. He looked down. A cksteel sword was buried to the hilt in his gut. Impossible.

    The sword was carried by desated fingers, hardly more than tight skin over bones. So, so impossible.

    He looked at Hogg, staring back at him with shock and anguish written on his face. Hogg, taken by surprise? Completely, irrevocably impossible.

    Past Hogg, more undead burst from the ground in plumes of earth. They¡¯d been underground? Ridiculous. Funny actually. Hrious.

    Finally, he met the gaze of the undead who¡¯d buried a sword in his guts. Its eyes widened. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he¡¯d say it was afraid.

    The [Scarred One] smiled.

 Book 3: Chapter 17

    Book 3: Chapter 17

    The undead pulled the sword from his stomach, and he grasped it in a vain attempt to keep everything in, feeling the warm sensation of blood spilling through his fingertips. He staggered under the expectation of pain, but none came. He felt heat, burning hot and glorious, urging him to action.

    He raised his head and met the rotting eyes of his would-be assassin. The undead flinched back into a guard.

    The System had some things to say. He didn''t have time to read millions of messaged, and luckily, the System seemed to realize that.

    Abridged messages activated. Level up! Level 1 -> 6 Combined attributes from your ss and achievements: +20 Strength, +20 Vitality, +10 Dexterity, +5 Mental Control, +5 Will, +5 free attributes.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded achievements. Disciplined I -> II, Dexterous I -> II

    He threw all his free points into Vitality. Right now, his survival depended on healing and durability and not much else.

    Congrattions! You have earned a new Skill! Please select from the following three choices.

    He selected on instinct, not even reading the choices. He knew what he needed to stay alive.

    You have selected: [Mana Scarring]

    The blood seeping through his fingers slowed to a trickle, then stopped, and he felt the strange sensation of his internal organs sliding back to their original ces.

    Hogg recovered from his shock, and grabbed a brass handle from a pocket on his forearm. He swung it, and a whip of golden fire sprung from the handle. He twirled it in one long circle, somehow leaving Brin untouched but burning straight through all circling the undead.

    All but one. A tall figure in dark blue armor was also unharmed. His helmet covered his eyes, but when he grimaced Brin saw white, healthy teeth. Not an undead; a human leader.

    Hogg disappeared, his illusion magic rendering him invisible, but the armored figure thrust out his sword and a noxious wind cut through the forest to cling on Hogg, rendering him visible.

    Suddenly there were hundreds of Hoggs and hundreds of wounded Brins all of them running in every direction. One of the Hoggs was real, though, and that one grabbed Brin by the cor of his leather armor and threw him over his shoulder.

    Hogg ran at full tilt, blisteringly fast, but not as fast as that time Lumina had hastened him. Brin could see undead rising from all around, cutting at all the mirror images.

    "[Scarred One], huh?" asked Hogg.

    "Self-healing tank. Only way to survive," said Brin from atop his back.

    "Take [Inspect] yet?"

    Brin checked.

    You have 1 free general Skill. Please choose from the following list: Animal Husb-- You have selected General Skill - Inspect.

    Suddenly a bright and pure light erupted throughout the forest, and Hogg''s illusions faded away. The Evdis, what Hogg had described as the death of [Illusionists]. The alchemical reagent was in the air now, there was no stopping it. The undead hade prepared.

    Hogg changed course, aiming away from the rapidly expanding circle of anti-illusion alchemy, but another one exploded in front of them, then more from the sides.

    Of course. Hadn''t he just told Tawna this? None of this was about him. The undead army was trying to sneak through the Bonds, and the one thing standing in their way was an irritatingly persistent [Illusionist].

    All this time, it was <em>Hogg</em> whose existence doomed the town. Yes, Brin had been the start of it, because without Brin¡¯s Quest, Hogg never would have learned about the existence of the army. But then Hogg had returned here and spent all his days desperatelybing the Bonds with his illusions.

    In their eyes, all they needed to do was kill Hogg, and the army¡¯s secrecy would be secure. They''d drawn him out, and now they meant to destroy him.

    This wasn''t a war. It was an assassination.

    Something ck mmed into Hogg, and they both skidded to the ground.

    Hogg was on his feet an instantter, smoking slightly from the back. His hands blurred as he quickly picked items from ces in his pockets and activated them.

    Magical bolts, zes of fire, streaks of lighting, and sparks of light all flew from him in a dazzling array of destruction. Each of them burned through dozens of undead.

    Gold flowed like water as Hogg unleashed his consumables. That wand, 20 gold. That stone, 2 gold. That crown, 30 gold. More and more came from his pockets, and each of them wreaked destruction.

    More undead arrived to rece the fallen each second, and some of them started to survive the attacks. A huge, armored undead with a shieldrger than a barn door blocked a shimmering me in the shape of a phoenix.

    An ugly, shriveled, robed undead threw a handful of powder at a group of neon butterflies, causing them to go dim and turn to ash.

    An archer shot an arrow through a ball of lightning, making it explode. Then he changed his aim and-- <em>Oh no! </em>Brin tried to dodge out of the way. The arrow punched into him, lodging itself in his thigh.

    Level up! You have reached level 7. +4 Strength, +4 Vitality, +2 Dexterity, +1 Mental Control, +1 Will, +1 free attribute. Congrattions! You have upgraded achievements. Lively II -> III

    The archer nocked another arrow. The robed undead turned to Brin, and the armored brute lifted his shield.

    Hogg shouted in dismay, and then threw a smoke bomb to the ground.

    Unlike Brin''s smoke bomb, this one was absolute. The world wentpletely ck. He couldn''t hear anything. Even his sense of smell was numb.

    He felt Hogg grab him, and then they were running again.

    They soon ran through the affected area, and Brin awkwardly broke the arrow off and pulled it out.

    "Can you run?" asked Hogg.

    "Yes."

    "I could get away myself, but not if I have to protect you. Run when I tell you. Get to the town. Once I''ve covered your escape, I''ll follow you."

    That felt like a lie, but Brin couldn''t argue with the main point; he really wasn''t any help against these enemies. "Got it."

    He saw the blue armored figure stride through the smoke behind them. He used [Inspect], not really thinking it would work, but it gave him something. Just two words of information. The assassin''s ss was [Anti-Mage].

    Hogg held up a ss orb with a frothy clear liquid inside. Two hundred gold. It exploded, but didn''t harm him.

    "Quick recharge," said Hogg. "Use this, and your sword. Now run!"

    Hogg tapped Brin with a twisted tree branch and then threw it behind him. It sunk into the ground, and then a heavy fog sprang up from all around.

    The whole world was covered by mist, except for a narrow tunnel leading through the forest. Brin got the picture.

    He ran down the tunnel of fog. From inside, he could just make out the outside world, where everything was moving in slow motion. Hogg wasshing out with his whip-- and then Brin was too far away to see.

    It felt strange to run on his wounded leg. It didn''t hurt, but it burned, and that burning made him... angry. Not berserker furious. It was an energetic, yet calmly calcting kind of anger. He felt good. He felt dangerous.

    Far ahead, something hit the wall of fog, making cracks appear. An undead a quarter-mile up the path was striking the tunnel. It punched again, and one fist actually broke through.

    Brin flipped the switch on his sword, and yes, the recharge had worked. The world slowed down even further.

    His legs seemed to double their speed. He sprinted forward, determined to pass the undead before it could get into the tunnel. As he neared, he realized he wouldn''t make it. He got his sword in position, and then swung with all his might as he ran by.

    The undead got a ck mace up in time to block and the collision sent Brin tumbling. He skidded to a stop, and looked back. The undead sagged against the foggy wall of the tunnel, it''s head cloven in two. Brin''s sword was nearby, he scrambled over and grabbed it again, but the world didn''t speed up when he held it. The speed magic in it was spent.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Warrior [19] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Habit made Brin expecting the other, very disappointing message. This time, however, he got to keep his experience.

    Level up! Level 7 -> 9 +8 Strength, +8 Vitality, +4 Dexterity, +2 Mental Control, +2 Will, +2 free attributes. Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Strong II -> III

    He smiled. How was his Mana doing with holding him together? There was no convenient disy, but he sort of felt¡­ mostly full. He was fine. He could take <em>much</em> worse wounds than this and keep moving.

    He put them into Strength.

    Another undead climbed over the body of itsrade. This one was clothed in ck, much darker than the rank-and-file, though, it was like he was clothed in the living night. Inspect told him the ss. [Undead Assassin].

    Brin ran.

    He felt rather than heard the footsteps behind him, and turned right at thest second to block. The [Undead Assassin] cut under his block with a rapier to strike both of his forearms at once. The leather armor showed its worth and slowed the attack enough that it left barely a scrape. Not even enough to get a level out of, apparently.

    Quick as a gunslinger, Brin brought out one of the illusion wands and fired. The [Undead Assassin] dodged the fake me, giving him some space. Brin cheered inwardly that the wands had recharged like his sword. That would have been an embarrassing death, if not.

    He ran, but kept his head faced back to watch the undead. He drew out the other illusion wand.

    See, he¡¯d learned something in thest fight. He''d used the wands in the wrong order.

    He raised it with shaking hands, and fired wildly. The [Undead Assassin] still dodged this one, but with a little less haste. It turned its gaze from the fake me back to Brin, a hint of mockery in its features.

    Brin tripped, then scrambled backwards. "Stay back!"

    He held up thest wand. The real one.

    "Stay back or I''ll use it!" said Brin. Maybe a bit too much? No, just enough judging by the way the undead sauntered forward so confidently.

    When it was only a few feet away, Brin activated the wand. A jet of real, non-illusory me knocked the undead back and through the air.

    Heughed. "Fool."

    He turned to run again, but to his surprise, something rose from the ground. The undead hadn''t evaporated in the me. Oh, this one was tough. That should rm him, but for some reason he felt oddly excited.

    The undead lurched forward, stumbling and awkward but persistent, the way all good undead should be.

    Brin should''ve run. He didn''t want to.

    He charged the undead, and went into thebo Hogg had told him definitely wouldn''t work. Right, left, up, down, lunge. The undead parried the first two blows, but the second two left deep gouges, and with the lunge, Brin pierced its monstrous heart.

    During the short fight, the mist of the tunnel had disappeared. He was back in the forest, back in regr-moving time.

    He must''ve outrun most of the army, but there were still a few undead within sight, already moving towards his area.

    They hadn¡¯t seen him yet. Brin bent over and lit the body of the undead on fire with his lighter. Luckily, now that it was dead, whatever had been protecting it from me stopped working and the corpse caught easily. He kicked it over towards some tall grass and then ran.

    The undead converging on the scene were drawn to the me. He could hide, for now. He took a moment to check his messages.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Assassin [26] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Level up! Level 9 -> 12. +12 Strength, +12 Vitality, +6 Dexterity, +3 Mental Control, +3 Will, +3 free attributes.

    It looked like the third threshhold was at sixty-five. He''d already gotten that for Strength and Will, and he wasn''t close to that for anything else. He put one into Mental Control, and the rest into Strength.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Controlled I -> II

    Four undead had arrived, and they stood in a circle around the burning corpse. The fire spread into the grass. None were looking towards him, so he figured he had the chance to keep reading his notifications.

    Congrattions! You have earned a new Skill. Please select from the following three choices. Upgrade - Pain Resistance

    Pain will feel even better, like pleasure instead of simply heat and energy. Upgrade - Ugly On the Inside Increase healing speed of internal scars. New Skill - Bloody Vengeance

    Increased power and speed proportional to the amount of wounds received.

    The increase to [Pain Resistance] was easy to rule out. His wounds already felt kind of good. He didn¡¯t need to turn into a full-blown masochist. It was already going to be hard enough trying not to let himself get hurt on purpose for the free levels.

    As for the other two? What he should take sort of depended on what he wanted to do. He was back to that age-old question. Hrious, that he was back here again.

    Hide, or flee?

    Flee was the obvious answer, but they¡¯d be expecting that. They probably had the route home swarming with undead. Right now while he was hidden near a fire, the undead couldn¡¯t use their heat sense to find him. He had some time. Not a lot, but maybe enough.

    Enough for what, though? Whether it was two minutes or twenty, the mes would go out and his hiding spot would be useless. Hide wasn¡¯t an option.

    But flee wasn¡¯t either. He was going in circles. There didn¡¯t seem to be a best option.

    How much of this had Tawna foreseen? If she¡¯d known about the army, she would¡¯ve told someone, right? Even she couldn¡¯t be <em>that</em> obtuse. That meant she probably only knew the beginning and the end; the action she could take, and whether or not that brought doom closer or further away from the town.

    He ran the scenarios in his mind. He was d [Scarred One] hadn¡¯t made him dumber. He could already feel his emotions shifting in subtle ways, but his mind was the same as ever.

    <em>Scenario 1: Brin does the smart thing and goes home after killing the easy spiders.</em> He wouldn¡¯t have learned about the undead army. He would¡¯ve taken [Illusionist] on System Day. Hogg would¡¯ve kept scouting. Nothing would¡¯ve changed.

    <em>Scenario 2: Brin dies in the fight with his undead father.</em> Hogg would¡¯ve gone to investigate. He would¡¯ve killed Cadwy easily, but the ambush afterwards would¡¯ve still happened without Brin to take the first blow. Hogg would¡¯ve died, and the town would never have learned what happened. The undead army sneaks by. The town is unharmed. This was probably the most likely scenario, but that ship had sailed. Brin had survived.

    <em>Scenario 3: Brin dies in the ambush, but Hogg survives</em>. Hogg would probably get word to Lumina in time for her to send a rescue. The town might still be attacked, but most would survive. This was the second-most likely oue.

    <em>Scenario 4: Hogg dies holding off the undead, but Brin survives</em>. In this situation, the whole town would find out about the army, and Arcaena would have no choice but to massacre them all. Frankly, this oue wasn¡¯t very likely. Brin would almost certainly die trying to get back alone.

    And why should he try? He could hide again, maybe survive, but why would he want to? He pictured Hogg, Davi, Zilly, Perris and everyone else, all shambling along with the horde while he hid in cers again. Him, hiding in the cold again with his memories and some new scars. Is that really what he wanted?

    No, that wouldn¡¯t happen. The army didn¡¯t know this, but Hogg had already seeded in spreading word. Rescue woulde either way. In the real Scenario 4, only Hogg would die. Brin would be fine.

    The choice was smaller. Would he let Hogg sacrifice his life for a beat-up, angry, evil-ssed little jerk?

    No. Logically, that was a bad move. This was logic, right? This wasn¡¯t just him trying to justify something he wanted to do anyway?

    Brin checked his sword. The magic was gone, but it should still serve to kill some stupid undead. There was no choice, right? No choice at all.

    You have selected: [Bloody Vengeance]

    With the wounds he already had, [Bloody Vengeance] hit him like a tidal wave. The burning wounds across his body felt like limitless batteries, pumping a sick and intoxicating energy into his soul.

    He would try for Scenario 5. Tawna''s ns could burn, and so could the rest of the town for all he cared. He would save Hogg, or die trying.

 Book 3: Chapter 18

    Book 3: Chapter 18

    There were four undead watching the mes lit by the [Undead Assassin] he¡¯d killed. Even now, with all his new levels, he thought just one alone would be a hard fight. What could he do against four? But he had to do something. Running would just cause him more problemster.

    He rose from his hiding ce and rushed them. They turned around casually, as if unsurprised to see him.

    Running, he held his de to the side, as if he was nning to cut into the middle one with a sideways sh. The one he was aiming at readied a parry with its broadsword, while the two to the side of him made ready as well.

    Right before he reached them, he stopped. The feint worked; the middle undead hit only air with his parry, and the two undead next to him stabbed out with ck spears, missing Brin by inches.

    He dropped his sword, jumped and tackled the middle undead into the fire, then rolled through it to the other side.

    The fourth undead struck down with an ax, and on instinct Brin put his hands up and caught it. The blow was strong enough that he didn¡¯t stop itpletely, but to his surprise, he was able to stop the majority of the momentum, so that the ax didn¡¯t even break through the armor of his shoulder.

    Brin pushed, knocked the undead off bnce, and then wrenched the ax out of its hands. Was he actually stronger than these things now?

    He spun with the ax and knocked away another stab with a spear; the blow was so solid that it left his hands wringing, but he still knocked it away. He could do this. He was strong enough now to actually fight them.

    The next undead stabbed into his thigh, and rather than step back to avoid it like any sane fighter would, Brin epted the blow and traded it for a swing at the undead¡¯s exposed neck, severing it.

    He kept the momentum up and dispatched the unarmed undead behind him. The sword-wielder rose from the fire, stumbled and fell back down again. The ces on its back where the me had touched him burned straight through like tissue paper.

    He got notifications for the three kills, and blinked them away along with the notification that he¡¯d gone up to level fourteen. There was still one left.

    This time, it approached more cautiously. He tried to bait it into an attack with a wide swing that left him exposed, but it danced back and used the spear¡¯s greater reach to poke his armor. It had seen that Brin was willing to trade wounds for kills. It nned on staying cautious, keeping a distance, and using the spear¡¯s greater reach to wear him down.

    Brin didn¡¯t have time for that. More undead could arrive any second. He charged, swinging wildly, the undead stepped back, warding him away with sharp shes, but Brin ignored them and kepting. Frustratingly, the undead was faster, even running backwards.

    It didn¡¯t have eyes in the back of its head, though. The undead tripped, and Brin swung down with the ax. The undead blocked it, but no matter. He swung again and again, beating the undead into the mud, until finally the spear was knocked from its grasp and he ended it.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Warrior [15]

    For once, there was no message about level disparity.

    Level up! You have reached level 15. You receive: +4 Strength, +4 Vitality, +2 Dexterity, +1 Mental Control, +1 Will, +1 free attributes.

    <strong></strong>

    Congrattions! You have earned a new Skill. Please select from the following three choices. Upgrade Title - Scarred +10% healing speed -> +30% healing speed. Upgrade - Pain Resistance Pain will feel even better, like pleasure instead of simply heat and energy. Desperate Nutrition Nutrition is given from the consumption of scabs, even your own. More energy is added than is lost from the healing process.

    He still had enough of himself to remember that that was incredibly gross. Also, an anti-starvation skill wasn¡¯t exactly a priority right now. He upgraded his Title.

    He dashed over to the scene where the fight had started, and pulled the unburnt corpses into the still-burning grass. The undead would be drawn to the me, and hopefully that would give Brin time to get away. The other corpses had burned themselves out. Anything he could add to make the firest longer? He didn¡¯t have time to find wood. Hopefully it would be long enough.

    He found his sword, put it in the sheath, and ran with the ck ax still in his hands. He didn¡¯t want to be caught with just one weapon again.

    He ran towards where Hogg was fighting. He¡¯d gotten a bit turned around in the fight, but there was no way he could miss it. shes of light illuminated the trees. Sudden, hot bursts of wind from me attacks. Shockwaves that he could feel through the ground.

    As he got closer, he started to find bodies. A decapitated corpse there, and broken undead here. Up in a tree, he saw an undead who¡¯d been thrown in the air and impaled on something. ck weaponsy on the ground, many of them broken.

    Further on, he found a spot where bodies covered the forest floor like a carpet. Most of them bore the same wound; a burn straight through the middle. There were probably two dozen undead here that Hogg had taken out with a single attack. The high levels were something else. Could he even help here?

    He could. Even if all he did was distract one enemy or take one wound meant for Hogg, it would be worth it.

    The shes of light stoppeding. He no longer felt or heard the evidence of magical effects, but still heard the telltale sound of metal striking against metal. Hogg was still fighting.

    He saw movement in a clearing up ahead. That was it; that was where Hogg was fighting.

    Hogg stood in the center of a clearing. Some of the undead from before stood in a circle around him. The huge, armored one with the ten-foot tall shield. The nimble and dangerous archer. The caster with the burning powder. A ck-d assassin. Then in front was the human leader, a tall and heroic-looking figure in blue te armor, the one his [Inspect] called an [Anti-Mage].

    It was a brief moment of calm. The glow of the Evdis still hung in the air, illuminating every de of grass and leaf on the trees in a faint glow, revealing the truth of the world, banishing any possibility of illusion. The sky seemed ck, so the only other illumination was the dim light cast from the magical weapons. Only Hogg¡¯s short swords seemed ordinary. Of course, they weren¡¯t.

    Hogg waited for them, silently, eyes somewhat vacant as if pretending he didn¡¯t really care about them. His enemies also watched, not moving in.

    At first, Brin wondered what they were waiting for, but then a group of six regr undead soldiers burst in from the treeline, and they closed the circle, all attacking at the same time.

    Hogg moved in a blur, rushing through the six regr soldiers, hacking through them like a dark tornado. He dodged a thrown ball of greed acid from the undead caster, redirected an arrow in midair from the archer towards the giant undead, where it shattered against the shield.

    Hogg was here, consumables gone, sspletely countered, fighting a group of assassins created to kill him specifically, and <em>he was still hanging on</em>.

    But no one could fight against numbers like that without taking injuries. The [Anti-Mage] darted in andnded a few shes through Hogg¡¯s ck leathers, before backing up again, his sword dripping with blood.

    The four powerful undead and their master reformed the circle, none the worse for wear. Hogg still stood tall, but bore a few new scrapes. If things didn¡¯t change, they would eventually wear him down.

    Hogg said something, quietly, but the words had an unnatural quality that made them impossible to miss. ¡° <>

    That was the magguage, the one that he¡¯d heard Lumina usest year to guide her spells. What was Hogg trying to do?

    ¡°Silence,¡± boomed the [Anti-Mage], the first word Brin had heard him speak, and it had the weight of a Skill behind it.

    Hogg¡¯s face went rigid, like he was trying to speak but couldn¡¯t. Then he rxed a bit and said, ¡°You know, that¡¯s getting really annoying!¡±

    Then that ¡°Silence¡± skill didn¡¯t stop you from talking, it only stopped you from speaking in the magguage? He didn¡¯t have long to puzzle it out, as a group of twelve undead soldiers arrived from the forest. Hogg dashed to meet them and Brin took his opportunity as well.

    With everyone¡¯s attention fully on Hogg, Brin leapt from his hiding ce and ran towards the undead archer. If this thing was surviving in the proximity of someone like Hogg, then it was high level. Brin had no illusions that he¡¯d actually be able to outfight the archer. But he was starting to realize that wasn¡¯t what [Scarred One] was for. If he couldn¡¯t outfight someone, all he had to do was out-crazy them.

    He swung with the ax in a lumberjack¡¯s chop. The archer saw himing in time to block, but unfortunately for the undead, it blocked with its bow. Brin felt intense satisfaction as the wood shattered, though the shock of the hit knocked the ax out of his hands.

    At the same time, he felt a zing, thrilling heat. He looked down, and saw a sword¡ªnot cksteel, something nicer¡ªsticking into his lung. The undead had stabbed him with its sidearm.

    Brin smiled with bloody teeth and pulled his own sidearm, and stabbed the undead in return.

    The stab didn¡¯t get as far as he¡¯d like; the undead staggered back with only a light wound, but the look of shock on his face made it worth it.

    Level up! You have reached level 16. You receive:

    +4 Strength, +4 Vitality, +2 Dexterity, +1 Mental Control, +1 Will, +1 free attributes.

    Brinughed, but it came out as a bloody cough. ¡°Still got your sword!¡± He pulled it out of his stomach. Even without the pain, seeing the gush of blood like water from an unclogged sewer drain made him a bit woozy.

    He sucked in a breath, and his chest burned with a poisonous and glorious energy. He couldn¡¯t standpletely straight; thatst wound had broken some ribs.

    He felt his magic start to wane. [Mana Scars] was having trouble keeping up. He did have some free points, though, so he put them all into Magic. He immediately felt a bit better, he could hold his body together a little longer.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    He heard Hogg swear, then a grappling hook wrapped around his leg. He looked up just in time to see Hogg yank on the rope and pull Brin towards him.

    Two strong pulls brought Brin all the way to Hoggs feet, just in time for Hogg to drop the rope and parry a series of lightning-fast shes from the [Anti-Mage].

    The [Anti-Mage] backed up, and Hogg was sporting a series of new shes on his arms, though he acted as if they weren¡¯t there. He reached into a pocket and dropped a potion into Brin¡¯s hands.

    The potion was like nothing he¡¯d ever seen before. Small, maybe two tablespoons of a dark red fluid, nearly ck, but that¡¯s not what made it stand out. Value sense told Brin that it cost <em>two thousand gold</em>.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°Drink it. Why are you back here?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°The way back was blocked,¡± said Brin. It was probably true. ¡°What happens when I drink this?¡±

    ¡°Healing potion,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin put it in his pocket. ¡°Later then. Fights not over. I might still get more wounds.¡±

    Hogg made some strange gestures, then breathed out a sigh of relief. ¡°Finally! <>

    ¡°Silence,¡± said the [Anti-Mage].

    ¡°Burn it! How many times can you cast that?¡± shouted Hogg.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Did you¡­ did you finally advance your Skill?¡±

    ¡°As soon as the fight started,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But I haven¡¯t figured out how to use the new magic. And this isn¡¯t really the best environment for learning to use a new ability.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing too bad learning to use <em>my </em>powers,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg scowled at him. ¡°Drink your potion.¡±

    ¡°How many do you have?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a <em>real</em> Healing Potion, Brin. How rich do you think I am? Just the one,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll save it.¡±

    Hogg might¡¯ve argued, but a new group of undead converged on the scene.

    Another half dozen undead appeared from the forest, but themander kept them back. Hogg eyed them warily, but didn¡¯t move.

    More arrived, and the new arrivals grouped up near the [Anti-Mage], until the [Anti-Mage] had thirty in a formation around him. The undead who¡¯d been spread out in a circle around them moved around, joining the group and leaving the rear free. The caster and the giant with the shield stood on the leader¡¯s right and left hand. When the group was fifty strong, and no other undead were in sight, the whole group started to march together.

    Hogg picked at his fingernails with a shortsword, though Brin could tell he was watching the group carefully.

    ¡°Should we run?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yes. Except it kind of seems like that¡¯s what he wants us to do. [Witchhunter] has an anti-retreat Skill, kills anyone who tries to leave after fighting for a certain amount of time. I wonder if [Anti-Mage] has something simr. Otherwise, why get in a big group like that?¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°To be a big target for you to conveniently wipe out with your secret finishing move?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°If only,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin felt a secret thrill that retreat was firmly off the table. He could be smart if he had to, but he <em>wanted</em> to fight. [Battle Fury] and [Bloody Vengeance] both got stronger based on wounds he''d received, and he wasn''tcking on those. The power burned through him like a furious but polluted furnace.

    The [Anti-Mage] sheathed his saber, and pulled a two-handed broadsword from a sheath at the hip of the armored giant. It was absurdly long, two hands longer than the wielder''s height, but he carried it lightly. He gave it a flourish, and then pointed it at Hogg. The entire group went into a run, and Hogg twirled his shortswords, ready to meet them. Brin held his new sword eagerly.

    An itch at the corner of his vision, [Know What¡¯s Real] was warning him. He turned and saw a blur in the air. Whatever it was, it was heading straight for Hogg¡¯s back.

    Brin jumped to intercept it, and saw the undead archer, now without its bow, tear away a camouge cloak of some sort. It hit Brin before it could get to Hogg, and buried a ck knife in his guts.

    Its face twisted into a mask of outrage, and it stabbed him again and again, six more times, moving up his body. Thest stab almost hit his heart. Almost. Smiling, Brin felt the rush of excitement as more wounds filled him with fire. In no great hurry, he drew back his arm and then thrust out, stabbing the undead¡¯s heart with its own sword.

    He blinked away the kill notification and the new levels, his vision blurry, his heart pounding. Could it have killed him if it had stabbed his heart or would [Mana Scars] hold even that together? He would never know. Even so, it was getting impossible for [Mana Scars] to hold it all together. He started bleeding again, and felt¡­ not pain. He felt strange. Things in his body weren¡¯t where they should be.

    Hogg fought in a maelstrom, swirling around the undead like a toddler through a crowd of mannequins.

    ¡°Got anything for Mana?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need it if I ever¡ª gah!¡± Hogg darted around the undead soldier who¡¯d gotten a lucky strike in. ¡°Fine! Here!¡±

    Brin snatched a glowing silver potion out of the air and downed it. In a daze, he saw his wounds stop bleeding again. A few shining drops of silver seeped from the lower stab wounds. Then the energy hit and his mana went from empty to overful. His body burned. His wounds closed. His organs shifted, putting themselves back in the right ce. He even stood up straight again, as the skin and muscles on his chest pressed against his broken ribs, putting them back into ce.

    His vision cleared; and he saw enemies everywhere, and Hogg, desperately fighting to keep them away from him.

    Brin attacked. The first undead didn¡¯t even see himing. The second swung at him with a mace, but his sword seemed to know right where to go to knock it to the side and take the monster¡¯s neck.

    A punch from Hogg knocked an undead into the air, and Brin stabbed it through the chest before it hit the ground.

    An ax hit his head, knocking his leather helmet off. He whipped the sword around and took the arm off the ax-wielder without really looking, then stepped backwards, stopping a furious series of stabs from a spear-wielder.

    He fought madly, uncaring of any wounds. He couldn¡¯t care; he didn¡¯t have skill or strength or numbers, all he had was the madness of his ss. Three spear wielders came at him at once, and he charged into him swinging every direction wildly, beating them down with no Skill, just overwhelming strength.

    Something hit his sword hand, cutting two fingers off. He found them on the ground and stuck them back into ce, and [Mana Scars] held them there. He used that same hand to grab the ded end of a war-scythe and yank it out of a surprised undead¡¯s hands. Then he set to work with it, waving it in wide sweeps around himself, forcing the undead to step back and give him some space.

    It gave him the space to see Hogg¡¯s fight. The undead caster was dead, and the armored giant was bunkered behind its shield. None of the regr undead could touch him, but the [Anti-Mage] pressed him back. The huge broadsword was supernatural in its ability to find Hogg in the crowd. It knocked him out of the air, batted him around like a volleyball. Every strike hit with the force of a mortar shell. Hogg blocked every strike, but still took heavy wounds, as if they were appearing on their own.

    Hogg jumped off an upward swing, and flipped through the air tond next to Brin. He stumbled trying to reach his feet, but made it up on the second try, while clutching his side.

    The man in blue armorughed. He started to say something, but just as he did, a blur tore through the air, aiming at Brin.

    Hogg moved in an instant, catching it. Brin fired off [Inspect] just in time to see the words [Undead Assassin], before Hogg hurled the ck-d undead towards the rest of the group.

    Hogg roared in anger. ¡°¡± He threw out his hand, and a burst of green sparks flew a couple inches before disappearing uselessly. Whatever he had just tried didn''t work. But Hogg didn¡¯t seem to realize that. He squared his shoulders, smiling, his eyes gleaming.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is,¡± he said.

    ¡°Silence!¡± shouted the [Anti-Mage].

    This time Brin was near enough that he felt the wave of magic--or anti-magic?--pass through him.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s toote for that. See, now that I have the trick of it, I can do it even without the Language. Let¡¯s try something like¡­¡± He pushed out his fist, and a bright green me appeared in front of him, only it didn¡¯t look exactly right, almost stic, and it disappeared after a half-second.

    Hogg stroked his chin. ¡°Hm. I guess it¡¯s more like¨C¡±

    The undead attacked as one, swords up, axes out, spears stabbing before Brin could even hear the order.

    Hogg stomped on the ground, and a line of yellow spears burst from the ground like a barricade, pinning the front line of charging undead in ce. The spears were glossy and partially transparent, almost like they weren¡¯t real, but the wounds they left were real enough.

    The [Anti-Mage] shouted, and the yellow spears shattered and disappeared. Hogg pointed and a storm of arrows flew into the undead, and they kepting, hundreds of them, until the [Anti-Mage] activated what looked like a consumable of his own, creating a magical bubble around what was left of his troops.

    Hogg gesture, and a blue fist materialized inside the bubble, smashing the giant undead into the ground. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I waited so long to do this!¡±

    He waved like a maestro directing an orchestra. Inside the bubble-shield, pandemonium broke loose. The remaining undead were torn to pieces by colorful and translucent shapes and weapons. Writhing ropes, cutting buzz-saws, swords and axes, all tearing into the army without remorse.

    Only the [Anti-Mage] remained standing. Everything he touched with his broadsword shattered into nothingness, and he moved with superhuman speed, trying vainly to protect his warband. He failed.

    Then he was alone, and Hogg¡¯s magic descended on him. An orange anvil knocked the sword out of his hands. Gray chains climbed over him like snakes, tying his arms and legs behind his back.

    Hogg gestured, and the chains dragged the struggling [Anti-Mage] closer. He grabbed the chains with his bare hands, and pulled the [Anti-Mage] to him. Then he collected his shortsword from the ground, and without fanfare stabbed through the armor¡¯s gap in the neck, ending it.

    Brin turned around, looking for the next ambush, eyes darting into the trees to try and find the next [Assassin]. There was nothing but wreckage, dead bodies, scorched earth, craters and burning trees. Nothing came. No new undead were visible in the trees. It was done. They''d really done it. He started tough.

    Hogg copsed onto the ground. Brin''sughter choked off in his throat, and he ran to Hogg''s side. His wounds were so much worse than Brin had thought. His entire body was wet, although how much of it was his own was an open question.

    Brin shuffled backwards, staying out of reach.

    ¡°It¡¯s done. Drink the potion,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin looked at himself. Perris¡¯ spectacr armor was barely more than a bunch of blood-soaked leather straps. Without the [Mana Scars] holding him together, his body wasn¡¯t much better. He had some levels. How far had he gotten? A quick look told him level 22. He had another few General Skills, so he selected [Hide Status].

    He put every free point he had into Magic. He immediately felt relief as his mana flooded in again, holding the wounds closed, but it wasn¡¯t enough. After that, he figured he had maybe an hour, and then the wounds would all open again. And that was only if he was holding still. [Battle Fury] was currently doubling his Strength, Dexterity, and most importantly, Vitality, but that would wear off after a half hour, making his wounds slow down their healing speed. If he had to walk all the way back to town, or fight more undead? He¡¯d never make it.

    He barely glimpsed over the Skill options for his ss. He had another Skill point now. One of the new Skill options was his level 20 capstone if he chose to take it.

    Wound Transfer Transfer a portion of your wounds to an ally. Extra experience for ying an ally in this manner.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you drinking it?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m done getting hurt tonight,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°The fight¡¯s over. I just need a rest, see, and then we can go back home together,¡± Hogg lied.

    It was dark now that no magic was flying around, but even in the dark Brin could see that Hogg bore wounds that would already have killed someone from earth. No, it would kill someone from this world, too. It would just take a lot longer.

    ¡°You have any more healing supplies in those pockets? Any bandages?¡± asked Brin.

    From his back, Hogg made a show of looking down at his ck leathers. They weren¡¯t in a better shape than Brin¡¯s armor. Rags. Hogg¡¯s pockets were finally empty.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Marksi?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Camouge bag, back that way a bit,¡± said Hogg, indicating with his chin. ¡°Now, drink it. What are you waiting for?¡±

    There was only one way this was going to work, so Brin turned his heart into stone. He barked out augh. A cruelugh. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you to weaken a bit more. You understand, right? What kind of Skills a [Scarred One] has? Face it, you''re going to die either way, so why waste the opportunity? I just need to know for sure you aren¡¯t going to magic my head off the second I get close enough to activate it. Nothing personal, but I can¡¯t pass up an opportunity like this.¡±

    Hogg closed his eyes. ¡°An evil ss really works that fast?¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°No. Don¡¯t you get it? I¡¯ve always been this way. It makes sense, see? We get the ss we really deserve. A ss isn¡¯t what you do. It¡¯s what you <em>are</em>. It¡¯s nice though, not to have to hide who I am any more.¡±

    ¡°No. You¡¯re not. I don¡¯t believe that. You weren¡¯t. You¡¯ll see. So¡­ so take it. I want you to. Take my experience. There¡¯s probably some good Achievements in it for you, too. But just¡­ listen. Just listen, ok? Some day, you¡¯re going to wake up. Evil sses will sometimes evolve their way back into sanity, and when that happens to you, don¡¯t beat yourself up, ok? It¡¯s my fault you have an evil ss. My fault, ok? It¡¯s <em>mine</em>. There¡¯s a hundred things I could¡¯ve done differently to stop all this from happening. When youe back to yourself, I want you to.... When, someday¡­¡±

    Hogg really was fading, so Brin sprang forward.

    Hogg gasped in surprise, which was the perfect opportunity. Brin poured the potion down Hogg¡¯s throat. Hogg tried to spit it back into his face, but Brin had been expecting that. He used every single new point of Strength he¡¯d earned to hold Hogg¡¯s mouth closed until the potion started to work.

    There was no visible effect, no sh of light, so Brin had no idea if it was even working. Hogg struggled against him weakly. Then, less weakly. Then Hogg threw him off, his strength fully returned.

    Brin fell to the ground, barely feeling it, and started tough. ¡°I can¡¯t believe¡­ you actually thought¡­¡±

    He couldn¡¯t really me Hogg. Evil sses really did get inside your head, and even though it had never been his n to kill Hogg, he had been <em>really</em> close to taking and using [Wound Transfer]. That would be the smart thing to do, right? He hadn''t done it, though, because there was a chance the Skill would¡¯ve killed Hogg before the potion healed him. He still wasn¡¯t sure if it was the right call or not, but he did know it would¡¯ve been callous and cruel, and that''s not who he wanted to be, not even as the [Scarred One].

    Instead of [Wound Transfer], Brin put hisst Skill point into his [Scarred] Title.

    ¡°Idiot!¡± Hogg yelled.

    Brinughed again, but fell onto his back. His mana still had about an hour left before his organs turned to mush, but his stamina waspletely spent. Darkness started to seep across the edges of his vision. His body was still on fire and his insides felt like he was full of wriggling worms. His Vitality was insanely high, was that the feeling of his body healing? Or maybe he was getting delirious. Even the energy of his transformed pain couldn''t keep him conscious much longer. Would [Scarred] and [Ugly on the Inside] fix him in time? This was a good way to find out. He¡¯d either wake up, or not.

    In hisst moment of consciousness, he saw the trees blurring by in the darkness as Hogg carried him home.

 Book 3: Chapter 19

    Book 3: Chapter 19

    Brin ended up waking up after all. He sort of expected to be in his room. He wasn''t. He was in his bed, and that was his wardrobe with his clothes, but the room was different. Looking down, he was naked under the nket, unless you counted bandages. If you counted bandages, he was fully clothed. He sneered at them. Who needed bandages when you had scars? They were allpletely white without a speck of seepage, and he could feel [Mana Scars] still burning his magic, keeping everything where it was supposed to be. He was surprised he still had mana, honestly. How long had it been?

    He checked his status first, and grinned at all the high numbers. How long ago had it been that he was so proud of twenty-six Strength? Now he was at nearly a hundred and fifty.

    That should¡¯ve been the best part, but it wasn¡¯t. He had an achievement waiting for him.

    Alert! You have upgraded an Achievement. Warbound (Epic) bes Warbound (Legendary)

    <em>Warfare was his birthright, he craved the sh of steel,</em>

    <em>He sang a song of bloodshed that the dead could hear and feel,</em>

    <em>The terror of the battlefield, a cursed child was found.</em>

    <em>Warbound.</em>

    <em>+20% Strength, +20% Vitality, +20% Will, +10% Dexterity</em>

    <em>bes</em>

    <em>+20% to all attributes.</em>

    You have been granted a new Skill:

    Battle Sense

    You have an innate sense about the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to direct your allies to greatest effectiveness during conflict.

    What he¡¯d done felt legendary. He couldn¡¯t believe his memories, the things he¡¯d done. He¡¯d fought those undead like he was immortal; he¡¯d run right through wounds like he couldn¡¯t feel them. He¡¯d out-zombied the zombies.

    His [Scarred] Title was different.

    Heavily Scarred You have been scarred. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars. Your wounds heal 60% faster.

    Would that one increase after all these injuries were healed? That was a happy thought. Almost as an afterthought, there was onest notification.

    Alert! Through training you have increased the following attribute. Magic +5

    Apparently his Magic had been working overtime while he slept.

    He sat up, moving slowly, and his body exploded with warmth and energy. He knew enough of his ss by now to know that that wasn''t a good sign. That was pain, transformed into something more useful. Only, in this scenario it was the opposite of useful because it made him want to jump into action, but what he should be doing right now is holding still so his body could mend.

    The movement made something stir at his side. A coil of snake wasying on hisp, all shiny, shimmering colors. Looking at Marksi, Brin felt something like... fond irritation. All his emotions were probably tinged with anger now, a side-effect he''d been expecting after meeting the [Scarred One] in his ss Selection, but it was good to know he wouldn''t be ovee with hatred. He still liked Marksi.

    He put old-Brin''s voice on and said, "Marksi! Good to see you, buddy! I was worried about you!"

    Marksi uncoiled and stretched, letting out a big yawn. He crawled into Brin''s arms, and it was only then that he noticed.

    He was crawling. The four nubs on Marksi''s sides had sprouted, and he had arms and legs now. Little arms that ended in three-fingered hands with pads like a gecko. The limbs were too short, but maybe they''d grow? He didn''t know. Apparently he didn''t know much about his little friend.

    He looked up to see Hogg enter the doorway.

    "Marksi has legs now? What happened?" asked Brin.

    "He''s a little young for it, but not surprising, considering that beast core you fed him. He slept through the whole fight, and then two days after that," said Hogg.

    "Two days... How long was I asleep?" asked Brin.

    "Four days," said Hogg. ¡°It was a close thing for the first couple hours. We had to force feed you mana potions nonstop to keep your body together until your internal scarring Skill could close all the wounds to your innards. You¡¯re allergic to mana potions now, by the way. Happens sometimes. Should clear up in a month or two. Just got the results back.¡±

    "Four days¡­ Then the army--"

    "It didn''t kill us all, obviously. Haven''t really seen a sign of them since we escaped the forest. They''re out there, though. Six of our [Hunters] disappeared. The forest isn''t safe anymore," said Hogg. "I even had to buy a house in the town! That''s where we are now."

    ¡°But help is on the way, right? You got a message out?¡±

    ¡°I got some letters out before I had to switch my Skill. Not as much as I''d have liked. But that¡¯s it¡¯s own thing; I can¡¯t do illusions anymore,¡± said Hogg. Then he brightened. ¡°I¡¯m a [Conjurer of Hard Light] now. And if I ever get the hang of it, [Mage of Hard Light] isn¡¯t too far away.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome! But that means we¡¯re penned in? Can Gustaff send another message?¡±

    ¡°Gustaff¡¯s range doesn¡¯t even get to the next Bog. But if the letters don¡¯t make it, Lumina will start asking questions when I don¡¯t make it to the next scheduled appointment. I <em>never</em> miss an appointment.¡±

    Brin wanted to ask more, but he was interrupted by a growling stomach.

    "Stay right there, I''ll get you some soup."

    Brin swung his feet to the side and sat up.

    "Youy back down right now, or I swear to Nedramus I will put you down. You''re being held together with shoe glue and fishing line at this point."

    "I''m being held together with magic," grumbled Brin, but hey back down anyway.

    Hogg returned with the soup, and Brin as soon as the smell of it hit his nose, he realized he¡¯d never wanted anything so much in his entire life. He gulped it down and asked for more, then asked if Hogg had anything more solid. Bread, anything.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you keep that down, first.¡±

    Brin scowled. ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to keep it down.¡±

    But he still waited like a good little boy. To his surprise, he already felt full. Bloated, even, like his body wasn¡¯t used to food. Looking at his forearm, his muscles didn¡¯t seem any smaller, but his skin looked like it was shrink-wrapped to his body.

    That made him curious, so he started to untie the bandage around his fingers, the ones that had been cut off. Even that movement made them burst out with energy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin scowled at him and removed the bandage. The fingers were scabbed over on the outside, and he immediately felt the overwhelming urge to start picking at them.

    He red at Hogg again and put the bandage back on.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t there to hold you together. They¡¯re there to¡­ remove temptation,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I get it,¡± snapped Brin.

    ¡°So listen,¡± Hogg started delicately, which immediately made Brin suspicious. ¡°The Prefit needs to talk to you. It¡¯s sort of urgent.¡±

    ¡°About what?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to say,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin frowned. It was probably to pin some stupid punishment on him. He¡¯d <em>technically</em> broken the rules when he left town to hunt in the forest without an adult. If that was all it was, he would be lucky. No doubt Tawna had used the past few days to whisper treachery into everyone¡¯s ears. At least no one but Hogg knew his ss. He¡¯d taken [Hide Status] as one of his first general Skills.

    ¡°Send him in,¡± said Brin.

    Fifteen minutester, the Prefit arrived, as well-dressed and dignified as ever. If Brin was expecting to see stubble on the chin or rings under the eyes of the Prefit while the town was virtually under siege, he was disappointed. He looked like he never lost a day of sleep in his life.

    ¡°You¡¯ll understand if I don¡¯t get up,¡± Brin said, trying and failing to keep an acerbic tone out of his voice.

    ¡°No need,¡± said the Prefit. Then to his surprise, he found a footstool and sat down by the side of the bed. ¡°How are you feeling, son?¡±

    Brin bit back an insulting response to the over-familiar tone. Instead he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt worse.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure if that was a lie or not. True, he¡¯d never been in this much pain before, but the pain felt very nice.

    ¡°Good, good. I have a few questions, and then I¡¯ll let you get back to your rest,¡± said the Prefit.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Hogg filled me in on the entirety of the events in the forest that night, but I¡¯d like to confirm some details with you. First, you should know that I know you¡¯re a [Scarred One].¡±

    Brin growled. ¡°Hogg told you? He didn¡¯t have the right!¡±

    ¡°The [Pharmacist] and [Midwife] needed to know in order to render proper treatment. I was told as a matter of course. No one else was informed, although people will no doubt... specte. That¡¯s what brings me here today. I need to confirm some details with you.¡±

    Brin fidgeted uneasily. Hogg was in the other room, and he¡¯d proven that he could be trusted. There was nothing the Prefit could do, he told himself.

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°First, can you confirm that Tawna told you in person that she intended for you to pick an evil ss?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she said that.¡± Brin was a little confused.

    ¡°Do you believe her actions that day and in the preceding weeks or months led you towards an evil ss?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they did,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I see.¡± There was an expression of sorrow on Elmon¡¯s face, but also determination.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin. ¡°Tawna? She¡¯s the one in trouble?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for me and the council of elders to decide,¡± said Elmon. ¡°But driving a child to an evil ss is a terrible crime. It isn¡¯t illegal to be mean to a child or even to say cruel things about them. But if that cruelty drives the child in question to pick an evil ss, then that¡¯s a different matter entirely. This alone would be enough, but she also manipted you into going into the forest alone, and gave you information designed to put you in even greater danger. And now her actions have borne poisonous fruit. Another question. When I moved System Day up by a week, did that make picking an evil ss more or less likely?¡±

    ¡°More, but only because I needed it to save my life. I was going to pick¡­ something else,¡± said Brin. ¡°The logic goes in circles. If you hadn¡¯t moved up System Day, I wouldn¡¯t have survived getting stabbed. But would I still have gotten stabbed if we hadn¡¯t been waiting right there?¡±

    ¡°ording to Hogg, the only reason the ambush was so sloppy was because you weren¡¯t where they expected you to be. He ims that if you¡¯d kept moving at the previous pace, you both would have died. Tawna¡­ ims the same. She told me that her reading of fate made it certain that if I didn¡¯t do it, both you and Hogg would have died, though she didn¡¯t know the cause at the time.¡±

    ¡°If Hogg said that then it¡¯s true,¡± said Brin. ¡°But she should still be punished for what she did.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Prefit nodded solemnly. "And if her punishment were up to you, what would you choose?¡±

    Looking back at it, the fact that he hadn¡¯t gotten Magic to the first threshold before System Day was the thing that bothered him the most. He¡¯d been <em>so close.</em> He wasn¡¯t even sure if it was totally her fault, but¡­ who was he kidding? It was <empletely</em> her fault.

    Brin had no end of imagining horrible things for Tawna, but he kept himself to choosing the best thing he thought he could get Elmon to agree to. He wanted her to be embarrassed, for everyone in town to see her being punished, see that she was the one at fault. ¡°Pillory. For at least a day. Do what she tried to do to me.¡±

    The Prefit gave an appreciative nod. ¡°Son, the normal punishment for driving a child to an evil ss is exile or death. Your sufferance will be noted, however.¡±

    Brin nearly screamed. The pillory was <em>less</em> than the Preit had in mind? Because he agreed. She should be flogged! She should have her hair cut off and be hung in a gibbet and stabbed with spears! But he¡¯d just look stupid saying that now.

    He gave a terse nod.

    The Prefit left, and Hogg came back into the room.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I screwed that up so badly,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You did good,¡± said Hogg. ¡°He probably would¡¯ve been <em>more</em> lenient if you¡¯d screamed for blood and torture. Now his conscience is going to eat at him.¡±

    ¡°Ha! A conscience. What a stupid weakness to have,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah. Almost got you killed,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You should¡¯ve drunk the damn potion.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    Hogg frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ make me watch you die, alright? I¡¯m starting to get used to ya.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, alright,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly and Davi visited him that afternoon. They entered cautiously, footsteps quiet, as if sudden movements or too much noise would be enough to reopen all his injuries.

    Zilly stopped in the doorway to his room, and gasped, although there wasn¡¯t much to see. All his scars were covered with bandages except for the ones on his face that had alreadypletely healed, and he¡¯d even put on some clothes even though they made everything itch.

    Davi didn¡¯t make any visible reaction to Brin¡¯s injuries, though he couldn¡¯t help but notice the way Davi¡¯s eyes quickly slid away from him to a spot on the wall right next to his head.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I¡¯m even more handsome than you remember? I get that a lot,¡± said Brin.

    Davi snorted. ¡°You look like crap.¡±

    Brinughed, and the spike of hot energy from his broken ribs made him want tough louder, but he forced himself to stop.

    Zilly gave an uncertain smile. ¡°You look like actual garbage.¡±

    ¡°But in a cool way, right?¡±

    ¡°You look like a pulled pork sandwich covered in mallow sweets,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Thanks Davi,¡± Brin said, feeling a strange mixture of amusement and anger. ¡°So what¡¯s going on out there? Is it true Tawna¡¯s in trouble?¡±

    Zilly nodded eagerly. ¡°Oh, yeah, everyone is furious. Obviously almost getting you killed is bad or whatever, but moving up System Day? That¡¯s too far. They¡¯re out for blood. It¡¯s actually a little scary. I feel bad for Myra, she can¡¯t even go outside.¡±

    That tracked. To them, System Day was like your wedding day and university graduation all rolled into one, and apparently Tawna had given them the equivalent of a shotgun wedding in the middle of the night.

    ¡°You know Madely? She wasn¡¯t even in her bed when it hit. She was on the street, no doubt sneaking back from Rodrige Moda¡¯s house,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Wait, the [Woodworker] kid?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, the [Car¨C the carpenter,¡± said Zilly, but he¡¯d noticed the slip. She¡¯d said his ss name.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me hanging! What did you two get?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± said Davi. ¡°We¡¯re still going to do the ceremony like normal. No one is allowed to tell anyone what ss they have until then.¡±

    Brin could just use [Inspect], but he decided not to. If it was that important to them, he¡¯d wait.

    ¡°Well at least you¡¯re here to keep mepany. I¡¯m going to go crazy from boredom here,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay long. We just wanted to see how you were, and give you this,¡± said Zilly. She offered him a pretty paper package tied with a bow.

    He opened it, and saw it was full of candied grasshoppers. He gagged. Marksi erupted from under the covers to help himself to them.

    Zillyughed, and handed Brin another box. This one was full of candied nuts. He could appreciate the prank since they still had brought him a real treat, but he found it disturbingly hard to push down the irritation.

    Then Zilly choked. She raised a shaking finger. ¡°L¡­ legs!¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Yeah, he has legs now.¡±

    Marksi didn''t answer at all, just munched happily, his head in the bag of candied grasshoppers.

    After a few minutes, Zilly and Davi made their excuses. They were pretty busy getting ready for the celebration. Hammon¡¯s Bog was <em>going</em> to have its party, and no conniving [Weavers] or undead armies were going to stop them.

    They left, leaving Brin alone. The next few days were an exercise in boredom. Hogg didn¡¯t let him leave the room, and although he brought him a few books, they were dry histories and he just didn¡¯t seem to have the patience for it.

    Brin entertained himself by going through the house and using [Inspect] on every single thing he could find. Apparently, one of the many notifications he¡¯d ignored in the fight was this one:

    <strong>Alert! [Inspect] leveled up! 1 -> 2</strong>

    Some Skills could level, and now he was already addicted to it. Inspect rarely gave him more information than he could deduce on his own.

    A chair. A bed. The floor. The ceiling. When he used it on his pet, it just said ¡°Marksi¡±. It called Hogg ¡°A man.¡± The yellow loveseat that was actually a hidden dimensional storage just came back as ¡°Afortable and stylish sofa.¡±

    Some things were more interesting though. He used it on the sword he¡¯d stolen from the undead archer. ¡°A masterwork silverite sword. Enchanted for speed and uracy. Rechargeable.¡±

    Other things were sort of funny. When he used it on Hogg¡¯s silverware, everything came back ¡°Bog Standard fork¡±, ¡°Bog Standard knife¡±, and ¡°Bog Standard cup¡±.

    <strong>Alert! [Inspect] leveled up! 2 -> 3</strong>

    It was strange though, because to him, Hogg¡¯s things were quite nice. The cup was wooden, but made from artfully fitted pieces in an interesting pattern, and he just knew somewhere that no glue was involved; the pieces just fit together that well. The silverware was also very nice, but apparently that was totally normal.

    Eventually he asked Hogg about it.

    ¡°Oh, noticed that, did you? Good call on taking Inspect. Yeah, it¡¯s another town Skill. When a craftsman gets to a certain level of proficiency, the town will recognize their work and let them attach the town¡¯s title. It¡¯s our own little private joke, see? And a demonstration of our pride. Somewhere else, this cup would be showing ¡®masterwork quality¡¯, but to us it¡¯s ¡®Bog Standard¡¯.¡± Hogg smiled, obvious joy in his eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s dumb,¡± said Brin. ¡°That¡¯s way too much effort to put into selling a pun.¡±

    Hogg scowled. ¡°Well, we like it.¡±

    Over the next two days, Brin tried to keep himself busy. He yed way too many games of Jogosa with Hogg, until the man started avoiding the house to get away from him. He yed the lute until the strings broke, then fixed it, and broke them again. His new Strength was difficult to get used to with fine-control things like that.

    He yed with Marksi a little, but Marksi liked to do more active things like chasing or fetching, and Brin knew he shouldn¡¯t move too much with his injuries. Just leaving his room was pushing it.

    The hours dripped down like mud from a rain gutter, and Brin¡¯s wounds healed. When he got up the morning of System Day, [Mana Scars] had finally stopped sucking on his magic.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re done healing,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It just means you¡¯re out of the danger zone. That Skill, [Ugly On the Inside], still might be going to work. You shouldn¡¯t do anything to your ss until you get checked out by [Midwife] Costanza again. In case you were thinking about¡­ doing something, that is.¡±

    Brin narrowed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

    ¡°So, about System Day. What are we telling everyone?¡±

    ¡°[Warrior], of course,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°[Warrior] it is.¡±

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    Scarred One

    Level

    22

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    149

    Dexterity

    84

    Vitality

    146

    Magic

    41

    Mental Control

    59

    Will

    59

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    You survived the massacre at Travin¡¯s Bog that ended your family.

    +50% resistance to heat, cold and poison.

    Traveler

    You have journeyed to a strange and foreignnd where you now live.

    +30% movement speed when out ofbat

    You have argely increased ability to learnnguages.

    Otherworlder

    You have traversed the stars and arrived at an entirely new world.

    +50% experience while your ss is below level 30. Strengthened immune system. Strengthened magic resistance.

    Heavily Scarred (3)

    You have been scarred. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars.

    Your wounds heal 50% faster.

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Legendary)

    <em>Warfare was his birthright, he craved the sh of steel,</em>

    <em>He sang a song of bloodshed that the dead could hear and feel,</em>

    <em>The terror of the battlefield, a cursed child was found.</em>

    <em>Warbound</em>.

    +20% to all attributes. +100% experience from meleebat. Battle Fury and Battle Sense skills added.

    Monster Hunter II (Common)

    You have defeated more than 13 monsters.

    +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

    Filial Piety (Epic)

    You performed a noble act of service to your father at great risk to yourself, freeing his captive soul from those who bound him in servitude.

    Extra resistance against mental maniption, soul maniption, and Mana pool maniption.

    +100% Magic attribute growth.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Strength.

    +40% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +40% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous III (Common)

    You have reached 65 Dexterity.

    +30% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +30% Dexterity attribute growth.

    Lively IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Vitality.

    +40% recovery from wounds. +40% stamina. +40% Vitality attribute growth.

    Magical II (Common)

    You have reached 26 Magic.

    +20% spell power. +20% mana regeneration. +20% Magic attribute growth

    Controlled II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Mental Control.

    +20% focus and concentration +20% Mental Control attribute growth

    Disciplined II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Will

    +20% spell power. +20% skill power. +20% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +2 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +2 Vitality per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Mental Control per level

    <strong>General Skills</strong>

    Know What¡¯s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You can now approximate the value of things.

    Monster Sense

    You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    Inspect (3)

    Active Skill - Receive information on the target.

    Upgradeable.

    Hide Status

    Your ss and other System details are hidden from Inspect and other observation skills. Note: Your information may still be vulnerable due to high level disparities and powerful inspection skills.

    Upgradeable.

    Battle Fury (Epic)

    Skill unlocked: Battle Fury (Epic)

    Your fury in battle lends you greater power.

    +5% increase to the effects of your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality with each wound you take and with each wound you give. +50% increase with each enemy you y.

    These increases are capped at +100%

    These increases expire thirty minutes after you leavebat.

    Battle Sense

    You have an innate sense about the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to direct your allies to greatest effectiveness during conflict.

    <strong>ss Skills</strong>

    Ugly on the Inside

    Enhanced ability to form healing scars on internal organs. Nearly any injury can heal naturally, given time.

    Pain Resistance

    Feel pain as information, with a boost to energy and focus.

    Mana Scars

    Your body is held together by mana when wounded. Consumes mana.

    Bloody Vengeance

    Increased power and speed proportional to the amount of wounds received.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 3: Chapter 20

    Book 3: Chapter 20

    He gave into temptation, right before the System Day celebration. He brought out the little knife he¡¯d made under Toros¡¯ tutge and cut the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes and let himself savor the experience, the fire, the sudden passion, the forbidden pleasure. He hadn¡¯t taken the upgrade to turn pain into pleasure, so [Pain Resistance] turned his pain into heat and excitement. Even so, it was almost too much. Oh yes, it was going to be hard to stop himself from doing this. But he would. This wasn¡¯t for pleasure. He actually had a reason.

    Most of his wounds had healedpletely, or aspletely as they were going to. His whole body was crisscrossed with a web of jagged scars. They were cool-looking though, not ugly, blotchy blobs. Even the stab wounds had healed into thin white lines. Cool scars, like the¡­ well, let¡¯s face it. Like the heroes in anime had.

    With the scars hade a bonus. [Heavily Scarred] wasn¡¯t lying when it said healing would improve with each new scar.

    Heavily Scarred You have been scarred. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative. Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars Your wounds heal 120% faster.

    As good as it felt, this was just a test. This was an experiment to see what the title meant, in real terms.

    Sure enough, the cut stopped bleeding right away. Then he watched, as the blood dried and a scab began to form. He counted one minute until the scab was fully hardened and started to look tasty. It was nothing like wolverine-speed healing, but it was still eerie to see the way the scab popped out in real time. Normally a cut like this would take a couple days to go awaypletely, but the way it was healing, he¡¯d be surprised if it wasn¡¯t gone by morning.

    He closed his fist, resisting the urge to mess with it.

    Time to get dressed. All the children, even him, were to wear ceremonial robes, and his were currently on the bed. They were made of silk, ording to Hogg, but he didn¡¯t know what that meant in the terms of this world. He¡¯d never seen any silkworms around.

    The fabric was certainly smooth like silk, but also thick and warm. They were white, and were prismatic in the way they caught the light, putting little rainbows in the air around them that didn¡¯t set off [Know What¡¯s Real].

    He shrugged them on and looked into the mirror. He looked like a devil in the clothes of an angel.

    The only other item he was to bring was the tool of his trade. He brought the undead archer¡¯s sword, belted around the outside of the robes at his waist.

    Then he left the house. Hogg¡¯s new ce was right on the edge near the wall, of course, so there was a bit of a walk.

    This part of the town was empty, but when he got to the connecting street, he was greeted by a warm glow. All the town¡¯s adults were lining the streets, holding candles. They watched in silence, some with proud smiles, others solemn. Hogg was standing right at the corner, and for once he had forgone his ck leathers for the borate formal clothes of the Bog.

    The newly advanced children walked down the center, and some Skill had been used to make the streets t and dry,pletely clear of mud or detritus.

    Brin was the furthest and thest, so as he passed, the adults ringed around and followed behind him. That got his back up, he <em>hated </em>the feeling of people walking behind him. The remaining unhealed wounds in his body gave him an ufortable amount of energy and he wanted nothing more than to dash forward and be done with this, but of course that wouldn¡¯t be proper. No, it wouldn¡¯t be right. He could control this.

    He walked as slowly as he could make himself, just barely faster than the other kids. And he had that +30% movement speed when out ofbat from [Traveler], so basically he was walking like a turtle. Except¡­ that wasn¡¯t how it worked. He hadn¡¯t been out at all since he returned to town, but already he could feel that improved how fast he <em>could</em> travel, not how fast he always would travel. His normal walking speed was the same as before. He was just impatient.

    He heard the sound of singing, and a lute ying, but it wasn¡¯t the sound of country dances. This was slower, more spiritual, almost a chant. He could pick out a voice belonging to the [Bard] Jeffrey, and one other. Lower, rougher, and younger. A little shaky, but still on-tune. Hammon''s Bog had a new [Bard]. He wondered who the lucky brat was. How galling was it, that he didn''t even have an idea? No one else his age had asked Jeffrey for lessons... he shoved the broiling anger back down. What did he care? He didn''t. He wouldn''t have picked [Bard], even if it had been offered.

    He listened as he walked. The words were in Ithmallian, and he didn¡¯t know what they said, but he knew what they <em>meant</em>. Peace, growth, and reverence. Actually he did recognize one word. ¡°Lumina¡± kept repeating in the chorus, and without anyone ever having told him, he knew it meant ¡°light¡± in the ancientnguage.

    He let Jeffrey¡¯s magic pour over him, hoping it could make him feel something different than the [Scarred One¡¯s] ever-present simmering anger. It soothed him, but he felt vaguely hollow. His old emotions would have felt something here, he was sure of it. Holiness, maybe. Now what he felt was¡­ grudging respect for something he couldn¡¯t understand anymore.

    The whole town was circled around the square so he couldn¡¯t see what was there right away, but he saw hundreds of floating papernterns above it, suspended in the air.

    The song grew clearer, and he thought he started to recognize the second voice in the song. Then he was through the crowd, and he thought of the answer right before he saw the hulkingd.

    Davi. Davi stood next to Jeffrey on a tform, standing over the rest of the children, weing them. Brin didn¡¯t even need to fire off [Inspect], but he did anyway, just to be sure. Davi had gotten [Bard].

    <em>Davi? How was that fair?</em> Brin had never so much as seen Davi lift a musical instrument, and <em>he</em> got offered [Bard]? Where was the reward for all the hours Brin had spent practicing that lute?

    He mped down on that line of thought quickly. That¡¯s <em>not</em> how you treat a friend. You were happy for them. He still remembered his true self well enough to know exactly how to smile, in surprise and delight. Davi caught his eye and smiled back while still singing, visibly relieved to see a friendly face. Brin made motions showing his brain exploding, then gave a hearty thumbs up. Davi¡¯s smile grew, but then he had to look down so that he wouldn¡¯t startughing.

    Brin held the smile as long as he thought he could, though it felt stic on his face.

    The other children started to take their ces. He saw a boy, the same Rodrige that Zilly had mentioned the day before, bring out his [Carpenter] tools and a block of wood, and start working with them on the grass. The other children did the same with their new trades, mending tools, digging in the earth, one girl even fried eggs on a self-heating frying pan.

    It should have been silly and sort-of wild, but with Jeffrey and Davi¡¯s song in the air, it was a thing of peace and beauty. A time of revtion and discovery, though Brin didn¡¯t feel that either. The first levels were the easiest, so many of them would get their very first levels tonight if they had been able to resist getting some this past week. Brin sure hadn¡¯t.

    His ce wasn¡¯t with any of them, though. He walked past and then stood on the outside looking in. He drew his sword and held it point down on the ground, resting both hands on the pommel. The protector¡¯s ce. The ce of a [Warrior].

    To his surprise, Zilly stepped up next to him and ced a sword of her own point down into the ground. Zilly, the [Warrior].

    She gave him a quick, nervous smile, then looked back at the town¡¯s young adults. He¡¯d been coached to keep his eyes on them, as their protector. A ceremonial role, obviously, but an important one.

    He watched the emotions on Zilly¡¯s face, since he couldn¡¯t seem to feel them for himself. Her face whitened a bit, perhaps as the symbolism of it all started to dawn on her. This celebration was for them, for the Common sses, for the peaceful people. Her job would be to protect them, but in times of peace, times like tonight? She didn¡¯t really have a ce with them. She stood on the outside, looking in.

    Brin watched them; he saw them jump to their feet with joy as their first levels came pouring in.

    Myra was there, red-eyed, but withplete contentment in her expression as she moved threads by hand through a darning loom.

    He saw Tawna in the crowd, and for once, the sight of her didn¡¯t fill him with anger. The Prefit hadn¡¯t been lying; ording to Hogg, the town council was fiercely debating giving her the death sentence. No one would be able to tell that by looking at her. She wore her finest dress, and her eyes were wet with unfeigned joy and pride as she watched her daughter work. Even Tawna, for all her crimes, hadn¡¯t been excluded from the beauty of this moment.

    Only Brin was excluded. Because of his choices, and because of Tawna¡¯s. His heart didn¡¯t seem to want to feel anything at all.

    The ceremony was long. And boring, for him at least. He was sure that for the rest of the young adults and their families, it would be a night they remembered for the rest of their lives.

    Well, Brin would always remember this night as well. He¡¯d remember how much he really didn¡¯t want to be this person anymore. Hopefully, this boring, failure of a night would help him remember why he would throw away something that it took most people <em>years</em> to earn.

    There was a feast next, and dancing, and Brin could still enjoy those things at least. Everyone stayed pretty close to their families, but he did manage to congratte Davi and have a quick, four-sentence conversation with Zilly.

    ¡°What are we going to do, Brin? Can we really do this?¡±

    ¡°Of course you can do this, Zilly. And for me, well, I¡¯ve already done it.¡±

    Sheughed, and then her sisters pulled her away.

    The celebration dragged on, and Brin endured it. When it was finally over, Brin walked away, at a pace that wasfortable for him

    This time, it was Hogg that had to jog to catch up.

    They walked in silence as Brin tore up the road, walking as quickly as he could without turning it into a full-on run. He worked off all the ufortable excess energy, trying to order himself, trying to find himself. Trying to figure out what was real.

    They walked in a circle, going a whole block around his destination.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice that we aren¡¯t going back to the house,¡± Hogg observed.

    ¡°I have onest thing I need to do first,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg sucked in a breath to say something, then let it out. Then again. Finally, he said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to tell you to do it. I was going to support you whatever you decided. It¡¯s my fault you got this way, and I decided I was going to live with the consequences and stick by you no matter what.¡±

    ¡°But you do want me to change it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Then you need to know why. This isn''t for your town. I don''t owe them a thing. I''m doing this because... I''ve won. I¡¯ve conquered this ss. It tried to get to me. It tried to twist me, to change me into something vile, and it couldn¡¯t. With every choice I faced since I got this ss, I chose to do the right thing. Tell me I¡¯m wrong.¡±

    ¡°You should have drunk the¨C no. You¡¯re not wrong,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°And I might even be a better person with this ss, you ever think of that? Brin let things go. He let things slide. He let people walk all over him, in the name of avoiding conflict. I won''t. I won¡¯t let things go. I see something wrong, and I¡¯ll put a stop to it. I won¡¯t let things build for weeks and months, I¡¯ll say something right away.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯ve learned that lesson, no matter what ss you have,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t going to try to convince me, so don¡¯t,¡± said Brin. ¡°I''m not doing this because I have to. I can live with this. I can control it, and use this power to do something good. Do something great!¡±

    Hogg walked along silently. He twitched his head in a nod.

    ¡°I like the way it feels, most of the time. I feel safe. I feel like nothing can hurt me,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg said, ¡°I understand.¡±

    Brin abruptly veered away, toward the temple.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, shut up. This isn¡¯t for you. I want to feel safe inside my own head again.¡±

    Costanza the [Midwife] stood in the doorway, next to Ellion the priest.

    She was a plump, white-haired woman, with the mannerisms of a drill sergeant with a toothache. Without preamble, she lifted up Brin¡¯s robe and ced the palm of her hand against his bare stomach. He was wearing shorts underneath, but it still surprised him. People in this town had very little respect for privacy, and [Midwives] had even less.

    ¡°Internal injuries are good enough. I¡¯ve seen hundreds of women survive worse. Bit of achiness, nothing major.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Ellion.

    She turned on her heel and marched away.

    Ellion looked at Brin, unflinching at all his scars. ¡°Come in.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t tell Ellion why he was here. He hadn¡¯t warned him in advance. He supposed he didn¡¯t need to.

    Ellion walked slowly towards the shrine. Slower than normal, to be honest. A reminder, maybe, that the gods wouldn¡¯t move to the pace that Brin set.

    He indicated the shrine, a stone block, unadorned, where any of the gods could be called upon in prayer. ¡°Seek peace with the gods. But first, perhaps a donation¨C¡±

    He was interrupted by the sound of heavy gold hitting the donation bowl, courtesy of Hogg.

    ¡°Very good.¡±

    He indicated the shrine again, and stepped back.

    Brin knelt. ¡°Solia. Don¡¯t be too mad at me for breaking an Oath, ok? This is for you, partly. Anshar, don¡¯t take this as an insult to you. I¡¯m doing this for me, but make no mistake; my conquest has only begun. To you two and any other gods out there, give me a way to do this that isn¡¯t breaking a sacred Oath, and I¡¯ll do it, alright? This is the System you set up. Don¡¯t fault me for ying by your rules. Amen.¡±

    Maybe it wasn¡¯t the most respectful of prayers, but the [Scarred One] wasn¡¯t really much for prayer and he didn¡¯t think faking it would be the right move for something like this.

    He felt nothing, no eyes, no sense of peace, or anything at all, and he was grateful for that.

    ¡°You may begin,¡± said Ellion. ¡°Swear whatever Oath you wish, only do not swear by any gods, lest you risk offending them.¡±

    He briefly thought about breaking his Oath with the Heroes, but his reasons for keeping it were the same. He didn¡¯t want to betray something they¡¯d trusted him with.

    ¡°I swear on my ss and Levels that I will never speak the word I am thinking of out loud three times in a row. So help me¡­ no one in particr.¡±

    ¡°You may proceed,¡± said Ellion.

    Brin gulped. He nced at Hogg, who bit his lip. He looked at the ground. Then up, towards the high ceiling of the temple. ¡°Beetlejuice, beetlejuice, beetlejuice.¡±

    It didn¡¯t hit all at once. He expected fatigue, or a huge burst of pain. Instead, it was like the weight of the world slowly descended on him. Gravity was heavier. His bones began to ache, and it got worse and worse until he could barely stand it.

    He was in pain. If all his emotions before were tinged with red, now they were tinged with blue. Even if he¡¯d had another ss before the System Day celebration, it still would have been ruined. He was so sore.

    The words he was waiting for finally appeared.

    ss Selection Initiated

    ss Automatically Assigned You are now a [sser]

    With the cruel inevitability of an avnche, the messages came.

    Strength 149 -> 42 Dexterity 84 -> 37 Vitality 146 -> 39 Magic 41 -> 29 Mental Control 59 -> 32 Will 59 -> 33

    Ugly on the Inside removed. Pain Resistance removed. Mana Scars removed.

    Bloody Vengeance removed. Inspect removed. Hide Status removed.

    On the bright side, he kept [Know What¡¯s Real], [Monster Sense], [Battle Fury], and [Battle Sense], and all his Titles and Achievements. Those practically had the power of a ss all by themselves.

    You have 1 free general Skill. You have earned a new Skill! Heat Resistance You have earned a new Skill! Shape ss

    So much lost, for so little in return.

    Brin closed his eyes. The disappointment on top of all the aching pain was too much to hold back the sudden tears. He¡¯d really thought he was going to get¨C

    ¡°YES!¡± Hogg shouted.

    Brin looked up, feeling betrayed.

    Hogg had both hands in the air. ¡°YES!¡± he yelled again. The sound echoed in the vast hall. Ellion¡¯s eyes were opened wide, looking at Hogg in horror.

    Brin couldn¡¯t believe it. A Common ss. He¡¯d hoped for [Illusionist], to be a little like one of the Heroes he admired so much. And honestly? He¡¯d hoped that Hogg would want that for him too. It left him hurt, and empty.

    He couldn¡¯t speak. He whispered. ¡°[sser].¡±

    ¡°Exactly. And what are the two sses that can evolve into [Illusionist]? I¡¯ll give you a hint, they¡¯re [sser] and [Smoker].¡±

    ¡°[sser] evolves into [Illusionist]! I should have known. The first thing the [Illusionist] told me when I met him was that I should pick [sser] instead. I can¡¯t believe I almost forgot to ask about that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°ss Selection wasn¡¯t over when you were interrupted, remember,¡± said Ellion. ¡°I feel certain you would have remembered in time. It is my distinct feeling that this is the ss you would have picked, given enough time to make the proper choice.¡±

    His distinct feeling, or an impression distinctly given to him by the gods?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± said Brin. ¡°It might be the best choice overall, but it¡¯s going to take a lot of time to ramp up. I would¡¯ve been worried it would take too long to get the power I¡¯ll need during the crisis that¡¯sing. I probably would¡¯ve wanted to do this, but then I would¡¯ve made the more responsible decision.¡±

    ¡°Then thank the gods that for once you didn¡¯t get the chance to make a martyr of yourself. One of my biggest regrets in life was that I didn¡¯t take [Smoker] when I had the chance. [Illusionist] gives you a ridiculous amount of magical power, but nowhere to stick it! If I¡¯d had [Summon Smoke] I could¡¯ve been choking out my enemies with poisonous gas this whole time,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t every [sser]--¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s incredibly difficult to evolve [sser], or [Smoker] for that matter, into [Illusionist],¡± said Hogg. ¡°Unless you have, I don¡¯t know, a bonded animalpanion with illusion magic, and a mentor who knows literally everything there is to know about illusion magic. In that case I¡¯d say it would be pretty easy.¡±

    ¡°Oh. OH!¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a [ss Mage].¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. At the very least, you aren¡¯t going to be a normal [Illusionist].¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Instead I¡¯m going to be a Bog Standard [Illusionist].¡± Brinughed. ¡°Bog Standard. That¡¯s actually pretty funny. You used an entire town-wide Skill just to go all-in on an inside joke. I love it.¡±

    ¡°Right? RIGHT? I about smacked you upside the head, telling me it¡¯s dumb. Little scarred prick. It¡¯s amazing, is what it is,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°This is still a temple to the gods,¡± said Ellion, though he bore a half-smile at their antics as well. ¡°Please take this outside if you must be so loud.¡±

    He and Hogg did, still chuckling, but the smile died on his lips when he saw who was waiting for them outside.

    Prefit Elmon waited for them in the dark with [Weaver] Tawna by his side. Her head was bowed and her hands were bound together with rope; a formality, no one would believe a [Weaver] could be restrained by ropes. She hadn¡¯t needed to wear the bindings at the party; this was out of respect for him, a reminder that her crimes weren¡¯t forgotten.

    Elmon stood proud, and the look in his eyes was that of intense relief. Brin hadn¡¯t decided yet whether he would take [Hide Status] again and pretend to be a [Warrior], but it was toote for these two. They saw what he was. They knew what he¡¯d done.

    The [Prefit] stepped forward. ¡°Despite all our blunders, you¡¯ve still somehow turned into a fine young man. This town owes you a great debt. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I know. And that alone speaks to your character. You did it on your own because it was right, not out of any force or pressure from others,¡± said [Prefit] Elmon. He put a hand on Brin¡¯s shoulder and opened his mouth as if to say more, then closed it again. He patted Brin¡¯s shoulder and then stepped back.

    Tawna lifted her head. ¡°I think I have grown to approve of you, somewhat.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you think,¡± said Brin. He still hadn¡¯tpletely sorted out his feelings, but he did know that much.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t change the fact that I especially owe you a great debt,¡± she said. ¡°Two dooms departed from me the moment I realized what you would choose.¡±

    Two dooms? He¡¯d probably saved her from execution by switching his ss. She¡¯d still be punished; no doubt Hogg would insist on it and so would Brin for what it was worth, but it wouldn¡¯t be death. They wouldn¡¯t execute someone for driving a child to an evil ss if the child in question already switched to something else. She was right this time: She owed him.

    He sighed, ¡°It looks like you did actually save my life by asking the Prefit to move System Day up a week. It still galls that I didn¡¯t get¨C nevermind. The fact is, you did save my life.¡±

    Elmon frowned. ¡°The things before that though, the needless cruelty, and the lies. She manipted you, me, and many others. She could have chosen a different path. She had no call to treat you that way.¡±

    ¡°Knowing what I know now, perhaps I could have,¡± said Tawna. ¡°But with the fate that was visible to me then, I cannot say I chose poorly.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not helping,¡± said the Prefit.

    Brin shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re meless, Elmon. You were ready to pillory me in front of the whole town and that was a big part of what pushed me to [Scarred One]. You could have given me a helping hand at any point, but you didn¡¯t. Tawna at least had a good reason, as misguided as I think her actions were, and no one can say her n didn¡¯t work. You were just being callous.¡±

    ¡°I will say in her defense¡­¡± Hogg started, looking cautiously at Brin.

    Brin made the ¡°get on with it¡± hand motion.

    ¡°It bothers me that we¡¯re pinning all this on her. All of us here, and I mean all four of us, bear arge amount of responsibility for the pain Brin went through. Tawna started it all, but can you honestly say you wouldn¡¯t do the same in her shoes? Forget bullying a child, any of us would murder a child if that¡¯s what was necessary to protect that town, especially if that child were a [Witch].¡±

    Prefit Elmon put an arm between Hogg and Tawna, as if to shield her. ¡°Only her own crimes will be pinned on her; those are grave enough. And as the Prefit, it¡¯s my duty to advocate for the maximum punishment. I will continue to rmend her death to the council. They will decide if her sentence should be lessened.¡±

    Brin looked at Tawna, eyes wide at the Prefit¡¯s deration, but she looked back with absolute serenity. She knew she¡¯d be fine. She¡¯d probably already seen the council¡¯s verdict in her fate.

    Elmon looked at the ground, almost shamefaced. ¡°They certainly will lessen it, but I will see to it that it¡¯s not by too much.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not good enough,¡± Brin said to the Prefit, then looked at Tawna. ¡°From now on I want total transparency from you. No more going behind my back, no more subtle maniptions or cryptic warnings. If you see something in my fate, you tell me and only me, and let <em>me</em> decide how to deal with it. We¡¯re done with this stupid game.¡±

    ¡°I ept,¡± Tawna said with a nod. ¡°I swear on my ss and Levels to abide by your terms, in the spirit in which they were given. So help me, Nedramus. And in the spirit of total transparency¡­ this Oath will do wonders for earning the sympathy of the council.¡±

    Brin groaned. She just couldn¡¯t help herself. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m done with this.¡± He turned and walked away.

    They ended up having a second little celebration at home. Hogg had bought a little cake for the two of them; easy to do stuff like that when you lived within the walls. It was a brief, happy little thing, but it was also prettyte at night, and soon they drifted into silence. Hogg sat on his favorite lounge chair, nursing a ss of wine, while Brin sat on the magic yellow loveseat with a small-beer.

    One bright spot was the painkillers. It turned out the [Pharmacist] made really effective drugs, and Hogg had some. That got Brin to thinking about what effect they would¡¯ve had with his [Scarred One] ss. Toote to test something like that. Maybe he¡¯d meet another [Scarred One] someday. If he did, though, he¡¯d probably just turn around and walk the other direction.

    [sser] didn¡¯t have much for him right off the bat. [Heat Resistance] would let him work closer to me without difort, but he still didn¡¯t think a drop of molten ss would feel very good. The only other Skill was [Shape ss], which Hogg said would eventually let him move ss freely, evenunch it like bullets, but right now he couldn¡¯t seem to get it to do anything. Hogg told him that he should keep the ss until he got [Summon ss], even if that meant he¡¯d lose out on ten or fifteen levels worth of attributes that [Illusionist] would¡¯ve given him.

    Right now, [sser] was¡­ nothing much. Barely better than [Child]. He tried not to think about all the power he¡¯d given up. It was for the best, he knew, in the long run. He wanted magic, and this was magic. But for now, the wound was still raw, and he was back to feeling his pain again. The painkillers helped.

    Checking his status in morbid fascination, he noticed one small shift to his Title that hadn¡¯te with a notification.

    Scarred, but Healing

    You have been scarred, but you¡¯re healing. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars. Your wounds heal 160% faster.

    ¡°One thing I still don¡¯t get,¡± said Brin, closing his status screen. ¡°How did they know where we would be? How did Tawna know all the things she did, for that matter?¡±

    ¡°Two separate questions. ording to Tawna, she didn¡¯t know anything about anything. All she knew was what actions she could take to lead the town to a future where all of our deaths were a little less certain.¡±

    ¡°But the undead army. How did they know that you were the [Illusionist], and that you would be out that night, and where to set up the ambush?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°Not just that, but why wouldn¡¯t they assume that Gustaff was the [Illusionist]? You¡¯d have to observe him up close to know for sure that he¡¯s not capable of that. And another thing, why does Arcaena think they can manage this town by cutting us off rather than killing us all? Sure, killing us would cost them thousands of undead. Tens of thousands. I¡¯d make sure of that. But still, what makes them so certain they can control us?

    ¡°Also, how they knew I wasn¡¯t at home that night. Well, anyone in town knew. When System Day came early, an angry mobnded on the Prefit¡¯s door, demanding answers. Tawna spilled everything, including that you were in danger and that I¡¯d gone to rescue you. That¡¯s another part of the story you don¡¯t know¨Cthe Prefit led a team out to rescue us. He and fifty men, including ten [Hunters]. But they got lost in the forest, and ended up back home before they found us.¡±

    ¡°But¨C¡± Brin started.

    ¡°You heard me right. The Prefit. And ten [Hunters]. Got lost in the forest they¡¯ve lived in their entire lives.¡±

    ¡°What could do something like that?¡±

    ¡°Just ask,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Is there a [Witch] in Hammon¡¯s Bog? A spy?¡±

    Hogg downed the rest of his wine. ¡°Yes and yes.¡±

    Brin felt a little dizzy, even though he was already sitting down. It waste. ¡°Do you have any ideas on who it might be?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve been doing nothing this whole time, you know. First thing you should know is that you were sort of right about Evil sses. They¡¯re rough if you get them young, but an adult should be able to resist the temptations. If you¡¯re a [Witch], just don¡¯t make anyone sick or steal their youth. Simple. The other thing you need to know about [Witches], is what their starter ss is.¡±

    ¡°[Enchantress]?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yes. And [Weaver],¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    ¡°And [Cook]. And [Laundress] and [Baker] and [Cleaner] and [Gutter Sweeper] and about two dozen others. That¡¯s why everyone, the nobility especially, is so terrified about [Witches]. Incredible power,ing frommoners, and it cane from <em>anywhere</em>. That¡¯s also why [Witch]-hunts get so bad, because the [Witches] in question inevitably start pointing fingers in order to shift the me away from themselves.¡±

    ¡°Are there [Witches] in Hammon¡¯s Bog?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t been doing anything this past year. There are seven [Witches] in Hammon¡¯s Bog. Tawna isn¡¯t one of them. Neither is Myra, in case you were worried. Most of the [Witches] are innocent. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d say all of them were, but the facts are out; no use pretending.¡±

    Hogg stood and walked to his room. In the doorway, he paused.

    ¡°There are seven [Witches] in Hammon¡¯s Bog, and one of them is a traitor.¡±

 Book 1 - Epilogue

    Book 1 - Epilogue

    Cecil the [Printer] sat on the hard wooden stool in his workroom, resisting the urge to get up and start pacing again. This was normally where he felt the most at ease, here with his tools, but today not even that helped. The odd part was, he didn¡¯t really even know what the problem was. He simply hadn¡¯t felt at ease since the visit by that [Illusionist].

    He picked up and reorganized the stamps in his tray, swapping out the upper and lower-case letters. The simple action usually helped soothe his nerves, even though he hadn¡¯t needed to use the actual printing press in years. His Skills took care of everything now.

    Of course, he¡¯d never have been able to get this far without that suspiciously generous investor, who¡¯d appeared with exactly what he needed, exactly when he needed it. The tables, the ink, the press, and the stamps had all been extremely important when he was starting out, giving him the ss and those important first levels. He¡¯d risen to fortune immediately, giving Oud Bog its first newspaper and making books so cheap that even those of the lowest levels could afford to stock their home with a bookshelf.

    Few people chose to try for [Printer]. Why would they, when [Scribes] were somon, and so easy to level? Anyone could get some charcoal and bark paper and start writing. And high level [Scribes] could copy ten books in a day. He snorted at the old arguments. No one would say such things to him now, when he was known to copy a <em>thousand</em> books in a day, and without even needing to touch his tools.

    All it had taken was that initial, generous investment from a mysterious [Illusionist]. It had seemed like a pact with a demon at the time, and Cecil had spent the years of fortune wondering when the other shoe would drop. It never did. The [Illusionist] never asked for his share of the business to be paid back, never asked for anything illegal, and never touched the share of his profits that Cecil dutifully deposited at the bank each month. All he asked was to have an asional message sent out. Dictated, of course.

    Until this message. Cecil wished he could¡¯ve set up some method whereby the [Illusionist] could dictate the message without him knowing what was in it.

    An army of undead. Arcaena with a Burrow Kingdom. The end of the world as they knew it, if the Frenaria and Prinnash didn¡¯t end their petty feud and band together.

    Cecil had sent out the other letters, but the [Illusionist] had probably expected more. He¡¯d probably expected him to warn the people of Oud¡¯s Bog at the very least. But how could he?

    He loved this town. Right on the edge of the frontier, but still close enough to civilization to have properws and protection, Oud¡¯s Bog had given him everything he ever wanted. No, he couldn¡¯t tell them.

    His wife had been sent away. His children were at their apprenticeships. And now he sat alone, fiddling with his tools. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

    The fastest [Messenger] had been sent to Stormshield. Soon a [Messenger] would return from there, notifying him that his message had been received. An expensive service to be sure, but he¡¯d been very explicit. Soon the return [Messenger] woulde¡­ or something else would happen.

    The door opened, and a hooded figure in a full riding cloak stepped inside. It wasn¡¯t dark, in Cecil¡¯s shop. The fire in the hearth burned merrily, but he still couldn¡¯t see into the shadows of the figure¡¯s hood.

    ¡°The other shoe, I presume?¡± said Cecil, surprised at his steady voice. He was d for it. He¡¯d hoped he¡¯d be able to face this moment with dignity. He couldn¡¯t fight. Wouldn¡¯t even try. But it was nice to know, at the end, that he was the kind of man he thought he was. He¡¯d face this with dignity.

    The figure stepped forward. Cecil could smell the stench of death, and oddly, that crisp smell like after a rainstorm.

    ¡°Do not shout. If you cooperate, no one other than you must die this day,¡± said the figure, and Cecil was surprised to hear a woman¡¯s voice. He shouldn¡¯t have been surprised, not when he knew what he knew.

    The [Witch] drew out a sack from under her riding cloak and tossed it on the floor. Three decapitated heads rolled out.

    The three [Messengers] he¡¯d sent out.

    She drew out three letters. He recognized them. He¡¯d written them. Or printed, rather. She tossed them into the hearth.

    ¡°You understand, we could destroy this town and everyone in it. It would expose us, but also give us time. We¡¯d rather not, of course, but we will if necessary. Is there anyone else who knows?¡± she asked.

    The [Illusionist] knew, the one who told him in the first ce. But there¡¯s no way she would be acting this confident if he was still alive. Cecil didn¡¯t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, the [Illusionist] had given him everything. On the other, now he was going to die for him.

    Cecil made a decision. ¡°I swear on my ss and levels that I will never lie to you. I will never lie by omission or intentionally deceive you in any way. So help me Sezorat.¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°I wrote no other letters. I didn¡¯t tell anyone else. To my knowledge, no one in this town knows of the contents of that letter except for me. Everyone in the kingdom knows that the great [Archmage] Lumina fought something in Travin¡¯s Bog, of course, but that news has been mostly forgotten in lieu of the war with Prinnash. Your secret is as safe as it can be.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± she said. ¡°You did well.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you will ept another Oath?¡±

    ¡°I will not,¡± she said sadly. ¡°Oaths to my kind tend not to stick for very long. We are not loved by the gods¨C no, that isn¡¯t true. We are not loved by the priests. But I will do you this mercy: I will leave your corpse here, and I will steal all the gold in this house. Your family will believe this is a robbery.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll find out, you know. That man never misses an appointment.¡±

    The [Witch] began to shimmer and change. She rose taller, and then a face appeared inside her hood. <em>His </em>face, the face of the [Illusionist].

    ¡°Who said he was going to miss an appointment?¡±

    There was still one thing he could do. He¡¯d swore never to lie to her; he could at least stop her from getting his experience. ¡°I have a blue b¨C¡±

    He couldn¡¯t finish the sentence. He heard a snick. He felt a pinch at his throat. Hisst memory was an image of falling to the ground, with his body falling the other direction.

 Book 2. Chapter 11.5

    Book 2. Chapter 11.5

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    sser

    Level

    11

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    70

    Dexterity

    65

    Vitality

    67

    Magic

    44

    Mental Control

    62

    Will

    47

    Unassigned points

    10

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    You survived the massacre at Travin¡¯s Bog that ended your family.

    +50% resistance to heat, cold and poison.

    Traveler

    You have journeyed to a strange and foreignnd where you now live.

    +30% movement speed when out ofbat

    You have argely increased ability to learnnguages.

    Otherworlder

    You have traversed the stars and arrived at an entirely new world.

    +50% experience while your ss is below level 30. Strengthened immune system. Strengthened magic resistance.

    Scarred, but Healing (3)

    You have been scarred, but you¡¯re healing. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars.

    Your wounds heal 180% faster.

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Legendary)

    <em>Warfare was his birthright, he craved the sh of steel,</em>

    <em>He sang a song of bloodshed that the dead could hear and feel,</em>

    <em>The terror of the battlefield, a cursed child was found.</em>

    <em>Warbound</em>.

    +20% to all attributes. +100% experience from meleebat. Battle Fury and Battle Sense skills added.

    Monster Hunter II (Common)

    You have defeated more than 13 monsters.

    +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

    Filial Piety (Epic)

    You performed a noble act of service to your father at great risk to yourself, freeing his captive soul from those who bound him in servitude.

    Extra resistance against mental maniption, soul maniption, and Mana pool maniption.

    +100% Magic attribute growth.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Strength.

    +40% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +40% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous III (Common)

    You have reached 65 Dexterity.

    +10% Dexterity (Transferred from Thief). +30% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +30% Dexterity attribute growth.

    Lively IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Vitality.

    +40% recovery from wounds. +40% stamina. +40% Vitality attribute growth.

    Magical II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Magic.

    +20% spell power. +20% mana regeneration. +20% Magic attribute growth

    Controlled II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Mental Control.

    +20% focus and concentration +20% Mental Control attribute growth

    Disciplined II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Will

    +20% spell power. +20% skill power. +20% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +2 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +2 Vitality per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Mental Control per level

    <strong>General Skills</strong>

    Know What¡¯s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You can now approximate the value of things.

    Monster Sense

    You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    Inspect (14)

    Active Skill - Receive information on the target.

    Upgradeable.

    Hide Status (2)

    Your ss and other System details are hidden from Inspect and other observation skills. Note: Your information may still be vulnerable due to high level disparities and powerful inspection skills.

    Upgradeable.

    Meditation (9)

    Train your focus and concentration, as well as to actively achieve a clear mind and peaceful mental state.

    Upgradeable.

    Battle Fury (Epic)

    Your fury in battle lends you greater power.

    +5% increase to the effects of your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality with each wound you take and with each wound you give. +50% increase with each enemy you y.

    These increases are capped at +100%

    These increases expire thirty minutes after you leavebat.

    Battle Sense

    You have an innate sense about the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to direct your allies to greatest effectiveness during conflict.

    <strong>ss Skills</strong>

    Shape ss (6)

    You have the ability to transform ss. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with ss.

    This Skill has been upgraded once.

    Heat Resistance

    You have greatly increased resistance to heat and burns.

    Memories of ss

    You can perfectly recall anything you¡¯ve seen or learned about ss.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 2. Chapter 13

    Book 2. Chapter 13

    Brin stood to pace, but then realized that the enchanted circle wasn¡¯t big enough for that and sat back down again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know where to start. How could you miss something like that?¡±

    ¡°Look, I could make excuses. Undead are hard to spot until they start getting hungry, and Neptune was already a loner. The long and the short of it is that he fooled my [Inspect],¡± said Hogg. ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to [Inspect] everyone every day, but I do make an effort to check out notable citizens pretty often. Neptune has been at the top of my list for a while, and [Inspect] didn¡¯t show me anything until I had already figured it out.¡±

    ¡°How? You told me you have the best [Inspect] in the country,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It suggests that the person that turned Neptune is higher level than I am,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Much higher.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s insane. You¡¯re insanely high-leveled. You¡¯ve got to be at least level fifty. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you were level sixty.¡±

    Hogg blinked slowly.

    ¡°Fine, but answer me this, because it¡¯s important. Are any of the known [Witches] in Hammon¡¯s Bog higher level than you?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then who? A [Witch] from Arcaena? Arcaena herself?¡±

    Hogg folded his arms, leaning back in his chair. ¡°If Arcaena herself were here, I have no idea why she wouldn¡¯t simply walk into town and ask all of us to pledge fealty. We would do it, without question. That¡¯s power on another level. No, more likely it¡¯s one of her students. Keep in mind that until your talk with your dead dad, I didn¡¯t even think Arcaena <em>had</em> students.¡±

    ¡°How much trouble would we be in if a student of Arcaena were hiding in the forest?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Too much trouble,¡± said Hogg. ¡°We¡¯re talking about the direct disciple of a major world power. It would be like if Lumina was out there. Pre-Travin¡¯s Bog Lumina at the least. Why would they bother? We¡¯re working on the assumption that the reason we¡¯re all still alive is because we aren¡¯t worth it. I think it¡¯s more likely that they found another way. I think they found a method of fooling my [Inspect] that I haven¡¯t heard of.¡±

    ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the problem, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t know. Did [Know What¡¯s Real] give you anything off him?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Brin. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been very useful for this. Neptune <em>is</em> there, he just isn¡¯t alive. Maybe if I saw him doing something deceitful to pretend he¡¯s human?¡±

    ¡°Give it some thought.¡±

    ¡°Next question: what are we going to do about it?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°The [Witches] in town are eager to find out who turned him. They¡¯re preparing a ritual to bring him under their control. Should be ready this week. Until then, we pretend we don¡¯t know. One of the [Witches] has been tasked with keeping an eye on him. No one likes the idea of an undead roaming around unsupervised. But us, the [Witches], and the Prefit are the only ones who know.¡±

    Brin tapped his chin in thought, and then brought out Calisto¡¯s list of ingredients and handed it to Hogg.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Brin said, ¡°The ingredients for a potion of Turn Undead. It¡¯ll free an undead from the control of its current master. What if we took Neptune for ourselves? I doubt you really like the idea of turning control of him over to the [Witches], especially since one of them is probably the one who killed and turned him in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t like that.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t have to know! All we have to do is get to him first, turn him, and interrogate him ourselves without anyone being the wiser,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°They would know when theyplete the ritual,¡± said Hogg. He held up a hand to forestall Brin¡¯s protests. ¡°But... if we frame it the right way, we could make this look like we¡¯re doing them a favor. After all, if none of them are responsible for his death, they¡¯ll be happy to see we can prove their innocence. In this matter at least.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯re doing it?¡±

    Hogg nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll leave right after dusk. Don¡¯t wear yourself out before then.¡±

    Brin smiled. Not trusting himself to not say anything stupid, he carefully walked out of the cer. It wasn¡¯t until he closed the door behind him until he broke into an all-out sprint.

    If they were leaving at dusk, that meant that he only had today to prepare, and he didn''t have a weapon, not really. Sure, he could borrow something from Hogg, and Hogg would say he didn''t need one, but he wanted one. And he wanted it to be made of ss.

    He dashed down the street. Townsfolk looked rmed at first, but rxed when they saw the look on his face. Heughed and they smiled in response.

    Down the street, to the left, across that street, and straight into Toros¡¯ shop. He banged the door open. Simao was at the counter helping a couple of customers. Brin shoved straight past them over to Toros, who held his hammer above his head, paused from striking a horseshoe he was working on.

    ¡°G¨C guh!¡± said Brin, panting so hard he couldn¡¯t make it out. Was he out of shape? He really needed to put running back into his workout routine.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about,d?¡± asked Toros. He lifted his steampunk-looking goggles away from his eyes. Brin always thought the town [Smith] looked like a stereotypical dwarf. Muscr and wide, barely taller than Brin. His mouth was covered behind a reddish-brown beard, but his eyes crinkled in concern.

    ¡°ss! Can you make metal into ss?¡±

    ¡°Can I¡­ can I make metal into ss? What¡¯s this about?¡±

    ¡° I¨C¡± How to exin this? ¡°I just learned that some metals, maybe all of them, have a ss state, and that if you can get them into that state they¡¯ll be much stronger than normal and <em>also work really well with my ss</em>.¡±

    ¡°Oh. But what¡¯s the emergency?¡± asked a perplexed Toros.

    ¡°Ah. No emergency.¡± Brin chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°I just thought about it and got really excited.¡±

    Toros threw his head back and let out gales of ground-shakingughter. The couple at the counter joined in along with Simao, while Brin awkwardly smiled and scratched the back of his head.

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Not to worry! I get excited, too. Metallic ss, eh? Might be worth looking over,¡± said Toros. ¡°When I¡¯m not in the middle of another job.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t Ie back another time?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°See that you do,¡± said Toros, shaking his head in good humor.s

    Even if Toros could make metallic ss, there was no way that was happening today. He should have figured.

    He snapped off [Inspect] on the way out.

    Name Toros the Smith ss Smith Level 51 Race Human Description Toros is a very high-leveled and respected Smith. He is not a dwarf, simply a very strong, short human. Toros is not using [Hide Status]. Anything hidden from [Inspect] is due to your low level. Skills

    [Shape Metal] is the base Skill of his ss.

    He has a Skill that lets him transform matter at a fundamental level into exotic magical elements.

    Name Simao Fonter ss Smith Level 21 Race Human Description Simao is Toros¡¯ apprentice. His level is a little low for his age, but not by much. There isn¡¯t enough work in this town for Simao to grow very quickly. Skills

    [Shape Metal] is the base Skill of his ss.

    [Heat Resistance] is the same as what you have with sser.

    [Strike Metal] - Simao has a highly empowered swing when striking metal or using the tools of his trade.

    Alert! [Inspect] leveled up 17 -> 18

    Brin walked at a more sedate pace to Perris¡¯ shop. When they reached the shop, Marksi jumped down from Brin¡¯s shoulders and walked along behind him. Slowly.

    Marksi stepped on the tips of his toes, almost daintily, like a horse¡¯s canter. His head was raised up snootily in the air.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Then Brin remembered that Perris had made fun of Marksi¡¯s walkst time. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t listen to him, ok? Walk, slither, or scamper, I think you¡¯re great just the way you are.¡± He opened the door.

    Marksi didn¡¯t listen, and proudly marched into the store.

    Perris was behind his desk. He looked up in curiosity, then amusement. ¡°That¡¯s <em>barely</em> better.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s it going, Perris?¡±

    ¡°Oh, quite terribly,¡± Perris said with a sigh. ¡°Don¡¯t even ask if I have anything new in. Where would I get it? I can¡¯t even ask Toros to make me anything new, not when I know I won¡¯t have a chance to sell it. The adventurers in town are already as equipped as they¡¯ll ever be.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have another sword with a ss core? Or any kind of ss weapons would be nice,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Why are you asking me that?¡± Perris responded with a sneer. ¡°You¡¯re a crafting ss. I should be buying those from you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a low-leveled crafter,¡± said Brin. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to wait ten years to have a cool sword.¡±

    Perris rubbed his eyes. ¡°What have I told you about swords?¡±

    ¡°Spears are fine, too,¡± said Brin.

    Perris looked down at his counter, studying the grains for a moment in uncharacteristic silence. Brin waited, but Perris didn¡¯t speak, seemingly deep in thought. He was usually such a bombastic personality that this sudden silence was unsettling.

    Has Brin offended him somehow? He didn¡¯t think Perris was <em>that</em> much of a spear-supremacist.

    Without looking up, Perris said quietly, ¡°I¡¯ve supported you taking terrible risks in the past, because the rewards were worth those risks. But there¡¯s no good reason for that now. There¡¯s no deadline. Whether you get your levels now or in ten years, it doesn¡¯t matter a whit. I can¡¯t let you leave the walls.¡±

    ¡°No, Perris, that¡¯s not what this is¨C¡± Brin stopped himself. He shouldn¡¯t lie to a friend when he didn¡¯t need to. ¡°I promise you, that if I go somewhere, Hogg will be right beside me.¡±

    Perris stuck out his hand. Still looking down. Brin shook it, but Perris didn¡¯t let go. He raised his head, met Brin¡¯s eyes, and then looking satisfied, finally let it drop.

    His face broke into a sneering grin. ¡°In that case you don¡¯t need a weapon. Go craft something, crafty boy! You aren¡¯t getting snot from me!¡±

    In the end, Brin got much more than snot from Perris. He walked out of the store with a sh grenade, a few smoke bombs, and a hand-mirror.

    Perris threw in the hand-mirror for free. ¡°Every [sser] should have one!¡± It was a surprise, because the crystal-clear ss meant that it had been imported. That item was not cheap in Hammon¡¯s Bog.

    After that, he took Perris¡¯ advice and went back to Ademir¡¯s ce.

    He found the [Crafter] hunched over his worktable, checking the levels on a lidded box about the size of a microwave oven. There were wood shavings and such all over the table, which meant that Ademir had built it just now.

    ¡°You¡¯re back! How nice,¡± said Ademir cheerily. ¡°I know this is smaller than what you described, but I think we should aim for a proof-of-concept, first.¡±

    ¡°Is that wood going to work for the temperatures we need?¡±

    Ademir shrugged. ¡°I can make it work. It won¡¯tst more than once or two tries, but if the concept is sound I can make something more durable.¡±

    ¡°So, I know I said I wouldn¡¯t be working today, but I was wondering about something. If this is a bad time, I cane back,¡± said Brin.

    Ademir pped his hands together, shaking off the sawdust. ¡°Not at all. What can I help you with?¡±

    ¡°I was just thinking, eventually I¡¯ll want to make all kinds of things from ss. Household objects and the like. I have this cool knife Toros helped me make; it¡¯s probably my favorite possession. I was wondering how I would go about making something like that with ss? I assume it wouldn¡¯t start with blowing it.¡±

    Ademir blinked. ¡°You know, I can¡¯t believe I haven¡¯t taught you this before. I guess I got so focused on getting you the levels to fix my fogginess issue, I never thought about doing more than bottles and windows. You¡¯re right, of course, it¡¯s quite different. Here¡­¡±

    The [Crafter] went to a storage cab and brought out a lumpy, ckened, misshapen blob of cold ss. He dug around and found another. Brin¡¯s [Memory of ss] showed him in perfect detail that those had been some of his failures with bottle making. You learned a lot from failure, and Brin¡¯s Skill would never let him forget those lessons.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be long until you do this with knives, and then with all Skill,¡± said Ademir. ¡°But for starters, we¡¯re going to take the ss and slowly, slowly file it down.¡±

    He used an iron file and scraped the ss, taking off tiny amounts at a time, over and over.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to use my Skills to take a shortcut here, but you need to be patient. Just whittle it down slowly until you have something like this.¡±

    Ademir cracked the ss open like an egg. Inside, the ss that came free was in the rough shape of a small, four-inch long knife.

    ¡°When it looks like this, we¡¯ll sharpen it. It¡¯ll be a lot like sharpening a real knife. A whetstone will do fine, as long as it¡¯s not too rough,¡± said Ademir.

    The whetstone he used looked to Brin to be as smooth as polished marble, but Ademir dutifully sharpened away. Not just the de¨Che rubbed the stone all across the body of the knife, smoothing away the rough portions and making it shine.

    ¡°Last is an abrasive rag,¡± said Ademir.

    He used a woolen rag the same as the whetstone, polishing and then sharpening it.

    The demonstration seemed to go on forever, but Brin forced himself to wait without so much as tapping a foot. He had interrupted Ademir on his day off, after all. The least he could do was pay attention.

    When Ademir was finally satisfied, he ced the knife on the table, de up. He plucked a hair from his head, and dropped it. When the hair touched the knife, it split in half.

    ¡°Whoa,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t expect yours to be like that on your first time. Skills, remember. But ss can be <em>extremely</em> sharp. It dulls quickly, but that won¡¯t be an issue for you. Not for long,¡± said Ademir.

    Brin leapt into work, and just like Ademir said, he didn¡¯t rush it. He scraped the file against the ss, taking off bit by bit and resisted the urge to speed things along by breaking offrger chunks. He couldn¡¯t risk cracking it into pieces that were too small.

    He kept scraping, watching it slowly take shape, and watching the sun climb down the sky from the workshop windows. Would he even get done in time? One thing was sure, he wasn¡¯t going to make a knife <em>and</em> a spearhead today. But how would it look if he made a spearhead after Ademir showed him a knife?

    ¡°Hey, would you mind if I took this and worked on it at home? I promise I¡¯ll bring your tools back,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s no trouble,¡± said Ademir, attention back on his new prototype oven. ¡°Keep the knife I made, if you wish. I have better ones.¡±

    Back at home, Brin worked quickly. He pumped the file back and forth as quick as he could, working through the burn in his arm until it was too much, and then switching arms. It was dull, tedious, yet strangely nerve-wracking work.

    There wasn¡¯t much he could do to speed things up, and it was hard to stay focused on the repetitive motion. He had to pull on his [Meditation] a little to concentrate on what he was doing.

    He got the ss into the shape he wanted, and with an hour until dusk, he started sharpening. The sharpening seemed to go even slower. The t whetstone didn¡¯t seem to alter the ss at all in his hands. It wasn¡¯t until he made twenty careful passes on the same spot that he started to see the shine that Ademir had gotten from just one. But it <em>did</em> shine.

    With that little sight of the end goal, he worked with renewed vigor. He didn¡¯t even notice the sun crest the horizon and disappear.

    Finally satisfied, he set the glossy, razor-sharp spearhead down on the table.

    Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 6 -> 7

    It was dark outside.

    ¡°Whoa. What time is it?¡±

    ¡°Two hours after dusk,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh. I¡¯m so sorry. I¨C¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re on a deadline. You don¡¯t need a weapon. You know that, right?¡± asked Hogg.

    Brin sighed. ¡°Yeah. But I want one.¡±

    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s get that thing attached and head out. Unless you have any otherst-minute art projects?¡±

    ¡°Maybe a portrait tomemorate the moment?¡±

    Hogg snorted. He took the spearhead, and used a string of leather to attach it to the haft. ¡°It¡¯ll hold for now. Frankly, we can attach it better when we have a better spearhead.¡±

    Brin used [Inpsect].

    Spear. A Bog Standard shaft with amon quality head.

    ¡°Heh. Common quality,¡± said Brin. ¡°That¡¯s a first! Everything else I¡¯ve made has been poor or amateur quality.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions,¡± Hogg said drily. ¡°Are we ready?¡±

    Brin stood, using his spear as a walking staff. That¡¯s probably all it would be used for tonight, but he was d he had it. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 14

    Book 2. Chapter 14

    ¡°Step lightly,¡± said Hogg as they approached the walls.

    Brin had always wondered why Hogg spent so much effort to learn to be stealthy when as an [Illusionist] he had literally been able to turn invisible and muffle all sound. It was paying off now, though. Hogg moved like a ghost, and Brin doubted he¡¯d have spotted him if he didn¡¯t already know exactly where he was.

    Marksi camouged himself perfectly with the street and quickly faded from view. Growing legs hadn¡¯t done anything to hamper Marksi¡¯s natural sneakiness or his ability to camouge himself with illusion magic. Brin was able to follow him with [Know What¡¯s Real] for a bit, but then he disappeared and he couldn¡¯t find him again.

    He was left to follow along as quietly as he could.

    It was good he¡¯d dyed until two hours after sundown, instead of dusk like Hogg had wanted. Maybe they¡¯d be fine, but he doubted he would¡¯ve been able to sneak out of town undetected if anyone was still on the street.

    They reached a watchtower, and Hogg unlocked and opened it in eerie silence. They reached the top, where a [Hunter] was waiting for them. No, a [Huntress].

    Name Luiza Agua Race Human Age 24 Level 22 Description Luiza evolved her ss into Huntress at level 20. Most of her levels are in [Gatherer]. Skills

    Locate - Allows Luiza to locate static objects, such as nuts, berries or herbs.

    Gather - Increase the yield ofmon items gathered by Luiza. Yield increased by a random amount based on Skill level. This does not include objects or items that have been ced or grown deliberately by people or sapient monsters. It will include anything harvested from wild animals or monsters, such as fur or organs.

    Track - Allows Luiza to track moving things, such as animals or people.

    Trickshot - Luiza can boost her arrows with mana to increase their uracy.

    She nodded at them, not speaking and turned to the balcony and casually hopped down. Brin didn¡¯t hear her hit the ground.

    He gave Hogg a questioning nce, but Hogg just nodded to the balcony, indicating that he should follow her.

    From the looks of things, Luiza would be tagging along. That [Gather] Skill would be invaluable. He just wished Hogg had told him he¡¯d decided to bring someone else.

    Brin hopped down. Hisnding wasn¡¯t close to silent, but there was a little thrill in how easy it was. He didn¡¯t have the [Scarred One¡¯s] Strength and Dexterity, but even as he was now, it was no trouble to make the twenty foot drop andnd without hurting himself.

    They walked together across the field, hunching down to try to avoid the gaze of the [Hunters] in the other watchtowers. It was fairly likely they weren¡¯t watching that closely; none of them had even seen any undead as far as he knew. And hopefully they¡¯d all be expecting Luiza to watch this area.

    Inside the forest they kept up their silence until they were a half-mile away from the town. ¡°Should be far enough.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± said Brin. ¡°Nice to meet you, Luiza. Thanks for agreeing to help us with this.¡±

    He held out his hand, and she gave him a limp handshake and a shrug. ¡°Well. You know.¡±

    She didn¡¯t exactly look like a [Huntress]. She had a round face and slumped her shoulders as if hoping that everyone would stop looking at her. She looked more like a stereotypical [Gatherer], which made sense.

    But Brin didn¡¯t think she was a [Gatherer] or a [Huntress]. She was definitely a [Witch], right? He didn¡¯t even know there were any women with a [Huntress] ss in Hammon¡¯s Bog, which meant that Luiza was probably the only one. That kind of uniqueness was exactly what Brin was looking for, as far as possible [Witches] went. How much would he bet that people looked down on her for her chosen ss? How much resentment would she feel if they did?

    Also, there was the fact that Hogg had clearly informed her about what they were doing beforehand. He didn¡¯t know for sure how much she knew, but the fact that he trusted her with this likely meant that she already knew about the potion.

    Or maybe Hogg had given her a list of ingredients he needed, not exined anything, and brought her along as a false g to get Brin to guess her and lose their bet. That sounded exactly like something Hogg would do.

    ¡°I wish you had told me someone else wasing along, though,¡± said Brin. ¡°Honestly, Hogg, I know you live for this cloak and dagger stuff, but the rest of us like tomunicate. Does she even know what we¡¯re here for?¡±

    Luiza seemed to shrink at his words.

    Hogg pointed at him and scowled. ¡°You¡¯ll be d she¡¯s here. Otherwise we would¡¯ve traipsed all around this forest all night ande home empty handed.¡±

    Brin noticed that Hogg didn¡¯t address his question. Did Luiza know about the potion of Turn Undead or not? He said, ¡°I¡¯m already d she¡¯s here. It means I don¡¯t have to talk to you all night. Like I said, nice to meet you Luiza. You don¡¯t often see girls choosing [Huntress]. I think it¡¯s neat.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Sure. Not everyone has what it takes to forge their own path. It¡¯s brave,¡± said Brin.

    She smiled and unsped her hands. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. [Gatherer] hits a wall in the twenties. I¡¯d need to [Gather] new things if I wanted to keep getting experience, but I can¡¯t do that here in Hammon¡¯s Bog. I had to evolve out of it, and the choices were either [Herbalist] or [Huntress].¡±

    ¡°Well, all the same,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Luiza. ¡°Let¡¯s start this way.¡±

    She darted off through the forest. She moved quickly, seemingpletely at home. She stepped over roots and through bushes as easily as if they weren¡¯t there. Hogg matched her easily, but Brin had to push himself to keep up.

    If he didn¡¯t have increased vision in the dark, a benefit of [Thief] that had transferred to [Know What¡¯s Real], it would¡¯ve beenpletely impossible. His darkvision worked fairly well for things up close, so he could see the twisted roots and treacherous pools of water well enough to ce his feet, but it wasn¡¯t as easy or natural as walking in the daylight. Also, it faded quickly with range, so whenever they got thirty or so feet ahead they sank right into the shadows of any trees they stepped under.

    They were alsopletely silent. He got the feeling it was more about habit than actual conscious effort, but that didn¡¯t make them easier to follow. As it was, he was constantly on the edge of losing them.

    They definitely could¡¯ve lost him if they wanted to. He¡¯d round a tree to see them both standing up ahead, and they¡¯d start moving as soon as he was in sight. Of Marksi there was no sign, but he figured the little guy was around.

    They entered a rare patch of prairie, and Luiza stopped in the middle and bent over. When Brin caught up, he saw her cutting some spiky leaves off a tiny nt growing up weakly under the tall grass. As she harvested, there seemed to be two leaves for every one she cut off.

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It has its benefits,¡± said Luiza. She ced the leaves in a bag. ¡°Next we should look for¨C¡±

    Something mmed into Brin¡¯s back and climbed up his shoulders. He jumped in panic before realizing it was only Marksi.

    ¡°Looks like Marksi spotted them. What about you two?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Spotted who?¡± asked Luiza curiously. Then she thought about it and asked again with real rm in her voice. ¡°Spotted who?¡±

    Brin straightened and peered around through the trees. He didn¡¯t answer Luiza¡¯s question, but he knew. What else could they be? The undead were out there.

    He was d for Marksi, because even knowing what to look for didn¡¯t help him spot anything right away. His darkvision struggled with things far away, so he didnt¡¯ see anything at all until [Know What¡¯s Real] pinged, somewhere in the trees on the edge of the prairie. Then below that, he saw shapes in the dark. Holding still, but just the right size.

    ¡°There,¡± Brin said quietly.

    Luiza jumped, and quickly put an arrow to her bow and drew the string.

    Hogg touched her shoulder. ¡°Hold on a sec.¡±

    She loosened the string but stayed tense like a startled cat. Hogg, on the other hand, put his hands in his pockets and looked at the dark figures like he was inspecting rain clouds on the horizon.

    ¡°We see you!¡± he shouted. ¡°Come on out now. No use skulking around.¡±

    They didn¡¯t move. Brin stared at them so long without seeing any movement that he almost started to doubt that they were really undead and not trees or tall shrubs. He tried to [Inspect] them, but it didn¡¯t take hold. Did [Inspect] have a range? He should experiment more in town.

    Hogg shrugged. ¡°Oh well. Let¡¯s keep moving.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding!¡± said Luiza.

    ¡°Nope. No point in getting all riled up because of a few small fries. Ignore them.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t just ignore them,¡± said Luiza.

    ¡°We really can,¡± said Brin.

    She red and pulled her arrow back and loosed. He lost sight of the arrow, but he saw one of the dark figures casually move to the side to dodge it.

    She swore.

    ¡°Come on,¡± said Hogg. ¡°What¡¯s next on your list? Catbush? Where can we find some of that?¡±

    Luiza frowned at him, then turned to walk off in another direction. ¡°You better know what you¡¯re about.¡±

    They walked for about fifteen minutes, a bit slower and more cautiously than they hade in. Luiza kept her head on a swivel, and stayed crouched low to the ground. Hogg sauntered along straight-backed, hands still in his pockets. He even went so far to whistle a bit, which earned a scowl from Luiza.

    Brin focused on keeping up without making too much noise, and also strained his eyes peering into the forest, trying to spot their followers.

    They reached a stream, and Luiza followed it upstream. They could¡¯ve crossed, but decided against it. The stream was only a foot or two deep, but it was ten feet wide and no-one wanted to get their shoes wet for no reason.

    They reached a fallen log and used it as a bridge.

    On the other side, there was an open field. Without the foliage up above and with his minor darkvision, Brin could see the moonlit grass as clear as day.

    Wildflowers covered the grass like dandruff on a ck shirt, looking oddly monochrome in the light of the moon. ck shapes flew in the air up above, bats probably, but all was silent. Absent were the calling of birds or buzzing insects. Even in town those sounds were omnipresent parts of the night. The only exception was when there were undead around.

    Luiza started walking into the open field. It might look like an easy path, but Brin knew this would be harder to cross than near the trees. There was no easy terrain in this forest. If the ground looked open, that meant you had to watch every step or risk tripping into a sinkhole. He made sure to watch where she ced her feet, so that he could follow her footsteps exactly.

    She only made it twenty feet, before she froze. ¡°They¡¯re in front of us.¡± She turned around, but froze again. ¡°They¡¯re behind us, too. We can¡¯t go back the way we came.¡±

    She turned in a circle, eyes wide. ¡°They¡¯re everywhere.¡±

    Despite her obvious fear, Luiza was standing taller than she had at the start. It seemed her true terror hadpletely ovee her social anxiety. ¡°We need a n. You seem to think you can beat these guys. Would you be able to break through? I don¡¯t know if I can hit them with my arrows, but forcing them to dodge should slow them down. If we pick a direction¨C¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not the n. Just trust me,¡± said Hogg. ¡°We¡¯ll wait here for them to get a bit closer.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what they want! Don¡¯t you see? The only reason they didn¡¯t attack before was because they were waiting for the rest of them to surround us,¡± said Luiza.

    Hogg turned to Brin. ¡°Can you get a clear view of any of them yet? Tell me what you notice.¡±

    Brin couldn¡¯t see much more than their outlines. They waited, while the undead crept closer. The only sound was Luiza¡¯s heavy, frightened breathing.

    Finally, the first of the undead emerged from the treeline on the other side of the open in and Brin got a good look at them.

    At first his brain didn¡¯t quite register what he was seeing, because he kept trying to ce them with the undead he¡¯d seen before, and it didn¡¯t work. Those undead had all been wearing crisp ck uniforms. They¡¯d carried cksteel weapons of varying shapes, but they were all alike. Thin, almost skeletal, with pale skin and ck pits for eyes.

    These undead didn¡¯t walk; they shambled. As soon as the moonlight hit them, their eyes took on an eerie glow. Their skin was rotting ck, and their clothes were ragged. Not ck uniforms, but dresses and shirts, pants and boots. They were clothes like people wore, only falling apart. They were the clothes these people had died in.

    Some were nude, and gave a full grotesque vision of a body in the middle of full dposition. Some were bloated, others had organs hanging from their bodies.

    The weapons they carried were rusty messes often as not, clutched in hands that didn¡¯t seem to know what they were for, carrying them on instinct rather than any real familiarity.

    They began to moan as they shambled forwards, halting, uneven gaits.

    ¡°These arepletely different from the undead we saw before,¡± said Brin. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Different [Witches] have different styles,¡± said Hogg. ¡°If I had to guess, this is a different army than the one that followed us here from Travin¡¯s Bog, with a different leader. It would also exin why they¡¯re stupid enough to get close. It¡¯s totally possible they don¡¯t know who I am.¡±

    ¡°But they all work for Arcaena, right? Why wouldn¡¯t they share information on literally the most dangerous person in this forest?¡±

    ¡°[Witches],¡± Hogg said simply.

    ¡°So the other army was the professional and this is the newbie? Because these zombies look like they¡¯re going to fall apart before they even get to us,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Nah, if anything it¡¯s the opposite. That other [Witch] zipped them up tight because she had to. It takes a lot of doing to make them all rotten like that without actually letting them fall apart. But what good is having an undead army if you don¡¯t lean into the psychological aspect? This [Witch] likes <em>scary</em> monsters. And make no mistake, these ones aren¡¯t any weaker than the others we¡¯ve faced. When they get close they¡¯ll remember how to move.¡±

    Luiza¡¯s eyes darted between Hogg and Brin, growing so wide he thought they might pop out. ¡°How can you two be so casual about this?¡±

    Hogg chuckled.

    Feeling a bit bad, Brin said, ¡°You¡¯ll see. This isn¡¯t even a warm-up for Hogg.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but he¡¯s only one man. He can¡¯t fight all of them at once.¡±

    Brin raised an eyebrow.

    Luiza shook her head, looking like she was about to cry.

    She paced back and forth, watching the approaching undead with wild eyes. Then she stopped, took a deep breath¡­ and bolted.

    She made it two steps before she mmed backwards onto the ground. She rose, clutching her neck. A ck cor had appeared there, attached to a ck chain, held by Hogg.

    ¡°Just trust me for a couple more minutes,¡± said Hogg.

    Luiza whimpered, but stood and brushed herself off, and didn¡¯t try to run when the cor and chain disappeared.

    Had that been hard light? It was ck. Could hard light be ck? It must. That had been aplicated working. The hard light Brin had seen Hogg make in the past tended to be big simple shapes, but that chain had been real-looking.

    ¡°Is that what you¡¯ve been doing these past couple weeks?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Practicing?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you?¡±

    Brin nodded.

    The minutes ticked by. The undead drew closer. Their moans became louder, and as they neared he could hear squelching in their footsteps, and the sound of ragged breath.

    The undead started to cross the stream behind them, forgoing the log bridge to slosh through the water.

    Hogg obliged them by moving towards the center of the field, to give them space to properly surround them. To Brin¡¯s surprise, the ground here actually was pretty t, with no surprise pools or tributaries.

    ¡°Hm. Only about a hundred. Shame. Oh well, time to get started.¡±

    He lifted a hand. ¡°[Manipte Shadows].¡±

    Brin knew for a fact that Hogg had no such Skill, but despite that, a patch of shadow in front of Hogg rose and filled the air.

    It split into six balls, which spun and turned t, resolving themselves into perfect ck sawdes. They started to spin, faster and faster, until they whirred with an audible whine.

    Hogg indicated, and the sawdes jetted out, each of them exploding straight through one of the undead.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± said Luiza.

    The six casualties weren¡¯t nearly enough though, and the rest of the undead broke out into a full-on sprint. Gone was the awkward shambling. They ran like trained warriors and held their weapons in solid grips, aimed for the kill.

    ¡°[Dance of the Shadow]!¡± Hogg yelled. Again, he definitely didn¡¯t have a Skill like that. He was choosing to hide his real abilities by making it look like he had shadow powers. [Shadow Maniption] sounded like something a high-level [Rogue] might get, after all. A clever ploy, especially if he could convince them to try to counter him with light. All this was moot if the [Witches]municated amongst themselves, but Hogg was the type to seize every possible advantage, even those that might not pan out.

    Real Skill or not, Hogg¡¯s [Dance of the Shadow] rose to terrible prominence. Shadow swelled in every direction. Tendrils of darkness wrapped themselves around undead, bearing them to the ground. Great clubs ttened some, while others were diced to pieces by pitch-ck knives. A huge mouth erupted from the ground to bite a zombie straight in half. A few were consumed by swarms of ck flies. One unlucky undead was shackled with ck chains, not unlike the one that had grabbed Luiza, and then tugged like a marite, forced to fight the zombie next to it.

    The fight wasn¡¯t a fight at all; it was a massacre. Hogg¡¯s shadows were a shade darker than ck, and it was deeply unsettling to watch. Limbs flew. Bodes were torn apart, smashed, and diced. The smell of rotten blood filled the clearing, until it was ovee with a stench that was even worse.

    In moments, it was done, and silence returned.

    Brin noticed that three or four weren¡¯t dead, they¡¯d been bound by ck tendrils and were slowly being squeezed to death, but they hadn¡¯t stopped squirming yet.

    He licked his lips, and tightened his grip on his spear. ¡°Hey, can I fight that one?¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 15

    Book 2. Chapter 15

    Hogg huffed. ¡°No, you can¡¯t fight <em>that one</em>. You think you can just pick out enemies the way you would a toy at the carnival?¡±

    Brin tugged on Hogg¡¯s sleeve and did his best young-child voice. ¡°Papa, that one. I want that one, Papa. Pleeeeease, Papa!¡±

    Hogg pped his hand away while Luiza shook her head in incredulity.

    ¡°Come on, Hogg. You basically already gift wrapped it for me,¡± said Brin. ¡°When am I ever going to get a better chance to grab somebat experience?¡±

    ¡°The point is you¡¯re not supposed to be getting any more of that kind of experience. We agreed, remember? No more putting yourself in extreme danger chasing achievements. The only experience you need right now is ss making experience.¡±

    ¡°One zombie¡¯s worth of experience won¡¯t ruin my build. And I¡¯ll bepletely safe, you¡¯ll be right here,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg scratched his chin, then shrugged. ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Wait, really?¡± said Luiza.

    ¡°Like he said, it¡¯ll be good experience,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now listen, Brin. You¡¯ll be taking a defensive stance. Nothing fancy or heroic. You hear me? Fight cautiously. You¡¯re not a [Scarred One] anymore who can shrug off injuries. I want you to walk away from here without a single scratch.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Brin.

    Brin took a firm grip, with his hands near the back of his spear, keeping it pointed at the enemy. This wasn¡¯t a great position if the goal was to kill the enemy at all costs, but it was the best bet if the goal was to stay alive and unhurt. He didn¡¯t think Hogg would appreciate anything else.

    ¡°Now as for you,¡± Hogg spoke to the zombie in a voice that wasn¡¯t loud, but seemed to prate the night. The zombie was halfway across the clearing, and Brin had no doubt that it could hear every word. ¡°I bet you have orders to preserve yourself if possible. Tell you what. If you can manage to put a single scratch on him, I¡¯ll let you go free. You can go back and report to your master. How does that sound?¡±

    The undead snarled, and when Hogg loosed the coil of shadow, itunched forward without hesitation. Gone was the awkward gait; this one was going full-out from the beginning.

    He carried a hand-ax. There was a bit of time, so Brin used [Inspect].

    <strong>Undead Soldier</strong>

    <strong>Level 22</strong>

    <strong>Description: This undead was a [Woodsplitter] in life. A [Woodsplitter]monly evolves into [Lumberjack]. It focuses on breaking down logs for transport, for firewood, or for preparation for use by carpenters.</strong>

    <strong>Skills: [Chop] - Imbue your weapon with Mana for greatly increased power in a downwards chop.</strong>

    Watch the downwards chop. Got it.

    Brin held his position. The undead would definitely try to dodge to the side. All Brin had to do was keep the spear between him and it, and he¡¯d be fine.

    Unfortunately, the undead wasn¡¯t dumb enough to try to spin charge through his spear. It swung at his spear, trying to knock it aside, but he¡¯d been expecting that. He pulled the spear back just enough to evade the ax and then stabbed forward. The undead jumped back without taking a wound. It was <em>quick</em>. It was seriously unfair how fast these things were.

    The undead moved from side to side, trying to suss out a weak spot, but Brin stood firm. Half of what Hogg spent time on during training was footwork. He wouldn¡¯t trip himself up while adjusting his feet to keep his stance firm.

    The undead tested him with shes at his spear, wild attempts at grabs, but Brin yed it by the book. His spear was fast and loose, always ready to stab forward if the undead got too close.

    It dropped back a couple step, arms at the sides. It tilted its head to the side, watching him.

    Brin took a step forward and thrust. The undead snapped a front kick so fast he didn¡¯t couldn¡¯t see it until the foot was already on the way down. The kick knocked his spear up, making his hands sting, and giving it just enough time to close the distance.

    Brin started to twist the spear around to block with the haft, but the undead froze.

    ck chains had grabbed its ankles and wrists. They lifted it into the air, and flung it back into the night.

    ¡°No good,¡± said Hogg. ¡°The gap is just too wide. Luiza, you help him this time.¡±

    Luiza gulped. ¡°Wha¨C¡±

    But there was no time to argue, the undead was already sprinting back at him. She nocked and loosed an arrow in one solid move.

    The zombie sidestepped it without slowing. He ran on.

    She loosed again, and missed again.

    ¡°The name of the Skill is [Trickshot] not [Straightshot],¡± said Hogg. ¡°Try curving it in at an angle.¡±

    Luiza frowned, and tilted her bow to aim to the right of the oing zombie. She loosed, and the arrow curved in the air. This time the zombie stumbled when it dodged the arrow at thest second. Itunched back to its feet, and dashed forwards. Only fifty feet; it would be on them in seconds.

    Luiza loosed two arrows in quick session. The zombie jerked to the right to dodge the first one, and the second hit it square in the chest. It kept running as if it didn¡¯t notice at all.

    Brin stepped forward, spear ready. The undead kept running forward, and sidestepped at thest second to try to get around the spear. Brin followed the movement and stabbed a shallow puncture to its shoulder. It backed up.

    Luiza loosed another arrow, and this close she couldn¡¯t miss. The undead tried to dodge, but still took a scrape along the forearm.

    It threw its head back and howled, making such a disgusting, wet, and loud sound that Brin flinched despite himself. Then itunched itself at Luiza. It was probably counting on Brin stabbing it again and figured it could tank the damage and still get a solid hit in.

    Rather than stab, Brin switched to a middle grip and put himself in between Luiza and the ghoul. It swung downwards with the ax, and all Brin could do was hope the Bog Standard shaft could take it.

    The ghoul¡¯s ax hit like a train engine. The shaft held, miraculously; it was Brin¡¯s strength that failed. The powerful blow knocked the spear shaft out of his hands and into his stomach, ramming him to the ground. The ghoul wound up for another downwards chop, but an arrow through the chest from near point-nk range stopped it cold.

    Brin rolled to his feet and stabbed the undead in the stomach, then pushed it. The zombie kept its feet, dropped its ax and grabbed the spear shaft and pushed. They strained against each other in a demented game of reverse tug-of-war. Even wounded like this, the undead was strong and Brin started to get pushed back.

    Up close like this, the zombie was even more grotesque. The strange light in its eyes illuminated little worms wriggling inside its eyeballs. Yellow fluids dripped from tears in its skin, and the stench was overpowering. Knowing this was psychological warfare didn¡¯t help, Brin couldn¡¯t stop the rising swell of panic.

    Luiza slipped around the back of undead. She drew a long knife and slit its throat.

    It gave onest push and then lost its strength and slipped to the ground.

    Brin jumped back, and it was all he could do to stop himself from bolting at the sight of the brackish blood burbling from the monster.

    <strong>Alert!</strong>

    <strong>You have defeated: Undead Soldier [22]</strong>

    <strong>Due to level disparity, extra experience will be rewarded. Experience will be split between members of your party.</strong>

    <strong>Level up! Level 11 -> 13</strong>

    <strong>+4 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Vitality, +4 Mental Control, +2 Will, +4 free attributes.</strong>

    Even half experience was enough to level up twice! That boost to experience in meleebat was really nice.

    The entire fight had been the matter of less than a minute, but Brin was panting like he¡¯d run a marathon. He felt <em>great, </em>though. Too good. What was...? Oh, right. [Battle Fury] was active now. It increased his attributes by fifty percent for each enemy he killed. Obviously it had counted that as "kill" since his spear had been in the zombie when it died.

    Luiza wasn''t looking quite as well. She paced back and forth, red-faced and possibly hyperventting.

    No one wanted to stay near the stinking corpse, so Hogg and Brin started moving a dozen yards forward through the clearing. Luiza followed them, still looking panicked. She kept looking at the bloody knife in her hands like she didn¡¯t know what to do with it.

    Brin wiped his spear shaft on some wet grass, and seeing that, Luiza did the same with her knife. She took probably a little bit too much time on it, but when she rose she''d gotten her breathing under control.

    Brin used [Inspect], and saw that she¡¯d gained a level as well, moving up to twenty-three. He didn¡¯t think she had the presence of mind to change her [Hide Status] which meant that it was probably real. Did that mean she wasn¡¯t a [Witch]? It could be that she was hiding her ss but not her real levels. But in that case, she was awfully low-leveled for a [Witch]. No, it just didn¡¯t add up. Her [Gatherer] Skills were real and proven, and so were her [Hunter] Skills. He didn¡¯t think curving the arrow in the air like that would be possible without [Trickshot]. She possibly could¡¯ve taken [Hunter] and then immediately evolved it to [Witch]... but that didn¡¯t seem likely at all. Luiza wasn¡¯t a [Witch]. Hogg was just screwing with him.

    ¡°That waspletely insane!¡± said Luiza.

    ¡°Oh, it wasn¡¯t that bad. You did ok for it being your first time,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant,¡± she said. ¡°You should¡¯ve asked me before¨C¡±

    Hogg kept talking like he didn¡¯t hear her. ¡°Just remember what you learned about [Trickshot]. Anyone who wants to stay alive in abat situation has a n for arrows. If they aren¡¯t carrying a shield, that means their n is dodging.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a n for arrows,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m your n. One more reason you should nevere out here alone,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I never even suggested that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You were thinking it. I can tell. Now, on the next one¨C¡±

    ¡°Next one?¡± protested Luiza. ¡°Every one of my [Trickshots] costs Mana. I can only do two more.¡±

    ¡°Then make them count. You always want to make the first shot count. You can¡¯t depend on getting a second one. As for you, Brin, you did ok this time. Your mistake was when you jumped in to protect Luiza. She¡¯s faster than you; she can run away if she needs to.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you can outrun these things?¡± Brin asked Luiza.

    She sank in on herself at the sudden attention. ¡°Probably¡­ yes. Definitely.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s that fast?¡± Brin asked Hogg.

    ¡°She is. It¡¯s how [Gatherers] stay alive,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin [Inspected] her again. Nothing changed, except in her Description a line was added. <em>Luiza has a hidden Skill, Title, or Achievement that increases her movement speed.</em>

    ¡°Look sharp. I¡¯m letting the next one loose,¡± said Hogg.

    The next one was level 25, and carried a sword. [Inpsect] didn¡¯t warn Brin of any special Skills to watch out for, so be fell into position and waited. He felt a lot more confident against this one, with [Battle Fury] burning through his veins.

    This zombie was fat. Only his stomach, though, which made him look almost like a pregnant woman if not for the white patchy beard, hanging in whisps in the ces that still had skin. Maybe it was corpse-bloat or maybe he¡¯d just been overweight in life. Either way, his stomach bounced wildly as he ran, sword raised in the air above him. Luiza shot two arrows at him in quick session. He swatted the first one out of the air with his sword, while the second hit him square in the thigh.

    His pace had slowed, but he limped on. He seemed to gain power as he ran, or at least momentum, because his speed increased until he was nearly on Brin.

    Brin held his spear, watching carefully for the way that the undead would try to dodge at thest moment. There was no way he was just going to run straight into the spear.

    The zombie ran straight into his spear, fat stomach first.

    The stomach felt like he was stabbing a bag of gtin. It popped straight in, but then the stomach copsed, pushing his spear to the ground.

    The zombie took thest step forward and swung for Brin¡¯s neck.

    Brin let go and rolled back, missing the de by a hair. An arrow sprouted from the zombie¡¯s forehead, and it fell to the ground.

    <strong>Alert!</strong>

    <strong>You have defeated: Undead Soldier [25]</strong>

    <strong>Due to level disparity, extra experience will be rewarded. Experience will be split between members of your party.</strong>

    <strong>Level up! Level 13 -> 14</strong>

    <strong>+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.</strong>

    One more level. Even though this one was higher level, he¡¯d probably gotten less of the share because Luiza did most of the work. He also didn''t feel another boost of stat increases from [Battle Fury]. The System must not have counted that as a "kill".

    Luiza rushed over to Brin, patting him down for injuries. ¡°You ok?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That was <em>way</em> too close,¡± she moaned.

    ¡°I agree,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You should expect them to be unpredictable by now. What about that things stomach wasn¡¯t a huge red g to you? By the time he touched your spear you should¡¯ve already been stepping back.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Do you?¡±

    ¡°Expect the unexpected. What could be easier than that?¡±

    Hogg snorted. ¡°Alright, take a breather and I¡¯ll free thest one when you¡¯re ready,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What do you mean, the next one?¡± said Luiza. ¡°I just used myst [Trickshot]!¡±

    ¡°You are more than your Skills, girl. You¡¯ll think of something. Two minutes,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin took a few gulps from his canteen, then stretched his body and went through a few moves, just to be sure he hadn¡¯t pulled something in all the excitement. He was good to go.

    Luiza shivered, and walked back and forth again shaking her hands. Her eyes darted into the forest more than once, no doubt thinking about trying to run again, but she had to know Hogg would just drag her straight back here again.

    Hogg had pretended to need convincing to let Brin fight the undead, but clearly the old guy had wanted to do this from the beginning.

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± said Hogg.

    Luiza picked up her bow in unsteady hands, then nced at Brin and her posture firmed. She nodded to him, and he nodded back.

    Then Marksi stepped in front of them, gave a determined squeak, and nodded his little scaly head.

    ¡°Looks like Marksi¡¯s going to help you with this one,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Wait! Marksi, don¡¯t¨C¡±

    It was toote. Hogg loosed the zombie, a spear-wielder. Itunched itself at them. This one was tall, maybe two feet taller than Brin, with long gangly arms. This one had more reach than him.

    Marksi streaked towards him like a bolt of rainbow lightning. His scales were on full brightness, so they were the most visible thing in the clearing, nearly as bright as the moon.

    He zipped around the zombie''s spear, making it look slow and awkward byparison. He darted past the zombie, and who turned to follow it.

    At thest second, the zombie jumped to the left, narrowly avoiding an arrow by Luiza. It turned and started toward her and Brin again.

    Marksi squeaked furiously and jumped on the zombie¡¯s back. The spear was too long to try to use, so the zombie was stuck batting awkwardly at Marksi with its other hand.

    ¡°Marksi!¡± Brin yelled.

    ¡°What do I do?¡± asked Luiza.

    ¡°Shoot it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What if I hit the snake?¡±

    Hogg snickered. ¡°You¡¯re not that good.¡±

    The zombie turned in circles, pping at Marksi, trying to grab him, but Marksi slipped around it,pletely untouched.

    Luiza drew her bow and let loose. The arrow hit the zombie straight through the heart. Dead in one shot. Marksi rode its head right into the ground.

    Brin didn¡¯t even get a notification.

    Luiza gave a yelp sort of sound, caught halfway between a cheer of triumph and a sigh of relief.

    For once, she didn¡¯t freak out. Sheughed, a bit hysterically, raised her fist and let out a whoop! ¡°That¡¯s it! We¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡°That we are,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Good shot.¡±

    Marksi sauntered back proudly, head held high. When he reached Brin he made a sort of huping sound that meant he wanted Brin to pick him up. Brin cringed a bit when he realized that Marksi was covered in a thinyer of <em>wet</em>, particrly around the feet. Corpse juice. Marksi had crawled all over that thing, and now he was covered in it. Well, you can¡¯t just <em>not</em> pick up your pet dragonling after he kills a zombie for you.

    Brin picked him up, and held him close. ¡°That was dangerous! You should have let me handle it,¡± he scolded, but his heart wasn¡¯t really in it.

    ¡°He had to watch you fight, and honestly your thing was a lot more of a nail-biter. You should expect him to want to help,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°He¡¯s still so little,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, Marksi, if you ever want another partner, I think I have an opening,¡± said Luiza with an open smile. None of her usual reticence was showing when talking to the little dragon. Brin red at her in jealousy, which made herugh. Marksi just buried his face in Brin¡¯s sleeve and purred.

    An [Inspect] showed that Luiza had leveled up again. Between this one and thest, she was all the way up to twenty-five. She seemed to notice exactly when he did.

    ¡°I¡¯m level twenty-five! I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m the same level as ma!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re mom is only level twenty-five?¡± asked Brin.

    Luiza said, ¡°It¡¯s actually impressive she even got that far. Like I said before, unless you get the opportunity to travel, and she never did, it¡¯s really hard to get past twenty with [Gatherer].¡±

    Oh, so Luiza¡¯s mother was a [Gatherer], too? Something about that felt off. Twenty-five was really low for someone in middle age. Why wouldn¡¯t she just switch her ss? Maybe [Hunter] was too dangerous for most people, but [Herbalist] was a solid choice. Brin was willing to bet that Luiza¡¯s mother <em>did</em> change her ss. To [Witch]. A new suspect to look into.

    Hogg pped. ¡°Well, what¡¯s next on our list?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± asked Luiza.

    ¡°Our next nt. I¡¯m not paying you to fight undead. That was just a fun little aside. I¡¯m paying you to find the nts on that list, remember?¡±

    Luiza looked nkly from Hogg to Brin. Hogg looked calm and casual. Brin gave her his best child-like smile. <em>Don¡¯t look at me, I¡¯m just an innocent little thirteen-year-old.</em>

    Luiza groaned. ¡°Right this way.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 16

    Book 2. Chapter 16

    Brin had hoped that they¡¯d go straight over to Neptune after they got back, but they didn¡¯t have the potion yet and Hogg wouldn¡¯t even entertain the idea of waking Calisto up in the middle of the night to make it.

    To top things off, Brin and Marksi still smelled like corpses, so he made them bathe before they could enter the house. That meant using a bucket and rag on the back doorstep with cold water in the middle of the night.

    It didn¡¯t ruin his good mood, though. Three levels in one night! He was nearly to level fifteen, and with it, possibly [Illusionist]. Assuming he got [Summon ss], that was thest really powerful [sser] Skill that he needed. He¡¯d be able to continue to train up those Skills even after he evolved the ss; he couldn¡¯t get new [sser] Skills, but really, there weren¡¯t any he¡¯d heard of that he really wanted.

    That meant he needed to think about fulfilling the conditions for earning the ss itself. Hogg seemed to think Brin would get it no problem, but his inner-selves had given him a hint. He needed to do what someone calling themselves an illusionist on earth would do. In his mind, and his mind was all that mattered for this kind of riddle, that meant he needed to put on a magic show. He hadn¡¯t really put any thought into how or when to do that; he¡¯d figured it was still a long way off.

    Preparing for bed, he unpacked the pockets of his leather clothes so that he could put them in theundry. Perris¡¯ smoke bombs were in there, as well as the hand mirror. He hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to use the smoke bombs, and he really shouldn¡¯t have brought the mirror at all. At least it wasn¡¯t broken.

    Turning it over in his hands, he noticed that there was no back. He assumed mirrors in this technology level would be set with polished metal, but it wasn¡¯t. It was all one piece of shaped ss. He scraped the back with his fingernail, and discovered it wasn¡¯t painted either. It was just ss.

    A [sser] had probably made this, he realized. The person who made this could alter the properties of the ss itself to make it perfectly reflective. Perris had given this to him as a clue. A sign of the type of thing that a sser should be able to do.

    If he could make ss reflective, what else could he do? Could he disguise it? Soon he¡¯d probably be able to disguise his ss weapons as ordinary steel, in order to stop giving enemies a clue about his abilities. He needed to up his game, crafting-wise.

    It also didn¡¯t escape his notice that Perris had literally sold him smoke bombs and a hand mirror. Smoke and mirrors. Honestly, how much did that guy know?

    Thest thing before bed, he pumped all his Mana into his spearhead, trying to change its color. He decided to make it ck. Maybe it would look like cksteel.

    By the time he was tapped out, it was a foggy gray, but at least he hadn¡¯t made it bubble or explode. Baby steps.

    The next day, he pulled Hogg down to the enchanted ring in the cer, even before Davi got there an hour before dawn for the morning workout.

    ¡°I¡¯m an old man! I can¡¯t get by on four hours of sleep like you kids,¡± Hoggined.

    ¡°You¡¯re not that old,¡± said Brin. ¡°And besides, your Constitution is probably to the moon. I¡¯m the one with Common stats.¡±

    Actually, how high were Hogg¡¯s stats? He used [Inspect].

    A man.

    Great, no change.

    ¡°First off, Luiza isn¡¯t a [Witch],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Aw, curse it. I thought I¡¯d trip you up with that one,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Her personality was the problem, I think. [Witches] have a kind of confidence that they just can¡¯t hide.¡±

    ¡°What about her mother?¡±

    ¡°What about her? Are you making an usation?¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°No. Not without scoping her out first. Next question. Can [Illusionists] make mirrors? They must be able to, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. [Perfect Mirror] is a Skill you usually get offered around ten or fifteen, but it¡¯s a waste. It¡¯s pretty easy to learn on your own. Learn to reflect light, then learn to absorb light. Once you can do both, you learn how to grab light, carry it, and then release it somewhere else. When you can do that, you¡¯re ready for [True Invisibility]. It¡¯s a level 45 Skill, but I was able to copy the effects at level 30.¡±

    ¡°Whoa,¡± said Brin. He didn¡¯t have to fake being impressed. ¡°But I¡¯m asking because of this.¡± He held up his mirror. ¡°A [sser] made this, right? I¡¯m just wondering if there would ever be a reason why a physical mirror would be better than an illusory one.¡±

    ¡°The light from illusion magic isn¡¯t real light; that¡¯s why the Evdis can erase it. It can interact with real light, though; it can focus or reflect it, but it costs a little Mana for every bit of light that you move. It¡¯s not really noticeable for a mirror, but invisibility can drain you pretty quick at the lower levels. Mirrors are easy, though. When you hit [Illusionist] you¡¯ll never be without a mirror again. It¡¯s why I stay looking so sharp.¡± He stroked his chin, showing off the clean shave.

    Which was totally bogus, Hogg almost always had a few days worth of stubble. He didn¡¯t today, though, for whatever reason.

    ¡°So how is this going to go down today?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°At dawn I¡¯ll go visit Calisto and have him start on the potion. We¡¯ll n on ambushing Neptune at noon.¡±

    ¡°Will Calisto have it ready by then?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure. The noon part is mostly because we¡¯re nning on capturing an undead. We¡¯ll want him to capture him at his weakest.¡±

    Brin stood. ¡°Alright. Meet you there at noon.¡±

    The workout with Davi started fairly normally. Brin was all kinds of sore from the fighting the night before. It really wasn¡¯t fair;bat hadsted a total of two or three minutes, but somehow no matter how hard you tried to push in a workout you could never match the intensity of a life-or-death battle.

    If Davi noticed something was off, he didn¡¯t say anything. Brin debated telling him about Neptune and their adventures gathering the ingredients for the potion, but decided against it. He didn¡¯t want to keep things like this from Davi, but the situation was too delicate right now, especially since Davi¡¯s mom was a [Witch]. He couldn¡¯t risk word getting back to Neptune before they had him under their control.

    Davi was doing squats with two hundred pounds of water jugs attached to his yoke, pumping them out in sets of twenty without even breathing heavily, a fact he proved when he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to be performing in the public house soon.¡±

    ¡°What? Davi, that¡¯s amazing! How soon is soon?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow. It¡¯s not that special, just for the daytime crowd. But Jeffrey thinks I need to start getting experience performing for a real audience.¡±

    ¡°Well, let me know what time. I¡¯ll be there,¡± said Brin. A quick [Inspect] informed Brin that Davi had reached level 11. Golden child indeed. Even with Brin¡¯s experience boosts, Davi had still kept up with him until he got hand-fed three undead warriors.

    Davi smiled. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯d almost rather you weren¡¯t there, though. I¡¯m already too nervous.¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯d miss you embarrassing yourself in public like this? I¡¯ve been dreaming of this day,¡± said Brin.

    Davi¡¯s eyes went up in shock, then he realized Brin was joking and smiled derisively, shaking his head. None of that distracted him from the casual ease with which he was knocking out those squats.

    ¡°You know what, I¡¯m going to get Toros to make us a weight set. This is ridiculous.¡±

    ¡°It is getting kind of hard to find things that are heavy enough,¡± agreed Davi. ¡°But I¡¯m paying for half. [Bards] make real money. You aren¡¯t going to be the rich one for much longer.¡±

    ¡°Then I better enjoy it while I can.¡±

    After the workout, right as Davi was walking away, he casually called over his shoulder, ¡°You know, Zilly¡¯s been working hardtely. I see her already up and practicing when I¡¯m walking home after our workout. Anyway, see youter.¡±

    He zipped away before Brin could respond.

    He sighed. He really should talk to Zilly. He hadn¡¯t seen hide nor hair of her since they''d had their little fight, which meant she was avoiding him. She was probably mad at him even though the whole thing was her fault. Still, there hadn¡¯t been that many people who¡¯d gone out of their way to be nice to him back when he¡¯d been an outcast, and she was one of them. He¡¯d fix things, even if that meant doing like [Farmer] Kim and taking a fall.

    He didn¡¯t have to look long. He walked directly to the town square, and found her still there, doing push-ups while the Prefit counted them out. She saw him, then stood and said something to the Prefit. He gave her a towel to wipe off the sweat, then nodded and patted her back in approval.

    She approached him like she was walking to her own execution.

    Brin smiled. ¡°Hey, Zilly! You look like you¡¯re¨C¡±

    ¡°How are you so high level? I want a rematch,¡± she said.

    Alert! [Hide Status] leveled up! 2 -> 3

    He¡¯d been using [Hide Status] to hide his Skills and Achievements, but not his level. Maybe that was a mistake. Afterst night he was much higher level than it had any reason to be. He fired [Inspect] right back at her.

    Name Zilyana (Zilly) Mentirose Race Human Age 14 Level 13 ss Warrior

    How in the world had she gained four levels in thest two weeks? Maybe Hogg wasn¡¯t the only person in town who took his protege hunting.

    Brin answered, ¡°Same way as you, I assume. Hard work. And we can¡¯t have a rematch, because we didn¡¯t have a match. I just grabbed your sword with no warning. You would totally¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m challenging you to a duel,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin opened his mouth to object, but closed it. Zilly looked serious. He could see her biting the inside of her cheek, maybe to resist the urge to lighten the mood with her reflexive sarcasm. He wouldn¡¯t be able to blow her off.

    Maybe this was just what they needed. He could give her the fight she wanted. No doubt her [Warrior] ss would shine in a formal duel, but he¡¯d put in a solid effort, lose with dignity, and then all of this would be behind them.

    ¡°Fine. Are we doing this now?¡±

    ¡°One week. Swords at sundown,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°I¡¯m more of a spear guy now,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It has to be a fair fight. I don¡¯t want any kind of advantage,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin snorted. ¡°Spears are better than swords.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, maybe not. But everyone thinks swords are better, so you need a sword.¡±

    Brin rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine. Swords it is.¡±

    Zilly red at him, crossing her arms. ¡°Don¡¯t¨C Look, just be there.¡± She whirled and walked away, back to the Prefit. He tried to say something to her, but she dropped to the ground and started knocking out more pushups, much more quickly than before.

    Brin looked around. ¡°What did I say?¡± No one was close enough to answer.

    <em>¡°What did I say?¡± Mom folded her arms, domineering on top of the stairs.</em>

    <em>¡°It¡¯s not going to cut me. It¡¯s not sharp at all.¡± He picked up a piece of the shattered safety ss and ran it across his hand to demonstrate. Completely smooth.</em>

    <em>¡°What did I say, Mark? I said to put that down and wait for your dad toe back with the¡­</em>

    The memory came on with such force that it left Brin gasping right there in the town square. <em>This is now. This is now.</em><em></em>He was beginning to draw stares. Zilly looked up. He whirled and started walking back home.

    The rest of the morning he spent in meditation, and got something for his trouble.

    Alert! [Meditation] leveled up! 14 -> 15

    When Hogg knocked on his door a quarter to noon, Brin was centered and ready to go, spear in hand.

    ¡°You really think you¡¯re going to need that?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Think of it as a walking stick. Besides, you never know when you¡¯re going to need a weapon. You of all people should understand that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, trust me, I do,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Well, let¡¯s be off then. One slight change of n. See, I got to thinking and I realized that it¡¯s never a good idea to double cross someone who can turn your bones into carnivorous centipedes. We¡¯ll be bringing Bruna along. We¡¯ll do the potion first, just like we nned, and then she¡¯ll give it a go. It¡¯ll be a lot easier for her to take control of him after he¡¯s been freed.¡±

    ¡°Why Bruna? Did she volunteer or did you choose her?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I chose her. Out of the two [Witches] you¡¯ve already uncovered, she¡¯s the one that doesn¡¯t hate your guts,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Fine,¡± said Brin. ¡°Let¡¯s do this. Marksi, are youing? We¡¯re going back to that hut, the one with the undead inside. I won¡¯t me you if you want to stay here.¡±

    Marksi ran in circles on Brin¡¯s bed a couple times in agitation, then crawled up on Brin¡¯s shoulders.

    Bruna was waiting just outside. The tall, older woman gave him a knowing smirk when left the house. ¡°Brin, dear, so good to see you. You¡¯re such a good friend to my sweat little Davi, I hope you know how much you mean to him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s, um, a good guy,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°He sure is! But how are you? Are you eating well? You know if you don''t have anywhere to go you¡¯re always wee to partake in my¡­¡± she paused dramatically, ¡°hospitality.¡±

    Hogg snorted but didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°I know that, ma¡¯am, and thank you. You¡¯ve always been very kind. So kind that, well¡­¡± Brin raised a suggestive eyebrow, ¡°sometimes I can¡¯t stop thinking about it.¡±

    Hogg barked augh but then clicked his jaw shut and red at Brin for the trouble. Bruna chuckled lightly. ¡°And how is Marksi?¡±

    Brin was happy for the change of subject out of awkward territory. ¡°Well, look how big he¡¯s gotten!¡±

    Heuded Marksi¡¯s many virtues as they walked along. Down the street and out the gate, the [Hunters] in the watchtowers didn¡¯t challenge them, so the stream ofpliments continued. Marksi took it all in with a dignified grace that only a dragon can really pull off.

    As they neared Neptune¡¯s ce, Hogg hushed him into silence.

    They reached the walled-off pit, and Hogg knocked on the door to the hut.

    Then without warning, he grabbed the handle and yanked the entire iron door off the frame. A good portion of the wall came with it, revealing the inside of Neptune¡¯s hut. Nothing they saw was immediately nefarious, just some picks and shovels, a cot, and an enchanted camp stove.

    Beyond that, there was a well-worn path leading to a hole in the ground. Brin saw a sh of movement as something disappeared down the hole.

    Hogg bolted towards it, with Brin and Bruna close behind. They jumped inside.

    Rather than straight down, it was at a steep angle, so they could half run half slide down a slope of dirt that had somehow been packed hard as rock.

    They ran, with Hogg and Bruna making considerable distance ahead of Brin even though he was going recklessly fast. The tunnel was narrow enough that he had to be careful to keep his spear pointed the right way lest it scrape on the ceiling or floor and trip him up.

    The tunnel was dark, but Marksi emitted a faint glow that illuminated it just barely enough.

    He ran, faster and faster as the steep slope increased his speed until he could barely keep his feet under him. He saw an asional side-tunnel, jutting off at odd angles, and had to hope that this was the right way.

    Eventually the tunnel started to tten out a bit, and he managed to slow down enough that he wasn¡¯t in danger of tripping and rolling the rest of the way.

    Minutester, the tunnel opened up into a wide cavern. The air was damp and musty. It smelled strongly of earth, with faint notes of rot.

    With relief he noticed that Bruna and Hogg were ahead of him, peering around warily in the cavern. Brin couldn¡¯t see how big it was in Marksi¡¯s faint light. It was <em>very </em>big, and he heard the faint sound of rushing water.

    There were also rocks. Tons of them, piles and piles of broken stone, pebbles and dust, some of them five feet into the air. What was Neptune doing with all this? No one would¡¯ve bothered him at all if he¡¯d just given all this rock away instead of hoarding it.

    Brin gleefully swiped a few stones and put them in his pockets. Wait, what was he doing? These were just rocks. He was treating them like they were made of gold. Well, for right now, rocks were worth as much to him as gold.

    Down here, they¡¯d left the packed earth behind and the walls were all stone as well. They had as much of it as they wanted, if they trusted themselves to break the walls without risking a cave-in.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see him,¡± whispered Bruna.

    ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± said Hogg. Then louder, ¡°Come on out, Neptune! We just want to talk.¡±

    A voice called out from behind a pile of loose stone. ¡°Promise me¨C hrrk.¡±

    Bruna pointed with her finger, and a struggling Neptune flew towards them through the air. Wait, could [Witches] yank people around with their mind? Why? What gave her the power to do that? Her [Farmer] base ss shouldn¡¯t let her do that, and Hogg had said that [Witch] powers were supposed to be very indirect. It had to be because he was undead.

    Hogg rushed over and bound the floating Neptune with solid manacles. ¡°Alright, let him go. I need to know that there¡¯s no interference with the potion.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± said Bruna. She let her hand drop, and Neptune sank to the ground.

    Brin had to wonder why Hogg had even bothered with the manacles. He didn¡¯t want Bruna to see his hard light, even the ¡®shadow¡¯ versions? Maybe he didn¡¯t trust these [Witches] as much as said he did.

    Hogg forced the potion of Turn Undead down the struggling Neptune¡¯s throat, and perversely, he just struggled against his bonds even harder.

    ¡°Calm down, Neptune. You¡¯re free now. Tell us: who killed you? Who was your master?¡± asked Hogg.

    Neptune stopped. He looked Hogg up and down, then sneered at Bruna. He didn¡¯t even nce at Brin. His eyes were clear; for all intents and purposes he looked like a normal man of the Bog. His brand of undead let him fit in with regr people, and his curly brown hair and solid build could¡¯ve fit on any number of men Brin knew.

    ¡°No one.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying? Neptune, we¡¯re trying to ask who did this to you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it?¡± Neptune closed his eyes. ¡°No one. I chose this.¡± His eyes opened glowing yellow, and his humanity seemed to sink away. His skin grayed, his muscles bulged, and Brin started to wonder if those chains and manacles would really hold him. ¡°Free Arcaena! Arcaena forever! ARCAENA INFINITUM!¡±

    The cavern exploded into motion.

    Gravel hit Brin like shrapnel as the piles of loose stone erupted, uncovering dozens of undead like demented volcanos. Marksi squeaked in rm and tried to take shelter behind Brin, but they wereing from every direction.

    Hoggshed out with his magic, creating shields to protect them while alreadyunching spears and gearing up some of those spinning des.

    Bruna transformed into something dark and spiny, and in a flutter of bat wings, streaked out of the cavern, retreating up the way they¡¯de.

    Brin got his spear up in time to stop a charging undead, stabbing deep into its chest. Rather than press in deeper, he was forced to drop the spear to dodge a ck mace aimed at his skull. He got underneath it and tackled the undead mace-wielder. He drew his ss knife and stabbed the undead three times on the way to the ground, then rolled off it, looking for the next threat.

    None came. As quick as it started, the battle was over. Hogg had unleashed a tidal wave of hard light, obliterating everything that popped up. In his haste, he wasn''t able to disguise all of it as shadow magic, so the undead were swallowed in a carnival of deadly color. Two green spears of light finished off Brin¡¯s two attackers, and then all was quiet.

    Only Brin, Hogg, and Marksi were still standing. No, there was one more. Neptune stood unharmed, held by many summoned chains.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [16]

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [15]

    Low-leveled. And he noticed that they were the ordinary undead. Well, there were no ordinary undead, but these were the skinny, clean, ck-d undead he was used to.

    Level up! Level 14 -> 15 +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes. Congrattions! You have earned a new Skill.

    You have 1 free general Skill.

    As tempting as it was, this wasn¡¯t the time or ce to look over his options. Marksi had been hit by the shrapnel and was bleeding in a spot on his back. Brin asked if he was alright, and he twitched his tail for ¡®yes¡¯.

    Neptune¡¯s arms were raised in the air, and on closer inspection, Brin saw that he¡¯d wrapped the chain, the real chain from the manacles, around his own neck. He called out in the Language, ¡°>.¡± His body began to swell with magical strength.

    ¡°No! Stop!¡± Hogg yelled.

    ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡±

    Hogg held his arms forward, straining to keep Neptune in ce with his hard light. ¡°It means ''I¡­ I will choose the manner.. of my death'',¡± he answered.

    Neptune roared, and in a burst of heroic strength, against all the force of Hogg¡¯s magic, pulled his manacled arms apart and decapitated himself with the chains.

    Hogg dropped his magic and the headless corpse fell to the ground. ¡°Damn it!¡± He walked over to Neptune¡¯s corpse and furiously kicked the head,unching it deep into the cavern. Itnded somewhere with a wet squish. ¡°Damn. A true believer. How did this happen? You know what this means, right? He <em>knew</em>. He knew who the mole is. It¡¯s probably the person who radicalized him. That¡¯s why he killed himself. He couldn¡¯t let us turn him. Arg! We were <em>this</em> close to breaking this whole thing wide open.¡±

    Brin looked down at the dead undead near his feet. ¡°They were down here. You spent all those months trying to find them in the forest. This whole time they¡¯ve been beneath our feet.¡±

    ¡°Tunnels,¡± said Hogg. ¡°That¡¯s why she thinks she can really do it. Arcaena found a Burrow Kingdom somewhere in the Wastes, but to get it somewhere she can use it, she needs to cross two Kingdoms. You¡¯d have to be mad to think that¡¯s possible, right? Only, as long as no one finds out about it, she has all the time she needs. She¡¯s building enormous tunnels.¡±

    Brin¡¯s heart fell. He¡¯d been holding out hope that Frenaria would notice a million-strong army of undead moving through the spooky swamp on their frontier, and that Lumina would charge to their rescue in a ze of holy fury. But there was nothing to find in the forest. They had figured that at the very least the army would have to reveal itself when it was forced to fight its way through Bragova, but if they could tunnel under a swamp they could tunnel under a mountain. No one would notice this army existed until it arrived on Arcaena¡¯s doorstep.

    It was also a bit liberating. The Queendom of Araena was far away. Far enough away that it would be someone else¡¯s problem.

    ¡°What I don¡¯t get is how they¡¯re really going to get away with it. Surely someone has figured out some magical counter to tunneling,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Sure, but this has the benefit of being underground <em>and</em> underwater,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Come here.¡±

    Hogg led Brin to the far end of the cavern where they found the source of the sound of moving water. There was a quickly rushing river in the floor of the cavern, some ten feet across, maybe wider if it continued under the lip of the cavern wall.

    ¡°Undead have many of the same weaknesses as us. Cut them and they bleed. Break their bones and they can¡¯t move. But there¡¯s one weakness we have that they don¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°They don¡¯t need to breathe,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°Tunneling through the entire Bonds should be impossible, even with an army of diggers. Water would leak in and drown everyone unless you sealed every inch and constantly pumped it out. But if you don¡¯t need it to be waterproof that makes it infinitely easier.¡±

    ¡°Still,¡± said Brin. ¡°It seems like an awful risk. If any section of the tunnel were discovered, it wouldn¡¯t take that much effort to plug it up.¡±

    ¡°I agree. There¡¯s something here we¡¯re not seeing.¡± Hogg gazed at the water thoughtfully for a long moment. Then he nodded. ¡°Get Marksi up above. Wash those scrapes on him with clean water. Actually, here.¡± Hogg pulled a clean bandage and a little sk of water out of his pockets. ¡°Don¡¯t use anything that belonged to Neptune. You never know what diseases he was carrying. Stay in the hut. Don¡¯t let anyone inside, especially no [Witches]. Say it¡¯s by order of the Prefit. If the Prefites by, say it¡¯s by order of the boss. This is still Hogg Town, after all. Wait for me to return. I won¡¯t be gone for more than a few hours. If I¡¯m not back in a day¡­ well, I¡¯ll be back in a few hours, like I said.¡±

    ¡°Wait. What are you doing?¡±

    Hogg popped a white pill in his mouth. ¡°I only got one of these, and I wouldn¡¯t bring you with me regardless. Get to the surface. We can¡¯t be sure there aren¡¯t more of them skulking about down here.

    With that, Hogg hopped into the underground river.

    The End of Part 1

 Book 2 - Hogg Interlude

    Book 2 - Hogg Interlude

    He felt the shock of cold as he hit the water, even though he didn¡¯t need to. He had the Achievements to ignore anything less extreme than magical ice and moltenva, but not noticing temperature differences was just another weakness, and weakness wasn¡¯t something Hogg could abide in himself. He let himself feel the cold and everything else.

    Some might say that it''s a bad idea to jump fully clothed into a body of water, and for most people it would be. But if he had that particr weakness, he would¡¯ve died twenty years ago. His ck leather clothing was enchanted to aid his movement in every environment, even underwater.

    He oriented his body and started a gentle flutter kick. His enchanted leathers took that gentle movement and magnified it, and soon he was zipping through the dark tunnel like a blink eel.

    The tunnel was empty for now, and dark. The undead wouldn¡¯t need light to make their way, so no light was provided. He swam into the deep, letting the quiet darkness overtake him.

    One would think that after a lifetime of this sort of thing, he would get used to it, but he never did. That same old cocktail of leaden anxiety and burning excitement thrummed through his body. His heart pounded in his ears, louder somehow for being under water. No matter how many times you jumped into a zombie-infested underground river with no light to face who knew what under the nose of a cataclysmically powerful [Witch], it always felt like the first time.

    His darksight was more than up to the task, small mercy. He could see better down here than most people could see in daylight.

    Losing his illusionary light hadn¡¯t blinded him, although that¡¯s what it felt like. How strange, to only be able to see what he could see with his regr eyes, even boosted with Achievements like his were. The invisible eye that he always kept watching his back was the one he missed the most, but he also missed the top-down eye in the sky that provided him a real-time map of the area. He had to admit that that one had made him a littlezy; he hardly knew how to navigate based on memory any more.

    The power, though, was more thanpensation. He was like a paraplegic who¡¯d spent his whole life inching around on the ground like a worm, only to make a deal with a fairy and trade his eyesight for arms and legs.

    Speaking of power, there was something he¡¯d been meaning to try. He formed the image in his mind: a sort of circr oar, rather more like a drill. He¡¯d first seen it on the ship of the dread pirate Tiger-Eye. Interesting fellow, Tiger-Eye. Hogg had been sad to see him hang. The man had outpaced seasoned [Captains] and [Windbringers] by outfitting his ship with a magic and mechanical engine that could move without needing wind or sails. Hogg still remembered it well. Or, his second brain still remembered it. It was a miracle that the old thing had survived his ss change.

    Speaking of his second brain, he¡¯d almost forgotten something. <em>Lightmind, set a thirty minute timer. No, make that twenty-nine minutes</em>.

    Timer set. 0:28:59.98

    When that timer ran out he¡¯d need to take another pill of Unbreathing. It wasn¡¯t easy to swallow a pill whilepletely underwater, but he¡¯d done it before.

    That done, he summoned hard light to make the propeller, all shadowy ck of course. As much as he liked being able to summon all sorts of vibrant colors, he knew he really should stick to the ck. He¡¯d identally let some other colors out when they¡¯d been ambushed moments ago, but that was out of a desperate need to smash all of the enemies before any of them could hurt Brin. He¡¯d be more careful in the future.

    He ced the propeller at his feet, and then made it begin to spin. But that made <em>him</em> start to spin. Ok, second try. Two pieces: a spinny ring and then a tform for him to stand on. Friction was still something he was working on, as in, hard light was nearly frictionless by default. But that was perfect for this situation. This attempt was better and the hard light engine pushed him through the water.

    <em>It worked!</em> He hadn¡¯t known if it would. Hard light could be tricky. For some reason, he could push and pull other objects around, but he couldn¡¯t push or pull <em>himself</em>. However, he could put the hard light in ce and then push against it. Once, when he was sure no one was looking, he¡¯d built himself a ten-story staircase and climbed up into the sky. The view had been astounding. The Bonds were so t that any source of elevation made it so you could see forever in any direction.

    Somehow this propeller was a loophole. He wasn¡¯t pushing himself with the hard light, he was pushing the water. The fact that the water pushed back against the hard light, which in turn pushed him, was a favorable side-effect.

    Sure, he didn¡¯t really <em>need</em> the propeller. Swimming with aid from his leathers would¡¯ve let him move pretty fast. But he didn¡¯t want to go pretty fast. He wanted to go really fast.

    He put some juice into his propeller, and he went <em>really</em> fast.

    The uneven walls of the underground river zipped by. The tunnel made twists and turns, sometimes so sharp that he barely kept himself from crashing, but so many levels focusing on Dexterity made a man hard to trip.

    He would haveughed at the thrill of it, butughing wasn¡¯t a smart thing to try underwater. The dread at what he might find down here hadn¡¯t left him, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t also feel the fun of it.

    As horrible as it was to fear for your life, this was home. This was where he felt more alive. He¡¯d built himself for adventure, and now he didn¡¯t fit anywhere else.

    Well, that wasn¡¯t quite true. Brin had changed that, Nedramus bless him. Hogg had hunkered down expecting a tense and resentful rtionship, but Brin hadn¡¯t let that happen. He¡¯d be, if not a son in truth, then something close to it. All the more reason to do this right and get back before the kid started to worry.

    He met his first group of undead, a small party of twenty, and didn¡¯t even slow down as he sent a wave of ck spears to demolish them as he passed.

    The spears didn¡¯t quite do as well as he expected. Only about half of them were killed, the rest either dodged or took survivable wounds. It was the water; it slowed down the projectiles. He skidded to a stop, and swam back the other way to get to the group again.

    This time he sent a flurry of different weapons. Bullets lost all momentum in a few feet and darts went off course, but the saw-des did surprisingly well, though many still went off target. It was the motion, he realized. He needed to put a spin on it.

    Only one undead survived his assault. Perfect. That meant Hogg had one more experiment subject. The undead swam towards him, but Hogg thought it moved slower than it should. These things weren¡¯t very good underwater. They probably thought they didn¡¯t need to be. What would bother them down here?

    He made a long harpoon, twice as long as a normal throwing spear, and put a heavy cone head on the end. Beforeunching, he did what he did with his sawdes and built up a nice spin beforeunching it.

    The harpoon sted straight through the undead like it wasn¡¯t there.

    Twenty enemies defeated. Insignificant experience.

    Their blood darkened the water to the point that even his eyes couldn¡¯t prate it. This was the reason for the Unbreathing pills rather than the much cheaper Underwater Breathing pills. If he¡¯d taken one of those, he¡¯d be breathing that rotten blood right now.

    Hogg swam on.

    The tunnels twisted through the darkness, going on and on. It was hard to tell time and distance in this ce. There was only Hogg, his magic, his protections, and an endless, spiraling abyss. The [Witches] hadn¡¯t dug all of these tunnels, they¡¯d followed the natural currents. These were the blood veins of the world, pumping its vital humors in and out in a great and unfathomable flow.

    It made the path hard to follow. The river poured into a huge undergroundke, and he realized there were more than three exits. Did he know what direction they led in? Well, yes, he had an Achievement for this. He quieted his mind and after a moment of meditation he felt the direction of true north. That tunnel might lead to Arcaena, but those others led north and west. And that¡¯s only if they were straight and stayed the direction they were pointed to now. The one he¡¯de in sure hadn¡¯t been a straight line.

    He felt dread, a different sort of dread than the one for the danger he¡¯d put himself in. <em>What if there wasn¡¯t a right direction? What if they were all the right direction?</em>

    He examined his choices carefully, and decided that the middle tunnel was a bit murkier than the others. He chose it, and swam faster.

    Timer expired.

    He popped another pill of Unbreathing, and kept swimming.

    Up and down. Left and right, the tunnel didn¡¯t seem to have any reason other than to confuse and mesmerize. He swam onwards, alone in the dark.

    When he found another group of undead it was almost a relief. A group of fifty. He spun up ten of his new harpoons and watched them go to work.

    The volley tore them to pieces. Only a few stragglers made it through the carnage. Hogg took care of them with a few quick chops of his hands as he passed by.

    Fifty enemies defeated. Insignificant experience.

    Hopefully he found something soon. That volley of ten had taken a small but noticeable bite out of his mana. He was in no danger from anything they could throw at him while he still had mana, but when that ran out he was just a guy with a pair of invisible shortswords, and he didn¡¯t actually want anyone to know about the invisible shortswords. For as long as possible, he wanted his enemies to think that magic was now his only weapon.

    Five minutester, he found another group, and dispatched them in the same way. Another group this close might mean that he was on the trail of the main group. Assuming there was a main group.

    Another tunnel intersected his, and then another, jutting from the ceiling and then the floor. They were both clearly small offshoots so he didn¡¯t bother with them and swam on.

    When he was further down the tunnel, he remembered that he didn¡¯t have eyes in the back of his head any more, and looked behind him. Sure enough, a group of undead were slinking around behind him. He used [Exceptional Inspect].

    A group of undead assassins. Median level 30. Minor threat.

    Did people know how customizable System messages could be? Well, he knew for a fact that they didn¡¯t. And honestly, mostly people wanted all the information the System was willing to give them. They didn¡¯t understand the importance of only giving pertinent information inbat scenarios.

    Hogg sent a couple of spinning harpoons at them, but otherwise ignored them. They wouldn¡¯t catch up unless he stopped.

    Up ahead, he saw the tunnel open up into anotherke, only this one had a surface. He could tell from the shimmering up top, there was something up there with light and air.

    There was also something down below. A mass of darkness lurked at the bottom of theke. No doubt it would bepletely disguised to anyone without perfect darkvision. Even Hogg couldn¡¯t tell exactly what he was looking at. It had friends, though, little dots of darkness all around them. He [Inspected] them first.

    Undead. Good at traveling under water. Mixed unit. Moderate threat.

    Then the big one.

    Undead Juvenile Leviathan. Major threat.

    Had they seen him yet? The question was answered for him as a wave of projectiles zipped through the water at him. He got a shield up in time to block the ones aimed in his direction, but then the ones that missed changed course and swerved to hit him around the shield.

    No time to block them all, he put some oomph into his propeller and flew forward through the water. The only problem was that he was moving the wrong direction. Toward the Leviathan.

    He summoned dozens of spinning harpoons, covering the water in them as they passed. The Leviathan was big enough that just shooting them in its general direction should be enough.

    At least, that¡¯s what he thought until he saw it move. It flowed smoothly, moving through the water like a silk neckerchief. Hogg made the water thick with harpoons like raindrops in a summer storm, but the enormous, undting mass didn¡¯t seem to have any bones from the way it shifted and squeezed around them.

    It moved towards him with a casual inevitability,ughing off his attempts to attack it. He turned his propeller and shot for the surface. Could he make it?

    Two undead came at him from the sides, moving as fast as a bullet from a sling. He didn¡¯t have time to get harpoons ready, so he summoned axes of hard light into his hands and shed at them as they approached, one on each side. He got a clean hit into the one of the left, but the one on the right parried. Hogg barely stopped its spear with ast minute shield, inches away from his skin.

    He put more power into the propeller, moving himself away from the undead attacker and hopefully the Leviathan.

    He felt something enormous and strong wrap itself around his stomach, pulling him off his propeller engine. A tentacle, like a three-foot-wide string of tar, started dragging him away down.

    Timer expired.

    Perfect timing. His Unbreather had run out.

    He resisted the urge to pull in a breath. He wanted to panic, to thrash and scream. Instead, he centered himself, and then started on his magic. First, he turned the propeller around, andunched it back down towards the Leviathan. He created twenty spinning harpoons, then twenty more, all pointed towards his enemy. He created chains, trying to heave the Leviathan¡¯s grip off him. He created sawdes, spun them up, and then cut into the tentacle pulling him downward.

    The tentacle loosed, and he wiggled free. His mana was nearly drained. His lungs were about to burst. He swam with all his might towards the surface. The glittering surface of the water was only feet away when he felt another tentacle wrap around his leg.

    ncing down, he acted on instinct and created a ball of hard light, right at the center of the inky mass. He expanded it, pushing the water out so that there was a void inside. He made it bigger and bigger until his mana exhausted itself trying to keep the void contained. Then, he let it go all at once.

    His world erupted into pain; it felt like someone stomped on his head and jammed icepicks into his ears. He¡¯d swallowed a lung-full of water on instinct, and couldn¡¯t help a silent scream of panic.

    The Leviathan might have shrieked, he didn¡¯t know, but it retreated, down into the bottom of theke.

    Lungs still full of water, Hogg¡¯s vision was going dark. He kicked up, covering thosest few feet to the surface and puked his guts out into the air. Only after that, did his body let him take in a bit of air in the form of a ragged, gasping fit of coughs.

    His vision was still blurry, but what he could see, it wasn¡¯t safe up there. It wasn¡¯t safe below, either. No notification. That Leviathan had survived.

    He swam towards the edge, and felt a prick of pain in his thigh, then his arm. Projectiles, from the underwater specialist undead. His Lightmind gave him a notice.

    Poison. A thirty second timer has been applied. 0:0:29.98

    He struggled towards a t area where he could pull up ontond and avoid the projectiles, only to see a group of heavily armored undead charging towards him.

    Still hacking, blood and water streaming down his face, Hogg drew an invisible shortsword. He was using these sooner than he¡¯d hoped.

    With one hand, he parried the greatsword of the first charging undead, and then stabbed through the gap in the armpit of the temail. With the other hand, he pulled a potion of antidote from his pockets.

    A booted foot kicked the antidote out of his hand, and Hogg had to tumble to the side to avoid the follow-up swing of a cuss. These guys were good.

    Ten Elite Undead. [Warriors] or better in life. Enchanted armor. Moderate threat.

    A greataxe swung down towards his head, and Hogg parried, but some enchantment or Skill made it hit much harder than it should. He was flung to the floor. An armored foot came down to smash his head, but he got around it, grabbed the leg, and lifted the undead off its feet.

    Undead could be absurdly strong, but they were still very light. Hogg hadn¡¯t prioritized Strength by any means, but really it was just the weight of the armor. He swung around and chucked the undead into the water behind him.

    The water wouldn¡¯t drown the undead of course, but good luck getting back out any time soon in that armor.

    The next nine decided to y it smart and came at him all at once, but by now a little bit of his Mana had returned. He created a tall pir, and then climbed up it into the air. He jumped off the top, past the ring of undead, and ran further into the cave.

    He was still hacking up his lungs, but he was starting to take something close to what could be called a breath, and his vision cleared enough that he could see where he was.

    Tall braziers dotted an enormous cavern, illuminating it, though the flickering me had a sinister cast. It wouldn¡¯t be cheap or easy to keep those banisters lit; there must be more than undead down here.

    It was hard to see past all the undead, though. The nine behind him were far from the only ones. Masses of undead stood in lines, like the breadlines in Steamshield. Some of them turned to stare at him, but more stared listlessly ahead.

    The undeads¡¯ tidy lines were headed towards three official-looking undead in fine robes and borate headdresses. They sat on wooden thrones atop an borately carved stone dais.

    Undead functionaries. Smart. Minor threat.

    One thing not many people knew about undead was that they kept all the intelligence they had enjoyed in life. They just didn¡¯t care to use it. They could be forced, however, with a very specific and careful set ofmands by their [Witch] or [Necromancer]. These three were examples of that kind of undead. Destroying them would send a shockwave throughout the entire organization.

    Poison timer: 0:0:02.33

    Right. The poison. He pulled out another antidote and forced himself to stop coughing long enough to get it down. Thankfully, his catch-all antidote fixed whatever it was. For good measure, he knocked back a mana potion as well.

    Timer stopped.

    The undead functionaries stood, and glittering scythes appeared in their hands, as if being summoned from the ether. More likely they¡¯d just been invisible like Hogg¡¯s shortswords. They steamed ck smoke into the air, and seemed to have a gravity all their own. He felt like if he fell off the ground, the scythes would pull him towards them.

    Moderate threat.

    Something reared up behind the undead. Something huge. It was furry and light blue, with ssy eyes and two enormous ears¡­

    It was a giant stuffed bunny.

    Zappo the Bunny. Major threat.

    Hogg skidded to a stop. Normally he didn¡¯t like to do a lot of reading in the middle ofbat, but this was an exception. He had to know. He altered [Exceptional Inspect] to give a bit more.

    Zappo the Bunny is the fourth and weakest familiar of the [Great Witch] Awnadil. Zappo¡¯s abilities focus on smashing, crushing, and gravity maniption. Please select here for a full list of Zappo¡¯s abilities. Zappo likes chocte cake. He can be very selfish, but will always share when reminded him that it¡¯s important to be nice to friends. For a full personality analysis, select here. Major threat.

    [Witch]-madness. He should¡¯ve turned and fled the moment he saw that Leviathan. His body was tired, near the end of his endurance, but with each breath he felt his strength returning. His heart beat faster, and pushed life into his limbs, and with it, awareness of just how screwed he was. Excitement and terror, those dreadful twins. Was this the group that would finally kill him? This would be a fight to remember.

    He drew his second shortsword and smiled with bloody teeth.

    ¡°No! Stop this!¡± shouted a female voice.

    A short, plump figure erupted from the center of the cave in a spray of smoke and flutter of bat wings. She was dressed in ck, with blonde hair, cherry red lipstick, blue eyeshadow, and perfect circles of pink blush on her cheeks. He didn¡¯t need [Inspect] to tell him that this was the [Witch] Awnadil. He used it anyway, though.

    Awnadil. Level 66 Great Witch. Age 81 but looks 25. Only five levels in [Clothier], the rest in [Witch]. She advanced to the Epic ss [Great Witch] at level 50. Interesting tidbit: She¡¯s fluent in Pollisian.

    Hogg pulled on his magic. He¡¯d need to take her out first, and quickly.

    ¡°[Requiem]!¡± she shouted. ¡°I promise you no harm wille to you inside this cave. Until¡­ until¡­ give me a second to think! Until you leave, or try to enter further, or attack or obstruct me or any of my servants, or until thirty minutes have passed. On my life and word.¡±

    Hogg could feel the truth of her Skill settle on him. [Witch¡¯s Requiem] was a level 40 capstone Skill in the [Witch] ss. It didn¡¯t force Hogg to ept her peace, just the opposite. It forced <em>her</em> to keep her word. She wouldn¡¯t be able to harm or hex him unless he broke her peace first. [Witches] could already do nearly anything. The one thing they couldn¡¯t do, was be trusted. Hence the Skill.

    Yes, she could be lying about using it, but she wasn¡¯t. He could tell.

    He bent over and coughed, hacking thest of the water out of his lungs and resisting the urge to puke. Then he straightened, examining the cavern again.

    This was a waystation, a ce where undead could report in and get their new orders. [Witches] didn¡¯t have any special means to order their undead around that he knew of, they actually had to give spoken orders, or delegate, such as the case may be. This was a central hub, a base camp. An organizational necessity.

    He could ask Awnadil what her ns were, what the army was doing, but he didn¡¯t have to. The existence of this ce spoke the truth much more clearly than she ever would.

    This wasn¡¯t an army on the move. This wasn¡¯t a checkpoint for a one-time exodus. This was a permanent base. An entrenchment. There were probably dozens of little hideaways just like this all across Frenaria.

    ¡°I see now,¡± said Hogg. ¡°This was never about getting them home to Arcaena. This was about getting <em>everywhere</em>.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you see. So you understand the position I¡¯m in, yes?¡±

    He ignored her and kept thinking aloud. ¡°See, I was confused, because it wasn¡¯t clear to me that even a million undead could destroy Frenaria, Prinnash, and Ond. Your army is strong, but eventually it would wear out. Meanwhile your enemy would keep growing in levels. Unless you won every battle, they¡¯d level quite quickly. Counter-leveling, and all that. But that was never the n. [Witches] are never so direct. You¡¯ve built awork of tunnels, all across Frenaria. You won¡¯t be able to match the full strength of the King¡¯s army on an open battlefield, but you won¡¯t need to. You¡¯ll be able to put tens of thousands of undead <em>anywhere</em> in Frenaria at basically any time. They¡¯ll have no choice but to make peace.¡±

    Awnadil¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°The first <em>real</em> peace that Arcaena¡¯s ever seen. We¡¯ll have embassies, diplomats. <em>Trade</em>.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far,¡± said Hogg. There was no way Arcaena wouldn¡¯t use her new power. He was certain that when she was discovered, she would attack everywhere at once. Every unguarded vige in Frenaria would turn into more undead recruits and the world would erupt into bloody war with no end in sight.

    Awnadil pursed her lips. ¡°But that¡¯s not what this is about. This is about you and me. And you¨C¡±

    Just then, another stuffed bunny appeared around from behind Awnadil¡¯s wide backside. This one was yellow, only two feet tall, and had a ck ¡®X¡¯ sewn where its left eye should be.

    ¡°Is this guy bothering you, mom?¡± asked the stuffed bunny.

    Basil the Bunny is the first and strongest familiar of the [Great Witch] Awnadil. Basil fights with des and shadows. Please select here for a full list of Basil¡¯s abilities. Basil likes strawberries and he loves to cut children. He is very bossy because he¡¯s in charge, but he truly cares about the feelings of his friends. For a full personality analysis, select here. Major threat.

    ¡°No, no,¡± said Hogg. ¡°No bother. We¡¯re just having a conversation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Awnadil. ¡°And I was just about to say, before you <em>interrupted me¡­</em>¡±

    She waited, and Hogg didn¡¯t take the bait. If he interrupted her again, it was very possible that he¡¯d vite her [Requiem]. With that Basil thing here, he wasn¡¯t sure if he would win.

    ¡°... I was just saying that I know who you are. You¡¯re the one who adopted Cadwy and Aberfa¡¯s brat. Little Aberthol.¡±

    ¡°Aberthol?¡± Basil jumped in the air and pped his padded paws. ¡°Aberthol! You know Aberthol? Can hee to y?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Hogg. Aberthol was dead; that was Brin now, but he didn¡¯t correct them.

    ¡°Aw.¡± The little yellow bunny kicked the ground.

    ¡°Did he tell you about me? I¡¯m his godmother, you know.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re also the one who ordered his death, I presume,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Well, yes, but I¡¯m d it didn¡¯t take. And you didn¡¯t answer my question,¡± said Awnadil.

    ¡°Rude!¡± thundered gigantic Zappo.

    ¡°Yes, very rude,¡± said Basil.

    ¡°Quite rude,¡± said Awnadil.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t remember you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Something about the Mother¡¯s Knot erased his memories.¡±

    Awnadil opened her eyes wide in shock. Then slowly she lowered them to heavy lids and a smile began to dawn. ¡°Then that means¡­ I can do it all again. He doesn¡¯t remember any of my fun little surprises! I can do it all again, exactly like it was the very first time. ¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°If you keep pushing your luck, it will, and that¡¯s a promise,¡± said Awnadil. ¡°If we fought, you might win. Probably not, but maybe¨C¡±

    Basil folded his arms. ¡°Definitely not! I¡¯ll protect you, mama.¡±

    ¡°Now, dear, what did we say about interrupting?¡± Awnadil patted his head. ¡°Where was I? Oh, yes. You might win, so I¡¯ll avoid it if I can. But if you keep on the path you¡¯re on, that changes things. If you escape? If you break free or find some other way to send word of what we¡¯re doing here? What reason would I have to keep Hammon¡¯s Bog alive and unmolested? Your actions would embarrass me in front of my queen and I will <em>not</em> be embarrassed in front of the queen. I would do <em>whatever</em> it took to see you and your town destroyed.¡±

    ¡°And if I stay in town? Will you leave us alone?¡±

    Awnadil slumped in on herself. ¡°What promise could I make that you would believe? I tire. Go now.¡±

    Hogg considered killing them. She was right, he might win. Wasn¡¯t this a chance worth taking? Stopping her here might give Frenaria a real chance. Wasn¡¯t one life worth that chance? Wasn¡¯t it his duty?

    But if he fought, Hammon¡¯s Bog would die. The town he grew up in, where his drunken lout of an uncle had raised him. He¡¯d left for decades at a time, but it was always a ce toe back to, a ce where people knew him.

    Brin would die. Hogg had taken an Oath. Yes, that was his duty now. He hacked to spit a wad of bloody phlegm on the floor, but thought better of it. He swallowed. Best to not break hospitality.

    ¡°Fine, but onest thing. You and B¨C Aberthol have history, but that¡¯s all it is. History. You touch one hair on his head, and I don¡¯t care what it takes. I will destroy you. And that¡¯s a promise that I think you do believe.¡±

    Awnadil waved like he was a pesky fly. ¡°Go. Go away. Leave.¡±

    A knife appeared in Basil¡¯s paw, nearly as tall as he was. Hogg couldn¡¯t see how he was holding it; he didn¡¯t have fingers. ¡°You heard her! Go on! Git!¡±

    Hogg turned and jumped back into the water. And because he wasn¡¯t new at this, he wasn''t even surprised when the Leviathan attacked him again.

 Book 2. Chapter 17

    Book 2. Chapter 17

    Brin checked Marksi¡¯s wound before he left the cave, but it didn¡¯t look too bad. A scrape along his side, but it wasn¡¯t too deep. He washed it out with clean water anyway, but that was all the doting Marksi would let him get away with.

    Marksi hopped down to strut back and forth, proud of his new badge of courage. He marched on his stubby legs, long neck twisting around to see how his scratch interrupted the gleaming scales in the faint light.

    ¡°Yeah, it looks great. Very fierce. You look like a real [Warrior]!¡± said Brin.

    Marksi nodded as if that was a given. He still had the little scar above his eye that he¡¯d already had when they first met, the one that matched Brin¡¯s own.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay down here. Hogg told us to get up top,¡± said Brin.

    He didn¡¯t leave right away, though. First he rooted around until he found a couple of sturdy sacks, which he filled all the way to bursting with stone. There was also a nice wooden bucket with a handle, and he filled that as well. Altogether it was probably two hundred pounds of stone, well within what he could carry.

    At least that¡¯s what he thought until he got to the tunnel. He¡¯d forgotten how steep this thing was. Still, he wasn¡¯t leaving without the rocks. He needed that ss. He was sick of working with little bits at a time. The slow pace had been good in the beginning when he¡¯d needed lots of supervision to make sure he wouldn¡¯t hurt himself or ruin his Ademir¡¯s tools, but that time was past. When Brin stepped into the workshop with a month¡¯s worth of materials, there was no way Ademir would tell him not to work after hours.

    He huffed and puffed his way up the steep slope, careful to keep his feet from slipping. True, it would be smarter to just make two trips, but Hogg had told him to go up and not let anyone back down. This way, he was still technically doing what he was told.

    Hopefully this would be a useless effort. Hopefully, they¡¯d be able to get some more people down here to restart the mining and the town would be swimming with stone. But there was always the chance that Hogg woulde back with an army on his heels and demand that they copse the tunnel. Brin wasn¡¯t going to risk it.

    What was even the problem? Davi could knock out squats at this weight without breaking a sweat. Brin could at least do this much.

    Step by heavy step, he made his way back up the slope and into Neptune¡¯s workshop. He stepped outside and copsed, letting his burden fall to the ground. He gulped in huge breaths of air, reveling in how fresh and clean it was. Compared to the stench in the cavern, this was paradise.

    Above ground and safe as he¡¯d ever be, he couldn¡¯t resist another nce at his options. He¡¯d gotten some Skill choices when they¡¯d been ambushed.

    Upgrade - Shape ss Increased ability to transform ss. Increased ability to move ss. Improves mana efficiency. Upgrade - Heat Resistance

    +50% increase to heat tolerance. Summon ss You can use your magic to call ss into being. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with ss.

    Usually he didn¡¯t choose a new Skill without consulting Hogg first, but this was probably an exception. They¡¯d already decided that he¡¯d pick it as soon as he got it and then evolve into [Illusionist].

    It was crazy to him to think that today was the day that he¡¯d be evolving into [Illusionist]. In all honesty, he liked making ss. It didn¡¯t change his life goals; [Illusionist] was the better ss and the sooner he started learning how to use it the better. But the thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to gain any more levels by making ss with Ademir was bittersweet.

    That wasn¡¯t the whole story, though, he¡¯d need to keep making ss by hand to keep [Shape ss] and [Summon ss] growing. His days making ss were far from over.

    He selected [Summon ss].

    Nothing happened. It was good that nothing dramatic happened the way it had for [Memories of ss]. He was supposed to be watching the mine, so he really shouldn¡¯t goatose right now, but shouldn¡¯t something feel different?

    He felt nothing, except residual nerves from the fight, the after-battle shakes.

    He held out his hand, pulled on his magic, and concentrated on the thought of ss appearing there. Nothing happened.

    Another thing didn¡¯t happen: He didn¡¯t get a notification alerting him about an optional ss change. Didn¡¯t his inner-hims promise him that he¡¯d get [Illusionist] at fifteen? The Illusionist had mentioned something about how he hadn¡¯t earned it, but how could that be? He¡¯d earned it at level one. Had he somehow unearned it?

    The other option was that they were deliberately holding it back from him for some reason.

    A short timeter, an enormous mutant bull came charging across the fields. Brin had a moment of panic, thinking that Poco was here for him, but the bull nted himself firmly in front of the door to Neptune¡¯s hut, taking a defensive posture. Right, he was making sure nothing came back up. Good thinking.

    Marksi climbed up the bull¡¯s leg and nted himself on Poco¡¯s head, his tail wrapped around his neck to hold himself in ce. He also stared at the entrance to Neptune¡¯s mine with a look of determination. Marksi would protect them, too.

    Bruna stepped around the tall fence around Neptune¡¯s hole.

    She stepped hesitantly, looking shamefaced. She should, considering how she¡¯d just bolted and left Brin to die. Only, to be fair she¡¯d left Brin with Hogg, which was the safest ce a person could be, and he didn¡¯t think [Witches] had much in the way of personal defense if their familiars weren¡¯t around. He¡¯d need to ask Hogg about that escape Skill, though.

    He felt a little hurt that she¡¯d run off on him, but he could sort that outter. He needed Bruna on his side. It wouldn¡¯t be wise to let her think there was any bad blood between them.

    He sighed in relief and said, ¡°Oh, good, you¡¯re alright! You had me worried. Good thinking about bringing Poco here. We don¡¯t know what mighte out of there. Hogg is investigating the cave, but he said not to let anyone in until hees out. He¡¯ll probably be gone awhile.¡±

    ¡°I also sent for the Prefit,¡± said Bruna.

    ¡°Smart,¡± said Brin.

    Bruna nodded and looked down at the ground.

    They waited in awkward silence for a bit, until Brin started to feel bad. He really didn¡¯t me her for running, he realized. She should have brought Poco along in the first ce, but that was behind them now. He decided to change the subject.

    ¡°How¡¯s Davi doing? With [Bard], I mean? I¡¯ll be honest, I think that ss surprised everyone.¡±

    Bruna¡¯s reticence was immediately reced by a warm smile as she thought of her son. ¡°Not me. It didn¡¯t surprise me at all.¡±

    ¡°Really? Do you have some [Bards] in the family? A grandparent?¡±

    ¡°Oh, heavens no. Although my great-grandmother was a [Dancer]. But no. I know the face Davi shows to the world, but he doesn¡¯t hide who he is at home. That boy¡¯s nose is never far from a book and he never misses a chance to hear a song. You see a boy who works an hour extra because that¡¯s all he likes to do. I see a boy who¡¯s mentally reciting an epic poem in his head and forgetting about everything else.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ exins so much,¡± said Brin. ¡°Why did he never tell us any of this?¡±

    She crooked an eyebrow. ¡°Maybe because the one time he tried to recite an epic you allughed him to scorn.¡±

    ¡°Ok, no, that¡¯s not what happened. We were all so impressed we didn¡¯t know how to handle it, and that¡¯s the truth. Dang, I should probably tell him that.¡±

    She smiled and nodded. ¡°You should. He sets great weight in your opinion. For whatever reason.¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°Yeah, right. Come on.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯d be surprised,¡± she said.

    Bruna''s head shot up, and Brin turned around to see what rmed her. A man in full armor exited the town''s gates. The Prefit. Normally therge man wore fine and formal clothes reflecting his station, so it became easy to forget his ss. Now he couldn''t be confused for anything but a [Warrior]. The leather portions of his armor were stained white, and it was bolstered in ce by tes of polished brass. He wore a thick crimson cape hooked around his neck with a sp decorated like goldenurels.

    "What''s the situation?" he asked.

    "We found out that Neptune had been killed and made into an undead," said Brin. "Our idea was to free him with a potion of Turn Undead. Did Hogg--"

    "I was briefed," said the Prefit

    "Ok, well, when we arrived Neptune saw using and retreated down into his cave. We pursued him down inside, and then captured him at the bottom. There''s tons of stone down there. I brought some up..."

    "Legally speaking, that stone still belongs to Neptune''s family. His mother, I believe, is his only living rtion."

    Brni frowned at the two hundred pounds of stone he''d carried up. He''d practically killed himself hauling all that up the steep tunnel!

    The Prefit noticed his look. "I believe we can work something out where you can keep the dragon''s share. Please continue."

    "We captured him and fed him the potion, but it didn''t work. That''s when we realized. Neptune wasn''t made into an undead against his will. He was already free, so the potion didn''t do anything. He must''ve turned himself through a pre-undead ss. He started yelling about Arcaena, his support for Arcaena I mean. Then a bunch of undead burst out from the piles of stone. Hogg killed them all. Bruna and I went back up to the surface after that, and Hogg went deeper in. He said that no one should go down there until after hees back up."

    The Prefit frowned at Bruna with fear mixed with disgust when Brin mentioned her. He knew she was a [Witch]. She smiled back but didn''t speak.

    Prefit Elmon looked away. "Very well. We''ll remain and guard the entrance. By that I mean that I will guard the entrance. Bruna, perhaps you could tell me the story again from your perspective, including any details Brin may have missed."

    "Very well, Prefit," said Bruna."

    She went through the story again, telling it in full with all the little details that Brin had summarized. She included the part where she fled at the first sign of trouble, but omitted the part where she turned into a shadow bat thing and flew away. "I returned as soon as I could with Poco, and found Brin already--"

    A rumbling sound came from underground, drawing all of their eyes to the cave. The sound came again, almost like a low, deep grinding. Then it turned to a more rhythmic beating sound, rapid, like a lot of footsteps.

    The sunlight only illuminated the first thirty feet of the tunnel. After that, the change of the slope obscured it from view. He found himself creeping closer to get a better look.

    Undead, lots of them, d in tight ck and carrying ck weapons, flew into view, charging up the tunnel. They were wet. From underwater? But that was impossible. They''de from Hogg''s direction.

    He stumbled back in surprise, but Marksi and Poco put him to shame by stepping forward bravely. The Prefit stepped in front of both of them and drew a broadsword, also made of the shining metal of his armor that Brin decided probably wasn''t simple bronze. [Inspect] called them "Bog Standard Armor" and "Bog Standard Sword".

    Brin brought up his spear and took a position behind the Prefit.

    He needn''t have bothered. Prefit Elmon parked his heavy frame right in the entrance of the tunnel. The undead would have to go through him if they wanted to get out. The first few charged into him all at once, but the tunnel wasn''t really big enough to go more than single file and they got in each other''s way.

    He cut the first one down easily, and the third got tangled up with them before they hit the floor. The undead behind him wanted to keep running, and crashed into each other in a big zombie traffic jam. They tried to back up, but the mass was disorganized and slow. The Prefit jumped in and took a few more casualties with a few quick stabs.

    The undead regrouped out of sight, and then returned. This time, they left gaps between each other and came at the Prefit one-by-one. And one-by-one, he cut them down. Brin couldn''t reallypare it to the likes of Gn, who''d fought dozens of these things at once, but the Prefit had no trouble. He was more than a match for their unnatural strength, but he also fought with a skill that theycked. The few times they managed to block, they were able to stop his de, but more often than not his sword would snake around their guard and sever their vitals, while taking no wounds in return.

    In a way, it was watching a [Baker] or [Carpenter] or even Ademir work. A master of his craft, perfunctorily performing a task he''d done a hundred times before.

    When thest undead turned to run, the Prefit didn''t pursue, which Brin was d for. He didn''t know what he''d do if the big [Warrior] tried to disobey Hogg''s orders. He knew he sure didn''t want to tell the Prefit that ''this is Hogg town¡¯. It just didn''t seem like it would sound the same,ing from him.

    After that, nothing came up from the cave, and no one went down. They waited for an hour like that, with the Prefit standing in front of the cave, Brin standing behind, and Bruna sitting on the grass nearby. After an hour, the Prefit told them they could leave. Bruna left immediately, but Brin insisted on staying behind. He would wait until Hogg returned.

    He was tempted to leave to go find Chamy. She might have insight into how he could start using his [Summon ss] Skill. That''s what the Language was for, after all. It helped give shape to magic, to rece the wild chaos andplexity with structure and reliability. Most Commoners didn''t learn it, relying on Skills for the few things their magic was good for, but the really powerful people all did. At least, that''s what Hogg and Chamy imed, and they would know.

    Still, it felt disloyal to go do his own thing while Hogg was still underground. He should be here when he came back. As the minutes ticked by and no new dangers arrived, the Prefit broke the silence. "Tell me. Did you ever wish to receive the [Warrior] ss?"

    Brin nodded, then realized the Prefit''s back was still tuned. "Like most boys, I hoped I would get [Warrior]. Actually, I wanted [Mage], but decided I would be fine with [Warrior]."

    Prefit Elmonughed. "How practical. A nice back-up n. You are correct, though. I think every little boy and most little girls dream of bing a [Warrior]. Not many dream of [Mage], believe it or not, but I think that''s because they''ve never really seen a [Mage]. They''re the things of stories. [Warriors] aren''t so umon. Everyone in Hammon''s Bog has seen at least one [Warrior]."

    "You," said Brin.

    "Just so," the Prefit nodded. "But even without me, there are [Warrior''s] in Oud''s Bog, and a fewe by with caravans now and again."

    "Makes sense."

    "[Warrior] is the standardbat ss. Everyone has seen one, and it''s the standard, really. If you have a different ss and get it into your head to be an adventurer, that''s the mark you''d set for yourself. Could I beat a [Warrior]? If so, then maybe I could really do it. What''s your n for killing a [Warrior] should you ever need to?"

    "I''d run away," said Brin. "And then sneak around again and stab him in the back."

    The Prefit snorted. "You see? That''s the downside. Everyone has a n for taking on a [Warrior]. A [Warrior] is a standard-bearer, but more than anything they''re a target. If you met a bandit with the [Basketeer] ss, what would you do? You don''t know. They must''ve done something very creative to make their ssbat-ready, so you have no idea what to expect. What if, say, you met a female [Warrior]? What can you assume about their build?"

    Ah. So this was about Zilly. "I mean, I can''t really say for sure without more information."

    The Prefit answered his own question. "You would assume that she''ll give up on overpowering everyone with Strength, and that instead she''s put everything into Dexterity. You''ll focus on tactics that decrease her movement and maneuverability."

    "And that''s exactly what Zilly did. She''s a Bog Standard Dexterity-main [Warrior]." Brin finished. "They''re going to see hering from a mile away."

    "Make no mistake, she''s talented. A prodigy, even," said the Prefit. "But that''s the baseline for the [Warrior] ss."

    "They''re going to eat her alive."

    "I would prefer that didn''t happen. She could do well here in Hammon''s Bog. She could hunt in the forest and gain levels that way, perhaps not as quickly as out in the world, but much more dependably. A [Warrior] can live a slow and quiet life. It''s a fantastic ss for a wife and mother. I would prefer she stayed."

    "That''s not really our choice, though," said Brin.

    "No, but we can nudge her along. Your duel next week. I want you to win."

    "Honestly, I wasn''t even sure if I should go through with that. Zilly is my friend. You should find someone else."

    "It''s because you are her friend that you should do this. Zilly challenged you, and even if she hadn''t I would''ve asked you. No one else can do what needs to be done, because it isn¡¯t enough to simply win. I need you to obliterate her."

    "She''s a [Warrior] and I''m a [sser]. How are you sure I can even beat her at all?"

    "You can." Normally Brin would find this vote of confidence ttering, but from the Prefit, it was sort of annoying. ¡°Zilly is determined, skilled, and motivated, but shecks¡­ grit. She¡¯s never been desperate before. When she fights, she fights as if she knows everything will be fine even if she loses. Shecks cunning. She doesn¡¯t expect the unexpected because she trains against me.¡±

    It killed him, but he knew the Prefit was right. "You''re wrong," he said. "One loss isn''t going to break her spirit."

    "A loss against me, or Hogg, or someone else with forty years and thirty levels on her? No, of course not. But a loss to you? A Common ss, who''s younger than her? It will shatter her. Not forever. But by the time she rebuilds her confidence she will befortable and happy and here."

    Brin felt a lump in his throat. "I''ll win. I''ll make it look easy, too. But it''s not going to turn out the way you think it is."

    The Prefit shrugged. "Perhaps not. Just be sure to win. Thest thing Zilly needs right now is another win."

 Book 2. Chapter 18

    Book 2. Chapter 18

    Hogg¡¯s clothes were torn and dripping with water, blood was leaking from his ears, and no doubt he had many more wounds that Brin couldn¡¯t see, but he acted like everything waspletely normal. He¡¯d even insisted on taking Brin down to the cer and telling him everything. There was an intense excitement in his eyes when he rted the tale. Brin got the impression that this was less about giving him urgent information, and more about wanting to talk about the awesome day he¡¯d had.

    ¡°That¡¯s the most ridiculous thing I¡¯ve ever heard,¡± said Brin. ¡°Bunnies. You¡¯re talking about bunnies.¡±

    ¡°Evil sentient puppet bunnies, yes,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even know this world had bunnies.¡±

    ¡°Every world has bunnies,¡± Hogg answered.

    ¡°You know, the fact that you can say something like that with apletely straight face makes me doubt everything else you¡¯ve ever told me,¡± said Brin.

    Hoggughed, which caused his nose to bleed. He dabbed at it with a handkerchief.

    ¡°Alright, so tell me about these bunnies. ¡®Major threat¡¯ means you don¡¯t know if you could take them in a fight?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°If I had fought them back there, I probably would¡¯ve died. But there¡¯s a really good chance I would¡¯ve taken Awnadil down with me, which is why she didn¡¯t want to do it. But that was then.¡± Hogg tapped his temple. ¡°I logged everything [Inspect] could get with my Li¨C with an ability I have, and I¡¯ll be going over it bit by bit over theing days and making a counter-strategy.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the summary?¡±

    ¡°Zappo uses gravity magic. I¡¯m thinking he¡¯s like a big guy that moves like a little guy, using gravity magic to ignore things like momentum and friction. I also bet since he¡¯s a stuffed animal that he canpress or expand himself to dodge whatever he wants to dodge or tank hits if he¡¯s acting as tank. He¡¯s got some [Brawler] Skills, so I¡¯d expect he fights with hands and feet. Or paws, as the case may be.

    ¡°Basil, on the other hand, has quite the eclectic set of abilities. I think when theye together we¡¯re looking at¡­ short range teleportation, but endlessly repeatable without much of a Mana cost. He could use it to get his [Witch] out of danger, but he¡¯s primarily an offensive weapon. Imagine hising up against a group of soldiers and then stabbing them all in the back, one by one, in the space of a second. I¡¯m tempted to assume he¡¯d struggle against a single, stronger opponent. A good set of armor should be enough to counter him, but obviously I¡¯m missing something. I¡¯ll know more soon.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. ¡°Now I understand why you look so happy. We finally have a good look at our enemy.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± said Hogg. ¡°To be frank, most of this is bad news. I don¡¯t think Awnadil will attack as long as we stop poking the bear, but that onlysts until she¡¯s got her troops where she wants them. I don¡¯t have any illusions that she means to spare us indefinitely. I don¡¯t know if I can protect the town, should the worste to pass. But now we know! Not knowing is the hard part.¡±

    ¡°I think watching everyone you know die and then join the army of undead is the hard part,¡± said Brin drily. ¡°But not knowing is a close second.¡±

    Hogg frowned. ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°Another question,¡± said Brin. ¡°What was the thing Bruna did to escape the tunnel when all the undead jumped out?¡±

    ¡°That was a transformation. [Witches] can transform themselves. They often make themselves more beautiful, or sometimes, hideously ugly. But it doesn¡¯t have to stop there. They can turn themselves into beasts, but there¡¯s a danger in that. Change yourself into something too different for too long, and you won¡¯t be able to go back. Some say that no monsters are natural, that they¡¯re all descended from [Witches] who turned themselves into monsters and couldn¡¯t find a way to return. That¡¯s nonsense, of course. What are the chances that two [Witches] turned themselves into opposite gendered monsters that were able to produce viable offspring? Now, one thing you¡¯ve noticed is that your [Shape ss] can also move ss.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to do that yet,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get there. It¡¯s possible. So it follows that if [Witches] can alter themselves, they should be able to move themselves as well.¡±

    ¡°I mean, I wouldn¡¯t make that logical leap at all, but go on,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg gave Brin a frown and waited. Brin made the motion of zipping his mouth up.

    After a moment, Hogg continued. ¡°What Bruna did was like a half-transformation. While in the process of transforming herself into some kind of flying nightmare creature, she also moved herself away from danger, and then reversed it. Transformation is stupidly dangerous to practice on your own, though. Most [Witches] don¡¯t touch it outside of System Skills. Bruna has [Mutating Retreat].¡±

    ¡°Can they transform us? Do they really turn princes into frogs?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but not with something as simple as a breach of hospitality. They need consent. At the very least, they¡¯d need an explicit contract.¡±

    Brin hugged himself. It sounded like a fairy tale, but fairy tales were terrifying when you were living in one.

    ¡°Well, I know it won¡¯t help to tell you not to worry about it, but don¡¯t worry about it,¡± said Hogg. ¡°So how about you? Level fifteen?¡±

    Brin perked up. ¡°Yes! I got [Summon ss]! Only, I can¡¯t seem to use it, and I can¡¯t evolve into [Illusionist].¡±

    ¡°One thing at a time. You can¡¯t use it?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Yeah. When I use [Shape ss], I start with ss, and that gives my magic something totch onto. It¡¯s like the magic is already touching any ss that¡¯s nearby so I just have to push more into it. It¡¯s hard to exin.¡±

    ¡°Intuitive casting is deeply personal,¡± said Hogg. ¡°That¡¯s why the Language was invented.¡±

    ¡°Wait. The Language was invented?¡±

    ¡°More like discovered.¡±

    ¡°Well, whatever the case, I think that¡¯s what I need. I was going to ask Chamy if she can help me.¡±

    ¡°That should help. The word for ¡®create¡¯ is >. Normally you¡¯d also want to specify what you want to create, but since you can only create one thing it should work.¡±

    ¡°Sumo,¡± Brin repeated. It took a couple tries, but then he got it. ¡°>¡±

    He felt a pull on his magic, but nothing appeared. He imagined a ss bead appearing on the palm of his hand and tried again. ¡°>¡±

    He felt a stirring, and maybe a bit of dust appeared that wasn¡¯t there before, or maybe it was his eyes ying tricks on him.

    ¡°Oh, I think I know what it is,¡± said Hogg. ¡°These things work off your knowledge and experience. You need to make ss. Ademir always does that part for you, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Brin. He felt a little silly. The way he¡¯d learned to start using [Shape ss] was by practicing it for real, and then using his magic to help.

    ¡°As for the second thing¡­ your inner Illusionist already gave you a clue about how to unlock it, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Magic tricks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°He wants you to practice your magic ss? That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean like¡­¡± Rather than exin, he decided it would be easier to demonstrate. He pulled a silver coin from his pocket.

    He didn¡¯t know very much magic, but he did know the French Drop, which was the most basic trick a magician ever learned, and one that never failed to impress. He held out his hands, tucked up his sleeves, and showed Hogg the coin. Then, he made a big show of handing the coin from one hand to another, where in reality he let the coin drop and stay in the first hand. He made a show of blowing onto the empty hand, and then opened it up.

    Hogg¡¯s eyes narrowed. Brin reached over and pretended to produce the coin from his ear.

    ¡°It was in the first hand the whole time,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Right,¡± said Brin. Then he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s not going to work on people here. Your senses are a lot stronger than people on earth.¡±

    ¡°Nah. You forget that you¡¯re literally talking to an ex-[Illusionist]. It¡¯ll work better than you think. It doesn¡¯t matter how good your eyes are if you aren¡¯t watching the right thing.¡±

    After that, Hogg went straight to bed. It was well after dark; Hogg had been in that cave for hours, enough that Brin had started to worry. He¡¯d dutifully waited until a wet and exhausted Hogg had stumbled his way up the tunnel.

    It was prettyte after Hogg¡¯s debriefing, but Brin didn¡¯t want to wait to get started. The Prefit had ended up letting him keep three-quarters of his stone, so he brought it all over to the [Rock Crusher¡¯s] shop. Luckily, Gudio was home, and wasn¡¯t offended when Brin arrived at his door at practically the middle of the night. He¡¯d been all-too-delighted to put his ss to practice for a paying customer, and Brin walked out with a hundred pounds of silica sand, and a bit less than fifty pounds divided between chalk dust and washing soda.

    The next morning, Davi didn¡¯t show up to their work-out, which was fine because Brin wanted to get an early start at Ademir¡¯s ce. He was waiting outside the door when Ademir arrived.

    Ademir¡¯s face was covered with stubble; normally he was alone for this part of the day. He probably got the furnace started and then went back to bed. Actually, his face wasn¡¯t the only part growing stubble. He had a thinyer of stubble growing on the bald part of his famous bald ponytail.

    ¡°Ademir! You¡¯re looking good! What¡¯s this?¡± asked Brin, rubbing the front part of his own scalp.

    Ademir yawned and smiled. ¡°Something Callisto worked up for me. His new ss can work wonders. So to what do I owe the pleasure?¡±

    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d let me make the ss today. I got [Summon ss] but it doesn¡¯t really work until I actually do the melting and mixing part as well. I brought some stuff, too! A new recipe I think we should try. This is the stuff they used in my memories.¡±

    Ademir¡¯s tired eyes lit up when he saw the bags of raw materials. ¡°How did you convince the Prefit to increase our allotment?¡±

    ¡°We went down into Neptune¡¯s cave. It¡¯s a long story,¡± said Brin. ¡°Can we get started?¡±

    ¡°Of course, my young friend,¡± said Ademir, and led the way inside.

    He showed Brin how to fire up the kiln. They used a special wood that was made here to burn especially hot. Apparently Toros used the same stuff, which made sense. Ademir showed him how much to add, how to vent if it got too hot and how to tell when the ss was just right. His Skills gave him the right proportions of silica sand, chalk, and soda, but he let Brin do everything. He mixed it together, put it in and evened it out for a perfect melt.

    A lot of the work was right up near the burning Kiln, and he wore leather gloves but barely felt the heat. He was sure he¡¯d get red burns from standing so close if he didn¡¯t have [Heat Resistance] and [Survivor of Travin¡¯s Bog].

    Ademir washed up after that and went upstairs. It would be a while before the ss was ready to shape.

    While he waited, Brin puttered around with some of the old ss chunks, carving it and trying to change the color. He remembered one thing he¡¯d been meaning to try. One of his memories, a historical show about people in the stone age, had imed that their obsidian knives and spears were sharper than surgical scalpels, that it was a special property of obsidian because obsidian was a ss. They didn¡¯t sharpen them the way Ademir had taught him, though. They¡¯d done something called ¡°knapping¡± which was basically just chipping away pieces of the ss to get natural jagged edges.

    The documentary had given a demonstration, so Brin didn¡¯t think it would be hard to reproduce it here. He cut out the rough shape of a spear head like normal, and then chipped away at it. He used the rounded edge of a hammer, and the first try ended up shattering it more than he wanted. The demonstration in the documentary, they¡¯d used a stone, but oddly that wasn¡¯t something he could get easily. He tapped more softly the second time.

    The second try ended up looking pretty good, and it was moderately sharp, but he realized the documentary had been focused on making a spearhead that looked nice, but not necessarily focusing on making something that they¡¯d actually use as a tool.

    For his third try, Brin focused on making edges that were as ragged and sharp as possible. He knew this was working when he identally cut his palm trying to hold it for the finishing touches. The cut was like a papercut for how thin it was and how much it stung, but it was nearly a quarter inch deep.

    He was onto something. He bandaged his palm, put on leather gloves, and then kept working. When he was done, he had a jagged, fierce-looking spearhead. Inspect called it a [Good Quality Spearhead].

    <strong>Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 8->10</strong>

    Two levels to his Skill in one go! Interesting that his ss hadn¡¯t leveled, but he supposed his ss had outstripped his Skills enough that he shouldn¡¯t expect them to level at the same rate.

    Ademir came back down soon after, shaved and looking much tidier and more awake. The molten ss still wasn¡¯t ready yet, so Ademir showed Brin the results of his first experiment with the tin-bed oven.

    ¡°In short, it was a mess,¡± Ademir exined. ¡°The ss didn¡¯t separate as easily from the tin as you described. I don¡¯t think I would¡¯ve gotten it off at all without my [Crafter] Skills. And then¡­ well, see for yourself.¡±

    Ademir held up a sheet of ss. It was perfectly smooth and even, but that was all you could say for it. Dark burns ran across its center, and the rest of it was so foggy he didn¡¯t think much light would get through. There were bubbles visible throughout. Basically, it was about as bad a piece of ss as Brin had ever seen.

    He slumped. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be! This gave me all sorts of ideas on what I can try next. I¡¯m already trying the second experiment,¡± Ademir said with a smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s kind of you,¡± said Brin. He should¡¯ve known it wouldn¡¯t be this easy to use the knowledge of modern America in what was basically a medieval world.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look so down. I have a good feeling about this. And, oh, look at that. The ss is ready.¡±

    As if waiting for Ademir¡¯s permission, the System gave Brin a notification.

    <strong>Alert! [Summon ss] leveled up! 1->4</strong>

    Brin froze.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Brin couldn¡¯t make out the words.

    ¡°Say something,d!¡±

    ¡°T¨Cthree. Three levels.¡±

    ¡°Three,¡± Ademir said, as if notprehending. He stared at the furnace as if it¡¯d grown wings. ¡°I suppose¡­ you could get that many levels if you made arge breakthrough with the creation of ss. Let me?¡±

    Brin nodded.

    Ademir approached the furnace like a worshiper approaching a shrine. He carefully reached in with his blowpipe, and pulled out a glob of ss. The perfect amount on the first try, of course.

    He spun, and began to blow. The ss didn¡¯t look much different in its glowing, molten state, but as it cooled and Ademir blew it into a bottle, the difference between it and their previous bottles began to be impossible to miss.

    Ademir cut it off the blowpipe, and picked it up with leather gloves to put it in the cooling kiln. Still, he hesitated. The ss was still hot to touch, but it was hard not to stare.

    One brilliantly pure, absolutely clear ss bottle.

    <strong>Bog Standard Bottle</strong>

    ¡°I want to try!¡± said Brin, and Ademir was already turning to put the bottle away and start another. They worked in a frenzy after that. Caught up in the moment, they knocked out one bottle after another, again and again. Brin worked side-by-side with Ademir until the [Crafter] got wise and started making ss panels. The foggy bottles they¡¯d made before were good enough, but clearness was important in windows. They would sell for a pretty penny. Brin stopped his own work only long enough to lend a hand when Ademir needed help, but other than that worked without ceasing. Gone was the careful rationing of the ss. They blew through the entire supply, unceasing and untiring. One beautiful, golden moment of pure creation.

    It didn¡¯t feel like any time had passed at all, just streams of sweat, an ache beginning to form in his arms, soreness in his feet. The only measure was the ever-diminishing supply of ss.

    When it was finally out, Brin blinked and looked around. Hours had passed. Dozens of bottles and windows now sat in the cooling kiln, and the System had something to say about it.

    <strong>Alert! [Summon ss] leveled up! 4->8</strong>

    <strong>Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 10->13</strong>

    <strong>Level up! Level 15 -> 16</strong>

    <strong>+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.</strong>

    <strong>You still have 1 free general Skill.</strong>

    ¡°That¡­¡± started Brin. He didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Ademir nodded. ¡°A good day. It¡¯s always like this when you make a breakthrough. A new technique, a new ingredient, and the levels pour like rain. Do you see? This isn¡¯t so bad a life.¡±

    ¡°It really isn¡¯t,¡± Brin agreed.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m ready to start my second try with the tin oven. Would you care to watch?¡± Ademir offered.

    ¡°I really, <em>really</em> do,¡± said Brin. ¡°But it¡¯s getting close to the time that Davi¡¯s going to y in the tavern for the first time. I promised I¡¯d be there.¡±

    ¡°Ah, then go and wash up. I¡¯ll take care of clean-up. No, go on, go! I don¡¯t think I need to tell you how grateful I am for today. I can clean my own shop for once.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin. On a whim, he decided to [Inspect] Ademir to see if he¡¯d leveled up as well, but the [Crafter] didn¡¯t have his levels visible.

    He left the washup to Ademir and went back home to change his clothes and get ready for Davi¡¯s show.

 Book 2. Chapter 19

    Book 2. Chapter 19

    It was oddly jarring to walk into the public house and not have Hera give him a second nce. Right, in this culture he was technically an adult. It was moreplicated than that, obviously. All the people from his same System Day were still living with their parents and most were just starting internships. But legally they were adults and could even order alcohol. Although, he¡¯d heard that when Rodrige the new [Carpenter] had tried to order rum, H had justughed at him and told him toe back when there was hair on his chest.

    Davi hadn¡¯t arrived on stage yet, but the room was already fairly full, with Davi¡¯s family all sitting at the table nearest the stage and his cousins and parents¡¯ closest friends spread out on the six tables nearby. Zilly was at one of those, sitting with her parents and her little sister. She didn¡¯t talk about her sister much, maybe because there was a ten year age gap. Brin didn¡¯t even know her name, but was surprised H had let a four-year-old in here.

    To his surprise, he also saw Effa, moving between the tables, handing out drinks. She looked her usual sunken, work-down self, but moved gracefully and even gave small smiles when people thanked her for their drinks. It was unsettling, like seeing a statuee to life. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should try to talk to her or not, but the question answered itself when she went into the back room shortly after he arrived and didn¡¯te back out again.

    Myra was sitting off to the side, alone, in the part of the room that the adventurers had taken over. There were six of them, sitting at two different tables. The townsfolk gave them a wide berth and the adventurers were usually content to keep to themselves, but Brin wondered if things were starting to get awkward. Usually adventurers were in-and-out. They traveled through, on their way to the wastes or Gilly or maybe to find some exotic nt or animal, but none of them ever came to stay. This might be the longest that any adventurers had ever stayed in Hammon¡¯s Bog. He wondered what they did all day. He decided to talk to them, although hopefully he¡¯d get a chance to chat with Myra and Zilly as well.

    He ordered at the bar and then walked over to one of the tables of adventurers.

    ¡°Keep walking, kid,¡± said an armored man. He had wispy blonde hair and elfin features, or maybe the stic perfection of a K-Pop singer. [Inspect] called him ¡°Rinnil, entertainer and [Warrior].¡±

    ¡°Make me, I guess,¡± said Brin, and pulled up a seat. Rinnil groaned and put his head down on the table. From the redness in his cheeks, it seemed like he was well past his first drink. That answered the question as to what they did all day.

    The second person at the table was a finely dressed man with a ck, neatly trimmed beard. He would have looked elegant if not for the fact that the beard took up just a little too much of his face, making him look like a monkey. He sniffed when Brin sat down and looked away as if this little towny werepletely beneath his notice. [Inspect] just gave a name: Rat Scratch.

    Thest was a woman with dreadlocks. She was shirtless except for a skimpy vest full of knives. No, it wasn¡¯t really a vest at all, just a throwing-knife holster. She had a faint bluish tint to her skin. [Inspect] called her Otanyn and gave her ss as [Clockmaker].

    This was by far the coolest table. The other table of adventurers just had two [Hunters] and a [Rogue].

    ¡°So what¡¯s your deal? At first I¡¯d say [Clockmaker] is an obvious lie, but maybe it gives some cool benefit to throwing knives that I haven¡¯t heard of?¡±

    ¡°Infa itaka t¡¯ch tellutka naga,¡± said Otanyn, shaking her head.

    ¡°Oh, she pretends to not speak Frenarian to get out of interactions she doesn¡¯t want to have? That¡¯s fair,¡± Brin said to Rat Scratch.

    ¡°May I ask you something? Why did you speak to her first?¡± Rat Scratch asked. His voice had the elegant undertones of someone trying to sound like nobility.

    ¡°Because she¡¯s hot. I mean, like, what did you expect?¡± said Brin.

    Rat sniffed and looked away again as if deciding Brin wasn¡¯t worth his time, but Otanyn raised her hand to hide her mouth while sheughed.

    ¡°It¡¯s a mistrantion,¡± said Otanyn in a thick ent. ¡°My ss is [Atchendt] in my tongue. It¡¯s a ss for those who maintain the enormous stone timekeeping devices in the temples in my home country.¡±

    ¡°That sounds amazing! What are they like? And where do youe from?¡±

    She leaned back in surprise. ¡°Do you truly wish to know?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Rinnil didn¡¯t lift his head from the table when he said, ¡°She¡¯s probably wondering why you wouldn¡¯t rather talk about matos or the rain, or whatever it is these tedious people are so interested in.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you think Hammon¡¯s Bog is boring? You¡¯re just visiting. Try <em>living </em>here,¡± Brin said. In actuality, Brin thought Hammon¡¯s Bog could do with being a bit less excitingtely, though he had to admit the entertainment options were a bitcking now that Gustaff was dead.

    ¡°Then I will tell you,¡± said Otanyn. ¡°Do you know where Polissia is? I don¡¯te from there, but close¡­¡±

    She told of a ce so temperate that they didn¡¯t even build houses, just little lean-tos, because the rains were always warm and the sun was always cool. Instead, they built borate open-air temples. Giant stone edifices to track the time and keep the calendar, as well as other wonders. She spoke of her life fishing in the sea, of tending the fields, and milking the cows. She talked about her excitement when she was chosen as an [Atchendt], and her work with the priests and prophets. He noticed that she carefully didn¡¯t speak of exactly <em>what</em> an [Atchendt] could do, only that it was important.

    She became an adventurer because of a political scandal she got caught up in, where one of the priests she worked for got caught up in a corruption investigation, and he and his entire staff were fired. Her choice had been to change her ss or leave her home. She¡¯d chosen to leave.

    ¡°What was the nature of the scandal, if I might ask?¡± asked Rat Scratch.

    ¡°Oh, that we were embezzling the tithes and growing fat off thebor of others,¡± said Otanyn.

    ¡°How dreadful, to be lumped in with such a man,¡± said Rat.

    ¡°Oh, no, not just him. We were all doing it,¡± said Otanyn. ¡°And when I say we grew fat, I mean really fat. If you had seen me back then¡­¡± She puffed out her cheeks and held her hands in front of her stomach.

    Rinnil picked his head off the table and leaned back,ughing from the gut. ¡°Why have you never told <em>me</em> any of this?¡±

    ¡°I did not wish to,¡± said Otanyn. She turned to Brin. ¡°But now I have told you of myself. Perhaps you will answer questions about you?¡±

    Brin blinked. ¡°I¡¯m an open book.¡±

    She nced to Rat, who subtly shook his head. Oh, so they had a lie detector on staff? He¡¯d have to be careful of what he said. He was most certainly not an open book, and he couldn¡¯t say any more outright lies.

    Just then, H came to the table, setting a small beer and a te of food in front of him. Some kind of white meat¨Cit looked delicious¨Cwith carrots and pickled mato. Brin picked up a fork and said, ¡°What is this? This looks like giant snake? Where¡¯d you get it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know. None of my business,¡± H said tly.

    ¡°How is it none of your business? You¡¯re literally servinge back!¡±

    H was already halfway back to her counter. Brin took a bite. Seasoned to perfection, sort of lemony and just a hint of spice. It was delicious.

    Marksi darted up his legs and grabbed the snake steak in his mouth. Brin caught it with his fork before the rascal could pull the entire thing to the ground. Marksi used his new hands to tear a chunk off and started gobbling it. He didn¡¯t eat like a snake, by swallowing everything in one big bite, but actually bit off pieces and chewed with surprisingly human-like teeth.

    ¡°You probably shouldn¡¯t be eating that. I don¡¯t think,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi ignored him and chomped away.

    ¡°Ah! Ah! And what is this?¡± asked Otanyn.

    ¡°Marksi¡¯s my pet dragon. Marksi, stop doing cannibalism and go say hi to the prettydy,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi licked his paws, and then scampered off of Brin¡¯sp, under the table, and climbed up to receive the enthusiastic attentions of Otanyn. She petted his back and scratched his chin vigorously while he purred and lived it up.

    Rinnel stared in disbelief. ¡°No matter how many times I [Inspect] it just keepsing back ¡®dragon¡¯. What in the world?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s weird, right?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Everyone around here acts like it¡¯s perfectly normal to have a dragon as a pet. It¡¯s been driving me nuts.¡±

    ¡°There are others?¡± asked Rinnel. ¡°Rat, are you seeing this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s authentic,¡± said Rat.

    ¡°A few others,¡± said Brin. He¡¯d asked around and found a few others who¡¯d gotten pet snakes from the snake pond, but those ones had all stayed snakes. They stayed in their tank and ate bugs and weren¡¯t any smarter than animals. Marksi was special.

    ¡°How did you..? if it¡¯s not too much to ask,¡± said Otanyn.

    ¡°There¡¯s an enormous ancient dragon in a pond not too far from here. We call it the snake pond. Lots of little snakes, but they¡¯re actually dragonlings, like Marksi. Jump in the water, and the Hidden Guardian will give you one if he likes you. Or just catch one if you can. I should warn you, though, the Hidden Guardian is smart. Seeing it felt like¡­ being in the temple, almost. I don¡¯t think you should go there if you¡¯re just nning on grabbing a dragonling to sell.¡±

    Both Otanyn and Rinnel looked at Rat, who nodded.

    ¡°Unbelievable,¡± said Rinnel. ¡°The old one is just passing them out like party favors?¡±

    ¡°Not so unbelievable,¡± said Otanyn. ¡°The dragons know that they are waning. Each dragon is lesser than his sire. This is the way it is, but is it the way it must be? To send the child away may be the only way to give it a chance to grow.¡±

    ¡°Some among the gentry find it hard to raise high-leveled children at home. It¡¯s hard to level when you¡¯re toofortable. They send them out, sometimes to the army, to boarding school, or sometimes just <em>out</em>, to find their own way in the world for a time. Or so I¡¯ve heard,¡± said Rat.

    Brin swallowed a bite of snake. ¡°There¡¯s something to be said about the easy life, though. You don¡¯t need high levels to be happy.¡±

    ¡°This is truth,¡± said Otanyn. ¡°Many times I have wished that I was back in Kamat,zy, fat and low-leveled.¡±

    ¡°My friend over there, she¡¯s a [Warrior]. People are worried that she¡¯s going to run off some day.¡±

    Rinnel snorted. ¡°So that¡¯s what this is about. Wave her over.¡±

    Zilly <em>had</em> been surreptitiously watching Brin talk to the adventurers. She turned away when she saw him look at her, but not so far that she missed his wave. She practically skipped over and sat down beside him.

    Rinnel waved leisurely. ¡°Wee. The more the merrier, I guess. So my buddy here, Mr¡­ Scar the Mistaken. Is that right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s his real name,¡± said Rat.

    ¡°Ridiculous. Alright. Well, Brin here tells me you¡¯re a [Warrior]. Is that right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± said Zilly, sitting forward.

    ¡°Let me cut to the chase. You don¡¯t want this life. This life is cold night, scant meals¨C¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, no, no!¡± said Zilly. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. I don¡¯t want to be an adventurer.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± asked Rinnel.

    Otanyn looked to Rat, but Rat noticed Brin was also watching and clenched his jaw. He didn¡¯t nod or shake his head.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Zilly. ¡°No offense, but it sounds horrible. I mean, where would I go? My family is here. Everyone I know is here. I mean, I¡¯d like to get out of town a little, but I was thinking of doing what Prefit Elmon does, and protect an asional caravan. Maybe even see Steamshield someday¡­ I do have questions, though. How do you be an adventurer? Is there an official mandate?¡±

    ¡°It varies by city to city,¡± said Rinnel, looking a bit perplexed. ¡°Some have guilds, some have registries, and in some cities adventuring is illegal, officially, and you have to sign up as a hunter. But¡­ you don¡¯t want to be one?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what the Prefit thinks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Since when is the Prefit right about anything?¡± asked Zilly.

    Brin blinked. ¡°Fair point. But, then, what about our duel?¡±

    ¡°I just want to know how good I am. And none of the other boys would ever agree to it,¡± said Zilly.

    Rat nodded sagely. ¡°A man has nothing to gain frompeting with a woman.¡±

    Otanyn looked up from where she was admiring Marksi¡¯s glimmering scales. ¡°What nonsense is this?¡±

    Rat crooked an arrogant eyebrow. ¡°What has he to gain? If he loses, they willugh at him and call him a weakling. He could not even beat a girl. If he wins? They will call him an abuser. How dare you treat ady in such a manner? And so on. No one will cheer for him. No maidens will swoon for him.¡±

    ¡°Will maidens swoon for a man who doesn¡¯t not see them as his equals?¡±

    ¡°In my experience, yes,¡± said Rinnel.

    ¡°Honorablebat is honorable. A duel must be fought bravely, no matter the opponent,¡± said Otanyn. ¡°Do you think women so weak? Am I so weak?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not saying that,¡± said Rinnel. ¡°You¡¯re the real deal; no one else I¡¯d rather have fighting by my side. And I¡¯d fight by your side any time, anywhere. You know that. I¡¯ve proven that. I¡¯m sure Rat is the same. It¡¯s just¡­ if I had to fight <em>against</em> you¡­ I¡¯d rather not do it in public.¡±

    Otanyn looked back and forth between her friends as if she¡¯d never seen them before. ¡°I cannot believe this.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°I wasn¡¯t raised right. I will absolutely hit a girl. Just make sure to bring your A-game, ok, Zilly?¡±

    ¡°Well stated!¡± said Otanyn. ¡°I think. Come, Zilly, ignore these fools and ask your questions of me. What do you wish to know?¡±

    ¡°Great! First off, what did he mean by registering as a [Hunter]? What if you don¡¯t have the [Hunter] ss?¡± asked Zilly.

    ¡°No, no, not the ss, just a hunter, as in, one who hunts¡­¡±

    Otanyn went into a long speech about the ins and outs of adventuring. She made it sound like most of the challenge of that life was finding someone to pay for their services and navigating the various bureaucracies. The actual ying of monsters was a small side-note.

    Brin finished his lunch and listened. He absolutely <em>did</em> n on leaving this town some day, and this was all stuff he needed to know. He also listened to the music in the background with half an ear. It was simple, but peaceful and non-intrusive. Perfect background music¡­

    The music.

    He looked at the stage. Davi was up there, ying his lute. From the looks of things, not many people had noticed, but his mother¡¯s eyes were fixed on him. Thinking back on it, Davi had been ying for a while now, probably since right after Brin had entered the public house.

    Now that he was paying attention, it was obvious. Davi¡¯s music was screwing with his head. Just like he¡¯d tugged on Brin¡¯s emotions that time in the field, he was doing it now, although much more subtly. The message was something like, <em>Don¡¯t pay attention to me, don¡¯t think about the music. Have a nice time, this is a good ce to be, tip well.</em>

    Brin¡¯s inner-selves had told him that he should look into figuring out how to train his resistance to mental control. It looked like he had an answer. He¡¯d need to talk to Davi, and maybe Jeffrey if he could get him.

    Speaking of talking to your friends, he decided to visit Myra¡¯s table. The entire time he¡¯d been in here, she¡¯d sat alone and no-one had approached her, and it was giving Brin second-hand anxiety. She was also close enough that he¡¯d be able to overhear Otanyn¡¯s lecture to Zilly. In his past life, he¡¯d never been able to manage it, but his Mental Control was getting high enough to follow two or three conversations at once without effort.

    He stood, and Otanyn interrupted herself. ¡°Before you go, tell me. How did you get that scar?¡±

    ¡°The big one? Ax to the head. Undead attacked Travin¡¯s Bog and killed everyone. The only thing that saved me was the Mother¡¯s Knot.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t already know that,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°We heard, but did not know for sure. It¡¯s true, then. The undead, they surround us?¡± Otanyn narrowed her eyes, studying Brin intently.

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them. Lots of them. Almost all of these scars are from undead.¡±

    Rinnel and Otanyn looked at Rat, who said, ¡°Truth.¡±

    ¡°Well of course it¡¯s true,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Thank you, Brin. You must tell me the whole story someday. Now, Zilly, as I was saying¡­¡±

    Brin stepped over and sat at Myra¡¯s table.

    She looked inordinately grateful to not have to be alone anymore. She bit her lip against a smile, and with visible effort, turned it into a frown. ¡°It¡¯s a load of horse dung.¡±

    ¡°What is?¡±

    ¡°Zilly¡¯s speech about not wanting to be an adventurer. She¡¯s just telling them what they wanted to hear to get them talking. And they¡¯re eating it up. Just look at them. Zilly is going to skip town the <em>second</em> this undead thing clears up. Trust me.¡±

    Brin rubbed his hand through his hair. ¡°What should I do?¡±

    ¡°Let her leave? I don¡¯t see what the problem is,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°What about you?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I could stay. If I, um, met the right person.¡± She looked down, wincing at herself. ¡°But I think I¡¯m going to take off! See the world for a while, and get some levels. Weaving isn¡¯t nearly as dangerous as adventuring, obviously. Lots of [Weavers] get their start by going around with merchant caravans. Maybe that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. Mom is never going to leave Hammon¡¯s Bog, but as long as I stay here they¡¯re always going to see me a certain way.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re going to get over this¡­ whatever it is,¡± said Brin. ¡°Just give it time. The town will find a new pariah of the month.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and when they do things will go back to how they were before. I¡¯ll still be the [Weaver¡¯s] daughter,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Brin. He kind of hoped that they¡¯d all leave. They could be an adventuring team together, and he¡¯d be able to keep an eye on them and keep them safe. Myra would be the only non-Rare sser, but Commoners could be pretty dangerous in their own right. She¡¯d be fine if she could get some levels.

    ¡°Hey, what would you say about making me some clothes?¡±

    ¡°Brin, you don¡¯t have to¨C¡±

    ¡°I actually need this,¡± Brin interrupted. ¡°The only other person I could ask is your mother, and well¡­ you know. I could use some workout clothes. It would need to be soft, stretchy and sturdy. I usually get my clothes from Perris, and he can work literal magic with leather, but it gets stinky fast and it sucks to clean.¡±

    Her saw her eyes calcting. ¡°Yes¡­I believe I could make something to suit.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± said Brin. ¡°As for the price¨C¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to pay me to¨C¡±

    ¡°Yes I do. One because I¡¯m rich and two, because it¡¯ll help your levels. Won¡¯t it?¡±

    She sighed. ¡°Yes, it will.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then just tell me whatever¡¯s fair.¡±

    ¡°Eight silver,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°You drive a hard bargain. Sixteen silver. Done.¡± He held out his hand.

    ¡°My mom would barely be able to charge that,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Final offer. Oh, and can you do all the finishing work yourself? I know a [Weaver] isn¡¯t a [Seamstress], but I have a hard time knowing who to trust. In current circumstances.¡±

    ¡°I know. Fine.¡± She shook his hand.

    Davi¡¯s music hit a discordant beat, and he stopped ying. His hands traced the strings as if trying to remember where he was, but it was obvious he¡¯d lost it. His eyes were fixed on Brin, holding Myra¡¯s hand. Well, not holding. It was a handshake, but who knew how it looked to Davi.

    With the music stopped, the mental effect was gone and the rest of the people in the crowd started to notice Davi was there. They shouted his name, at first because they were alerting everyone that he was there, but then more urgently to get him to y a song.

    He blinked down at them and paled. Dozens of his friends and family and other townspeople pped and yelled his name, filling the room with raucous noise. He looked sort of small on that stage. Davi was hugepared to other boys, and especiallypared to Brin, but on the stage of adulthood he looked like a scared young man.

    Davi gulped, and then yed a chord. The cheers swelled even louder, and he yed another, then moved into a song. The crowd quieted a bit, and he gained confidence and yed less haltingly.

    The song was a celebratory march about the victory of Frenaria against the Stone King. Brin had never heard Jeffrey y it, but it was one that the other kids would often get Gustaff to y. It was energetic and triumphant, and apparently, a crowd favorite. Davi soon had everyone singing along and stomping to the beat.

    The next song was more of the same, a triumphant battle hymn. His voice was low for his age, but still at the awkward age where you knew it would be much lower in a few years, but he didn''t miss a single note even though the song was written for a tenor.

    When it was done, he finally cleared his throat and addressed the audience for the first time. "Thanks foring out! I''m [Bard] Davi, but you all know that. Thank you all for your support, and I''d especially like to thank H for hosting me. I''ll be ying most afternoons from now on, soe on by and see me. But not too often!"

    That line got a chorus ofughs, and then Davi began another song. This one was more subdued. A sentimental memorial.

    Brin stayed through the entire set, whichsted about ten more songs. The emotional tugs that [Bards] were loved for were very controlled and subdued, to Brin''s relief. He might not have had the same power as an experienced [Bard] like Jeffrey, but at least he wasn''t painful to listen to. When his emotional maniption sort of rubbed Brin the wrong way, it was easily brushed off. It also probably helped that almost everyone in this room was already on Davi''s side from the start.

    Brin was also relieved that Davi never yed any love songs. He just wasn''t ready for that from a fourteen-year-old. Davi did y a few dancing tunes, and Brin ended up dancing with both Zilly and Myra, though when he danced with Myra he noticed that Davi turned to the side where he couldn''t see them and missed more than a few notes.

    Thest song was a hymn to Solia, which reminded Brin that he''d been neglecting the temple. Or avoiding it, maybe. But first things first, he needed to talk to Jeffrey about resisting mental control. Davi was mobbed when he tried to leave the stage, and Brin took that excuse to slip away and find the [Bard].

 Book 2. Chapter 20

    Book 2. Chapter 20

    Brin stood in outside the public house scratching his head. He realized he didn¡¯t actually have any way of finding Jeffrey. This town didn¡¯t have an Inn; adventurers stayed in the old boarding house or rented a room from one of the townspeople. But this was Jeffrey¡¯s hometown, for all that he spent most of his life on the road. He probably had a home here, although Brin had no idea where that was. He was beginning to wonder if anyone knew.

    Jeffrey was something of a celebrity in this town, and not a scary one like Hogg, the Prefit, or Ellion the priest. He probably got swarmed by fans everywhere he went, but it would make sense that [Bards] would have Skills to avoid such things. He would bet they could use the [Inme the Spirit] to make themselves harder to notice. No, he <em>knew</em> they could do that. Davi had demonstrated that just half an hour ago.

    Where would he be, then? He had to be nearby, he wouldn¡¯t miss his pupil¡¯s debut performance. If it were Brin, he wouldn¡¯t be inside the public house, too big a chance that someone would see through whatever disguise he was using. He¡¯d sit right out in front, maybe bring a chair and--

    Jeffrey was right there. He¡¯d been sitting on a stool right next to the door the entire time.

    ¡°Well spotted,¡± said the [Bard]. He wore a loose-fitting shirt rolled up to his wrists, and a brown cap that would be humble if not for the colorful peacock-sized feather sticking from it.

    ¡°Aah!¡± said Brin, flinching back. ¡°How long have you been there?¡±

    ¡°Since before you came in. I wouldn¡¯t miss this,¡± said Jeffrey.

    ¡°He did really good! You¡¯ve been training him well. The emotion stuff was particrly well-handled. I think having him push a lot more softly was the way to go,¡± said Brin.

    Jeffrey strummed a chord, slow and soft. ¡°Anyone can y loudly. The first step towards proficiency is the ability to y <em>quietly.</em>¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°I know what you mean.¡±

    ¡°I think you do. You have a bit of [Bard] in you as well. Here. y something.¡± Jeffrey said, and handed Brin the lute.

    Brin started ying a few chords of one of the songs Jeffrey had taught him before System Day, but Jeffrey put a hand on the lute, stopping him.

    ¡°y something of yours. Davi tells me you have something, yes?¡±

    ¡°Uh, sure,¡± said Brin, a little embarrassed. He yed his rendition of <em>Fair home in the Bonds</em>. He felt a little silly at first, but it was <em>supposed</em> to be a little silly, and the little solos between verses were still pretty impressive in his mind. By the end he was smiling and ying with ir.

    He finished, waiting for Jeffrey¡¯s opinion. It was just a silly song, and he wasn¡¯t a musician by any means, just someone who picked up the lute for fun. But it still surprised him to find how nervous he was.

    ¡°I see,¡± said Jeffrey, nodding. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen this before. Truly a remarkable example. Honestly. This is a <em>spectacr</em> example of¡­ self-sabotage.¡±

    ¡°W-What?¡± It felt like being stabbed, and that wasing from someone who¡¯d been stabbed before. He didn¡¯t think it was <em>that</em> bad.

    ¡°Not to worry, all my first songs were exactly the same way,¡± said Jeffrey. ¡°You clearly put your heart and soul into writing that song. Those solos and that unconventional chord progression are the mark of someone who¡¯s put his everything into something. But then you sabotaged yourself with the lyrics. You were so afraid of getting criticized that you made them silly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¨C It¡¯s just a silly song,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It could have been more, if you were braver,¡± said Jeffrey.

    ¡°It¡¯s not even my song. It¡¯s just something I heard once. I changed the lyrics to make them dumb,¡± Brin protested, but he knew he wasn¡¯t on steady ground. It wasn¡¯t just a dumb song. It was a song about home. It was a song from home.

    ¡°Oh, of course,¡± said Jeffrey with a patronizing smile. ¡°You know, Davi¡¯s original songs aren¡¯t like that at all. They aren¡¯t perfect by any means, but they are sweet and pure andpletely genuine. Maybe that¡¯s why he got the [Bard] ss and not you, hm?¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Brin. He thought he was over this, but Jeffrey was dredging up all kinds of ufortable emotions. He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to out-[Bard] Davi. I¡¯m happy for him.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± said Jeffrey.

    ¡°Look, that¡¯s not even what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you know of a way to train resistance to mental maniption? I have an Achievement for it, but I don¡¯t really know how to use it or how to tell when it¡¯s working.¡±

    Jeffrey thought for a moment, tapping his chin. He sat up on his stool. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll help get you started. There are two main problems with mental maniption. First is noticing when it happens, and second is breaking free of it. Normally, they¡¯re one and the same. If you¡¯ve noticed you¡¯re being controlled, then you¡¯ve already started to resist it.¡±

    ¡°Kind of like finding you just now,¡± said Brin. ¡°Once I realized that you were probably hiding nearby I found you pretty easily. I don¡¯t think I ever would have noticed you were there if I wasn¡¯t looking for you, though.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s the first key. <em>Look</em>. Make it a habit of taking a look around at odd times in your life and say, ¡®Is anything out of ce? Is anything strange?¡¯ Don¡¯t wait until you get a strange feeling or your gut says something is wrong. That won¡¯t always happen.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°Right. That¡¯s smart.¡±

    ¡°This will all be easier if you have a Skill for it, though. The Skill you mentioned, does it upgrade? Does it say anything about being tied to an attribute?¡±

    ¡°No, it just says ¡®Extra Resistance against mental maniption.¡¯¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It would help if you had some sort of mental Skill that upgrades or something tied to Mental Control.¡±

    ¡°I have [Meditation],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ah! Perfect! Ok, here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do. Do you remember <em>Adventurer¡¯s Anthem</em>?¡±

    ¡°Not very well.¡± That was one of the songs Jeffrey had taught him back during their asional lessons before System Day, but it wasn¡¯t one he was very confident in. It wasn¡¯t a local favorite.

    ¡°Listen carefully,¡± said Jeffrey. He took the lute back from Brin¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Wait, now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, now. Listen.¡±

    Jeffrey yed a song, not too different from the light-hearted music that Davi had started his set with. The music wasn¡¯t tooplicated, but Brin wasn¡¯t exactly a musical genius; he wouldn¡¯t be able to y it back after just one rehearing.

    Jeffrey yed, his golden voice melting into the afternoon sun, and nobody seemed to notice. The people on the street walked on by as if they didn¡¯t see him there. A few of them nodded to Brin, but no one gave Jeffrey even a single passing nce. It was unnerving to see the mental effects at work.

    Jeffrey yed the song twice, and then handed the lute to Brin.

    ¡°Now you. We¡¯ll start with the music first. Put your hand on A, then progress to¡­¡±

    Under Jeffrey¡¯s careful direction, Brin yed through the music of the song, then again. The third time was almost decent, though he still needed Jeffrey¡¯s help now and again.

    ¡°Keep practicing. I need to talk to my student,¡± said Jeffrey.

    Just then, the doors to the public house opened, and a crowd of people spilled out. Davi was at the center of his family and friends, his broad shoulders looking like they¡¯d buckle under the weight of so much positive attention.

    Jeffrey slithered through the crowd, grabbed Davi by the shoulders, and led him out of the mass. No one seemed to notice or care that he was kidnapping the star of the show, they kept walking happily down the street, while Jeffrey led Davi off to the side.

    They talked silently, only a few feet away from Brin. More likely they talked audibly, and Jeffrey politely insisted through his Skills that Brin not listen.

    Brin strained to listen anyway. He knew that he was being messed with, but he couldn¡¯t seem to push through.

    It was galling. Here he was, standing right next to someone who was screwing with his head, and he couldn¡¯t do a single thing to stop it. He reminded himself that this was why he needed Jeffrey. He needed to stop this from happening when there were real stakes.

    He stopped trying to eavesdrop and focused on the song. Jeffrey¡¯s help was tied to learning this song for whatever reason, so he focused on trying to get his fingers to y the notes.

    A few minutester, Davi went on his way and Jeffrey came back over and sat down on his stool. ¡°Hm. You¡¯ve more or less got it. I¡¯ll expect you to keep practicing, but it¡¯s good enough for now. Before we keep going, though, let me ask. During my conversation with Davi just now, did you try to listen in?¡±

    ¡°Yes. And I couldn¡¯t. Whatever mental effects you were using, I couldn¡¯t even feel it happening, much less resist it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because no mental effects were happening. I was muting the sound,¡± said Jeffrey.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°The trick with resisting mental maniption is realizing exactly when you¡¯re being manipted. That also means knowing when you <em>aren¡¯t</em> being manipted. Now, back to our song. You y it, and I¡¯ll try to distract you.¡±

    Brin knew about how this was going to go, but he¡¯d asked for this.

    He strummed the first few chords of the song, and then Jeffrey burst in. ¡°Oh faithful wheels, thou stalwart rollers!¡±

    Brin stopped. ¡°Really? You¡¯re going to y that song?¡±

    Jeffrey gave a sly smile. ¡°What else? Try again. Go on.¡±

    Brin started the adventurer¡¯s song again, and focused on shutting out everything around him. It was frustrating how quickly he failed. Then he failed again, and then again, and again. He didn¡¯t know this song very well so it took a lot of effort to remember what was supposed toe next.

    Jeffrey pulled no punches. He used [Inme the Spirit] to draw Brin¡¯s attention, to change Brin¡¯s mood, or just to make him forget what he was doing. He was a better singer and yer than Brin, and he wasn¡¯t half-hearted in his rendition of <em>Fair Home in the Bonds.</em> He gave it a flourish that Brin was certain Ed King would have approved of. It was insane how well Jeffrey captured the spirit of a song he¡¯d never actually heard the original version of.

    More than once, Brin found himself singing and ying along, having switched his song without realizing it.

    ¡°Alright, I think you¡¯re starting to see the problem here,¡± said Jeffrey. ¡°Now I want you to use [Meditation] when you sing the <em>Adventurer''s Anthem</em>. Instead of focusing on a mantra or your breathing, let the song be the focus.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know how to do that,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

    ¡°Do try. Your Skill will fill in the gaps for you. I¡¯ll be silent while you work your first way through.¡±

    Brin gave it a shot. He calmed his breathing, cleared his mind, and started to y. At first he just yed the music very slowly and without singing along. To his surprise, the [Meditation] Skill kicked in and helped him out. He¡¯d leveled the Skill quite a bit trying to organize his memories, and now he could feel the force of it, helping him erase distractions and keep his focus. With his undivided attention on the music, he yed it through for the first time without any mistakes.

    Alert! [Meditation] leveled up! 15 -> 16

    He yed it again, a little faster. Then again, and this time he sang along. It was difficult to stay in the meditative state while he sang, but the Skill helped him through it, and he yed the song in a state of absolute centeredness.

    Alert! [Meditation] leveled up! 16 -> 17

    He couldn¡¯t help but smile at the Skill progress, which made his meditative state fall apart. ¡°Yes! Two levels in [Meditate].¡±

    ¡°Good, then let''s try again. I¡¯ll try to interrupt you this time,¡± said Jeffrey.

    Brin got centered himself again, cleared his mind, and began to y. This time, he got to the first chorus before Jeffrey started trying to butt in. He focused on doing what he¡¯d been doing before, on shutting everything else out and concentrating only on the song. It was difficult. Jeffrey¡¯s song was a battering ram trying to break down his mental gates. He felt his Skill, or perhaps just his mind, pushing it away, redirecting those thoughts and bringing him back to his own music.

    Hested thirty seconds into the song, before Jeffrey shattered his attention by demonstrating an absolutely phenomenal solo.

    Alert! [Meditation] leveled up! 17 -> 18

    ¡°Nice,¡± said Brin. ¡°And hey, Isted a lot longer that time.¡±

    ¡°You did. I think we¡¯ve found our path forward. The more you resist mental maniption while [Meditating], the more you¡¯ll be able to recognize the feeling and resist it at other times. I have time to practice this for, say, one hour twice a week. Is that agreeable?¡±

    ¡°That sounds great! But I feel bad. Is there something I can do for you?¡±

    Jeffrey¡¯s smile was a row of perfectly white teeth. ¡°You needn¡¯t trouble yourself.¡±

    ¡°Still, I think I should do something. I know you¡¯re already pretty wealthy or I¡¯d offer to pay,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No payment is necessary, and I would never be so crass as to ask someone for a favor. You¡¯ll pay me back by being the person you are and acting the way you¡¯re going to act. If I want to change how you¡¯ll act¡­ well¡­¡± said Jeffrey.

    Unstated was the fact that Jeffrey could more or less make anyone do anything. Maybe Hogg was high enough leveled and paranoid enough to resist whatever a high level [Bard] could throw at him, but no one else around here was. Except maybe the [Witches].

    ¡°That¡¯s not worrying or terrifying at all,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If you think about it, you¡¯ll find it doesn¡¯t really bother you,¡± said Jeffrey.

    It really didn¡¯t, but Brin knew enough now to know that it was because Jeffrey was <em>making </em>it not bother him. He forced a frown on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure about that.¡±

    ¡°Good, you¡¯re already improving. In that case, if I want something from you, I¡¯ll just ask. We¡¯ll leave the subtle maniptions aside, yes?¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Speaking of subtle maniptors¡­¡± Jeffrey looked at something behind Brin.

    Brin turned, and saw [Weaver] Tawna standing in the middle of the street. She had a long gown, low cut, and there was no trace of scarring on her shoulders, at least not from the front. He had little doubt that she¡¯d used Calisto¡¯s ointments to heal the ones on the back, too.

    ¡°Ugh. Can we not? Things were going so well between us,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I agree. Theck of contact between us was quite agreeable. But we must speak,¡± said Tawna.

    She nodded to the [Bard]. ¡°Jeffrey. Good day.¡±

    Several people on the street blinked, as if now seeing Jeffrey for the first time. He removed his cap and bowed. ¡°Good day.¡± Then he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Brin to face the viper alone.

    Marksi darted from the doors of the public house and climbed up Brin¡¯s back to settle on his shoulder. He fixed Tawna with a warning re. So, not alone after all.

    ¡°I promised you that I would consult with you before interfering in your fate again. I have information for you,¡± she said. She looked at the gawkers, and they immediately turned to find something else to do. Soon, they were alone, even though this was normally a pretty busy street.

    ¡°We both know that Oath had more holes than a straw hat,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I will keep it nheless,¡± said Tawna.

    Brin waited.

    Tawna cleared her throat, looking uncharacteristically nervous. ¡°Fate¡­ How to begin¡­ Despite what most people think, fate cares very little about matters of death. Most whoe to me wish to know how to avoid death, but this often isn¡¯t written clearly in the strands of their fate. Fate cares more about how they live. Their rtionships, their aspirations, careers and hobbies, all these can be divined. Nothing is so clearly written in the threads of fate as those twists that involve matters of¡­ of love.¡±

    ¡°Oh no. Stop right there,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I cannot, though I will make it short. I¡¯ve divined that it is your intention to resist all romantic entanglements until your twentieth year. Is that correct?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business is what it is,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Some¡­ some young girl maye to me in the future, asking for the best method to ensnare your heart,¡± said Tawna.

    Brin turned and started walking home. ¡°No. Nope. Don¡¯t. Just don¡¯t!¡±

    Tawna followed behind, speaking forcefully in a low tone. ¡°If she asks, no matter what I do, whether I speak truth or lie or tell her nothing at all, this could be seen as interfering in your fate. I would tell her the truth. That no ns on your heart will seed in the next six years. I need your permission to say this, or risk viting my Oath.¡±

    Brin stopped, making her jump to the side to avoid running into him. He grit his teeth. That <em>did</em> actually sound like something he¡¯d want her to say. If it stopped a single awkward love confession from one of his friends, then wasn¡¯t it worth it?

    ¡°That¡¯s all you want to do? Tell them I¡¯m not interested?¡±

    ¡°That is all.¡±

    He grit his teeth. ¡°Fine. You have my permission to give people advice on my love life. But only when that¡¯s the goal, to let them know it won¡¯t work out.¡±

    ¡°That is agreeable.¡± Tawna bowed her head, then turned and walked away.

    He watched her go. The dress was low-backed, and not a single scar remained. He couldn¡¯t help but feel like she¡¯d won one over on him again, but he couldn¡¯t see how.

    He wasn¡¯t blind. He saw the writing on the wall. This was about Myra; Tawna wouldn¡¯t care about anyone else enough to do this. Having Tawna let her down easy was the kinder option.

    Did he like Myra back? He didn¡¯t let himself think in those terms. Anyone that age was a child, even if his hormones and body told him they were his peers. He¡¯d done the right thing. Besides, Davi liked Myra. The bro-code alone demanded that he step aside.

    As much as he told himself this was a good thing, the anxiety over that conversation followed him all the way home.

    He needed to throw himself into something else. His love life, if he ever had one, was far in the future. He needed to start training for that Zilly¡¯s duel, and the time to start was now.

 Book 2. Chapter 21

    Book 2. Chapter 21

    Brin¡¯s first night training with the sword again didn¡¯t go as well as he¡¯d hoped. His hands were used to holding a spear now. Hogg had only gone over the sword forms with him a couple times, and he was still in bed recovering from his ordeal with Neptune¡¯s cavern. Brin was certain the old guy would get up and practice with him if he asked¨Cif only to show that he could¨Cbut Brin didn¡¯t want to ask. Even Hogg had to have limits.

    Rather than practice incorrectly, he followed Hogg¡¯s example and decided to get to bed on time for once.

    The next day started with the usual workout with Davi. To his relief, Davi was the same as he always was. If he resented Brin for hanging out with Myra yesterday, he didn¡¯t show it. Actually, the big guy was in a great mood when Brin found him outside his family barn.

    ¡°Look at this!¡± Davi held up a disk of metal. It was the size of a dinner te, except a half-inch thick.

    ¡°Whoa. Is that¨C?¡±

    ¡°Weights!¡± said Davi. ¡°I know you said you wanted tomission them, but there¡¯s no reason I can¡¯t talk to Toros, too. He liked the idea so much he gave me a discount. The money came from an advance from H.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to¡­ Here, tell me how much it was and I¡¯ll pay for half.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± said Davi. ¡°These are <em>mine</em>. You can borrow them whenever you like, though.¡±

    Brin walked over to lift one up. There was a stack of about twenty, and they were all the same size. When he picked one up, he was surprised at the weight. It was <em>much</em> heavier than it looked.

    ¡°That one¡¯s a hundred pounds. The lighter colored ones are fifty, and the ck ones are twenty-five,¡± said Davi.

    The weights were different shades of ck and gray, but none of them were any bigger or smaller than the others. If he¡¯d had to guess, he¡¯d call these ten-pound weights on earth. Toros must¡¯ve enchanted them for weight. It would make sense to use less material and enchant it to be heavier, given how expensive metal was around here. Still, he didn¡¯t think Davi should be able to afford something like that, no matter how much H had paid him. Toros must have drastically discounted himself, which wasn¡¯t a surprise. Everyone liked Davi.

    ¡°Have you tried it out yet?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I was waiting for you,¡± said Davi.

    The wooden bench Davi had set up didn¡¯t look sturdy enough to deal with the amount of weight they¡¯d be dealing with, but it [Inspected] as a Bog Standard Bench, which meant that there wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Davi had evenmissioned a rack for the bar,plete with wooden J-hooks just like Brin had described. It still surprised Brin to see wood fill so many ces he¡¯d expect to see steel in his old world, but if there was one thing Hammon¡¯s Bog was good at, it was crafting with wood.

    The thing that surprised Brin the most when he started to be let in on all the town gossip was how little of it had been about him. Even Zilly, Myra, and Davi weren¡¯t the main subjects of gossip. Most of it had centered around two other people from their same System Day: Rodrige the [Carpenter] and Gill the [Woodworker]. Sure, people would be interested in hispetition with Zilly, and Jeffrey might be trying to motivate Davi by trying to force some kind of rivalry with Brin, but those were just side-shows. The main event was the rivalries between the various wood crafting sses.

    ¡°Well, go on,¡± said Brin, and Davi needed no further encouragement.

    Hey on his back on the non-padded wooden bench, but then remembered he hadn¡¯t set any weight on the bar and started to get up again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± said Brin. He started with two-hundred pounds. A fairly standard max for someone who¡¯d been lifting for a couple months in his old world.

    Davi pumped the bar a few times as if it weighed nothing. Brin had been expecting that, but better safe than sorry. He added another hundred pounds, with the same result.

    At four-hundred, Davi started to feel it. At five hundred he strained, but still asked Brin to keep going.

    With five-hundred and fifty pounds of weight, Davi pumped the bar twice, then heaved slowly on the third, barely managing to get it all the way up. He tried once more, but didn¡¯t make it. Brin had to help, and between the two of them they barely managed to get the bar back in ce.

    ¡°That¡¯s insane, Davi. You¡¯re literally a monster.¡±

    ¡°Ooh! Notification. I got a Strength for that.¡±

    ¡°Let me try!¡±

    Brin started at two hundred, and was surprised at how light it felt. Sure, he knew it would be that way, but it still felt unreal. Davi added more weight, and three-hundred pounds barely felt different. At four-hundred pounds, it was considerably harder. He maxed out at four-hundred and fifty. He¡¯d gotten much closer to Davi¡¯s weight than he¡¯d expected.

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Strength +1

    Brin smiled. ¡°Today is going to be a good day.¡±

    After the workout he went over to Ademir¡¯s workshop. The [Crafter] ushered him inside as soon as he reached the door. ¡°Come. Come and see.¡±

    He put on the thick leather gloves, and then opened the door to the cooling kiln, to pull out a crystal-clear ss bottle.

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind that I got started without you,¡± said Ademir. Excitement danced in his eyes, although Brin didn¡¯t really get what he was looking at.

    ¡°That looks a lot like the bottles we made yesterday,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± said Ademir.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°The difference is, I made this onepletely by myself!¡± Ademir announced.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°I get that. It¡¯s nice to know you can do something yourself instead of needing help every step of the way. But you <em>literally</em> taught me how to make ss. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s ttery to say you¡¯re an infinitely better craftsman than I am.¡±

    Ademirughed. ¡°No, no, no. It¡¯s not that. It¡¯s like this: I always knew you would make clear ss, but I thought you¡¯d do it my way, and then use your ss to clear up all the imperfections. But that¡¯s not what we¡¯ve done here. You actually found a recipe for clear ss that anyone could use.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± said Brin. ¡°When we did this yesterday, you were worried that it was just my ss buffing things out.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. And now we¡¯ve proven that wasn¡¯t the case.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°I can see why that¡¯s exciting, although to tell you the truth, I already knew that.¡±

    Ademir put the bottle back in the cooling kiln. ¡°Let me show you something else.¡± He carefully pulled out a square foot sheet of ss, so perfectly clear that when he held it at a t angle it almost seemed to disappear.¡±

    ¡°Wow,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I started this onest night. The process isn¡¯t exactly like you described. Many imperfections clung to the top and I had to split off ayer. I honestly don¡¯t think it would¡¯ve been possible without my ss, but even so, I still did it. This is a better window than I¡¯ve ever made, by far.¡± He put it back in the cooling kiln and shut the door.

    Brin patted him on the back. ¡°Congrattions! That¡¯s a great window. It¡¯s going to sell for a premium.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more than that,¡± said Ademir. ¡°It¡¯s a step forward. I¡¯ve been making ss because that¡¯s what the town needs, but I¡¯d long since given up on ever getting any good at it. No matter how many levels I got in [Crafter], my ss was never going to get any better unless I wasted a Skill on it, assuming I even got offered something like that. I think I¡¯d settled into the idea that I¡¯d peaked. But <em>this</em> doesn¡¯t have anything to do with levels. It¡¯s all about finding new workarounds and methods. Technique! Honestly, that type of thing is what made me want to be a [Crafter] in the first ce. I don¡¯t want to make the same thing every day forever. I want to make something <em>new, </em>and better each day.¡±

    Brin nced over at the non-ss section of the workroom. One of the tables had a surprisingly lifelike doll, only a foot tall, in the process of being painted. It was a wooden man with hinges to make him moveable, like an action figure.

    ¡°Is this going to help you make better dolls?¡± asked Brin.

    Ademir chuckled. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find next year¡¯s toys will have <em>startlingly</em> lifelike ss eyes.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait,¡± said Brin.

    Ademir pped. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get started, shall we?¡± He walked back towards the other kiln, a certain spring in his steps. Ademir looked good. Healthier, and it wasn¡¯t just that his bald patch was starting to grow in and make his ponytail look less ridiculous. It was like a weight had been lifted.

    He used [Inspect] on Ademir, just in case.

    Name Ademir Sa Race Human Age 34 ss Crafter

    He must¡¯ve had [Hide Status] partially activated, because he didn¡¯t show his level and there was nothing about Skills.

    They worked on bottles at first, and Ademir spent a little bit of time after each one, gazing at the ss as if he couldn''t believe that he''d really done it. The fogginess issue must''ve been bothering him more than he let on.

    Next, it was time to make ss panels for windows. Rather than try the tin bath again, Ademir went back to the old method of blowing a ss cylinder and then ttening it.

    "The tin bath method still needs refinement, but not to worry. I''ll work on it. In the meantime, you should learn this method. Your Skills will soon fix the waviness thates up. Why don''t you give it a try?"

    Up until now, Ademir had always done the panels with Brin''s assistance, but he wasn''t exactly nervous. He''d seen Ademir do this a dozen times. He took a big glob of molten ss on the end of his blowpipe, and got to work. Blow, spin, roll, repeat, until he had a huge ss cylinder. Ademir cut the end, letting the bottom open up, and Brin kept spinning. When he thought it was ready, he broke off the end, cut the side, and began ttening it.

    He put a little bit of power into [Shape ss], focusing on the image of the ss going perfectly straight and even like the ss Ademir had just shown him. The magic moved a lot easier than it ever had before; he''d leveled it up a lot yesterday and now it flowed almost as naturally as using his own hands.

    He didn''t use too much, though, just a little push. This was his first try here, and he didn''t want to repay Ademir''s trust by making the same huge ck bubbles that he''d created the first time he''d used [Shape ss].

    Ademir looked quite pleased with Brin''s ss panel, and let him make one more.

    Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 13->14

    "Actually, do you mind if I try something else? I haven''t tried using [Summon ss] since getting all those levels yesterday."

    Ademir rubbed his hands togethers. "Be my guest! I was actually hoping to see this."

    There wasn''t anything to set up, since this would be all magic. Brin stepped over to an empty table in the ss part of the workshop and concentrated. He slipped into [Meditation], clearing his mind of anything except for ss, the pure mental image of what he wanted to create. He pictured a t ss panel, a foot square.

    ">"

    He felt a tug on his magic as a ss bead appeared on the table, popping into existence from thin air. Then more appeared, piling up and pushing the others out of the way until arge handful sat scattered around the surface of the table. His magic felt far from spent. He could do that much five more times, he estimated. A notification appeared.

    Alert! [Summon ss] leveled up! 10->11

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    "No way! I just got a Magic!" said Brin.

    Ademir smiled. "It always goes quickly at first. How much Mana do you have left? I bet you could get one or two more."

    "Magic is impossible to train. Why is it going so fast now?" asked Brin.

    "Because you have magic now," Ademir said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

    "I''ve had magic for a while. Is it because of the Language? If it''s this easy, why doesn''t everyone learn the Language before System Day?"

    "I''m not exactly an expert on the Language, to be honest. It''s more useful to some sses than others, but the main reason is that even if you know the Language you can only use it on the Magic your ss gives you. Even if you learned all the words for fire and ice and wind, you''ll only ever be able to make ss. Also, the Language is much easier to learn when you have something to use it for. It would be like teaching a deaf person to speak. They can learn; it''s totally possible. But if you knew they were going to grow ears in a couple years, it would save everyone some time and trouble to just wait and teach them when they can hear. Maybe a bad example."

    "No, I think I get it," said Brin. "Let me try again."

    He didn''t get why [Summon ss] had created a pile of spheres. They weren''t perfect, they were blobby and misshapen, but all about the same size. He focused on the ss panel he wanted, and tried again. More balls appeared and he cut the magic off a little quicker this time.

    "Why do I only get little balls?" asked Brin.

    "You''re asking the wrong guy. I never had any [Summon] Skills," said Ademir.

    He decided to ask Chamy about that and try something else. He scooted all the little balls into a pile to test [Shape ss]. He didn''t know any words in the Language for this, so he [Meditated] again, focusing on the idea of the ss bonding and all the little balls melting into one big ball. Once he was satisfied, he activated [Shape ss] and pushed.

    The magic caught immediately, and he felt the drain on his Mana. The balls melted into each other, exactly like he''d hoped, but the perfectly clear ss darkened a bit and fogged up, leaving him with a very lumpy, misshapen blob.

    He emptied his mind, made an image, and started again. [Shape ss]. The ss cleared up a bit, bing transparent again and the shape evened up until it became a perfect sphere.

    He let the magic drop, and found that he was gasping. He was sweating as if he''d just run a mile, and breathing heavily even though his body wasn''t tired at all. His mana was down to about a quarter of the whole.

    Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 14->15

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    Level up! Level 16 -> 17 +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    You still have 1 free general Skill.

    He found himself grinning ear to ear. The constant stream of levels was a nice bonus, but that was just the icing on the cake. He was doing magic. Real magic! He hadn''t realized how hungry he''d been for this, and now he wanted more. It was like the first piece of bacon for breakfast. Delicious, but just enough to make him wake up to how hungry he was.

    He used [Shape ss] again, but this time, he concentrated on changing the color of the surface of the ball. He knew that his knowledge of ss would help improve his Skills abilities to modify it, and he seemed to remember something that was perfect for this. An encyclopedia that listed off the different elements that changed the color of ss. Sulfur for yellow, nickel for violet...

    His parents were arguing. They never argued, but when they did the rest of the house went still in shock. It was like even the toasters and microwaves and washing machines would bow their heads in silence and wait for the storm to pass. Mark sat huddled over a children''s encyclopedia in his room, trying to block it out.

    "I think there was a thousand other things you could have done today! I''ve been working all morning!" said Mom.

    Dad said something. His voice was quieter when he was angry.

    "You should''ve thought about that before you--"

    <em>This is now. This is now.</em> Brin gasped as he brought his attention back to the present. He held a smooth, shiny ss sphere in his hand. It was a beautiful, glossy green color. Absolutely amazing for a first attempt, but the victory felt hollow.

    "I think I''m done for today," Brin mumbled, and stumbled away back home.

    Hogg was up, sitting in his favorite reclining chair when Brin walked in. He must''ve recognized the look on Brin''s face, because he said, "Again?"

    Brin ignored him and flopped down on his bed. He''d thought he was past this, but if it was still possible for him to be debilitated by a sudden memory, then he needed to adjust his priorities. He needed to work on [Meditation] until he was certain his mind was under hisplete control.

    He [Meditated], but didn''t guide it by anything. He just focused on centering himself, and getting his emotions under control. Once he was sure he could handle it, he examined the memory. As far as he knew, his parents had been happily married. They didn¡¯t argue that often, which is why it was so shocking when they did. It''s just that of all the memories he''d want perfectly preserved, that wasn''t one of them. He watched the scene, and then gave careful attention to the information in little Mark''s book. Then he let it go.

    Alert! [Meditation] leveled up! 18 -> 19

    When he opened his eyes, Davi was in his room, holding his lute.

    He winced and sat up, but taking stock, he really did feel a lot better. These episodes were getting a lot easier to manage. "How long was I out?"

    "It''s pretty early in the afternoon," said Davi. "I''ve only been here for a few minutes."

    "I see," said Brin.

    Davi held up his lute. "I figured we should y. We''ve both been so busy it''s been a while since we just hung out."

    Brin stepped over and grabbed his own lute. Davi started a fairly simple tune, and Brin started to y along. He wasn''t that talented, though, and only managed to hit a few of the important chords. Davi yed it again, and Brin managed to follow along, but it was still awkward.

    "You y the melody and I''ll apany," said Davi.

    Brin did, and started the adventurer''s song. Davi yed the apaniment perfectly. When the song finished, Brin yed another, and for a while they just jammed.

    They yed one song after another. Brin let the music wash over him. He¡¯d missed this. When Gustaff died, the music had died with him. It had been everywhere; in the fields when you worked or in the town square when you just wanted to sit and listen. He missed it.

    "Did Hogg put you up to this?" asked Brin.

    "Yeah," Davi admitted. "But it''s not like I didn''t want to."

    "Thanks, man."

    Davi stopped ying and started fiddling with his lute. He pretended to tune it, although it obviously didn''t need to be tuned. He was trying to look casual.

    He looked at the floor. Then met Brin''s eyes. Then he looked at the floor again. "I''ve been meaning to ask. How long until you get [Illusionist]?"

 Book 2. Chapter 22

    Book 2. Chapter 22

    The problem with life-changing conversations is that he never knew he was in one until it was toote. Brin had made all sorts of ns for the lies he could tell if anyone figured out that he was on track to be an [Illusionist]. He¡¯d settled on the idea that he¡¯d try to get everyone to believe that he was a ss-based [Warrior]. If he could demonstrate a lot ofpetence at hand-to-handbat, especially against a real [Warrior] named Zilly, he¡¯d be able to make the lie stick.

    There was only one problem: He didn¡¯t want to lie to Davi. Lying to everyone and then letting Davi believe it too by omission was one thing. Straight up lying to his face was another.

    He picked up his lute and strummed the first few chords to a Green Day song. A song about loneliness and broken dreams. In the silence left after Gustaff¡¯s death, this song seemed to get stuck in his head more and more.

    The lute was not a guitar. Lutes were brighter and higher pitched, built for piercing through the thrum of a crowded tavern or marketce, but one thing Brin had noticed was that when he yed a lute as if it were a guitar, it really sounded very simr.

    He stopped halfway through and threw the instrument down on his bed.

    Davi had asked his question a while ago now, and it still hung in the air, waiting to be answered.

    ¡°I¡¯m hoping to get [Illusionist] at level twenty. With the level I got this morning, I¡¯m only three away,¡± said Brin. ¡°Is it really that obvious? Does everyone know?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re at level seventeen? How are you shooting up like that?¡± Davi asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got [Memories of ss] and it¡¯s letting me make innovations that should¡¯ve taken years to learn. Plus I fought some undead,¡± said Brin. He used [Inspect] and saw that Davi was at level 13. That was absurdly high, considering Davi didn¡¯t have any of Brin¡¯s advantages. ¡°You¡¯re not doing too bad, either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so¨C¡±

    ¡°Hold up. Now answer my question. The [Illusionist] ss only works in a fight if no one knows you have it. How screwed am I?¡±

    Davi shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Most [ssers] stay [ssers], you know? I only know about it from the stories even though there aren¡¯t a lot of stories about [Illusionists]. They¡¯re kind of like [Bards] in that way. They tell stories, they aren¡¯t in them. But I did read one about a [sser]-turned-[Illusionist] who tried to win the heart of a princess.¡±

    ¡°Oh? And how did the hero do it in that story?¡±

    ¡°The <em>hero</em> impressed the princess by hunting a gigantic boar. The [Illusionist] was the bad guy, but they killed him pretty easily once they figured out what he was.¡±

    ¡°See what I¡¯m working with here?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone,¡± said Davi.

    Brin shook his head. ¡°I know that. But if you can figure it out, why can¡¯t everyone?¡±

    ¡°Everyone doesn''t know you like I do. I think you¡¯re probably fine. Also, people from Hammon¡¯s Bog don¡¯t go anywhere else. If you hide your status when you leave town no one will know you started as a [sser]. So that¡¯s all you need? Just get to level 20?¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°I think I need to put on a magic show.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you have ss magic, right? I have mostly emotion stuff, but I can do things with sound, too,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°No, not real magic. Where Ie from, there are some people who have the hobby of pretending to do magic when really it¡¯s just sleight of hand,¡± said Brin. ¡°I used to practice it a little when¡­ when I was younger, and I¡¯ve got a few things I still know how to do.¡±

    ¡°Hm. I could see why that would lead to [Illusionist]. To earn it, you have to make it look like you already have it,¡± said Davi.

    Davi didn¡¯t look dumb despite the insecurities he carried, and Brin didn¡¯t think he was dumb, but it still took him off-guard when the big guy threw out such an insightfulment like that.

    ¡°I¡¯d never thought of it that way,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Come to dinner tonight. You can do a magic show for the family. I could get you up on stage at the public house, but I think at that point it would be pretty obvious to everyone what ss you¡¯re aiming for.¡±

    Brin thought for a moment. This was prettyst minute. When he said he used to practice it a little, he meant a <em>little</em>. Just one of a multitude of passing hobbies that he¡¯d given up on when it was time to start spending money on it. But he could still do the French Drop like nobody¡¯s business, and the rope trick was pretty simple. This¡­ might actually be possible. ¡°You know what? Yeah, I¡¯ll do it. Maybe this is exactly what I need.¡±

    They jammed a little longer before Davi had to go. As soon as he left, Brin jumped from his bed and started the things he¡¯d need.

    He didn¡¯t have much time to prepare, but he didn¡¯t need much. A lot of the basic magic tricks were just about practicing it enough that you could make it look natural. He was a little out of practice, but he had high enough Dexterity that things like that were never as hard as they should be.

    He had a couple coins for coin tricks, grabbed a few napkins just in case they weren¡¯t at the dinner table and found a couple feet of rope, but really what he needed was a box. It would probably be fine without it, but if he could throw something together in the couple hours before dinner, it would really make his show shine.

    He was rummaging around in the cer when Hogg found him.

    ¡°You uh¡­ you doing ok there, Brin?¡± Hogg leaned against the doorframe, silhouetted against the afternoon sun behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing fine. You¡¯re the one that almost died yesterday. I should be asking you if you¡¯re doing ok.¡± He paused and put down the old jewelry box that he¡¯d been examining. No jewelry, but a pretty nice box. ¡°Actually, hold on. <em>Are</em> you doing ok?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t worry about me. You don¡¯t have to....¡± Hogg sighed. He came down the steps and then walked to the enchanted circle and sat down.

    Out of curiosity, Brin followed him.

    To his surprise, Hogg actually answered his question. ¡°The worst part is waking up in the morning with nothing to do. A fight like that yesterday makes me expect an even bigger one today, but then it doesn¡¯te so I¡¯m jittery and on edge. I¡¯ve been here before, though. A hundred times. It¡¯ll pass.¡±

    He sat still for a moment, and then said, ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°Well, what? I think you¡¯re right. It¡¯ll pass. Maybe if you found a project or something to¨C¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. I talked about my emotions like a damn sissy. Now it¡¯s your turn,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Well?¡±

    Brin smiled. ¡°Fair enough. I really am doing ok, though. I¡¯ve been feeling a lot better. [Meditation] has really helped mepartmentalize the new memories.¡±

    ¡°But then today in Ademir¡¯s shop¡­¡± Hogg said leadingly.

    ¡°How do you still know everything that happens? It¡¯s not fair. Yeah, I had a pretty strong memory sneak up on me, but it was the first one in a while.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Have you noticed that you tend to bury yourself with work when you get stressed? I¡¯m worried that you¡¯re pulling yourself in too many directions. You have the workouts with Davi, making ss with Ademir, Language with Chamy, practicing the lute in your free time which is non-existent, fixing your brain to handle all those memories, spear practice with me, although now I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ll want to switch back to swords for this week.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But then on top of that now you want to start training your mental resistance. Not to mention that you¡¯re still trying to learn who the other five [Witches] are.¡±

    ¡°Putting it all that way, it does start to sound like a lot.¡±

    ¡°You promised me that after System Day you¡¯d slow down and start living your life. You need to simplify.¡±

    ¡°But all of that stuff needs to get done!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Prioritize. What¡¯s your number one priority?¡±

    ¡°The [Witches]. If we don¡¯t figure that out, everyone dies so none of the rest of it matters,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg shook his head in disgust. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do to help with that. The detective work I¡¯ve been having you do is just a way to capitalize on the situation in order to level up your [Inspect] Skill. But there¡¯s literally zero chance your [Inspect] is going to outlevel mine anytime soon. Your biggest advantage is [Know What¡¯s Real], and that¡¯s not a leveling Skill. I¡¯d put investigating the [Witches] as your lowest priority.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s my highest priority?¡± He thought about it for a second, then answered his own question. ¡°[Meditation]. I can work on integrating my [Memories of ss] and also train my mental resistance at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I was going to say your number one priority is to get your head right, so we¡¯re pretty close to the same page. I also want you to spend some time every day doing something fun. Spend time with your friends.¡±

    ¡°Really? My number one priority isn¡¯t to train as hard as I can so that I¡¯ll survive when this situation inevitably explodes in all of our faces?¡± asked Brin, only half-sarcastically.

    ¡°No. Because it¡¯s not your job to make sure you survive that. It¡¯s mine. And I agree with you, that things are going to get worse for Hammon¡¯s Bog before they get better. That¡¯s why you need to spend these rtively peaceful days in rest and rxation, because we don¡¯t know how long they¡¯llst. Here¡¯s what I have in mind for your new schedule. Mornings with Davi. After that, you¡¯ll alternate days between Ademir and Chamy. You¡¯re already leveling [sser] at a breakneck pace, so that could stand to slow down a bit. Ademir¡¯s been doing a frankly outstanding job with you¨C¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡±

    ¡°--so I¡¯ll tell him he deserves more time on his own projects. He¡¯d spend all day with those creepy dolls of his if he could, you know.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s with that?¡±

    ¡°Not my ce to say,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Ok, hold up. About Ademir. I was going to check this with Calisto, but I¡¯ll just ask you since you¡¯re here. If I were to go to Calisto and ask him if he has a tonic that can fix baldness, what would he say?¡±

    Hogg¡¯s face scrunched up. He looked like he wanted to spit on the floor in disgust, but it was his floor so he didn¡¯t. ¡°He¡¯d say that his hair tonic isn¡¯t very effective, and he hasn¡¯t spent any time improving it since he became an [Alchemist]. He has bigger priorities.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t actually the answer Brin had been expecting. He¡¯d assumed that Ademir had been telling the truth when he said that Calisto hade up with the solution. Sure, the [Witch] ability to transform their bodies was another possibility, but that had been a long shot. Barely worth verifying, although now he was d he had.

    ¡°Uh huh. Ademir¡¯s a [Witch],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Just because his hair is growing back in? You sure? Maybe he just purchased a favor from a [Witch].¡±

    ¡°The fact that you¡¯re not already rubbing my face in my loss means I¡¯m right,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg sighed. ¡°Ademir¡¯s a [Witch].¡±

    ¡°Why do you have me hanging out with so many [Witches]? I thought I should avoid taking their hospitality!¡±

    ¡°What I said was that if you want to beat a [Witch] you need a [Witch] of your own. I hoped that working with Ademir would raise his opinion of you and he¡¯d be more willing to defend you when the time came. Well done on that, by the way; he thinks the world of you.¡±

    ¡°He does?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. That¡¯s three down, but I don¡¯t have any coins on me so you¡¯ll have to wait. Now can we get back to the matter at hand? Your schedule. After your time with either Chamy or Ademir, you can do one hour of [Meditation]. After that, you have the afternoon free. You are not to do any work in that time, do you understand? We¡¯ll train you up with swords for a few hours around dusk.¡±

    Brin leaned back, thinking it over. Was it really ok for him to just¡­ rx?

    ¡°This is all your choice; I¡¯m just making a suggestion. You¡¯re an adult, in both worlds. Although, in our world that¡¯s more of a technicality. We still see new adults as kids.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like that in my world, too.¡±

    ¡°Really? At eighteen?¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°The schedule sounds good to me.¡±

    ¡°Good. So what¡¯s next? Some kind of magic show with Davi¡¯s family?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin. ¡°Actually, can you help me find a box?¡±

    ¡°What kind of box?¡±

    Brin described what he needed, and Hogg seemed to be quite taken with the idea. Before Brin could stop him, he dashed out the door to go talk to some [Woodworker] he knew. He returned a half hourter with the box.

    The box was aplete work of art for something that had been thrown together in a half hour. It had finely carved vines and flowers trimming the edges, and images of stars and moons on the sides to make it look mysterious. The whole thing had a glossy sheen from acquer that was already dry and it didn¡¯t even smell. It was definitely the work of a high-level crafter.

    It had a door on the front and on top, and a wooden t diagonal between the two. That part was supposed to be a mirror.

    ¡°I thought about that,¡± said Hogg. ¡°The words you want are >. You¡¯re going to use [Summon ss] and form a mental image of covering this part with a mirror ze.¡±

    It took Brin a couple tries to get the words right. It was a moreplicated use of thenguage than he¡¯d ever tried before, and another half-hour of his limited prep time went into getting them just right. When he was ready, he practiced on a piece of bark paper first. The mirror came easily, covering the paper with a thin coating of mirrored ss. The ss was so thin he could still bend the paper, almost like it had been spray-painted on, but of course bending it cracked the ss and ruined the mirror.

    Still, hand-mirrors were pretty expensive and he could make them pretty easily, now. It hadn¡¯t even taken much mana, which was a relief, because he¡¯d spent almost all his mana crafting that morning and not much had regenerated.

    He used most of the rest of it coating the diagonal t inside the box. It was magical, literally and figuratively, to watch the mirrored ss appear on the surface of the wood.

    When he was finished, the illusion was perfect. Opening the front door revealed what looked like apletely empty box. He put some coins, a ball, and some napkins inside the box. It was ready.

    ¡°Actually, where¡¯s Marksi?¡± Brin asked. As soon as he did, Marksi slithered into view. The little guy had taken to wandering off, but it must be to practice his stealth skills because he always seemed to be nearby when Brin asked for him.

    ¡°Alright, this is going to be a bitplicated, but I think you can handle it. Do you want to help me put on a show?¡±

    Marksi lit up the scales across his back in a dazzling disy of color. He was onboard.

    A few hourster, it was time for the show. Dinner with the Pimentals went about how it always did, in a roar of cheerful conversation. They ate beef roast and boiled mato. Boiling the mato sapped all the vor out of it, which was definitely a plus.

    The older sisters cleared the tes away, and then Alvir announced. ¡°So. I believe Brin has a show for us. Is that right, Brin?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± said Brin. He narrowed his eyes mysteriously, and made an extra effort to talk with his hands. ¡°Prepare to enter the dangerous and mysterious world¡­ of magic!¡±

    Bruna squealed a high pitched, ¡°Hee!¡± She mped a hand over her mouth, trying and failing to contain a bout ofughter.

    Brin narrowed his eyes. ¡°The world of magic is wondrous¡­¡± He held up a copper coin, showing it to everyone. He carefully put it in his other hand, but did the French Drop and kept it in the first hand. He tapped the empty hand with a table knife a couple times. ¡°... and mysterious!¡± He opened his hand.

    He hadn¡¯t known what to expect, but that little trick floored them. The girls gasped, and little Yon stood up from his chair, eyes wide. Brin reached over and pretended to produce the coin again from Yon¡¯s ear. He flinched in shock, but then when he saw the coin again, he smiled. Brin pressed it into his hands.

    He did a cup trick next. This was the typical shell game that swindlers used, only in Brin¡¯s version, he never actually put the coin in the cups. He wanted a trick that utilized sound, which is why he didn¡¯t use a ball. He pretended to put the coin in the bottom of the cup, but then palmed it right out. Then when he mmed the cup on the table, he used his other hand to p a coin on the underside of the table so that everyone would hear the sound. He even scraped the coin when he moved the cup. He switched the cups around as fast as he could, which was tricky with only one hand. When he asked them to guess, everyone pointed at the same cup, which was the right answer. He lifted it, and it was empty. Then he lifted the other two. Empty as well.

    Everyone cheered, utterly dumbfounded. Even Bruna looked a little impressed, although Alvir started to look a little nervous.

    He sighed in mental relief that this was actually working. Turns out people were the same no matter where you go, even another world. People didn¡¯t fall for magic tricks because they were dumb; it was actually the opposite. Once you¡¯ve seen someone put something from one hand into another, your brain starts to recognize it and make a shortcut. Your brain notices the tension in the hand holding the object move to the other hand and makes an inference, even if you don¡¯t actually see the object in question. Magic tricks don¡¯t rely on the idea that people <em>can¡¯t </em>see what you¡¯re doing, they rely on the fact that they <em>won¡¯t</em>.

    He did the magic rope next. This trick was all about making it look like he was cutting a rope and then magically putting it back together again. The trick was holding the rope in a certain way to make it look like he was cutting the middle when actually he was cutting the ends.

    They were polite about this one, but he could tell they weren¡¯t as impressed as his disappearing coin trick, which was funny because they probably thought that he¡¯d just bought a self-repairing rope from Tawna.

    The trick ended by tying the little piece of the rope around the bigger one while making it look like he was tying the two ends together. When he had one of Davi¡¯s older sisters grab the knot and slide it all the way off the rope, they were suitably impressed again.

    It was time for the grand finale. He walked out to the front room and grabbed the box from the ce he¡¯d left it.

    Their eyes followed the box as it entered the room. They knew it was going to do something special. He felt both Alvir and Bruna¡¯s eyes on his hands; he could practically feel their determination to figure out how he was doing it this time.

    He set the box on the table, and then made a big show about rolling up his sleeves. When he was a kid, he always thought that the magician was hiding everything up his sleeves, and from the look on Davi¡¯s younger brothers¡¯ faces, they¡¯d been thinking the same thing.

    ¡°Now this is a magic box. Completely empty as you can see¡­¡± Brin kept up the magician monologue as he showed them the features of the box. He opened both lids, the one in front and the one on the side, and ¡°proved¡± it was empty by putting both his hands in at the same time. Where they thought they were seeing the fingers of his left hand it was actually the reflection of the right hand. He¡¯d had to spend a few minutes practicing that in front of another mirror to make sure it was believable.

    Then he closed the front lid, dropped some coins from his pocket into the top. He dropped them in the top door, and then opened the front door again. To their eyes, it looked like it was stillpletely empty.

    ¡°Ta da!¡±

    Daviughed in delight with his younger brothers. His sisters smiled, a tad nervously perhaps, while Alvir made no effort to hide a perplexed frown. Bruna smiled, though she was looking at the delight on her boys¡¯ faces.

    Brin closed the front door again, and then started pulling things out. He pulled the same coins out again, then reiterated that his sleeves were still pulled up, and started to take out everything else. A ball. A handkerchief, and then another and another. Even more coins.

    The rest of the family grew more and more excited, but Alvir¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°A bag of holding. It¡¯s got to be. That¡¯s an expensive¨C¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bag of holding, and I¡¯ll prove it,¡± said Brin. ¡°But first, let¡¯s make sure it¡¯s really a box.¡±

    He closed both doors and then picked the box up, showing them that there were no hiddenpartments or holes. He let the littlest, Yon, knock on the bottom and the back to be sure it was solid wood. Brin opened the top again, narrating how good a job they¡¯d done on the finishing work, but this time the top door was facing them, blocking the view. Marksi took that brief moment to rush up from underneath Brin¡¯s shirt and into the box. He moved so silently that Brin barely saw him, and there was no sound even though Marksi had to lift the mirror to get underneath it.

    He closed the door and then spun it around. ¡°And here¡¯s the proof. This isn¡¯t a bag of holding, because bags of holding can¡¯t hold living things.¡± Actually, he¡¯d never really asked Hogg if that was true, and no one else could afford them. It sounded like it should be true.

    He opened the front door. Marksi leapt out, quick as a bat out of hell. The speed was mostly so that no one would notice Marksi¡¯s reflection inside the box from the mirror, but also because Marksi loved the limelight.

    Yon screamed in rm, but it changed to augh when he noticed it was just Marksi. ¡°I was wondering where he was. Usually hees with you!¡±

    The rest of the family apuded, but Alvir¡¯s expression grew darker. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that to Marksi. That was <em>very</em> dangerous, Brin.¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°A magician never reveals his secrets, but I <em>promise</em> it wasn¡¯t a bag of holding, and it definitely wasn¡¯t dangerous.¡±

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    Alert! New ss option avable: Upgrade to Illusionist will be unlocked at level 20.

    Brin gave himself a silent cheer. Meanwhile, Marksi marched up and down the table, eating up all the excitement, the happy little prima donna.

    Alvir¡¯s frown didn¡¯t change. Well, Brin had already gotten what he needed out of this. Davi¡¯s dad had always been nice to him; there was no reason he couldn¡¯t ease his mind.

    ¡°Alright, alright,e take a look.¡± He held up the box.

    Alvir looked side to side, and Bruna gave him a gentle nudge. ¡°Fine.¡±

    Brin opened the front door and told Alvir to look closely. Alvir leaned in slowly, as if afraid that another Marksi was going to spring out of nowhere at him.

    ¡°Do you see it yet?¡± asked Brin.

    Alvir frowned, squinting his eyes.

    ¡°Put your hand in,¡± said Brin.

    Alvir shot him a cross look, then slowly put a finger into the box. He touched the mirror, and all at once it hit him. His face broke out into a wide grin.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Yon.

    ¡°Come take a look,¡± said Alvir,ughing in relief.

    ¡°See dear? It¡¯s like I told you. People hate to be lied to, but they love to be tricked,¡± said Bruna. An ominous statement, especially since Brin had no idea if Alvir knew she was a [Witch].

    Alvir chuckled. ¡°It just goes to show. Some things aren¡¯t so scary once you start to understand them.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 23

    Book 2. Chapter 23

    Bruna followed him out the door when he left. She might¡¯ve been seeing him out to be polite, or maybe she wanted to talk to him. Brin braced himself for a difficult conversation or a stunning revtion, after all, when a [Witch] wants a private conversation, it couldn¡¯t be anything good.

    ¡°Thanks for doing that,¡± said Bruna. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Yonugh like that in days.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Brin¡¯s brain froze for a second, trying to find a double meaning or hidden threat. There was none. She just wanted to say thank you out of Yon¡¯s earshot. This was ordinary motherly concern. ¡°No problem. Is something wrong with Yon?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. Nothing like that. Davi¡¯s been home lesstely and Yon¡¯s feeling a bit lonely. There¡¯s also the current situation with the town. We don¡¯t discuss it at home, but children are perceptive. They pick up on these things.¡±

    ¡°I could see that. Marksi here is like a sponge. He knows when I¡¯m upset before I do,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°And thank <em>you</em> foring, Marksi! You¡¯re wee here any time.¡± She held out a hand and Marksi leaned into her touch, epting her scratches with enthusiasm. Odd, since he seemed to be really sensitive to [Witches]. Or maybe just when they used their powers? He had never had a problem with Bruna, but he¡¯d felt the evil magic used on Neptune and Gustaff. That might actually be why he always refused to enter the Peck¡¯s home as well. Maybe he could smell the evil magic that had ruined their minds all those years ago.

    Brin said his goodbyes and then made his way back home, and the thought stayed with him. Even if Marksi couldn¡¯t sniff out [Witches], he could still tell when they used their powers, at least in some cases.

    ¡°Hey, Marksi. You know the way you felt with Neptune¡¯s hut? Do you ever feel like that anywhere else?¡±

    Marksi swiveled his head in confusion.

    ¡°How about I show you?¡± Brin turned and walked towards Gustaff¡¯s house since it was closer.

    The house was now a soot-stained hole in the ground. The [Firefighter] had burned itpletely down; not a single wooden beam was still standing. Even so, the taint of [Witch] magic still hung on it, because when they approached it Marksi hissed and pulled on Brin¡¯s shoulder, trying to get him to walk the other way.

    ¡°This ce. It feels bad, right?¡± asked Brin.

    Marksi twitched his tail in the affirmative.

    ¡°Are there any other evil ces like in town?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail side to side for ¡®no¡¯.

    ¡°If there are any other ces like this, we need to know about them. We need to stop them before they hurt the town. Remember how we found this ce and then burned it down? It¡¯s like that.¡±

    Marksi eyed the ashen pit fearfully, considering. He gazed at it for a long moment, but Brin waited patiently. Finally, Marksi¡¯s expression seemed to resolve itself into determination, if such a thing was even possible for a scaly lizard face. He nodded.

    Marksi hopped off Brin¡¯s shoulder and then slither-paddled his way down the street. He still needed to work on walking without rubbing his belly on the ground. Cute little guy.

    Several people on the street called out to Marksi in greeting when he walked by, but he was on a mission and didn¡¯t slow for anything until he was out of sight.

    Well, Hogg had told Brin not to investigate the [Witches] anymore, but he hadn¡¯t said anything about Marksi.

    A woman stood nearby, looking bored until she saw Brin and Marksi and then her face lightened in interest. Shoot. She was going to talk to him, wasn¡¯t she? The people in this town seem to have a sixth sense for when he wasn¡¯t really busy, and had no inhibitions about chatting with anyone at any time. He didn¡¯t know how people got anything done in this town.

    ¡°He¡¯s a clever little fellow, isn¡¯t he?¡± she asked.

    Brin turned behind to the source of the voice. [Inspect] named her Allega Tor, a level 25 [Farmer]. She looked to be in her early twenties, and wore a wide-brimmed hat over a face full of freckles. He¡¯d never spoken to her before, but everyone knew who he was. It was still weird to him after months of near-istion, everyone in town suddenly went out of their way to be nice to him. Weird, and often a waste of time, but wee.

    ¡°He really is,¡± said Brin. ¡°Maybe too smart, actually. I¡¯ve never had a pet before that got smarter as time went on. Honestly, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m doing this right. I know a few other people got snakes from the snake pond, but they all stayed normal. None of them were like Marksi.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Allega fiddled with the ribboning down from her hat as she thought. ¡°I seem to remember hearing that Perris had one when he was younger.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯ve talked to him about it,¡± said Brin. ¡°But Perris¡¯ advice can be a little extreme.¡±

    Allegaughed. ¡°True. Well, let''s see. They aren¡¯t snakes, but Bruna and Alvir have a very intelligent bull named Poco. There¡¯s old Luciana with her bird, and Jeron has a pig as big as a horse, maybe it¡¯s smart, too, I don¡¯t know. Some [Farmers] keep dogs¨CI do¨Cbut none of those are all that bright. Not like Jaime¡¯s dogs, or Odilon¡¯s. And Clementine has a wolf hound.¡±

    Brin had always been bad with names, and now he wished he had something to write with, because he wanted to investigate every single one of these people. He did his best tomit them to memory. Also, thatst name sounded familiar.

    ¡°Wait, Clementine? The name is ringing a bell, but I can¡¯t remember when we¡¯ve met.¡±

    ¡°Clementine Agua¨C¡±

    Brin snapped his fingers. ¡°The [Gatherer]! She¡¯s Luiza¡¯s mom.¡±

    Luiza had mentioned once that her mother had been stuck at level 25 for years since [Gatherer] was so hard to level unless you were willing to travel. It was someone he¡¯d made a mental note to check out. But that didn¡¯t matter unless, hypothetically, he was going to ignore Hogg¡¯s advice and continue his [Witch] hunt. Which he absolutely was.

    Allega had given him a trail. He might as well follow it.

    Allega nodded. ¡°Oh, you know Luiza? We¡¯re friends! Yes, well, Clementine always brings her wolfhound Ferir with her when she goes out, for protection you know. [Gatherer] doesn¡¯t have the Skills for improving animals, though. I think Odilon does it for her.¡±

    Looking at the sun, he still had three hours before it was time to train with Hogg. Actually, whose turn was it to cook dinner? It was his. He had two hours. Plenty of time to go poking around.

    He made small talk with Allega for another couple minutes, and then asked her for directions to Odilon¡¯s house before heading off. "See youter, Allega Tor." He decided to start with Odilon first, because he could confirm whether or not he was actually using his Skills to improve Clementine¡¯s pet.

    It also helped that he¡¯d be able to find Odilon out in the fields instead of at home. The thought of knocking on a stranger''s door just to have a chat filled Brin with extreme anxiety, even if the people in this town wouldn¡¯t find it all that odd.

    Two other people stopped him on his way out of town, both of them sensing that he wasn¡¯t really busy. It bothered him that no one ever actually said what they wanted; they always had to start off with small-talk and then work their way up to it. Sometimes they weren¡¯t working towards anything and small talk <em>was </em>the point. He managed to guide the conversation both times to confirm what Allega had told him. Clementine had a wolf hound named Ferir, but Odilon was the one to talk to.

    When Brin exited the town¡¯s gates and followed Allega¡¯s directions, he found that Odilon had a pasture, not a farm. A field of tall yellow grass spread out all the way to the forest, and it was popted by a herd of more than two hundred sheep.

    The sheep wererger, meaner-looking than the sheep he¡¯d seen on earth. Their curved horns had barbs like thorns and not all of them had two; some had only one growing out the back of their heads, while others had three or four. Other than that, though, they seemed like normal animals, disying none of the intelligence and discipline of the Pimental¡¯s cows. Brin would¡¯ve been forced to assume that Odilon didn¡¯t have any animal-based Skills at all if not for the dogs.

    A herd of dogs, maybe two dozen in number, surrounded the sheep, circling around and making sure none of them got any ideas about wandering off. The biggest one looked like a saggy hound dog the size of a horse sat solemnly between the sheep and the forest. A few small dogs the size of rabbits ran back and forth, yipping happily and ying with Border Collie-looking dogs that were five times their size.

    He saw Odilon, a gray-haired man with a prominent beer belly, sitting on a stool in the middle of the field and smoking a pipe.

    Brin started the trudge over, only to be mobbed by all the dogs. They stayed just out of arms¡¯ reach at first until he extended a fist. When a stocky gray dog with one ear stepped forward Brin let him sniff and got right in to scratching him behind the ear.

    The flood gates opened, and all of them charged forwards, jumping up on him and trying to get his attention and their shares of pats. Brin worked from dog to dog, trying to give them all a bit of attention, but there were too many, and more arrived every second.

    A sharp whistle, and then Odilon yelled, ¡°Leave him alone.¡±

    The dogs scattered, leaving Brin free to walk over unimpeded.

    He used [Inspect] on Odilon as he approached.

    Name Odilon Ribber Age 64 Level 36 ss Sheep Farmer

    Even though his Skills were hidden, Brin had been around enough to have a pretty good understanding of the ss by the name alone. The ss name wasn¡¯t [Shepherd], which would¡¯ve meant giving Skills to act on the sheep directly, but rather [Sheep Farmer], which meant it gave Skills to improve the farm where the sheep lived. It probably helped grow the unnaturally healthy and tall yellow grass in the field, and it definitely did something to the dogs.

    At thest second, he had a brief moment of internal panic. Wasn¡¯t it <em>super weird</em> to just march into the middle of a field and start talking to someone he¡¯d never met before? In this town, it was probably fine, honestly. There was a way about doing this, though. He couldn¡¯t just say what he wanted, he had to make conversation first.

    ¡°Nice bunch of sheep you got here,¡± he said.

    ¡°Bunch of nightmares, you mean. Bane of my existence is what they are,¡± said Odilon. His voice was low and scratchy, kind of like how a guy who sat out in a field all day smoking a pipe would sound. He didn¡¯t wear a hat, either, and his skin was a dark, leathery red. Was cancer a thing here? He thought it probably should be, but he honestly didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°Aw, they can¡¯t be that bad. Some of the little ones are kind of cute,¡± said Brin.

    Odilon spat. ¡°They¡¯re hellspawn.¡±

    Brin realized he¡¯d been going about this the wrong way. Heughed. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ve never in my life been tempted to own a sheep. Filthy animals. I wouldn¡¯t mind a dog, though. Everyone should have a dog, but I¡¯ve got my hands full with Marksi.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t have a dog. They can keep each otherpany when you¡¯re not around. Maybe a nice little Prinnashian Eighter? They get along great with any other kind of animal,¡± said Odilon.

    ¡°How smart are they? I would want something that trains well,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then you want a dummy. Smart dogs are harder to train; they¡¯re more confident in themselves which means they think they don¡¯t need to listen to you. See Lup over there?¡± Odilon indicated the enormous hound dog. ¡°Dumb as a brick, but he¡¯ll stay out there night and day guarding the field. He¡¯d starve to death if I didn¡¯t remind him to eat.¡±

    Brin rubbed his chin. ¡°I wonder how you manage it with intelligent dogs, then. I can¡¯t help but worry I¡¯m doing things wrong with Marksi.

    Odilon nodded sagely. ¡°To be the master of an animal, you need to be the master of yourself. You have to know what you want and you have to know that you¡¯re going to get it. Consistency. Discipline. If your pet knows that you¡¯re wishy-washy and change your mind easily, they¡¯ll walk all over you. I remember when Lup was small, he used to go for my socks. I don¡¯t know what it was, always the socks. Maybe he¡¯d still go for them if he could see them. He can¡¯t hardly fit in the front doors now so I don¡¯t know when thest time he actually saw a sock in the flesh, but his ears still perk up whenever I uce my boots. Why...¡±

    Odilon¡¯s ¡°advice¡± quickly devolved into an endless litany of little stories and vites about his many dogs. It became less clear that he actually knew anything about training dogs, and more clear that he really, really liked them.

    Brin had actually been wondering about that. Did the System actually help you be better at your upation, or did it just hide how crappy you were behind greater and greater power? Ademir hadn¡¯t even thought about experimenting with his recipe for ss; he¡¯d just waited for higher levels to fix the problem for him. How many other upations were like that?

    Even though Odilon¡¯s gabbing took a lot longer than Brin had ounted for, he still got what he needed.

    ¡°...which is why my best Skills go to Lup. [Extreme Growth] won¡¯t make a bad dog better, it¡¯ll just make the bad dog bigger.¡±

    ¡°Could you make Marksi bigger? I¡¯m not asking you to do it, just wondering if you could,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Not unless you¡¯d be willing to leave him with me for a while. I can only do it to my own animals and it takes a lot of time. Most of these kinds of Skills work like that,¡± said Odilon.

    ¡°Oh, that makes sense. I only ask because I heard you did something simr for Clementine,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, yeah, she adopted little Fe from me. Or I guess she calls him Ferir now. I¡¯ll tell you something, though, he must¡¯ve had some monster blood in him or something, because he was just a little guy when she took him in.¡±

    Bingo. He¡¯d found another [Witch]. <em>Probably</em>. It was totally possible that she really did have some kind of monster pup and that her ss was just that low because [Gatherer] was a bad ss. He¡¯d need to see this dog in person, but if it really was human-level intelligence then he¡¯d know he found her out.

    He left Odilon¡¯s farm and made his way over to Luiza¡¯s house. She arrived just as he did, shoulders hunched and eyes on the ground as she walked. She hopped up the front step without seeing him.

    ¡°Luiza!¡± he called out.

    She flinched and paused, hand pausing on the doorknob. He practically saw the mental strain of her deciding between turning around and pretending she didn¡¯t hear anything and retreating inside.

    She turned, and visibly rxed when she saw it was him. ¡°Oh, Brin. What brings you here?¡±

    ¡°I was just on my way home, but then I saw you there so I decided to say ¡®hi¡¯. Hey, is it true that you have a gigantic wolf pet?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s mom¡¯s pet. He really only likes her. I¡¯ve heard some dogs are family dogs and bond with everyone, but I wouldn¡¯t know. Ferir¡¯s not like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. ¡°I guess that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t bring him the other night. It¡¯s weird that I¡¯ve never seen him, though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s probably because he¡¯s sick. He hasn¡¯t left the house since¡­ oh, since before System Day I guess.¡±

    Ferir was sick? How did that make sense? It might be proof that Clementine wasn¡¯t really a [Witch]. [Witches] weren¡¯t known for their generosity and empathy, but they <em>could</em> heal. What [Witch] would ever refuse to heal their own familiar? Unless Ferir wasn¡¯t really sick. Clementine might have seen the writing on the wall and decided to keep her familiar secret and out of the way. Sick or not, you¡¯d have to be a [Witch] to keep a giant wolf hound indoors for weeks on end.

    He might need to sneak in, and not just because he wanted to see this thing. He was pretty sure Clementine was a [Witch], but he wasn¡¯t going to risk Hogg¡¯s bet on it until he was sure. It¡¯s not like there was a deadline.

    He saw a flicker of movement in the window, a brief glimpse of a stern faced woman. He used [Inspect].

    Name Clementine Agua Age 41 ss Gatherer Level 25

    So no help there.

    ¡°Hey, did you get anything cool for hitting level 25?¡± asked Brin.

    She smiled. ¡°I did. I put an upgrade on [Trickshot]. I can use it twelve times before running out of mana now. What about you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, I got a memory Skill that helps with ss. I can do all kinds of stuff now¨C¡±

    A voice called out from inside. ¡°Luiza! What are you doing out there? Come inside!¡±

    Luiza turned and darted through the door without even saying goodbye. Well, Clementine definitely had the personality of a [Witch]. Of the stereotype of [Witches] at least. He¡¯d never forget that Bruna and Ademir had always been nice to him.

    That night, after dinner and after Hogg¡¯s sword training, Brin asked Hogg to join him in the warded cer.

    The instant Hogg entered the circle he sat down and crossed his arms. ¡°I thought we agreed that you¡¯d give up on the [Witch]-hunt. You should spend that time having fun or rxing.¡±

    ¡°I did! Mostly. Listening to Odilon gush about his pets for two hours was <em>very</em> rxing.¡±

    Hogg snorted. ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°Hey, so I had a question. Is it better to use a living animal as a familiar or something else like a suit of armor?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Define ¡®better¡¯, I guess. If all you¡¯re looking for is sheer power, the animal will be better. When a [Witch] animates a suit of armor, say, to be her familiar, a considerable amount of the spell¡¯s power will be making the armor walk and talk and think, so there won¡¯t be much left for making it stronger. An animal can already do that, so the power will make it more intelligent; some will be wasted to ensure its obedience, but there will still be a lot more left over to increase its power. It¡¯s a bit moreplicated than that, but that¡¯s the general idea without going into the nitty-gritty, which to be honest I don¡¯t understand all that well.¡±

    ¡°I see. Then why does a [Great Witch] like Awnadil have stuffed animals as familiars?¡±

    ¡°At her level, the distinction bes less important. But let''s go back to the suit of armor analogy. Let¡¯s say you have <em>the best</em> suit of armor. A high-level [Smith], no, a team of [Master Smiths] put it together, and then had an [Enchanter] put everything he could pack into it, sparing no expense. In that case, the suit of armor would be <em>much</em> more powerful than, say, a housecat.¡±

    ¡°Ok, a housecat, but what if you started with an exotic animal. A dragon?¡±

    Hogg frowned. ¡°That¡¯s not much of an issue. I don¡¯t know the Hidden Guardian personally, but I expect she¡¯d smash any [Witches] t who got within two miles of her pond.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Is that why Bruna likes Marksi so much?¡±

    Hogg shrugged. ¡°Marksi is pretty cute. Where is the little guy?¡±

    ¡°Sneaking around somewhere,¡± said Brin. ¡°I wish he was here, though. I kind of want his help sneaking into the Agua household.¡±

    ¡°I see. Are you thinking of making an usation?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m not quite ready yet. I¡¯d like to see Ferir first,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to work. He doesn¡¯te out any more. He¡¯s sick.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll sneak in. Unless¡­ you don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯m pretty confident that I could sneak into any house in this city with Marksi¡¯s help. But a [Witch¡¯s] house might be too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t see what you¡¯re doing,¡± said Hogg.

    Brinughed. ¡°Come on. Throw me a bone. When I find Ferir, what am I going to see?¡±

    ¡°He really is sick,¡± answered Hogg.

    Brin slumped. ¡°Oh. I guess that means¨C¡±

    Hogg sighed dramatically. ¡°Just make your usation already.¡±

    ¡°Clementine is a [Witch],¡± said Brin.

    Hogg handed over a bag that clinked with gold coins. ¡°She made him sick so he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the house. Once [Witch]-rumors started swirling with Tawna, she decided to preempt any suspicion against her by hiding her familiar. Out of sight, out of mind. He¡¯s a nasty-looking thing, with a personality to match. But it¡¯s not his fault; it¡¯s the way she treats him. Some people really shouldn¡¯t have a dog.¡±

    ¡°There are no bad dogs, just bad owners,¡± Brin agreed.

    After that, Brin was almost too excited to go to bed. Bruna, Balbi, Clementine, Ademir. That was <em>four</em> [Witches] down. Three to go. He wanted to check out Elvira the [Trapper] next, and then maybe run down the list of exotic pet owners that Allega had given him. He¡¯d only agreed that very day to stop looking for the [Witches], and now he felt close to finding them all.

    Marksi darted into his room. Brin expected him to curl up in bed, but instead Marksi made a rising chirp sound.

    ¡°That means you want me toe. Do you want me to follow you?¡± asked Brin.

    Marksi twitched his tail up and down.

    Brin pulled his overcoat back on and followed him outside. Marksi moved fast. Brin walked faster, so Marksi slithered faster. Brin ran, and Marksi moved even faster, until Brin strained at his limit to keep up. The streetlights fouled his darkvision and his foot caught an uneven board on the walkway, so he hopped over into the dirt in the middle of the street and kept running.

    Marksi abruptly veered to the street on his left, and in the darkness of night Brin would¡¯ve missed it if he hadn¡¯t been softly glowing. They ran on, across town.

    Marksi approached the silos. Tall wooden buildings, by far the tallest structures in town, rose into the air. These were for grain and mato, amunal storage area. Usually they sat mostly empty, but he¡¯d noticed the farmers spending more and more time filling them up. They¡¯d spent thest months straining their Skills to the limits to prepare for a possible siege. The fields were all outside of the town walls, but from what Brin could tell, they had enough food stored tost for months. Maybe years.

    Marksi shot over to one silo in particr. This one was shorter than the rest, maybe only three stories tall. The little dragon tapped his tail against the door. Then he shuddered and ran up to Brin¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°This is it? This one feels weird to you?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t answer, but he didn¡¯t need to. Brin could feel the trembling.

    ¡°Hey!¡± said a voice.

    Brin jumped in the air in panic, heart lurching in his chest. He turned, but it was just Zilly.

    He panted, putting a hand to his chest. ¡°Zilly! You almost gave me a heart attack!¡±

    Zilly looked uncharacteristically serious. ¡°What are you doing here? You really shouldn¡¯t go in there.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 24

    Book 2. Chapter 24

    Brin smiled. ¡°Why? What¡¯s in there?¡±.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± said Zilly.

    Internally, his head was spinning. Something to do with [Witches] or possibly the undead was inside that silo. And Zilly knew about it.

    He didn¡¯t want to suspect his friends. No, he didn¡¯t suspect his friends. He didn¡¯t suspect Zilly, even if she¡¯d been kind of annoyingtely. Marksi was clearly agitated about being this close to the silo, but he didn¡¯t seem rmed by Zilly at all.

    That didn¡¯t mean much, though. Marksi didn¡¯t mind [Witches], just some of their workings. Marksi-sense wasn¡¯t foolproof.

    Still, he couldn¡¯t believe that Zilly was up to something really bad. More likely, she was an unwilling dupe in whatever this was. He just needed to find out what she¡¯d gotten herself mixed up in.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± she said, repeating herself. ¡°Really nothing. Go home.¡±

    ¡°No way. You¡¯re just making me want to find out more,¡± said Brin. The silo had wide doors for carts or animals, and a smaller door off to the side. He tried the smaller door. Locked.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Zilly hissed, looking around. ¡°What if a Lantern-man sees you?¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°They carrynterns. You can see theming from a mile away. Keep watch, Marksi.¡±

    Marksi leapt off Brin¡¯s shoulder and crawled up Zilly to perch on top of her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s locked, and the big doors won¡¯t budge either. Just give it up,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s in there and I will,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Tsk.¡±

    There was an iron keyhole, vaguely phosphorescent in a way that suggested enchantment. He grabbed the door by the knob and tried to push it back and forth, side to side. It was tight; he didn¡¯t get a hair¡¯s breadth of budge in any direction.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Zilly.

    ¡°Trying to bump the lock,¡± said Brin, although he¡¯d never in his life sessfully bumped a lock before. He wasn¡¯t actually sure he knewpletely what that would look like.

    ¡°It¡¯s never going to work. You need the key.¡±

    ¡°And who has the key?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Only the Prefit,¡± said Zilly, although he noticed how her hand unconsciously went to the pocket on her waistcoat.

    Brin sighed. ¡°You really can¡¯t tell me what¡¯s in there?¡±

    Zilly rxed, sensing that he was going to drop it. ¡°I can¡¯t. Prefit¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± Brin turned back to the silo, and started to climb. The silo was built with long vertical ts, all bound together by big wooden rings around the outside. The rings were only about an inch thick, but with his Dexterity from [Warbound] and his ss it wasn¡¯t difficult at all. He climbed the three-story-tall building, straight to the top.

    He sat on the top, swinging his legs over the side. Zilly whisper-screamed at him from below, but he ignored her and just sat there, waiting.

    He heard her curse, and then started to make the climb herself. Marksi jumped off her head half-way through to skitter up the side and plop down on Brin¡¯sp.

    Zilly arrived a few secondster. ¡°We <em>really</em> can¡¯t be up here. Let¡¯s climb one of the other silos. They¡¯re taller anyway.¡±

    ¡°Tell me why, and I will,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly growled in irritation.

    Brin leaned forward, looking out at the scenery. It really was a nice view from up here. The sky was clear, the stars were bright in the sky, and his darksight made up for the rest. The silo was just barely taller than all but thergest of the trees in the forest, but it was more than taller than the homes of Hammon¡¯s Bog. He could see clear across the whole town to the walls on the other side. It made the town seem so small, to see it all at once like that.

    He sat, ignoring Zilly¡¯s irritation, just looking out. Finally, he said, ¡°What¡¯s been going on with you, Zilly? We haven¡¯t really talked since System Day.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m <em>fine</em>,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Why does everyone keep asking me that?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say you weren¡¯t fine. I just said we haven¡¯t talked in a while. What¡¯s it like being a [Warrior]?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s awesome,¡± said Zilly, nose scrunched in irritation.

    ¡°Really? It sounds kind of boring, honestly.¡±

    Zilly frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not boring.¡±

    ¡°All you do is train your swordsmanship, right? I train sword forms too, but I also get to do cool stuff with ss in the mornings. Are there any [Warrior] Skills you could use to do stuff other than fight? I can think of things you could use [Iron Body] for.¡±

    ¡°Is that what this is? You¡¯re just trying to sniff out what Skills I have? Ask me after I beat you in the duel.¡±

    [Inspect] didn¡¯t have any new insights in Zilly¡¯s Skill, but it did tell him that she was level 14. She¡¯d gained another level, just in the past few days. Brin wished he knew what insane training program the Prefit had prescribed toe up with this kind of result.

    Brin raised his hands in surrender. ¡°Not trying to pry. Just trying to catch up with a friend. What¡¯s this duel about, anyway? The Prefit came to talk to me about it, by the way.¡±

    Zilly nodded, looking out at the horizon. ¡°I asked him to.¡±

    ¡°What? He told me I should do more than win, that I should really rub your nose in it,¡± said Brin. ¡°You told him to say that?¡±

    ¡°I told him to make sure you took it seriously,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    She didn¡¯t answer right away. Brin stayed silent, waiting. People were ufortable with silence. If you wanted them to say something, you could usually get them talking just by being patient and quiet enough. Still, as a full minute dragged by and then another one, he started to think he might not get an answer this time.

    ¡°Do you think you¡¯re going to win?¡± Zilly finally asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Brin, without a moment¡¯s hesitation.

    ¡°So does Prefit Elmon. There¡¯s no doubt in his mind. When I first floated the idea of a duel, he told me you¡¯d win. He stated it like it was a fact. I shouldn¡¯t bother, because you would win. He was so certain, like it¡¯s already happened,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing against you. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been working hard. I just have advantages you don¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I should be saying to you! <em>I¡¯m</em> the Rare ss. You¡¯re just a Commoner.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not <em>just</em> anything. I got¨C¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± said Zilly. ¡°I meant, like¡­ I think you¡¯re going to win, too. But why, though? Even if you have some Achievements, which I¡¯m sure you do, why don¡¯t I at least have a chance? You can tell me the reasons all day, but that¡¯s not the same as actually experiencing it. If I¡¯m going to lose, then I want to lose. I want to know. I don¡¯t want to have to wonder any more.¡±

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you challenge Davi?¡±

    Zilly counted out on her fingers. ¡°One, because he¡¯d never go for it. Two, because I already know why I would never beat Davi. He¡¯s too strong. The Prefit always says ¡®One pound of muscle is worth ten pounds of skill¡¯ and Davi¡¯s skilled, too. Three, and this is the important one, because Davi would never go for it.¡±

    ¡°I have muscles, too,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Not like Davi.¡±

    He couldn¡¯t argue with that.

    Strangely, this conversation was making him feel even worse about the duel. Zilly wasn¡¯ting at this arrogantly like he¡¯d first assumed. She wasn¡¯t some cocky blowhard that needed to be taken down a peg. She knew she needed a reality check, and weed it if it would make her stronger. Beating her up wasn¡¯t going to be fun. And whatever she thought, she wasn¡¯t going to enjoy it either. Things would be different after this.

    Maybe in his old world, he¡¯d just tell her he didn¡¯t want to do it, and that would be that. In his old world, it was fine to let your friendsnguish in mediocrity, because the difference between good and excellent wasn¡¯t the difference between life and death. You¡¯d never sacrifice your rtionship for something like this, because obviously the rtionship was more important than marginal gains in a career or hobby.

    This world was not as kind. If Zilly ended up dead because Brin didn¡¯t show her what survival required, he¡¯d always regret it.

    Brin scooted over a bit closer to Zilly. He leaned over¡­ and snatched the key from her jacket pocket.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Zilly jumped on him, knocking him over and pinning his arms to the roof. There was a terrifying moment where the sharp angle of the silo roof almost caused both of them to roll off the end, but Zilly managed to stabilize herself.

    ¡°Take it, Marksi! Take it and run!¡±

    Marksi grabbed the key in his mouth, and then ran down the side of the silo as if gravity didn¡¯t exist for him.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Zilly stood and without hesitation, jumped off the side of the silo. Brin peered over the edge just in time to see hernd in a perfect shoulder roll. She tried to hem Marksi in, but he quickly shot off to the side. She chased him.

    Could Brin do that, too? He knew he was stronger and tougher than a human should be, but he¡¯d never tested out his limits with things like this. No time like the present. He jumped off.

    The ground hit harder than he expected. A shock went through his legs and knocked the air out of his lungs, and he immediately pitched onto his face,nding hard.

    He stood shakily, but nothing was broken. He¡¯d need to practice that. He needed to get used to the new rules he was ying by. He was strong, and he¡¯d only get stronger.

    Brin whistled. ¡°Here, Marksi!¡±

    Marksi shot from around the silo, key still in his mouth. Zilly was behind him, but Marksi was much faster and had bought a bit of time. He curled up Brin¡¯s body, cheeping in good humor. Brinughed as a slightly slimy key was deposited into his open palm.

    Brin took the key, and jammed it in the door before Zilly could stop him. It didn¡¯t turn, but the magic inside released the lock with a <em>click</em>.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t!¡± Zilly begged.

    He opened the door.

    The smile fell off his face.

    His eyes struggled to take in all the madness he was seeing, but at the same time, his stomach sank. This definitely wasn¡¯t an innocent little secret. This was [Witch] madness.

    Red light poured through the open door from strange and exotic sigils scrawled on the floor. Brin knew enough of the Language to know that wasn¡¯t it, this was something else, but no less magical. This was the Wyrd. He could feel its wrongness.

    A table sat near the far wall, covered in bottles, diagrams, and strange iron tools. It was disturbingly tidy and organized.

    The floor was otherwise barren except for dark, ck splotches that Brin wished he didn¡¯t immediately recognize as old dried blood. The smell was unforgettable.

    Cages hung from ropes, some of them rocking back and forth. They were made of wood, and some of bone, and looked bizarrely flimsy to contain the monstrous shadowy shapes inside. Some were huge and hulking, some small and lithe, but none were human. He saw shes of scales, patchy fur, bat wings, eyes that reflected the glowing red light from below.

    Brin took a step back, reeling. Marksi hissed and darted away.

    ¡°N¨CNo! It wasn¡¯t like that. That¡¯s not¨C that¡¯s not what was in there,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin felt his voice going cold. ¡°What exactly isn¡¯t supposed to be in there?¡±

    ¡°Those symbols. They aren¡¯t visible in the daylight.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your problem with this picture? It¡¯s not the demented [Witch] monsterboratory?¡±

    ¡°[Farmers]... he said¨C¡±

    ¡°Who? Who did this?¡± Brin demanded.

    Before Zilly could answer, a loud cracking sound came from higher in the silo, and splinters of wood rained down onto the ground. One of the cages had broken.

    Zilly shoulder-checked him to the ground just as something huge wriggled through the door.

    Sword out, Zilly gave it a flurry of furious shes while backing away. Her sword rang against a wide crab shell she was hitting stone.

    It struck back at Zilly with two crab pincers the size of ale kegs. The back half of its body, a giant snake tail, curled and then propelled it forward

    She dodged nimbly and cut back where she could, but the monstrosity was fast enough to keep her from getting a good hit in.

    She did better than she should¡¯ve, though. Her sword seemed to have a supernatural bent to it. It pushed the air around it, and when she struck the monster''s pincers, there was a noticeable weight that pushed them back.

    Brin needed to help, but he didn¡¯t have a weapon, just his ss knife. He looked around, and found a spear sticking out of the ground nearby. That hadn¡¯t been there before.

    He wasn¡¯t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He picked it up, and felt a familiar pull from the spearhead. It was made of ss. Definitely not a coincidence then; someone had left it for him.

    He charged forward. Nothing fancy, just the ordinary spearman¡¯s thrust, focusing on using his entire body to put as much power into the strike as possible. He¡¯d only get one shot at this while the monster¡¯s full attention was on Zilly.

    He stabbed and buried the spear deep.

    The expected shriek of pain didn¡¯te; crabs didn¡¯t yell. It silently turned its attention to Brin. He was already moving back, but still caught the whipping tail straight on the chest.

    It mmed him back. He tumbled end over end until finally came to a stop. He rose shakily to his feet, trying to breathe, panicking when his injured chest wouldn¡¯t take in air.

    The monster darted towards him, but then dodged to the side at thest second to avoid a sh from Zilly. It snapped at her with its ws, revealing that she¡¯d overextended. She barely managed to block two stabs, but the second knocked her off-bnce.

    Marksi leapt from behind her,nding on the crab-snake¡¯s head, shing his colors in a dizzying kaleidoscope. The monster hesitated long enough for Zilly to recover her bnce, but then when it realized Marksi wasn¡¯t actually hurting it, ignored him and charged Zilly again.

    She rolled out of the way and delivered another furious series of strikes against the beast, hitting the joints of the monster''s arm.

    Brin¡¯s spear was still inside the beast, and it was bleeding freely. He¡¯d injured it. He might¡¯ve already killed it, but it didn¡¯t know that yet. There would be some time before it bled out.

    He dashed forward, then stopped as the snake tail swiped through the area where he would¡¯ve entered. ¡°Get its attention, Marksi!¡±

    Marksi bit the creature¡¯s eye, a little ck ball peering out from under the shell. The monster didn¡¯t like that. It pped its pincer at its face, missing Marksi but cracking its own shell.

    Brin dashed forward, grabbed the spear, and pushed it in deeper, twisting it and trying to swirl it around and hit all the soft fleshy things inside.

    The monster bucked him off and pped his defensive arms with his tail in the air. He saw stars when he hit the ground and lost all his breath again, but when he climbed to his feet, the beast was already slowing.

    Zilly charged in, moving around the crab-snake¡¯sst awkward swings like they didn¡¯t matter at all. She stabbed, and again her sword seemed to have a <em>weight</em> to it. The sword hissed as it entered into the crab¡¯s injured eye socket. She buried it to the hilt, then pulled it out.

    The crab tried onest slow and painful stab at her. She caught it, and pushed it away. The monster copsed.

    Alert! You have defeated: Chimera [7] Experience will be split between members of your party.

    Level up! Level 17 -> 18 +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes. You still have 1 free general Skill.

    He saw that Zilly got a level as well.

    They didn¡¯t speak for a moment. Brin stood, gasping, checking for broken bones, and mentally reying the fight in his mind. Zilly had really held her own. This was the power of a Dexterity-based [Warrior], he realized. Nobody was strong enough to overpower beasts ten times their size, even if they were higher level. The strongest man on earth was a weaklingpared to the average silverback gori.

    Should he change his approach? Most of his hardest fights would be against enemies that were a lot stronger than him. Since he already knew that was the case, maybe it would be smart to follow Zilly¡¯s example and focus on speed and skill. That was also what Hogg had done. He¡¯d built up a pretty good amount of free points, and he¡¯d been leaning towards Magic, but maybe he should put them in Dexterity. The best argument was that Zilly hade out of that unscathed, while Brin had gotten hit <em>twice</em>.

    Granted, neither tail-p had even torn his clothes.

    They stood side-by-side, looking down at the in monster. The fight had been mostly silent, and now he realized how grateful he was that that was the case. He didn¡¯t want anyone here to see him with a big dead monster.

    No. Wait. He actually hadn¡¯t done anything wrong this time. It was Zilly who had some exining to do.

    ¡°What in Solia¡¯s name was that, Zilly?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Best not answer that here,¡± said Hogg from behind them.

    Zilly literally jumped like a startled cat, but Brin had been halfway expecting that. The spear hade from <em>somewhere</em>.

    The shadows congealed on the ground, and then hands of darkness grabbed the chimera, dragging it back inside the silo. They locked the door, and then deposited the key into Hogg¡¯s hand before shifting back into oblivion.

    Hogg was getting <em>really </em>good at using [Hard Light] to mimic shadow powers. That had looked downright diabolical.

    He wasn¡¯t done hamming it up, either. His features were hard like a ck granite countertop when he spoke. ¡°Why don¡¯t you twoe with me? It¡¯s time we had a chat.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 25

    Book 2. Chapter 25

    They walked in ominous silence. Brin and Zilly were side by side, following Hogg whose ck-d form seemed to be the living embodiment of night. He couldn''t quite figure out how Hogg was doing it, or even what he was doing. [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯tin about anything. There was no visible illusion or effect of the light, but at the same time Hogg just felt more menacing than he usually did. More solid. More dangerous.

    He tried to give Zilly an encouraging smile, but she barely even nced at him. Her face was pale and sunken. The expression of someone marching to her death. Marksi sensed her worry and crawled up into her arms. She stroked him gratefully but didn''t look any less terrified.

    At the door leading down into the cer, Zilly paused and took a deep breath. She swallowed, then went inside. Brin followed her.

    She froze at the sight of the ring on the floor. To him, it was pretty clear that this was the work of an [Enchantress] while the sigils on the floor of that silo had been the work of a [Witch], but he wasn''t sure if Zilly would be able to distinguish them. A [Warrior] wouldn''t have any reason to learn the Language that he knew of.

    Hogg was already waiting at one of the chairs inside the circle. He indicated the other chairs with a nod of his head.

    "Why? What''s the circle?" Zilly asked shakily, but of course Hogg couldn''t hear her from inside the circle.

    Brin pped a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched. "It''s a ward against prying ears."

    "Why would you need something like that in Hammon''s Bog?" asked Zilly.

    "We''ll tell you. Inside the circle."

    Zilly turned to leave, but the door was gone, reced with a wall of solid ckness. "This... this is... It all makes sense!" She pointed an using finger. "Hogg is the [Witch]!"

    Brin stopped. He blinked. Marksi frowned and pped Zilly''s arm with his tail, then jumped out of her arms and crawled away. Brin burst outughing.

    "It all makes sense! All the [Witch] stuff started happening when you and him got back to town. And then you got an evil ss. I bet you still have it! And why does he call himself a [Warrior] even though everyone knows he''s a [Rogue]? Because he''s not a [Rogue]! If he called himself a [Rogue] people with lie detection Skills would figure it out, so he hides a lie behind another lie. It''s all making sense now!"

    Brin couldn''t stopughing. He felt the heat of Hogg''s gaze. No doubt he was trying to maintain the dark and gloomy mood he''d been trying to cultivate and Brin''sughter was ruining it, but he just couldn''t stop. The worst part was that she really was making a pretty good guess based on the information she had.

    Zilly had her back turned to the circle, so Hogg wouldn''t have been able to read her lips to see what she''d just said. He must think Brin was just being obtuse.

    "Come on," he gasped and pulled her into the circle. She moved without any struggle; hisughter seemed to take the wind out of her sails.

    Hogg red at him until he stoppedughing. He cleared his throat and waited, but Hogg kept ring at him in silence for a full thirty seconds after that, no doubt trying to regain some of the ominous dread from before.

    "The two of you are in big trouble," said Hogg.

    Zilly''s face went pale again.

    "Both of us? What did I do?" asked Brin.

    "You deliberately disobeyed me. I ordered you to stop your little one-man [Witch]-hunt. You didn''t even wait a full day beforepletely ignoring my directions!" That was partially true, but Hogg would never phrase it that way if it was just him and Brin. He was doing it like this for Zilly''s sake.

    "Not just that," Hogg continued. "You broke in and entered private property. Again! I thought you''d left that little habit behind. More fool me."

    "What? He''s been breaking into ces?" Zilly asked.

    "Hey! I just wanted to peek inside. It''s not like I stole something this time," said Brin.

    "This time?" Zilly asked, looking at Brin with wide eyes.

    "Don''t think I forgot about you, littledy," said Hogg. "You did steal something."

    "No, I di--"

    "There were only two keys made to that silo. I still have mine, which means you stole that one from the Prefit."

    "Then you knew about it. I was right. You''re the [Witch]," said Zilly. He could tell from her pale face that she was still terrified, but she put up an admirably brave front. Brin was impressed. It took a lot of guts to say something like that to someone you were pretty sure was going to kill you.

    Hogg gave something like a half-snort half-hup. He started to smile, then hid it with a hand, but it was toote. The facade was cracked. He chuckled openly and said to Brin, "From the information she has, that''s not a bad guess."

    "Right? That''s what I said!"

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°Zilly, let me ask you something. If you thought that I was an evil [Witch], why did you think it would be a good idea to use me to my face, while we were alone and no one else knew where you were?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡±

    Hogg rubbed his eyes. "All right. You both need to hear this now, so here''s the story. There are several [Witches] in Hammon''s Bog. I''ve known they were there for years, but I leave them alone as long as they don''t kill anyone or start any gues or the like. As far as I knew, I was the only one who was aware of them at that point. After the events on System Day, I knew I needed to readjust that position. Before I could act, the Council of Elders started to discuss the possibility that there was a [Witch] here in Hammon''s Bog working for the enemy. It would exin why they were so able to predict my and Brin''s movements that day.

    "The Prefit warned the council to not discuss such things in public. He reminded them that as bad as [Witches] are, [Witch]-hunts are often worse. We closed the meeting and we expected that was the end of it.

    "Only, it wasn''t the end of it. The [Witches] went to the Prefit in secret and revealed themselves to him. They begged for protection. They promised that they were loyal to the town and promised to use their craft against the outside [Witches] threatening us. The Prefit told me, of course. Together we interrogated each of them, one by one. I won''t tell you what methods we employed, but I will say that as far as either of us could determine, none of them were lying. None of them have betrayed the town or otherwise used their powers to harm anyone. You must know that there¡¯s no perfect way to tell if a [Witch] is lying, but I don¡¯t think they were.

    ¡°So we put them to work, in different ways. One of the key things we wanted for the town was levels. You know, for previous years we used to take the new adults out into the forest and have them kill monsters, under strict supervision of course. For [Hunters] this would be a lengthy apprenticeship, but even crafting sses got at least one. This year we couldn¡¯t do that, so we had the [Witches]e up with something else. They started raising those chimeras in captivity.¡±

    Zilly hugged herself, looking cold. It actually was sort of cold in the cer, but it was probably more than that. ¡°The Prefit told me that [Farmers] did it. They used their animal husbandry Skills to grow the monsters like they do their cattle or Odilon¡¯s dogs.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that would be possible or not, to be honest,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But that¡¯s not what happened.¡±

    Brin wondered if Bruna was involved with this, or Clementine, or both. Or maybe someone else was involved. He needed to find out who owned that silo. He also needed to look into H. He was willing to bet that the giant snake-tasting meat he¡¯d eaten in her tavern the other day was actually chimera meat. He just needed to figure out how it got from point A to point B. If H wasn¡¯t a [Witch] then her supplier was.

    ¡°Now,¡± said Hogg. ¡°The one part I don¡¯t understand is why you took that key in the first ce. You weren¡¯t nning on sneaking in there and fighting one on your own, were you?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Then why?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know. I just wanted to,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°That¡¯s not eptable. Why did you want to?¡±

    ¡°I just did!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no one else listening. If someone put you up to this, there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll be able to know if you tell me,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. I took the key on my own,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Have you ever sworn an Oath?¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you know why you stole the key?¡±

    ¡°I do know!¡± Zilly shouted, standing up. ¡°It was just a dumb joke. The Prefit thinks he lost it, he¡¯d start panicking and throwing a fit, then I¡¯d reveal that I had it, and we¡¯d both have augh. That¡¯s all it was. Just a dumb joke.¡±

    Hogg frowned at her. ¡°Fine. You can go.¡±

    She paused in confusion. ¡°Wait. That¡¯s all?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the Prefit about this and we¡¯ll decide what to do next. You give that back to him next time you see him. In the meantime, stay away from that silo, and don¡¯t tell <em>anyone</em> what I just told you.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± said Zilly, already backing out of the circle.

    ¡°Brin, you stay.¡±

    Zilly didn¡¯t waste time finding the door, now unblocked. She gave onest regretful look to Brin, but she was already out of the circle, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to hear anything she said. She left.

    ¡°Thatst part was weird,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t remember why she stole the key. She was lying about the whole ¡®joke¡¯ thing.¡±

    ¡°You think a [Witch] messed with her? Why bother? They¡¯re the ones who set that up. I know you said only you and the Prefit had a key, but I can¡¯t imagine they wouldn¡¯t have ess if they wanted it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°The Prefit and I have the only keys so that we can be sure that one of us witnesses anything they do in there. But you¡¯re right. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s one of our [Witches]. I think it was the spy.¡±

    ¡°So what are we going to do?¡±

    ¡°<em>We</em> are going to do nothing. You¡¯re going to go back to your regr routine and stop worrying about this stuff. I¡¯m going to add Zilly to my ever-growing list of people I keep my eyes on. But when you work on your [Meditation] from now on, I want you to also review your day in your head. Try to check whether or not any of your memories have been messed with.¡±

    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s not going to keep me up all night worrying.¡±

    ¡°I hope not. Your workout with Davi starts in about five hours. That¡¯s what happens when you stay up all night fighting monsters when you were supposed to be asleep.¡±

    Brin sighed. ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s going to be a long day. Oh, and thanks for the spear by the way.¡±

    ¡°I figured as long as you were out there you might as well get some practice in,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That leads me to another question. How do you know so much? You always seem to know what¡¯s going on. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d say that you had your illusion spywork back. But that can¡¯t be true. Can it?¡±

    Hogg shrugged, a twinkle in his eye. ¡°Who knows?¡±

    ¡°Ohe on. Is there any reason for this? Just tell me!¡±

    Hoggughed. ¡°Oh, alright, but only because I want to brag a little.¡±

    Hogg held up his hand and a dull white ball appeared above his open palm. The ball spun, until a green iris turned to look straight at Brin.

    ¡°I call it the <em>visible eye,</em>¡± said Hogg.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] told Brin that it wasn¡¯t a <em>real</em> floating eyeball the size of a baseball. Very helpful, that Skill. He reached up and touched its smooth surface. ¡°You made an eyeball out of hard light. Why?¡±

    ¡°The first thing you need to know is that I¡¯m a genius. This shouldn¡¯t even be possible, but I <em>made</em> it possible.¡±

    ¡°You can see through this thing,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I can see through this thing. I can hear through it, too,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s not as convenient as in [Illusionist¡¯s] invisible eye. I can¡¯t make it invisible. In fact, it has to stay that approximate size and color. I can change the iris, though. There¡¯s also a much more limited range. I can¡¯t get very far outside of town.¡±

    Brin smiled. ¡°Who cares? This is a game changer. You¡¯re back!¡±

    Hogg punched the air. ¡°I¡¯m back, son!¡±

    The next day started just as early as Brin feared it would. He struggled through his workout with Davi, gasping and panting the entire time. Next was Language with Chamy, who had zero patience for his fatigue-addled brain. She pounded the Language into his thick skull mercilessly. The only bright side to that part was the fact that he had a good enough grasp on his ss Skills that he could practice on something real.

    She had him practice what Hogg taught him, and use [Summon ss] to coat a sheet of paper with a thin but evenyer of ss. Only, when she did it, she made sure he understood each word and why they interacted with each other the way they did.

    When they were finally done, his headache was as bad as it had been that first day, but there were benefits.

    Alert! [Summon ss] leveled up! 11->12

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    Actually using the words to channel the magic left them feeling a lot more solid in his mind. He understood them in an almost spiritual way that rote memorization couldn¡¯t match. It was clear why people didn¡¯t care that much about learning the Language before they had a ss. It was much easier to pick it up when you could feel the way it channeled the magic inside of him. It was also much more rewarding to learn thenguage while training his magic stat at the same time. Before System Day, that stat had been nearly impossible to train, but now it seemed like every little thing made it shoot up.

    Magic was still his most favored choice for all the free stats he¡¯d been hoarding, but if it was so easy to train, he might be better off choosing something else. There was a point with diminishing returns as far as training went. Strength was getting harder to train, even for Davi, and he¡¯d never been that good at training Dexterity. Maybe one of those would be a better choice for now. Either way, he¡¯d be better off plucking all the low-hanging fruit while he could and waiting to use the free points until he really needed them.

    After Chamy, he went home and took a nap. Hogg said he was supposed to rx, right? He felt almost guilty that he was taking a few minutes to catch up on some desperately-needed sleep, which just drilled home the fact that Hogg had been right. He¡¯d been overdoing things. In his old life, he¡¯d never hesitate to take a nap for any reason or no reason at all, and he¡¯d been considered a workaholic back then.

    When he woke up, he was feeling much better. His mana had recharged a significant amount, and the headache from Chamy waspletely gone.

    Then it was time for [Meditation]. He didn¡¯t find anything when hebed through his memories looking for interference, but it was still rewarding in another way.

    Alert! [Meditation] leveled up! 19 -> 20

    Hogg had told him to spend an hour a day [Meditating], but the level up made him want to keep going.

    He decided to try what he¡¯d done with Hogg when he¡¯d made his first mirror for the box trick. He summoned a ball of ss, and then used [Meditation] to help himself focus. He cleared his mindpletely, expelling any thoughts except for the feeling of his magic, the sight of the ss in his hand, and what he wanted.

    With [Shape ss], he formed the image of the ss turning thin like a rod. He pushed his magic into ce, but the calm state of [Meditation] gave him a patience he wascking before. He moved his mana in a trickle, letting the ss flow slowly as minutes ticked by. The ss took its time, but slowly, gently, he was able to coax it into exactly the shape he wanted. He put a point on it, next. Then a sharp de. He made it sharper and sharper, until he was sure it was matching the sharpness he¡¯d gotten through knapping.

    He thought about making it harder and stronger, but the magic didn¡¯t take hold. What about flexibility? He focused on making the ss bendy and flexible, and the magic took hold long enough that he started to daydream about ss threads for cutting, or ss gloves as armor.

    That threw him out of his [Meditation] state, and when he picked up the ss and tried it, it bent easily but also shattered to pieces.

    He [Meditated] again, and focused onbining all the pieces back together into one, clear, smooth whole. He didn¡¯t know how long it took. The minutes dripped by and there was no sound except his own breathing, no thought except his purpose, until finally, it was done.

    His next goal was movement. One minute in, he had the ss rolling across the table, and the excitement broke him out of his concentration. He [Meditated] again, and kept going. Slowly, carefully, he raised the ss into the air. This time, he didn¡¯t let himself thrill in victory, but focused on moving it where he wanted. The mana drained gently but steadily, and the piece of ss climbed into the air. Then to the left. Then the right. Brin tried to make it go faster and faster, but he couldn¡¯t get it as fast as throwing it would move it, much less fast enough to use as a weapon. Still, it was a start.

    Onest idea popped into his head. He had a memory, and he let ite. It was one of those old daytime news shows. Apany had offloaded a bunch of defective ss bowls, and customers found that they broke when they took them out of the dishwasher. But rather than just shatter, they¡¯d actually exploded, sending ss flying into the air.

    The news segment actually interviewed a ss maker about how such a thing could happen, and he¡¯d described exactly what defects in the tempered ss could make them react that way. Most of it had been the heat from the washer hitting the cool air, of course, but maybe that could be reced with magic?

    Thepany that sold the ss bowls had offloaded themst-minute as part of going out of business, so the poor customers had no one to sue or even get refunds from, but their loss was Brin¡¯s gain.

    He focused on his piece of ss again, slowly transforming it with the instability in mind. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, the ss shattered violently. One tiny speck even flew far enough to hit his hand. Not strong enough to use as a weapon. But again, it was a start.

    He¡¯d try this again tomorrow, and he¡¯d make sure to bring eye protection.

    He was too thrilled with his progress to keep going, and his mana was nearly drained.

    The System was thrilled with him, too.

    Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 15->18

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement! Meditative (Rare) You have reached level 20 in the Meditation Skill. +10 Mental Control. You may use 1 general Skill point to upgrade Meditation to Directed Meditation.

    The t bonus to Mental Control was cool. It would¡¯ve been nice to get a percentage increase, but he wasn¡¯t about toin. As far as the possible Skill upgrade, he didn¡¯t have to think about it that long. He didn¡¯t have anything else urgent for his Skill points right now, and with the sess he¡¯d just seen, [Directed Meditation] would be incredibly useful.

    Directed Meditation In addition to regr meditation, you may now use Directed Meditation to obtain a state of perfect concentration when performing a single task. You may use mana to increase the effectiveness of the task you are performing. Effects vary.

    The sun was already set. It was past time to go train with Hogg, but it was more than worth it. This Skill would help him with <em>any</em> task, it sounded like. He might even beat Davi for the first time.

 Book 2. Chapter 26

    Book 2. Chapter 26

    Brin did not beat Davi for the first time. Like always, Davi won with overbearing humility. He knocked Brin into the dirt again and again, without ever hitting harder than he absolutely needed to or taking any cheap shots.

    His fighting ability did see a marked improvement, though. Using [Directed Meditation] didn¡¯t make him stronger or faster per se, but it did make him better. In a state of total focus, he read Davi¡¯s movements better. His movements were smoother, more intentional, rather than the panicked swinging and flinching that often came up in the heat of the moment.

    He thought he might¡¯ve scored a few hits if not for Davi¡¯s strength. The Prefit¡¯s ¡°a pound of strength is worth ten pounds of skill¡± was a frustrating fact of life. It didn¡¯t matter how much better he got if Davi could simply bowl straight through every parry with gentle yet overwhelming force.

    Davi held a hand out to help Brin to his feet after a particrly quick foot sweep had knocked the air out of him.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting a lot better,¡± said Davi encouragingly. ¡°You¡¯d already be beating me half the time if you were stronger.¡±

    ¡°You are getting better. Somehow you got a <em>lot</em> better overnight,¡± said Hogg, except he had a sour look on his face like he thought Brin had something to apologize for. He nodded, ¡°Go again.¡±

    Brin picked up his practice sword, and squared off. He waited for Hogg to start the fight, but blocked off everything else, going deep into [Directed Meditation]. The word ¡°go¡± and then the fight. Nothing else existed in the entire world. He waited, single-minded, body primed for action.

    Something hard hit him in the stomach, winding him and knocking him to the ground. He lost all of his concentration, but why? Davi hadn¡¯t moved. He saw Hogg standing over him with a thick quarterstaff in his hands.

    ¡°What was that for?¡±

    Hogg snorted augh. Brin looked at Davi, but rather than being offended on his behalf, the big guy looked confused. ¡°Why did you just stand there?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t sneak up on you or anything. Like this,¡± said Davi. He mimed putting his quarterstaff in the air and taking a few practice half-swings like a golfer would do. Then he swung straight through.

    Brin shook his head. ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t remember. He¡¯s using some kind of concentration Skill. Am I right?¡± said Hogg, who of course knew he was right. His [Inspect] could see <em>everything</em>.

    ¡°[Directed Meditation],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem. Well, it can be pretty good for a training tool, but never use it in a real fight. Combat is all about information, and when you¡¯re that focused on the enemy in front of you that you¡¯ll lose the ability to notice if the situation has changed. And let me tell you something: the situation always changes. Everyone has some kind of trick or trap up their sleeve, and no one wants to fight alone. They¡¯ll always bring in an ally if they can. You need to be thinking. Always thinking.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s try one without the Skill,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Nah,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Keep using it in training. I just wanted to make a point. That Skill is helping you do things the right way. It¡¯s good to make sure to do things the right way when you practice. Your body will remember what it feels like to do things right and you¡¯ll carry that into real life.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you hit me with that stick?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Just making a point. Your body will remember that lesson, too.¡±

    Brin sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Sorry about using a Skill without telling you,¡± he said to Davi.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. But actually? Can I use a Skill? Against Hogg.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely,¡± said Hogg. ¡°We¡¯ve been focusing too much on Brin. What do you need me to do?¡±

    ¡°Just defend against Brin¡¯s attacks. Maybe block them so you can tell if he¡¯s getting stronger,¡± said Davi. He picked up his lute. ¡°And Brin, do you mind¨C¡±

    ¡°I got you.¡±

    Heunched himself at Hogg practice sword in hand, and started wailing on him.

    Hogg blocked each of Brin¡¯s strokes with casual ease. He took a step back or to the side only when he had to to make sure the two of them didn¡¯t collide, but otherwise stood still.

    Brin supposed he could¡¯ve just chopped at Hogg over and over like he was trying to cut down a tree, but that didn¡¯t seem like what Davi needed. He went through the sword forms for variety¡¯s sake. Left, right, up, down, kick, stab¡­ Hogg blocked them all.

    Davi began to y, jumping into a blistering solo right from the beginning. He didn¡¯t recognize the song from anything Davi had yed before. The music was triumphant and upbeat, but it was frankly too exciting to be an epic or a bad. It was hero music, the song that ys in action movies when the main character finally turns the tide.

    He felt the difference immediately. Even though they¡¯d been at this for more than an hour, his exhaustion faded. The aches and pains from a dozen little bruises faded into nothing. His body felt smoother, more liquid.

    He moved through the sword form again. Up, down, left right¡­ only this time he was moving twice as fast as before. No, even faster than that. From the beat of his sword matching the beat of the music, he could tell that he was striking four times for every one he had before.

    He wasn¡¯t going softer, either. The quick, brutal impacts were leaving his hands stinging and the sound of practice swords cracking against it were ying a double-time bass drum to the sound of Davi¡¯s song.

    Hogg deflected a downward swipe and flung Brin¡¯s practice sword out of his hands. Rather than stop the fight, he flew at Hogg with his fists and feet, delivering a flurry of punches and kicks.

    Hogg deflected them all with his off-hand, keeping the practice sword ready.

    Without thinking, Brin jumped backwards in the air. He felt himself go into a back-hand,nding it perfectly, and when he came back up he had his practice sword in his hands.

    <em>Sancta Solia</em>. He¡¯d never done a back hand-spring in either of his two lives, and he¡¯d just pulled it off. Just like that.

    Not wanting to ruin the flow, he jumped into the air, sword back in both hands. The music swelled to crescendo. He brought the sword down in a huge overhand strike.

    Hogg poked him in the stomach and then stepped to the side to avoid Brin¡¯s crash.

    Brin hit awkwardly and rolled across the dirt. The music stopped.

    ¡°Sorry. I know I said I¡¯d just defend, but I couldn¡¯t help it,¡± said Hogg, chuckling. ¡°What in the world was that?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± said Brin. Huge, obvious build-ups were exactly the type of thing that Hogg had been trying to drill <em>out </em>of him. Why did he think it would be a good idea? ¡°It felt like the thing to do. It fit the moment.¡±

    ¡°Yep. Ok, that¡¯s something we need to talk about then. So Davi¡¯s a [Bard] and he can improve you inbat. You were a bit faster, and a bit stronger.¡±

    ¡°It felt like I got a <em>lot</em> faster and a <em>lot</em> stronger,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°How much would you say?¡± Davi asked excitedly. His grip kept going to the neck of the instrument as if it were a club, but then he¡¯d remember himself and hold it as a lute again.

    ¡°Like four times faster at least!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Try twenty percent,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And that¡¯s the rub. A lot of what a [Bard] does is draw out what¡¯s already there. Davi gave you a <em>small</em> boost and then made you feel like the king of the world, like you could do no wrong. There¡¯s power in that, but there¡¯s also drawbacks. It¡¯ll make you want to do things that ¡®fit the moment¡¯ like you said, rather than fighting smart. And another thing. Did you notice that you were timing all your strikes to the beat of the song?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That means that your enemies will know exactly when to expect you. It¡¯s fine against monsters, but if you face human opponents they¡¯ll probably use that against you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°When we try again, see if you can aim for half-beats or skip beats once in a while.¡±

    ¡°Should I try to avoid the rhythm at all?¡±

    ¡°Nah. Then you¡¯d be working against the song. Now, Davi, I have a question for you. What counts as a musical instrument?¡±

    Davi blinked. ¡°Oh. Well, I suppose anything would work.¡±

    ¡°Anything? Try stomping your feet,¡± said Hogg.

    Davi stomped his feet and started singing, ¡°Lo, Atmoot in thend of death¨C¡±

    ¡°No, without the singing. Just the stomping. Activate the Skill through stomping,¡± said Hogg.

    Davi dutifully stomped his foot to the beat. Marksi hopped over and bobbed his head along, probably not really understanding what it was but still wanting to be a part of it.

    Brin felt the magic activate, but much weaker this time. He cautiously made some swipes at Hogg, but didn¡¯t feel much different from normal.

    Davi stopped, gasping, after only twenty stomps. ¡°That <em>really</em> drains my mana. If I keep going, I won¡¯t be able to practice this any more. I think it¡¯s not working very well because it¡¯s not really music. Just a beat.¡±

    ¡°Alright, so we learned that anything will work, but some things are better. Now try singing,¡± said Hogg.

    Davi sang the first song again, the fast-paced war epic, but there was something missing without the instrument. Theck of the exciting music just made it sound like every other epic bad. He felt a lot more power than from the stomps, though.

    ¡°How was that?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°The mana drain was a lot more manageable, but still not as good as when I yed the lute, too,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°The effectiveness is down. Probably half as powerful as before,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Try a different song,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Maybe something silly.¡±

    Davi sang. ¡°<em>In the sea there fared a Seafarer who fared upon the sea,</em>

    <em>And saw a sailor seller, a Sail-seller, who sold a sailor¡¯s sails¡­¡±</em>

    It was a funny tongue-twister song, and didn¡¯t fit the spirit of action and adventure at all. Brin didn¡¯t feel much more from this than he had from the stomps.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°Good. So what did we learn?¡±

    Brin had a good inkling that Hogg had known all this and much, much more. The exercise was clearly to help guide Davi along, so Brin waited for the other boy to answer.

    ¡°I can use almost anything, but the instrument does matter. The quality of the music matters, too, and the type of music. I need a song that matches the mood of the effect I¡¯m going for. The better the music, the more powerful the effect.¡±

    ¡°Good. Ok, so what if you had some kind of, I don¡¯t know, magical music box. The box yed the music, all you had to do was crank up the box and then press a button, and it would y. Could you use that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± said Davi.

    Hogg fished an object out of his overcoat pocket. It was an ornate golden box with a crank on the side. He tossed it to Davi, who caught it, looking a little confused.

    Hogg nodded at him. ¡°Crank it.¡±

    Davi cranked. When he was done, he found a switch on the edge, and the box began to y.

    Brin had gotten the idea that the box was clockwork, and that the sound would be something simple like little tinkling bells. He wasn¡¯t ready for a full choir and orchestra making pulse-pounding music that would¡¯ve fit in as the end boss battle of a Final Fantasy game. It was loud, too, people from the street on the other side of the house must¡¯ve been able to hear it.

    The magic came right away, and it was stronger than ever. Brinunched himself at Hogg, and struck with lightning-quick blows that hit so hard they made his arms ache.

    Davi clicked the music box off. ¡°Wow,¡± he said.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you stop? That was awesome!¡±

    ¡°Mana,¡± said Davi. ¡°Let me think.¡±

    He stood there for a minute, staring at the music box. He scratched his head. Finally, he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would work. I guess it worked because I turned the crank? So technically I was still ying the music. It feels like a cheat, though.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Is that what you think?¡± asked Hogg, with a twinkle in his eye. He was enjoying this way too much. ¡°Brin, get your lute.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Brin.

    He fetched his lute from inside and then came back into the yard. Davi seemed to already know what to do. He started one of the war songs that they both knew, and Brin yed along. Then Davi switched to the backup parts, so Brin switched to ying the melody in order to keep the song going.

    He felt it when the magic activated. The power filled him, but in a different way. The magic was somehowing from both of them now, except not, because Brin¡¯s mana wasn¡¯t draining at all. Apparently [Bards] could use the music they made together with someone else to carry their Skills. Now that he was on this side of it, he understood it in a way he hadn¡¯t before. He felt the intention behind it. Strength, power, speed. This was all about being more powerful. Better. A hero.

    This time, he wasn¡¯t the target of the magic; he was only the conduit. It took most of his concentration to keep ying without making too many mistakes, but part of his mind idly wondered who the target was supposed to be. Davi put down his lute and picked up the quarterstaff.

    Somehow, the magic kept flowing even while Brin was the only one ying.

    Davi stepped forward, then seemed to blur as he burst into action. He spun the quarterstaff like a helicopter de as he ran. He leapt, and his spinning quarterstaff seemed to carry him in the air, making his leap longer than it should¡¯ve been. His first blow against Hogg¡¯s defending wooden sword cracked like thunder.

    Davi stepped forward, battering into Hogg. His thick arms moved in a smooth, controlled way that left the quarterstaff moving as if it were a living thing. The stato cracks of wood against wood were so quick together it sounded like an avnche.

    Hogg blocked every single blow with one arm behind his back, but his eyes were narrowed. There was a look of serious concentration that had been missing in his spar against Brin.

    He fought on, pressing forward. The song had one notable solo in the middle, and Davi used that time tounch into aplicated set of maneuvers that Brin had a hard time following. Hogg countered all of the moves perfectly without losing hisposure in the slightest, until right at the end when he was forced to move his head back slightly to avoid a thrust.

    Davi kept fighting. He didn¡¯t tire or fumble even though Brin could see his arms growing red from the enormous strain. It was Brin that stopped first. He got to the end of the song, and didn¡¯t think of something to rece it in time before the magic faded.

    The fight ended immediately. Davi dropped the quarterstaff and bent down, hands on his knees. Breathing heavily, his face started to go a bit green as if he were about to throw up.

    ¡°Well done,¡± Hogg said once Davi had recovered enough to return to look like he¡¯d be able to hear it.

    ¡°I can use any music, as long as the person making it is on my side,¡± Davi finally gasped out.

    ¡°Correct,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Your magic will affect all allies, and the music of all allies can be used to carry your Skill. You¡¯ll find [Bards] with every army, and not just to entertain the troops between battles. Now, let¡¯s try that again. Pick up your quarterstaff. Brin, start ying.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Davi asked with a look of rm on his face.

    ¡°This is training, isn¡¯t it? We don¡¯t stop training because we¡¯re tired. And I said it before, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯ve been too focused on Brin. It¡¯s time to give you some attention. Pick it up.¡±

    By the time they were done, Davi had gotten a point in Strength and two Vitality. Brin didn¡¯t get any notifications, but he¡¯d never say that the time was wasted. If anything, it just made him vow to spend more time practicing his lute in his free time, if only to be able to help Davi out.

    The next two days went back into a routine, though one much less busy than the previous weeks had been. He alternated between Chamy and Ademir. With Ademir, nothing really had changed. Ademir was still open and friendly, always ready to lend a hand, to teach Brin what he knew, and to jump into any conversations Brin had about things he¡¯d learned from [Memories of ss]. They didn¡¯t talk about how Ademir was a [Witch]. If the [Crafter]-turned-[Witch] knew that Brin knew, he didn¡¯t show it or he didn¡¯t care.

    The one big difference was what Brin saw when he used [Inspect].

    Name Ademir Sa Race Human Age 34 ss Witch Description Ademir loves to create. He reached level 30 in Crafter before advancing to Witch. His familiar is a wooden doll, but not one that you¡¯ve ever seen.

    Alert! [Inspect] leveled up 18 -> 20

    Later, he managed another quick peek into Clementine Agua¡¯s window, and confirmed her as a [Witch] as well.

    Alert! [Inspect] leveled up 20 -> 21

    He also asked around about the silo, and quickly found out that it was owned by the [Butcher], a woman named Bianca Furda. The official story was her silo was specially enchanted to safely store lots of meat, which is why no one else was allowed in there.

    He¡¯d expected a [Farmer], but honestly this was the perfect setup for someone who wanted to discreetly experiment on animals.

    Bianca didn¡¯t just chop the meat; she also ughtered the animals, a chore that many kind-hearted [Farmers] were happy to give to someone else. That meant that no one saw what happened to these chickens and cows after they were given to Bianca and before they showed up in her store as meat.

    Brin was certain she was a [Witch], even before he started asking around about her personality. Everybody thought she was great. She had a cheerful, friendly personality, if a little on the morbid side, but what else would you expect from a [Butcher]? When asked about her family, everyone said that she used to have a husband and son, but they couldn¡¯t tell exactly why she didn¡¯t have a husband and son anymore. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t thought about them in a while. No, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s strange. No, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s weird that they left without telling anyone where they were going. No, I don¡¯t really feel bad for her to be abandoned like that; I don¡¯t think about it at all to be honest.¡±

    On the afternoon of the day he was supposed to fight Zilly, he visited her store, and came away knowing that he waspletely wrong.

    Bianca was <em>not</em> a [Witch]. She was a short, stout woman with an easy smile, a rxed disposition; always quick with augh. She had a big apron that was perfectly white and spotless and gestured with her pristine meat cleaver when she talked. Her store was tidy and organized. Plump steaks and juicy cuts of chicken were disyed in neat little refrigerated boxes. He¡¯d only needed to chat with her for a few minutes to know she wasn¡¯t the [Witch] type.

    She¡¯d given him a sweet-meat, some kind of juicy, delectable glob of meat on a stick covered in honey. Marksi had taken offense to it, but it was delicious. He¡¯d taken a bite and the juice had flowed down his chin.

    Even now, walking away, he was licking the juice off his fingers and¨C <em>It wasn¡¯t real.</em>

    He stopped. He looked at his hands. Covered in juice¡­ no, blood. The taste in his mouth was disgusting. Raw beef, but with a strong note of liver. He spit out the rest, and saw flecks of white organ lining.

    What? But how could that happen? He¡¯d just been in Bianca¡¯s shop and¨C

    <em>IT WASN¡¯T REAL.</em>

    That was his Skill, [Know What¡¯s Real] acting on his memories. He¡¯d gone into the shop, that was real. He¡¯d left, eating meat. That was real. Thest few minutes in Bianca¡¯s shop? <em>They weren¡¯t real</em>.

 Book 2. Chapter 27

    Book 2. Chapter 27

    Despite how hard he racked his brain, he couldn¡¯te up with those missing three minutes. He¡¯d gone in, seen her standing there in her clean white apron¨C <em>That didn¡¯t happen. That wasn¡¯t real</em>.

    He knew the memories were fake, but he still couldn¡¯t dredge up the real one.

    Marksi was chittering at him in rm from his shoulder.

    ¡°Did you go in there with me?¡± Brin asked.

    Marksi twitched his tail in the affirmative.

    ¡°Did you see what I ate?¡±

    Again, Marksi said yes.

    ¡°Did anything else weird happen?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t answer, giving him a t look.

    ¡°Did she hurt you? Or me? Did she do any obvious magic?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail side-to-side for no.

    Even without the memories, Brin could piece together a little bit of what had happened. He¡¯d gone into the store. He¡¯d done or seen something that Bianca didn¡¯t want him to remember. At some point, she¡¯d tricked him into viting her hospitality. How wasn¡¯t important right now; he¡¯d figure that out if he ever got the memory back. He¡¯d left, and she¡¯d used the hold of broken hospitality to cast a hex on him, forcing him to forget what had really happened in there.

    He knew what he should do. He should run straight home, back to Hogg, and tell him everything. He risked one nce back at the store.

    Bianca stood in the doorway, watching him. Her face was grimy and her ¡°pristine¡± white apron was covered in blood, as were her hands.

    He used [Inspect].

    Name Bianca Furda Race Human Age 43 ss Witch Level 36 Description Bianca is a sadist who thrives in her role as the town¡¯s primary ughterer of animals. She reached level 15 in Butcher before advancing to Witch. Expert in mutating animals and creating monsters. Her familiars are undead amalgamations of farm animals. Currently single.

    Alert! [Inspect] leveled up 21 -> 22

    She winked at him.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t make a peep. The reason the Skill wasn¡¯t warning him now, and why it probably hadn¡¯t warned him in the store, is because she wasn¡¯t using an illusion or messing with him yet. As soon as he turned away, she would screw with his memories.

    He focused, activated [Directed Meditation] and then turned away. He felt the push, the foreign memories trying to imnt into his mind. Removing the awful aftertaste of whatever she¡¯d made him eat, making him forget ever seeing her in the doorway. He felt the changese and resisted them. Jeffrey had been right; most of the battle with mental maniption was understanding when you were being manipted. It was easy to stop when you felt iting.

    She screamed. He turned, and saw a white-faced Bianca retreat back into her store. Somehow, she knew that he¡¯d thrown off her hex.

    ¡°N-No! Just wait. Just let me exin. Don¡¯t look at me!¡± Bianca screamed from inside her store.

    Marksi hissed, and tugged at Brin. He stumbled following the direction the lizard wanted him to go. It was probably a good idea to get out of here. He never should¡¯ve turned around.

    Suddenly, Marksi stopped. He jumped up and pushed against Brin¡¯s chest, then his arm. Brin pulled up his shirt sleeve where Marksi had pressed and saw his skin, dark and discolored. A boil started to grow out of it, growing wider andrger, turning charcoal ck. He felt an itchiness on his chest, too.

    Bianca knew he¡¯d figured her out. She¡¯d hexed him.

    He heard crashing from inside her store. Something huge was moving around in there. Her familiar, no doubt.

    That same old question came back into his mind. <em>Fight or flee?</em>

    It was no question at all. She¡¯d hexed him with some kind of disease. He could be dead in minutes. It galled him to not know whether or not killing a [Witch] would remove the hex. He¡¯d never thought to ask. Running away certainly wouldn¡¯t help. The only way forward was straight through Bianca Furda.

    People on the street were starting to notice themotion. A younger woman took a step towards him, concern in her eyes. From the other direction, an older gentleman approached. ¡°Are you alright, son?¡±

    ¡°Stay back!¡± he shouted. Then to Marksi, ¡°Go get Hogg!¡±

    Marksi bolted in a streak of rainbow. The older man looked offended, but didn¡¯t get any closer.

    Brin ran into the store.

    It was nothing like he remembered. Thick bs of meat sat in the open air on dirty wooden tables. Flies buzzed around them, crawling freely over the meat. Where he remembered a tray of sweetmeats he saw a bucket full of fleshy sludge, with maggots crawling freely over the surface.

    The stench hit him like a physical blow, knocking him backwards. He gagged, and seeing Bianca pressed against the far wall, said, ¡°People have been <em>eating</em> this!¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯ve been healing them <em>through</em> the meat. See? Do you see what I¡¯ve done? They get the meat, <em>and</em> they get free healing afterwards!¡± She held up her hands, as if trying to cate a rampaging beast.

    He stepped forward.

    She jolted back, mming against the far wall. ¡°Stay back! We can talk about this!¡±

    ¡°Remove this disease you gave me and we will. We¡¯ll talk!¡± said Brin. The boil on his arm popped, leaving an oozing open sore. He felt more and more boils start to grow beneath his clothes, and one on his face.

    She shivered. Her eyes darted around wildly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell anyone. You won¡¯t tell anyone. You won¡¯t. Good boy. Good boys don¡¯t tell what they¡¯ve seen.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone! I promise! I¡¯ll swear an Oath if I need to. Just undo your hex!¡± He started to feel a bit feverish and hot.

    Her voice started to go a bit sing-song. ¡°Don¡¯t look, don¡¯t tell. Don¡¯te closer! You won¡¯t tell. Don¡¯t tell. Don¡¯t tell.¡±

    She was mad. He needed to put an end to this; he couldn¡¯t wait for her toe to her senses. He drew his ss knife.

    Her eyes suddenly gained focus again, and she gave him a triumphant smirk. ¡°You won¡¯t tell.¡±

    She took a step to the left and the wall behind where she¡¯d been standing exploded. A huge mass of feathers, fur, horns and teeth erupted from behind her.

    Her familiar was an abomination. Brin didn¡¯t have the time to figure out exactly what he was looking at, it¡¯s shape was too unnatural for his mind to process right away. He saw six legs, four mouths, and seven eyes, all from different animals.

    It cocked back and pounced at him, flinging itself high in the air. He sprinted forward and slid underneath it. It flew overhead andnded behind him in a roar of outrage. He heard it crash through the doorway to the sounds of screams from the street.

    He ignored it, got to his feet, and ran towards Bianca. She swung at him with the meat cleaver, but she wasn¡¯t a warrior. He caught her wrist, moved it to the side, and plunged his knife in her chest.

    She gasped. Her eyes went wide. ¡°No, no. Not like that. We cut the meat. The meat doesn¡¯t cut us!¡±

    He pulled the knife out, and the flesh of her chest grew tendrils that reached towards each other and started to pull the wound closed.

    He used [Shape ss] to sharpen his knife, and stabbed her again. She didn¡¯t die right away. She gasped. She weakly brought up her arms to ward him off. He stabbed again.

    ¡°We can talk. We can talk about this,¡± Bianca said. Her hands weakly gripped his wrists, then started to slide away.

    Instinct told him to move. He jumped to the side, right in time to dodge the pounce of the familiar.

    Congrattions! You have defeated: Witch [36]

    Level up! Level 18 -> 19 +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    He grabbed Bianca¡¯s meat cleaver and swung it at the monster, but an oddly-angled cow leg bucked it out of his hands as easily as he¡¯d pulled it out of Bianca¡¯s.

    He turned and ran. The monster shrieked, but battering its way back through the tables of Bianca¡¯s store dyed it just long enough for Brin to get out the shattered doorway.

    The older man and the young woman he¡¯d seen were both on the ground.

    The monster burst through the doorway after him. It shrieked again, deeper, furious. Perhaps it had noticed that its master was dead. It charged. Brin readied his knife, but it was too slippery for some reason. His hands were shaky. He tried to activate [Directed Meditation], but the focus he needed slipped away.

    Hogg stepped out from behind him. One punch, and the abomination was thrown back into the wall of the store. He glided forward, and swiped twice with a ck sword that seemed to be made of living shadows. The sword was unnatural-looking to see in the daylight. It wasn¡¯t real, to be honest, and neither was Hogg.

    The two quick swipes cut the creature in half. He stabbed down one more time, killing it. Then he let the sword disappear and rushed back over to Brin. ¡°You ok, kid?¡±

    ¡°I think¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± said Brin. The fever was gone, but the sores from the hex were still there, although they seemed to have stopped growing. He felt sick. ¡°Shake my hand.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Shake my hand. You know why,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg sped his hand, and it didn¡¯t feel like a hand at all. It was the strange smoothness of hard light. This was Hogg¡¯s mirror image. He¡¯d figured that was the case, but it was good to be sure.

    The mirror image sped him on the shoulder. ¡°Listen, you¡¯re going to be ok. Look at me. You¡¯ll be alright, but I need you to get out of here. I¡¯m going to check on those two.¡±

    Brin waved him away. ¡°Yeah. Fine. I need to¡­ I need¡­¡±

    He looked down, which unfortunately was the direction of dead Bianca. Shey where he¡¯d left here, eyes still open. He¡¯d killed a woman.

    He puked. There was no way to stop it. He heaved up everything. Breakfast, lunch, that weird hunk of meat that Bianca had fed him, and everything else. He kept heaving, empty, trying to hack out his tainted soul.

    He¡¯d killed a person. He¡¯d killed a woman while she cried and begged for mercy. Sure, she¡¯d also been doing everything she could to murder him at the time. Despite telling him that they could talk, she hadn¡¯t stopped trying to kill him for a single instant. He¡¯d had no choice.

    He knew that, but that didn¡¯t stop the physical reaction. His body was sick from the hex, sick from the terror, and sick at the sight ofmitting the ultimate taboo. It was reacting. He couldn¡¯t stop it any more than he could stop his heart from beating.

    There was no more puking to be done. He needed to do something else.

    The people! The monster had hurt people on the street, and Hogg was a mirror image. There was a limit to what he would be able to do.

    There was nothing Brin could do, either. A crowd was already forming, and he couldn¡¯t see what was happening. There was shouting, confusion, and in his current condition, it was hard to take in.

    Hogg pushed his way out of the crowd. ¡°Go home, Brin.¡±

    ¡°I¨C I¡­¡±

    ¡°Brin. You need to understand. The situation here is a little tense. You need to go home. Now. Please.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    His eyes were blurry. It was hard to even tell what direction home was. He was tired. He didn¡¯t even know if he¡¯d make the walk.

    Soon, he felt Marksi¡¯sforting warmthnd on his shoulders. That gave him the strength to start putting one foot in front of another.

    He walked, alone, until he felt an arm around his shoulders. He looked up to see Bruna. ¡°Hogg asked me to see you home. Come on.¡±

    Arm around his shoulders, she guided him along the streets of Hammon¡¯s Bog, suddenly foreign even though he knew them like the back of his hand.

    At one point he stopped walking, so she wrapped him in a hug while he sobbed into her shirt. He didn¡¯t know how much of this was his real reaction, and how much of it was the lingering effects of the hex, and how much of it was his body reeling after a [Witch] hade inches from killing him.

    Bruna patted him on the back until he was ready to walk again. ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. You couldn¡¯t have done anything else.¡±

    He knew that, obviously. But it was one thing to know that with your brain, and it was another thing to understand it with your heart. His brain knew that it was self-defense, that he¡¯d given her more chances than was wise. His heart was sick.

    When they got to his house, she told him toy down, but he didn¡¯t want to get his bed all dirty so hey down on the floor.

    He wanted to fall asleep, but couldn¡¯t. Bianca¡¯s final moments reyed himself over and over in his mind. He tried to meditate, but couldn¡¯t.

    He heard Bruna ttering around in the kitchen. He called out to tell her he wasn¡¯t hungry, but she didn¡¯t listen. Half an hourter, she entered his room with a steaming bowl of chicken soup.

    Chicken, like the meat. Like the meat in Bianca¡¯s shop, the disgusting rotten¡­ but Hogg never sourced his meat through Bianca. He was one of the rare people who always bought directly from the [Farmers]. Now Brin knew why.

    He told Bruna that he wasn¡¯t hungry. He couldn¡¯t see how he would ever be hungry again, not after what he¡¯d seen. Not with the stench that was still clinging to his clothes.

    She ignored him and put the bowl into his hands. It was warm. Hot. Too hot for a normal person to touch, it might¡¯ve burned him without [Heat Resistance]. It didn¡¯t even cross his mind to worry about whether or not he should eat something served to him by a [Witch]. This wasn¡¯t a [Witch] like Bianca. This was Davi¡¯s mom.

    He took a bite. It was scalding hot. He expected it to churn his stomach, to throw it up again. Instead, it was one of the best things he¡¯d ever tasted. It seemed almost profane to be this hungry already after what he¡¯d just been through, but it just tasted so good.

    Did [Witches] have a special Skill for this? Or maybe Bruna was an amazing cook? He didn¡¯t think it was that; her family enjoyedfort food on the nd side of normal. This was probably ordinary chicken soup. He was just hungry. He¡¯d been through something crazy, he¡¯d been forced to do something awful, but he was <em>alive</em>. He wanted to stay alive, and that meant he had to eat.

    ¡°The hex disappeared the moment she died, and I cured what was left of the disease. You¡¯ll want to get something from Calisto to prevent scarring. I know you like your scars, but these will be ugly ones. I would remove them myself, but¡­¡± She shrugged. At first he thought she meant he¡¯d need to pay her or something, but then he realized that she probably thought that he wouldn¡¯t want a [Witch] using her power on him more than was necessary after what he¡¯d just been through.

    Out of pure practicality, he should probably keep the scars. They weren¡¯t deep, but all of them together might give him another percentage point on [Scarred, but Healing]. It wasn¡¯t worth it.

    ¡°If you wouldn''t mind. But leave one.¡± He pointed to the open sore over his heart. ¡°To remember.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no use remembering filth like <em>her</em>,¡± said Bruna. ¡°But if that¡¯s what you want¡­¡±

    She removed the open sores and ck boils with her thumb, as if wiping away a dirty smear. Then she stayed with him until Hogg came back, and by then he was done crying.

    Down in the cer, Brin shivered. He¡¯d bathed and changed his clothes, and his hair was still wet. Normally, his resistance to the elements would¡¯ve been enough even in these cold cers, but right now he seemed to be vulnerable to everything.

    Hogg pped his hands on his knees, smiling. ¡°Well then. I have a few apologies to make. What order do you want them in?¡± By now Brin knew Hogg well enough to know that he only acted this cheerful to hide how intensely ufortable he was.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize for anything,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you.¡±

    ¡°Ok, let''s start more recently, then. Sorry for sending you away like that, and sorry for not walking you home. I¡¯m sure thest person you wanted to see right then was another [Witch],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Bruna is fine.¡±

    ¡°Well, no it¡¯s not, but let me exin. We had a really gross familiar and a busted open doorway showing everyone that many of their recent memories couldn¡¯t be trusted. Those are [Witch] signs and everyone knows it. The first moments after a [Witch] is uncovered are vital, because people start looking around and thinking about what <em>else</em> has been going on. A lot of [Witch]-hunts start just like that. [Witch]-hunts are a disaster in the best of times, but right now, in this situation? A [Witch]-hunt could very well mean the death of every man, woman and child in this town, including you and me.¡±

    Brin shivered. ¡°Makes sense.¡±

    ¡°I had to get on top of it. Thankfully, everyone seems to be seeing reason so far. We uncovered Bianca very quickly, after all.¡±

    ¡°Did we? She¡¯s been in this town for years,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I know. That¡¯s my other apology. I knew Bianca was a [Witch]. I gave her permission to start breeding chimeras in secret,¡± said Hogg. ¡°She was one of the seven ¡®nice¡¯ [Witches], so I guess I owe you a gold for figuring her out. Although, I have to be honest, I really wish you had stopped searching for [Witches] yesterday when I asked you to.¡±

    ¡°Me too. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Eh, don¡¯t apologize. This worked out great for me. I learned that one of the [Witches] I had trusted wasn¡¯t worthy of that trust,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°So you knew about her? Did you know about her husband and son?¡±

    ¡°Her husband and son left the moment they found out she¡¯d switched her ss. They¡¯re both alive, living in Dull¡¯s Bog,st I heard. I verified it myself. You have to understand, Bianca never fooled my [Inspect]. She was low leveled. Twenty-five when all this started, but when she started breeding chimeras, her level shot up. She got strong enough that she started thinking she could get away with things. That, or the power made her mad. That can happen with [Witches], especially ones who aren¡¯t carefully managing their growth. The Wyrd is cruel and unforgiving with those who use it carelessly.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure they¡¯re alive? She could¡¯ve altered your memories,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she was strong enough for that when they left town. I¡¯ll check again when I get the chance, though, just to know for sure.¡±

    ¡°What about the rest of them? Are you sure they haven¡¯t been messing with our memories?¡±

    ¡°On System Day when I upgraded my ss, I stopped being able to make invisible eyes. That left a big blind spot, because whenever I checked on them I had to be physically present which left me vulnerable for them to get their magic on me. Now that I have visible eyes, I can keep them under surveince day and night. Which I will. If they have a problem with that¡­ well, they know where to find me.¡±

    ¡°Was it her? Was she our traitor, or is there someone else out there?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Hell if I know. We¡¯ll have to wait and see what happens from here.¡±

    After their conversation, Brin found himself walking. Sleep wouldn¡¯te. [Meditation] worked in small spurts, but he always found his mind going back to the scene in the [Butcher¡¯s] shop. Tomorrow would be better. He¡¯d get over this; he just needed some time. So he walked.

    He walked from one end of town to the other, then back and forth again. He didn¡¯t have anywhere in particr to go; he just needed some time to process what he¡¯d been through today. He didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone, and for once the good people of Hammon¡¯s Bog gave him a wide berth.

    It wasn¡¯t until he walked right through the town square that he realized what a bad idea that was, because someone was waiting for him there.

    Zilly was there, and she was ready for their duel.

 Book 2. Chapter 28

    Book 2. Chapter 28

    Once when Brin had been Mark, back in high school, he¡¯d been a little more than rude to Rudolph Hansen. Brin had yelled some insults and expected to be paid back in kind. Instead, Rudy turned around and decked him. It was an eye-opening experience for Mark, to getid out on his back with one punch. It wasn¡¯t so much a lesson he could put into words; some lessons aren¡¯t like that. They¡¯re lessons you learn with your soul. But if Brin had to put it into words, he¡¯d say something about humility, and the sudden knowledge that he wasn¡¯t actually invincible or even really all that tough. It was a lesson he wished every young man could learn.

    It was something Zilly needed to learn. He just wished it didn¡¯t have to be him that taught it. He wished it didn¡¯t have to be today.

    Zilly lifted her sword. ¡°Are we doing this or not?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Brin. ¡°Not today. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard what happened¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard. That¡¯s why it has to be today.¡± She said itpletely unapologetically, face firm. ¡°I think it was meant to be this way.¡±

    ¡°Did Tawna put you up to this?¡± Brin practically growled.

    ¡°No. Fate had nothing to do with this. Just luck,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°I killed a person today,¡± Brin said quietly.

    Zilly¡¯s sword lowered just a bit. A real steel sword, though dull. ¡°I know. I know you, Brin. Look me in the eye and tell me you don¡¯t feel like hitting something right now. Tell me you¡¯re not at your best and I¡¯ll call this off. Tell me. Go ahead and tell me!¡±

    The corner of Brin¡¯s mouth twitched, but he resisted the urge to smile. It would have been an angry, joyless smile. A [Scarred One¡¯s] smile. Because she was absolutely right.

    Yes, he had felt guilty, but the walk had helped. About five minutes into his walk, all the guilt had quickly faded and reced by quiet, simmering anger. Anger at [Witches], zombies, the Prefit, Hogg, the town, this miserable world. And now Zilly, for making him do this, even though he absolutely wasn¡¯t safe to be around.

    When he met Zilly¡¯s eyes, her smile grew wider and wider. She was the same. What was she hiding between that sardonic smile and inappropriate sense of humor? He wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to know any more.

    Looking around, more and more people entered the town square, no doubt some of them had run to grab their friends as soon as he¡¯d entered the field. If he didn¡¯t put a stop to this now, half the town would be here to watch.

    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s get this over with,¡± said Brin.

    He picked up the other steel practice sword. He swung it twice, getting a feel for its weight. Heavier than he was used to. He practiced with wood because ss was about the same weight, but of course Zilly would use metal.

    ¡°Ready,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°R¨C¡±

    Brin dashed forward and started swinging. Zilly reacted, blocking his strikes. The first bout was a few quick testing blows, and then he jumped back again.

    He was impressed with himself, honestly. Even in his current mental state, those had been quick, urate, restrained blows. He¡¯d worried that his emotions would force him to fight wildly, but he felt cool control.

    She wasn¡¯t as quick as he¡¯d expected. Speed was a factor of Strength. Dexterity helped reaction time, reflexes, and finesse, but he wasn¡¯t very far behind her in that either. This wouldn¡¯t take long at all. The next sh would end the fight.

    Zilly¡¯s eyes narrowed, guard ready. He hadn¡¯t caught her by surprise the first time. He wouldn¡¯t this time, either. He didn¡¯t need to.

    He dashed forward. He swung twice. She blocked. He saw an opening, but at thest second he changed his aim on a hunch and smacked her hand with the dull de.

    ¡°Ow!¡± said Zilly, and dropped the sword.

    There was no mistaking it. A red welt formed on the back of her hand.

    Brin closed his eyes. ¡°Zilly¡­¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t count! Hand injuries don¡¯t end the duel!¡±

    Brin turned his head to the side, trying to keep her treacherous words from reaching his ears.

    ¡°Zilly. [Iron Body] can¡¯t be turned on and off. If you had chosen that, there¡¯s no way you¡¯d get a welt like that,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly stopped rubbing her hand. She held her sword in the guard position again. Admirable. There was no way her hand didn¡¯t still sting like crazy.

    Brin dropped his practice sword and started to pull on his magic. ¡°That means you didn¡¯t take [Iron Body]. You took [de Mastery].¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    Brin clenched his teeth to hold back a wave of emotion. He grimaced with bare teeth, and when his words came they came out as shouts. ¡°You¡¯re going easy on me! After all this! After everything you did to get me to do this and to make sure I wouldn¡¯t hold back, you¡¯re <em>going easy on me</em>!¡±

    Of course he didn¡¯t actually think she took [de Mastery]. A quick [Inspect] put that theory to bed.

    Name Zilyana (Zilly) Mentirose Race Human Age 14 Level 16 ss Unknown Description Zilly is using Hide Status to pretend to be a Warrior

    It wasn¡¯t that surprising. You needed a very high [Inspect] to get through even a low-leveled [Hide Status]. Even so, he¡¯d gotten what he needed to know.

    She wasn¡¯t a [Warrior], but the underlying issue was still the same. The Prefit wasn¡¯t aplete idiot. He wouldn¡¯t let Zilly pretend to be a [Warrior] unless he knew she was actually strong enough to pass for one.

    She was going easy on him.

    She stepped back, spouting denials, but he was past listening. A final surge of magic into [Summon ss] finished his sword. It was a twisted, wicked-looking thing. It was ckened and burnt in ces from how quickly he¡¯d pulled it together. The de was a series of serrations as if it had been knapped, making it look like ugly and crude, but it was sharp. Sharper than modern scalpels.

    ¡°How could you, Zilly? I thought we were friends?¡±

    That one actually seemed to hurt her. Perfect opening.

    He charged, and swung down with overwhelming strength. She dodged, fear in her eyes, and he pressed the advantage.

    He swung, kicked, stabbed and lunged, chasing her around the practice square. She dodged when she could, and when she was forced to block the power of his swings they sent her stumbling.

    Every sh of their swords cracked his sword, spraying shards of shattered ss. Only a constant stream of mana into [Shape ss] made it hold together at all, and he quickly repaired it in between each swing.

    He battered her around, kept her on the defensive, never giving her time to think. Even so, she managed to block or avoid every single strike. At first it was because Brin was holding back, knowing that if he cut her with this sword it would be bad, but the more time went on the more frustration built. He found himself trying harder, moving quicker, swinging more viciously until he realized he was going all out. She was still keeping away from him.

    ¡°Is that what you came here for? To run away?¡± he snarled.

    She started to respond, and that gave him all the opening he needed. A quick snap of his sword sent her weapon flying out of her hands.

    She backed away, hands up, smiling. ¡°Ok, you got me¡­¡±

    The second he started to lower his de, she dove, grabbed her weapon and neatly rolled to her feet.

    He stomped towards her, and the smile finally slipped from her face. ¡°Fine.¡±

    She grabbed her sword in both hands, and this time there was something different about it. Weight. The swords seemed to be a little more solid this time. A little more real. He recognized this from when she fought the chimera.

    He smiled. He still didn¡¯t know what the Skill was, but at least she was finally using it.

    He charged, and this time, she charged to meet him. The sword seemed to press her down, make her boots sink into the ground just a little more, but at the same time she wasn¡¯t any slower. She swung like a semi truck whose breaks had been cut.

    He swung to meet her and his sword cracked straight through. Still holding the stump of a broken ss sword, Brin¡¯s fist kept moving, to clock Zilly on the chin.

    It was a good blow, a perfect right hook, and he saw the light of realization enter her eyes as they started to roll up a bit. Lessons learned, humility, or was it humiliation? He saw it all across her face.

    She took two unsteady steps backwards. Unlike when Mark had learned this lesson, however, Zilly stayed on her feet.

    Brin snorted and then turned around to fetch his practice sword from the ground. He didn¡¯t know what Skill Zilly was using, but he knew his ss wasn¡¯t at a level that could stand up to it. He¡¯d need good old fashioned metal for this.

    He turned around swinging, barely deflecting Zilly¡¯s stab. She really would¡¯ve stabbed him in the back, her face contorted in rage. The sarcastic, smiling mask was finally off.

    With fury in her eyes she battered him, trying to break him down, and this time it took everything he could muster to deflect her blows. The strange weight in her weapon made each strike feel like he was battling a giant. They shook him with concussive force, leaving his arms vibrating and his ears ringing.

    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m finally meeting the real you. Good! Well done! ¡± he found himself saying. But it wasn¡¯t enough. He activated a Skill.

    [Directed Meditation] came easily this time, and in a state of perfect concentration he started to fight back. His form lost all unnecessary movements, his blows directed his force perfectly. Her weapon Skill had evened things up, but the limiting factor was her. He was still stronger than her.

    Their weapons rang out a hectic beat, almost musical. She snarled and raged, but it didn¡¯t help. He started to push her back.

    All at once, she fled with unnatural speed. She backed up a few steps, but somehow those few steps took her fifteen feet away. She circled him, still moving quicker than could be ounted for, then darted in again towards his back.

    Without [Directed Meditation], he probably wouldn¡¯t have blocked in time. Maybe he¡¯d have been distracted by the crowd, or maybe the setting sun would have gotten in his eyes. As it was, the only things that existed in his world were him and Zilly.

    He deflected her stab, but she was already running again, moving with ridiculous speed. She ran in circles, darting in asionally, then moving back out again before he could counter attack.

    He pushed more mana from [Shape ss] into the shattered pieces of his sword on the ground. He transformed them into caltrops, wicked five-pronged traps that were used to stop horses.

    She attacked, perceiving an opening, but stumbled to the ground when she took one through the sole of her boot. He jumped over to press the advantage, swinging down at her fallen form, but she scrambled away again still supernaturally fast.

    He thought that would be it, but she frowned and started walking forward. She winced on her injured foot, and scanned the ground for more caltrops, but kept walking towards him in careful steps.

    He met her halfway. The first few shes of their swords were fierce and desperate, and for a moment Brin wasn¡¯t sure who¡¯de out ahead. But then she began to weaken. Her next swing was a little slower, as was the one after that.

    He wouldn¡¯t draw it out. Brin stepped into her guard, back-handed the sword out of her hands, and then punched her again.

    This time, he knocked her down t.

    Congrattions! You have defeated: Zilly [16] Reduced experience awarded for non-lethal duel.

    Level up! Level 19 -> 20 +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    Rudolph Hansen was a very unpopr person. He acted out in ss and made himself a general nuisance. Not in a cool ¡°I have friends¡± way, but in an annoying ¡°I wish I had friends¡± way. After he decked Mark, he got suspended for two weeks. Strangely, Mark was thrust into new levels of poprity after getting hit in the face. Three different girls had gone out of their way to thank Mark for getting Rudy suspended. When Rudy returned after two weeks, the teachers had gotten too used to Rudy-less peace and tranquility and weren¡¯t willing to put up with him anymore. He¡¯d quickly been suspended again, and then expelled.

    This taught Mark a whole different lesson. As bad as it was to get punched in the face, being willing to get punched in the face for a righteous cause could actually be a good thing.

    That¡¯s why Brin was certain he knew exactly what was going to happen next.

    He was wrong.

    When he undid [Directed Meditation] and let the world back in, the surrounding people were pping politely. None of them looked overly bothered or rmed by what he¡¯d just done. Most of the eyesnding on him were approving.

    He shook his head, not really believing it. A significant reminder. This was not his world. These people did not live his life. They knew the price of power, and they were happy to see Zilly pay it if it meant saving her life one day.

    ¡°G¨Cgood fight, Zilly,¡± said Brin.

    She was still face-down in the dirt where he¡¯d left her. She turned around to her back, but didn¡¯t even seem to see the hand he reached out to help her up.

    She didn¡¯t respond. She was breathing heavily and didn¡¯t look particrly wounded except for a growing bruise on the cheek near her eye. She¡¯d probably been certain she was going to win, even before using her Skills. It was understandable she¡¯d be in shock. He¡¯d just turned her entire life on its head.

    He used [Inspect].

    Name Zilyana (Zilly) Mentirose Race Human Age 14 Level 16 ss Rogue Description: Zilly is a close friend. She is using Hide Status to pretend to be a Warrior. Skills:

    Perception - Zilly¡¯s non-primary senses are all increased, scaling with Mental Control. These senses include those involving heat, electricity, bnce, and vibration.

    Dash - Zilly¡¯s movement speed increases significantly when entering or retreating frombat. Increase starts at 300%, scales with Dexterity, and can be increased with a heavy mana cost.

    Kick - Zilly can perform a powered kick that disrupts spell-casting and Skill preparation, and dispels ongoing magical effects.

    Overload - Zilly can channel mana into a weapon, making it more powerful.

    The Overload must¡¯ve been the thing she was doing to her sword to make it seem heavier. ¡°Making it more powerful¡± was vague; he¡¯d have to ask Hogg exactly what it did.

    [Dash] must¡¯ve been the Skill she used at the end, when she¡¯d suddenly sped up. The Skill said it improved her speed when entering or leavingbat. She¡¯d gamed the Skill by constantly moving in and out so that it would stay active for longer. It was an impressive strategy.

    [Kick] was a little worrying. He¡¯d had daydreams of morphing ss armor all around his body, but what good was that when any random [Rogue] could take it out with one kick?

    He had a million questions for Zilly, but he couldn¡¯t ask them now. There were too many people around, and he doubted she was in a state to answer them regardless.

    He shrugged and turned to leave.

    Only then did he finally hear a disapproving voice. ¡°Thank you for leaving broken ss all over the ce where my children y.¡±

    It was a woman¡¯s voice, but he was too embarrassed to search the crowd to find who¡¯d spoken. He used [Shape ss] to pull all the bits of ss towards him, where he deposited them all in a jacket pocket. The two big pieces of his broken sword he carried under his arm.

    It wasn¡¯t as cool or dramatic a disy as he wished it could¡¯ve been. He still wasn¡¯t great at levitating ss and could only get the really small pieces. The rest he had to pick up piece by piece, but at least his ss let him sense where they were so he was sure he didn¡¯t leave any behind.

    Zilly ignored him as he worked. She ignored everything, stunned. It was only when he was done picking up all the pieces and started to leave that she said something. ¡°I want a rematch. One week.¡±

    ¡°Fine with me,¡± said Brin. If she couldn¡¯t beat him today, she couldn¡¯t beat him a week from now. In a week, she wouldn¡¯t be fighting amon [sser]. She¡¯d be fighting an [Illusionist].

    Congrattions! You have earned a new Skill. Please select from the following. Upgrade - Summon ss Increased ability to summon ss. Increases ease of summoning different ss varieties. Upgrade - Memories of ss

    Bes -> Memories in ss

    In addition to a perfect recollection of memories involving the knowledge of ss, this Skill allows you to store your memories in ss, to be retrieved and reviewed at your convenience. Stored memories do not need to involve ss. ss Evaluation You gain a greater ability to understand the properties of ss you touch.

    He¡¯d discuss things with Hogg first, but he already had a good idea which one of those he was going to take. That wasn¡¯t the thing that had him so excited, though.

    You have 1 free General Skill avable. Select now? Please prepare for ss selection.

    It wasn¡¯t optional. The System was giving him just enough time to get somewhere to lie down, and no longer. He dashed his way home, threw himself on his bed, and it started before he even hit the mattress.

    ss selection initiated.

 Book 2. Chapter 29

    Book 2. Chapter 29

    Brin opened his eyes to find himself back in Travin¡¯s Bog. There was no roof over his head, just gray, cloudy sky and the walls around him were so cracked and crumbling that it took a moment before he recognized them as the walls to his old apartment. It was like his old home from earth had been transported to Travin¡¯s Bog and then burned down with the rest of the town.

    The sofa was there, and hisputer desk, and all his other furniture, but it looked like a house fire had torn through it, leaving everything ckened.

    The Child entered through the front door, and went straight into the kitchen, kicking pots and pans out of the way that spilled out of the burned-out cupboards. He opened the refrigerator, also ck and melting on the outside, but surprisingly, the light turned on and the insides were totally fine.

    This time he was wearing normal jeans and a t-shirt, but he was all gray. The jeans and t-shirt, but also his skin and hair. He waspletely gray, like an old movie. He grabbed an orange creme soda from the fridge, then gave Brin a questioning nce. Brin nodded, and the Child threw him a drink.

    ¡°Why does it look like this?¡±

    The Child shrugged. ¡°The state of your soul is not the best, frankly.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°Makes sense. But why Travin¡¯s Bog? If it¡¯s somewhere from this world, it should be Hammon¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Travin¡¯s Bog is where it all started. Death, pain, and fear¡­ this ce represents those things in your mind. I have a feeling Travin¡¯s Bog is going to stick with you long after you¡¯ve left Hammon¡¯s Bog behind. Speaking of things you should have already left behind¡­¡±

    The Child curled an eyebrow at the door just as the Scarred One came through. He kicked the door open, which fell off its hinges and shattered into charcoal on the floor. He was shirtless and covered in bloody bandages.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll wait my turn. You finish up with your stuff.¡± He walked over and jumped onto the ckened sofa,ughing in delight when a cloud of ash poofed into the air. The strain must¡¯ve opened some wounds, because his bloody bandages turned a darker shade of red in ces, but he paid it no mind.

    The Child sat on the gamer chair, which still held his weight somehow. ¡°What stuff? Oh, I guess I usually go over Achievements and stuff for you. You don¡¯t have any new Achievements. [Murderer] is an Achievement, and you didn¡¯t earn it. Figured you should know.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I guess we should talk about [Memories in ss]? I assume that¡¯s the one you¡¯re going to take.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin. ¡°ss Evaluation would be useful if I had anything to use it on. The upgrade to [Summon ss] is obviously tempting, but [Memories in ss] is just too useful to pass up, since I can use it to remember what really happened after a [Witch] screws with my memory. Seems almost too perfect for my situation. Honestly, it¡¯s a little suspicious.¡±

    The Scarred One barked inughter.

    The Child spun around on the gamer chair. ¡°Right, that¡¯s not something that most [ssers] will get at level 20. There were some steep requirements for that evolution, but you passed them by getting [Meditation] to 20, spending all that time processing your memories, and using something from a memory to make an improvement to your ss. Most people your age wouldn¡¯t have quite so many memories to work with.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯re going with [Memories in ss], then?¡±

    ¡°Up to you, obviously,¡± said the Child. He put on the headset and stared into the nk, brokenputer screen.

    ¡°I¡¯m up? Well, I don¡¯t have all that much for you. Unless you reconsidered [Corpse Eater],¡± said the Scarred One, lounging on the ckened sofa.

    Brin looked for a ce to sit, and saw that one of the chairs at the dining table was still intact. Had it been there before, or was it there because he was looking for it? He picked up the chair and sat, opening his soda. It was sweet. Sweeter than he remembered, probably because he was in the world without processed sugar now.

    ¡°I have not reconsidered,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t? Do you even want to know if you¡¯ve crossed off one of the requirements?¡±

    Brin paused. He set down his drink. ¡°You¡¯re full of crap.¡±

    The Scarred Oneughed. ¡°I had you going! Admit it, I had you going there! Well, don¡¯t worry. Whatever it was you ate, it wasn¡¯t people meat. Or maybe you just threw it up in time..?¡±

    Brin sighed.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Well, like I said, I don¡¯t have much. I could tell you about [Witch Hunter], I guess.¡±

    ¡°Wait, seriously?¡±

    ¡°Yup! You get [Inflexible Mind] for mental resistance. [Reject the Wyrd] to counter their Skills. [Face Justice] to stop retreat. The Skills you earn after that are a good assortment ofbat and anti-magic. Two Strength, one Dexterity, two Mental Control, and one free point per level.¡± He pulled a chunk of sheetrock off the wall and tossed it in the air, as if he were bored of the entire conversation.

    ¡°Why are you talking about it like it¡¯s a throw-away? That¡¯s a really good ss. And it¡¯s exactly what I need right now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what you need <em>right now</em>. It¡¯s not what you really want or who you are. You¡¯re not a [Witch Hunter], you¡¯re a man who just happens to be hunting [Witches].¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a man who wants to survive the next couple weeks,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ll do all sorts of things to survive. Even you.¡±

    ¡°Whoa!¡± said the Scarred One, holding his hands up defensively.

    ¡°Heyo!¡± said the Child.

    Brin frowned. ¡°You know what I meant.¡±

    ¡°Sure I did, Romeo. Ok, ok. If you really want [Witch Hunter], there¡¯s a way. But you¡¯re not going to do it, so why talk about it? See, [sser] to [Witch Hunter] isn¡¯t a natural evolution like [Illusionist]. It¡¯s a <em>very</em> abrupt side-grade at best. If you want it, you¡¯ll need to reset your ss and levels again,¡± said the Scarred.

    Brin nodded. ¡°Ah. Yeah, I¡¯m sick of being weak. I¡¯m not going back to level one.¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d say that. In that case, let¡¯s call in the other guy. Unless¡­¡±

    ¡°Unless what?¡±

    The Scarred One shook his head. ¡°Nah, you wouldn¡¯t want to do that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not even sure I want the [Witch Hunter] ss at all. But I do want to know what my options are,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, like I said, [sser] to [Witch Hunter] is an abrupt side-grade. The System won¡¯t make you a [Witch Hunter] just because you want it for a couple days. You have to prove that you <em>are</em> a [Witch Hunter].¡±

    A light of excitement entered the Scarred One¡¯s eyes. He¡¯d been nning this for the entire conversation. This was just another sales strategy. He sat up from the couch with a wicked smile.

    ¡°Nevermind,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Just hear me out! You want to be a [Witch Hunter], you have to hunt [Witches]. This isn¡¯t a ss for saying ¡®some [Witches] are ok, but others are bad.¡¯ They¡¯re <em>all</em> bad, Brin. They <em>all</em> made the choice to take a wicked power, knowing full well what it could do to them. What it could <em>turn them into</em>. Bianca wasn¡¯t always a psycho, but she drew a little too much, drank a little too deep, and she snapped. Who¡¯s to say that couldn¡¯t happen to Balbi or Clementine?¡±

    ¡°Or Bruna or Ademir? I¡¯m not going to kill my best friend''s mom,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Because she¡¯s got it going on?¡± the Scarred One winked.

    Brin rolled his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯d be doing him a favor. Kill her now when she¡¯s still that cute, nice mom with the nice, cute family. Do it before she does what all [Witches] do. Before she <em>uses</em> them. Twists them, tortures them, and then burns them up, fuel for her own immortality.¡± He slowly crept forward as he talked like a lion stalking his prey. ¡°You know the names of four [Witches]. That means you know the names of four unexploded nuclear bombs. Kill them, and you¡¯ll be a [Witch Hunter]. You¡¯ll have enough power to face the real threat. Awnadil.¡±

    Brin stared at the scorched table for a long moment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like how persuasive you can be.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to decide right now!¡± said the Scarred One, backing away. ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s not even an option for now. Just something to think about.¡±

    ¡°No, I think I can decide now. This ss is great for hunting [Witches], but I haven¡¯t heard many Skills that will help against anything else. I bet after level 20 or 30 I¡¯ll have a hard time defeating monsters at my level; the only way to advance will be to keep seeking out [Witches]. Maybe I¡¯ll find some huge, terrible evils to destroy once in a while, but most of the time I¡¯ll be killing people who haven¡¯t even done anything wrong yet. I think it¡¯s telling that you¡¯re the one offering this ss,¡± said Brin. ¡°[Witch Hunter] is an evil ss.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as an evil ss,¡± the Scarred One snapped. ¡°But I¡¯ll admit that this ss introduces a certain amount of¡­ intolerance into your personality.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡±

    The sser entered next. He dressed in normal Hammon¡¯s Bog clothing like he had when he first was here. He looked a little tired, with bags under his eyes and a certain heaviness to the way he carried himself.

    He walked over to the reclining chair, more char than chair at this point, and hesitated before sitting down. ¡°Do you mind if I..?¡±

    ¡°If you what?¡±

    The sser patted the chair, and the burned appearance was instantly reced with the way the seat had been in his apartment back on earth;pletely restored. Well, mostly. The blue cloth was a little bit threadbare. He¡¯d bought it second hand.

    ¡°Ah, what a day,¡± said the sser, sinking down.

    ¡°A bit of an understatement,¡± said Brin. ¡°But wait, you can just change this ce however you want?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve had a particrly difficult day, but it¡¯s not like this was the worst day of your life,¡± said the sser. ¡°Your time in Travin¡¯s Bog was much darker, for all that it came and went with little fanfare from the System.¡±

    ¡°So are we still waiting on the other guy, or were you nning on making a pitch for me to keep [sser]?¡± asked Brin.

    The Scarred One snorted in contempt, but the sser just sighed. ¡°I¡¯m half-tempted to. Face it, you <em>love</em> being a [sser].¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot more interesting than I thought it would be,¡± admitted Brin. ¡°And with [Memories of ss], I¡¯ll be able to do amazing things someday.¡±

    ¡°You will. So why are you so dead set on being an [Illusionist], I wonder?¡±

    ¡°Are we going to wait for him, by the way?¡± asked Brin.

    The sser shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t see why we would. Answer the question.¡±

    ¡°Because¡­ because I can still be a [sser]. Those first few levels aren¡¯t going to go away, and I¡¯ve got the important Skills. Everything else I can learn from practice, and experimentation. It¡¯s possible that I¡¯ll be an even <em>better</em> [sser] once I have [Illusionist] by way of sheer magical power. Who knows what I would be capable of if I didn¡¯t have to stop practicing after twenty minutes every day because my mana ran out. Now stop deflecting for a minute and tell me: Where is the Illusionist?¡±

    The sser nodded wisely, and the Scarred One pped his hands. ¡°That¡¯s the right question. Not when. Where.¡±

    ¡°Ok. So where is he?¡±

    The Scarred One and the sser made eye contact, smiling at an inside joke. They brought their hands up, as if they were going to y rock-paper-scissors, but when they brought the fists down, both of them were pointing.

    They were both pointing directly at Brin.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Come on,¡± the Scarred Oneughed. ¡°There was never any doubt about what you were going to pick. You¡¯re the Illusionist here. You know everything there is to know about illusions, more than a System avatar would be allowed to say. You¡¯re the advocate for the [Illusionist] ss. It¡¯s you. It¡¯s who you are.¡±

    ¡°Then what are we doing here?¡± asked Brin.

    The sser answered. ¡°We thought you¡¯d want to hear our pitches. Are you sure you won¡¯t consider staying with¨C¡±

    ¡°Quit screwing around and tell him why he¡¯s here,¡± said the Scarred One, poking the sser in the shoulder.

    The sser waved him away. ¡°Listen, Brin. Your achievements earned you the right to a third option. We can offer you a hybrid sser/Illusionist ss. It¡¯s called ssbound Illusionist. It¡¯s still a Rare ss, just like Illusionist, so it¡¯s not necessarily better. Let¡¯s be clear about that.¡±

    ¡°Clear as ss,¡± said Brin, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from getting excited. His heart thumped in rising anticipation. ¡°I want it.¡±

    ¡°Not so fast. First you need to know¡­ actually, you know what? Let¡¯s do this the old-fashioned way. Here¡¯s a blue box. First, here¡¯s regr [Illusionist].¡±

    Illusionist (Rare) Every level +2 Magic, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +1 free attribute Every 5 levels 1 Illusionist Skill Primary Skills: Summon Light. Summon illusory light. Summon Sound. Summon illusory sound.

    ¡°And now here¡¯s¨C¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± The Scarred One jumped up and put a finger to the sser¡¯s lips. ¡°Show him [Smokebound Illusionist], first. Never mind, I¡¯ll do it. Ok, so you¡¯ve never killed anyone with smoke or worked with it at all, so I can¡¯t integrate this ss with any Achievements. Maybe if you had burned your zombie dad¡­ Anyway, this is a ss that anyone who earned [Illusionist] could pick up. A bog standard [Illusionist] variant.¡±

    ¡°No pun intended,¡± the sser said drily.

    ¡°I <em>always</em> intend my puns!¡± said the Scarred One. ¡°Here¡¯s [Smokebound Illusionist].¡±

    Smokebound Illusionist (Rare) Every level +2 Magic, +2 Mental Control, +1 Will, +1 free attribute Every 5 levels 1 Illusionist Skill Every 10 levels 1 Smoker Skill Primary Skills: Call Light through Smoke. Summon illusory light through smoke. Call Sound through Smoke. Summon illusory sound through smoke. Titles: Smokebound -50% experience from all sources.

    Brin frowned. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ interesting, I guess. So it alternates between [Illusionist] and [Smoker] Skills? I don¡¯t think I need any [Smoker] Skills.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said the Scarred One. ¡°Every ten levels you¡¯ll get an [Illusionist] Skills <em>and</em> a [Smoker] Skill.¡±

    Brin could already see where they were going with this, but decided to y along. ¡°The fact that I¡¯d only be able to summon through smoke would be a horrendous drawback. What would I do, carry a pipe with me everywhere? If someone took it away I¡¯d be powerless. Also, the 50% experience penalty is annoying, even if my [Otherworlder] and [Warbound] achievements more than make up for it.¡±

    ¡°In return for that, you¡¯ll get 50% more Skills,¡± said the Scarred One. ¡°It¡¯s a good deal. The real power from the Systemes from Skills, not levels.¡±

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s heavily reliant on my ability to make smoke. Why would I even get offered this ss?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a standard variant that any [Illusionist] could take. It trades some limitations for extra power,¡± said the Scarred One.

    ¡°Alright. You¡¯ve had your fun. Show me the sser version,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Coming right up,¡± said the sser.

    ssbound Illusionist (Rare) Every level +3 Strength, +2 Magic, +2 Mental Control, +1 free attribute Every 5 levels 1 Illusionist Skill Every 10 levels 1 sser Skill Primary Skills: Call Light through ss Summon illusory light through ss. Call Sound through ss Summon illusory sound through ss. Titles: ssbound

    <em>Like a shattered mirror, you are strong and sharp yet oddly fragile.</em>

    Feel the presence and rtive location of ss. Drastically increased mana efficiency when working with ss. -50% experience from all sources.

    Brin smiled. Now <em>that</em> looked much better. ¡°Why does it give me so much Strength?¡±

    The Scarred One answered, ¡°Notice how you got two more attributes than a regr [Illusionist]? The reason we were to get that was because we could merge [ssbound] with your Achievements, especially [Warbound]. It gives this ss a more warlike vor than you¡¯d expect. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if [sser]¡¯s fighting Skills came up earlier than normal.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°About [Call Light through ss]. Does this mean I¡¯ll never be able to use those invisible eyes for long-distance spying? A big part of the reason I wanted [Illusionist] so bad was the idea that I¡¯d be able to use it to call for help.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a Skill you¡¯ll have to pick up in the future. It¡¯s called [Persistent Casting]; it¡¯ll let you keep your illusions in ce even after they¡¯re out of your line of sight. It¡¯s the same for regr [Illusionist]. Even though the Skill says [Call Light], it¡¯s functionally no different than [Summon Light] except for needing to have ss in the area where the illusion is originally summoned,¡± said the sser.

    ¡°Even Hogg can only cast illusions nearby. He has to summon something near himself and then fly it away to do his long distance spying. You¡¯ll be able to do that, too, eventually.¡±

    Brin thought of something. ¡°Is there any way that since I¡¯m <em>calling</em> light instead of summoning it¨C¡±

    The sser was firm. ¡°You¡¯ll still be vulnerable to the Evdis. Sorry.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Does the focus have to be something specific?¡±

    ¡°Any kind of ss will do,¡± said the sser.

    ¡°Even ss I summon?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡±

    That was nice. As long as he had mana, he¡¯d be able to use all his Skills. ¡°Why don¡¯t I see a [Shape Light and Sound] Skill? For ss, I need one Skill to summon it and another to change its shape.¡±

    ¡°Light and sound aren¡¯t solid like ss. They¡¯re both waves¡­ sort of. You know what I mean. The light doesn¡¯t stick around, it bounces off your eyes and then out into the universe. That¡¯s why it needs to be continuously summoned. Any illusion you create will be a constant draw on your mana.¡±

    ¡°Last question. About the Title. When it says ¡®while working with ss¡¯, how broad is that?¡±

    ¡°Very broad,¡± smiled the sser. ¡°It¡¯ll work for [Call Light through ss].¡±

    Brin sat for a moment, drumming his hands on the table. His initial reaction had been mixed, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked it. If he wanted to be a pure [Illusionist], this might not be a perfect ss. But he was too greedy for that. From the first time he met these guys he knew he wanted all three. sser, Illusionist, and a little pinch of Scarred One.

    ¡°How do I select the [ssbound Illusionist] ss?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You already have,¡± said the sser. ¡°You may want to finish the drinks in the fridge before you go. Next time youe here, this ce might not be¡­ this ce anymore.¡±

    Brin did, drinking the rest of his sodas one by one. They weren¡¯t the same anymore. They were too sweet for him now. He didn¡¯t hate them, but by the time he drank thest one, he found that he would be fine if he never drank one again.

    Still, he sipped them slowly, savoring them, and remembering his old life. When he left his soul space, he didn¡¯t enter the waking world, but drifted straight off into sleep.

 Book 2. Chapter 30

    Book 2. Chapter 30

    Brin rolled over in his sleep, half waking. He would¡¯ve gone immediately back to sleep if not for Hogg¡¯s voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake! Finally! Well? What are you waiting for? Get up and tell me how it went. Well, I know how it went. ssbound!¡±

    ¡°Hrm? Hogg?¡± Brin blinked, looking around. It was still dark. It was probably still hours before dawn.

    ¡°Who else? Come on. Get up already!¡±

    Brin groaned. "What time is it?"

    "I don''t know. Let''s go. I''ve already put on the kettle."

    Well, there was no getting back to sleep at this rate. Brin sat up, eliciting an annoyed squeak from Marksi, who burrowed in and immediately started into squeaky, trembling snores again.

    Brin stumbled into the main room and sat down at the table. Through the window he could see that it really was still dark outside.

    Hogg hadn''t lied about the tea, and he''d also made a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and fried mato. Clearly waking him up had been no ident, but for bacon all was forgiven.

    He munched on his breakfast, still groggy, while Hogg paced back and forth across the room restlessly. He had a huge grin on his face and babbled excitedly. "Where to even start! I can teach you so much now. Don''t think that just because I evolved out of that ss I''m useless, oh no. First we should... oh, wait, actually... and that Strength! Boom! Three Strength out of nowhere. You''ll have to remember to put a few points in Will. Hey, I bet you''re d I told you to wait until you had [Summon ss]. Oh, what Skills were you offered for level 20?"

    It was a little hard to follow Hogg''s train of thought. He¡¯d honestly never seen Hogg act like this before, but the enthusiasm was infectious. He found himself smiling along. "Oh, I never actually chose, did I?" He selected [Memories in ss]. "Now check."

    Hogg stopped in his tracks, reading something only he could see. "No way. I hate you. How did you swing that? You bastard." There was no heat in it; Hogg shook his head in amused awe.

    "They said it''s from all the [Meditation] on memories I''ve been doing."

    "From all the... I guess that makes sense. You''ve got a better understanding of your own mind than a kid your body''s age should have. This Skill. Do you realize what it can do?"

    "If I find a way to y back memories, I can show you some movies from my world," said Brin.

    "I guess. No. Listen. You can record everything! Keep it on all the time and have aplete living record of your life. Just for training this is going to be a game-changer. I could give you a couple paragraphs of the Language, and you could y that back any time you want to reproduce some of the better [Illusionist] abilities. My Lightmind can barely do that! It can only record things my illusions see, not what I was thinking or feeling at the time. You''re going to be years ahead of where I was at your age. You lucky git. Well, what are you waiting for! Try it out! Do you have any ss on you?"

    He still had a bunch of ss in his pockets from the fight with Zilly, and the bigger pieces of the broken sword were still in his bedroom. He could sense them now, and all the other ss. Hogg had several ss objects on his person, there were a few mirrors around, and he could even sense the ss inside Hogg''s secret dimensional storage chest that was disguised as a yellow couch.

    He pulled out one of the caltrops, and idly pushed some mana into it with [Shape ss]. Usually any changes he made to ss had to be either very gradual or heavily directed by the Language, but this time the piece of ss immediately copsed into a restless, shifting puddle in his palm. Every tremor of his thoughts seemed to be reflected in the physical shape of the ss.

    He used [Directed Meditation] and the ss immediately stilled until it was barely vibrating. He pictured what he wanted it to do and it followed. The ss formed a line and slithered up his hand like a snake and then wrapped around his finger. There was too much, so he trimmed it down until it was the size and shape of a simple wedding band. Since it wasn''t a wedding band, he decided to color it ck. The color didn''te as easily as the rest. It darkened into a grayish purple. Good enough. He let the excess fall to the floor.

    The excess ss hit the ground with a loud clink that shook him out of [Directed Meditation]. For how smoothly the ss was flowing in his hands, he''d expected it tond with a ssh.

    "Wow!" said Hogg. "''Drastically improved efficiency'' was an understatement. You did that like someone who''s been a [sser] for years."

    Brin felt a bit drained. His mana pool wasn''t near empty by any means, but it had taken a bit of a bite out of it. "I''m not sure about that. It seems to be draining mana at the same rate. The efficiency isn''t actually better. Only the speed has increased."

    "You''ve got it backwards. You were pushing the same amount of mana in as you''re used to, so of course that''s the amount of mana that got drained. The greater efficiency now means the Skill can do more than it used to. As you gain practice with [Shape ss] and the Language, you''ll be able to stop all those unnecessary movements and wasting your mana."

    "Ok, I''m going to try recording," said Brin. He found that he could activate the Skill with a thought. A small, almost imperceptible stream of mana left him and entered the ring. It was less than his natural regeneration. He really would be able to keep this on all the time if he wanted.

    "It''s working. Now I''m going to try retrieving the memory."

    It came like a second world. All the perceptions of his memory, as well as his thoughts and feelings, all of them came rushing back, ying side-by-side with his present reality. It was jarring, with Hogg positioned just a little bit to the left but still in the same approximate area, still with the happy, interested look on his face.

    "Ok, I''m going to try recording," said--

    "Ow. Ow ow OW!" A spike of pain hit his brain, like a ringing in the ears paired with the burning of staring into the sun. He canceled his Skill, and for good measure tore off the ring and threw it on the ground.

    The pain faded quickly.

    "What''s wrong?" asked Hogg.

    "A feedback loop, I''d wager. No recording and reying at the same time."

    Hogg snorted. "You alright, though?"

    "Yeah," said Brin. He hesitantly poked the ring on the ground, and when it didn''t burn his mind again, picked it up. He could sort of feel that it had a bit of his mana inside, and also that it was mostly empty. It could store a lot more than those few seconds. He also found that he could pull his mana back out, effectively erasing the memories. He did so, and then slipped the ring back on.

    "I want to try a couple other things," said Brin.

    "Be my guest. But don''t take too long. We haven''t even gotten to try your new ss yet!"

    Brin used [Directed Meditation], and this time focused on one of his [Memories of ss]. A rtively benign one, where he was casually skimming an article detailing the type of ss tiles they used on the space shuttle. He recorded it, and then carefully turned off the recording. The memory came back in vivid detail, but he also got a strong impression of him sitting here and now. Could he separate that, and only record the memory? It took a couple tries, but he figured out how to split the memory off and record it alone. This time when he reyed it, it was almost overwhelmingly vibrant, and nothing of his present came with it.

    He erased it. Eventually, he''d catalog every single [Memory of ss] like this, but that needed to be an organized, methodical pursuit. Right now he just wanted to know what the Skill could be used for.

    He tried one of his other memories. Christmas when he was twelve. His parents had bought him a microscope and that really cool build-a-robot kit. Again, it took a minute to separate the memory from the remembering, but when he had it, the memory came back strong. Details were there that he''d thought he''d forgotten. The exact color of the carpet. The cat ying with the wrapping paper. The color of his mom''s eyes...

    Too real. Now wasn''t a good time for this. He shut it down. He decided he''d do all his important memories like this. Soon, before they degraded any further, but now wasn''t the time. He thought about removing the memory, but decided not to. He slipped the ring into a pocket and created another one, a dark red ring. He''d let this one keep recording the entire day, or until it ran out of space.

    ¡°Hey look, I know you probably have lots of ss stuff you want to try out, but you can do thatter with Ademir. Don¡¯t you want to try out¡­ you know. Your other abilities?¡±

    ¡°My¨C¡±

    ¡°To the cer!¡±

    Marksi swept out of the bedroom, and Hogg tossed him a slice of bacon which Marksi snapped out of the air and swallowed in one bite. Then Hogg turned and practically skipped outside to the cer entrance.

    Honestly, Brin thought it was going to take a lot longer to get over yesterday, but a half night''s rest paired with a good breakfast and Hogg¡¯s infectious giddiness was making him feel pretty ok. The old guy was acting like a kid on Christmas morning and it was infectious.

    Brin followed, an odd smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. Marksi hopped up on his shoulder.

    The instant they were Inside the enchanted circle, Hogg said, ¡°The words are >¡± A perfectly yellow orb of hard light appeared above his finger, which he dismissed with a wave.

    ¡°>¡± said Brin, and predictably, nothing happened.

    He pulled another piece of ss and shaped it into a marble. ¡°>¡± he said, trying again.

    He felt a miniscule tug on his mana, and the marble began to glow with a bright and pure white light.

    Alert! [Call Light through ss] leveled up! 1 -> 2

    ¡°Whoa! It already upgraded!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Buckle up!¡± said Hogg. ¡°You¡¯re going to be getting a lot of those today.¡±

    Marksi snapped at the glowing marble, trying to steal it, and Brin instinctively pulled it away. ¡°You know what? Why not?¡± He tossed the marble over his shoulder, and Marksi leapt after it. He batted it around, chasing it like a cat.

    He brought another piece of ss out of his pocket, turned it into a marble, and tried again. Only this time, he used [Call Light through ss] without actually saying the words of the Language. The light appeared, just as before.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why do we always use the Language if we can do the same things without it?¡±

    ¡°The Language draws on your magic and ces it for you. The standard way to learn these things is to let the Language do the spell for you the first time, and then use that feeling to do it on your own. It¡¯s precise and efficient, but that¡¯s also the drawback. If you want to alter the magic somehow, you¡¯ll want to do it on your own. You can change your instructions in the Language to add more details, but that requires a knowledge of the Language that most people don¡¯t have, and it¡¯s slower to boot.¡±

    Brin nodded, looking at the marble in his hands and thinking. He threw it to Marksi, who was delighted to have a second toy.

    ¡°Alright, so first off, what is light?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about how I would answer that,¡± said Brin. ¡°Here¡¯s what I got. Light is electromaic radiation, usually referring to the spectrum that can be perceived by the human eye. It¡¯s distinguished by wavelengths with infrared having a long wavelength and ultraviolet having a very short wavelength. I have a memory of ss with a prism, so if we go in order, it¡¯s infrared, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and ultraviolet. If we go further it should be possible to include radio waves and microwaves. You¡¯ve already shown that X-Rays are doable.¡±

    Some of those words he had to make up on the spot, but Frenarian already had a word for ¡°electronic¡±, ¡°maic¡±, and ¡°radiate¡±, so putting them together wasn¡¯t all that strange.

    Alert! [Call Light through ss] leveled up! 2 -> 3

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a lot better answer than I had, to be honest,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get levels by demonstrating a knowledge of light? How many am I going to get like this?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re plucking the low-hanging fruit. I told you to expect a lot of those,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now back to the question. I was going to say that light is a spectrum. Lots of [Illusionists] start with the idea that white light is ¡°real¡± light and everything else is a deviation, but that¡¯s not true. All those different colors are real, just different types.¡±

    ¡°Light is different from pigments or paints. The three primary colors of light are red, green, and blue. If youbine red and green, you get yellow. Red and blue makes magenta, and blue and green makes cyan. I know that sounds wrong but it¡¯s true.¡±

    Alert! [Call Light through ss] leveled up! 3 -> 4

    ¡°Now, what if you want to make ck?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen you do it so it is, but it doesn¡¯t sound possible with a Skill that only creates light,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If we think of light as a wave, which I¡¯m still wrapping my head around by the way, then what would happen if we created another wave perfectly the opposite of the first one? It would cancel it out. That¡¯s basically impossible, but luckily the Language does the heavy lifting here. >. Basically, Summon the Light that opposes everything.¡±

    Brin held up a cantrop and said the words. It immediately turned ck. Perfect, unnatural, eye-catching ck. A void so deep he couldn¡¯t even tell the shape of the thing he was holding, just the outline. He cut the power.

    Alert! [Call Light through ss] leveled up! 4 -> 5

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    Level up! Level 20 -> 21

    +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s quite a spread,¡± said Brin. ¡°I feel strong.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous, is what it is. I get more but at level 20 it¡¯s absurd. Lucky bastard,¡± said Hogg with a grin.

    ¡°What should I do with all these points?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I was going to tell you to put it in Strength, but I think you¡¯re more than covered on that front,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Really? Not Dexterity?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I went with a Dexterity main stat, but with illusions I barely ever needed it. Illusions give you one free hit before your enemy knows what you¡¯re up to. If you kill them, you¡¯ve won, and if you don¡¯t, they throw down an Evdis. I think things might have been easier if that one free hit was powerful enough to hit a lot harder. Then again, Dexterity has gotten me out of more than a couple sticky situations. You know that; you were there for some of them. Regardless, Strength is covered. For you, I¡¯d go with Magic, and then split the rest to shore up Dexterity and Will.¡±

    ¡°Should I do it now?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Up to you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s easier to get more points when your attributes are still low. But you have more power to practice with when your attributes are high.¡±

    Looking at them now, Brin''s Dexterity and Will were both within spitting distance of the next threshold. He''d kept the all of his threshold achievements from his stint as [Scarred One], but many of his stats had already caught up or even surpassed where [Scarred One] had brought them.

    Training stats became more difficult the higher your stats got, but the bonus attribute growth would offset that a little. He put 10 points into Dexterity, and 4 into Will, letting [Workhorse] percentage increase bring them the rest of the way.

    You have upgraded an acheivement! Dextrous III -> IV +30% -> +40% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +30% -> +40% Dexterity attribute growth.

    You have upgraded an achievement! Disciplined II -> III +20% -> +30% spell power. +20% -> +30% skill power. +20% -> +30% Will attribute growth.

    He decided to keep magic where it was for now, since it was still growing so rapidly.

    ¡°I think I''ll leave it like this for now,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good, then back to light!¡± said Hogg. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about mirrors! Say >¡±

    Brin did, and the surface of his caltrop was instantly mirrored. It looked cool, sort of futuristic. He didn¡¯t get a point for it. Apparently leveling [Call Light through ss] was already slowing down.

    ¡°And um¡­ what¡¯s next! Oh, you¡¯re probably wondering how I made those little spots of heat way back then,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°If you concentrate light enough it¡¯ll make heat,¡± said Brin. ¡°I assume that¡¯s how.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But just pumping tons of light together is wasteful. Light costs so little mana that you¡¯ll find it hard to reach your limit, but once you start trying to use it to burn things you¡¯ll lose it all in a sh. The workaround is to use the light around us. You can redirect sunlight to do all the work for you if you ever find yourself running low during the day. And that brings us to lenses.¡±

    This time, he handed Brin a slip of paper. It was written in the Language, about three sentences long.

    It took Brin about ten minutes to get the pronunciation and feeling of each word correct, but once he did, the magic connected and he made a perfect parabolic lens in the air.

    Alert! [Call Light through ss] leveled up! 5 -> 6

    The low light from themp didn¡¯t give Brin much to work with, but he found he could freely twist the lens around in the air. He¡¯d be able to summon it first, and then focus it.

    ¡°A little more work and you¡¯ll be able to make it invisible, but that hardly matters. No one ever looks up. Just ce this in the air up high and you¡¯ll be able to start fires. I¡¯ve never been able to quite get lenses to work well enough to be very useful in a fight, but I know some [Illusionists] who have and it can get pretty scary.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine,¡± said Brin. He couldn¡¯t wait to start tinkering withsers.

    ¡°Next¨C¡±

    ¡°Hold on! You just keep throwing one thing after another at me! I¡¯m still thinking about lenses!¡±

    ¡°Well, then I guess I¡¯ll hold off on giving you your present,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Present?

    Hogg pulled a ck wristband out of his pocket. ¡°I worked together with Chamy to make this, back before System Day when I was an [Illusionist]. It can only be used by a fellow [Illusionist] which is why I held onto it until you got the ss.¡±

    Brin held it in his hands, turning it around. It was in and ck. Ordinary-looking, probably by design, but the material was soft and firm like silk. There was an odd, thrumming feeling, like he felt a connection to it. He put it on. It fit perfectly.

    ¡°Just push your mana in it to activate it,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin did. It ate up all the mana he could give it hungrily, draining him quicker than was reallyfortable. At first, he couldn¡¯t tell what it was even doing.

    Marksi gave him his first clue. He stopped chasing his marble around and squeaked in rm, looking around. He started darting around, looking behind the shelves and under a table before careening towards Brin and mming into his stomach where he was sitting. Looking down, Brin could see Marksi¡­ but not himself. The artifact stopped epting his mana, and he blinked back into visibility.

    ¡°Hogg! This is¡­¡±

    Hogg nodded. ¡°Invisibility is a difficult Skill. Near impossible without a Lightmind, which I can¡¯t give you. But there are other ways to get powerful effects without being able to do it on the fly. One is to have a high-level [Illusionist] imbue the Skill for you into an artifact with the help of an [Enchantress].

    ¡°This is amazing!¡± After only a moment of hesitation, Brin stood up and wrapped Hogg in a hug. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Eh. Least I could do,¡± said Hogg. ¡°This will only give you five seconds of invisibility, but it¡¯ll do in a pinch.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s perfect,¡± said Brin. Then, to ward off some of the awkwardness said, ¡°Look at you! Giving out presents like some kind of Hogg¡­ father¡­¡±

    ¡°I guess. There¡¯s one other way to reproduce high-level effects without actually having the ability.¡± said Hogg. ¡°You¡¯re going to love this gift a little less, I think.¡±

    He handed Brin a sheet of paper. The entire thing was covered in tiny writing and it was front and back, all in the Language.

    ¡°This should only take you three or four hours. When you can read this, you¡¯ll be able to summon a mirror image.¡±

    Brin stared at it, just knowing the enormous headache that was in store. ¡°Can I do this¡­ter?¡±

    Surprisingly, Hogg immediately agreed. ¡°Yeah. Now let¡¯s talk about sound!¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 30.5

    Book 2. Chapter 30.5

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    sser

    Level

    11

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    70

    Dexterity

    65

    Vitality

    67

    Magic

    44

    Mental Control

    62

    Will

    47

    Unassigned points

    10

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    You survived the massacre at Travin¡¯s Bog that ended your family.

    +50% resistance to heat, cold and poison.

    Traveler

    You have journeyed to a strange and foreignnd where you now live.

    +30% movement speed when out ofbat

    You have argely increased ability to learnnguages.

    Otherworlder

    You have traversed the stars and arrived at an entirely new world.

    +50% experience while your ss is below level 30. Strengthened immune system. Strengthened magic resistance.

    Scarred, but Healing (3)

    You have been scarred, but you¡¯re healing. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars.

    Your wounds heal 180% faster.

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Legendary)

    <em>Warfare was his birthright, he craved the sh of steel,</em>

    <em>He sang a song of bloodshed that the dead could hear and feel,</em>

    <em>The terror of the battlefield, a cursed child was found.</em>

    <em>Warbound</em>.

    +20% to all attributes. +100% experience from meleebat. Battle Fury and Battle Sense skills added.

    Monster Hunter II (Common)

    You have defeated more than 13 monsters.

    +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

    Filial Piety (Epic)

    You performed a noble act of service to your father at great risk to yourself, freeing his captive soul from those who bound him in servitude.

    Extra resistance against mental maniption, soul maniption, and Mana pool maniption.

    +100% Magic attribute growth.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Strength.

    +40% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +40% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous III (Common)

    You have reached 65 Dexterity.

    +10% Dexterity (Transferred from Thief). +30% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +30% Dexterity attribute growth.

    Lively IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Vitality.

    +40% recovery from wounds. +40% stamina. +40% Vitality attribute growth.

    Magical II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Magic.

    +20% spell power. +20% mana regeneration. +20% Magic attribute growth

    Controlled II (Common)

    You have reached 65 Mental Control.

    +30% focus and concentration +20% Mental Control attribute growth

    Disciplined II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Will

    +20% spell power. +20% skill power. +20% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +2 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +2 Vitality per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Mental Control per level

    <strong>General Skills</strong>

    Know What¡¯s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You can now approximate the value of things.

    Monster Sense

    You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    Inspect (14)

    Active Skill - Receive information on the target.

    Upgradeable.

    Hide Status (3)

    Your ss and other System details are hidden from Inspect and other observation skills. Note: Your information may still be vulnerable due to high level disparities and powerful inspection skills.

    Upgradeable.

    Meditation (9)

    Train your focus and concentration, as well as to actively achieve a clear mind and peaceful mental state.

    Upgradeable.

    Battle Fury (Epic)

    Your fury in battle lends you greater power.

    +5% increase to the effects of your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality with each wound you take and with each wound you give. +50% increase with each enemy you y.

    These increases are capped at +100%

    These increases expire thirty minutes after you leavebat.

    Battle Sense

    You have an innate sense about the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to direct your allies to greatest effectiveness during conflict.

    <strong>ss Skills</strong>

    Shape ss (6)

    You have the ability to transform ss. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with ss.

    This Skill has been upgraded once.

    Heat Resistance

    You have greatly increased resistance to heat and burns.

    Memories of ss

    You can perfectly recall anything you¡¯ve seen or learned about ss.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 2. Chapter 31

    Book 2. Chapter 31

    "The words you want are >."

    Brin repeated them, only taking two tries before he got them down. Of course, nothing happened. He pulled out a shard of ss and formed it into a marble, and tried again. With a miniscule draw on his magic, the marble made a high-pitched ringing sound. It was mechanical, almost like a beep from an oldputer. Marksi hissed at it, so Brin shut it off. It was kind of annoying.

    Alert! [Call Sound through ss] leveled up! 1 -> 2

    "It''s going to take some practice before you can make other sounds," said Hogg. "But let''s go back to the beginning. What is sound?"

    Brin expected that question and had an answer ready. "Sound is a vibration that travels through the air. It''s a wave, like a ripple through a pond."

    "Good answer," said Hogg. "And I''m d we''re starting on the same page this time. It''s going to take me a minute to think through your ideas about light. The one rification I''d make is that sound doesn''t only travel through the air. It permeates everything. Water, the ground, even our bodies.¡±

    Alert! [Call Sound through ss] leveled up! 2 -> 3

    "Next, let''s try one of the phrases you learned for light, the one that counters everything. >."

    Brin repeated the phrase and couldn''t tell what was happening right away.

    When Hogg spoke again, his voice sounded a tiny bit muffled. "Check this out." He snapped a couple of times, then moved his hand next to the marble and snapped again.

    "No way. Is it that easy to silence myself?"

    Hoggughed. "Pretty cool, right? Now, I want you to slowly increase the amount of mana you push in."

    Brin did so, easing the mana into his Skill more and more. The change was abrupt. One second, everything was normal; the next, absolute silence. He tried to speak and felt the breathe from his mouth, but there was no sound. He saw Hogg''s mouth move, and then he saw the man smile.

    Silence. It was actually ufortable, more ufortable than he was expecting. It felt like he couldn''t breathe, even though he knew he could. He felt his lungs fill with air, but how did he know he was really breathing without that audio feedback? He had to dip into [Meditation] for a bit to calm his mind. The spell was blocking sound; that¡¯s all it was. He was fine. How was that even working? The spell wasn''t blocking the air, just the acoustic vibrations.

    When he canceled the Skill, Hogg said. "I should warn you about the drawbacks. You''repletely nullifying all sound in an area around that marble. That means any normal ambient sounds that cross that area are erased as well. For most people, that means you''re undetectable to the ears, but to people or beasts with good hearing, you''ll stand out even more. It''s like that light nullification we did earlier. Thepleteck of light stands out. Your training should focus on where you put the sound nullification field. It''s easy to identally block your own ears without blocking your feet. As you get better, you''ll be able to put them exactly where you need them and nowhere else. Eventually, you''ll be able to sieve out certain sounds while keeping others. It''s still pretty useful for something you can do on day one, though."

    Alert! [Call Sound through ss] leveled up! 3 -> 4

    His levels wereing fast and easy. He knew it wouldn''t stay like this and that it would slow downter, but it was fun while itsted.

    Hogg continued, "Most [Illusionists] focus too much on light and forget about sound. When you think of an illusion, that''s what firstes to mind, right? Images or fanciful lights. And it''s true that if you''ve fooled someone''s eyes, they often won''t think about why their ears aren''t telling quite the same story. But if you want to do this right, you''re going to need to think about sound at least as much as you think about light. Any ss with enhanced senses like [Rogue] will immediately pick it up if they can''t hear your heartbeat or aren''t feeling the subtle tremors your footsteps make in the ground."

    "That reminds me," said Brin. "Zilly is a [Rogue]."

    "Yeah," said Hogg.

    "Why didn''t you tell me?"

    Hogg grimaced. "It wasn''t my ce to say. She''s taken a lot of pains to hide it, and I don''t make it a habit of revealing people''s secrets for no reason." He sighed. "Maybe I should''ve told you anyway."

    "Feels like something I have a right to know," said Brin.

    "Is it? In that case, should I go tell everyone that you''re an [Illusionist]? In my mind, people have a right to their privacy. If I bbed every time one of your friends kept a secret, I''d just be sabotaging you."

    "But why does she have [Rogue]? And why didn''t she tell anyone? I get why she wouldn''t want the whole world to know, but she didn''t even tell Myra."

    "You should ask her that," said Hogg.

    "You''re right. I am curious about her build, though. [Empowered Strike] doesn''t really sound like a [Rogue] Skill."

    "That''s because it''s not. Or it barely is. The Prefit and I created a very strict and specific training regimen to try to bend her ss towardsbat and away from thievery. Just like [Memories in ss] shouldn''t be something a level 20 [Illusionist] has, [Empowered Strike] is something a [Rogue] should have to wait for high levels to get."

    "But it is a normal [Rogue] Skill?" asked Brin.

    "[Rogue] is a pretty broad ss. You earn it by acting... roguishly, but there are a lot of different ways to advance it. You can lean into sneaking and thieving or take it in a morebat-focused direction. It''s not impossible to side-grade into [Warrior], but the best case would be to upgrade it into a better ss that''s also a direct evolution of [Warrior]. [Knight] is a long shot, but [de Dancer] or [Marauder] aren''t too far out of reach."

    "The Prefit knows then. Did she tell him?"

    "Again, that''s something you should ask Zilly. I-- hold on." Hogg stepped out of the circle, and then his expression went distant for a moment.

    Brin followed him out, and Hogg said, "We''ll have to cut our lesson short here. For now, I''d advise you to only practice your new ss in the circle."

    "Wait, what''s going on? What did you see?"

    "It''s not... hold on," said Hogg.

    Brin waited while Hogg stared off into space. Hogg''s happy attitude disappeared from his face. "It''s Lu Pimental. He''s dead."

    "Pimental... that''s--"

    "Davi''s cousin," said Hogg.

    "Is it a [Witch] problem?"

    "He was sliced to pieces, and at first nce, I''d say it was by someone only two feet tall. This is a Basil Bunny problem. I have to go."

    Hogg turned and left. Brin thought about following, but there wasn''t anything he could do to help, and thest thing he wanted was to see another dead body right now.

    Alone in the cer, Brin''s mental turmoil from the day before crept back into his mind. Visions of Bianca''s madness-filled eyes were superimposed on the image of her lifeless corpse, and he couldn''t figure out which he found more dreadful.

    He tried to practice his new illusion magic to distract himself but quit after a few minutes. This wasn''t working. Any other day he''d be ecstatic to have a new toy to y with, but it would be a lot of work to get it somewhere usable, and he wasn''t in the right frame of mind for a long slog uphill.

    Needing a change of scenery, he headed out and started walking. He had the presence of mind to change his [Hide Status] to show that he was still a [sser], and then took off into town. He didn''t have any particr destination in mind. He just walked.

    He spent a while roaming the streets, giving friendly nods to the people he passed but never getting drawn into conversations. There were lots of people on the street, gathered in groups, no doubt conveying thetest gossip.

    Eventually, he walked past the strange woven hut where Myra and Tawna lived, and when he did, Myra burst out of the door, carrying a bundle in her arms.

    "Brin! Wait!"

    Brin stopped, and Myra dashed up. Myra was someone who took a lot of care for her appearance, but today her hair was messy and there were dark circles under her eyes that spoke of working long hours. She held out the bundle in her arms, gesturing for him to take it. "Your clothes are done. They were done yesterday, but I didn''t think I should bother you right after... you know."

    "Thanks. That''s more consideration than some people gave me."

    Myra winced. "I heard about that. I can''t believe Zilly made you go through with it! She''s so selfish it blows my mind. Just because she''s a [Warrior] doesn''t mean she can--"

    "It''s fine. Slugging her in the face a couple of times was very therapeutic," said Brin.

    Myraughed. "I wish I had seen it. I bet you wiped that smug smirk right off her face. Next time, you have to make sure I''m there to see it."

    "I don''t think there''s going to be a next time," said Brin.

    "That''s not what I hear."

    Brin winced. "People are talking about it?"

    "People always talk. Although if it helps, I think gossip about your duel is all but forgotten now. You heard about Lu, right?"

    "A little," said Brin. How did she know? That was fast, even by Hammon''s Bog standards. Or he''d been wandering like the streets longer than he thought.

    "They found him chopped into pieces like someone was going to make him into a stew. Lu stew. Sorry, that was inappropriate. Everyone thinks Bianca did it. Sorry! You probably don''t want to talk about this."

    "It''s fine." Brin forced a casual smile on his face, but his insides were in turmoil. Hogg had thought this was the work of that familiar he''d talked about, Basil. But apparently that''s not what he was telling the town. He was letting Bianca take the fall for this. Why? Was he making Bianca look worse so that people would be ok with Brin killing her? He doubted that was necessary. More likely, he didn¡¯t want to put people in a panic knowing there was a killer bunny on the loose.

    ¡°Hey, who¡¯s that?¡± Myra pointed behind him.

    Brin turned around. There were lots of people. ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Yon. See? Just there,¡± said Myra.

    It really was him. Davi¡¯s little brother Yon was staring at them from around the side of a house.

    ¡°He¡¯s been following you,¡± said Myra. ¡°Davi told me about it. Ever since that magic show. You need to show that box to me sometime.¡±

    ¡°Will do. He¡¯s really been following me? Sneaky little guy. I never noticed.¡± Brin took a step towards him, and Yon tripped backwards and then ran away.

    ¡°He¡¯s been weird. Davi says he¡¯s getting night terrors, and he started refusing to bathe. He goes off alone into their barn to y sometimes. He doesn¡¯t want anyone to know that he still ys with dolls, although no one would care.¡±

    ¡°All of that from one magic show?¡±

    ¡°I think it was going on before that,¡± said Myra. ¡°Normal kid stuff. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him.¡±

    Myra shrugged.

    It could be, but something about the word ¡®dolls¡¯ triggered his paranoia. It was probably nothing, but dolls¡­ that made him think of Ademir. Ademir¡¯s familiar had to be a doll, even if Brin had never seen it. Or maybe he had. It could be any of thepleted dolls that sat on the shelves of Ademir¡¯s workshop.

    Something to follow up on. He didn¡¯t want to think that Ademir was doing anything bad, but he couldn¡¯t rule out anyone at this point.

    Brin pulled the top item off the bundle of clothes he was holding. It was a shirt, made of a firm, heavy fabric. It was a beautiful dark fabric that had a soft, grippy texture like nylon. ¡°Huh, this feels nice.¡±

    ¡°I got a little self-repairing enchantment working!¡± Myra said, beaming with pride. ¡°Watch this!¡±

    She took out a small pocket knife and sliced through the fabric. The fabric sealed itself right after, as if she were running the knife through water.

    ¡°That¡¯s incredible!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It only works a little before it runs out of energy. But if you bring it back to me I¡¯ll recharge it any time.¡±

    ¡°Cool. And I definitely will. I¡¯m going to go try this on!¡± He was actually pretty excited. Perris made good stuff with leather, but it would be nice to wear real fabric again, rather than specially treated leather that only looked like fabric.

    He pulled the agreed upon price out of his pockets. Myra tried to object, ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to¨C¡±

    He grabbed her hand and ced the coins firmly in her palm. ¡°You earned it.¡±

    She blushed and looked away but took the coins.

    Marksi jumped from Brin¡¯s shoulder onto Myra¡¯s chest, making her step back. ¡°Marksi, what¨C?¡±

    The little dragon wasn¡¯t usually as affectionate with Myra as he was with Brin or Zilly, but now he scrambled around Myra in a frenzy. He finally stopped, perched on her head, and gestured at Brin with one of his little legs.

    ¡°What is it, Marksi?¡± Brin stepped forward and reached out his hands to grab him, but Marksi twitched his tail for no. Brin held up the bundle of clothes. Marksi twitched his tail for yes.

    ¡°Clothes? You want clothes?¡±

    ¡®Yes.¡¯

    ¡°You won¡¯t fit in these,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi reached out with his tail and tugged on a lock of Myra¡¯s hair.

    ¡°OW!¡± Myra protested, but then she caught on. ¡°Wait. You want me to make you something to wear?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail for yes.

    Brin froze. Myra and he met each other''s eyes for a tense moment.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay anything. Money is no object,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Absolutely not. I¡¯m doing this for free. You won¡¯t take this from me,¡± said Myra. She hugged Marksi in her arms and rushed back towards her house. ¡°Come on! I¡¯ve got to take your measurements!¡±

    Marksi could¡¯ve slipped out of her grip without a problem, but he seemed quite content to go along. Apparently, that hut really wasn¡¯t touched by witchcraft.

    Images of Marksi wearing cute costumes danced in Brin¡¯s mind as he walked down the street. He idly wandered in the direction that Yon had gone.

    For the first time in a while, he really missed earth culture. He could put Marksi in a nurse costume or a firefighter, but nobody but him would get it. The best he could do would be to match some of the costumes from Gustaff¡¯s movies, or maybe an imitation of the nice three-piece suits the Prefit wore?

    The image left a smile on his face thatsted three blocks, but when it faded, he was back to his dark mood again.

    He went home and changed into his new clothes. They really did feel nice. They were cooler than Perris¡¯ leather, although they were a but more form fitting than what he normally wore.

    After that, he made his way to the middle of town, with two convenient possible destinations. The public house was one. He was technically an adult now. He doubted that H would stop him if he decided to get drunk. Normally, she''d cut off kids his age, but after what he''d been through, she''d probably make an exception. The other possible destination was across the square. The temple to the gods. He decided to try the temple first. If that didn¡¯t pan out, he¡¯d try his luck in the public house.

    He found the normally serene temple much more crowded than normal. The lectern and altar had been pulled back. He had to angle his way around the crowd to get a glimpse of what they were looking at. Curse this small body! He¡¯d never had trouble looking over crowds in his past life.

    When there was finally an opening, the sight left him breathless in shock. A dead many on a raised bed. His body was covered almost entirely by a white shroud. Only his face and hands were visible, but even with just that, it was clear that this corpse had been reassembled. Fingersy resting where they should be near the hands. The scalp and ears had been hastily sewn in ce.

    Of course, this would be here. It was Lu, the man who¡¯d been murdered by Basil.

    ¡°If you¡¯re here hoping I¡¯ll let you feel guilty for what you¡¯ve done, then you¡¯vee to the wrong ce,¡± said a voice from next to him.

    Ellion the priest was there, in his fine robes and headdress. He had a surprisingly youthful face, but his expression looked old and wise. Brin hadn¡¯t felt him approach.

    ¡°I could have handled it better. If I hadn¡¯t looked back¨C¡±

    ¡°Yes, there are many choices that you might have made that would have led to better oues,¡± said Ellion. ¡°But you have nothing to feel guilty for. Your actions were just.¡±

    Brin stood in silence for a moment. He didn¡¯t want to look at the corpse, so his eyes scanned over the paintings on the walls. The gods acted out their roles, moving from one season to the next.

    ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t feel bad at all,¡± said Brin. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m proud of what I¡¯ve done.¡±

    ¡°Maybe. But in my experience, the first thing that unites victims of senseless crimes are their misced feelings of guilt. If I¡¯m wrong to say so, then I apologize, but I need to be clear that she was at fault, not you. She attacked, and you defended yourself.¡±

    How would he feel if he knew that man on the table wasn¡¯t even her victim? For all Brin knew, he was the first person she ever tried to kill.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Have you rethought whether or not you wish to worship Solia? There are recitations I could offer that may help ease your mind,¡± said Ellion.

    To be honest, he hadn¡¯t thought about it much at all. ¡°Are there any benefits? Special sses or Skills?¡±

    ¡°We worship the gods because they are worthy of worship and because the pursuit of righteousness purifies our souls. Any crude advantages of¨C¡±

    ¡°Sorry!¡± Brin rushed in. ¡°I think now is a bad time for me. I¡¯d rather approach Solia when I can give her my full attention.¡±

    Ellion took a calming breath. ¡°Perhaps that is wise.¡±

    Brin couldn¡¯t help but think there were holy sses anyways. Ellion had acted offended by the question, but he¡¯d also calmed down very quickly. Actually, why did people call him a priest but not a [Priest]? He used [Inspect] on Ellion.

    DO NOT

    The words came with a paralyzing bolt of pain through his brain. The worst migraine of his life; only it disappeared just as quickly.

    He gasped in shock while at the same time wondering if he¡¯d imagined it.

    ¡°Oh, I know that look. You tried to [Inspect] me.¡±

    Brin nodded.

    ¡°Do not, correct? But actually, do. The gods will not punish you outside that moment of pain, and it¡¯s the best way to separate the truly devout from the chatans. Not that anyone would dare in my town.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s all the same to you, I¡¯d rather not.¡±

    Ellion nodded serenely.

    ¡°What¡¯s the n with him?¡± Brin asked, indicating Lu.

    ¡°The body will be burned at dusk. His ashes will be given to his family or entombed below in the catb.¡±

    That made sense. They didn¡¯t bury their dead here. Otherwise, they risked rising again as corpses.

    ¡°Can I ask you onest thing? Do you know who any of the [Witches] are?¡± asked Brin. He kept his voice low to keep from being overheard. It was probably a foolish thing to ask, but he was getting sick of this game.

    Ellion crooked an eyebrow. ¡°Do I know who any of the [Witches] are? What a troubling question. But perhaps I can help you. Come with me.¡±

    He turned to the side door that led to a staircase that circled the temple going down. Brin had been this way before; it led to Ellion¡¯s private apartment. They reached that door, and Ellion peeked in just long enough to grab a candle. He lit it with the snap of his fingers and then kept walking. The stairs kept going, circling down further and further into the darkness.

    They reached the bottom to find a heavy oak door. Ellion put a napkin to his mouth and nose and opened it.

    ¡°Should I have one of those?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You could have a drink with the bartender and be fine. But if the bartender has a drink with every customer, he¡¯ll die. I can''t breathe bone dust with everyone thates down here, but you should he fine."

    Brin covered his mouth with his jacket, just in case. They entered, and Brin could smell the old dust, even through the cloth of his jacket. The room was a big circr hall. All the walls were covered with short foot-wide squares, little alcoves, each with a single ck pot. There were thousands of them.

    ¡°Ashes,¡± said Ellion.

    This was Hammon¡¯s Bog¡¯s cemetery. Or rather, Ellion had called it a catb.

    Ellion carried his candle to an area where there were many empty alcoves. He stopped in front of one; this was probably one of the most recent deaths.

    It read ¡°Dulce Barnace¡±.

    ¡°Barnace,¡± said Brin. ¡°That¡¯s Neptune¡¯sst name.¡±

    ¡°This was his mother,¡± said Ellion. ¡°She died the same night as him. Of age, the council said. If the council says it, then I bow to their wisdom, but I will say this: In my experience, old age does not usually separate a person¡¯s head from their body.¡±

    ¡°She was killed,¡± said Brin. ¡°And the council covered it up?¡±

    ¡°Tried and executed in secret, if I had my guess. She had no friends but her closest acquaintances have been threatened into silence,¡± said Ellion.

    He should have thought of asking about Neptune¡¯s rtives. But if this Dulce Barnace was a [Witch] and a spy for Arcaena, wouldn¡¯t Hogg tell him. No, he realized. This was exactly the type of game that Hogg would y. He would think it terribly clever to let Brin run around chasing a [Witch] who was already dead.

    ¡°This answers a lot of questions,¡± said Brin. ¡°And raises a lot more.¡±

    He wondered if he even should havee here. This wasn''t the time for soul-searching. He should be out there, investigating every lead. And right now, that meant he needed to talk to Yon.

 Book 1. Chapter 12

    Book 1. Chapter 12

    <em>Two monthster.</em>

    Brin held his spear in the ready position, waiting for the beast he was hunting to show itself again. The metal spearhead glinted in the daylight, but he couldn¡¯t let it distract him. The beast would show itself any moment and he had to be ready.

    The spear was a reassuring weight in his hand. It was strong and well-crafted. Far from the crude implements of prehistoric earth, it would¡¯ve looked like an art-piece in his old world. Fine designs and lettering were worked all the way across the shaft, but in a way that still left it perfectly smooth. The shining spearhead was affixed so smoothly to the shaft that on first nce it looked to all be one piece.

    A perfect weapon for this sort of hunt, since in Hammon¡¯s Bog, this sort of craftsmanship waspletely mundane.

    He couldn¡¯t see the enemy, but the ground was marked in red by the [Illusionist]. Not Hogg, the other one. Gustaff.

    The red dot rose, so Brin was ready. Just as the beast showed its head, he struck.

    In one stab, he killed it. His prey, the six-inch long mouse with big floppy ears, was dead.

    What was that, a hundred? Only about a thousand more to go.

    The system didn¡¯t even give him a notification. Brin was d for that, honestly. Even if he could earn experience points, getting notifications for every kill while he was taking care of pests in [Farmer] Dinas¡¯ carrot field would have been supremely annoying.

    More dots shone here and there and Brin moved on to the next one. Other children of the town were scattered across the fields, careful to step only in the dirt spaces between the lines of nts, following targeting dots of their own.

    A soft deep thrumming sound filled the air, courtesy of Gustaff. Something about that sound made the field mice go crazy and scatter about on the surface, giving Brin and the other children a chance to kill them.

    Above the thrumming, a peppy bad yed, a song about lost love but with a beat you could dance to. That was also courtesy of Gustaff.

    The [Illusionist] had also conjured miniature clouds to follow the field workers around offering shade. Brin¡¯s cloud had wandered away somewhere. He had never quite mastered the trick of whistling to guide it back, so instead he worked in the sun, watering the fields with his sweat.

    Gustaff could¡¯ve shaded the entire field, but Dinas would never waste sunshine like that, not with how rainy it was here. His skills made the nts grow frighteningly fast, but only when the sun shined. If Brin sat for five minutes, he could watch the carrot leaves growing bigger in real time.

    Not that he ever had a whole five minutes to just sit around. He hadn¡¯t known exactly what to expect out of quasi-medieval fantasy life, but one thing he¡¯d gotten right was how much work it was. Heughed at the old life where an eight hour workday felt long. Nowadays, Hogg kept him ving away from sunup until sundown, and then into the night sometimes since Gustaff could light that up as bright as day if there was need.

    Brin wiped the sweat out of his eyes, looking for another target. ¡°How much longer do we have to do this?¡± he asked, mostly to himself.

    Someone answered anyway. ¡°We¡¯re not finished until the eleventh bell!¡± It was Davi, a kid the same as Brin¡¯s physical age. He was stocky, though, and big for his age. If Brin had to guess, he would have put Davi as a high school senior, one on the wrestling team, although since Davi didn¡¯t have his System yet he couldn¡¯t be more than thirteen.

    Davi trotted quickly through the furrows, eyes darting around, stabbing rodents left and right. He was a farmer¡¯s son, not <em>this </em>farmer, but one who apparently had the same outlook as Hogg as far as children and idle hands were concerned.

    Unlike Brin, Davi was extremely popr in this town. One of the three golden children of the golden generation.

    Also unlike Brin, Davi took to the work with gusto. He was one of those annoyingly good workers; he worked like he <em>wanted</em> to be here. Maybe he did. He was a good-natured kid, and seemedpletely satisfied with the near certainty that he¡¯d be following in his parent¡¯s footsteps as a [Farmer]. Brin picked up his pace, just so that he wouldn¡¯t look so slow byparison, although he still only speared half as many mice as Davi.

    ¡°What does it matter when we¡¯re done? As soon as we finish one chore, we¡¯re just going to get sent somewhere else,¡± said Brin. ¡°Work never ends.¡±

    Davi stopped. He actually stopped working, right in the middle of the day, something Brin had <em>never</em> seen him do.

    ¡°Brin, after this¡­ I¡¯m done for the day,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°What?¡± The sun must¡¯ve been melting Brin¡¯s brain because that couldn¡¯t be right.

    ¡°Four hours, we choose one of three shifts. After that, I usually go help my parents with their fields, but if I want to go see a movie or y some ball, no one will tell me no. What does Hogg make you do?¡±

    Brin found that he couldn¡¯t answer. Three four-hour shifts, that¡¯s how they separated their work in Hammon¡¯s Bog. Usually, Hogg made him do <em>all three shifts</em>.

    He¡¯d known that he worked more than the other children. But this? This waspletely mad.

    ¡°...more than that,¡± Brin said finally.

    ¡°If you want me to talk to the Prefit for you, I¡¯m sure¨C¡±

    ¡°No thanks,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ll handle it.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± said Davi. Then heughed, to clear the tension. ¡°What did you do to piss Hogg off?¡±

    ¡°I was born, I guess,¡± said Brin.

    They wandered separate directions after that, and while Brin worked, he couldn¡¯t help but go over Davi¡¯s answer again. What had he done to piss Hogg off? He thought they had an understanding, that Hogg was only ying the part of Brin¡¯s parent because no one else could know he was really an adult in a child''s body. When Hogg had given Brin all these assignments, Brin had assumed that he was treating him the way all kids here were treated. This was a rugged frontier town. You worked from sunup till sundown. That¡¯s how it worked right? Wrong. Apparently, that was a hell reserved only for him.

    He vented his frustration into the tiny mice, pumping his arms, wreaking terrible vengeance. By the end, he was certain he was spearing as many as Davi.

    When the eleventh bell finally rang, Brin was exhausted. Not just from the exercise, but emotionally. It was like every stupid extra chore he¡¯d done thest two months was catching up to him all at once. [Farmer] Dinas put out lunch for them. A thick vegetable mash stew, and Brin ate without really tasting it.

    When lunch was done, he didn¡¯t rush over to the mill to start his next work shift. Instead, he just¡­ walked.

    He wasn¡¯t ready to confront Hogg yet. He didn¡¯t want a fight. He just wanted a break.

    He walked past the field, towards the city walls. The fields were all outside the walls. When one harvest was only a matter of weeks, it didn¡¯t make sense to wrap them with the walls in the unlikely event of a foreign army or monster horde, something which had never happened to this town as far as he knew.

    The walls were wooden, vertical logs sharpened at the ends, rising thirty feet into the air. There were watch towers dotting the walls, but no one was ever inside them. He headed through the gates. They were open, and he¡¯d never seen them closed. Monsters stayed out of the city, due to whatever strange magic worked on these circr ¡°bogs¡±. They stayed out of the general area, too, due to the hard work of the town¡¯s [Hunters].

    Inside, the town couldn¡¯t have been more different from Travin¡¯s Bog. Not that he got a good look at his home city, but from the size of the ruins he knew that that town had mostly been made up of smaller, one-room houses.

    Hammon¡¯s Bog was practically a city byparison. Two or three story townhomes were built snug up against each other on both sides of the streets. The roofs were made of wooden shingles, and most of the houses were painted bright red, yellow or blue. borate handmade signs hung from many of the bottom story entrances advertising services: tailors, shoemakers, groceries, a general store, herbs, alchemy, and the like.

    Travin¡¯s Bog had dirt roads, but here boardwalks lined the sides, although if your shoes were already muddy like Brin¡¯s currently were, it was polite to stay on the dirt path in the middle.

    Men and women walked about on their business, and now that he was looking for it, he noticed that no one looked exhausted. No one was stressed or harried. Everyone had the time to stop and chat with their neighbors. How had he not noticed this before?

    His wandering took him to the town square. There was a big grassy in in the middle of town, where they didmunity festivals, and where the children tended to congregate.

    The smaller children yed together. Mostly tag or hide and seek; some things transcended time and space. But Brin was at an age where puberty was starting to make things weird, so the boys and girls had self-segregated. The boys were ying ¡°ball¡±. It was sort of like rugby, but with even fewer rules. It was generally about taking the ball from one side of the square to the other, but mostly it was a big disorganized wrestling match.

    ¡°Hey it¡¯s Brin. Come over, Brin!¡± shouted one of the boys.

    ¡°Shut up, he¡¯s not going to,¡± another said, a little more quietly.

    Normally Brin wouldn¡¯t join in, but today¡­ why not? It was a perfect opportunity, too. Some of the kids had noticed him, but the one holding the ball hadn¡¯t. He was watching the guys following him, not looking where he was going, which was straight towards Brin.

    Brin body checked him, knocking him to the ground, and stole the ball, running straight through the crowd.

    The boys cheered, but that didn¡¯t stop them from trying to take him out. He did the running-back spin past the first three challengers before someone got him by the legs. He fell face-first into grass, tearing a huge divot into the field with his elbow on the way down. The damage to the field would be repaired by the time he woke up tomorrow; he had no idea whose Skill was fixing it, but it was pretty neat.

    Some of the kids were watching him nervously, probably wondering if he¡¯d be mad, but he wasughing when he got to his feet. After that he was one of the guys.

    He didn¡¯t keep track of time and just went with the flow. He¡¯d only yed this one time before, right when he¡¯d first arrived, and it hadn¡¯t been fun at all. He¡¯d been noticeably weaker than the other boys, and kept getting hurt. All the extra shifts must¡¯ve helped him catch up, though. This time he could handle himself and it was a lot more fun.

    Was it weird that he, a twenty-six year old man, was ying with a bunch of kids? Well, maybe, but what was he supposed to do? Everyone treated him like he was the age of his body. And he might not have had the mind of a twelve-year-old, but he had the brain of a twelve-year-old. Childish things were fun again. Everything felt more real and immediate. His emotions were more raw, and time felt longer. And he had the energy of a twelve-year old. ying like this <em>spoke</em> to him. It provided something that he needed, in his soul. So no, he wasn¡¯t going to keep worrying about stuff like acting his age.

    Eventually a bunch of the kids broke off to go do something else, and he left as well.

    He still wasn¡¯t ready to go home, so he kept wandering. He walked past the temple, a tall white structure dedicated to the gods that he mostly avoided. Hogg kept pestering him to talk to the [Priest], but frankly he didn¡¯t want to. The priest might have answers to questions he still didn¡¯t dare to ask.

    Past the templey the amphitheater. Gustaff the [Illusionist] stood on the stage, looking bored and distant. Not really Gustaff, though, since Brin could tell it was just a mirror image of him. He was an old man, older than Hogg, with thin white hair and a long white beard. Although pants, high boots and long jackets were in fashion with the men of Hammon¡¯s Bog, Gustaff always wore a blue robe with white stars sewn in, and slippers.

    A gaggle of younger children surrounded him,ughing.

    The little kids in this town were absolute savages, worse than animals. When they weren¡¯t ying in the square, they roamed the town, searching for prey, and when they found a likely target they¡¯d y all sorts of nasty tricks or simply pelt you with mud if they couldn¡¯t think of anything else.

    Brin was a little curious how Gustaff would chase them all away without revealing that this was only an illusion.

    One of the children ran around and put his full fist straight up Gustaff¡¯s butt, to the shriekingughter of the other boys and girls.

    Right. Unlike Hogg, Gustaff wasn¡¯t hiding the fact that he was an [Illusionist]. The children knew that this wasn¡¯t the real guy. He must¡¯ve kept a mirror image of himself here all day. But why?

    It didn¡¯t take him long to find out. A girl waved her hand through Gustaff¡¯s hand, and suddenly a row of portraits erupted on the stage, covering it from end to end. The children all raced to a different portrait. A boy got to a picture of a man in armor first, and the other children screamed in outrage when the other pictures disappeared.

    The portraits disappeared along with Gustaff. A huge screen appeared, showing a field of flowers, and music started ying.

    This was some kind of automatic interface for Gustaff¡¯s movies. The only time Brin had seen one was when Gustaff had been there in person so he¡¯d never seen the menu before. It was pretty impressive. Unnervingly modern in a town that was still mostly medieval.

    Gustaff was a standard [Illusionist] in this world. He didn¡¯t hide what he did, and while he wasn¡¯t that useful in a fight, he could still work wonders. Like ying movies. Apparently, [Illusionists] could share recordings with each other, and Gustaff made a trip to ckcliff once a year to get thetest blockbusters.

    Hogg could do it too, but he didn¡¯t for obvious reasons. He¡¯d spent a lifetime pretending to be a [Rogue] pretending to be a [Warrior], and as far as the town knew, that¡¯s what he was.

    Brin sat with the kids and watched the movie. A story about a boy who vows to avenge his mother¡¯s death, only to find out that the viin was his love interest¡¯s father. At only forty minutes long it didn¡¯t overstay its wee, but mostly Brin couldn¡¯t get over the fact that here he was, in a pre-industrial society watching a movie on the big screen. There were things about this magical world that he was certain he¡¯d never get used to.

    The movie was over too soon, but he didn¡¯t feel like going to another one. He also didn¡¯t want to go back and talk to Hogg. What was he going to say? What did he want to say? Questions forter. For now, he just wanted to enjoy his impromptu day off.

    He wandered further into town.

    A girl his own age stood in his path, ring down at him imperiously. Myra was the second of the town''s three golden children, although Brin didn¡¯t know why. She had long, straight ck hair, in a town where most everyone¡¯s hair was curly brown, which somewhat set her apart. But she was the daughter of the [Weaver], who had a nasty reputation, and she had a nasty personality to match.

    He moved to the left to pass her by, but she stepped into his way again.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± she asked.

    ¡°None of your business.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be at the Mill today. You¡¯re shirking. Mama says that you¡¯re a pre-[Witch]. Just like a pre-[Witch] to be shirking.¡±

    ¡°Pre-[Witch]? That¡¯s new. Too clunky to be a good insult. It¡¯s never going to catch on,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Did you hear me? I said you¡¯re shirking, pre-[Witch],¡± said Myra.

    ¡°That¡¯s rich, considering your mom is an actual [Witch],¡± said Brin.

    Myra gasped. ¡°The Prefit will have you pilloried for that. It¡¯s against thew to use someone of being a [Witch].¡±

    ¡°What about calling someone a pre-[Witch]?¡±

    Myra didn¡¯t block him when he walked around her this time, and pretty soon she was behind him, mentally and physically. Maybe if he was really twelve this would¡¯ve been a horrible ordeal, but he liked to think he was above things like schoolyard insults. Although, that hadn¡¯t stopped him from firing right back, had it?

    The [Witch] usation¡­ that was something to think about. His [System] awakening was still more than a year away, but what if he did get the [Witch] ss? It was a distinct possibility.

    Siphani might be dead, but her story still hung over this town like a specter, and Myra wasn¡¯t the first person to draw a corrtion between his story and hers. A strange child from out of town. An unusual disposition, although Brin was dark in all the ways Siphani had been light. He didn¡¯t mean to be, there was just a big cultural barrier so he didn¡¯t know how to act, and it didn¡¯t help that he was so tired all the time.

    The point was that everyone expected Brin to get the [Witch] ss. And what if he did? It might not be too bad for him. From Hogg¡¯s story, [Witches] didn¡¯t have to be evil. They had good and evil powers, it was just that the evil parts were hard to resist. Especially for a teenager, the point in life when a person¡¯s impulse control was at the absolute lowest. But for him? He thought he¡¯d be able to handle it.

    Well, it¡¯s not like he¡¯d get to choose, and besides, that was a year away. What did he want to do today?

    He heard a few notes of music, and his heart started beating quickly. It wasing from the public house. The building was tall, but only because it had a high roof. No apartments were built above it on ount of how loud it got at all hours of the night. There was musicing from inside, which meant that tonight would be one of those rowdy nights of singing and dancing.

    Even though Gustaff could y <em>actual </em>movies, [Illusionists] were still considered second-rate entertainers. The real kings of entertainment were [Bards]. That totally boggled Brin¡¯s mind because from what he¡¯d heard Bards could only do music, but everybody <em>swore</em> that Bards were better. It looked like today, Brin would finally get to find out why.

    The [Bard] who lived in Hammon¡¯s Bog, named Jeffrey, had been on the road since before Brin arrived, but by the looks of things he was back in town and already ying in the public house.

    Children weren¡¯t really allowed in there, so Brin had to figure something out if he wanted to hear the music. He could sit on the boardwalk outside the building, but he¡¯d definitely get chased away. Behind, then? Behind the row of buildings there was a slow-moving stream that functioned as an open sewer. The adults would find him the first time someone needed to pee, and that <em>definitely</em> wouldn¡¯t be a good look for him. And it¡¯s not like he wanted to hang out back there anyway.

    Could he listen from above? Worth a shot.

    The store to the left of the public house sold expensive adventuring gear. There were never a ton of customers, mostly travelers, which is why the shopkeeper didn¡¯t mind sharing a wall with the public house.

    Brin spent some time scraping every inch of mud and dirt off his shoes before going inside.

    The shopkeeper was a [Leatherworker] named Perris. A tall, thin man with very pointed, severe features. He looked like the guy you¡¯d cast as a cruel headmaster or a corrupt orphanage manager, but he wasn¡¯t actually mean to children. Or at least he was never mean to Brin. He drove a hard bargain with the adventurers passing through, which is why the best [Smiths] and [Armorers] in this town trusted him to sell their things. He didn¡¯t have a lot of patience for people with no money to spend, although he always made time for penniless Brin.

    Not to say that he¡¯d let Brin up the stairs next to his counter. Those led to his and his family¡¯s private apartments. Not exactly open to the public.

    Brin walked up to the counter and Perris said, ¡°Eh? It¡¯s little Brin if I¡¯m not <em>mistaken?</em>¡±

    No one in this town had gotten sick of that joke yet. Except him of course. He put on a smile anyways. ¡°Sure is!¡±

    ¡°You must¡¯ve heard about Toros¡¯ new batch, hm? Come to look at the swords?¡± asked Perris. Even his voice sounded viinous. It was sort of squeaky and overdramatized, giving everything he said a nefarious bent.

    ¡°Sure am! If that¡¯s ok,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± said Perris, smiling a bit too wide, showing off rows of crooked but eerily white teeth.

    Perris took Brin over to arge, gilded disy case. It was enchanted against theft. Even a [Warrior] would find it impossible to break into it, and a [Rogue] would find it impossible to pick the magical lock, ording to Perris.

    Inside was a row of glittering weapons. Swords, each more exotic and beautiful than thest. There were quite a few new ones since thest time he¡¯d been here.

    ¡°Toros has outdone himself. He''s got a new Skill, his level fifty capstone. The cheapest sword in this case is on the left, worth twenty-five gold. And I¡¯ll get thirty for it, mark you me,¡± said Perris. Heughed. Cackled, really, and Brin chuckled along.

    Honestly, Brin liked Perris. A viin on the outside, but really he was just a big softie on the inside.

    ¡±You should understand something. People talk about sses this, and Skills that, but the <em>real</em> power in this world is money. With this sword, I could cut down a level thirty [Warrior], despite being a <em>humble</em> [Leatherworker]. You think Toros is a great [Smith] because he worked hard? Ha! He makes the best weapons because he can afford the best materials. This sword is made of Blue Sapphire! It wasn¡¯t even a metal before Toros worked it, but now it¡¯s got a spring to it like tin and it''s stronger than steel.¡±

    Perris was leaning over Brin¡¯s shoulder like a devil.

    Brin smiled. ¡°Cool! What¡¯s it do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s light and strong and well suited for agility-focused fighters. The metallic Sapphire is perfect for enchantment, and it¡¯s got everything that Chamy could pack into it. Boost to speed. Boost to strength. Minor healing. It can even shoot a devastating st of ice, though only once a month and it¡¯s ufortably hot to hold the entire month when it¡¯s charging. Forget [Warriors]. Now my weapons rival the power of [Mages]!¡±

    Brin gave an appropriate reaction of awe, though he knew that was an exaggeration. From demonstrations he¡¯d seen before, the sword would probably cast a fist-sized rock of ice. Good enough to kill a <em>small</em> monster or serve as a distraction, but definitely nothing approaching the apocalyptic devastation that Lumina could unleash. Minor healing sounded impressive, but healing wasn''t all that easy in this world. Minor healing meant <em>minor</em>, as in it might heal a blister over the course of an hour.

    Perris gave Brin the description of every new sword in the case. A scimitar with me magic. A fencer¡¯s foil that focused on speed and reduced wind resistance, which didn¡¯t sound that impressive but Perris swore it was vital to the type of fighter who would use it. The most expensive was a big ck sword that didn¡¯t do much except that it was nigh unbreakable, really heavy, and increased the user¡¯s friction against the ground. ording to Perris, <em>really</em> high level [Warriors] didn¡¯t need tricks, they only wanted a weapon that would let them leverage their incredible Strength. That one cost more than a hundred gold.

    Some customers came in and Perris left to take care of them. He let Brin stay with the swords, his eyes glued to the disy case. He didn¡¯t usually let people browse unattended, but he knew he could trust Brin.

    Well, he knew he could trust Brin not to steal anything. As soon as Perris¡¯ back was turned, Brin darted to the back and dashed up the stairs as quickly as he could move without making a sound.

    The doors weren¡¯t locked. Who would bother? Brin found Perris¡¯ door, and went inside. He crept across the floor of a living room. It was lushly appointed, with a thick rug, afortable-looking sofa and end tables with expensive vases. The only source of light was the window.

    He cursed inwardly when he saw it was made of ss instead of the open-air windows or wooden ts that most people used, but luckily there was a hinge to let it open.

    He crawled through the window and closed it genty before dropping down the six or seven feet to the wooden shingles on the roof of the public hall. He hid behind the chimney where he was on the street-facing side of the roof instead of the sewer-facing side, but still blocked from view of anyone below.

    From here, he could hear the music perfectly, and it hit him like the first glimpse of sunlight after a year underground. Ah, so this was what a [Bard] could do.

    It was dancing music, and Brin¡¯s whole body wanted to jump up and start moving. He managed to limit it to tapping his feet, but it would¡¯ve been easier to stop breathing.

    Gustaff could y music, too, of course. Any kind of music, or at least, anything that Gustaff had heard before. But there was a huge difference. An [Illusionist] could only reproduce the sounds of the music. [Bards], it seemed, could reach your heart.

    Brin had appreciated music in his old life, of course, as much as anyone. Sometimes it was just background noise, and sometimes it took him on a journey, made him feel angry or sad or lonely. Sometimes it reached his heart. This [Bard] had taken him all the way there, back to the way he had felt in his past life the summer after he turned fifteen, when he went to his first rock concert. And this was only the first song.

    A window opened, opposite to the side of the roof where he¡¯de in, and a girl slipped out andnded on the roof. She tiptoed quickly across the roof and sat beside him with her back against the chimney. She had the brown curly hair that wasmon in this town, and her simple cream working dress had grass stains on the knees.

    This was thest and by far the most beloved of the golden trifecta. Hammon''s Bog''s favored daughter. He didn¡¯t know why she¡¯d snuck up here with him. If she had gone into the public house they would have rolled out the red carpet for her, rules or no rules.

    ¡°What are you doing up here, Zilyana?¡± Brin hissed.

    ¡°Following you, of course. Call me Zilly, everyone does,¡± said ZIlly. ¡°This is awesome! I can¡¯t believe no one has ever thought of this before.¡±

    ¡°Well don¡¯t ruin it for me by telling everyone about it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think anyone else would make it up here even if they know. Olha only let me through because she and my mom are friends. I can¡¯t believe you got past Perris! It makes sense, though, since your dad¡­ or your, um, guardian is a [Rogue], everyone says that that¡¯s what you¡¯ll get, too.¡±

    Huh. He hadn¡¯t heard that particr rumor. Better than everyone saying he was going to be a [Witch].

    She must¡¯ve misunderstood something in his expression because she quickly said, ¡°Oh, sorry. He¡¯s supposed to be a [Warrior], isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°Hm? Oh, no. Hogg knows he¡¯s not fooling anyone. People call him [Warrior] to be polite. Because you know, your ss is your ss, but Hogg would never steal or anything like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, good,¡± said Zilly.

    The dancing music from below ended and a new song started. This was an epic, a long, long song with a lot of verses that told a story. Where an [Illusionist¡¯s] movies could show you a story, this song made him feel like he was there. With his mind¡¯s eye, Brin saw the brave hero with a glimmering spear facing off against endless monsters as clearly as he were the warrior of legend.

    Brin and Zilly sat and listened to the entire thing. Enraptured, they couldn¡¯t speak a word. When it was done, Zilly let out a sigh of relief.

    ¡°I like Jeffrey, but sometimes his songs can be a little much,¡± said Zilly.

    The next song started, something slow and sweet, almost sharine. ¡°Oh no,¡± said Brin.

    This song was romantic.

    Zilly leaned towards him. Her heavy-lidded eyes fixed on his lips. Oh no. Their bodies might be the same age, but she just looked like a little girl to him. She bit her lip¡­ then shook. Her shoulders convulsed again, and she broke outughing.

    Relieved, Brinughed along. She punched his shoulder and he punched her back.

    ¡°I had you going,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Yeah, right,¡± said Brin. ¡°Just be d you didn¡¯t take it too far and I didn¡¯t have to push you off this roof.¡±

    ¡°As if you could,¡± said Zilly.

    The song after that was sad. Almost from the first note Zilly closed her eyes and wept away some secret sorrow. Brin felt a painful lump in his stomach as he thought of everything he¡¯d lost from his other life, but somehow his eyes stayed dry. It made him wonder if he was broken.

    Zilly slipped away when the song was done. In an impressive disy of athleticism, she jumped up the wall to the window she¡¯de from.

    Brin went to the back side and jumped off the roof. He¡¯d been steadily getting used to what his attribute-enhanced body could do, and the twelve foot drop to the ground wasn¡¯t an issue. Then he simply walked in Perris¡¯ backdoor, nning on pretending he¡¯d gone to use the privy if he was asked.

    He wasn¡¯t asked. Perris was back behind his counter. ¡°Done already? You know, maybe someday you¡¯ll be here to buy one of those swords. Well don¡¯t expect me to give you a discount! Ha ha HA!¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to. I can¡¯t wait to barter you down myself!¡±

    ¡°Do you think you can? You fool. You absolute fool,¡± said Perris, punctuating his statement with a fresh round of cackling.

    Brin smiled. ¡°You forget, I already know the number to aim for. You already told me what your swords are worth.¡±

    ¡°Did I? DID I?¡± Perrisughed Brin out the door, and his solemn mood from the [Bard¡¯s] sad song waspletely forgotten. Perris always had a way of cheering him up.

    The sun was starting to set, so Brin figured it was time. He needed to talk to Hogg.

    Brin left town. Outside the walls, past the fields, far into the trees, Hogg¡¯s home was built right on a riverbank in a cozy little clearing. Everyone thought it was because Hogg didn¡¯t like people, which, while true, wasn¡¯t the real reason. The truth was that Hogg wanted a ce where he was free to be an [Illusionist] without anyone finding out.

    When he got home, Hogg was sitting on the front porch, smoking from a pipe. That wasn¡¯t real, though he really could smell the smoke. He narrowed his eyes, looking for the real Hogg.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] wasn¡¯t perfect at finding invisible things, but he could still do it with a little effort. The trick was that he had to be looking at the spot where he thought Hogg might be and think something like ¡°nothing is there¡±. Only then would his Skill tell him <em>that¡¯s not real.</em>

    Brin scanned the area, looking for ces Hogg might be hiding. The forest, the little garden¡­ he had to be close enough that Brin could still smell the pipe smoke.

    He saw something in a tree nearby, a spot of air on a high tree branch that wasn¡¯t as empty as it pretended to be. He picked up a pebble and threw it at the spot, and it disappeared.

    What was that? Had Hogg jumped down? Or maybe he¡¯d put a mirror image up there and made it invisible.

    He saw an unusual ssh in the stream. There, Hogg was fishing. Even now that he¡¯d spotted him, the Skill didn¡¯t let him see through the illusion. It just told him something was there. He was pretty sure this was the real thing, from the way the smell of pipesmoke grew stronger.

    He walked over to stand next to Hogg¡¯s approximate area.

    ¡°How¡¯s the stuff with the undead army going?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Nothing¡¯s changed since yesterday when you asked. The unit from Gn¡¯s Order arrived, but they haven¡¯t had any more luck than us. The entire undead army has just¡­ disappeared. We aren¡¯t going to give up looking for them, but there¡¯s not a lot we can do for now. The Frenarian army won¡¯t mobilize after all. They said they¡¯lle if their scouts find something, but for now there¡¯s nothing for them to fight. Lumina is talking about heading back to the tower. She¡¯s not the outdoorsy type, and two months of camping are starting to wear on her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good news, right? The army is gone,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s a disaster. The first thing I told you about conflict in this world is that it¡¯s all about information. The army is still out there, but we don¡¯t know where they are. Meanwhile they know where we are, and all about who we are and what we can do. But! Nothing we can do about it that we aren¡¯t already doing. Now, don¡¯t get me wrong but you look like you have something on your mind, and I doubt it¡¯s about wanting to hear the same old news.¡±

    ¡°I did the vermin extermination job this morning. But after that I took the rest of the day off,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Alright,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? You¡¯re not going to chew me out for skipping all my work?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Should I? You¡¯re old enough to make your own decisions, despite how you look,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I look older every day. I think I¡¯m going through a growth spurt. Words I never thought I¡¯d say again,¡± said Brin. ¡°But that¡¯s beside the point. I¡¯ve been working twelve hours a day, <em>every day</em>. You told me I had to. You let me think that if I didn¡¯t that I¡¯d stand out and get a reputation for beingzy.¡±

    ¡°That I did,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg didn¡¯t respond. It felt like he was talking to the empty air. It looked like that, too.

    Brin tamped down on his rising anger. Half of it was hormones, and he knew from experience that an emotional outburst wasn¡¯t the way to win the ¡°I should be treated as an adult¡± argument.

    When he was sure he could speak calmly, he said, ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand why you did it. When I first arrived I was super weird. I knew thenguage but nothing else. Keeping me busy and limiting my interactions with people helped me stay under the radar until I got used to the social norms. Also I was weak,pared to other kids my age. Working all the time has done wonders for my attributes. I just wish you¡¯d let me in on the n.¡±

    ¡°Good reasons all, but no, that¡¯s not why,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Hold on.¡±

    Hogg appeared, holding a fishing pole that was bending under the weight of a fish. He reeled it in, a blue and silver trout, at least a foot long. Hogg pulled a knife from one of the many that were strapped to his ck leathers and started cleaning it, even before it waspletely dead.

    ¡°So why?¡± Brin asked patiently.

    ¡°You still get those nightmares?¡± asked Hogg.

    Yes. Nearly every night, Brin dreamt that he was back in Travin¡¯s Bog. He¡¯d woken up more than once in the middle of the night, panicking that the refrigeration in his cer must¡¯ve worn out. Even now it was hard to feel safe when it was warm, and Hammon¡¯s Bog was always warm unless it was hot. Once, a week after he¡¯d arrived in town, Hogg had woken up to find him in the stream, sitting up to his neck, his lips blue and teeth chattering.

    But they¡¯d faded. Lately he¡¯d been sleeping through the night, and rarely woke up in terror.

    Hogg said, ¡°You uh¡­ when you arrived, you woke up screaming three times the first night.¡±

    ¡°Sorry I interrupted your sleep,¡± said Brin, regretting the sharp edge to his tone.

    ¡°Pox on that! I can muffle sound if that¡¯s all it is. But, like it or not, you¡¯re sort of my responsibility. I told you I don¡¯t really know how to deal with people. So I asked for advice. I said, I¡¯ve got a kid here, woke up in an undead city with no memories and almost died a bunch of times. Figured that experience was bad for you, like, emotionally. They agreed. They told me to put you to work. Said the best elixir is time, but also sleep, so I needed to work you hard enough that you¡¯d fall asleep no matter how bad the nightmares got. Well, I¡¯d say it worked.¡±

    ¡°Who did you go to?¡±

    ¡°The Prefit. And¡­ others,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Who?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°[Weaver] Tawna,¡± said Hog.

    ¡°What?¡± Brin said, not quite exploding. ¡°Why would you go to her?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s wise,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°She¡¯s ridiculous,¡± said Brin. ¡°And she hates me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be daft. She doesn¡¯t hate anyone,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin sighed. ¡°It ends today. I can¡¯t keep living like that.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Hogg. ¡°What are you going to do instead?¡±

    ¡°I need to learn. I can get by in regr conversation, and I¡¯ve learned a bit from Gustaff¡¯s movies and Jeffrey¡¯s stories, but it¡¯s not enough. I need history. Literature. Religion, even.¡±

    ¡°You should visit the temple. Talk to the priest, Ellion.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t want to,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg snorted. ¡°Scared.¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Brin.

    Finished with cleaning the fish, Hogg walked over to the smoke shed and put the fish inside. Then he grabbed his pole and sat back down on a folding chair on the riverbank.

    ¡°The Prefit¡¯s got a personal library. I¡¯ll have a talk with him about letting you use it. In fact, I can ask him now,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin waited for Hogg to stand up and get going, until he realized that of course Hogg would just use a mirror image.

    ¡°Can¡¯t just read all the time,¡± said Hogg. ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°Strength,¡± said Brin. ¡°I have an achievement boosting it. If I can get it higher, I can start whatever ss I get with a considerable advantage. That means training. Lifting weights.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a good enough n. What about today?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Got another fishing pole?¡±

    Hogg eyed him, then nodded. ¡°Use mine. I can make another one right quick.¡± He moved away, but a mirror image stayed behind. ¡°In the meantime, maybe you could tell me more about those¡­ radio waves? If it¡¯s not digging up anything best left buried, that is.¡±

    Brin thought about it. Thinking about his old memories didn¡¯t hurt as much as they had before. He could talk about them. No, he wanted to.

    ¡°Sure, but I don¡¯t know what else I can say. We¡¯ve got a way to trante sound into what we call radio waves. They¡¯re e¡­ electro¡­ no, that doesn¡¯t trante at all. They¡¯re like beams of light, only they aren¡¯t visible and they can travel extremely long distances without degrading...¡±

    <strong>Information</strong> Name Brin isu Yambul Age 12 Race Human ss Child of Travin''s Bog Level 1 <strong>Attributes</strong> Strength 16 Dexterity 15 Vitality 14 Magic 9 Mental Control 13 Will 13 <strong>Titles</strong> Survivor of Travin''s Bog Locked Traveler Locked Otherworlder Locked <strong>Achievements</strong> Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    <strong>Oaths</strong> Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 1. Chapter 13

    Book 1. Chapter 13

    The next day, Brin set off for his chores like usual, a hard morning at the mill, but it felt like the time went by in a sh now that he knew he¡¯d be done with work at the end of the four hour shift.

    To his surprise, he found Hogg waiting for him when he finished. The [Millers] hadid out some bread and butter for him, but Hogg didn¡¯t even wait for him to pat the flour off his clothes before he said, ¡°I gotta talk to you. Come here.¡±

    Brin followed him back behind the building, where the huge des of the windmill spun slowly in the breeze.

    ¡°I got news,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°About the Heroes?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s the same as ever. This is about you. Or, your body. The kid whose body you¨C You know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. He wasn¡¯t sure he wanted to hear this.

    ¡°Just like we hoped, there were survivors of Travin¡¯s Bog. Some are scattered to the wind, but most settled in Kara¡¯s Bog. I asked around, trying to find out about you, figure out who knew you and maybe what your name was. Didn¡¯t have much to go on, but I passed around your picture. There were some who recognized your face.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. No one knew you. Your parents were traveling merchants. The people whose house you were staying with died in the attack, and they were the only people who got your parents¡¯ names. No one learned your name. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a dead end.¡±

    That was a relief, although he felt guilty at how much of a relief it was. He knew it was his responsibility to follow up on whatever final wishes this boy may have had, but being told that there was nothing else he could do was very liberating. He could dare to think that this life was his now. Completely his, without some poor lonely ghost following him around.

    Brin met Hogg¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Thanks for letting me know.¡±

    Hogg nodded and turned to leave. Over his shoulder he called, ¡°You should talk to the [Priest]!¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t respond. If there was someone who would know more about the circumstances of his reincarnation, it would be the [Priest] in the temple. He had to go sometime, if only to get this weight off his shoulders, but Hogg was right when he used Brin of being afraid.

    What if the [Priest] decided that Brin was an evil spirit that needed to be cast out? What if the boy was still inside here somewhere, screaming silently as a stranger controlled his body? Also, Solia was real. The gods in that ce were real. But were they gods? What if he found evidence that the faith of his old world was wrong? <em>What if he didn¡¯t?</em>

    He walked towards the temple. Then turned around and walked away. Then turned around again and walked straight there, eyes on the ground. He stood outside, waiting. For what, he didn¡¯t know. An invitation, maybe?

    The temple was beautiful white stone, one piece to all appearances, and the only stone structure in town. Before him was a wide open doorway leading to arge open space on the inside. Above the door, images of the gods were arranged in rows, forming a pyramid-shaped roof.

    The sixteen godlings on the bottom row. The nine minor gods were next. Above that, the seven major gods, including Nedramus, Magelin, Eridu, Sezorat and the goddess who¡¯d apparently been speaking to him. Solia.

    Above that were the three Fundamentals: Inanu, Babus, and Nocta. On the top row, the Ur-god, Primus, stood alone.

    ¡°Are you wondering if you¡¯ll light on fire the second you cross the threshold? Maybe you shouldn¡¯t take the chance,¡± said a woman.

    He turned and saw the absolutest person he wanted to see. It was that [Weaver]dy, Tawna. From anyone else, he would have taken it as friendly banter, but there was something in the way she said it that told him it was far from friendly.

    ¡°I guess you would know.¡±

    He didn¡¯t get thisdy. Everyone said [Weavers] could see the future. They talked about her like she was all mysterious and wise, but every time he¡¯d met her he¡¯d seen nothing but a small, bitter old hag.

    She had wide open eyes with an unhappy smirk; in his old life he¡¯d seen that face on all kinds of unbearable people. She had the same long ck hair as her daughter, and she was closer to his mind¡¯s age. In his past life, she probably would¡¯ve been someone he¡¯d try to get to know better. At least until he saw her make that face.

    ¡°Well? Why don¡¯t you move along?¡± she said.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you? I¡¯m not blocking the street,¡± he said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll excuse that because you¡¯re from out of town, but in <em>my</em> town, that isn¡¯t the way that children talk to adults. You can bet that I¡¯ll be having a talk with your guardian.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please do. I would love to see you try to throw your weight around with Hogg,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Do you <em>exist</em> to vex me? You are ruining this town. Why can¡¯t you do as I say and leave?¡±

    ¡°The only thing wrong with this town is you,¡± said Brin. He turned toward the temple doorway.

    "Ah ah ah! What do you think you''re doing? You have no idea what you''ve brought. What you''re bringing."

    "Then tell me," said Brin.

    She pursed her lips back into the tight little smirk, eyes wide.

    He shook his head and walked away from the silly conversation. Into the temple. Maybe he¡¯d just needed the motivation toe in here, and spite was a pretty good motivator. Tawna didn¡¯t want him toe in here? Then that was a good reason to do it.

    Looking around, he felt stupid that it had taken him so long to do this. It was a beautiful building, with some solid stone benches, a few murals on the wall, and beautiful geometric patterns on the ceiling. The [Priest] Ellion was sitting on a plush armchair, head back and eyes closed. He was taking a nap. This was a peaceful ce.

    The stone walls and floor echoed every single sound, but somehow also made the room feel quieter. Quieter, andrger. It seemed to getrger andrger the further he walked inside.

    He walked across the empty chamber and sat on one of the benches. He was here to talk to Ellion, but there was no rush. He could wait for the man to wake up.

    His eyes moved across the room¡¯s decorations. The murals told a story of sorts. Each wall was a different season, winter, spring, summer, fall. So they <em>did</em> have four seasons here. That was one question answered. He¡¯d been beginning to wonder, because the entire time he¡¯d been here, the weather hadn¡¯t seemed to change at all. Muggy and warm, always.

    The seasons depicted on the murals weren¡¯t really the ones he was used to. Winter was depicted as torrential rain. Spring had lots of rain and flowers, with sunbeams peaking through the clouds. Summer was all bright skies and greenery, while fall was rainy again, and brown. The gods frolicked here and there in the pictures, acting out their various roles. Sometimes they were easy to understand, like the goddess Magelin fighting a bear. Some were more difficult, like Eridu shouting at a waterfall.

    In the center of the chamber the statues¡­ no, there was just one statue. One veryrge, twenty foot tall statue of a goddess. Solia.

    How had he not seen that from outside? It was huge. A gigantic white statue, whiter than marble, more like ster. She was sorge her head nearly touched the domed ceiling. She loomed, almost threateningly.

    No, she stood triumphant, one arm pointing to the horizon, the other a fist in the air. And why had he thought she was white? The stone was golden and glossy, almost metallic.

    Seriously, how was this even here? If there was a huge statue of the goddess Solia in this town, he¡¯d think at least one person who mention it. And it was really here, [Know What¡¯s Real] wasn¡¯t ringing any rms for him. It was doing the opposite. Somehow, the statue was more real than anything around it.

    It was also strange that Ellion was asleep,e to think of it. Did [Priests] just randomly take naps in the middle of the day?

    Maybe if Ellion was awake, Brin would be able to ask him about the strange, shifting statue. He hadn¡¯t actually seen her move, but now she was looking down. One arm was at her side. The other was held towards him, palm outward.

    Despite all the strangeness, his mind felt calm. Sluggish. Something was going on, but he couldn''t seem to turn on his internal rm bells. He tried to shout, but it came out as a sigh.

    Ellion¡¯s eyes snapped open. He stood and took a step towards Brin. ¡°What¨C?¡±

    He was gone.

    The panic Brin had tried to muster hit him all at once.

    The statue. Solia. She wasn¡¯t standing at all. She was bending over, looking at him. She was still as stone. She was <em>moving always moving she¡¯d never stopped motion she was pure motion she was still she¡¯d never moved at all. She was solid and unchanging as the firmament she was rapid and amorphous she never stopped changing she changed slowly she was still as the void. </em>

    Brin¡¯s head was screaming. Brin was screaming. Brin¡¯s Skill, which wasn¡¯t really a Skill, more like a part of him, a delicate organ, exposed to open air and vulnerable and raw. It was screaming at him.

    THIS. IS. REAL.

    He shut his eyes. He closed off his mind. This couldn¡¯t be real. It was a bad trip. In the religions that Christianity reced, they used to give people that visited their temples hallucinogens, and then bedazzle them with optical illusions. Smoke and mirrors.

    The truth mmed into his mind, tearing apart the lie he was trying to create. His eyes were opened again.

    THIS. IS. REAL.

    ¡°Look upon me,¡± said Solia.

    It was hard toprehend what he saw. A woman in form, but also other things. Her head was the sun, and she had a cow¡¯s horns. From her arms hung the wings of a bird. She stood in a river between life and death.

    She was enormous. She spanned dimensions he couldn¡¯tprehend, that itched at the edge of his awareness, pulling at threads trying to unravel his mind. She was powerful, controlling and using forces that he didn¡¯t have words for.

    ¡°Look upon me, and fear not,¡± said Solia. This time¡­ he saw what she was trying to show him. He didn¡¯t need to fear her. She wouldn¡¯t hurt him, and she wouldn¡¯t lie to him either. He saw the edges. She was enormous, but not infinite. She was powerful, but not omnipotent. Godlike, but not god. Even so, she was too much for him. If he looked any longer, he''de apartpletely.

    She looked down at him with pity in her eyes. Pity and <em>universes </em>in her eyes. ¡°Fear not. I will depart, so that you may remain alive for a time. I will instruct my servant Ellion. Ask your questions of him.¡±

    All at once, the world was normal again. He was in the temple, but it was just stone. The chamber was empty except for the stone benches and the murals on the wall, and Ellion the priest. The statue of Solia was gone, if it had ever really been there in the first ce.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] hit him like the aftershock of an earthquake. <em>IT WAS THERE. IT WAS REAL.</em>

    Brin knelt, putting his hands on the floor. It wasfortably cool. He put his cheek against it, feeling the stone pull the excess heat away from his body. It felt nice, despite how he was shivering.

    Normal floor. Normal stone. He wanted to kiss it for how normal it was.

    Ellion stepped towards him, confusion and concern in his features. ¡°What was¡­¡± Then he stopped short and his eyes went wide. ¡°No no no, please don¡¯t¨C!¡± He screamed.

    A glow appeared behind Ellions¡¯ eyes, a fire. His feet left the floor, and his eyes shone brightly, so bright Brin had to look away, where he could see the stone benches casting ck shadows despite the noonday hour.

    Then all at once it was over again, and Ellion fell to the floor. The templey in silence.

    Briny on the stone floor for a while, while Ellion sat and stared at the open air. Neither remembered exactly how long they stayed like that.

    Brin shivered and pulled the nket closer. Ellion ced a steaming cup of tea on the table in front of him. It amazed Brin to see how steady the priest¡¯s hands were when he picked up his own cup and took a sip. He winced. ¡°Ow. Hot.¡±

    They were in Ellion¡¯s basement apartment, underneath the temple. It was small, but clean and surprisingly cozy. A sofa, a bed, a small half kitchen. A small bookshelf. Everything you¡¯d need and nothing you didn¡¯t.

    A fire roared in the firece. Where the smoke went he didn¡¯t know. borate pipework must take it away from the temple, because as far as he knew they were directly below the stone where he¡¯d had his vision.

    He was grateful for the fire. Somehow he couldn¡¯t shake the cold. One bright side; his thermophobia was cured. He was cold and he never wanted to feel like this again.

    He tried the tea. It was too hot and it burned his tongue, so he took smaller sips, but he didn¡¯t stop because it tasted great. A lot of honey. An absurd amount of honey, actually, maybe more honey than water but it was exactly what he needed right now.

    ¡°It helps,¡± said Ellion. ¡°This isn¡¯t my first time. Hopefully it¡¯s myst, though.¡±

    Brin chuckled, and that made him feel better, too. "I would think you''d have an easier time of it, being a [Priest] and all."

    "You''d think so, wouldn''t you," said Ellion, chuckling but also sadly serious.

    Ellion¡¯s fine robes and headdress made him look older than he really was, but up close Brin could see that he was in his prime, without any gray in his hair. He had strong features, and a line of dried blood stilly in tear tracks under his eyes.

    Brin pointed to them on his own face, and realized that he had bloody tear trails as well.

    ¡°Oh, where are my manners,¡± said Ellion. He wiped his face with a handkerchief, and gave Brin a spare for his own face.

    Ellion produced a hand mirror to get thest few little spots, then handed it over to Brin.

    ¡°Now, where to begin. Let¡¯s start with you. You are twelve years old. Your name is Brin isu Yambul. Tranted into English, it¡¯s Scar the Mistaken,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°You¡¯re speaking English! How are you doing that?¡± Shocked, Brin realized that Ellion had been speaking English since he¡¯de down here.

    Ellion shuddered. ¡°I was given thenguage, as well as some knowledge of your situation. If the goddess had imparted it to you directly, you would have perished. An intermediary was necessary.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯m sorry you had to go through that. If it was anything like what I saw... I didn¡¯t know she was going to do that when I came in here.¡±

    Ellion nodded. ¡°I know. And your apology is epted. Now, there is much that Solia would have me tell you. Some of it is forter, but much of it I can tell you now. First, about your name. Brin means ¡®scar¡¯ in Frenarian, but it¡¯s actually not unheard of as a name. ¡®Mistaken¡¯ is, though, so that¡¯s how people think of you. Brin the Mistaken. For the record, Mark Lambert is dead.¡±

    Brin thought he was done being surprised, but that still shocked him. ¡°I¡¯ve never told anyone myst name.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t known.¡±

    ¡°When you say Mark Lambert is dead, does that mean I¡¯m not¨C?¡±

    ¡°You <em>were</em>. Mark Lambert. Then you died and now you¡¯re here. You have memories of your past life in your head, but your body is that of a twelve-year-old boy and that makes you a twelve-year-old boy. The water fills the vessel, but the vessel is not the water and the water is not the vessel; this is wisdom.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s actually¡­ really nice to know. But I still think me and Zilly should just be friends,¡± said Brin.

    Ellion¡¯s lips quirked with humor. ¡°I think that¡¯s wise. On that note¡­ your body.¡±

    Brin braced himself for the news. This question is what had brought him here in the first ce, and if he¡¯d gotten more than he¡¯d bargained for, he still needed to know about who his body belonged to.

    ¡°Your body had a previous owner. He¡¯s dead now. The [Mage] Lumina guessed correctly at what happened to him. His mother¡­ she didn¡¯t treat him the way she ought to have. But she loved him, in her own way. She crafted an artifact to save his life, one time, from a mortal wound. Due to his circumstances, he was given a choice. He saw what lies ahead, and he knew what waited for him should he turn back. He chose to move on.¡±

    Brin bowed his head. ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t resent him for his choice. You made another. When youy dying, your soul cried to the heavens in rebellion. You felt it unjust, to die the way you did. It was seen that another body was avable and so it was given to you. Make no mistake, if that unsouled body had fallen into the hands of the one who destroyed Travin¡¯s Bog, great evil would have been done with it. By taking possession of it, you were able to resolve the boy¡¯s final regret. This life is yours now. He no longer cares what happens to it.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°Can I ever go home?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°What? But¨C¡±

    ¡°What would you have Solia do? Send you back? You¡¯ve received a true miracle, something far beyond anything you had any right to expect, you already demand a second miracle? No, make the best of this life. You won¡¯t get another second chance,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°What if I find another way? Some kind of spell or something,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I know of no such method, but perhaps. Perhaps you¡¯ll gain the levels necessary to extend your lifespan, and after a century or two you¡¯ll gather the power you''ll need to make it happen. But you¡¯ll be traveling there as Brin, not Mark. This is a lesson all men must learn. You can never go home. The ce you once called home has changed, and you don¡¯t belong there any more. Hold that memory warm and safe in your heart, but move on. You must make a new ce to call home.¡±

    Brin sat and thought for a moment. He pulled the nket off; it was getting too warm. ¡°What was his name?¡±

    ¡°That is not for me to say. If you wish to know, find out on your own.¡±

    Brin nodded, and stared at the crackling fire, deep in thought. ¡°I should go.¡±

    Ellion said, ¡°Very well. Should you ever feel the desire to converse in your mother tongue, I hope you will not hesitate to visit.¡±

    Brin promised he would, then left the temple. It was night. Late at night, but he didn¡¯t go back to Hogg¡¯s ce. He wandered the streets, walking endlessly as he thought.

    The houses and buildings took on a new cast. They seemed a bit more solid than the day before, a bit more substantial. They weren''t just backdrops any more. This wasn''t a temporary shelter. For the rest of his life, whenever someone asked where he was from, he''d have to tell them he was from here.

    A new home. A new life. What did he want that to look like?

    He found himself at the public house.

    The customers had all gone home, but it wasn¡¯t empty. The bartender was sitting behind the bar, the [Bard] was counting coins on stage, a young man was sweeping the dance floor, and H, the owner, was clearing tables. She scowled at him when he walked in. Kids weren''t allowed in here, especially after dark.

    He ignored her and walked straight over to Jeffrey the [Bard]. ¡°Can you teach me to y?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t work,¡± said Jeffrey. ¡°There¡¯s no surefire way to get the [Bard] ss.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ve always wanted to be able to make music. I don¡¯t need a ss for that, do I?¡±

    Jeffrey smiled and strummed a note. A chair jumped up from the dining area and danced its way up to the stage beside him. He patted it.

    ¡°Sure kid. I can teach you.¡±

 Book 1. Chapter 14

    Book 1. Chapter 14

    The vision of Solia tumbled its way through his mind. He¡¯d seen her, a goddess, and she was real. He wished he could deny it, takefort in ambiguity, but he couldn¡¯t. She was real, she was out there, and she knew his name. But what did she want from him? Surely she¡¯d saved his life and given him [Know What¡¯s Real] for a reason. But what? There didn¡¯t seem to be an answer, so he let the memory ssh around in his mind until it started to fade.

    ying music with Jeffrey soothed the aftershock of having his third eye forced open to stare at the sun, and within a few days he was talking andughing again.

    The next month of Brin¡¯s life was a lot less difficult than the previous two had been. He did his shift in the morning, yed with the children, and practiced music when Jeffrey had time.

    Jeffrey didn¡¯t use any [Bard] Skills when they practiced together, he just made regr music. Sometimes he yed simple things and had Brin repeat it. Other times Brin yed a melody and Jeffrey yed along, turning a wobbly, shaky solo into a magnificent duet. Mostly, though, he had Brin run through drills, building up his muscle memory. The exercises were painful sometimes but over the month he gained a little something from the System, three separate times.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Dexterity +1

    Jeffrey¡¯s music also warded off his nightmares as well. He slept perfectly every night, until Jeffrey went on the road again. That night, Brin dreamt of Travin¡¯s Bog and the undead. He woke up on the floor, a nket wrapped tight around himself and panicking at how warm he felt. He didn''t think he screamed; a small mercy.

    Even after waking uppletely he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that the army was out there. Just out of sight, behind the treeline. He pictured them lined up in ranks. Waiting for him to be alone again.

    Honestly, did he <em>know</em> they weren¡¯t there? Hogg had mentioned that they didn¡¯t know where the army was, and that was a very, very bad thing. For all he knew, they really were scouting out the town, setting up an ambush. It might not be long until he was living in the ashes of another dead town, watching this group of people rotting in the middle of the street until they slowly, one by one, joined the army that killed them. He could see Hogg, Zilly, Davi, even Perris, all zombified and wearing those eerie tight ck clothes that all the undead soldiers had worn. They would attack him on sight, and before he''d die, he''d see a faint glimmer of recognition in their eyes...

    He shook off those thoughts. He wasn¡¯t the only one who knew about the undead. The entire kingdom was on the lookout now and they didn¡¯t need the help of a twelve-year-old boy. There was no reason for him to worry about it.

    He set off for his chores, another day at the mill. Stocky, dependable Davi worked circles around him like always. But when the work was done and after the [Millers] passed them each a small loaf of warm bread for lunch, Davi slouched forward as if he were trying to look smaller, shifted his eyes back and forth at least three time, and then started quickly walking <em>away</em> from his family¡¯s farm, towards the town walls.

    Brin obviously had no choice but to follow him.

    Davi zig-zagged down the streets, crossing from boardwalk to boardwalk, even though you really weren¡¯t supposed to do that. Luckily the day was dry enough that he didn¡¯t track mud everywhere, but it was obvious to anyone paying attention that Davi felt extremely guilty about whatever it was he was about to do. Which just made Brin want to follow him more.

    Lots of people were out and about, but no one gave the boy a second nce. After all, Davi was just walking down the street in the middle of the day. But just watching Davi¡¯s bodynguage, you¡¯d think he was breaking into the Louvre.

    More people gave Brin suspicious looks, which wasn¡¯t fair. <em>He</em> was cool as a cucumber.

    Davi ducked down an alley, and Brin followed close behind.

    Behind the houses there was only the wall and one of the guard towers. The gates were half a mile the other direction. Brin hadn¡¯t seen the inside of a guard tower, but they weren¡¯trge enough to hide much. From the ground floor there was just enough room for adder inside, or <em>maybe</em> a narrow spiral staircase.

    Davi raised his hand to knock on the guard tower door, but took onest look around. He saw Brin, and jumped two feet in the air before leaning his shoulder against the door, no doubt trying to look casual.

    ¡°Hey Brin, uh, yeah I¡¯m just¡­ All I¡¯m doing is¡­ I wanted to be alone for a minute. You know how it is,¡± said Davi.

    Brinughed. ¡°Sure Davi.¡± He walked past Davi and knocked on the guard tower door.

    The door opened, and Zilly was on the other side. Her brown curls bobbed as she pulled open the door, smiling. Oh, shoot, was this a date? Davi and Zilly--?

    ¡°Finally! I wasn¡¯t sure you were really going to¡­ wait. Davi! I can¡¯t bring my brother but you invited Brin?¡±

    Oh. If Zilly had tried to bring her brother, then at least this wasn¡¯t a¡­ romantic encounter. How embarrassing would that have been?

    ¡°Your brother can¡¯t keep up. And I didn¡¯t invite Brin, he followed me!¡± said Davi, eyes wide in panic.

    ¡°He looked so suspicious, I knew I had to be a part of it. Whatever it is,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Zilly said, nodding sagely. Davi¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion until Zilly mouthed the word ¡°[Rogue]¡± at him.

    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nothing. We¡¯re just waiting on Myra, then we can go,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Oh no. Do we have to?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well Myra was actually invited and you only got here a moment ago. You can hardlyin about waiting a few minutes,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just¡­ Myra. Let¡¯s go without her,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You don¡¯t like Myra?¡± asked Zilly. ¡°But she¡¯s so sweet! Everyone likes Myra.¡±

    Spoken like a true golden child. ¡°She¡¯s literally the worst.¡±

    Despite his protests, they ended up waiting for Myra. Zilly let them into the guard tower, and Brin had guessed correctly. A very narrow spiral staircase led the way upwards to above the walls where it opened up. It was fairly cramped inside, but only because Davi was an absolute unit of a twelve-year-old.

    ¡°So what are we doing?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°We¡¯re sneaking over to the snake pond,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. That didn¡¯t sound great. Like any sane person, snakes creeped him out. If he¡¯d known this was their goal, he probably wouldn¡¯t havee.

    Except if he was honest with himself, he was waiting for an opportunity like this. He needed friends. He needed people to talk to. Sure, it would be nice to have friends his own age, but the problem was that there <em>was no one</em> his own age. People his mind¡¯s age would see him as a child, even if they knew his secret like Hogg. People his body¡¯s age were actual children. But at least children wouldn¡¯t look down on him.

    A knock sounded on the door. Zilly opened the door to find Myra.

    Myra noticed Brin right away, and the innocent happy smile turned to a sneer as quick and easy as taking off a mask. ¡°Oh. Brin¡¯s here. Well I should¡¯ve expected it. Is someone breaking the rules? There Brin will be.¡±

    One sign that [Weavers] weren¡¯t as revered as everyone imed was a little bit of ng that Brin had picked up: Instead of saying ¡®You¡¯re lying¡¯, the people of Frenaria would say, ¡®You¡¯re weaving.¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who nned this. I¡¯m just tagging along. But please go on. I love to see you weave your weaves, <em>weaver</em>,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Better a weaver than a pre-[Witch],¡± said Myra.

    Zilly gasped. ¡°You can¡¯t <em>say</em> that!¡±

    Myra harrumphed. ¡°Everyone is saying it.¡±

    ¡°Everyone didn¡¯t know Siphani. But I did. And so did you,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Look, let¡¯s just go already,¡± Davi said, chiming in for the first time.

    Everyone was all too happy toply.

    The other kids suddenly hushed, and stepped on their tiptoes as they climbed the spiral staircase, as if they hadn¡¯t just been having a loud conversion two seconds ago. Brin rolled his eyes, but copied them.

    At the top of the tower deck, there wasn¡¯t anything to look at. During wartime, if that ever happened, there would be archers up here and probably supplies, but for now it was empty. Davi tied a rope to the beam holding the roof up, and then walked over and hopped off the edge.

    One after another, the three kids rappelled down the side of the watchtower with practiced ease like they were special forces or professional rock climbers. Even Zilly and Myra in their nearly floor-length skirts glided down like it was nothing.

    Brin followed suit, not nearly as smoothly, but he made it down without hurting himself. Maybe he¡¯d been too quick to congratte himself for catching up to the other children attribute-wise. Then again, these were the town¡¯s three golden children. It was natural that they¡¯d be more athletic than normal kids.

    The area between the wall and the forest waspletely clear, though this part didn¡¯t have any farms in the immediate area, there was a farm only half a mile away and several people working the field would see them easily if they looked in this direction. The four of them sprinted across.

    Honestly, this was a dumb n. Brin could think of at least six ways to sneak out past the walls without drawing any eyes. Somehow, no one saw them. Or no one cared.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly allowed for children to enter the forest, but it also wasn¡¯t unheard of. Hogg imed the [Hunters] and [Rangers] kept the area nearbypletely clear of monsters, and the rest of the town acted like this was the case.

    The forest was exciting rather than terrifying now that he wasn¡¯t alone, and now that he knew he wouldn¡¯t be immediately eaten by a horde of giant spiders. That particr memory put a chill in his spine, and he found himself scanning the area cautiously, even though he knew there was nothing there.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Scared of the forest, little Brin?¡± asked Myra.

    ¡°You would be, too, if you knew the kind of things that are out here,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh? Maybe we¡¯ll run into a rtive of yours,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Brin.

    He nced behind, to see Zilly ring daggers at Myra, who lookedpletely unapologetic.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly secret what had happened to Brin¡¯s family. This body''s family, that is. The boy¡¯s parents had probably died in the town and been taken by the undead. Maybe they had died with those that the Heroes had killed, but maybe they were still out there shambling around, looking for more unlucky vigers to kill. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever know for sure.

    ¡°What other things did you see in the forest?¡± asked Zilly, to change the subject.

    "I saw a giant spider," said Brin.

    "Oh, I''ve seen one of those!" Zilly said. "What else?"

    ¡°Not much. Things were pretty calm after I got rescued. You know, I don¡¯t remember much from¡­ before. But I remember a story about the forest. Want to hear it?¡±

    ¡°Yes please!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Once there was a girl named Little Red Riding Hood¡­¡±

    Little Red Riding Hood tranted pretty easily to ¡°Vercappsi¡±. It could all be said as one word in Frenarian just like in the original German, a rare example of things taking <em>less</em> time to say in Frenarian than it would in English. He told the story fairly straight. Red goes to visit her grandma with a basket of food. She¡¯s warned not to stray from the path, but she does anyway, and a wolf finds her. He stuck to the Grimm version, where the wolf swallows her grandmother and her whole, until they¡¯re saved when a lumberjack cuts the wolf open.

    So far, no one had liked his stories. Especially not his badly-retold recitations of Star Wars. But these three liked Little Red Riding Hood. That story''s relevance had been lost to modern America, but these kids <em>knew</em> the forest, and the story stuck with them. He could see it on their faces.

    When it was done, as if on cue, [Know What¡¯s Real] showed him something on a tree branch up ahead. Something invisible.

    He stopped. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Come on, Brin! Not funny!¡± said Zilly. She chuckled nervously, maybe a bit spooked from the story.

    It was probably just one of Hogg¡¯s invisible spies, watching his ¡°son¡± to make sure he didn¡¯t get into any real trouble. Brin almost appreciated the sentiment, but it still bothered him to be spied on.

    Brin picked up a rock from the ground. It took a second to find one, the soft ground around here was low on stone, but he found one and hurled it at the invisible something.

    He missed, of course.

    ¡°Hey Davi, I need you to throw a rock, right where I say,¡± said Brin. "See the second branch of that fat tree? Right where it twists a bit the second time off the trunk¡­¡±

    Of course Davi hit it the first time, going off of nothing except Brin¡¯s directions. The invisible something disappeared without a sound.

    ¡°I guess it was nothing,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly punched his shoulder. ¡°You really had me going!¡±

    The kids chuckled off their nerves, and kept walking.

    ¡°Tell another one,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Well, ok then,¡± said Brin. He told them Cindere this time.

    Lots of people who thought they knew more than they did would say the same thing anytime the conversation of Cindere came up. Namely that Disney ruined the story, but in the <em>real</em> version it was much darker. The truth was that there was no "real" version. The Brothers Grimm never created any stories, they only wrote them down. Those stories had been passed down mother to child for literally hundreds of years before that. The earliest recorded version of Cindere was actually happier than the Disney version. In that version, Cindere promptly forgave both of her stepsisters and did her best to find them rich suitors, and they all lived together happily in the castle. Brin didn¡¯t tell that story. He told the version where the stepsisters cut off their toes to try to fit in the slipper, and where Cindere, in her righteous fury, ordered her animalpanion doves to pluck out their treacherous eyes.

    Davi, Zilly and Myra patiently waited for him to finish his story. Then, when it was finished and he said the words ¡°happily ever after, The End¡± they all broke out in hystericalughter, all at once on cue.

    ¡°That¡­ that was the dumbest thing I¡¯ve ever heard,¡± said Myra, gasping in between roars ofughter.

    ¡°What''s wrong with her feet that no one else in the kingdom has her shoe size? And they¡­ they cut off their toes? Did they think he wouldn¡¯t notice?¡±ughed Davi.

    ¡°And that love story. What¡¯s with that? They just¡­ love each other all of a sudden? He didn¡¯t even know her name!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Ohe on. It¡¯s a ssic story! It¡¯s time-tested. A thousand years older than Hammon¡¯s Bog!¡± said Brin, though he really had no idea how old Hammon¡¯s Bog was.

    ¡°It¡¯s not even a love story,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Well I like it,¡± said Brin. ¡°Not every love story has to start with them hating each other.¡±

    ¡°Um. Yeah, duh, it does. Otherwise it¡¯s not a story,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve got a story like Brin¡¯s. Two people met and then all of a sudden they were in love. The End.¡±

    The three of them burst intoughter again, with Brin scowling, but mostly to y the part.

    ¡°Well, maybe I¡¯ll be an [Illusionist]. Then I could make <em>way</em> better stories than the cliched garbage Gustaff keeps ying,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s like, a whole troupe of people that makes those movies. I doubt some hick from a swamp could even get hired on with them,¡± said Davi. ¡°No insult intended.¡±

    ¡°What insult? Hick pride,¡± said Brin, then held his fist out. It wasn¡¯t really a thing here, but Davi caught on and gave him a fist-bump.

    ¡°Ok, one of you guys tell a story next,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No need,¡± said Zilly. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

 Book 1. Chapter 15

    Book 1. Chapter 15

    There was only one very narrow patch of shore where solid ground met the water. The rest of the pond was surrounded by forest and muddy grass that floated on the water and would let you sink straight in if you tried to stand on it. The trees grew straight out of the water, so only the very middle of the pond was free from any kind of nt life.

    He panicked a bit when they arrived, because he suddenly remembered that this little vige had absolutely no taboos about nudity. Most people bathed by wiping themselves down with a wet washcloth, but when they did use a bathtub, more often than not it would be a big wooden tub that they set outside right out in the open.

    Luckily, whatever the kids had in mind didn¡¯t involve swimming. They took off their shoes and the girls tied their skirts up above their knees, but that was it.

    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Catching snakes,¡± said Zilly.

    The kids spread out in the shallows of the pond, wiping away the scum floating on top, looking underneath to peer into the murky depths. Brin took off his shoes and walked in as well, feeling the soft, heavy mud beneath his toes. He couldn¡¯t see anything in the dark water, and honestly he didn¡¯t think he really wanted to find a snake, but he went through the motions anyway.

    Brin heard a ssh, then saw Davi pull something out of the water. ¡°I got one!¡± he shouted.

    Davi pulled what looked like a squirming, wriggling foot-long rainbow out of the water. The snake was a light show of bright, shifting colors. It didn¡¯t bite Davi, instead it seemed determined to slip out of his grasp. He quickly dashed out of the water, ontond. Just in time, too, because the snake slipped out of his hands, only to hit the ground where Davi could quickly snatch it up again. This time he grabbed it right under the head, and stroked it while murmuring shushing sounds.

    Surprisingly, the snake seemed to settle down after a minute or two of that. Davi sat down and put the snake in hisp, continuing to make shushing sounds.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t it bite you?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°They¡¯re nice.¡±

    ¡°Is it dying?¡± Brin asked. He was surprised that he actually sort of cared about the colorful noodle. ¡°If it lives underwater then it probably can¡¯t live out in the air.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re amphibious,¡± said Myra. ¡°That means they can live on bothnd or water.¡±

    ¡°I know what amphibious means,¡± said Brin. ¡°But usually they still only breathe water or air. Nothing breathes both.¡±

    ¡°These do,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡¯ said Zilly.

    ¡°Can I pet it?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No. Get your own,¡± said Davi.

    Looking closer, the snake was even stranger than at first nce. It had a ridge on its head, going part way down its back, almost looking like a spine. There were six little bone nubs on its sides and one big nub at the end of the tail.

    And the colors! They shifted and swirled in a repeating pattern, and he noticed the individual scales shifted color, like each of them was a little LED. He looked closer, and when he was so close that his nose nearly touched the snake, [Know What¡¯s Real] pinged him, very softly. It was using illusion magic.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this. Snakes don¡¯t look like this.¡±

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not really a snake,¡± said Myra. ¡°It¡¯s warm-blooded. These little guys are scaly mammals.¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be true,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Well, if anyone knew how to recognize a snake, it would be you, Myra,¡± said Brin.

    That made Myra go red in the face, but instead of biting back with an insult, she looked down and muttered, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Davi stared down at his rainbow snake with renewed fascination. Zilly¡¯s eyes were darting back and forth between Myra and Brin, a fist on her chin. Myra said, ¡°I¡¯m going to catch one of my own.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with her,¡± said Zilly.

    As soon as they were back in the pond, making sshing sounds and whispering furiously at each other, Brin hissed at Davi, ¡°What did I say?¡±

    ¡°Why do you have to flirt with every girl, Brin?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°You called her a snake!¡±

    Brin ruffled his hair in frustration. ¡°Snakes are creepy, slimy liars.¡±

    ¡°No they aren¡¯t. Snakes are dragons!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°How is it that you grew up in the next town over and you don¡¯t know the simplest things?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t remember anything from before I got this scar on my head,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But you remembered those stories,¡± said Davi. ¡°So how could you forget that snakes are dragons?¡±

    ¡°How is a snake a dragon, Davi? That makes no sense,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°They¡¯re descended from dragons!¡±

    Brin stood up and paced back and forth, then remembered this conversation needed to be quiet, so he sat down next to Davi again. ¡°I take it that calling someone a snake is actually apliment.¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Well what do I do? It¡¯s not like you can apologize forplimenting someone,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Just tell her you didn¡¯t mean it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand the way girls¡¯ minds work. That¡¯ll just make them think I mean it even more,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ok¡­ alright. I¡¯ve got a n.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Just trust me.¡±

    Brin stared at Davi. The boy had brown eyes, but he noticed the green and golden highlights for the first time, like a brown pulling up a trove of pirate treasure from beneath the sea. Then his eyes shifted to the object in Davi¡¯sp.

    ¡°Fine. I trust you. Can I pet your snake?¡± He was d that they were both young enough that he got away with the unintended innuendo. He wasn''t trying to be weird, he just wanted to pet an exotic animal.

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Come on! Just a little? I¡¯ll be gentle,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Fine. Just one time,¡± said Davi.

    The scales were soft like skin, and the snake was surprisingly warm for something that had been pulled from the pond just a minute ago.

    The girls sshed their way back onto shore, both of them snakeless.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you can always catch one so easily,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°You just have to have a magic touch,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Does Brin have the magic touch, too? Because he¡¯s got his fingers all over your dragon,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin pulled his hand away like it had been burned, then red at Zilly, who burst outughing. Myra said nothing and had her eyes glued to the ground.

    Davi cleared his throat. ¡°So listen¡­ I thought of a story I want to tell. Brin hasn¡¯t heard it before. It goes like this:<blockquote>

    ¡°On the earliest earth when the boughs bore buds

    And the worlds were weak with frequent floods

    The first and foremost of the fire-wyrms, Gardener, a dragon dread and dear

    She who shaped thends with fire and with fear

    Brought forth three bairns, though none could shine as she

    Three mighty dragons, lords ofnd and sea

    But none as noble as their baleful bearer

    She who ruled them all with gentle love and awful terror

    Four followed from her sons, who fled to feast and fight

    Each a new me, though lesser in their light,

    So wanes the wyrmkind, weaker with each whelp

    Till nought remains but belly, bane, and bite

    But still the old and awesome ones abide

    They sleep beneath the hills and dream under the tide.¡±</blockquote>

    ¡°How are you doing that?¡± Zilly yelled, looking at Davi as if she¡¯d never seen him before.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Myra moaned, in mock terror.

    Brinughed. ¡°Davi. Davi. Davi¡­ I don¡¯t even know where to start.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± asked Davi, offended.

    ¡°Where did all thate from? You sound like a smart person!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°It¡¯s called memorization,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°You MEMORIZED all of that?¡± asked Zilly. ¡°How much longer does it go?¡±

    ¡°I was only a quarter of the way there,¡± said Davi.

    Zilly sat down, dumbstruck.

    Davi¡¯s face darkened just a little, and Brin got a little worried about the little snake friend but Davi didn¡¯t tighten his grip.

    ¡°Just because I¡¯m a farmer doesn¡¯t mean I have to be stupid.¡±

    ¡°No one says that,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Yeah, no one is saying that,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°But we are all thinking it rather loudly,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly burst outughing, and they keptughing until Davi¡¯s frown broke and he joined in. Myra didn¡¯tugh but even she couldn¡¯t resist a smile.

    Brin found himself looking back to the water. Could it be that there really was a race of tiny dragons living in that pond? Maybe all snakes weren¡¯t descended from dragons, just the magical glowing rainbow mammal snakes.

    He wanted one. Brin walked back into the pond, walking the shallows back and forth, scanning with his eyes. [Know What¡¯s Real] should warn him if he ever got a glimpse of one. When he looked at Davi¡¯s snake it was very subtle, as if the Skill were telling him that the snakes were only <em>kind of</em> using illusions. Could it be natural camouge? He didn¡¯t actually know if his Skill would warn him about non-magical illusions. Hogg might know more about the snakes.

    No matter how hard he looked, he couldn¡¯t see even a glimpse of color in the muddy water. [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t chime in at all.

    After a half hour, the other kids gave up and started making sounds about leaving. Davi slid his back into the water, where it darted away in a sh of color.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t exactly bring it home.¡±

    ¡°Does anyone keep one of these as a pet?¡±

    ¡°Some kids try, but they¡¯re expensive to feed,¡± said Davi.

    Brin didn¡¯t need to worry about money right now. Hogg was loaded, and Brin had a few coins stashed away himself. The twenty-two silver worth of coins he¡¯d found in the ruins of Travin¡¯s Bog were worth nothing to the Heroes, but to a small town like Hammon¡¯s Bog it was enough to livefortably for an entire year.

    Brin pulled off his shirt, then his pants. He kept his undershorts on; they had a drawstring and pre-industrial society or not, he wasn¡¯t ready to get totally naked in front of his friends.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Davi, clearly worried.

    Before anyone could talk him out of it, Brin dove into the water. He swam into theke, further and further, going deeper and deeper. He could only see a foot or so in front of his face, and as the water got darker, that went to a couple inches.

    He was still pretty sure he¡¯d be able to get to the middle of theke without trouble. He was a pretty strong swimmer. As a teenager whenever he¡¯d gone to the pool, he and his friends had alwayspeted to see who could go the furthest underwater. He could go all the way across the twenty-five meter pool and back without taking a breath or touching the surface.

    He reached the bottom; it snuck up on him so he didn¡¯t know he was there until his nose nearly touched the ground. Instead of being t, it rolled gently in lots of big, windy hills.

    He started to see color in the water around him. Nothing close enough to see the snakes themselves, just the effect of the color they generated in the water around him.

    Oddly enough, the water seemed to clear up the further towards the center he swam, until he could see six or seven feet in all directions. Some of the snakes swam into view,zily turning circles in the water, their scales shifting in dazzling colors.

    Something moved below him. Something huge, and then the whole pond lit up. The ground beneath him, what he¡¯d taken for little winding hills, it was all moving.

    Not hills at all, it was one gigantic snake.

    It shook off the umted dirt, and it looked like the entire pond lit up. First a light blue, then shifting towards purple, then green.

    Panicking, he swam up to get away, but the giant snake didn¡¯t follow. It settled back down and was still again. He still wanted away. He was tinypared to that thing. He was nothing. Maybe these snakes were friendly like Davi imed, but even friendly animals might eat bugs, and that¡¯s what he was. A bug.

    He swam upwards, straining against the water. It was taking too long. From the pressure on his ears, it felt like he was only 15 or so feet down, so it should only take a few seconds to get up, but the seconds passed by and he seemed no closer to getting to the surface.

    He tried not to panic. If straight up didn¡¯t work, he needed to go across. He needed to go back the way he came in. He turned and swam back towards shore, or where he thought shore was. He might have gotten turned around a bit.

    A snake appeared in front of him, swimming idly, as if Brin weren¡¯t in a life or death situation here. He moved to swim around it, but it followed, staying right in front of his face.

    He grabbed it, and rather than try to squirm away, it wrapped itself around his hand.

    That very moment his head breached the surface and he took a hungry gasp of air.

    He swam towards the shore, and it took him longer to get back, shaken the way he was. It was also sort of awkward to swim with the snake wrapped around his hand.

    When he finally made it to shore, he fell down onto his back, uncaring of how he was covering himself with mud. Land. He was safe.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare) You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    An achievement! That was a good sign. But usually achievements gave some kind of bonus to attributes or something. This didn¡¯t seem to have given him anything. Unless he included the snake wrapped around his hand.

    ¡°You were down there for a long time,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I didn¡¯t know people could hold their breath that long before they got a ss.¡±

    ¡°How are you keeping that snake so calm?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. This little guy seemed to want toe with me,¡± said Brin. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to keep him. Actually, do you know how to tell if it¡¯s a girl or a boy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a boy. Look how manly he looks,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°It¡¯s the tail,¡± said Myra. ¡°And you can¡¯t keep him.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°How are you going to exin where you got him? You¡¯re going to get us in trouble,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Hogg will believe me if I say I don¡¯t have any friends.¡±

    Myra nodded. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s something that people will believe.¡±

    Good, so they were back to this. It was good that identallyplimenting her wasn¡¯t going to make things weird.

    He started stroking the snake down the back, the way Davi had before.

    The snake popped his head up, opened his eyes, looking around. He seemed to meet the eyes of each of the kids in turn, including Brin. His eyes shifted colors the way the rest of his body did, never settling on just one color.

    He seemed more alert than Davi¡¯s snake had, like he was interested in the world and ready to be a part of it.

    He started to lean into Brin¡¯s scritches, so Brin scritched a little harder, and the snake shook a bit, make a soft growling sound, maybe something close to a purr. Then he yawned, and Brin got a look at the inside of his mouth.

    He had a wide tongue, and his teeth were t, almost like a human¡¯s. It was unnerving but also kind of cute, especially with the way his yawn stretched out and he made a soft gasping sound. Then he slithered up Brin¡¯s forearm and snuggled into the crook of his elbows and closed his eyes.

    ¡°What are you going to name him?¡± asked Zilly.

    Brin noticed onest thing about the snake. He had a tiny line where he didn¡¯t shift colors; a thin white scar on the back of his neck.

    Brin knew the name at once. Then he remembered Little Red Riding Hood, who he¡¯d named ¡°Vercappsi¡± in Frenarian. The ¡®si¡¯ was something you could add to a word to mean ¡®little¡¯ or ¡®cute¡¯. It was perfect. ¡°Marksi. I¡¯ll name him Marksi.¡±

 Book 1. Chapter 16

    Book 1. Chapter 16

    ¡°I suppose you want to keep that thing in my house,¡± said Hogg, ring at Marksi.

    They were in Hogg¡¯s living room. The area was much more colorful and civilized than you¡¯d expect from an old hermit in the woods. Brin sat on yellow loveseat on a lush woven carpet with colorful, swirly patterns. Hogg reclined in a red lounge chair. An end table nearby was covered with books, and he¡¯d set a ss of lemonade on top of that. The ss was covered in frost, because of the ice in the drink, which came from an extravagantly expensive enchanted ice-maker in the kitchen.

    Hogg didn¡¯t invite people into his home very often. Brin had only ever seen him invite the Prefit in, and only once. But those who <em>did</em> get to see inside Hogg¡¯s home were treated to a clear picture: Hogg had done very, very well for himself as an adventurer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep him in my room. You¡¯ll hardly see him.¡±

    For some reason, that made Hogg re harder. ¡°You¡¯re grounded.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re joking,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No. Yes. A little. You went outside the walls without permission, and everyone in this town agrees that that¡¯s against the rules. I¡¯ll have to punish you. To fulfill my parental obligations, or something. Hm¡­ grounding won¡¯t work; you don¡¯t have any friends..¡±

    ¡°Rude. And I thought I was a bit of a special case,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Sure, but if you want to keep your little secret, then I have to y the part, don¡¯t I? If anyone asks, tell them you were <em>severely</em> punished. I¡¯m surprised you told me, to be honest.¡±

    ¡°How would I exin the snake otherwise?¡± asked Brin.

    Marksi started to wake up with the sound of voices. He poked his head up and blinked at the world with tired eyes. Hogg¡¯s eyes were fixed on the snake with a strange intensity.

    ¡°Also¡­¡± continued Brin. ¡°I figured you already knew. With those invisible watchers you¡¯ve got everywhere.¡±

    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t spy on people as much as you¡¯d think. It¡¯s liable to blow my cover. You¡¯d think having <em>more</em> information would help you stay hidden, but that¡¯s not always the case. Sometimes the easiest way to pretend you don¡¯t know something is to actually not know it. I try to mind my own business, for the most part.¡±

    Did Hogg think he didn¡¯t know about the invisible illusions that were following him around everywhere? Whatever. If Hogg wanted a wink wink, nudge nudge sort of understanding, that was fine with Brin.

    ¡°You know, I wanted to ask. These snakes set off my [Know What¡¯s Real] Skill. I think maybe he¡¯s using illusion magic to change colors like that. But it got me wondering. Can my Skill see through other forms of deception, or is it only illusion magic?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say anything about your Skill, but for the little guy here¡­ can I?¡±

    Brin handed him over. ¡°His name is Marksi.¡±

    ¡°Cute. But don¡¯t think just because you¡¯re cute that I¡¯m going to¡­¡±

    Marksi, still sleepy from his nap in Brin¡¯s arms, gave out a long squeaky yawn,plete with a happy sigh at the end.

    ¡°Did you see that, Brin? Did you hear that little squeak? Well listen, Marksi, that¡¯s not going to work. I¡¯m too old and have seen too many things for¡­ for¡­¡±

    Marksi curled up around Hogg¡¯s arm, and rubbed his hand with his cheek. Hogg started petting him, and Marksi made the vibrating sound that Brin was increasingly certain was a purr.

    Hogg turned his back. ¡°Well, why don¡¯t I get started making up a little habitat for this fe. You can go get him what he needs.¡±

    ¡°What does he eat?¡± said Brin. ¡°I heard it¡¯s expensive.¡±

    ¡°Fruit. Bugs. Neither of those are hard. [Fishers] have bug-catching Skills. Any of them will give you a jarful for free if you bring your own jar. There¡¯s one other thing, though. Magic.¡±

    ¡°Magic,¡± repeated Brin. His instincts still told him that people must be joking when they said things like that, but unlike his previous world, magic was just another part of life here.

    ¡°You¡¯ll need to buy enchanted items. He¡¯ll suck the magic right out of them, turn them dull. You can get Chamy to enchant some marbles for you; it¡¯ll cost a pretty penny.¡±

    ¡°Would your magic work?¡±

    ¡°It would. But a [Rogue] couldn''t do that, so we still need to buy stuff to exin how we¡¯re keeping him alive in case anyone asks.¡±

    ¡°How much are those marbles?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let her charge you more than a silver and six bits per marble.¡±

    Brin winced.

    He walked around to see what Hogg was doing with his back turned. Hogg had conjured up an illusionary berry, and Marksi hopped up to take a bite out of it. The berry warped and fell apart, turning into a slow explosion of motes of light. Marksi slid from one to the next, catching as many as he could. Hogg chuckled as he watched, then red at Brin for noticing.

    ¡°Maybe head over there now. You¡¯ll need to get to know her at some point anyway. He¡¯ll eat a marble every month or so, but probably best to get two or three to start. Heat and cold enchantments would be best. Maybe see what Perris thinks while you¡¯re at it.¡±

    The first stop was with the [Enchantress], and Brin had no idea what to expect. Standing outside her shop, he still didn¡¯t. The sign on the door advertised ¡°Chamy the [Enchantress], by appointment only¡± and he had no idea how to go about making such an appointment.

    He only stood outside for a few minutes before she opened the door. Chamy was a tall, elegant-looking woman with tightly bound gray hair, and quick ck eyes peering out from behind a long, hooked nose. She wore a ck dress that covered her feet and had a neckline up to her jaw. Lace at the end of her sleeves covered her hands and she swished them around when she spoke. Something about the way she looked at him made him stand up straighter and want to brush the dust off his clothes.

    ¡°Hogg mentioned you¡¯d being by. Come in, then.¡±

    Hogg must¡¯ve sent a mirror image, since Brin knew the old [Illusionist] was still back at the house with Marksi.

    He stepped inside, curious about what an [Enchantress¡¯] shop would look like. He expected bottles and tinctures, maybe strange runes, a glowing cauldron, and possibly low-hanging fog throughout the room.

    Instead, it looked like a sitting room. An expensive sitting room, with velvet sofas and a finely carved coffee table, and a big standing harp in the corner. The harp yed itself, a soft and gentle song, and now that he was looking for it, he noticed amp in the corner giving off a light that was much too steady. No one would waste oil in the middle of the day. Themp, like the harp, was enchanted.

    ¡°Come in. Have a seat, anywhere you like,¡± she said, and disappeared down the hall.

    Looking down at himself, he realized he waspletely out of ce around all this finery. Next time he¡¯d put on his best clothes beforeing here. He nervously walked into the sitting room and considering all the options, sat down on the loveseat, though he sat on the very edge and kept his back straight.

    She returned a littleter with a tray and a little folding table. She ced the table in front of him and the tray on top of it, and now he could see that it was covered with slices of bread. Some of them had cheese, others slices of minced ham, and some only smeared with mustard. Ah yes, this pre-industrial society hadn¡¯t perfected the sandwich yet, but they were <em>so close</em>. All they had to do was put two of these slices together. Well, they needed to develop on their own. He wasn¡¯t here to lightspeed their society two hundred years into the future.

    Chamy picked up one of the open sandwiches, then sat down on the high-backed club chair opposite him. ¡°Boys your age are always hungry. Go on, eat it all. You wouldn¡¯t want to offend me, hm?¡±

    Brin dug in. She was obviously correct, he was always hungry. He might¡¯ve had a dyed puberty, probably due to malnourishment, but it was all catching up to him now. Every day he seemed to be taller, stronger, and angrier than the day before. And always <em>always</em> hungry.

    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t expect me to put on tea. I take no drink with food. It¡¯s not healthy,¡± said Chamy.

    ¡°No ma¡¯am. Yes ma¡¯am,¡± said Brin in between mouthfuls.

    ¡°Now, I know some feel differently, but I¡¯m very mindful of my digestion and I¡¯ve found¡­¡±

    Chamy went on for a bit about the various benefits of abstaining from fluids while eating. During his past life¡¯s go-around as a teenager, he probably would have resented yet another adult feeling the need to give a lecture, but he realized she was just talking so that he wouldn¡¯t feel self-conscious eating in front of her. When he polished off thest open sandwich¨Ca mustard one which he definitely shouldn¡¯t have saved forst¨Cshe asked, ¡°So what brings you into my shop?¡±

    Some shop. Did she not use any tools because it was all Skill-based? Or maybe she didn¡¯t want people to see her real workspace. He didn¡¯t know if it was polite to ask, so instead he answered her question. ¡°I¡¯ve got a new pet. A snake, but he sort of glows like a rainbow.¡±

    ¡°I know the kind. You didn¡¯t run off into the forest, did you? No lies now.¡±

    ¡°I would never tell you any lies, ma¡¯am,¡± said Brin.

    She curled an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. When he didn¡¯t, she said, ¡°Hmph. Good answer. Now, tell me, what do you know about keeping snakes?¡±

    ¡°I only need a couple enchanted¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what you need. First, a habitat. A snake is not a dog. He can¡¯t sleep in your bed. You¡¯ll need to build him a habitat. How long is he?¡±

    ¡°A bit under a foot long,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°At least twenty gallons then, for his tank. Snakes like to burrow, so you¡¯ll need lots of sand or loose soil. He¡¯s amphibious, so you¡¯ll also need a pool. Change the water every other day or he¡¯ll suffocate. You¡¯ll need to clean the tank, this includes changing out the sand¡­¡±

    Brin was treated to the full educational seminar on raising pet snakes. She taught him how to y with him, how much exercise he needed, how to tell if he was too hot or too cold, how to tell if he was tired, how to tell if he was about to bite. The works. Only when all that was done did she finally get around to the reason he was there in the first ce.

    ¡°The most important thing is temperature. I¡¯m going to give you three marbles,¡± she pulled them from a sack at her belt as she spoke. She tapped them each in turn, which caused them to glow softly. ¡°One for heat, one for cold, and one to measure temperature. This one will glow green if it¡¯s too hot and purple if it¡¯s too cold. It must stay at a nice light blue. He won¡¯t be able to eat this marble like the other two, so you can use it to tell when they stop working.¡±

    With his marbles finally in hand, Brin paid the woman and said his goodbyes. She painstakingly counted out the entire three silvers, two copper pennies and two bits, before wishing him on his way.

    The next stop was Perris¡¯ shop, and although Chamy had turned out to be a lot nicer than he¡¯d expected, this was the stop he was really looking forward to.

    He opened the door to see Perris staring morosely out the window, but when the shopkeeper noticed Brin at the door, his face erupted with a smile.

    ¡°Brin! Perfect! That fool of an adventurer Reinal ising back for his nge today and I¡¯ve a n to take him for everything he¡¯s worth!¡± Perris stroked his mustache, glee like dark fire in his eyes.

    ¡°That sounds so fun! But I should warn you, I¡¯m not here as a friend today. I¡¯vee to do battle,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You? You, shopping from me? Ha! I¡¯ve foreseen this day, but I¡¯ll admit I didn¡¯t expect it toe so soon. A sword is it? n to rack up some achievements before your System day? Well I can give you the sword to do it. If you can afford it, that is,¡± Perris punctuated his statement by plucking out a hair from his mustache and erupting intoughter.

    ¡°No, I was hoping to see your trash,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°My... trash?¡± asked Perris.

    ¡°Your garbage. I need enchantments that aren¡¯t useful for anything. For my snake to eat,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, oh, oh!¡± Perris said, lighting up. ¡°You know, I had one of those at your age. The times we had¡­ If there was just one thing I could go back and do different¨C Well you don¡¯t want to hear about that. To the trash!¡±

    Perris led him across the rows of leather armor, to a big strongbox. It looked like a treasure chest that pirates might have,plete with a ck iron lock.

    ¡°This box is the first one. The chest unlocks itself. Meaning¨Cit won¡¯t stay locked,¡± said Perris.

    He bumped the lock with his fist, and the chest sprung open. He reached inside.

    ¡°Keeping to the theme, a belt that unsps itself. Now this <em>will</em> stay sped. Until someone says the keyword. People buy it as a prank, but I¡¯ll warn you everyone in town knows the keyword,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Buy it and I¡¯ll tell you,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°How many times have you sold this particr belt?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Now you¡¯re asking the right question! At least twelve men of this town havepassionately gifted this belt to one of their friends, by discreetly switching it out with their regr belt as a prank. The victim of this misdeed will inevitably sell the device back to me, at a much reduced cost, I might add.¡±

    ¡°Ooh, now I have to have it,¡± said Brin, rubbing his hands together.

    ¡°Two silvers,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°Chamy will give me her marbles for one,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ah but I can resell this belt. It¡¯s a permanent source of ie for me. If your snake eats it, the game is up.¡±

    ¡°And how many more people are going to fall for the belt prank? For this belt with a¡­ very distinctive moon pattern on the front,¡± said Brin.

    Perris frowned. ¡°Not many.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you half a silver for it. Thirty copper pennies,¡± said Brin.

    Perris grinned. ¡°Well done! I¡¯ve taught you well. Or have I? Perhaps I taught you wrong on purpose, to make you more easy to take advantage of?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m just letting you think that, until I swoop in for the kill,¡± said Brin, matching Perris¡¯ predatory expression.

    ¡°Yonkers.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The password is Yonkers,¡± said Perris.

    Then he noticed it. The belt had quickly and silently unsped itself and sprung out straight as a rod.

    They went through the chest, examining items one-by-one. Some of the ¡°junk¡± was still worth more than a silver, so Perris refused to sell it at Brin¡¯s prices. Some of it was worth much less than the belt. At the end of the barter, Brin came away with a bell that wouldn¡¯t stop ringing (covered with a sock for the noise), a copper coin that alwaysnded on tails, a spoon that repelled liquid, and a teacup that could mend itself when it shattered (except for one missing piece at the bottom).

    He was examining a silver dagger that couldn¡¯t cut flesh, a safety dagger for whittling that he couldn¡¯t really afford, when Perris said, ¡°You talked to Chamy first, yes? I suppose she gave you all sorts of advice for keeping your¡­ new friend warm andfortable.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then take my advice and ignore all of it.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Those aren¡¯t normal snakes,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°Finally someone says it!¡± said Brin. ¡°Everyone keeps acting like it¡¯s so normal; I felt like I was losing my mind.¡±

    ¡°Those snakes have a noble lineage. A mighty ancestry. But they¡¯ve forgotten who they are. They¡¯rezy. They stay safe in their pool, never learning what they are, what they truly <em>could be</em>.¡±

    ¡°So what should I do?¡±

    ¡°Hurt him,¡± Perris whispered into his ear. Then he switched sides and whispered into the other ear. ¡°<em>Torture</em> him. Make him suffer. He¡¯s never suffered before, and he never will, not until the day of his death, when he dies fat andzy and <em>small.</em> A worm, never dreaming of the heights he may have reached.¡±

    Brin turned around to see Perris, with a devilish light in his eye. Sometimes Brin wondered if Perris was pretending to be a viin, or if he was only pretending to be pretending. The shopkeeper''s voice grew steadily louder, until he was nearly shouting.

    ¡°Unless you teach him pain. Unless you make him hurt to make him grow. No one is born a fighter, Brin. No one can fight until they¡¯ve felt terror deep in their bones, until they¡¯ve felt worthless, until they¡¯ve given into despair and seen the bottom of their souls. Teach him to fight. Teach him to fear and grow angry.¡±

    ¡°But not with you! No, never with you. You must be his light, his guardian angel. You¡¯ll have to deceive and manipte. Let him think you¡¯re his protector, and guide him into every sort of adversity you can find for him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a little early for you to hear this, but this is good advice for fatherhood, too,¡± finished Perris, then started to cackle.

    One of the odd facts about this guy was that he was married with two daughters, although Brin had never met them. He made a mental note to catch them together sometime, because he just couldn¡¯t picture it. Perris imed his younger daughter brought him lunch every day, but it was always during Brin¡¯s work shift so he¡¯d never seen it happen.

    He shook his head. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you¡¯re a father. Everyone says they¡¯re both really nice and well-adjusted, too.¡±

    ¡°Because it <em>works</em>,¡± said Perris.

    Brin chuckled. ¡°Ok, if you say so.¡±

    ¡°Onest thing,¡± Perris said, catching Brin half-way out the door. ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t let him die. If you can¡¯t keep him, return him to the pond. If he dies, the Guardian will never give you another.¡±

 Book 1. Chapter 17

    Book 1. Chapter 17

    Brin left the general store, promising himself he¡¯d follow Perris¡¯ advice. At least, the advice about keeping his pet alive. As for the rest? He¡¯d try Chamy¡¯s way first and see where that got him.

    Despite his best efforts to ignore it, Perris¡¯ advice kept ringing around in his head. Particrly the phrase <em>fat andzy and small. A worm.</em> It was like an annoying pop song. One thates over the radio or something before you can change the channel, and even though you didn¡¯t want to hear it the first time it keeps tumbling around in your brain.

    It was bad advice. He was sure of it. He¡¯d gone through all the things Perris had talked about in Travin¡¯s Bog. Terror, the feeling of worthlessness, and then the anger. Deep, slow anger that led him to building those traps, even though it didn¡¯t really benefit him very much, and even though it may have given him away.

    He¡¯de through all of that, but did that make him better than the children who hadn¡¯t gone through trauma like that? Myra, Zilly, and Davi all outshined him. The only thing that made him special was the lifetime of memories inside his head.

    <em>Fat andzy and small. A worm.</em> That was how he¡¯d died in his past life. This life would be different.

    <em>Fat andzy and small. A worm. Arg! Would you stop that, brain?</em>

    Was he beingzy? He knew he wasn¡¯t. He¡¯d worked his butt off the first two months after he came to town. After that, well, he worked as hard as he was expected to. He¡¯d also done a lot of ying around. But that¡¯s what he was supposed to be doing. He was a child; Solia had said so. He had the body of a child and that made him a child.

    He was more than just a child. He could be doing more.

    When he got back to Hogg¡¯s house, he¡¯d made up his mind.

    He swung the door open and said, ¡°I want to start training my Strength.¡±

    Hogg was standing over a big wooden box set up on the table. It was an ordinary wooden box, rectangr in shape, andpletely at odds with the rest of the finely furnished living room.

    ¡°What?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, wait, first tell me how¡¯s Marksi doing? Is that his tank?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°It is. Hurry,e see. And hush,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin tiptoed over and looked inside. He didn¡¯t know why, but when Hogg said he was making a habitat for Marksi, he¡¯d expected a ss tank like he¡¯d use to keep a pet snake in his old world. Of course, ss wasn¡¯t something you could get on short notice around here. Hogg had fashioned it out of wood.

    It lookedfortable. There was a little pool, some nts for variety, and a lot of sandy loam, everything that Chamy had told him to provide. Marksi had buried himself except for his head and the tip of his tail. The sand vibrated with the little snake¡¯s purrs.

    ¡°He thinks he¡¯s hiding,¡± said Hogg. ¡°He thinks we can¡¯t see him.¡±

    Brin chuckled. It was pretty cute. ¡°I got the stuff.¡±

    He showed Hogg the lightly enchanted items he¡¯d gotten from Perris and Chamy, and they decided to start with the marbles.

    Putting all three of the marbles in the middle caused it to heat up too quickly, so they kept the cooling one towards the center and the heating one on the edge, across from the pool of water. That cooled it too much, but with some more trial and error they found ces for the marbles to make it just right, so that the temperature-telling marble turned a nice light blue.

    Marksi was supremely interested in what they were doing. He followed the marbles around every time they moved one of them, and always rubbed his head against their fingers when they were nearby.

    Once they¡¯d finally gotten the cement just right, Marksi ruined it by scattering some sand over the cooling marble, which made the temperature marble turn a little green. They brushed it off, but Marksi did it again.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. He knows what temperature he likes better than us. I can¡¯t believe he already figured out what the marbles do. You¡¯re such a smart little guy, Marksi,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°So, we¡¯re just going to totally abandon the world-weary tough guy personality then,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg¡¯s scarred face turned to Brin with a withering re, proving that he still had it in him. ¡°Marksi is cute, ok? He¡¯s damn cute. I¡¯m man enough to admit that. Now, I could sit here and pretend my eyes don¡¯t see what they see, but no. I refuse. Not in my own house. And if you tell anyone¡­¡±

    ¡°Please. I¡¯m already keeping your secrets. I can add one more to the list,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good,¡± said Hogg. He leaned over the tank and made clicking noises while wagging his finger back and forth, grinning in delight as Marksi slithered back and forth to follow him.

    ¡°Oh, right, I had something I wanted to ask you,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°About building up your Strength?¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was thinking. When I was in Perris¡¯ shop, he thought I was there to buy a sword to try to grab some Achievements before my System Day. Now, I know there are Achievements that you can only earn if you fulfill their requirements before you get your System unlocked. Warbound is an example.¡±

    ¡°Stop right there. What you¡¯re asking for is illegal. And it¡¯s <em>wrong</em>. I¡¯ve already told you why. It¡¯s one of the first things I ever taught you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for the requirements for some weird torture ss. I just want to know the kind of things that any kid would know. Stuff they¡¯d get by osmosis from growing up here,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Sorry kid. There¡¯s rules you break, and rules you don¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°And there¡¯s rules you bend. Can you at least tell me if I¡¯m wasting my time with the Strength training?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a waste of time,¡± Hogg admitted.

    ¡°If I¡¯m going to do the Strength training anyway, I should set myself a goal, don¡¯t you think? I should pick a number. At random.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re killing me. Alright. If I were to pick a random number, I¡¯d say go for 26,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Twenty-six? Not twenty-five? Seems like it should be twenty-five,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t make the rules,¡± said Hogg.

    Twenty-six was <em>extremely</em> doable. He¡¯d already gained six Strength in thest four months, although four of those were from the first two months when Hogg had been working him like a dog.

    He just needed seven more points of Strength and his Warbound achievement would give him thest two he needed to bring him up to twenty-six. One thing he¡¯d learned is that Warbound rounded up to the nearest whole number; when he got to fifteen it had pushed him up to sixteen.

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± said Brin. ¡°Thinking about it, I¡¯m already likely to have that before my System day.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s almost like we know what we¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Ok, then, if you¡¯re so smart, help me make a workout routine. Let¡¯s say I want to hit that threshold as soon as possible, and maybe put my eyes on the next one above it. At fifty-two, probably? I have some ideas on how to build Strength from my old world, but first I wanted to ask what you think,¡± said Brin.

    In his past life, Brin had spent an hour at the gym maybe two or three times a week. He¡¯d never really bulked up, but he¡¯d been around guys that did enough to get the general idea. Work out a lot. Eat a lot. Sleep a lot. Don¡¯t skip leg day.

    Hogg said, ¡°There¡¯s two ways for you to get your Strength up, as far as I can tell. First, the System will recognize differences in your natural body. Boys your age will increase their Strength just from being alive and growing up. Second, the System will reward you for training andpleting feats of Strength. The important thing to keep in mind here is that the System wants big, exceptional effort, and it¡¯s better if it¡¯s all one task that actually has a use, rather than, say, picking up a boulder and putting it down again a thousand times.¡±

    ¡°I see. Then is there any way you can adjust things so that for my morning chores I get jobs that have clear beginning and endings?¡±

    ¡°Everyone wants those chores,¡± said Hogg. ¡°We do a rotating schedule. You get what you get. But you can still make it work for you if you put a little oomph into it.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ is that what Davi¡¯s doing? He¡¯s already past twenty-six, isn¡¯t he?¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I can see other people¡¯s status screens,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But I¡¯d say he¡¯s well past it.¡±

    ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll do it like this¡­¡±

    The next day, Brin woke up early. The town would ring a bell for the start of work at what would be eight in the morning in his world, which was an hour past dawn since they were in early autumn, so Brin woke up two hours before that and started a weight training routine. He didn¡¯t have weights, but Hogg had some old weapons he could use. There were two big spiked maces he used as kettlebells. He used filled water jugs for dumbbells and a couple of heavy chains worked for battle ropes.

    When Marksi saw what he was doing, the little snake immediately wanted to be a part of it, though it was clear he didn¡¯t know what was going on. Marksi imitated Brin¡¯s movements as best he could. When Brin did push-ups, Marksi sort of lifted himself up and down. When Brin did curls, Marksi picked up a stick with his mouth and bounced up and down.

    Brin couldn¡¯t help but smile at the antics, and found himself more motivated to keep going while coaching Marksi at the same time. ¡°Five, six, seven, eight. Good! We have two more reps; let¡¯s do this!¡±

    By the end, the poor little snake was panting on the ground, all drawn out like a discarded shoce. Brin put him back in his tank with an extra berry and the enchanted copper coin as a reward.

    ¡°You did great, Marksi! We¡¯ll do this again tomorrow,¡± said Brin.

    Maybe he wouldn¡¯t need to do Perris¡¯ torture routine. Maybe Marksi would be motivated by Brin¡¯s example and they could get stronger together.

    Next he made his own breakfast. He ate six eggs, and half of a chicken they¡¯d cooked the night before, and then finished it off with an entire mato, a leafy vegetable the size of a grapefruit that had a sort of sour taste, like cabbage soaked in vinegar. The locals loved it, and he was starting to get used to it, meaning he could get it down without gagging.

    Breakfast was as much as he¡¯d eaten in an entire day before, and by the end he was full to bursting, but that was one of the keys to bulking up. You had to eat <em>way</em> more than you thought you should, especially since he didn¡¯t have ess to things like creatine and protein shakes. The one bonus was that it wouldn¡¯t be hard to eat clean. No added sugar, no processed food here. Well, lots of the meat was <em>heavily</em> preserved, but it wouldn¡¯t be hard to get fresh meat. In a town this size, someone always had a chicken or goat for sale, not to mention the [Hunters] who would asionally bring back seven hundred pounds of edible monster.

    After breakfast he was close to the morning bell. How he knew that, he wasn¡¯t sure, but in the world without clocks he¡¯d sort of grown a sixth sense for when that bell was about to ring. The bottom line was that he waste.

    As he stepped out the door, he heard Marksi make a whining sound. He went back to the cage and looked in. Marksi moved t against the wall nearest him, trying to climb out.

    ¡°Not now, Marksi! I¡¯m going to bete!¡± said Brin.

    Marksi whined louder.

    ¡°Ok, but if youe with me, you¡¯ll have to stay with me the entire day!¡± said Brin. ¡°There¡¯s no going home if you get bored.¡±

    Marksi flopped down and turned around in a circle.

    ¡°Fine!¡±

    Brin put Marksi on his shoulders, and the snake quickly curled around his neck like a short little scarf, and promptly went to sleep.

    Brin was nearlyte, so he ran the entire way through the forest, and into town.

    As soon as he crossed through the gates he got a notification.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Vitality +1

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Marksi¡¯s heavy breathing interrupted, and he opened his eyes to look at Brin, worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s good! I got stronger,¡± said Brin. ¡°You know, it looks like I won¡¯t be able to train Strength without Vitality going up as well. I wonder if I can get both of them to twenty-six.¡±

    Marksi nodded and went back to sleep.

    Brin¡¯s job today was at the carpentry. The carpenters would cut whole tree trunks into various boards and nks with big hand-turned table saws, and from there it would go to their other workshop to be shaped into furniture and things.

    The work was uneven with lots of breaks, which Brin was grateful for. The carpenters would need the kids to move nks to the other workshop, so they¡¯d burst into action, but then they¡¯d sit around for half an hour waiting. Brin didn¡¯t let Davi outwork him; no matter how tired he was he made sure to carry the same amount and just as quickly. When it came time to turn the cranks on the table saw, there was one correct speed and you¡¯d get in trouble for turning it faster, so Davi couldn¡¯t outwork him there either.

    It urred to him that of course the carpenters didn¡¯t <em>really</em> need their help. If it took a child an hour to do a job, an adult with the relevant ss could do it in a minute. This was all for their benefit. By helping out with chores they gained attributes and got a look at the jobs they might have after their System unlocked.

    Marksi woke up about halfway through the shift, but Brin cautioned him to stay on his shoulders. He couldn¡¯t let the snake jump on the table and get cut in half by the saw. But when it was time to carry the finished nks to the other workshop, he let Marksi carry a little wood chip and slither along behind them.

    Marksi ced the woodchip on top of the pile of finished wood. ¡°That''s right. It goes right there with the rest. Thanks for helping, Marksi!¡±

    Marksi turned around in a circle with his head high, looking very proud of himself.

    Even with a cute little snake friend mixing things up, the shift felt like an eternity. His arms and legs felt like they were always on the verge of copse, but to his surprise, they always seemed to have more to give.

    When he wiped his brow after thest delivery, the System had another surprise for him.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength+1

    Not bad. Two attributes in one day. Normally he was lucky to get one a week. Clearly, it paid to be extra.

    He ate a big lunch, then wandered off to the crowd of children to y. Rough-housing was the <emst</em> thing he wanted to do, but he was determined. He was going to do his normal routine, <em>plus</em> the workout. No cutting corners.

    So he ran into the crowd, found the kid with the ball, and picked the ten-year-old up over his head and threw him into the other children. The ten-year-old in question couldn¡¯t breathe because he wasughing so hard, which gave Brin the perfect opportunity to steal the ball. Thatsted all of ten seconds before he went down in a dogpile, and the game was on.

    There was a brief interruption when they all noticed Marksi on his neck and everyone stopped so they could ask his name, pet him, and coo at how cute he was. Marksi loved the attention, and rubbed the children¡¯s hands with his head when they pet him, purring all the while. Eventually the novelty wore off and they went back to their game.

    Marksi toughed it out on Brin¡¯s shoulders, but after ten minutes he bit a kid. It didn¡¯t break the skin, but Brin still made him sit out the rest of the game on the sidelines.

    After a while, some mothers came by to fetch their sons away, and the group broke up, to Brin¡¯s intense relief. Again, he got a notification.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Will+1

    It was a good day. A tortuous day, but rewarding.

    Marksi was sad though. He¡¯d been softly whimpering the entire time at having been left out of the fun.

    ¡°Tell you what, Marksi, we¡¯ll y when we get home. Just me and you,¡± said Brin.

    Brin picked up some groceries on the way home, to rece all of Hogg¡¯s food he¡¯d eaten and to prepare for all the binge eating he nned to do in the future. He bought chickens straight from the farmer, but everything else came from the general store. That meant the real general store run by a sharp-eyed [Merchant] woman, not the adventurer¡¯s outfitter shop that Perris ran. He noticed the store sold the leather balls that the kids used, and he asked the shopkeeper if she had smaller ones. To his surprise, she did. She showed him a golfball-sized leather ball, and when she saw how excited Marksi got, let him have it for free. Everything together cost him half a silver. He was going through his nest egg rather quickly now. He didn¡¯t want to have to ask Hogg for money, but soon there wouldn¡¯t be another way around it.

    Back home, Marksi couldn¡¯t wait to try out his new toy. Brin wondered what a snake would do with a ball, but Marksi was full of ideas. He would slither along after it, bouncing it forward. He wrapped himself around it, tighter and tighter until it popped out. He flicked it with his tail, trying to see if he could get it to go straight up.

    Hogg waspletely fascinated, and kept asking Brin if there were any other toys that Marksi might like. Brin couldn¡¯t think of anything. He couldn¡¯t think. It¡¯d been the most physically difficult day he¡¯d had since the day he¡¯d been forced to run ten miles and then fight all those Undead Soldiers.

    He tried to be a good sport and cheer Marksi on, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he passed out right there on the porch.

    The next day he did the same routine. He woke up early and got straight into his weights routine. He was sore all over and wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d get through it, but he was surprised at how fast the soreness went away. Was this what it was like to be a kid again? In his past life when he went too hard at the gym, it usually meant a recovery day afterwards, but now his body seemed to be willing to take all the punishment and then ask for more.

    He didn¡¯t get any alerts from the System that day, but the day after that the [Millers] needed fifty bags of flour delivered across town, each of them weighing forty pounds. Even better, Davi wasn¡¯t working with him that day so there was no one to steal all the work. He asked the other boys to let him handle the entire thing, and they happily obliged.

    That left Brin, taking the flour sacks two at a time on his shoulders, walking across town back and forth, back and forth, with Marksi riding on top of his head like a hat. Some of the people on the street gave him the side-eye, but most smiled or openlyughed at the sight.

    By the end of the chore he thought he might have overdone it. His lungs were burning, and his throat was so raw from heavy panting that he was sure he¡¯d given himself a cold. It took him an hour longer than the work shift was supposed to, and he was so worn out that he¡¯d have to skip ying with the kids, but it was worth it.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength+2

    For the rest of the week, he kept to his routine. He didn¡¯t get any more popups, but he noticed a change when he took a rest day at the end of the week. Without any kind of notification, his Strength had gone up another point. That must''ve been the system reflecting his natural strength increase. His goal had been to get seven more points of Strength, and in one week he was past halfway there.

    Two weekster, Brin got the notification he was waiting for.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Strong I (Common) You have reached 26 Strength. +10 speed with Strength-rted activities. +10% Strength attribute growth.

    What counted as a Strength-rted activity? Wasn¡¯t <em>everything</em> a Strength rted activity? He tried a few simple exercises, and nothing felt different, but that didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t doing them faster. He hadn¡¯t exactly clocked his times before.

    He jogged around the Hogg¡¯s house a couple times, and he did feel faster than before, but honestly that could all be in his head.

    The ten percent modifier was pretty cool. It was nice to know that not everything was tied to sses and levels. Maybe if he got a ss he absolutely hated, he¡¯d be able to sort of build his own ss by gathering all the right achievements.

    He also noticed that the achievement had only said he reached 26 Strength. Nothing about reaching it before unlocking his System. Sure enough, he got another a momentter.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Workhorse (Rare) You work like a horse. You have earned Strong I before unlocking your System. +1 Strength per level

    This one was Rare, while Strong I had been Common. It made sense that most people got Strong I at some point, it was lessmon for them to get it before their System day. One Strength per level sounded <em>really</em> good. What would it be like if he got to Strong II before his System day?

    Another thing happened on the same day. His ¡°age¡± had gone up from 12 to 13. It was nice to know his birthday. Only one year left until he unlocked his System. He checked his status. <strong>Information</strong> Name Brin isu Yambul Age 13 Race Human ss Child of Travin''s Bog Level 1 <strong>Attributes</strong> Strength 26 Dexterity 19 Vitality 23 Magic 9 Mental Control 13 Will 20 <strong>Titles</strong> Survivor of Travin''s Bog Locked Traveler Locked Otherworlder Locked <strong>Achievements</strong> Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat. Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath. Strong I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Strength.

    +10 speed with Strength-intensive activities. +10% Strength attribute growth. Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned Strong I before unlocking your System.

    +1 Strength per level <strong>Skills</strong> Know What''s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream.

    <strong>Oaths</strong> Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 1. Chapter 18

    Book 1. Chapter 18

    The next day Brin worked with Davi at the mill again, and the 10% speed boost really started to make itself obvious. Keeping up with the hulking youth wasn¡¯t as much of a struggle. In fact, Brin felt a little bit misled. Maybe Davi wasn¡¯t some sort of prodigal hard worker. Maybe his achievements were doing all the work.

    After the shift, Hogg surprised Brin by meeting before lunch. Usually the people he worked for provided lunch, which would be bread and butter since it was the [Millers], but Hogg decided to take him to the public house.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about? News about the¡­ army?¡± he asked quietly.

    ¡°No, nothing new on that front. The others have all gone home. The scouts from the army and a few from Gn¡¯s order have set up a camp at Travin¡¯s Bog, but they¡¯re more interested in hunting the monsters in the deep woods than actually searching for an army of undead. An army of ghosts, ording to them. I¡¯m keeping a couple mirror images on the case, but it¡¯s a pain in my neck and <em>someday</em> I¡¯d like to finally¡­ well nevermind. No, nothing new. No, I wanted to talk about you. Your training.¡±

    Brin pondered that as they walked. Why not just tell him back at home? Dancing around every little topic because of who might overhear made any conversation about System stuff painful unless they were sure they were alone. Unless¡­ Hogg <em>wanted</em> someone to overhear. Maybe he wanted people to see him having this conversation with Brin.

    Or maybe Hogg just wanted lunch. If Brin kept being so paranoid he was going to end up with a really weird ss, he just knew it.

    The public house had pretty good stuff. H, the owner, definitely had cooking Skills. She might have also had Skills that let her predict customer needs, because she ced a steaming pile of honey zed ham and vegetables in front of each of them only a moment after they sat down. Beer, too. Brin¡¯s beer was heavily watered-down, but he still found it funny that they had no problem serving alcohol to children in this town.

    He dug in, and the meat especially was delicious. It was spicy and sweet, although not exactly what he was expecting.

    ¡°I thought this was pork, but it tastes more like chicken,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Chimera,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin dropped his fork. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Fascinating species. You never know what they¡¯re going to be, except that they all have venom and they¡¯re always a mash-up of at least two different things. This was some kind of scorpion bird. Why did you think I wanted toe in here so bad? Not everyday someone finds a chimera,¡± said Hogg.

    Marksi took advantage of Brin¡¯s distraction to slither down and pull the bite right off Brin¡¯s fork. He then rolled off the te andy there, stomach bulging, looking very fat and happy.

    ¡°Can he eat this?¡±

    ¡°Once in a while is ok,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That sounds like no,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°He can eat anything you can eat. It¡¯s just that meat takes a baby like him longer to digest. If he eats too much meat he¡¯ll die of starvation. Weird, but true. He can eat one or two bites of steak just fine, though.¡±

    Honestly, he should¡¯ve guessed. Hogg wouldn¡¯t have let Marksi anywhere near if there was actually a danger. He loved the little snake.

    ¡°So listen, your System Day ising up. Just over six months from now,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Uh, check your math there chief. I just turned thirteen yesterday,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You did what? Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±

    ¡°Honestly it¡¯s been years since I celebrated my birthday,¡± said Brin. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was a thing here.¡±

    ¡°Well it is. Lumina sent me something. Told me to give it to you on your birthday,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You can see it when you get home,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now as I was saying. Your System Day is in six months¨C¡±

    ¡°Yeah, exin that,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg snorted in annoyance. ¡°Every year at spring solstice, everyone who has or will be turning fourteen that year has their System unlocked. We make a big party of it. The whole town will be there.¡±

    ¡°What? I didn¡¯t know that! I thought it happened on your birthday!¡±

    ¡°Well, it would, except Hammon¡¯s Bog has a Skill,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Towns can have Skills?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Obviously. You thought you were doing all this on your own? The Prefit manages them,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now, I know you were looking for Strength II before that happens, but I¡¯m getting concerned your Dexterity isgging behind.¡±

    ¡°Now that I think of it, they usually send girls to do the fine-motor-skill type jobs. How many of the girls my age are over 26 in Dexterity?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°All of them,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And that¡¯s going to change. For the next six months, your education is going to be a lot more intentional. Less mindlessbor, and a lot more learning directly from the adults in the town. Tomorrow, you¡¯ll be visiting Toros, the [Smith].¡±

    ¡°That sounds awesome!¡±

    ¡°The day after that is [Weaver] Tawna.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Brin dropped his fork and folded his arms. The te waspletely empty by now, but he was sure the gesture still stood.

    Hogg sighed, mashing a carrot with his fork. When it was pulped, he slid a little in Marksi¡¯s mouth, who cleaned the fork with his tongue without moving from hisid back fooda position.

    ¡°You need to get over this. She¡¯s the most influential woman in this town. Her time is extremely valuable and she¡¯s doing you kids a real favor by teaching you lessons. She is <em>not</em> out to get you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°She¡¯s one of the worst people I¡¯ve ever met, and she is one hundred percent out to get me!¡± said Brin. ¡°She calls me a pre-[Witch].¡±

    ¡°Shut it,¡± said Hogg. ¡°That¡¯s not a word you can use in this town.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who¨C¡±

    ¡°I said shut it.¡±

    Brin stood up. ¡°Alright. Thanks for lunch and all, but¨C¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± said Hogg. He didn¡¯t borate right away. He looked down, seeming to chew something over before finallying to a decision. ¡°I was nning on heading over to the Peck¡¯s. Why don¡¯t youe along?¡±

    ¡°The Peck¡¯s. As in, Siphani Peck? The¡­¡±

    ¡°The [Witch],¡± said Hogg. Apparently it was ok for him to say that word. ¡°We¡¯ll be helping her parents. If you... want toe along.¡±

    Brin chewed on that a minute before he answered. He was still a bit annoyed with the way Hogg had shut him down just now, and the sudden shift in conversation threw him. Hogg looked a little hesitant, almost vulnerable. This was an olive branch, a chance for Brin to see why the W-word was such a taboo. He sighed and said, "Alright."

    As if she''d been waiting for his answer, H appeared at their table with a covered basket, full of the same delicious chimera meat and vegetables they¡¯d just eaten, from the smell.

    The walk over to the Peck¡¯s wasn¡¯t long. Past the main thoroughfares with three story buildings with shops and businesses and painted signs, to the more run-down section of town towards the northern wall. The homes here were single story, many of them not anyrger than the huts in Travin¡¯s Bog. These at least had the advantage of not being burned down.

    The particr house they arrived at would''ve looked better if it had burned down. The wooden beams making up the frame were warped and covered with mold. The siding had been painted white at some point, but was so patchy and chipped that it looked like it was suffering from leprosy. The houses around it had probably been built at the same time, for all that they looked at least a century newer. It was as if this house in particr were decaying at ten times the speed as the area around it.

    A man sat on the front porch in a rocking chair. He had thin ck hair without any gray, and he looked to be in his fifties, Hogg¡¯s age. At the same time, the man in the rocking chair looked old, like he¡¯d die of old age any minute now. It wasn¡¯t any one thing, just the look in his eye. Brin recognized that look from some of the people he¡¯d seen while visiting his grandma in the nursing home. It was the look of someone who was thoroughly done with life, whose spirit was already dead, and was just waiting for his body to catch up.

    ¡°Afternoon, Micah,¡± said Hogg.

    Micah¡¯s eyes found Hogg, but he didn¡¯t speak, and eventually those tired eyes fell back to the floor.

    Hogg stepped past him into the house. Brin followed.

    The smell hit him first. Marksi, who had better sense than him, squeaked and jumped off his shoulder and fled out the door, but Brin could only stand and stare. The house was a living, rotting pile of trash.

    Discarded vegetable peels, eggs shells, and heels of bread with blue mold, were strewn about on the floor, intermingled with clothes, torn books, and dishes and jars. Arge crystal bowl had clearly been used as a chamber pot, and not two feet away on the reclining chair sat a pale woman.

    Brin hadn¡¯t noticed her at first, because she didn¡¯t stand out in any way from the other grime. She was wearing a thin, dirty nightgown. Her feet were ck with mud, and her hands had stains he didn¡¯t want to think about. She sat unmoving, and didn¡¯t even bother to flick a finger when a fly crawled down her arm. She didn¡¯t flinch when a rat chased a spider across the floor before disappearing into a burrow dug into the pot of a dead housent.

    He knew what he was looking at. He¡¯d seen this type of thing in the TV show about hoarders. There were hoarders who became that way because they couldn¡¯t throw things away, and others who simply would not or could not clean up after themselves. This woman was clearly in the second camp. The only difference was that the pile of trash was only inches deep, instead of mounds that went to the ceiling. Clearly someone came by to clean often enough to prevent that. No, the biggest difference from the TV show was the smell. Nothing had prepared him for the smell.

    He jumped when the woman spoke. Her voice was disturbingly normal-sounding. ¡°Oh, Hogg, hello. Pardon me if I don¡¯t get up. Is that chimera I smell? It smells wonderful. So kind of you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Afternoon, Effa,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Here, let me fix you a te.¡±

    He eyed the table, also covered with detritus, then shrugged and swept it all to the floor with his arm. He put the basket on the table and brought out a clean te, and started to pile it with food, then handed it to her on the chair.

    Effa dove in as soon as the te reached herp, forgoing a fork and knife to scarf everything down with her dirty hands. Brin almost threw up at the sight. How could you eat in a ce that looks like this? How could you eat with your own poop in a bowl two feet away from you?

    When Hogg handed him another te for Micah, he dashed out of the house in relief and gulped a big lungful of fresh air the second he crossed the threshold.

    Micah ate much more sedately, but also much more cleanly. He didn¡¯t make any noises of appreciation, just chewed mechanically, eyes listless.

    When he was done, Brin took his te, and steeled himself, ready to go back in.

    ¡°We would¡¯ve given that girl anything,¡± said Micah.

    The statement was so matter-of-fact, and so out of the blue, that Brin didn¡¯t know how to react. Obviously it was a tragic situation, but the suddenness made it hard to summon a lot of empathy. He tried regardless.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If only she¡¯d asked,¡± said Micah. ¡°Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No. You don¡¯t understand. We would¡¯ve done anything for that girl.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Brin. He didn¡¯t know why he was apologizing. He hadn¡¯t done anything wrong; this was all Siphani¡¯s fault. If anything, he was due an apology. Siphani was the one who¡¯d poisoned this town against orphans. It was a lot of the reason he had such a hard time fitting in with some people. Myra had outright said that¡¯s why she and her mother hated him.

    Micah didn¡¯t say anything more. He stared out into the distance with ssy eyes.

    Brin took his te and went back inside. Hogg was piling trash from the floor into a sack, chatting. ¡°It was a nice morning. A little warm, but a cool breeze from the east beat that back to make perfect weather for a nice stroll into town. That cool breeze will get stronger and stronger, I think, until winteres with the rains¡­¡±

    He talked lightly, unmoved by the filth around him. It was so unlike Hogg that Brin did a double take.

    Effa¡¯s responses seemed disingenuous as well. She talked like a normal woman would talk to her neighbor. Not like a mentally sick person at all, with no acknowledgement of her disgusting circumstances. Also left unsaid was the fact that Hogg had killed her daughter.

    When Hogg noticed Brin, he handed him the bup sack, and Brin took it, relieved to be out of there again. Everyone brought their organic waste to one of the mulching pits near each of the gates, for farmers to use if they wanted. Brin might¡¯ve walked a <em>little</em> slower than he normally would¡¯ve, but not by much.

    As disgusting as it was, this was good work. Important work. Back in his old world, they just let hoarders waste away until they died or got evicted. It was good that people were watching out for the Pecks.

    It also made some things click in ce about this town. Sure, he¡¯d heard Siphani¡¯s story, but he¡¯d never really understood it until now. There had been a shadow over this town since he¡¯de here, but now he knew why. It was like he¡¯d finally looked up and seen the big ck Siphani-shaped cloud covering the sun.

    When he grew up and proved that he was a good man, nothing like their old [Witch], maybe that would finally serve to pierce that ugly old cloud.

    He got back, and Hogg had the sink running, washing dishes. This house had enchantments to give them running water in the kitchen area, which meant they weren¡¯t poor. They just lived poorly.

    There was another sack ready for Brin to take, and this time he made the trip there and back much more quickly.

    When he got back, he helped Hogg with the clutter. They put the books back on the bookshelf and made the bed. Brin washed the clothes with a washboard in the sink, then hung them up to dry on a line outside. When everything else was done, they scrubbed the floor, scouring ayer of dirt to find the wooden floorboards beneath. He slept on actual dirt floors in Travin¡¯s Bog that were cleaner than this ce had been. But now it was as clean as a whistle.

    Brin stood and wiped the sweat from his face, eyeing the newly cleaned room with pride. Effa didn¡¯t thank them. She¡¯d started ignoring the both of them a half hour ago. She was a rotting queen on her throne, unheeding of the scurrying of her servants. Well, he didn¡¯t care. He couldn¡¯t fix her brain, but he was doing what he could.

    He didn¡¯t get any notifications. The System didn¡¯t make any indication that it had noticed their efforts and didn¡¯t try to reward them. It would probably only take a week or two for the Pecks to recreate the disgusting mess they¡¯d just cleaned up. Regardless, Brin felt more aplished walking home that afternoon than he ever had after an evening spent lifting weights.

    The walk home was a quiet one. Marksi found them as soon as they were a fair distance away from the Peck¡¯s house. Hogg picked him up and stroked him up and down the spine. Brin didn¡¯t object. Hogg needed Marksi more than he did, considering where his mental state must be right now.

    Brin was full of questions, but didn¡¯t know how to ask. How did you walk up to someone and ask them about the time they killed a teenage girl? Well, if Hogg didn¡¯t want to talk about it, he¡¯d just say so. He wasn¡¯t the type to be pressured into anything.

    ¡°How did it happen?¡± Brin asked.

    Hogg responded immediately, like he¡¯d been hoping for the question. ¡°After she cursed her parents, she ran into the forest. She moved quickly, and though a few [Hunters] could track her, <em>no one</em> could catch her. You understand? Not even me. But then I broke away from the rest of the group and¡­ somehow caught up with her.¡±

    <em>A mirror image.</em> No one was nearby, but Hogg wasn¡¯t going to say that out loud, not in town where someone might possibly overhear.

    ¡°Then how did she die?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I snuck up on her and put a knife to her throat.¡±

    <em>An illusory knife. A bluff, </em>Brin filled in mentally.

    ¡°I made her swear an Oath, on her ss and Levels. I had the wording all worked out beforehand to make it foolproof. I think I knew from the very start that it would end up that way. I made her swear to never use her [Witch] powers to harm or deceive another person. She swore to not even attempt it, to limit all her offensive magics to beasts or monsters.¡±

    ¡°When I lowered the knife, she immediately broke her Oath. I think she thought that she could get away with onest curse and take me down with her, but it didn¡¯t take. Before she could do a thing, the System took it all away. Then she¡­ she drowned herself in a pond. I couldn¡¯t stop her in time.¡±

    Because he hadn¡¯t really been there in person. His mirror image had stood there helpless, and watched.

    Chances were even if Hogg had been able to fish her out of the pond, the town still would have burned her at the stake. In this world, they did not suffer [Witches] to live.

    ¡°I got the notification for it. You have defeated: Human. Level 1,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Didn¡¯t even get the experience for her. Breaking her Oath took it all away. Old battlefield tactic, that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s clever. Any Oath will do?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Most soldiers swear a backup Oath before going into battle, just in case. They¡¯ll swear to never say Dandelion three times in a row, something like that. It can also grant you mercy if you¡¯re too wounded to survive, but too tough to die quickly,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Nothing someone your age needs to worry about.¡±

    ¡°One thing I¡¯ve been wondering, now that we¡¯re on the topic of battles and armies, is why they don¡¯t use [Witches]. If they¡¯re so powerful, then why doesn¡¯t everyone have one?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°How do you know she¡¯ll do what you say?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Make her swear an Oath.¡±

    ¡°And how do you know she swore an Oath to you, instead of bewitching you to make you only think she did? How do you know the [Witch] in your army serves the general, instead of the other way around? And saying she does serve, how do you know she¡¯s trying to keep her soldiers alive, when their deaths will serve her magic even better? You¡¯d have to be mad. Or truly desperate.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also the possibility that [Witches] are moremon than you think,¡± said Brin. ¡°The smart ones would stay hidden.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s possible,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But the psychopathy and narcissism that would motivate someone to take the [Witch] ss in the first ce also selects for people who aren¡¯t good at hiding their ambition. To be fair, I should add that there is one exception. There is one nation where a [Witch] fights openly with the army. The Queendom of Arcaena.¡±

    ¡°Let me guess. The Queen is the [Witch],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Got it in one. And even she kills every other [Witch] she finds. She knows better than anyone that you can¡¯t trust a [Witch]. You know, Lumina and I talked about her a lot, before she left for home. Lumina is starting to discard the Burrow City theory. If there¡¯s a million angry undead out there, then where are they? From what we¡¯ve seen, we¡¯re fighting a smaller, smarter, highly trained, more specialized, and most of all more <em>restrained</em> group of undead.¡±

    ¡°You call that restrained?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Compared to the way most [Witches] behave? Extremely. And that suggests Arcaena.¡±

    ¡°What does it mean if it is her we¡¯re up against?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I barely understand what a low-level [Witch] can do. Arcaena is ancient. She has a kingdom full of people who literally worship her. If she really does have her eyes on the Bonds, then she¡¯ll be able to take it. Let¡¯s just hope it¡¯s not her.¡±

 Book 1. Chapter 19

    Book 1. Chapter 19

    Somewhere in all the tense, ufortable conversations with Hogg, he¡¯d mentioned that Lumina had sent Brin a birthday present, a fact whichpletely escaped Brin¡¯s memory until he and Hogg got home that evening.

    Hogg disappeared into his room and came back out holding a wooden chest, which he ced down in the center of the woven rug. Itnded with a heavy thunk.

    It looked like a treasure chest. It looked exactly like if a movie director told a set guy to create a fantasy world treasure chest. It was so surprisingly cliche that he knew there had to be something else in there. There was no way that Lumina had sent him a big pile of gold for no reason. This was probably how all luggage looked in the era before teflon and stic.

    In fact, the chest was probably supposed to look ordinary. The fine craftsmanship was typical for this world. No factories here, everything was made by an artisan, so despite being beautiful, it was also normal. An ordinary chest of polished wood, with leather straps. The only part that stood out was the lock. It faintly glistened, in a way that he was starting to recognize as some kind of enchantment. Hogg handed Brin the matching key.

    He put the key in the slot, and the chest sprung upon.

    He blinked at the sight, trying to make sure that what he was actually seeing what he was seeing. [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t sound any rm. It was real.

    The treasure chest was full of treasure.

    Golden coins sparkled in themplight. They were piled all the way up to the brim, and when Brin picked up a couple they had the real weight of heavy metal. He tried to push his hand inside, but you couldn¡¯t actually swim through piles of gold like Scrooge McDuck. It was too solid. That duck should¡¯ve broken his neck the first time he jumped off that diving board. If he ever got back to his world he¡¯d make sure that everyone knew that the trillionaire cartoon duck waspletely unrealistic.

    ¡°What are you smiling at?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine why someone would be smiling in this situation,¡± said Brin. Hogg snorted augh.

    Brin''s eyes went back to the gold. So shiny! This waspletely different from opening a suitcase full of paper bills, not that he''d ever experienced that. There was something very real about seeing a chest full of gold that waspletely different from reading a bnce on a phone app.

    He picked up a handful of coins, and listened to the tinkle as he dropped them back down again. It was a deeper sound that he''d expected. Was all of this really his? Normally when people won the lottery, they''d be jumping down in excitement, but that was because they were ready for it. They''d bought the tickets, then waited and hoped. This had juste out of nowhere and he hadn''t been ready for it. Augh escaped his mouth, almost panicked-sounding.

    There was an ornate wooden case with golden iy nestled into the side. He pulled it out and opened it, and inside were rows of precious gemstones. If this was a movie, the set guy would¡¯ve definitely thrown the jewels in all topsy-turvy with the gold. In real life, you wouldn¡¯t want them to get crushed or scratched.

    He wasn¡¯t watching Marksi, and the rascal slithered up into the jewel case and tried to swallow an entire thumbnail sized ruby. Brin snatched it out of Marksi¡¯s throat, then put his pet in the tank. Marksi squeaked furiously and mmed himself against the wooden sides, but to no avail.

    Eventually he quieted down, and Brin noticed a little snake head peeking up over the wall. Marksi must¡¯ve been standing uppletely straight to look over the side, which was quite a feat. Brin pretended he didn¡¯t notice.

    The chest also contained a paper note, written in beautiful calligraphy on thick card stock paper.

    <em>My dear Brin,</em>

    <em>I had hoped to be able to visit you in person, but circumstances have pulled me back to the Tower. It was never my intention to pledge myself as your mother and then miss your entire childhood, but the call of duty was unavoidable in this case.</em>

    <em>Regarding the subject of those who destroyed your home, I have been thinking over the immediate conclusion I drew when we were together, as well as the alternate conclusion I expressed many times to Hogg when we traveled together. Both of these exnations would be disasters of apocalyptic proportions, but take heart in the fact that neither of these exnations truly match the evidence. We must search for a third possibility. I hope you do not mind that I discuss these things in vagaries; this letter will most certainly be read many times before it reaches you. A chest full of gold attracts notice and Skills to read letters through walls do exist, unfortunately. Something to keep in mind for your return letters.</em>

    <em>I hope that there will be return letters. I am most eager to hear of your life in Hammon¡¯s Bog. It pains me that we didn¡¯t have time to create a proper rtionship, but perhaps such a thing will be possible through correspondence. I understand that sending letters from the frontier can be expensive, so I¡¯ve dispatched this small allowance. Understand that this is the </em><em>least</em><em> of what you are owed.</em>

    <em>Your dutiful mother,</em>

    <em>Lumina</em>

    Brin handed Hogg the paper and said, ¡°The least of what I¡¯m owed, huh? I¡¯m starting to wonder if I should really keep all this. I don¡¯t feel like I deserve it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t, and it¡¯s good that you can see that. But so what? Who cares what you deserve? The only thing that matters is what you can get,¡± said Hogg, scanning the letter.

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t do anything for this. You and Lumina and Lurn and Gn did all the work,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s more like what you didn¡¯t do. Let me ask you this: What do you think Lumina would have given you if you¡¯d held the rewards for that Quest hostage?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Anything. She would have given you everything. Her entire fortune. Ten years of servitude. Literally anything she could,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Well, when you put it that way¡­¡± He turned the paper over in his hands. ¡°Can you send a response?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a mirror image in Steamshield right now. I can¡¯t maintain them over that distance for very long,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I meant isn¡¯t there some sort of long rangemunication that you can use?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°There probably is. With that radio thing you keep telling me about it should be possible. No, it is possible. I¡¯m certain that the King''s Court [Illusionist] and his cabal have a method; it would exin too much. But anyone that¡¯s found out the trick of it has kept it secret. I¡¯ll have to figure it out on my own, and once I do, I would need someone on the other end to receive the message. This isn¡¯t something we¡¯re going to crack anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°Then normal letters it is,¡± said Brin. Writing a letter to Lumina, thanking her for this, suddenly felt like the most important thing in the world. ¡°How often can I get a letter out?¡±

    ¡°You can send one with each merchant train, so about once a month. It¡¯s been a month and a half, so we¡¯re due for one." Hogg seemed to mull something over, then said. "Fine. Tell you what I can do. Write the letter, and I can dictate it to one of my people in Steamshield. It''ll still take me a week or so to get another mirror image out there, but it''s better than waiting months, and... this sort of gift deserves a quick response, I think."

    Brin rushed to grab some paper and mmed it on Hogg''s writing desk. Surprisingly, paper was anothermodity that wasn''t in short supply. There were big "paperbark" trees in the forest, tall windy trees whose bark came off easily in thin sheets. A [Tanner] could treat the bark in an instant to turn it into crude but workable paper, and they sold it on the cheap. Real paper, like what Lumina''s letter was written on, was still pretty expensive, though. She''d probably paid an entire gold coin for the one sheet. Only, now one gold it didn''t seem all that expensive. Was he already getting used to being rich?

    He wrote out a reply with a charcoal pencil. He talked about his life in Hammon''s Bog, about the kind of chores he did, the training he did, everything that happened. Only, he wasn''t a psychopath so he made everything sound a hundred percent happier than what had actually happened. There was nothing Lumina could do about the troubles he faced, so there was no need to worry her about Hogg''s insane twelve-hour training regimen when he''d first gotten to town, and he omitted the fact that half the town thought he was going to be a [Witch] when he grew up. He didn''t talk about the nightmares, or his fears that the undead army was still out there, surrounding the town just out of sight.

    He made the chores sound fun and interesting, like he looked forward to them every day. He talked about how excited he was with his training progress--that part at least was all true. He also made Zilly and Davi sound like they were his close friends, and not just a couple kids he''d only hung out with a couple times. He kept Myra as-is, though. A mean, stupid girl who seemed to follow him around just to throw insults at him. If he didn''t write <em>anything</em> negative Lumina would know he was hiding things.

    When he was done, he handed the letter to Hogg, who immediately started reading it. He chuckled and couple times, and broke outughing at one point.

    "You know, it''s rude to read other people''s mail," said Brin.

    "How am I going to do this without reading it? Come on, now," said Hogg.

    "Listen, I know how it sounds, but I didn''t want to worry her," said Brin.

    "I get it. Yeah, this is good," said Hogg, but that didn''t stop him from chuckling at him. When he finished, Hogg folded up the letter and put it in his pocket. His expression turned serious. "Alright, enough about that! We need to talk about what you¡¯re going to do with all that money.¡±

    Brin knew something bad was going to happen. He wouldn''t <em>actually</em> get to keep all this money, right? He tried to temper his expectations. And failed. He was going to buy <em>all</em> the cool stuff he¡¯d been drooling at in Perris¡¯ adventurer¡¯s outfitting shop. But he couldn¡¯t lead with that, or Hogg would lock the whole thing down.

    ¡°First I¡¯ll need to break one of these gold coins. I¡¯m running low on my stash from Travin¡¯s Bog, just buying all the extra meat.¡±

    ¡°How much do you eat?¡± Hogg asked, rmed.

    Brin flexed his biceps. It wasn¡¯t body-builder big yet, but still impressive and he was <em>thirteen</em>. ¡°How much does it look like I eat?¡±

    Hogg scowled.

    ¡°For most of it, I¡¯d like to invest it, although I don¡¯t know exactly how that would look in this world, I can think of one or two businesses that could use a silent partner. It would be easier to use you as a go-between if you¡¯re up for it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, sure, I could do that. You could also think about funding a caravan,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What would that look like?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, you have to have noticed, or maybe not since you¡¯ve only lived here, that the prices in this town are ridiculously cheap. Perris puts on a show like he¡¯s this ruthless price-gouger, but the honest truth is that he could sell his things for twice as much in a bigger city. The merchants thate through help, but they pay our prices, not city prices. The solution is for people in the town to pool their money and put together a caravan to head to the city and sell everything at once. If you fund a caravan, you¡¯d be doing the town a service and making a tidy profit.¡±

    ¡°And if the caravan gets eaten by monsters, I lose everything. Full disclosure, how often do you fund one of these?¡±

    ¡°About once a year, but only as a way to help the town. I travel enough that I have better options, to be frank,¡± said Hogg.

    That statement made Brin notice something he should''ve picked up on right away. Hogg wasn''t staring at the gold like it was a world-changing bombshell. He looked at it like it was slightly impressive but mostly annoying. No envy, though. Too much money for a kid to have, but not more than <em>he</em> had.

    "Just how rich are you?" asked Brin.

    "Things are more expensive in the cities," said Hogg.

    "That''s not an answer."

    Hogg shrugged. "About the caravan..."

    ¡°It sounds like a good idea,¡± said Brin, ¡°as long as I offset the risk with some safer investments here at home.¡±

    ¡°You sort of sound like you know what you¡¯re doing here. It''s weird,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know, I had a very well vested and diversified portfolio in my old life,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg chuckled. ¡°You know, I half expected the first thing you¡¯d want to do would be to run out and buy a cool sword.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, not at all. I don¡¯t want to buy a cool sword. I want to buy the <em>coolest</em> sword.¡±

    Hogg snapped the lid of the chest shut, and snatched the key from Brin¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Aw,e on! I was kidding,¡± lied Brin. He was not kidding. He was most definitely going to get a cool magic sword.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s your money, I¡¯m not going to tell you not to spend it. But this is <em>way</em> too much. Lumina is out of her mind trusting a thirteen-year-old with this. Your idea to invest it is solid, but we need to do this discreetly. If everyone catches on that you¡¯re richer than half the town put together, life won¡¯t get simpler for you, let¡¯s just say it like that. People still ask <em>me</em> for money, and I¡¯m¡­¡±

    ¡°Wildly unapproachable?¡± suggested Brin.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Hogg. ¡°So you don¡¯t want to walk through town carrying half of Perris¡¯ inventory on your back."

    Weirdly, that was the problem. There was no real limit to his funds, the limit was how many things were actually avable for sale around here, and how much of it he could buy without raising suspicion.

    "Besides, you¡¯ll poke your eye out,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll be careful. And no one will see me. Like you said, we¡¯ll do this discreetly.¡± He slowly pulled the key out of Hogg¡¯s grasp.

    A man didn¡¯t need a reason to want a magic sword, but Brin had one regardless. There was <em>definitely</em> an achievement for killing a monster before your System unlocked. And if he had to guess, you had to do it alone without help from an adult. Otherwise, there was no way the parents of this town wouldn¡¯t have each of their kids finish off a captive monster. They talked a big game about not seeking achievements before your System day, and then did everything they could on the sly to make it happen.

    Normally gunning for something like that would be much too dangerous, but what if he had an overpowered weapon and was decked out in magical armor? Perris had told him earlier that the real power in this world was money. The right equipment drew a wide line between the haves and have-nots.

    There was no way Hogg would be onboard with this n, so he thought quickly. ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll requisition some equipment from Perris in preparation for my System day, so that I¡¯ll bepletely ready to go if I get [Warrior]. And with an achievement like Warbound, you have to think I¡¯m a shoe-in, right? Until then, it¡¯ll all stay right here in this clearing, somewhere I can practice with it without anyone seeing it."

    Hogg reluctantly agreed, and Brin inwardly cheered. He didn¡¯t run to Perris right away. One, the shop would be closed, but also because he didn¡¯t want Hogg to catch wind of what he was nning. There was no emergency. If there was an achievement for killing monsters as a child, it wouldn¡¯t matter if he did it now or the day before the town¡¯s System day.

    Instead, they spent the rest of the evening carefully counting the coins. They even let Marksi out, and once they impressed on him how important it was that he not eat any of the treasure, the little snake ¡®helped¡¯ by moving coins from one stack to another with his mouth.

    The end tally was 520 gold coins. ording to Hogg, the gemstones were worth another thousand gold coins, which all together meant that Brin was now ridiculously wealthy. How rich was Lumina that she could give away this amount of wealth as a mere allowance?

    Well, he¡¯d already known Lumina was rich. He just didn¡¯t know what the rich really looked like in this world, especially in a town like Hammon¡¯s Bog where even the wealthiest vigers still went to work every morning like everybody else. Gustaff¡¯s movies gave a little bit of insight into the wider world, but not nearly enough. His movies were basically recorded stage-ys, with illusory sets and painted props. He had no idea what was really out there. One day, he¡¯d find out for himself. Until then, he just needed to focus on getting stronger.

    "Hey could you show me a thing or two, as far as sword fighting goes? I just realized I''ll have a sword, but I won''t know how to use it.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as showing you a thing or two. I¡¯m either going to train you or I¡¯m not going to train you.¡±

    ¡°Then train me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Get your Dexterity up, then we¡¯ll talk,¡± said Hogg.

    "Why are you so worried about Dexterity? There are other attributes I could be focusing on," said Brin.

    "Your Will and Vitality are both high enough that they''ll probably happen on their own. I don''t have a good way for training your Magic or Mental Control. That leaves Dexterity."

    "Alright, then I''ll start there."

 Book 1. Chapter 20

    Book 1. Chapter 20

    The next day he lined up early outside of Toros¡¯ shop. Normally his chores would involve him and two or three other boys, except for days when he worked in the fields outside the walls. Today was another exception apparently, since there were more than a dozen kids with him, including Zilly and Myra.

    He tried to edge away from Myra by hiding behind Davi, but Zilly made a beeline for him, which meant that of course Myra came too.

    ¡°How¡¯s Marksi? Can I hold him?¡± asked Zilly, and Marksi slithered into her arms before she even finished the question.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here,¡± said Myra. ¡°I thought this was only for children from the town.¡±

    ¡°Nope, beasts from the forest were invited, too. Otherwise, why would you be here?¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Me? You literally live in the forest, Brin. I bet you¡¯re doing evil¡­ forest things. Did you get those clothes from thest child you ate? Is that why they don¡¯t fit?¡± asked Myra.

    Brin looked down. She was right. He was growing fast, and nothing fit him very well anymore. His pants were up past his calves. It was too bad, these were the clothes he¡¯d been reborn into, and they were dyed a dark blue. He had a few pairs of clothes that he¡¯d bought here in town, but they were made of uncolored ck wool. For some reason he could never seem to get to the general store when linen was in stock, the only other local fashion option.

    He also had the thin overcoat he¡¯d been wearing when he woke up in this world. It was half worn away at this point, but he wore it because Marksi liked to stay in the hood.

    He generally hadn¡¯t noticed that his clothes were getting this small, but now it would be the only thing he could think about for the rest of the day.

    Trying to y it off, he flexed his hard-won muscles. ¡°Maybe this is how they¡¯re supposed to fit.¡±

    Zillyughed and put a hand to her mouth, and Myra sneered and started to say something, but Davi cut in. ¡°Cut it out, you two!¡±

    They were spared further banter by the arrival of Toros. Brin would say he was a stereotypical dwarf, but didn¡¯t really know if that was a thing here. He needed to ask. For all he knew it wasmon knowledge that there were elves and dwarves around.

    Either way, if there were dwarves, Toros could totally pass for one. He stood maybe four and a half feet tall, had absurdly muscr arms, and wore a thick leather apron and leather gloves that went to his elbows. His face had a racoon tan, it was dark red on his cheeks and nose, but his eyes were the normal ruddy tan of the people of the city. The roon tan probably came from using the goggles on his forehead; they had dark lenses and looked like steampunk sunsses.

    He walked energetically, and his hands were always moving. Checking the tools on his belt, stroking his long ck beard, or gesticting as he spoke.

    ¡°Alright, gather round, that¡¯s it,¡± Toros said to the gathered children. ¡°I¡¯m Toros the [Smith]. Don¡¯t call me a cksmith, because I work with more than just iron. You could call me a ck and metalsmith or just a metalsmith, but [Smith] is the name of the ss the gods gave me, so [Smith] is good enough for me. Now, you¡¯re here to learn the ins and outs of the trades of the town, but I¡¯m not much for fancy speeches. So why don¡¯t youe inside and I¡¯ll show you around.¡±

    He darted inside the Smithy and they followed into arge open room, all made of brick with a cement floor. There was a line of six anvils, a long work table with various tools, and a grinding stone. Brin was surprised to see a metal drain in the center of the floor. He wasn¡¯t sure what it would be used for. In case they needed to douse the room to put out fires? Now that he was looking for it, he saw a waterspout attached to a rubber hose, strung up to the side. It was a match for the enchanted waterspouts that many of the vigers had in their homes, only much bigger.

    Toros¡¯ apprentice Simao was hard at work pumping the bellows into the big furnace in the center of the room, but he stopped and pulled up his goggles when they entered. ¡°The temperature is just about right. Maybe five minutes before you can get started.¡±

    ¡°Alright, well, keep it going, it¡¯ll take longer than that to cover the basics,¡± Toros answered. ¡°Look over here, kids, let¡¯s start with the anvil. You ever wonder why they¡¯re always shaped like this. Well¡­¡±

    Toros went through the room, offering exnations for every piece of equipment, in a happily excited tone. He clearly loved this stuff and showed them tongs and mps with all the energy of a two year old showing off a stuffed animal collection.. Lots of it Brin already knew from being a fantasy nerd, but lots of the specifics were new to him. Especially in the ways that things were enchanted or changed to harmonize with Toros¡¯ skills. The furnace got hotter than it should be able to, enabling Toros to work with steel. Part of the heat came from the bellows, which only worked as well as they did because he and Simao had the right skill. Some of the hammers were stronger than steel, but some were softer for more brittle materials.

    As Toros went through the room, exining the tools, Marksi jumped out of Zilly¡¯s arms and moved up to get a closer look at the things Toros was pointing out. The [Smith] pretended not to notice, but by the end he was talking to Marksi instead of the children.

    Toros went through workce safety as well. Leather gloves and aprons were to be worn at all times. The ck-ss goggles needed to be worn any time they were going to look directly at the me or molten metal, and also to protect against sparks. There was a special iron helmet that looked like a welder¡¯s helmet from his old world, that they used when working with the most dangerous mes, although Toros¡¯ high Vitality protected him for day-to-day activities.

    After that, he surprised Brin by picking out six of the children, half the ss, and having them don sets of aprons, goggles, and gloves that he¡¯d prepared in advance. He was really going to let them try it out.

    Sadly, Brin wasn¡¯t in the first batch, but Davi and Zilly were, so this meant he got to watch his friends go first and learn from their mistakes.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be making nails today, from iron. This is the first thing a [Smith] learns to make, and one thing we spend most of our time making. Unless we have an apprentice, then we make them do it. Simao makes two hundred and fifty a day and he¡¯s so sick of it just thinking about them is liable to make him puke. Ain¡¯t that right, Simao?¡±

    ¡°Nah, don¡¯t listen to him,¡± said Simao with a smile. ¡°[Smiths] love smithing, otherwise we¡¯d have a different ss.¡±

    ¡°Bah!¡± said Toros. He walked over to the forge, and used a pair of tongs to draw out one of the thin metal rods that were sticking out of the me. It was bright yellow on the end that was in the fire, then red towards the middle, and regr iron gray at the end where Toros held it by the tongs.

    ¡°This is your starter. I¡¯m grabbing it here at the end with the tongs. It would be cool enough to touch with your bare hands right here, but we aren¡¯t going to touch it with our bare hands. We never touch <em>anything</em> thates out of the forge with our bare hands, or with gloves for that matter. We always use tongs. I have a Skill to resist burns, and I still use the tongs, even when I¡¯m alone.¡±

    He ced the hot part of the thin pole onto the anvil. ¡°Now, there are seven techniques that you need to work metal. We¡¯re going to use two of them to make a nail, so if you can do these two things you¡¯re about a third of the way to being a smith. The first is called drawing. It means drawing out, making something taper into a point.¡±

    Marksi started to slither towards the anvil, and Simao snatched him up from the floor and gave him back to Brin. Marksi squirmed around in his arms until he could get a good look at what Toros was doing.

    Toros hit the metal with a ck hammer. He stopped after the first hit and nced at Marksi, but the loud sound didn¡¯t bother the snake, though some of the children put fingers in their ears. He nodded, then kept going.

    He struck carefully and precisely again and again, and drew the metal out, making it thinner, and making it end in a sharp point. The nail wasn¡¯t circr like Brin was used to, but square shaped, with four sides all the way to the needle point.

    The [Smith¡¯s] blows were softer than Brin expected. He wasn¡¯t banging with his full strength, but looked like he was tapping softly, mostly concerned with not sttering the metal or ttening it too much. The nail shaped up quickly, almost magically quick, but at the same time Brin got the idea that Toros was holding back and going slowly so that the children could see what he was doing.

    ¡°The second technique is called upsetting. That¡¯s where we squash the material and make it thicker. That¡¯s how we¡¯ll make the nail head.¡±

    Toros grabbed the hot part of the nail with the tongs, then took out a pair of pliers and snipped right through the hot iron as if it were made of cheese. ¡°There¡¯s another way to do this in case you don¡¯t have the Strength, but for today just ask when you¡¯re ready and we¡¯ll cut it for you.¡±

    He put the nail in a vise on the work table, and tightened it shut. Then he hammered the top of the nail until the end of it ttened out and made the nail head. That done, he dunked the nail in a bucket of water for cooling before setting it on a shelf.

    It was a bit bigger than the nails Brin was used to. About three inches long and a quarter inch thick, but Brin supposed that since they all had to be made by hand, they probably preferred to use fewer,rger nails here.

    He also noticed that the other nails on the shelf were perfectly round. Ah, he¡¯d made this one square for their benefit. Because it would be easier, probably.

    Davi, Zilly, and the other four children in the first group used tongs to pull their rods out of the fire, and brought them to their anvils. Davi started banging right away, and his rod flew out of his tongs andnded on the floor, which drew a round of loudughter from Myra who was watching with Brin on the sidelines. He picked it up, embarrassed, and tried again. By the third try he got the hang of it, and started making huge dents in the metal.

    Zilly held the tongs more confidently, and tried out a few testing taps, which made no visible dent in the metal. She hit it with the hammer harder, probably as hard as she could, and finally there was a noticeable dent. She kept hitting, slowly thinning the metal out and driving it to a point.

    Davi finished his nail in minutes, and frankly it looked like garbage. It sort of went to a point, but it took so many twists and turns to get there it hardly counted as a nail. Simao finally ordered him to stop abusing the metal, so Davi took it over to the mp and put a head on it with a few hard taps, then dunked it in the water. Despite how it looked, he seemed very pleased with what he had made.

    The other three boys in the group ended up with crooked nails, all done in a matter of minutes. Zilly and the other girl took a lot longer. They tap, tap, tapped away over the course of fifteen minutes, switching arms when one got too tired. Eventually though, she ended up with a nail that was nearly a perfect match for the one Toros made.

    Then it was Brin¡¯s turn. He handed Marksi off to Zilly¡¯s eager hands, then took his rod out of the me and set it on an anvil, determined to follow Zilly¡¯s example and not Davi¡¯s. Zilly had much higher Dexterity than him, Hogg had said all the girls had Dexterity over 26. Brin couldn¡¯t match that, but he could at least be as careful as she had been. He tapped the metal softly, then harder and harder until it just barely started to move the metal. It was harder than he expected, but still perfectly within reason. He could still hit it a lot harder, but he wanted to do it right.

    Slowly, carefully, he hammered out the metal, keeping it perfectly t and tapering it down to a nice point. It took him ten minutes, and some of the boys snickered at him,pletely oblivious to the fact that their nails looked likeplete garbage.

    ¡°Nicely done. Go ahead and put the head on it,¡± said Simao, breaking Brin out of his concentration. His nail was done, thest minute he¡¯d been tapping out imperfections that were too tiny to really matter. Simao cut off the end, and Brin brought it over to the mp. He made sure it was tight, and gave it a strong, solid hit. Again, the metal was surprisingly hard for how brightly yellow it was glowing, but still well within range for him to move it how he wanted. A few more hits and it was done.

    He doused it in the water, and moved to ce it on the shelf, but Simao said, ¡°Go ahead and take it. It¡¯s cool enough to touch, we¡¯ve got a Skill working on the bucket.¡±

    ¡°I can keep this?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Simao. ¡°No one has the right to take something you made with your own hands.¡±

    ¡°Unless they own the smithy and the metal and the tools and use their skills to help you every step of the way,¡± said Brin. ¡°But thanks!¡±

    It was just a nail. He was crazy rich now, he could afford a wagonload of nails without making a dent in his wallet. But this nail was special. No amount of money in the world could give you something you¡¯d made with your own hands. Only effort, sweat, and blood could do that. It was a good nail, as good as anyone in the group had made. He was certain he¡¯d keep it for a long time.

    Through your efforts you have increased the following attributes. Dexterity +1

    Well, that was nice. He¡¯d probably gotten it since he¡¯d been careful to do it right. He¡¯d aplished a task, and it was a Dexterity-intensive activity. At least for him.

    ¡°Hey, did anyone else get a point for that?¡± he whispered to the other kids.

    ¡°I got a Strength,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Aw man, I didn¡¯t even think of that!¡± said Davi.

    ¡°How are you doing on Dexterity?¡± asked Brin. He was taking a risk. Adults did <em>not</em> like to talk about this, but maybe kids his age would be different.

    ¡°I¡¯m still four away,¡± said Davi.

    So people <em>did</em> talk about earning achievements as children. He knew Hogg had been overreacting.

    ¡°Oh, I got that ages ago. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll make it to the second threshold before System Day, though,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to stop trying and go for Strong I instead.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, guys!¡± said Myra. ¡°Achievement-chasing is a sure way to get an evil ss. Mom says so.¡±

    ¡°She would know,¡± said Brin.

    Toros must¡¯ve overheard them, because he said, ¡°You¡¯ll get attributes for aplishing new things. It¡¯s one of the reasons we do this. You¡¯ll all get another chance to make another nail, in case you did a crappy job this time,¡± said Toros, eying some of the boys.

    ¡°Don¡¯t need it!¡± said Zilly, proudly holding up her pristine nail. ¡°Girls rule!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but it took you forever!¡± one of the boys shouted back.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, at least we did it right. Girls rule!¡±

    ¡°Ok, but Brin did it pretty fast and he made the best nail in the group,¡± said Davi.

    Everyone stopped and looked at him. They¡¯d divided into groups, boys on the left and girls on the right. Brin looked between them, and then stepped to the girls side and raised a fist in solidarity. Marksi nodded from his shoulder and chirped in agreement. The boys groaned while Zilly cheered and patted him on the back.

    ¡°Alright now, enough of that,¡± said Toros, smiling in amusement. ¡°So what do you all think about being a [Smith]?¡± said Toros.

    ¡°It was fun!¡± said one of the boys. ¡°Can I make a knife?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it is fun!¡± Toros replied to thement but ignored the question. ¡°Smithing is hard work, but it¡¯s rewarding. You get to make neat things, you get to provide a service that everyone needs, and there¡¯s always another challenge to keep the levelsing. I get to make meat hooks, gears, pulleys, all sorts of clever little mechanisms. Those are the days that reallyunch me out of bed in the morning.¡±

    Toros had some examples out. In addition to the gears and pulleys he¡¯d mentioned, there was a little cage on a chain that Brin knew was for lowering food down into a well for people who couldn¡¯t afford refrigeration enchantments. There was a meat hook, and set of what could be oddly shaped shackles, too wide for human feet.

    ¡°What are those?¡± he found himself asking.

    Toros smiled beneath his beard. ¡°Hobbles. Horses are pretty good about learning not to kick you when you¡¯re shoeing them, but oxen need to be held down. These were a right puzzle to make; it was great! Challenges mean growth, and growth means better challenges!¡±

    ¡°But there are things about smithing that aren¡¯t so good. One thing, it¡¯s expensive. It¡¯s expensive to get started, and it¡¯s expensive to learn. Hammon¡¯s Bog helped me get started, and I owe the town for that, but not everyone is so lucky. A lot of [Smiths] take years and years doing lesser crafting, tinkering, or repairing before they can finally afford what they need to really get started. If one of you gets [Smith] I could take you in as an apprentice like Simao over there, but to tell you the truth, there isn¡¯t even enough work in this town for Simao and I. Metal is expensive, and there¡¯s not a lot who can afford my best work. People need regr stuff. Horseshoes, nails, simple implements, stuff you don¡¯t even really need the ss to make. Most people in town have one or two really nice tools they got from me, and for everything else cheaper stuff that doesn¡¯t help my levels, or what they can have Ademir the [Crafter] make.

    ¡°I also make weapons to sell out of town, and I service the nearby Bogs, although of course some of that dried up when¡­¡± He nced at Brin, then cleared his throat. ¡°Point is, getting started as a [Smith] is tough. The normal path for a [Smith] is to follow around a [Warrior] or something simr. Weapons and armor break duringbat way more than most people think, and just one physicalbat sser can provide a [Smith] with a decent amount of work. Some [Smiths] <em>are</em> adventurers or soldiers. There¡¯s a strike Skill that can be used inbat, and imagine repairing your armor right in the middle of a fight!¡±

    Toros went on for a bit about the joys and pitfalls of being a [Smith], and Brin listened while turning his nail around and around in his hands. Yeah, it made sense that it would be hard to start out as a [Smith]. If you had a clump of iron, or maybe even something rarer, why would you give it to a low-level [Smith] when you could give it to someone like Toros and get something amazing?

    Turns out Perris¡¯ speech about how money was everything actually held some water. If you could afford to waste materials, it didn¡¯t matter if anyone hired you. You could get to a high level on your own. Were other professions like that? Probably not to the same degree. Wood workers wouldn¡¯t have the same trouble getting materials. Leather workers might, though. Perris was a [Leatherworker]. He wondered if he had a hard time getting good materials.

    Toros finished his lecture and the kids went their separate ways, but Davi walked beside Brin as he made his way out of town.

    ¡°How are you doing it?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Brin, instantly panicking on the inside. Which one of his secrets had Davi seen through?

    ¡°How are you getting so strong so quickly? I was miles ahead of you when you first got to town, but you¡¯re catching up quick. Meanwhile I¡¯ve been stuck at 33 Strength for four whole months now,¡± said Davi.

    Brinughed, mostly at the sudden release of tension. He didn¡¯t need to keep this a secret, just whose idea it was. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy. Hogg says that you need to do three things to bulk up. Eat a lot, sleep a lot, lift a lot¡­¡±

    He talked through his morning and evening exercise routines, and Davi nodded along with enthusiasm. When he got to the part about his diet, he saw Davi¡¯s face start to fall.

    He felt like a jerk. His high-protein diet was expensive, too expensive for whatever allowance Davi was getting, which could very easily be nothing. How to fix this?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It¡¯s not that hard to eat right. Is this about cutting back on sugar? I¡¯ve seen the bakery near your house, so I don¡¯t me you for non-stop binge eating pastries, but if you want to get stronger you need to cut back.¡±

    Davi looked like he¡¯d swallowed a frog. ¡°That¡¯s not¨C¡±

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll make it easy for you. Come at dawn and we¡¯ll work out together, and you can eat what I¡¯m eating. It¡¯ll be easy; you won¡¯t even have to think about it.¡±

    Davi¡¯s face darkened. ¡°My parents won¡¯t want me taking a handout..¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s offering a handout? Marksi, did you hear me offering a handout?¡±

    Marksi chirped, happy to be part of the conversation.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that weird to eat breakfast at your friend¡¯s house, is it? If we went to your house right now, your mom would try to feed me, and don¡¯t try to tell me that¡¯s not true,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure¡­¡± said Davi. ¡°Then you shoulde to my house at least once a week. That way my parents won¡¯t think you¡¯re giving me charity.¡±

    ¡°That could work. Actually, that could be better. People are already starting rumors that I¡¯m doing ¡®evil forest things¡¯. It might be a good idea to work out right in the middle of town once in a while,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Nobody¡¯s saying that except for Myra and she¡­ listen, she¡¯s really not that bad once you get to know her,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± said Brin.

    Brin spent the day after the lesson working with Hogg on Dexterity. Hogg had him learn to juggle, and he managed to get a hang of juggling three balls in an hour, and then spent another four hours moving up to four and then five balls. The System didn¡¯t reward him, but Hogg seemed to think they were making good progress.

    The next morning Davi was as good as his word and showed up at exactly dawn. Brin went through his regr set of exercises, but having someone else along motivated him to work harder than ever. Someone else other than Marksi, that was. The little snake did his typical mimicry of the workout routine, which sent the boys into fits ofughter more than once.

    To his surprise, he got a notification when the workout was done.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength +1

    Only two days after hisst one, that was terrific news. It would be difficult, but he still thought he¡¯d be able to get to Strong II on top of getting the Dexterity, Will, and Vitality past the first threshold. He just had to stay on top of things. Davi got the same notification, and he was also over the moon about it.

    After the workout, Brin made breakfast and put six eggs, half a roast chicken, a couple slices of bread, and a ss of milk in front of Davi. The boy¡¯s eyes widened in surprise at all the food, but Brin put the exact same meal in front of himself, too, and tucked in like it was the most natural thing in the world. Neither of them saw Hogg that morning, but he tended to sleep in most mornings, and he was a coffee for breakfast type of person regardless. Brin put the kettle on for him, and then he and Davi set off for the day.

    He was in such a good mood after getting another point in Strength that he didn¡¯t remember what they were going to be doing that day, so it hit him all at once when they crossed the gates into town.

    Today was the day they were supposed to learn from [Weaver] Tawna.

 Book 1. Chapter 21

    Book 1. Chapter 21

    Brin arrived with the rest of the children at the [Weaver¡¯s] hut, which looked exactly like the type of ce a [Witch] would live. Even in this crowded part of town it was alone in an open grassy in, and instead of being made with normal wood, which was abundant, it was built of seamlessly woven straw.

    [Weaver] Tawna pretended to hate the idea that people would think of her as a [Witch], but then did everything in her power to make herself look like one. She wanted all the clout of a [Witch], but none of the stigma.

    The children with him seemed pretty excited. Myra was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet since this was her mother, but the other kids seemed excited as well, and more than a little nervous. Tawna was a local celebrity, and frankly the lesson with Toros yesterday had been awesome. If that was the quality of lessons they had to look forward to, then obviously they would be excited. The only one dreading this day, apparently, was Brin. He just wanted to get through it.

    The door to the hut opened; the various fibers making it up wriggled and squirmed their way into the walls, clearing the way.

    Out stepped [Weaver] Tawna. She wore a shimmering violet gown covered in a gossamer shawl, with the sleeves together so that her hands were hidden. Her head was high, her expression impassive, and her ck hair wasbed so smooth and straight she could be in a shampoomercial.

    This wasn¡¯t the Tawna he¡¯d ever seen before. What was she trying to pull? He already knew she was a shrieking harridan. Was she trying to act cool for a group of thirteen-year-olds?

    She approached the group, and separated her hands, but the sleeves were so long only her fingertips were visible. She gestured to the area in front of her, and spoke in a cool, almost monotone voice. ¡°Gather round. Form a circle if you please.¡±

    Theyplied, forming a circle with her. Myra stood on her right and Zilly on her left.

    ¡°A [Weaver] weaves,¡± said Tawna, as if it were the most profound thing in the world.

    She let the words hang in the air. For too long. There was silence for thirty seconds. Then a minute. The children started to look at eachother, maybe wondering what they were supposed to do. Myra looked up at her mother with adoration in her eyes.

    Out of nowhere, Tawna finally continued her lesson. ¡°To weave, one must understand threads. This is the base Skill of our ss¨C[Thread Mastery]. Threads of cotton. Threads of silk. Threads of linen.¡±

    Myra dashed out of the circle to the hut, and returned quickly with a worn and ragged farmer¡¯s shirt. It was clean, but it was heavily frayed and had holes in ces. She gave it to Tawna who took it without looking.

    Tawna tossed the shirt into the air. It floated there for a moment, pped in the wind, and then <em>unwound</em> itself. Each thread of the shirt unwove itself from the rest in less than a second, and then just as quickly, the shirt reassembled. What fluttered to the ground was a perfect coat jacket, green where the shirt had been tan, with twisting dragons embroidered down the arms. It was a smaller size than the shirt had been, but looked thicker.

    That was a coat someone would pay six silver for, and she¡¯d made it in <em>seconds.</em>

    The children gasped, and Marksi looked like he wanted to leap over for a closer look. Brin caught him and stuffed him into his hood. ¡°Stay!¡± he whispered.

    That brought his attention to his own clothes. He¡¯d never gotten around to recing anything, so they were still too small and the hard chores and harder y meant that they were getting almost as ragged as that farmer¡¯s shirt. Just like yesterday, he felt terribly underdressed.

    In his old world, everybody had thirty outfits and they were all mass produced trash. Here, everyone had one, two, maybe three outfits, and they were generally beautiful. The best materials they could afford, all sorts of color, embroidery, and embossment to give themselves unique vor.

    In fantasy movies in his old world, everyone had ratty hair, mud on their faces, and only wore brown. If there were any other colors, it was also covered with mud. But it turns out,bs were very low-tech, washing your face was not that hard, and if you could only afford one outfit, you¡¯d find a way to make it something you could be proud of.

    A lot of the reason they dressed so well, however, was probably because of this [Weaver], who could rece an entire textile factory by herself.

    ¡°[Weaver] is amon ss, but not often is it offered to children on their System day. Does anyone know why? Brin?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Brin had been hoping to fly under the radar, but he should¡¯ve expected she¡¯d call him out. ¡°Uh, no. I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°I thought not. You¡¯re not from here. You don¡¯t seem to be from anywhere,¡± said Tawna. She gestured to Myra.

    ¡°Most of the time you¡¯ll get [Spinner] first. [Spinner] can be evolved into [Weaver],¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Quite right. But I cannot suggest you take this ss. Do you know why, Brin?¡± she asked.

    He met her gaze. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°One wonders if you know anything at all. Perhaps if you spent less time courting abomination and more time learningmon knowledge your fate would not be so¡­ but I¡¯m getting ahead of myself.¡± She gestured to Zilly.

    Zilly at least had the courtesy to look ufortable at being used as a weapon against Brin, but she answered, ¡°[Spinners] can¡¯t do much with the ss that can¡¯t be done with a spinning wheel. And, um¡­ [Weavers]...¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± said Tawna. ¡°Since my ss is an evolution of [Spinner], I can do anything a [Spinner] can do.¡±

    She smoothly bent down and tore some grass from the ground, and flung it into the air. It all copsed into itself and then spun out into a long, green thread.

    One girl raised her hand.

    ¡°Ask,¡± said Tawna.

    ¡°Is it true you can see the future?¡±

    ¡°Yes of course,¡± said Tawna. ¡°And so can you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You see the world around you, and can tell that it is autumn. Tell me, then, in the near future, will the days grow colder or warmer?¡±

    ¡°Colder, but that¡¯s not seeing the future,¡± said the girl.

    Total cringe. What was that forum called that made fun of stuff like this? ¡°I¡¯m 14 and this is deep¡±. But the other kids were drinking it in, so snickering in derision wouldn¡¯t win him any friends.

    ¡°You have seen the present, and extrapted the future. This is what [Weavers] do. Only we can predict more, because we can see more. To be a [Weaver] one must understand threads.¡± She closed her eyes and rocked her head back and forth side to side as she spoke. ¡°One must truly understand them. See them. Feel them. Know them, how they twist and turn, how they move and wind around the others. Threads of cotton. Threads of silk. Threads of linen.¡±

    She opened her eyes. ¡°Threads of fate.¡±

    There were gasps throughout the circle. ¡°If I can see your current path, can I not conclude that you¡¯ll continue to walk down it?¡±

    Brin resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but only because she was staring directly at him. ¡°Oh? And what do you see in my fate, [Weaver]?¡± he asked, but not because she was starting to get to him. Was there something wrong with his fate? What did that even mean?

    ¡°I see one who pursues power to the exclusion of all else. You y, but only if it makes you stronger. You eat, but only to build muscle. You smile, but only to put others at ease. There is no dness in your heart. Your fate is to bring chaos out of order, to push the fates of those around you into disarray.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t <em>really</em> see the future, right? He felt like someone should have warned him if that were the case. The stuff about him chasing power was true, but it wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t care about anything else. He chased power <em>because</em> he cared. And the fake smile thing? That was a lie, a mean one, because it was impossible to disprove. He smiled sometimes. He¡¯d been smiling today. Until he came here.

    To his surprise, not all of the children looked like they were on Tawna¡¯s side at this deration. Some of them red at him with suspicion, but Davi was ring at Tawna, his face starting to darken. Zilly looked downcast. Even Myra looked concerned. She was biting her lip, eyes moving back and forth between Brin and her mother.

    ¡°You¡¯re¨C¡± Brin started.

    ¡°What about me?¡± Zilly interrupted. ¡°What do you see in my future?¡±

    Tawna¡¯s eyebrow twitched. Her lip trembled, as if she were resisting putting her mouth into a sneer, but only with great effort. Her face smoothed, and finally she tore her eyes away from Brin and looked at Zilly. ¡°You shine brightly. So brightly as to bring the shadows around you into stark relief.¡±

    The other children all wanted their fortunes told, and Tawna answered them all with trite astrology-style nonsense. Stuff that could apply to anyone.

    Tawna pped her hands. ¡°Now then, an activity. We will practice weaving.¡±

    Myra rushed into the hut again, and came out with six wooden squares. Tawna took one out of her hands, and exined what they were.

    The squares were weaving frames, except with a catch. The weaving would have to be done in pairs. One child would hold one set of threads, and the other would hold the set on the other side, and they¡¯d take turns weaving them into each other.

    They paired off, Zilly with Myra, and Davi with Brin. Then Tawna said, ¡°Davi, why don¡¯t you work with me?¡± leaving Brin alone.

    It was a small, petty gesture. Exactly the type of thing he¡¯d been expecting. This didn¡¯t even look that hard, he probably wouldn¡¯t earn a Dexterity for it, even if he had been allowed to participate.

    He wanted to say he was above it, that he didn¡¯t care, but somehow it still stung.

    He waited, jaw clenched against any insubordinate words, until the lesson was over. She obviously wanted him tosh out, to say something disrespectful so she could give him some sort of punishment, but he didn¡¯t give her the satisfaction.

    He waited.

    When the lesson finally wore down, he turned to go, but then took onest nce at the woven coat, stillying on the ground.

    A thought urred to him. He smiled. A genuine smile.

    Tawna reeled backwards, as if physically struck. Did the sight of him with a genuine smile bother her that much? She totally looked like the type to drink her own Kool-Aid. Or maybe she really could see fate, and his had changed. Changed with a single thought.

    He didn¡¯t make an usation. He didn¡¯t have any proof. Just a thought.

    The thought was this: The undead in Travin¡¯s Bog had worn clothes. A uniform, tight ck nondescript clothing. Not the clothes they had died in. And while some of them had looked frayed, they¡¯d mostly been in good repair. Whoever had reanimated them had also redressed them. And who would bother? No one, unless it was easy. Unless they could do it in seconds with barely a swish of their fingers.

    [Necromancers] evolved from [Witches]. But where did [Witches]e from? He would bet his left eye they evolved from [Weavers].

    Why, in Hogg¡¯s stories, was it always [Weavers] who got burned at the stake when [Witch]-paranoia overtook a town? Superstition, but superstition didn¡¯te from nothing.

    That thought alone would make you want to stay away from any [Weaver] you knew. To treat her with extra respect, but to take steps to stay away from them as well, such as not building your house too close to hers. Deference, but ostracization.

    He¡¯d almost feel sorry for Tawna if she wasn¡¯t so vile.

    He didn¡¯t know she was a [Witch]. Honestly, he didn¡¯t even really think she was. It was just a thought. But it was a thought worth thinking about.

    And even if she wasn¡¯t one, so what? She knew what it was like to be isted and shunned, to have suspicionsid on you that you didn¡¯t deserve. She knew exactly what it was like, but instead of being more empathetic to someone in the same situation, she did everything she could to make things worse for him. She was so <em>petty</em>.

    And¡­ the undead had been wearing matching clothes. Just a thought.

    After the lesson he ignored the calls of his friends and marched to the general store. [Merchant] Julinha stood behind the counter, and scowled at him as he entered. The sharp-eyeddy really didn¡¯t like him, and now he was starting to understand why. Sometimes resentment rose from some kind of offense, and sometimes it originated from guilt.

    ¡°I need clothes, obviously,¡± he said, looking down at himself in a self-deprecating way.

    ¡°I can make you something from Ademir¡¯s wool, but I¡¯ll need a silver and two coppers for the entire set,¡± said Julinha.

    That was gouging, in and simple. It¡¯s not like he couldn¡¯t afford it, but a set of woolen clothes were worth four coppers, tops.

    ¡°Come on, that in ugly wool?¡± asked Brin. ¡°I¡¯m not asking for a lot, Julinha. I just want to look like everyone else in the town.¡±

    He stepped up to a shelf with reams of colorful linens. All of it would have been woven by Tawna. He picked up a nice blue fabric. ¡°This looks good.¡±

    She snatched it out of his hands. ¡°It¡¯s spoken for.¡±

    Brin met her eyes, and held them for a long moment. ¡°She won¡¯t let you sell her fabric to me, will she?¡±

    ¡°Get out!¡±

    He didn¡¯t move. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go. But I¡¯ll be back with the Prefit. And if he won¡¯t listen, I¡¯ll bring Hogg. You know, after what happened to me, Hogg, he bragged to the other Heroes about Hammon¡¯s Bog. About how it¡¯s a great ce for children. He thought it would be a good ce for me to heal my¡­ scars.¡±

    Her anger started to fade, reced by sorrow and sagging shoulders. He¡¯d been right about her guilty conscience.

    ¡°I get it. I¡¯m not going to force the issue. But at the same time, I don¡¯t have anywhere else to go, you know? What am I supposed to do?¡±

    She seemed to wilt before his eyes. She let out a long sigh and said, ¡°Three coppers. I can¡¯t do anything about the linen. She has the right to refuse you, no matter what I¡­ She has the right.¡±

    It was a good price, even if his clothes would be uniquely nd and undecorated. ¡°One copper. And two bits.¡±

    She winced, but nodded. ¡°Come back in three hours.¡±

    How long had it been since he¡¯d stood up for himself? It felt <em>good</em>. He turned to walk away with his head held high, but paused in the doorway. Maybe he should have paid full price? He wasn¡¯t really mad at Julinha. The problem was Tawna.

    He chuckled. ¡°You know, I was just thinking about clothes. It¡¯s kind of funny, but even the undead were dressed better than me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The undead soldiers. They weren¡¯t wearing the clothes they died in. Someone dressed them. Why? I can¡¯t think of anyone who would bother, unless it was no trouble at all for them, I suppose.¡±

    Just a thought. Had that been petty of him? He could be a little petty. Petty enough to leave simrments with three other people on the way out of town.

    When he reached the town¡¯s gates, he was surprised to find Myra waiting there.

    ¡°Leave me alone. I¡¯m not in the mood,¡± he said, intending to walk right by her.

    ¡°Why?¡± she shouted.

    He stopped, stunned.

    Looking at Myra, he saw that she was crying. Well, she was about ten years toote to manipte him like that. ¡°Oh, cut it out, that¡¯s not going to work.¡±

    ¡°Why, Brin? Why do you want to kill my mom?¡± she asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? I don¡¯t want to kill anyone!¡± he shouted. He looked to his left. This area of town was never very busy, but there were two women on the street a block away who¡¯d stopped their conversation to stare at the tall, muscr boy shouting at the pretty, crying girl.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill your mom,¡± said Brin, a little more softly. ¡°Did she tell you that?¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t have to. I¡¯ve seen it. She keeps it right up in the middle of the room. <em>I grew up </em>with it, Brin, so I know,¡± she said.

    He had no idea what she meant by ¡°it¡±. Some kind of [Weaver] thing, he guessed.

    ¡°Why do you hate her?¡± Myra finished.

    ¡°Why does she hate me? There¡¯s only one person in this world who has a reason to hate me, and that¡¯s the [Witch]. The [Witch] that destroyed Travin¡¯s Bog and tried to kill me and <em>failed.</em> If that¡¯s not your mom, then tell me why she hates me. Tell me. Tell me why, and I¡¯ll fall down at her feet and apologize.¡±

    Myra pped him. She clearly hadn¡¯t earned Strong I yet, but it took every bit of willpower he had in his body not to return the blow.

    ¡°My grandmother died in a [Witch]-hunt, Brin,¡± said Myra. ¡°My mom knows better than anyone¨C¡±

    ¡°Oh, I guess that it¡¯s wrong to spread rumors, then. But what do I know? I¡¯m just a pre-[Witch],¡± said Brin.

    He stomped away, and she didn¡¯t try to follow him.

    The walk down the road to Hogg¡¯s house in the forest felt shorter than it normally did. He was walking too fast, his long steps eating up the ground. He¡¯d be there soon, and he wasn¡¯t ready for it.

    Yes, the adult part of him was telling him that he could have handled that better. That sometimes people just didn¡¯t get along and he should let it go.

    But he was in a teenager¡¯s body, and that part of him was liable to boil over. His blood roiled in his veins. He wanted to punch something.

    ¡°Get down, Marksi,¡± said Brin.

    He wasn¡¯t sure if Marksi would understand, but the little snake understood the tone if not the words. He slid down Brin¡¯s back and slithered a few feet down the road.

    Brin picked up a stick on the road, and swung it into a tree, as hard as he could. It shattered immediately.

    He grabbed a branch from the end of a limb on a tree, and pulled on it, trying to tear it free. It bent, but didn¡¯t break, and his pulling on it swished it back and forth and made him feel stupid. He growled, buckled down, and really pulled. Eventually the branch started to give, but the tear was uneven, and pulled a long strip of green bark away until finally it came free.

    He hit the tree with the branch a dozen times, until the green stick started to give way and turn into an awkward il.

    He threw it on the ground and took a breath. That was immature, but he felt a lot better.

    ¡°Come on Marksi,¡± he said.

    The snake had been watching him with wide eyes, but when he heard the warmth in Brin¡¯s tone, he squeaked and climbed up to his usual spot.

    When Brin got to the house, he was serene as a summer morning. Hogg was sitting on the porch with a vacant expression. Concentrating on a mirror image somewhere, probably.

    His gaze focused when Brin walked and he said, ¡°What happened to you?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I''m as serene as a summer morning,¡± said Brin. ¡°Hey listen, can I ask you about [Weavers]?¡±

    ¡°Oh geez, this again,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with their fortune telling? Can they really see fate? And what does that even mean?¡±

    He could see Hogg mentally calcting whether he actually had to answer or if he could tell Brin to get lost. The Oath to uphold his fatherly duties must¡¯ve forced his hand, because Hogg growled and said, ¡°They¡¯re pretty tight-lipped about it. But it¡¯s real, whatever it is. They can see¡­ something. Maybe it¡¯s better if I tell you what they can¡¯t do. They can¡¯t see the future. All sorts of surprising things happen to people, and Tawna doesn¡¯t predict any of it. She doesn¡¯t even try. They can¡¯t read your mind. I¡¯ve yed against [Weavers] in cards, and they can¡¯t predict my bluffs and they can¡¯t tell if their hand beats mine. I think they can see a general impression of who you are. What you like and dislike, what you want, that kind of thing. So in the card games, a [Weaver] could tell that I wanted to win, but couldn¡¯t tell how I meant to go about doing that. Does that answer your question? Please say yes, I¡¯m kind of in the middle of something.¡±

    ¡°Tawna says my ¡®fate¡¯ shows that I¡¯m evil and bad and I want to kill her,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That checks out,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Shut up,¡± said Brin. ¡°She¡¯s annoying but I¡¯m not nning on killing her. The only person in this world I want to kill is the W¨C the [Necromancer] who destroyed Travin¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°Stop. I see where you¡¯re going with this and [Weaver] Tawna is not a [Witch]. I¡¯m ten times more paranoid than you, and I¡¯ve already verified it six different ways. I¡¯m not guessing; I¡¯m certain. Drop it,¡± said Hogg.

    He wanted to ask if [Weavers] evolved into [Witches]. That would actually be an argument <em>against</em> Tawna being a [Witch], because if [Weavers] could spin then [Witches] could weave, so any [Witch] would¡¯ve been able to clothe her zombies. But what was the point? Hogg would just think the worst of him, and he probably wouldn¡¯t even answer the question.

    ¡°Fine. Whatever,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m going to go train my Dexterity or something.¡±

    He made it two steps before he stopped and face-palmed.

    ¡°What?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I forgot I ordered clothes. Looks like it¡¯s a Vitality kind of day. I¡¯m going back to town.¡±

 Book 1. Chapter 22

    Book 1. Chapter 22

    The next day was Brin¡¯s day to work out at Davi¡¯s ce, so he set off a little early. Marksi didn¡¯t want to wake up, but he knew the little guy would be sad if he left without him, so he put him in the hood of his new drab woolen shirt. Julinha had been as good as her word, and if the clothing was in it didn¡¯t look bad by any means. He¡¯d ended up paying her full price after all, and felt confident that he¡¯d fairly well won her over from Tawna¡¯s side.

    Davi¡¯s family had a house in the city, but for the workout they¡¯d decided to meet at his family¡¯s farm. It was close enough that it was faster to go around the outside of the walls rather than cut through town.

    Brin crossed the distance in a steady run. His Vitality was close to hitting the first threshold, so he wasn¡¯t even winded when he got there.

    First he walked past the fields of mato. The nt looked foreign and otherworldly, long purple vines covered the ground without seeming to go in anywhere. The field looked like someone had dropped a big pile of purple spaghetti on the ground. It was nowhere close to ready to harvest, so the pods that would eventually grow the mato were just lumpy tumors on the vines.

    There wasn¡¯t a lot of mato here, just an acre and two acres of hay, since Davi¡¯s family had an entirely different focus.

    After the hay, he passed the herd of grazing cows, cows being a somewhat imprecise term in this case. These animals were muscr and fierce looking, with gray, hairless skin that reminded him of rhinos. Their horns were much thicker and longer than any animals he¡¯d seen on earth, and they spiraled out to the sides.

    Despite how fierce they looked, they werepletely docile, and didn¡¯t even raise their eyes as he went past.

    He didn¡¯t know why they looked like this. Maybe they had been normal cows at some point, and transformed by magic or sses. Or maybe it was simple evolution. Brin guessed it was the former; Davi¡¯s parents, Alvir and Bruna Pimental, were both [Cattle Farmer], an evolution of [Farmer] that focused on raising and breeding livestock.

    Last, he passed the Pimental family treasure.

    A bull stood proudly in a fenced off area. A huge, towering beast, Brin¡¯s head didn¡¯t even go to his shoulders. He had an intelligent look in his eye, while all his females seemed a bit dull, and he surveyed hisnd with cold calction. The fence was covered in signs warning people not to enter his private pasture, and the way he met Brin¡¯s eye with such unwavering dominance made him sure that the fence around him was nothing more than a polite fiction.

    Davi had told him all about the bull, of course. The way that Brin didn¡¯t really worry about money must have made Davi feel insecure about his own family¡¯s wealth, though he really didn¡¯t need to. Brin didn¡¯t look down on people for being poor, and besides, Davi¡¯s family really wasn¡¯t even close to poor by Hammon¡¯s Bog standards.

    The bull was proof of that. A normal adult with a ss in Hammon¡¯s Bog made a silver a day, but the Pimentals could rent the bull out for four silvers a day. He had the strength for jobs that even people with System-enhanced Strength had trouble doing on their own. Pulling up boulders, pulling up stumps, pulling wagons the size of school-buses for bringing in the harvest. <em>Sometimes </em>plowing fields, but he was a bit pricey for that.

    The System could increase your Strength, but it used your species as a baseline. A level ten bull would <em>always</em> be stronger than a level ten person, no matter what ss they had or how many pushups they''ve done.

    The bull snorted and Brin tore his eyes away. <em>Don¡¯t offend the expensive murder-bull.</em>

    Davi exited the milk shack, carrying something strange. The hulking pre-teen had a long stick on his shoulders. It looked like the yoke a bull would use, only it was obviously made for him. It had four hooks, and each of them held up a five-gallon barrel. He¡¯d be willing to bet each of them were full of milk. Those had to weigh something like forty pounds each, and his yoke had four of them.

    ¡°So what¡¯s this?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I made these yesterday!¡± said Davi. ¡°And I got a Dexterity for it!¡±

    ¡°Nice! But what are they?¡±

    ¡°I figure today could be leg day! We can put on these bad boys and do walking squats while we bring the milk into town,¡± said Davi. ¡°Plus, this is a job that really does need to be done, so it might even count for¡­ you know. System stuff.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you, Davi. That sounds like absolute hell. It¡¯s a good idea, though. Let¡¯s do this!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Davi pointed at something behind Brin.

    He turned to see Zilly, walking down the roading from the town¡¯s gate. ¡°What¡¯s she want?¡± They started walking towards her but she held up a hand indicating they should wait and dashed towards them.

    Since they were waiting for her to catch up, Brin spent the time figuring out how to put on the yoke. It was surprisingly well-bnced and fit over his shoulders easily, although it was heavy as sin.

    ¡°You made this? Did you carve it yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Davi said proudly. ¡°Dad helped a little.¡±

    Zilly caught up with them a minuteter, and was still gasping from the sprint, ¡°I knew it¡­ you guys¡­ are training your Strength!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not against the rules,¡± said Davi defensively.

    ¡°Well it sort of is,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Everyone knows you¡¯re achievement chasing. But who cares? I want in.¡±

    Brin and Davi nced at each other. ¡°You sure?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zilly said with a sharp nod that shook her curls. ¡°I¡¯m not going to get to Dextrous II before System Day. I just don¡¯t have the knack for it and I¡¯m wasting my time trying. I¡¯d be better off trying for Strength I. Girls never get the¡­ the special one. What¡¯s it called?¡± She asked thest part in a conspiratorial whisper.

    ¡°Workhorse,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Huh. That doesn¡¯t sound that ttering,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°You know what they say. The reward for work well done is more work,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Who says that?¡±

    ¡°Well, I just said it. So there¡¯s at least one person,¡± said Brin.

    Zillyughed. She was one of the few people that even noticed his dry sense of humor. Most people just thought he was being obstinate.

    ¡°So this is what you do? Carry heavy things around a lot?¡± asked Zilly.

    There¡¯s a little more to it than that,¡± said Brin. ¡°Tell you what. We have some extra time, it won¡¯t take that long to bring this into town. Why don¡¯t we go through our routine a little bit as a warm up? We can show you how it¡¯s done.¡±

    Davi looked a little nonplussed as he looked between Zilly and Brin. Then suddenly he smiled and said, ¡°You two¡­ why don¡¯t you two.. You two get started while I go grab some stuff from the shack.¡±

    Davi wasn¡¯t subtle for a thirteen-year-old, and thirteen-year-olds weren''t famous for being subtle. He obviously thought that Brin and Zilly were crushing on each-other. Well, that wasn¡¯t going to happen. Zilly was a kid. The good news was that as far as he could tell, Zilly also only saw him as a friend.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s start with pushups.¡±

    Surprisingly, or maybe he shouldn¡¯t have been surprised, but Zilly had no problem knocking out fifty push-ups. He started on situps, but that woke Marksi up, who started squeaking insistently.

    ¡°Good morning, sleepyhead!¡± Zilly said to him.

    Marksi ignored her, and slithered towards one of the cows. Brin thought he was going to spook it and get him in trouble with the bull, but Marksi stopped and pointed at the air with his tail.

    There was a swarm of shiny green flies, buzzingzily over an old dry cowpie. Marksi wanted Brin to get him some for breakfast.

    ¡°Yeah, no. I¡¯m not catching flies for you.¡±

    Marksi copsed on the ground, breathing heavy, wheezy breaths.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Zilly said with a melodramatic ir. ¡°I think you¡¯ve broken his little heart!¡±

    Brin chuckled, but bent down to scratch Marksi¡¯s head. ¡°Listen, buddy. I hope you know I¡¯ll always take care of you. But you¡¯re going to be a big, strong hunter someday! Just like how me, Davi, and Zilly are practicing to get strong, you need to do the same. Why don¡¯t you practice your hunting skills on those flies? If you can¡¯t get any, I¡¯ll still find you breakfast. But it¡¯ll be fruit.¡±

    Marksi looked at Brin, offense written clearly on his little snaky features.

    ¡°I¡¯m only saying it like that because I believe in you! You can do this.¡±

    Marksi nodded twice, then sank down low, and disappeared into the grass.

    Back to the workout, Brin took Zilly through lunges, squats, and a few other exercises that didn¡¯t need equipment, and talked about things like curls and bench presses.

    ¡°Hey, so listen,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I saw Myrast night. She looked pretty bad. Do you know what¡¯s up with her?¡±

    There was no sign of duplicitousness on her face, but it could be because they were in the middle of a five-minute nk. Brin would be willing to bet this was the real reason Zilly had sought them out today. For the gossip.

    Not that he minded. He <em>wanted </em>to get his story out there.

    ¡°She found me on the way back home after the lesson, and she was <em>sobbing</em>. She used me of being a monster, like always, and said I was going to kill her mom.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zilly nearly dropped her nk.

    ¡°It¡¯s not true, obviously. She¡¯s not my favorite person, but I don¡¯t want her dead,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But if she thinks¡­ Brin, she¡¯s a [Weaver]!¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s right. Hogg exined it to mest night,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Myra said you were kind of mean,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin groaned, but only because they were pretty far into the nk. He <em>hated</em> nks. ¡°I may have gone a little too far. But they haven¡¯t made things easy for me either. Could you tell them something for me? Tell them I just want this to be over. If they need me to take an Oath or something to prove I¡¯m not evil, I¡¯d even be willing to do that. I get that chasing achievements has people worried that I¡¯m going to take an evil ss, but I¡¯m not going to.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really not?¡±

    ¡°No! I want to get stronger. These achievements will make our whole life easier.¡±

    Zilly copsed from her nk, her core finally giving out. She rolled around onto her back. ¡°Maybe. A [Basketmaker] doesn¡¯t care if she has fifty Strength or a hundred.¡±

    Brin dropped out of his nk as well, even though he probably could¡¯ve kept going another minute. ¡°Until she has to care. This world isn¡¯t always safe.¡±

    ¡°This world, huh? What other world is there? Besides ¡®this world¡¯ is even more unsafe to people with evil sses.¡±

    ¡°If I get offered an evil ss because I have too many achievements, well so what? I just won¡¯t take it. What about you? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone our age with higher scores than you, except maybe Davi. And I don¡¯t believe you about not getting Dexterity II, by the way.¡±

    ¡°I think I could be happy being a [Collier] like dad, or a [Fruitier] like mom. But if I don¡¯t even get <em>offered</em> anything else¡­ I don¡¯t know. I think I at least want to have a choice.¡±

    Theyid on their backs staring at the morning sky. The conversation didn¡¯t start up again, and he didn¡¯t know if it was apanionable silence, or an awkward silence. He could never tell.

    Brin tried to think of something to start up the conversation again, when Marksi got his attention. The snake had tried a couple times to snatch the shiny green flies out of the air, but always missed. He even <em>pounced</em> at them once, and Brin was pretty impressed to see a snake jump, it didn¡¯t get him any closer to his goal.

    The little snake stopped and pouted, but Brin didn¡¯t help. After a minute or two, Marksi stopped trying and curled around himself. Brin thought he¡¯d given up, but after a while, Marksi started changing colors. Or rather, he was always changing color; instead, he stopped changing color. He turned the exact same emerald green as the flies.

    Then he lifted up his head, slowly, ever so slowly. One of the fliesnded on his nose. He bit it out of the air.

    Marksi got three more flies that way, and when he returned to Brin, all fat and happy, Brin praised him with full enthusiasm. Zilly was all too happy to join in as well. See? He didn¡¯t need to torture Marksi. Positive reinforcement and encouragement worked even better.

    Davi returned from whatever it was he was doing in that shack, still smiling happily.

    ¡°So what¡¯s up with you two?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Brin was just telling me about Myra. They had a fight,¡± said Zilly.

    If anything, Davi¡¯s smile got brighter, but then he forced on a re, though Brin could tell it was for appearances sake. ¡°Aw,e on Brin. You need to be nicer to her!¡±

    Oh, so that was it. Davi liked Myra. Poor guy. Well, Brin didn¡¯t have anything against teenage love triangles in principle, but he had no desire to be part of one. Besides, Davi had nothing to worry about. Myra <em>despised </em>Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Well, we should go,¡± he said..

    They put their yokes back on, and Zilly grabbed one of the milk barrels by the handle in each hand. He was impressed, they had to be forty pounds each, but she didn¡¯t seem to be straining too much.

    They made their way towards town. At first they tried squat-stepping, but thatsted for all of ten steps. Brin felt like the walk alone would be pushing his body to the limit. There was no way he¡¯d be able to do anything extra. Even those ten steps left his knees burning, and it wasn¡¯t getting any easier.

    They made it to the town walls when Zilly put her jugs down and begged for a break. Brin kept his yoke over his shoulders while they waited for her to catch her breath. If he put it down, he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to pick it up again.

    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s been something I¡¯ve been wondering. Why do we never train Magic? How would we even do that?¡± asked Brin. Hogg shut him down hard when he asked him about it, but so far Zilly and Davi had been an open book with this type of thing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there is a way,¡± said Davi. ¡°You need a magical ss to use magic.¡±

    ¡°Most sses use a little bit of magic. Dad can make his charcoal burn super hot, and he can shoot it like an arrow, and it uses his magic to do that,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Ok, but that¡¯s still a ss. There¡¯s no way for us to do magic.¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°That can¡¯t be true. I have a belt that unsps whenever I say the word ¡®Yonkers¡¯,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s the belt¡¯s magic that¡¯s doing that,¡± said Davi.

    Davi was probably right, since Chamy had said his magical objects would stop working when Marksi sucked all the magic out of them. Actually, that was a question he hadn¡¯t thought of. Were there magic items that <em>did</em> use the user¡¯s magic? If so, he might be able to train his magic that way. He¡¯d have to ask Perris.

    ¡°There¡¯s a way,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I heard mom and Aunt Ema talking about it. You¡¯re not really supposed to do it to your kids but Ema was saying that noble families do it anyway, in the hopes of giving their kids a better shot at a magical ss. Did you know that nobles get normal sses just like us? They get [Butcher] and [Baker] and stuff, and they have to try to advance it to [Nobleman] and [Lady] from there. I¡¯ve never seen a noble, but Aunty Ema has seen <em>loads</em>.¡±

    ¡°I think Prefit Elmon is technically a noble,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°How do they do it?¡± asked Brin hungrily.

    ¡°Oh! So say you¡¯re a [Baker] ss, but instead of doing any work yourself you buy a bakery. Then¨C¡±

    ¡°Not that! How do they train in Magic?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Oh, no idea. Ema says it¡¯s bad, though. I think they use drugs and stuff. That¡¯s probably why so many nobles go crazy.¡±

    So there was a way. He just needed to get Hogg to fess up to it. Easier said than done.

    ¡°Are you ready to go yet?¡± asked Davi.

    Zilly jumped to her feet, ¡°Yeah. Sorry.¡±

    She moved to pick up her milk barrels, one in each hand like before, but it quickly became obvious that she wasn¡¯t going to get very far.

    Davi moved before he could. ¡°Here.¡± He grabbed one of the milk jugs in one hand, and used the other to bnce his yoke. Zilly lifted the remaining one with a lot more confidence, and they were off again.

    The walk into town was pure misery. He needed to have a talk with Davi and his ¡°great ideas¡±. This was the worst idea Brin had ever heard of. Sure, he wanted to get stronger, but who yoked themselves like an animal? Honestly.

    Despite his internal grumbling, he didn¡¯t actually chew out Davi. He concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

    After what felt like an eternity, they finally stumbled into Davi¡¯s house, and he was greeted by a soothing st of crisp, refrigerated air. This front room was a business area, where they stored the milk before delivery, he noticed. He loved it. The cold air was soothing on his overheated body, and even all these monthster, coolness still felt like safety to him.

    Many other big barrels of milk were stored here, and there was a big funnel leading into a contraption to help fill bottles.

    One interesting fact of the economy here was that milk was so cheap as to be practically free, as long as you were willing to bring your own bucket and visit the farm. The Pimental¡¯s made most of their money from <em>delivering</em> milk.

    Brin carefully set his burden down, and immediately got a notification.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Strength +1 Will +1

    ¡°Nice!¡± said Brin. ¡°I got a Strength and a Will.¡±

    ¡°I got a Strength, too!¡± Davi cheered.

    ¡°Strength and Vitality for me. Still, that was¡­ too much,¡± Zilly said, panting. ¡°It was good, though. That put me up to twenty-two Strength!¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s insane! I had no idea you were that high,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m stronger than I look,¡± Zilly said, a little defensively.

    ¡°And she¡¯s also almost a year older than you,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°My fourteenth birthday is in two weeks,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°But System Day¡­ oh,¡± said Brin. He¡¯d been wondering why everyone was so happy to have all the kids unlock the System on the same day if it meant that their childhood would be cut off six months early. But that would only apply to kids whose birthday was in thete summer, like Brin. Kids in the early fall would have their System Day dyed by six months. He wondered if Zilly¡¯s parents had timed her conception for that, or if it was just luck. Not exactly something he could ask her.

    It was also extremely unfair. She got almost a year longer to earn her achievements than he did. If he was in charge, it would be <em>illegal</em> to have kids with Brin¡¯s birthday. Did this world conspire to screw him over every single way?

    ¡°Alright,¡± said Davi. He opened the door to a bright and cheery dining room. ¡°Let¡¯s get some breakfast."

 Book 1. Chapter 23

    Book 1. Chapter 23

    Davi¡¯s mother, Bruna, greeted them with aplete match of Davi¡¯s tireless energy. She never stopped moving, always doting on them, putting things in order, tidying and straightening. He would have picked her out of a police line-up as Davi¡¯s mother, despite how she didn¡¯t look much like him. She was a tall, thin woman, with her hair in a tight gray bun. ¡°Oh, Zilly, how wonderful to see you, too! Have a seat, no, don¡¯t worry about a thing, breakfast is already done. And Brin! We haven¡¯t formally met but Davi¡¯s told me a bit about you.¡±

    She seated them at an impressive dining table, which was so farpletely clear. Brin had a certain mental image of a farmer family¡¯s dining room, but this was something else entirely. The long dining table was a work of art. The smooth surface was made of different shades of wood all stuck together perfectly in geometric shapes, while the legs were stylized into feathered lions. Griffons, maybe? Somehow it all worked together in a very elegant way. The rest of the dining room matched the table, although the ck iron standingmps and the hardwood china cab gave it a distinctly Bavarian feel. Davi might not have Brin¡¯s ridiculous allowance, but obviously his family was far from poor.

    Bruna came back with three tes of eggs, steak, and mashed mato for the three of them. It looked absolutely delectable, and they¡¯d gone a little harder than usual on their workout that morning, so Brin was famished. Bruna waved them to start, and he tucked in without a second though.

    ¡°How do you like your yogurt, Brin? Sweet or savory?¡± asked Bruna.

    At his surprised expression, Davi said, ¡°Mallowsweet or pork?¡±

    ¡°M-mallow, please,¡± said Brin.

    Davi shrugged. ¡°Your loss.¡±

    Bruna came back to the room with three sses of yogurt. Thicker than milk, but he could see it was still thin enough to drink rather than eat with a spoon. Yogurt! Of course they would have that here. He should¡¯ve thought of that. Hogg paid extra to have someone deliver milk all the way out to his house every morning, so Brin had never had to visit a dairy.

    He took a sip, and yeah, it was marshmallow-vored. Surprising choice, but honestly pretty awesome. At least it wasn¡¯t mato-vored. Zilly and Davi had both gotten pork, apparently Bruna already knew their preference.

    ¡°Have you ever tried pork vor? Come on, take a sip,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Uh¡­ I was raised better than to turn my nose up at any kind of food¡­¡± Brin started. He gave Bruna a nervous nce, but she smiled encouragingly so he kept going. ¡°... but that sounds absolutely terrible, Davi. Why subject yourself to that? You should treasure yourself more.¡±

    Zilly burst outughing so suddenly she sprayed yogurt on the table. Bruna seemed amused rather than offended and tossed her a rag to clean it up.

    Bruna called the rest of her family down, and served them breakfast as they took their ces at the table. Davi¡¯s father, Alvir, was stocky like Davi but a half foot shorter than his wife. Apparently Davi was a middle child, with two older sisters and two younger brothers.

    The two sisters were sixteen and eighteen. Both of them had Callings, which told him that parents didn¡¯t kick out their kids the second they got their sses. He had assumed as much, but it was nice to have a confirmation.

    The family was boisterous and happy, which Brin didn¡¯t really know how to deal with. They all talked over each other, two or three conversations going on at once, and while Zilly chimed in like she was born to it, he didn¡¯t really know how to contribute so he stayed mostly silent.

    The conversations were punctuated by loud, wall-shakingughter when someone made a joke. Their humor was different. Bruna would ask Davi¡¯s brother, ¡°And will you be helping the [Carpenters] today?¡± and he would respond, ¡°Yes, and when I go I¡¯ll have a duck on my head!¡± to which everyone would explode withughter.

    Brin didn¡¯t get it. If he had to exin, he¡¯d say that it was probably funny because he said there would be a duck on his head, while people don''t normally have ducks on their heads. He knew enough tough along when everyone elseughed, though, so he didn¡¯t make a fool of himself.

    He looked down at his breakfast. Half the steak was left, he¡¯d saved the best forst, but for some reason he was having a hard time finishing it. There was a lump in his throat.

    Right. This was probably the first time he¡¯d been around people since he¡¯d arrived in this world. Not just people, but a family. They were kind and weing and he¡¯d never felt so alone in his life. He¡¯d had something like this once, too.

    He forced himself to take a bite. He needed to eat to build muscle, after all.

    As breakfast got over the family trickled away, and Brin, Zilly, and Davi went off for their daily lessons. The other two talked happily the entire way, and hopefully didn¡¯t notice that he couldn¡¯t manage to do more than grunt an asional affirmation.

    Today they were with Oleg the [Wheelwright]. They entered a workshop that didn¡¯t look much different from the [Carpenter¡¯s] ce that he¡¯d worked at so often. There was a big table saw, and all sorts of tools for cutting, sawing and sanding, as well as lots of work tables.

    The [Wheelwright] himself hadn¡¯t arrived yet, so the children milled around, murmuring conversation. Myra didn¡¯t march up to him and start in with the insults as usual. She stayed on the other side of the room by herself, looking subdued.

    The door banged open and a cheerfully dressed man sauntered into the workshop. He wore reds and blues, including a matching striped hat with a feather. He had a spring in his step. Maybe something good had happened to him? Or maybe he was always this chipper. Brin couldn¡¯t imagine it; that had to be exhausting.

    Oleg the [Wheelwright] put his hands on his hips. ¡°Wow, we have a good-looking bunch of young adults here today. Is everyone excited to learn about making wheels?¡±

    The children grunted affirmations.

    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you!¡± said Oleg, making Brin hate him immediately.

    The children shouted ¡°yes!¡±, several of them perking up noticeably. Well, he couldn¡¯t me them for it. Wait until the thousandth time a public speaker pulled that trick, and they¡¯d be as sick of it as he was.

    ¡°The [Wheelwright] is an evolution of [Carpenter], so we¡¯ll be starting off the day talking about lumber,¡± said Oleg.

    He went straight into a lecture about the collection and preparation of lumber, and Brin realized he¡¯d been wrong before. Woodworkers absolutely <em>did</em> need to worry about getting materials. They had to find the right kinds of trees, and they needed trees that were tall and wide and not too twisted and gnarly which could be a chore in this forest. Then they needed to get the logs into town, where they seasoned it, cut it, sanded it, and basically prepared it about seven different ways before it was ready to be used.

    Brin had to give Oleg his due, he made the lecture interesting. He asked questions and got the kids involved, and exined things in a way that was on the children¡¯s level while also still being interesting to Brin¡¯s adult mind. Still, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to be impressed with someone, so his original opinion that Oleg was an annoying kind of person stayed firmly in his mind.

    It turned out that a lot more went into making wagon wheels than Brin had assumed. They had to be extra strong to ount for the ridiculous loads they used them for. And there were no trees big enough to cut the whole rim out of; instead it had to be locked together perfectly from several different pieces. Each piece had to be exactly the right shape and every wheel needed to be exactly the same size. Oleg imed that a [Carpenter] needed a whole week to make one wheel, while he could make an entire wagon in a week.

    ¡°So. [Wheelwright], not [Carpenter]. Did you notice? Can anyone tell me why the more specific your ss is, the better it is?¡± asked Oleg.

    ¡°Well that can¡¯t be true,¡± said Brin. ¡°Toros is just a [Smith], and he¡¯s one of the highest-level people in town.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a little different. Toros needs a broad ss because he needs to do the work of the entire vige. If he couldn¡¯t work with iron, for example, then we¡¯d have no one else to ask. But if he could focus on just one thing, he¡¯d be much better at it.¡±

    ¡°What about [Spinner]? It¡¯s specific, but [Weaver] is obviously the stronger ss,¡± said Brin.

    Myra red at him warily, but he didn¡¯t mean anything bad by it. It was just a useful example.

    ¡°Ah, you see? Not that useful unless what you want to do is spin, in which case [Spinner] is the better ss. Not very good at low levels, perhaps, but I know of high level [Spinners] who can literally spin straw into gold.¡±

    The children gasped, impressed. Brin couldn¡¯t help but start to think that [Spinner] might not be that bad of a ss to get after all, until he thought about the ¡°high level¡± part. How high of a level? Because being high level in any ss could make you rich. And how much gold could they produce per day? If Lumina could spin straw into gold, she probably wouldn¡¯t. It wouldn¡¯t be worth her time.

    Could [Spinners] manipte thread the way [Weavers] could? Did they have any self-defense abilities? Because if not, they¡¯d just get locked up by some [Noble] or [Bandit] or something and forced to work all day for free. Come to think of it, isn¡¯t that exactly what happened in that fairy tale?

    He thought about asking some of these questions, but honestly Oleg wasn¡¯t really a bad guy. Brin was just in a confrontational mood. He didn¡¯t need to be a pest.

    After the lecture Oleg guided them in making little wagon wheels of their own, about two inches tall, using some of his carpenter tools. It was surprisinglyplicated, but Oleg guided them through it with admirablepetence and patience. The end result was a neat souvenir and he got a notification when it was done.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Dexterity +1

    Alright. He could admit when he was wrong. Oleg was cool.

    After that, Brin was able to vent some of his irritability into a rowdy game of ball, but when that was done he still didn¡¯t want to go home. He decided he¡¯d go see Perris.

    When he got to the store, an adventurer carrying a halberd and decked out all in furs was exiting the store. Terrible clothing for this weather, but the young man didn¡¯t seem ufortable. At least not from the weather. He seemed very ufortable by the string of curses chasing him out the doors.

    ¡°Ten gold? You flea-bitten son of a goat! Come back when you¡¯re a real adventurer! You can¡¯t buy a bottled fart in this store with ten gold, much less a bottomless sk!¡±

    Brin snuck past the unfortunately poor adventurer and through the door, and the yelled tirade immediately stopped.

    ¡°I¡¯ll sell you a boot to your¨C Ah, Brin. Good to see you, son.¡±

    ¡°Hey Perris. Rough day?¡±

    ¡°Not for me!¡± Perris put on a sleazy smile. ¡°Can I make an observation? Just something out of the blue, for no reason, but I must say: Tawna sucks. Shees in at least once a week to stare at me for five minutes, then she leaves and never buys anything. Again, only an observation. You know I don¡¯t often talk to people and I <em>never</em> listen to them, so this is to do with nothing, just an observation.¡±

    Brinughed, a full bellyugh that chased away a lot of the anxiety he didn¡¯t realize he¡¯d been carrying. ¡°Thanks, man.¡±

    ¡°Now, Marksi, you¡¯re looking¡­ bad,¡± said Perris with a sneer at the little snake on Brin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You look fat and slow and dumb. Do you even hunt?¡±

    Marksi hissed, and then hid in Brin¡¯s hood.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t listen to him, Marksi! You¡¯re a <em>great</em> snake. Very fierce. Remember those flies you caught this morning?¡± Brin reached back and gave Marksi a scratch.

    Perris winked at him. ¡°Now Brin. Are you in for anything special today?¡±

    ¡°You could say that,¡± said Brin. ¡°So listen, I convinced Hogg to buy me adventurer gear for my System Day. You know he¡¯s loaded, right? Well I want to lighten that load.¡±

    Brin would actually be the one paying, but they¡¯d decided to let everyone think that Hogg was footing the bill.

    An evil glint entered Perris¡¯ eye. ¡°Spending someone else¡¯s money, I see. I approve! An enchanted sword?¡±

    ¡°Or two.¡±

    ¡°Potions? Equipment? Single-use enchantments? Armor?¡±

    ¡°The best leather armor you can make.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a look around?¡±

    Brin held up a hand. ¡°I¡¯ve got one condition. I want your <em>best</em> price.¡±

    ¡°Never!¡±

    ¡°I want your best price¡­ plus ten percent. On the condition that you identally deliver the goods a little early. I¡¯d like to break them in before my System Day if you catch my drift. Hogg doesn¡¯t need to know.¡±

    A lot hung on this conversation. Perris had let it slip a while ago there was an achievement for killing a monster before your System Day, something Brin had already deduced. The only issue was, why didn¡¯t he already have it? He already killed ten undead. But the System hadn¡¯t called them monsters, it had called them soldiers. So there was probably a different achievement for killing monsters. Whatever it was, he wanted it. Assuming Perris went along with it.

    Perris twisted his mustache. ¡°An extra ten percent? Now you¡¯re speaking mynguage.¡±

    They went to the sword disy case first, and Perris picked out two swords without even asking Brin¡¯s opinions. Both of them were dull gray, and neither were the blue Sapphire sword that Brin wanted the most.

    ¡°Wait, why not that one? Or the red one with fire magic?¡±

    Perris dropped his viinous sneer, looking uncharacteristically serious. ¡°Let us be clear about what we¡¯re talking about here. There are <em>no </em>monsters in the forest that a child can safely defeat. I¡¯ve noticed you think best with numbers, so let¡¯s put it like this. The weakest and mostmon monsters are a difficult fight for a level ten [Warrior], meaning level twenty for amon ss. Now, I have swords here, good swords, that can make someone ten, or even twenty percent stronger. That won¡¯t be enough, not for you. You need to be twenty <em>times</em> stronger. So choose. Strength,¡± he held up the sword on the left, ¡°or speed.¡± He held up the sword on the right.

    ¡°Strength,¡± said Brin on instinct.

    Perris ced the sword on the table in front of him. ¡°A <em>slight</em> enchantment to speed, but the greatest feature of this sword is the core of silver ss. It will drastically improve the strength of your blows. For one or two strikes, you¡¯ll have the hitting power of a level thirty [Warrior]. But it¡¯s fragile. It will shatter on the killing blow. This is a sword for killing a single enemy.¡±

    ¡°What if I have more than one enemy?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t have more than one enemy,¡± said Perris. ¡°If you meet more than one monster in the forest, run away. You aren¡¯t a legendary hero. You are a child. I understand the need a man has to forge his own foundation, but make no mistake, even with this sword it¡¯s a coin-flip whether or not you¡¯ll survive. Two coin flips isn¡¯t a bet worth taking.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Do you have something for running away?¡±

    Perris smiled and lifted the other sword. ¡°Sword of speed. Don¡¯t try to use them at the same time. The ss core will explode if it¡¯s unsheathed near the sword of speed. You can¡¯t assume enchanted equipment will all work together, and never put something on if you aren¡¯t sure of where it came from. Get it appraised first, by someone who knows what they¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Good advice. What¡¯s the sword of speed do?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°A small, persistent increase in speed over a day. Or, you can flip this switch on the pommel and use it all at once. You¡¯ll have a quick, intense burst of speed, to flee one enemy. Or kill it perhaps. It won¡¯t shatter when the magic is done, and it¡¯ll still work as a sharp piece of metal. Come and get it re-enchanted if you¡¯re smart and choose life.¡±

    ¡°Good to know,¡± said Brin.

    Perris let the swords go for thirty and forty gold, and Brin was happy to let him add his ten percent.

    ¡°Hey, I just remembered something I¡¯ve meant to ask you. Do these swords use my magic to fuel their enchantments, or is it built in?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s built in,¡± said Perris. ¡°Chamy has to make a battery of sorts for each one, it¡¯s one of the main drivers of cost. Even more expensive is when the sword needs to recharge itself by absorbing ambient mana, rather than single-use enchantments like these two have.¡±

    ¡°Do any of them use their wielder¡¯s magic?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I just think¡­ if using your muscles makes you stronger, then¡­¡±

    Perris raised an eyebrow, then turned and walked back to his counter. Behind the counter were shelves full of lockboxes. These were full of expensive small steble items that he guarded with enchanted locks and with his body whenever adventurers drew too close.

    He pulled out a wicked-looking metal object that sort of looked like an evil starfish. It has six wed points and a long, thick needle jutting out of the middle.

    ¡°Press this into your flesh. The needle will drain your mana at great speed. Make sure you¡¯re alreadyying down before you start. It will be pain like you¡¯ve rarely experienced. The needle will disengage on its own when you¡¯re empty, so it won¡¯t kill you. Have Marksi stand by, to get help if something goes wrong. You can at least do that, can¡¯t you, Marksi?¡±

    The little snake shuddered inside of Brin¡¯s hood at the sound of his name, but didn¡¯te out.

    ¡°Also, visit the [Pharmacist] on the way home to get something for the scars. I don¡¯t want anyoneing here to ask where you got them. You will <em>not</em> punish me for trusting you with this, do you hear me?¡± Perris asked, unusually stern.

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Also, I should mention that it isn¡¯t going to work. You¡¯ll get a few points, but you¡¯ll never hit the threshold in time before your System day, not unless you¡¯re already at twenty.¡±

    ¡°I understand, but I still want to try. And thank you. Every other adult in this town would just tell me to stop chasing evil sses,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Hypocrites! Besides, if they could have dissuaded you, they already would have. All that¡¯s left is to help you survive.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a good person.¡±

    Perris raised a finger and red. ¡°DON¡¯T! Call me that!¡±

    Brinughed, and Perrisughed along, with his usual dramatic cackle.

    ¡°Alright, so what else you got?¡±

    Perris had a few regr things, like apass and a crude map withndmarks of the immediate area. He had some awesome things, too. A smoke bomb that would also send off sparks and heat. It would work against undead, and also creatures that hunted using electrical senses. He sold him a wand that fired a one time fire beam spell. ¡°Don¡¯t point this at anything you don¡¯t want to destroy.¡± He also sold him two more cheaper wands that fired illusions that looked like the me beam spell. ¡°For bluffing, in case the first one doesn¡¯t finish them off.¡± The thing Brin was most excited about, however, was a ck, swirling potion.

    ¡°A potion of Turn Undead,¡± said Perris. ¡°Eighty gold.¡±

    ¡°Eighty gold? That¡¯s crazy. That costs more than <em>both</em> swordsbined.¡±

    ¡°Cost isn¡¯t always the same thing as value,¡± Perris said in a low voice. ¡°Everyone else can ignore what¡¯s right past their noses, but I can see the writing on the wall. The tidings you brought from Travin¡¯s Bog. The fact that the merchant caravan is half a monthte. I haven¡¯t talked to Hogg in a while. And you don¡¯t see the Prefit around town much, do you? Any other time perhaps I¡¯d agree with the others and tell you to slow down, but now? Get stronger, Brin. And I¡¯m going to need eighty gold to part with this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Let me not oversell what this is. It is a potion; it must be drunk, or the majority of it must be poured upon open skin. It will free the departed¡¯s living soul from envement, but you will not be their new master. There¡¯s no telling what they¡¯ll do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± said Brin.

    The one thing he didn¡¯t get was healing potions, because Perris didn¡¯t have them. Healing wasn¡¯t as convenient in this world as it should¡¯ve been. The only two people in town with healing-rted sses were the [Pharmacist] and the [Midwife], and while both were impressivepared to medieval medicine from his world, neither could heal wounds in seconds or regrow limbs.

    ¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Armor. How good is your leather?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I got a piece of that chimera the [Hunters] brought in. My next set of leather armor will be the best armor ever produced in this town,¡± said Perris with no small amount of pride.

    ¡°I want it, but I need to ask first. Could you let it out to make it bigger as I keep growing?¡± asked Brin.

    Perris showed Brin a scrap of leather. He cut it in half with a knife, then put his pieces back together and ran a thumb along the seam. The leather was healed<em>,</em> bing one piece again.

    Brin smiled. ¡°I want the chimera leather armor. But I have one condition: all of it needs to be seamless. Don¡¯t use any thread at all. Can you do it?¡±

    Perris¡¯ face lit up in delight. ¡°My boy, I knew I liked you for a reason.¡±

    He didn¡¯t take any of the things home with him, except for the magic-drainer. The rest, Perris would deliver it sometime before his System Day, and before that he needed to find a way to sneak three hundred and twenty gold out of the house. Not that it would be hard. Hogg had been distractedtely.

    Still in a good mood from talking to Perris, and thinking about the terrific breakfast, Brin decided to make dinner. Something from home. Could he make enchdas? After a trip to the [Pharmacist], he went to the bakery. The [Baker] was more than happy to make a pile of tortis for Brin once he exined what he wanted, and he found some seasonings and spices that could work, along with a nice cheese.

    When he got home, though, he was alone. So, so empty, especially after seeing Davi¡¯s family and remembering that people really did still live like that. Hogg was away somewhere, and Brin lost all motivation to make enchdas. He skipped dinner and then went to bed. Heid there and stared at the ceiling.

    He pulled out the mana-drainer. The [Pharmacist] had sold him something to prevent scars, but was he supposed to put it on before or after? After, probably. He¡¯d go back tomorrow and ask, just to be sure. For now? No time like the present.

    He jammed the device, needle first, into his forearm. The pain hit immediately, like a bull had kicked him in both temples at once. He would¡¯ve thrown up if he¡¯d eaten dinner, and Marksi squeaked in worry and tore through the house, frantic, but there was no one to ask for help.

    The device clicked and disengaged from his arm, bringing out a squirt of blood. The hole pumped twice, shooting little lines of blood, then stopped.

    The pain didn¡¯t stop. The headache pounded in his brain, and he weed it, with the way that it chased away every other thought, even the loneliness.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Magic +1

    The end of Part 2

 Book 1. Chapter 24

    Book 1. Chapter 24

    ¡°Oh,e on. Where are we going?¡± asked Brin, being tugged along by his wrist.

    ¡°To the gate,¡± said the Prefit.

    Somewhere his new merchant friends couldn¡¯t see him abusing a child, huh? What a jerk. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°You are to be pilloried,¡± said Prefit Elmon.

    Pilloried. Just like that, like it was a normal thing. Crime and punishment in Hammon¡¯s Bog was distinctly different from his old world. It wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d really thought a lot about, until the day the Prefit came back with the merchant caravan. Brin hadn¡¯t seen much of the Prefit, and there was a reason for that. For the year Brin had been here, the caravans had been onlying half as often as they should have, and the Prefit had been on a one-man mission to find out why.

    For Brin, those months had been full of training. He¡¯d worked out with Davi and sometimes Zilly, and then hung out with the two of them most afternoons. He and Myra hadn¡¯t be best friends, but they¡¯d at least learned to put their bickering on hold in order to stop making their other two friends ufortable.

    If things with Tawna didn¡¯t get any better, well, at least he could say he¡¯d gotten used to it. A person could limate to anything, and they¡¯d approached something like an equilibrium where mostly they just stayed out of each other''s way.

    He learned that Prefit Elmon¡¯s year, on the other hand, had been full of frustration. He hadn¡¯t been able to learn why caravans were bing less frequent, and he¡¯d had a terrible time enticing more of them to visit. One caravan had disappearedpletely, while another two had simply changed their course without telling anyone. For this one, he¡¯d actually had to travel to Oud¡¯s Bog himself and offer to guard the caravan for free to convince them to visit the town. They¡¯d taken him up on it, of course. A level forty [Warrior] had little to fear in this world. But if he had to guard <em>every </em>caravan that visited, he wouldn¡¯t have any time to do anything else.

    When he arrived in triumph, the whole town had turned out to meet the caravan in the town square, and there was something of a festival atmosphere. Brin couldn¡¯t help but be caught up in it. Sure, there were plenty of people in Hammon¡¯s Bog whose names he didn¡¯t know, but there was something strange and exotic about meeting <em>real strangers</em>. He¡¯d never have understood it in his old world, but here, when you were surrounded by the same people every day, there wasn¡¯t anything more enticing than novelty.

    The merchants set up their wagons in a ring, looking like a cross between a pioneer reenactment and a mini-mall. He¡¯d immediately set out looking for fabrics, but who would bring fabrics to a town with a high-level [Weaver]? They had many very beautiful spools of thread, which he could do exactly nothing with. This town didn¡¯t even have a loom, although Myra had bragged that her mom was getting onemissioned in preparation for her System Day.

    Still, there were other things he could buy, and the great thing about merchants from out of town is that they would take his gold <em>without</em> needing permission from his adoptive father. He had barely started looking at the enchanted items when Prefit Elmon had charged him, furious, and pulled him away.

    The Prefit had taken him to his home first, and tossed him in the holding cell in the front room before going to converse with some people in the other room. Brin didn¡¯t know who was in that room, but he¡¯d bet his left eye that [Weaver] Tawna was there, from the way the Prefit hade out even angrier than before.

    He was a big man, every inch a [Warrior], even in his fine clothes and immacte hair. He sort of looked like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, except a bit older and better dressed. This was sort of conflicting for Brin, who actually liked the character from the old cartoon. Prefit Elmon, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t his favorite person at the moment.

    ¡°Pilloried?¡± asked Brin. ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°For spreading illegal rumors,¡± said Prefit Elmon.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± said Brin. ¡°What about the people spreading rumors about me? If you¡¯re going to pillory people for spreading rumors you¡¯ll have to do it to half the town. Are you going to do them one by one, or make one huge pillory the size of the town walls?¡±

    The Prefit didn¡¯t even look at him, just clenched his jaw against a sneer of disgust. ¡°You are the one at the heart of the rumors against [Weaver] Tawna. Rumors that may well turn to violence if I let them go unchecked.¡±

    ¡°ording to who? Seems like you¡¯ve talked to everyone but me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Do you deny the charge?¡± asked the Prefit.

    ¡°Would you listen if I did?¡± He tried to summon some anger for his words, but honestly he was just so sick of this. Why did he even try? The day had started off so well and now all he could think about was going to bed and sleeping for a week. Or a year.

    Prefit Elmon dragged Brin by the wrist all the way to the gate on the town¡¯s west end. A carpenter had already put the pillory right in the middle of the street. They really had moved them away from the usual spot near the town square, so that the merchants wouldn¡¯t see this.

    A small crowd had gathered nearby. The Prefit didn¡¯t pause for speeches, just yanked Brin by the arm towards the pillory.

    He braced himself for it. As far as he knew, it wouldn¡¯t be any worse than the pillory on earth, where they used to lock people¡¯s hands and neck at an awkward angle and make them stand there for a while. It wouldn¡¯t actually hurt, not with his stats, not unless he was left there for an entire day or more. It was more the humiliation aspect that made people want to avoid this.

    He could be thankful this wasn¡¯t a whipping, but then again, he¡¯d only ever seen one whipping, and that was for a man assaulting a woman. Stocks were much moremon, where they only locked in the feet, and most things got settled with a fine, with no need for physical punishment at all.

    Brin saw an invisible something approaching at great speed from past the city gate. Some small part of him thrilled in the possibility that it was an invisible monstere to start tearing all of the rubberneckers apart. Elmon would watch in horror as he realized he¡¯d been so preupied with a non-problem like Brin that he¡¯d missed the true threat.

    But of course it was just Hogg.

    The [Illusionist] appeared in a ball of ck smoke, and Brin could really smell the smoke. That was Hogg for you, always careful to think of the small things. He had used his illusion magic for the invisibility, but not for the smoke bomb. After all, a [Rogue] would use real smoke.

    Brin would be impressed except for the fact that the old jerk was probably going to give a half-hearted attempt to argue for Brin and then immediately back down. Or maybe he wouldn¡¯t even try, and he was here to take Prefit Elmon¡¯s side and deliver Brin a stinging lecture while he was locked in the wooden frame.

    The onlookers must¡¯ve expected something different. The entire crowd flinched when they saw him appear, and many of them immediately decided that they had somewhere better to be, like they¡¯d gotten caught doing something naughty. He saw [Weaver] Tawna in the crowd. She stayed.

    ¡°So what¡¯s all this?¡±

    ¡°Stand aside, Hogg.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s what it looks like then?¡±

    Elmon gritted his teeth, but stopped, staring Hogg down.

    ¡°I¡¯m this boy¡¯s legal father. You should¡¯ve talked to me first.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be hearing from me next. This is mostly on your shoulders, for letting it get this far,¡± said Elmon.

    Hogg sighed. ¡°That¡¯s more true than you know. You know, this town has been my home my entire life, except for my adventuring years. I remember the day you were born and I remember the day you became Prefit. In all that time, I¡¯ve <em>never</em> seen you put a child in the pillory. Not even when the Giovi twins killed all those chickens. You talked to their parents and the parents paid for the damage."

    ¡°There¡¯s never been a time before where a single child¡¯s action endangered the entire town,¡± the Prefit responded.

    ¡°There still hasn¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    The Prefit put his hand on the pommel of his sword. ¡°Stand aside.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s eyes went wide in shock. Then they narrowed, and he stopped being real.

    Prefit Elmon let go of Brin¡¯s arm as Hogg reappeared right in front of them, delivering a sucker punch to the Prefit¡¯s middle.

    The [Warrior] staggered backwards, trying to draw his sword. Hogg mmed it back into its sheath, pushed a punch away with contemptuous ease, and then mmed his fist into Elmon¡¯s jaw.

    That Elmon stayed standing was impressive; Brin had literally seen that fist shatter skulls.

    Hogg¡¯s movements were strange, because he looked like he was dominating the Prefitpletely, but [Know What¡¯s Real] was ring rm bells. Hogg was hiding his true movements, probably making it look easier than it was. Whatever Hogg was doing, the effect on the Prefit was real.

    Hogg turned and delivered a roundhouse kick to Elmon¡¯s shoulder. The Prefit got his hands up to block, but the kick blew straight through his defense and knocked him off his feet, across the street, and through the wall of the nearest house.

    He exploded out of the mess, flinging rubble in every direction. Hogg caught him by the shirt and neatly threw him to the ground. Elmon moved to stand again, but stopped when he noticed his own sword at his throat.

    ¡°Is this what we¡¯re doing now? Strongest is in charge? Because if that¡¯s what we¡¯re doing, I¡¯m happy to oblige. This isn¡¯t new ground for a [Rogue]. This is where I¡¯mfortable.¡± Hogg stood and threw Elmon¡¯s sword into the dirt in disgust. ¡°You¡¯re the Prefit here, and up until now I¡¯ve been satisfied with that, because until now you¡¯ve governed withws. Not with bullying and temper tantrums. But that¡¯s over, I guess. Strongest is in charge. So here¡¯s your first neww: if you <em>ever</em> put your hand on your sword when you talk to me again, you¡¯ll lose it and that¡¯s a promise.¡±

    Elmon stood, dusted himself off, and met Hogg¡¯s eyes, somehow reiming some of his lost dignity. Brin would¡¯ve wilted under either of these men¡¯s stares, and the air between them practically sparked with lightning.

    ¡°You and Brin are banned from town for three days,¡± said Elmon.

    ¡°Fine. That¡¯s fine,¡± Hogg said, a bit of mockery in his voice. ¡°But I want you to¨C¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare¨C¡± Elmon started.

    ¡°Ah, ah, ah,¡± said Hogg, making a cutting motion. Elmon¡¯s lips kept moving, but no sound came out. ¡°I¡¯m talking. I want you to keep an eye on that [Weaver] for me. I don¡¯t like the kinds of things she¡¯s been saying about my¡­¡± he nced at Brin. ¡°Son. I want you to be at her door before she leaves in the morning and drop her off again at night. You¡¯re going to hear the tinkle when she uses the privy. You¡¯re really going to do it, too. You hear me? I won¡¯t be around for a few days, but don¡¯t forget: This is Hogg Town now. Alright, you can talk, but don¡¯t say anything stupid.¡±

    Elmon was clearly taking great pains to contain himself. Apparently, he could contain his temper as long as the person talking to him could beat him ck and blue with little effort. Still, he looked like he was going to disagree, until Tawna stepped to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder with pleading in her eyes.

    ¡°I will consider your suggestion, sir,¡± said Elmon.

    ¡°Consider it an order. Come along, Brin.¡± Hogg turned on his heel and left the town by the gates. ¡°And send me the bill for that house!¡±

    Brin hurried after Hogg.

    He tried not to feel too much satisfaction at this. Prefit Elmon was probably a good¨C well, an ok person. He probably treated people well most of the time, and he¡¯d only acted like that with Brin because [Weaver] Tawna had filled his ears up with poison. He knew all that, but it wasn¡¯t a bad feeling to see someone who was mean to him get some sense knocked into him. It wasn¡¯t a bad feeling at all.

    He noticed his hands were shaking. Right, even though he was weaker than Hogg, Elmon was still strong. He¡¯d gone through that wall and came out without a single bruise. He could kill Brin with a flick of one finger, and Brin¡¯s instincts knew that even if his brain tried to forget it.

    He jogged to catch up with Hogg walking down the road and matched his pace, walking next to him, even though he was walking pretty dang fast.

    He needed to take a second to process. How did he feel about what had just happened? Everything. Gratitude that Hogg had stepped in to help him. Anger that it had taken this long. Sadness that it had been necessary. Fear, an aftershock of seeing such high level people fighting, even if this had been a fairly restrained dust-up. Vindication, at seeing Elmon get beat down, although he wished it had been Tawna instead.

    Not sure where to start, Brin opened the conversation on more neutral ground. ¡°How did you do that? [Know What¡¯s Real] told me what I was seeing wasn¡¯t really what happened, but I couldn¡¯t see what did happen.¡±

    A big ck mallet appeared on Hogg¡¯s back, then turned invisible again. It was ck iron, but the ends were covered in leather. That would probably feel like getting hit with a fist, more or less. ¡°If you want people to think you punch like a hammerstrike, then hit them with a hammer,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Nice,¡± said Brin. There was a silence for a moment.

    ¡°So wh¨C¡±

    ¡°Listen, I¨C¡±

    They both stopped.

    ¡°You go first,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Listen, Lumina shared that letter you wrote to her with me,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Yeah, ok.¡± Brin scratched the back of his head. ¡°Maybe it was a little corny, but I don¡¯t know how to write things like¨C¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. Lumina, she has a way of reading in between the lines. She read a lot in that letter, more than you thought you were letting on,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Really? Love her to death, but she didn¡¯t seem like a super perceptive-type person, at least not when ites to social stuff.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯d surprise you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°She could tell from the letter that you¡¯re not having a great time of it.¡±

    Brin sped Hogg¡¯s shoulder as they walked. ¡°Hogg. I¡¯m <em>fine</em>. Honestly.¡±

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re not fine, and a lot of that is on my shoulders.¡±

    He started to object, again, to say he was fine, but was he fine? To be honest, he was still a little pissed off at Hogg. One act of public violence didn¡¯t undo a year of negligence. But it did help.

    ¡°Come on, ki¨C man. I¡¯m no good at this. You got to meet me halfway. Say something,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You could¡¯ve just¨C Arg! No,¡± said Brin. He took a breath. ¡°This kid body is inconvenient. My emotions are always all over the ce. Ok, so you know in the before, I had a girlfriend for a while. Long story short, she left me, but to get over it a guy¡¯s got to think of all the reasons he¡¯s actually better off without her. One thing she did that drove me <em>crazy</em>, was that she always punished me when I did something right. ¡®I took the trash out.¡¯ <em>You should¡¯ve done that two days ago!</em> ¡®I took the day off work.¡¯ <em>For the first time this month.</em> I¡¯m not going to do that. You helped me out today. Thank you. Let¡¯s leave it there.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s spat in disgust. ¡°Cut the bull. I¡¯m not a baby, and I¡¯m not your girlfriend. You don¡¯t need to protect my feelings.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just drop it,¡± said Brin. ¡°Hey, is that Zilly?¡±

    Zilly wasing down the forest road from the direction of their house. She must¡¯ve been the one to inform Hogg. He¡¯d have to thank her for itter.

    ¡°Hey Zilly!¡±

    ¡°Walk with us,¡± Hogg said to the girl.

    She looked between the two of them. ¡°Are you sure? What happened at town? I thought the Prefit was going to pillory you for sure.¡±

    ¡°He was, but Hogg beat him up. It was awesome,¡± Brin said.

    ¡°Stop changing the subject! Brin here was just going to tell me all the ways that I¡¯m a bad dad. Only, I can¡¯t get him to say anything.¡±

    Zilly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s typical. It¡¯s hard to get Brin to say anything about anything. It¡¯s like pulling teeth. I can¡¯t even get him to answer if he has a crush on Myra or not.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°See what I mean?¡± said Zilly.

    Hogg eyed her contemtively. ¡°But you don¡¯t have that problem.¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡±

    ¡°Then you do it. I¡¯ll give you ten silver for every good reason you can think of,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly Brin, of course I¡¯m going to do it. We¡¯re not all rich like you,¡± said Zilly.

    She scooted in between him and Hogg, pushing him to the side. As she did, she also handed off Marksi, who slithered up and down Brin¡¯s body, looking worried and checking for injuries.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Marksi!¡± he said, and rubbed the snake¡¯s head. He couldn¡¯t figure out how exactly Marksi had ended up with Zilly. He hadn¡¯t even noticed the snake was gone. The only thing he could think of was that Marksi had gone for help, found Zilly, and then Zilly had taken him to go get Hogg. That was a lot ofplex reasoning for a little snake. He had been treating Marksi like a pet, but it was possible that Marksi was smart. Like, human smart. It was something he needed to look into.

    Later. Right now, Zilly was ruining his life.

 Book 1. Chapter 25

    Book 1. Chapter 25

    ¡°Ten silver for each way I¡¯m a bad dad. Go,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°The first thing is that you¡¯re never around,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Other kids have parents that go to town, talk to the other adults and do the shopping. But you <em>never </eme to town. We don¡¯t even see you if wee to your house. Brin does all the shopping and the cooking, or he goes hungry.¡±

    Hogg smiled and stroked his chin. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s two things. Twenty silver. Keep going.¡±

    Brin groaned, but Zilly had stars in her eyes.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t try to stop Tawna from saying bad things about him. Anyone else would¡¯ve been hopping mad from day one, but you just let it sit. You¡¯re a [Ro¨C a sneaky person, so you could¡¯ve followed Brin whenever he met with Tawna, at the very least you could¡¯ve watched the lesson, but you didn¡¯t. Myra told me what her mom said to you about what happened that day, and it wasn¡¯t the true story at all.¡±

    Hogg nodded. ¡°Good point. You¡¯re up to thirty.¡±

    Zilly said, ¡°Um¡­ and¡­ that¡¯s all I got.¡±

    ¡°What about you Brin? If you can think of anything, I¡¯ll add it to Zilly¡¯s pool.¡±

    Zilly immediately turned to him, with pleading in her eyes.

    ¡°That is foul maniption,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It sure is, but that one doesn¡¯t count,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin sighed. ¡°Fine. You never listen to me. I¡¯ve told you all this before. Well, some of it. And I shouldn¡¯t have had to tell you any of it! Oh, gross, now I sound like my¨C like <em>her</em>. See why I didn¡¯t want to do this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m counting all that as one,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You treat me like a kid,¡± said Brin. ¡°You said when I moved here that I¡¯m already mostly grown so you¡¯d treat me like an adult, but in every conversation I¡¯m just ¡®kid¡¯. You won¡¯t tell me what you¡¯re up to all day. That¡¯s adult stuff, and I¡¯m just a kid.¡±

    ¡°Fair,¡± said Hogg.

    Theplete eptance to all these usations just made Brin more angry, but he found that he was tapped out.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I got,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Really? You haven¡¯t even touched my personality,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You want to talk about how I hide behind a wall of sarcasm?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t mind that. Overly sincere people make me ufortable,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, if you think of one more Zilly will be at a gold,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°The way you dress!¡± said Zilly. ¡°You don¡¯t dress like a dad, you dress like an adventurer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll allow it, but only because I¡¯m not carrying any change,¡± said Hogg. He flipped a gold coin towards her and she snatched it out of the air. ¡°Now get lost!¡±

    ¡°Later Brin!¡± said Zilly, and took off down the road.

    They listened to her footsteps retreat behind them. Then they listened to the rustling of the breeze in the trees, the buzzing of the insects and the ever present calling of the birds, until Hogg finally spoke. ¡°It¡¯s not like I <em>never</em> cook.¡±

    ¡°Right? It¡¯s weird she just assumed that. You make a decent stew,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Bite your tongue. I make a <em>great</em> stew.¡±

    The conversation dwindled again. They walked. The weather, the scenery, the birds in the tree, they were all absolutely normal and Brin couldn¡¯t find a single thing to remark upon to break up the stiflingly awkward silence.

    ¡°Thatst one, I don¡¯t think it waspletely true,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Damn right. There¡¯s nothing wrong with the way I dress!¡± said the ck-d man.

    Brin didn¡¯t match his smile. ¡°I meant the one before that.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Hogg, and looked solemn.

    ¡°You don¡¯t treat me like an adult <em>or</em> a child. If I was a child you¡¯d care for me and if I was an adult you¡¯d befriend me. But you haven¡¯t done either. You haven¡¯t done <em>anything</em> because you don¡¯t know which one I am. I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m a child or an adult. I have the power of a child, the body of a child, and the social status of a child. I have the memories of an adult, sure, but they don¡¯t help at all. None of those memories are useful; they don¡¯t do anything for me, they¡¯re just an anchor tied to my back. For all intents and purposes, I¡¯m even younger than I look, because I have no idea how to act in this world. When I look at Zilly and Davi, I don¡¯t see children any more. I see <em>the big kids</em>. Because they have fourteen years of experience living in this world and I don¡¯t even have one. I have no idea how to live. I don¡¯t¡­ I just don¡¯t know how to live.¡±

    His voice cut off, and there were tears in his eyes. In front of Hogg of all people. So embarrassing. This is why he hadn¡¯t wanted to do this. Why couldn¡¯t people leave well enough alone? He was <em>fine.</em>

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m always trying to get achievements all day every day. I don¡¯t know how to do anything else. I don¡¯t have anyone.¡±

    ¡°I told you I don¡¯t know how to do this,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then try!¡± said Brin. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do anything! But I try, don¡¯t I? No one can tell me I didn¡¯t try.¡±

    ¡°All right. Ok,¡± Hogg said quietly. ¡°I¡¯ll try. Burn me, I¡¯ll try.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± said Brin, snorting up a runny nose. ¡°That¡¯s all I ask.¡±

    ¡°Are we supposed to hug now or something?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Please no,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Damnit, I think we have to hug anyway,¡± said Hogg.

    Hogg grabbed Brin¡¯s shoulder to turn him around and pulled him into a hug, pressing Brin¡¯s head against his chest. Hogg was still a lot taller than Brin, but not for very much longer at the rate he was going. Hogg held him there for a minute, and patted his back.

    It was the most awkward, mortifying, and embarrassing thing Brin had ever experienced in either of his entire lives. Despite all possible rhyme or reason, it still made him feel a lot better. Brin hugged him back, tightly, and let it all fall away. It felt like a weight had been lifted. When Hogg finally let him go, he realized it was a beautiful day. Had the sun always been that bright?

    ¡°Can I say something in my defense?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If I had a child, a real one, I would never treat him the way I¡¯ve treated you,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin snorted, thenughed. Theughter felt good after all those heavier emotions. ¡°Oh, awesome, good to know.¡±

    ¡°No, listen. I would¡¯ve tried to give him what you needed. What those parents in town give their kids. Stability, good influences, support, all that dumb crap. On the other hand, if I had the same opportunity that you had to go back and do things over, I would do everything <em>exactly</em> like you. I would forget everything else and get every single achievement I could. Friends, rtionships, peace of mind, good food, rxation, a good reputation? You can get all those things <em>after</em> your System Day. But if you don¡¯t get those achievements now, then you lose your only chance.¡±

    ¡°Thank you! Why does everyone act like I¡¯m crazy for going after them?¡±

    ¡°Think about it from their perspective. If you had a son your age, would you do all the things to him that you¡¯re doing to yourself?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Of course not. But it¡¯s <em>my</em> choice. No one is forcing me into this.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t know that. They don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside you. All they see is a sullen, angry boy named <em>Scar the Mistaken</em> who¡¯s doing everything in his power to turn himself into a killing machine. I let you go at it, because from my perspective you were doing everything right. And because there are some achievements you can¡¯t get if someone helps you, and there¡¯s even some you can¡¯t get if someone tells you to do it.¡±

    ¡°Oh. So is that why¨C?¡±

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t even talk about it, just in case. If you¡¯re going to do something, then make sure I don¡¯t know about it.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± said Brin. As excuses went, that was a fairly good one. But it had still hurt.

    ¡°But I still should¡¯ve been there. As a person. I definitely shouldn¡¯t have let that thing with Tawna get as far as it did. That¡¯s on me. I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Hogg.

    He felt like he had mostly forgiven Hogg, assuming the guy really did follow through, but it was too early to say so. ¡°Thank you for the apology. And for what it¡¯s worth, thank you for helping me out in town. Are you sure what you did back there was smart? It¡¯s not going to make us any more popr.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going to make you a lot more sympathetic. And I¡¯ve never been popr. I am feared and respected, and it¡¯s about time some people remember why.¡±

    ¡°What about the thing with Tawna?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Neither the Prefit nor Tawna like me. Putting their heads together is sure to end up with some new scheme.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll be surprised how that turns out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it for now, but I still think it¡¯s going to backfire,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If it does, I¡¯ll deal with it when ites,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°So, three days, huh?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You still want those achievements, or have you finally figured out that life is about more than¨C¡±

    ¡°The achievements, please.¡±

    Hogg grinned. ¡°Oh, thank the gods. I don¡¯t know what a healthy, bnced lifestyle looks like but it sounds boring as all the hells. So walk me through it. What have you tried, and what have you got?¡±

    Brin jumped at the chance. He¡¯d been trying to get Hogg to help him with this since day one. If the old adventurer was willing to extend an olive branch and finally give more than tiny hints and really help, then he would be d to ept it.

    ¡°Davi and I have been working out every day, and Zilly joins in sometimes. We were sort of stalled out for a while, only getting one natural Strength every two weeks, until we made a breakthrough by training muscle groups that weren¡¯t getting worked in our regr routine. Zilly got Strong I, Davi shot up past Strong II in no time, and I¡¯m at 36, so only three away from the second threshold. I don¡¯t have any doubt that I¡¯ll be able to get it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good. Then be done with Strength for now. You won¡¯t have a problem,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I still need three more, but I¡¯m confident¨C¡±

    ¡°You can never have too many, but I¡¯m <em>saying</em> that you won¡¯t have a problem,¡± said Hogg.

    Oh. Hogg meant that an achievement would push him over. One that they couldn¡¯t talk about or it might disqualify him. Killing a monster in the forest. It had to be.

    ¡°Dexterity was <em>really</em> stalled out for the longest time. Then Zilly had the answer for me. I should¡¯ve asked her ages ago. Apparently when I worked on Dexterity, I only worked on one aspect of it, the fine-motor control. Apparently flexibility and acrobatics y a big role in it as well. Once I started working on that stuff, it skyrocketed. I¡¯m at twenty-four.¡±

    ¡°Vitality and Will are doing well at thirty. I noticed when I got them, I didn¡¯t get new Rare achievements. Workhorse just upgraded to give a Vitality and Will per level. Zilly has Adept, and all her Rare attribute achievements got carried into there.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Ok. Maybe I could go for the second threshold on one of them? But I don¡¯t have a way to directly train them. Mental Control and Magic are the hardest.¡±

    ¡°I know about your mana-drainer,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, well in that case it gave me five points in Magic, but it¡¯s pretty much stopped doing anything except give me headaches. I made a breakthrough in Mental Control by using the mana-drainer to fry my brain and then try to read or do math. I got five points that way. You know anything that could help?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask Lumina, but it¡¯s a long shot. Most children that get the Magic achievement start when they¡¯re five,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s the one attribute that¡¯s not worth it, especially with how easy it is to get magic with a ss. Mental Control might be possible, but we¡¯re pretty close to the deadline. I¡¯d suggest we start with Dexterity.¡±

    ¡°Works for me.¡± Brin shrugged.

    ¡°Have you tried sleight-of-hand? Stealth?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°No?¡±

    ¡°Hm. Ok, I¡¯m going to suggest something, but if you don¡¯t want to do it, we don¡¯t have to,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    ¡°What I should do is take you out for ice cream. And don¡¯t even say it, because no one is too old for ice cream. There¡¯s no parlors around here and we¡¯re banned from town regardless, but I know how to make it. We should spend the next three days¡­ bonding, or whatever it is that we were supposed to be doing this entire time. Then you can spend the next three weeks until System Day shoring up your achievements,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You had me at ice cream,¡± said Brin in an over-the-top way, pretending to swoon.

    ¡°The other option, is that I go theplete opposite direction and be the drill instructor from hell for the next three days, with an absolute focus on attributes and achievements.¡±

    ¡°Does the drill instructor from hell still make ice cream?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Fine, ok, yes. But don¡¯t enjoy it too much!¡±

    Brin took a deep breath. Taking a break was the healthy choice. Bonding time, and focusing on fixing his rtionship with the only real parental figure he had in town was probably the right decision. But he <em>wanted</em> those attributes.

    ¡°I want to train,¡± said Brin. ¡°We can do all that other stuff after System Day. For now, it¡¯s good enough to know you¡¯re on my side.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then follow me. Do what I do. Don¡¯t talk.¡±

    Hogg turned into the forest, and disappeared. For once, [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t say anything. He was just gone.

    Brin went to the spot where Hogg had disappeared, and saw him creeping along the shadow of a tree. In the bright daylight, suddenly moving behind a tree and then into a spot of dark shadow had made him incredibly hard to see. It was impressive considering it was the middle of the day.

    Brin followed his path, crouching down the same way and walking through the same ce. He followed the way that Hogg walked. He ced his feet in the same ces, then noticed <em>how</em> Hogg was stepping, with toes first, and copied that, too.

    A bird called in the tree, and Brin only nced at it for an instant, but by the time his eyes went back Hogg was gone again. It didn¡¯t take him long to find him,ying down behind a patch of grass he would¡¯ve sworn wasn¡¯t big enough to hide a person.

    ¡°Let me ask you something,¡± said Hogg, standing up. ¡°Did [Know What¡¯s Real] tell you that the bird call was from me?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± said Brin, but then really thought about it. He hadn¡¯t noticed at the time, but now thinking back on it, his Skill <em>had</em> been disturbed by something. ¡°Actually, yeah. I think it did. I didn¡¯t notice at the time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a visual person. Just now, you were matching the way I look when I walk. You¡¯re a natural at thinking about things like sight-lines, and you¡¯re generally good at noticing things with your eyes, but I don¡¯t think you were thinking about sound at all. You¡¯re loud. So for now you¡¯re going to practice moving quietly.

    ¡°Although stealth is about more than moving quietly. You¡¯re not being quiet for quiet¡¯s sake, today you have a purpose, and that purpose is to improve and refine your control over your physical body. It¡¯s about control. Moving silently means moving withplete control, total precision and intentionality. You aren¡¯t letting chance decide how much noise your footsteps are going to make. You¡¯re taking control. Think about a cat moving around a house. Even at home its every step is measured, itsndings are controlled, and all needless sound is avoided.

    ¡°Stealth is also about awareness. Awareness of yourself, your body, and the world around you. Some people practice awareness by sitting around all day trying to think about nothing. What a waste of time. You never really know who you are until you''re fully, truly engaged.

    ¡°Stealth is something you learn by doing, so I¡¯m going to give you time to practice. Listen to the way things sound. Feel the difference in the way you engage your muscles when you¡¯re trying to be stealthy, versus how you move normally. You¡¯ll find yourself tensing muscles you¡¯d normally rx, and rxing where you¡¯d normally be tense. It might be tiring at first, but mostly it¡¯ll be dispersing the strain of each movement throughout the body. Think about it like this: a loudnding is a heavynding. The softer the impact, the less sound it makes.¡±

    ¡°And Stealth will help with Dexterity?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a type of Dexterity that you haven¡¯t been focusing on. Here.¡±

    A thin white circle appeared at the edge of his vision. His Skill told him it was an illusion, but that was obvious. ¡°What¡¯s¨C¡±

    The white circle expanded wildly with the sound of his voice, turning yellow and then red. A sound detector?

    ¡°That will pick up any sound within three yards of you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Keep it white; anything higher and people will hear you. Well, [Rogues] will hear you no matter what, and there are some other sses you can¡¯t sneak up on.¡±

    ¡°Like [Illusionists]?¡±

    ¡°Not all of them. You could sneak up on Gustaff, easy. But for the most part, yes,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And sensory sses are rare. That¡¯s why [Rogues] are so¡­ well not valued, but tolerated.¡±

    ¡°Good to know,¡± said Brin.

    A cricket chirped near Brin. He¡¯d been expecting it this time, so he noticed when his Skill pegged the sound as an illusion. He also noticed his sound detector circle expand into the red.

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not fair. I didn¡¯t do that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°People will nce at random sounds, even if you don¡¯t make them. Stay aware of your surroundings. All right. I¡¯m off. Come home when you get a point in Dexterity.¡±

    Hogg turned and ran into the forest. He climbed a tree, jumped off it to grab a branch on another tree, swing around it, and then hit the ground in a roll. It was unnatural how quiet he was, like watching a movie on mute. Brin had been watching, and listening, carefully. No illusion magic had softened the sound. Hogg really was that sneaky.

    If he thought this was an important Skill to learn, even for someone who had magic to make itpletely unnecessary, Brin would try his best.

    Hogg ruined the air of mystery by immediately returning for Marksi. ¡°You already know how to do this. Anything your size that can sneak up on a fly and catch it with your mouth has already mastered Stealth.¡±

    Once he was really gone, Brin got started. His first step made the circle turn yellow. This was going to be slow going.

    So he took it slow. He crept at a snail¡¯s pace to start, until he was sure he could move without disturbing the circle, then moved quicker until he was walking normally.

    Then he started to jog, then to run. It surprised him how intuitive it was, like it was something his body already knew how to do and had just been waiting for him to try. He could feel how to tense his legs to soften the blow with the ground, how to adjust his center of gravity to make everything a bit smoother.

    He could <em>mostly</em> run silently, but every ten feet or so he¡¯d do something or step on something that would make his white circle expand. That wasn¡¯t any good at all. He needed to be silent dependably, not only in spurts.

    So he started over, paying attention to the types of things that would make sounds if he stepped on them. It wasn¡¯t so much a matter of cing his feet as it was navigating his path. Roots and the hard ground near trees were mostly safe, as long as he watched out for twigs. Tall grass shushed too much when he ran but would actually cover his sound if he walked slowly. Open ground was almost always wet, and sshing or the sucking sound of mud would give him away. Plus, he¡¯d get mud on his shoes.

    It was strange to be doing this in daylight, but really he was practicing being quiet rather than actually sneaking, and the sunlight made it easier to see things he shouldn¡¯t step on.

    It surprised him how quickly he picked it up, but he was probably only out there for two hours before he could dependably run through the forest without disturbing his white circle. It was thrilling; it felt like a superpower.

    He was almost disappointed when the notification popped up; he was having too much fun.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    He wanted to keep going. There was no reason to say he <em>had </em>to go home right away. He tried doing what Hogg had done, and climbed a tree.

    He climbed a tree silently on his first try, until he put a foot down too heavy on a branch and it made the leaves shake. His circle didn¡¯t move, but in real life someone would¡¯ve noticed so he counted it as a failure.

    Besides, Hogg hadn¡¯t climbed a tree. He¡¯d run straight up it. Brin tried what Hogg had done, and was surprised at how well his body followed his mental image of what it should do. He¡¯d noticed how easy his Strength had been making things, but all his attributes were a lot higher now, including his Dexterity.

    He ran straight up the tree, jumped off, andnded on the ground sort of hard but at least on his feet, and turned it into an awkward roll. Not perfect, but not a bad start and¡­ parkour! This was parkour! Why hadn¡¯t he done this before? This was one of the things he¡¯d always sort of dreamed of being able to do, ever since ying Mirror¡¯s Edge the first time, but in his past life he¡¯d never believed it was something he¡¯d be able to do.

    Now, though, there was no stopping him. He kept working until he could do the exact move-set that Hogg had showed him <em>without</em> disturbing that white circle. It didn¡¯t give him another Dexterity, but by the time he stumbled back home he was walking on air, dreaming about all the awesome things he¡¯d be able to do now.

    Hammon¡¯s Bog, with it¡¯s two and three story buildings all tight together, would be <em>perfect</em> for parkour. Yes, he¡¯d be arrested immediately and he¡¯d even kind of deserve it, but if he was <em>quiet</em> enough¡­

    ¡°Took you longer than I thought,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Nah, I got the Dexterity a while ago. I didn¡¯t want toe back, though, I was having too much fun.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. Now try this,¡± said Hogg.

    He was seated at the dining room table with a deck of cards. He pulled one off the top, and showed it to Brin. Then he moved his other hand in front of it, and the card was gone. He wiggled his fingers.

    Brin had seen this one before. It wasn¡¯t in the hand that had gone over it, it was held on the back of the fingers of the original hand. The wiggling fingers covered the movement of the card falling behind the wrist to fall into the crook of the elbow. Nobody looks at elbows and you could do all kinds of things from there.

    Brin sat down and copied the trick. It took him three tries to get it right. A slew of notifications appeared.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    <strong></strong>

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Dexterous I (Common) You have reached 26 Dexterity. +10 speed with Dexterity-rted activities. +10% Dexterity attribute growth.

    <strong></strong>

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Workhorse (Rare) Now gives you: +1 Dexterity per level.

    ¡°Ta daaaa!¡± said Hogg, letting the sound hang in the air.

    ¡°Oh,e on!¡± Brin said, and mmed his open hand against the table. ¡°I¡¯ve been working my butt off this whole time, when three words from you could¡¯ve gotten me <em>miles</em> ahead.¡±

    ¡°Ohe off it, it¡¯s not that bad,¡± said Hogg. ¡°The more attributes you get, the harder it is to get them. Even that ten percent boost doesn¡¯t help the slow-down much. If I¡¯d given you these tips right away, it would¡¯ve made the other training you did less effective. Now that we¡¯re up against your System Day, we can start plucking all that low-hanging fruit.¡±

    ¡°I still think it would¡¯ve gone better if you¡¯d trained me the whole time,¡± Brin griped.

    ¡°I had another reason, you remember? Whatever you are in your head, the gods still see you as a child. The world might punish me for doing this. Or it might not. I¡¯ve decided to do it regardless,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What made you change your mind?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Lumina, mostly. But also¡­ you know, if I ever had a son he¡¯d probably be around your age. Your real age, not this teenage boy. Now buck up, next we¡¯re going to learn the most important Dexterity ability of all. Something you¡¯ve been woefully inadequate in.¡±

    ¡°Fighting? Are you going to teach me how to fight?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to learn how to steal stuff.¡±

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    Child of Travin''s Bog

    Level

    1

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    36

    Dexterity

    26

    Vitality

    30

    Magic

    15

    Mental Control

    18

    Will

    30

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    Locked

    Traveler

    Locked

    Otherworlder

    Locked

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Strength.

    +10% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +10% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Dexterity.

    +10% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +10% Dexterity attribute growth.

    Lively I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Vitality.

    +10% recovery from wounds. +10% stamina. +10% Vitality attribute growth.

    Disciplined I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Will

    +10% spell power. +10% skill power. +10% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +1 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Vitality per level

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 1. Chapter 26

    Book 1. Chapter 26

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe we should switch to Vitality?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nah. Today feels like a Dexterity kind of day,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Let¡¯s get some more of that low-hanging fruit before we move on.¡±

    Brin shrugged. This was more help than anyone had ever offered with gaining attributes. He wasn¡¯t going to turn his nose up at it, even if it wasn¡¯t in the exact order he would¡¯ve chosen.

    Hogg took him through the ne¡¯er-do-well masterss. How to walk down the street without seeming suspicious but also not letting anyone see your face. How to case a house or a business. How to tell if someone was home. The psychology of stealing: how to get yourself in the right frame of mind. How to predict where someone would hide their most precious possessions. How to steal enough to get by, but not enough to get caught.

    Then they moved on to more practical applications. First was pick-pocketing. It started with a game. Hogg put two gold coins in his hand, one on top of the other and then close his eyes. Brin¡¯s job was to take the one on top without letting Hogg feel it. If Hogg felt something, he¡¯d close his hand and Brin would lose.

    It wasn¡¯t easy, and after several hundred tries over the course of two hours, Brin started to get frustrated.

    Hogg called a break. They ate dinner; Hogg cooked, and it wasn¡¯t stew. He made a roast, covered in a spicy rub, with steamed vegetables on the side.

    After dinner, Hogg brought out a finely carved wooden barrel. There was a smaller barrel on the inside, and Brin was surprised to see he recognized the device. This was an ice-cream maker!

    Hogg filled it up with saltwater and ice, and filled the inner barrel with heavy cream and sugar. ¡°What vor?¡±

    ¡°Not pork,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Not really a fan of savory ice cream, either,¡± said Hogg. He suggested blueberries, which were actually baby-blue berries in this world, that tasted more like ckberries. Brin agreed.

    Making ice cream wasn¡¯t a fast process, and Hogg didn¡¯t go out of his way to speed it up. Instead, they sat and chatted about normal things. About Davi¡¯s obvious and inexplicable crush on Myra. About Marksi, and how cute he was. They talked about town gossip, the safe stuff, who was going to marry who, and what businesses had recently leveled up.

    The ice cream was <em>transcendent.</em> It was perfect, thick and creamy, like the good stuff from an Italian Ice Cream parlor, not at all like the crap he¡¯d had the few times his parents tried to make it at home.

    Generally, he tried not to get nostalgic about things from his old world, but this broke down a few barriers. He was back again, and it felt oh, so good. How long had it been since he¡¯d had a treat? Something good, just because he wanted it? Had he even done it a single time in this world?

    It almost broke him down and made him tell Hogg to forget training and that they were in vacation mode. But he didn¡¯t. Vacation could wait. He still wanted those achievements.

    After the ice cream, Hogg had Brin put the two coins in the palm of his hand and close his eyes. Brin said ¡°Ok, I¡¯m ready¡±, and prepared to close his hand at even the slightest brush of air. Hogg immediately answered, ¡°Open them.¡±

    He opened his eyes, and both coins were gone. He hadn¡¯t felt a thing. He found himself rubbing the palm of his hand with his thumb, just to check it hadn¡¯t gone numb.

    Hogg put the coins back into his own hand and closed his eyes.

    Before trying again himself, Brin had an idea. Marksi had been getting antsy, wanting to join the fun. Brin picked up the snake and carefully brought him near to Hogg¡¯s hand.

    The snake watched his target with full concentration, the way he looked at a dragonfly he was nning to snatch out of the air.

    Brin wondered what he would try? His mouth wasn¡¯t quite big enough to grab the coin front-wise, and he couldn¡¯t imagine being able to grab it from the side without bruising Hogg¡¯s hand.

    Marksi delicately let out his tongue. It twitched back and forth, testing the currents, and stuck out further and further. He had a really long tongue. It just kepting.

    He delicately brought it around the rim of the coin, propped it up, and then in an instant it was in his mouth and the snake was retreating up Brin¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Did you finally get it?¡± Hogg asked. ¡°See, it¡¯s like I keep saying, you have to think about pressure and¨C¡±

    ¡°Marksi got it,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg stared at the snake with his mouth open. He finally gathered himself and said, ¡°Well of course he did! I told you Marksi didn¡¯t need this lesson. He¡¯s already a master of stealth.¡±

    Marksi preened, and they had to take a break for snake-appreciation time, but when Marksi finally got his fill of scritches Brin was ready to go again.

    It was possible. This wasn¡¯t some weird kind of punishment; there really was a way to do it.

    He reached out slowly, feeling the pressure of the air the way Marksi had. He felt the slight body-heat from Hogg¡¯s hand, the slight movement in the air. Slowly, delicately, he reached down. His fingers were on the rim of the coin and starting to pull it away when Hogg pulled his fingers shut.

    ¡°Keep trying,¡± Hogg ordered.

    Brin kept at it, until finally, <em>finally</em> he managed to pull the top coin from Hogg¡¯s hand.

    Hogg immediately jumped into the next lesson.

    This time, it was about pulling coins out of a pouch that Hogg kept at his side. No one had external pouches like that to keep their money in, especially not with a dangling p that woulde right open. Most people had pockets sewn onto the inside of their clothes, and rarely carried more than coppers around. Shopping would usually involve running up a tab to be paid off monthly, or swapping credit.

    Still, he understood the assignment. Just for fun, he had Marksi go first, and the snake leaned down to the pouch from on top of the table and immediately came up with a mouthful of gold coins. The little guy was a natural.

    Brin didn¡¯t find it too hard either. Compared to pulling a coin off Hogg¡¯s hand, this was a lot easier to manage. He just had to make sure he didn¡¯t move the pouch <em>at all</em>. Harder was taking without changing the way the weight applied pressure against Hogg¡¯s side, but it didn¡¯t take him too long to figure out.

    Even after seeding, Hogg had him keep trying. He needed to be able to do this quickly. No one would sit still and let him pick their pockets over the course of thirty seconds. He kept practicing, getting better and better. A notification interrupted their exercise.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    ¡°How do you know all this?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°When everyone thinks you¡¯re a [Rogue], you need to know how to do [Rogue] stuff. It wasn¡¯t easy. I didn¡¯t have the System to guide my fingers; I had to learn all of this on my own.¡±

    Brin expected that to be the end of it for now, but Hogg kept going. He had Brin sneak around the house, telling him where to step and how to tell which floorboards would creak. The sound-detector was still active, and Hogg had him do things like open and close cupboards, clean and put away the dishes, and sweep the floor, all without making any sound.

    He randomly threw spoons and forks, and Brin had to catch them without dropping the broom or the sponge he was working with, and without making any sound.

    Honestly, he probably should¡¯ve figured it out sooner, but it wasn¡¯t until Hogg showed them how to silently jimmy locks, that it finally urred to him why they were doing this.

    There was an achievement for stealing stuff. Hogg wanted him to sneak into Hammon¡¯s Bog and steal something.

    ¡°Not like that,¡± said Hogg, as Brin tried to jimmy the lock to the house. ¡°You¡¯ve got to do it <em>silently</em>. If you can¡¯t get into the house, you can¡¯t do anything.¡±

    Marksi slithered under the door, and an instantter, the door silently swung open. A smug-looking rainbow snake rode on the doorknob on the other side.

    Hogg stared for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°That works.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask you something? Did you predict this entire thing, or are we just taking advantage of an opportunity?¡±

    Hogg crooked an eyebrow. ¡°Now, how would I have guessed that Elmon would ban us from town? He should¡¯ve had me whipped.¡±

    ¡°Could he have? Would you have let him?¡±

    Hoggughed. ¡°Course not. Well that¡¯s enough Dexterity training for now. Let¡¯s do what you said and work on Vitality. Run to Hammon¡¯s Bog and back. Six times.¡±

    Brin blinked. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Don¡¯t let that sound circle get to yellow while you¡¯re out there.¡±

    Brin took off running. The distance was a little much, but he was in fabulously good shape. He was careful not to make a sound, but the road was free of branches or leaves and as long as he didn¡¯t slip his concentration, he managed to keep up his stealthiness. Night fell as he ran, and he didn¡¯t get a Vitality. He didn¡¯t get a Dexterity, either.

    When he got back, Hogg started the day over. He brought Brin out into the woods. He gave Brin the exact same speech about stealth as before, and then left Brin with the same instructions.

    In the dark, it was harder to move in the forest without making a sound. Much harder. He couldn¡¯t see what he was stepping on; he had to guess based on what he <em>could</em> see. The vague outline of trees meant that the nearby ground would be solid, but not necessarily empty of twigs or leaves.

    He had to sort of feel with his feet if he was going to step on something that would make a noise and quickly readjust where his foot was going to fall. It was hard to do through his leather shoes, but not impossible.

    Running made it even harder, but again, not impossible, notpletely. When he finally got to the ce where he wasfortable, it waste into the night and he was getting so tired it was difficult to concentrate.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    He went inside, and it was pitch ck. Hogg magicked up an orb of light, so that Brin could see that he was holding two coins in his hand. Then he made it dark again.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Find a way,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin moved his hand slowly, reaching out into the dark. He brushed up against Hogg, who immediately said, ¡°Fail. Try again.¡±

    He tried slower this time. He concentrated on the air, on feeling the currents. When he felt Hogg¡¯s body-heat, even without touching him, Hogg said, ¡°Fail. Try again.¡±

    This time he did the same, but stopped when he felt the still air, air that was <em>near</em> the body heat, but not warm yet. This time, he touched the coin before Hogg said, ¡°Fail, try again.¡±

    He tried again, and again, and again. The darkness and the stillness tried to lull him to rx, but he fought against it. His exhaustion warred against his concentration, and when he finally got the coin he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d learned something or if it had just been a fluke.

    The next part with the pouch was easier, and he got it in a couple minutes.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Mental Control +1

    It wasn¡¯t over. Hogg had him do things around the house again, and again he threw things at Brin. Brin had to catch forks and spoons after they hit him but before they hit the ground, and Hogg would even ding him if the forks made too much sound <em>when</em> they hit him. He had to roll with the hits to soften the blow.

    Hours passed, and Brin thought he could see the glow of dawn in the distance. All in all, he had to say it had been a good day. He¡¯d gotten a frankly absurd amount of attributes. Hogg¡¯s hellish training was exactly what he¡¯d been asking for.

    He tried to keep that in mind, but when Hogg finally told him it was enough, he didn¡¯t even say goodnight. He went to his room and was asleep the second he hit the bed.

    He woke up the next day feeling bleary and sore. Hogg made him breakfast, though it waste in the afternoon.

    ¡°Davi came by. I told him to let you sleep,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin mumbled ¡°Thank you¡± through a mouthful of eggs.

    ¡°So listen, tonight I have a lot of stuff I need to focus on, so I won¡¯t really be present for the rest of the day. You can shake me awake if you really need me, but other than that you¡¯re on your own. You should do your regr workout before dark. After sundown you are absolutely <em>not allowed</em> to go out of the house. I¡¯m saying this as your legal father. Do you understand?¡±

    Hogg wanted him to go rob Hammon¡¯s Bog, but he couldn¡¯t give him permission. ¡°I understand. But I still have to know. What is it you do every day with your illusions?¡±

    ¡°None of your concern. You just focus on tonight,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I will, but I still need to know. You promised you wouldn¡¯t treat me like a child,¡± said Brin. ¡°This is part of that.¡±

    ¡°Some of it is business. I have a lot of contacts all across the country, and being able to coordinate them all in real time can be very lucrative for trade,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What¡¯s the real project? You¡¯ve been consumed with something,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg bit his lip. ¡°I did promise. This is the issue: someone is surveilling the Bonds. There are invisible watchers <em>everywhere</em>. There are ways for invisible illusions to find each other, and we¡¯ve been ying a never-ending game of cat and mouse. Against a less talented [Illusionist] I should¡¯ve been able to pinpoint their location by now. We have a range, we like to have more illusions closer to us, and new illusions need toe from where our physical body is, so you can use that to kind of narrow it down, but so far I¡¯ve got nothing. Whoever it is, this person is very, very good. You remember that Phasmid? Its level was absurdly high. Well, whoever is watching us is better than that Phasmid was.¡±

    ¡°Arcaena?¡± asked Brin. ¡°One of her people?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. Ond and Prinnash both have [Illusionists] who could do something like this. It might even be our own Court [Illusionist]. It might be more than one country; actually that¡¯s more likely. It would exin why it¡¯s so hard to trace the source. One thing I do know: this isn¡¯t about Hammon¡¯s Bog specifically. I think they¡¯re looking for something here in the Bonds.¡±

    ¡°Like what? The army of undead?¡±

    ¡°Could be. I¡¯ll tell you something else. Prinnash is invading. I don¡¯t mean to worry you, but you have a right to know. Gn is already fighting, sort of as a mercenary since Ond isn¡¯t involved, and Lumina is on the way. I¡¯ve got a hunch that this war is rted to that undead army somehow, but right now we don¡¯t have enough information to even make a guess.¡±

    ¡°So now instead of just worrying about an undead army destroying the town, we also have to worry about a real army?¡±

    ¡°If Prinnash invades it¡¯ll be bad, and thousands will die. But if they somehow march on Hammon¡¯s Bog¡­ then obviously we¡¯ll surrender without a fight. The worst that¡¯ll happen is that they loot our storehouses and we switch who we pay taxes to. Prinnash is a civilized country; they won¡¯t waste the lives of people with Common sses. Rare ssers might get culled butmoners are much more valuable alive. Me and the Prefit will have to duck out of town, though. Probably Tawna, too.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask about¨C¡±

    ¡°No!¡± said Hogg. ¡°That¡¯s enough for one night. Go chew on that news that you can do nothing about and that¡¯ll just distract you from what¡¯s important, and stop trying to get more for five minutes. We only have three weeks until System Day. We need to make every second count.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine, I hear you.¡±

    Hogg was right about one thing: there was nothing he could do about that. In his old life the news had always been full of apocalyptic portents of doom, and he¡¯d still managed to put all that aside and focus on his own life. He was lucky that the skill seemed to transfer over.

    Tonight he could do nothing about war or the undead. He had an achievement to collect.

 Book 1. Chapter 27

    Book 1. Chapter 27

    Hogg had a cer in his house, and he didn¡¯t let Brin sleep in it. Quite rude of him, although the need to sleep underground in the cold in order to feel safe had been fading. He barely thought of Travin¡¯s Bog at all any more.

    It turned out there was a [Cerman] in town, and he was the one who dug cers for everyone. He had the Skills to dig faster, could do limited enchantments for cold, protection against pests, and even to keep water out even with the town¡¯s extremely high water table. Brin had doubted that the town would have enough work to keep a [Cerman] employed. After all, wasn¡¯t everything already built? But apparently he was one of the busiest people in town, with a backlog more than a month long.

    Brin didn¡¯t need any of the food in the cer, but Hogg¡¯s cer was extrarge and he kept other stuff down here as well. Shelves were piled with souvenirs, memorabilia, not a small amount of treasure, and what Brin was looking for: old adventuring gear.

    There was a big hiking backpack, the same one Hogg had been wearing when he¡¯d rescued Brin. It was too big, but Brin found a smaller ck one nearby. Inside both backpacks were lots of divided sections, padded so that the things inside wouldn¡¯t clink around. It made Brin wonder why Hogg would need that, but he supposed that even if you weren¡¯t a thief, there were lots of times where you¡¯d need to be stealthy and not have the things in your backpack clink around. What did it say about Hogg that he still put this much effort into being stealthy, even when he could make magic muffle sound?

    He took the smaller backpack and put pliers, scissors, a file, and a small saw inside. He was hoping to do this without breaking or vandalizing anything, but better to not need something and have it, rather than need something and not have it.

    The one thing he didn¡¯t take was any kind of weapon. This was going to be an exercise in cat-burry. As much as they aggravated him, this was still more or less his hometown. He wasn¡¯t going to hurt anyone. If he got the choice between hurting someone and getting caught, then he¡¯d get caught. End of story.

    He considered a ck mask. Would that help? Probably not. If anyone saw him at all tonight, they¡¯d identify him by his build or his clothes even if they couldn¡¯t see his face. No, his only chance to get away with this is if no one saw him at all. He was banned from town, so he had to consider this a hostile encampment. Even one witness would end with him at the pillory again, and this time he¡¯d deserve it.

    Was that why he was so willing to do this? He¡¯d never stolen in his past life. Never, not a pack of gum, nothing. Not even a single time. So why was he so ready to throw that away and turn into a thief, not even with a suggestion but only the barest hint that there may be a reward?

    It wasn¡¯t even that he was angry at the town. Well, maybe a little, but that didn¡¯t factor into this. No, the only reason he was willing to do this was because¡­ he wanted to. He¡¯d never done anything bad in his old life, and where had that gotten him? It was possible to live a safe, unobtrusive life, and then still die of a car crash out of nowhere. It wasn¡¯t like he wanted to be evil, but it did seem strange that he¡¯d never been just a little bit naughty.

    He paused at the grappling hook. He needed to decide how he was getting into town.

    The obvious answer was to go through the gates. They didn¡¯t close them at night; he¡¯d never seen them closed. People usually went inside when it got dark outside, so there was little chance anyone would spot him if he waited until a few hours after sundown.

    But few people didn¡¯t mean zero people, and the areas around the gates were thergest streets in town. The chance was too high.

    That left another question. Prefit Elmon had all sorts of ¡°town¡± Skills. Was knowing when someone crossed through the gate or over the wall one of them? He should¡¯ve asked Hogg. Well, probably not. He already knew monsters didn¡¯t really go into the Bogs, that¡¯s why they settled here in the first ce. What was the chance there was a town Skill on top of that? It was probably something he would¡¯ve heard of. Also, Hogg wouldn¡¯t have put him up to this if he needed to worry about something like that.

    No, he just needed to worry about being seen. He should go over the wall. And that meant the grappling hook.

    Did he even know how to use it? It couldn¡¯t be thatplicated; it was just a rope on a head with four hooks that could catch from whatever angle itnded on. It was still before sunset; he had some time to burn.

    He went out to the trees and threw the grappling hook on one of the branches. It hooked on his first try, with only two slight problems. One, it was just a <em>bit</em> too loud. Hogg had left his sound circle up, and it went into the yellow. The other problem was getting it back down.

    He pulled on the branch a couple times, bending the branch and shaking all the leaves, until he managed to scrape it off the branch and back to the ground, where again it made too much noise.

    He tried again, trying to throw it softer, but it still made too much noise when itnded. This time, Marksi darted up the tree to check out what was happening. When Brin started pulling to loosen it, Marksi helped by nudging the grappling hook up and over, letting it fall. Brin caught it carefully, and this time the sound circle didn¡¯t budge at all.

    ¡°Marksi,e down here,¡± he whispered. What was he doing? They didn¡¯t need to be quiet yet.

    Marksi slithered down the tree and Brin looked at him in his little snakey eyes. Marksi had just been a pet when Brin got him. A happy, cute little thing, but not smart. It hadn¡¯t been until he¡¯d fed the little guy a steady diet of magic, supplemented by Hogg¡¯s illusions more than the man probably admitted, that Marksi had started to be more.

    It had happened so smoothly that Brin couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact moment that he knew that Marksi understood human speech. He¡¯d just started talking to Marksi and the snake had understood. But Marksi had still been content to y the role of the family pet. He¡¯d begged for scraps and scritches, he¡¯d hunted insects and sat on Hogg¡¯sp, purring after the evening meal.

    Was Marksi really happy with this state of affairs, or was he just acting the way he thought he was expected to? And was Brin helping him by treating him this way, or was he holding him back by treating him like less than he was? Perris¡¯ advice from that time had mostly been ignored, but never forgotten.

    He needed to have a real conversation with his snake. Brin picked Marksi up in his arms, looked him in the eyes and¡­ avoided it. That could wait for another time. Tonight was about the mission.

    ¡°Hey Marksi, we¡¯re going to y a game tonight. We¡¯re going to town and we¡¯re going to y a game of hide and seek. Would you like that?¡±

    Marksi immediately engaged his camouge, blending in nearly perfectly with Brin¡¯s arms. They¡¯d yed hide and seek a couple times, but Brin couldn¡¯t find him any more no matter how long he looked.

    ¡°No, not right now. When we get into town. We¡¯re both going to hide, and we can¡¯t let <em>anyone </em>see us the entire night. Even if we know them. Even our friends. Does that sound fun?¡±

    Marksi turned around in an enthusiastic circle.

    ¡°Good! When we¡¯re in town I probably won¡¯t be able to see you since you¡¯ll be too hard to find, so you¡¯ll have to follow me. Can you do that?¡±

    Marksi gave Brin an unimpressed look. During their games of hide and seek, he¡¯d always been able to find Brin in seconds.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t be so sure. I¡¯ve been practicing. Anyways, I won¡¯t be able to talk to you in town. Maybe whisper when no one else is nearby, but we shouldn¡¯t count on it. So I¡¯ll need to give you signals. For example, say I tap on a door three times like this. That means I want you to go inside and open it. Can you do that?¡±

    Brin tapped the front door, and sure enough, Marksi slithered underneath the closed door and opened it from the other side. He swung open with the door, hanging off the handle.

    ¡°Terrific!¡± said Brin. ¡°Ok, there¡¯s one more thing I want to try.¡±

    He¡¯d been nning to use the grappling hook to get up on a watchtower as a way into town and then leave it there for his exit, but now he thought he could use it for more.

    He told Marksi to take the grappling hook and climb up a tree while holding it. It took a couple tries for Brin to exin what he wanted, but when he put it in his own mouth and mimed climbing the tree, Marksi understood.

    The problem was that it was much too big. Marksi had a hard time climbing while holding the heavy four-sided hook. He managed to do it eventually, but it banged against the tree so much that it would be quieter for Brin to throw it up there.

    He switched out the head for a single hook, and had Marksi try that. Marksi climbed the tree with little effort and hooked it into the wood of a branch.

    Brin free-climbed the rope, surprised at how easy it was. He¡¯d climbed up and down a rope with Davi, Zilly and Myra when they¡¯d gone to the snake pond that one time, and while he¡¯d managed it had been difficult and awkward. This time it was as easy as climbing adder. He climbed up the rope, then down again, and then asked Marksi to pull it down.

    Marksi had some trouble, Brin¡¯s weight had dug it into the wood somewhat, but he eventually got it out, and Brin caught it softly. Other than giving Marksi instructions, the sound circle hadn¡¯t moved a single time.

    He called Marksi down and congratted him on a job well done, giving the snake a generous amount of the belly rubs he wasing to enjoy so much.

    ¡°Ok, Marksi. When we do it for real, I won¡¯t be able to talk to you. We¡¯ll have to use hand-signals. Maybe if I point up three times, it means I want you to put the hook up somewhere. Did you get that?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t get it, but after exining it a few times and miming what he wanted, the snake understood and they practiced getting the hook up and down in absolute silence a couple times.

    When they were done, it wasn¡¯t quite dark enough for them to set out. He wanted it to be sundown before he even got on the road.

    Marksi started acting weird. He kept turning in circles over and over. Then he would hold up the tip of his tail and twitch it towards Brin.

    ¡°You¡­ Do you want to make hand signs you can use to talk to me?¡±

    Marksi spun around in a circle.

    ¡°Oh!¡± said Brin. This was good. They didn¡¯t need to have a big heart-to-heart. They <em>couldn¡¯t</em> have a heart-to-heart. They needed simplemunication first.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start with that. It must be exhausting to do that every time you want to say yes. Show me something for ¡®Yes¡¯.¡±

    Marksi thought for a second, then twitched his tail upwards.

    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s ¡®yes¡¯. Now show me ¡®no¡¯,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi hissed.

    ¡°That¡¯s an angry ¡®no¡¯. Show me a normal ¡®no¡¯.¡±

    Marksi thought again, then twitched his tail side-to-side.

    ¡°Great! So that¡¯s yes and that¡¯s no. Are there some other things you want to say?¡±

    Marksi waved his head side to side, tasting the air with his tongue.

    ¡°I already know that one. That means you¡¯re hungry,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi spun around in a circle, and then remembering their sign, stopped and twitched his tail up and down.

    Next, the snake slithered away from Brin. He made a chirping sound, kind of like the sound he made when he was scared, but it started lower in pitch and rose up. Then he darted towards Brin lightning-fast. He did it a couple times, and grew frustrated when Brin didn¡¯t know what was going on. The next time he made the sound, then looked at Brin expectantly. Brin didn¡¯t know what to do, and Marksi twitched his tail ¡®no¡¯.

    It took several tries until Brin finally got it. ¡°When you make that sound, you want me toe running as fast as I can.¡±

    ¡®Yes¡¯. Marksi went away a few paces, and made the sound, and Brin dutifully charged towards him full-bore. Marksi was pleased.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll do it, but you can only use that for emergencies. Understand? Only when you¡¯re scared or hurt, or someone else is hurt. We need a different sound for when I¡¯m supposed toe, but things are normal. I¡¯lle anyway, but I need to know if it¡¯s an emergency.¡±

    They settled on another rising chirp, but this one didn¡¯t have the note of fear in it from before. Brin demonstrated that he woulde when Marksi made the sound, though he would walk instead of run.

    The next thing Marksi wanted Brin to learn was a sort of huping sound, which meant that Marksi wanted Brin to pick him up. That was a strange one. Marksi could climb straight up his body easy as pie, but if it was important to Marksi it was important to him.

    ¡°Marksi, are we¡­ ok?¡± Brin found himself asking. Shoot, where had thate from? He¡¯d said it before thinking.

    The snake eyed him curiously.

    Brin sighed. Why did he do this to himself? He¡¯d already decided to ignore this issue, and now he¡¯d gone and opened the can of worms. Well no use but to trudge onwards. Hopefully this wouldn¡¯t be as dramatic as him and Hogg¡¯s heart-to-heart. He¡¯d had enough emotions in that one day for an entire year.

    ¡°You¡¯re smart, Marksi. I know I say that all the time. Clever Marksi! But you¡¯re smart. Like, really smart. You understand me. Maybe not every word, but you get what I¡¯m saying, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t respond. He didn¡¯t twitch his tail. His eyes were sky blue and looked like they had scales on the inside as well as the outside, but Marksi could change his eye color as easily as the rest of his body. He didn¡¯t give anything away.

    ¡°Marksi, I¡¯m trying to ask if you¡¯re happy. Are you happy with me and Hogg?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t answer, but Brin could be patient. He waited for a full minute, for what felt like an hour, until Marksi timidly twitched his tail.

    ¡®Yes¡¯.

    Brin smiled. ¡°Would you find a way to let me know if there was something I was doing that was making you sad?¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t answer.

    Brin had a thought. Marksi was smart. Crazy smart. But he was a <em>kid</em>. ¡°Pick me up, feed me,e now,¡± those were all the first things that babies learned how tomunicate. He was right to assume Marksi was smart, but wrong to assume Marksi <em>knew</em> things. He needed to simplify.

    ¡°Hiss at me if I ever make you sad. Can you do that?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail. ¡®Yes.¡¯

    Brinughed in relief. He and Marksi were fine. They really were fine. He¡¯d known that, but it was nice to know for sure.

    ¡°Anything else?¡± asked Brin.

    Marksi waved his head, tasting the air.

    ¡°Hungry? Me, too. Let¡¯s get dinner.¡± He looked out at the night sky. It was time. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll go y our game.¡±

    Not a long timeter, he stood at the edge of the forest, Marksi on his shoulders. He would cross the fields to the town walls soon enough, but he wanted to take a minute and look out at the town.

    His memory showed him pictures of breathtaking cityscapes. The view from his hotel bedroom the one time he¡¯d gone to New York City on vacation. The city lights zing in the night, the sight of the skyscrapers towering into the heavens, all of it looking like a turbulent sea of stars, it was a memory that would always stay with him, even now in another world.

    The sight of Hammon¡¯s Bog was very different, but somehow it felt the same. They both gave him a feeling of being grounded, of being in civilization.

    Thenterns on the street were much dimmer than the city streetlights, but they still fought back against the darkness, providing order andfort.

    The first time he¡¯d seen Hammon¡¯s Bog had been at night, he realized. Hogg had carried him through on the way home. That¡¯s why he was feeling so nostalgic right now. Hammon¡¯s Bog had been his first real assurance that there was such a thing as safety in this world. Sure, seeing the Heroes had proved to him that it existed, but it wasn¡¯t until he got here and saw normal people living normally, that he¡¯d started to feel it.

    Thenterns lit up the night, but they couldn¡¯t shine on everything. They failed to reach the shadowy ces, and the way the light hit the smoke from the chimneys gave the town a lowly, murky sort of feeling.

    It was aplicated ce, and it gave himplicated feelings. The town had been good and bad to him, and now he wasing as an invader. It was enemy territory, and he decided he didn¡¯t actually like the way that felt.

    Only for tonight. He¡¯d take his toll tonight, and then it was over. He would forgive Hammon¡¯s Bog, and love it the way everyone <em>should </em>love their hometown. That didn¡¯t mean he was ready to forgive all the people in it. He wouldn¡¯t pee on Tawna if she was on fire. But the town itself, yes. After taking what he wanted, any bad blood between himself and the town would be over.

    The streetnterns seemed to wink a little as if to nod in eptance. Or perhaps in challenge. He imagined the soul of the town nodding down at him and saying <em>Your terms are epted. Come and ransack if you dare; I am not so defenseless as I look.</em>

    Brin took a step forward, smiling in nervous anticipation.

 Book 1. Chapter 28

    Book 1. Chapter 28

    Brin exited the forest and ran straight across the open in between the trees and the walls; there was no cover out here, but there was also no reason to be out here looking in this direction. He should be safe, but still he ran quickly.

    He decided to climb up the guard tform. Sure, he could simply climb the wall, but the town walls were just big straight logs with sharpened tips all pressed together. It would be a little awkward, and jumping down the other side would make a sound. Probably not an issue, but he didn¡¯t want to start the night taking needless risks.

    Once he got to the wall, he threw his grappling hook up to the tform up on the watchtower. It hit with a noticeable <em>ck</em>, but not so loud that anyone would hear it unless they were right there. Hopefully.

    He waited for thirty seconds and when he didn¡¯t hear any sign of movement on the other side of the wall, he started climbing.

    He climbed to the top with Marksi and the backpack on his back, and it wasn¡¯t difficult at all. It still surprised him all the things his body could do with Dexterity after the first threshold. Sure, he¡¯d been close for a while, but he had a whole lifetime of experience in his old body, and it still adjusted his perception on what was possible. It made him more careful than he needed to be. That might be a problem some day, but for tonight, it was perfect.

    He got to the top, wasted no time in rolling up his grappling hook and stashing it away, and then crept down the stairs. Hogg¡¯s sound circle had disappeared the instant he¡¯d started on the road away from the house. Clearly Hogg didn¡¯t n on helping him with this. He was wondering if the old guy was even watching, or if he was determined to ignore the whole thing in the hopes it would give Brin a better achievement. Either way, he couldn¡¯t depend on him.

    Besides, he didn¡¯t really need the sound circle. It had been a useful training aid, but it had served his purpose. He walked down the stairs <em>silently</em>.

    At the bottom of the watchtower the only thing in sight was the backs of the nearby houses. Before he could second guess himself, he walked up to the nearest house and pressed his hand against the doorknob. He turned it slowly. It wasn¡¯t locked.

    He crept inside and closed the door behind him. The interior was dark but he could still make out the shape of obstacles. He was in a hallway that went straight through to the street, with a staircase on the left and a doorway to the kitchen on the right. The only obstacle was a little entryway table.

    He ran his hands along the entryway table, and found that it was the kind with a little drawer. He opened it, and felt inside very carefully, so that whatever was inside wouldn¡¯t roll around and make a noise. He felt a hand-mirror, a pin-cushion, and then a cheap deck of bark-paper cards. He took the cards.

    There was no achievement. He hadn¡¯t really expected there to be one, but he¡¯d hoped.

    There could be two reasons. The most obvious, and the thing he <em>hoped </em>was the problem, was that he hadn¡¯t gotten away with it yet. He needed to get out of the house, probably out of the town, before he could count this as really ¡°stolen¡±.

    That was easily testable. He left the house the way he¡¯de, then walked up the watchtower and rappelled down the other side. He walked into the forest.

    To his surprise, he got a notification.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Thief (Common) You have temporarily stolen something with every intention of giving it back.

    There was no reward. Just like his Blessing of the Hidden Guardian achievement, it acknowledged his aplishment, but didn¡¯t give him any rewards.

    Unlike the other achievement, this one gave him a very obvious clue as to what he had done wrong. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had every intention of giving the cards back.

    Curse himself all he wanted, but he knew he was going to give <em>everything</em> he took tonight back, hopefully before the owner realized it was gone. He could tell himself all he wanted that he was going to keep these cards forever, but as soon as he got the achievement he¡¯d probably change his mind.

    This wasn¡¯t going to work unless he changed his determination. Or his strategy.

    He made his way over the wall, same as before. He walked through the same house. He thought about giving the cards back on his way through, but giving heed to morality was no way to start a night like this.

    He walked through the hallway, opened the front door just a crack, to look at the street beyond. Nothing in sight.

    The moon was a thin crescent tonight, and right now it was behind the clouds, which gave him a wonderful darkness to work with. The streemps were somewhat scattered, only one for every ten or so houses, and they weren¡¯t the bright electric streetlights of his home, so there were more than enough areas still cast in shadows for him to move around without being seen, even if there were anyone to see him.

    He started walking on the boardwalk, careful to keep his footsteps silent, and close enough to the side that he would be able to easily duck into an alleyway or doorstep if he needed to get out of sight.

    People rarely moved around at night, but that didn¡¯t mean they never did. The fact that they had streetlights at all meant that they recognized there might be reasons to be outside past nightfall.

    Also, with winter the nights were so long that there was a weird midnight culture. Instead of sleeping through the night, people would wake up for an hour or two in the middle of the night. They¡¯d mostly read, or work, or do other¡­ nighttime things. But some people would go on walks. He figured he had about two hours until then, but he didn¡¯t really know what to expect. He¡¯d never been out thiste in town; he only knew what he¡¯d picked up from conversation.

    The public house would be open for that, so Brin was going to stay away from that entire section of town. That meant he couldn¡¯t steal from Perris, but honestly he didn¡¯t want to. Except maybe to take all the stuff he¡¯d already paid for, but that probably wouldn¡¯t help him get an achievement. If he didn¡¯t get the stuff by the time his exile was over, he¡¯d go talk to Perris again.

    Random night-time walkers were a concern, but his biggest threat was thentern-man.

    Lantern-man was a job, not a ss. Every night, someone would light thenterns in the evening and then douse them again in the morning. Then during the night they¡¯d patrol the town, walking up and down the streets. This was the closest thing that Hammon¡¯s Bog had to a police force.

    Zilly¡¯s dad was one of the chiefntern-men, because of all his Skills rting to charcoal. He could basically mass-produce it, and make it burn longer and brighter, to the point where the town¡¯snterns were charcoal burning instead of oil which is what Brin thought they did in his world¡¯s equivalent era.

    Hopefully Zilly¡¯s dad wasn¡¯t thentern-man tonight. How embarrassing would it be to get caught by his friend¡¯s dad? Another reason not to get caught.

    He kept his eyes scanning, ready to pick up any amount of approaching light. He didn¡¯t see any moving light and no one on the street, until he got to his first destination.

    The gap in the tall building where the [Weaver¡¯s] house stood.

    After all, if there had to be victims tonight, why shouldn¡¯t it be the people that Brin really didn¡¯t like?

    This was probably the most dangerous target for tonight, so he figured to get it out of the way first. He¡¯d either seed or fail right here.

    He had a brief moment of panic when he remembered that Hogg had ordered the Prefit to watch Tawna day and night, but no, only day. The Prefit was supposed to watch her whenever she left her house. He wouldn¡¯t wait outside her door all night.

    Brin approached the house. Just as he was in the middle of the free space between the house and other buildings, the moon came out of the clouds, and the world lit up. He looked around in panic, but no one seemed to be around. And besides, even if there were someone around, they probably wouldn¡¯t see him. It looked bright to his night-vision adjusted eyes, but still dark enough. He kept walking. He stopped by the house, pressed up close to the woven fibers so that his profile would blend in with the house¡¯s.

    He heard two sets of heavy breathing inside. They were asleep. He backed up, back to the side of a building.

    He needed a conversation with Marksi first. He should¡¯ve nned this out earlier.

    ¡°Marksi, listen,¡± Brin whispered. ¡°We need to get in there, but there isn¡¯t going to be a doorknob. She opens and closes the door with her Skills. Except Myra doesn¡¯t have Skills and there¡¯s no way she can¡¯t get in and out of her own house, so there¡¯s probably something else that triggers it automatically. Can you help me find it? Find something that opens and closes the door.¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail for ¡®yes¡¯ and then disappeared. Brin crept to the house, and when he got there found the door already open. That was quick. Good job, Marksi.

    He approached from the side and waited next to the door, listening for the sound of breathing.

    Only one set of heavy breathing. Someone was awake.

    He waited. He heard a click.

    A beam of light shot out of the doorway, so bright that it made Brin shield his eyes. Probably just normalntern light, but blindingly bright since he was so used to the dark by now.

    He didn¡¯t run; that was the dumbest thing he could do. The light wasn¡¯t shining on him, so it would actually make it harder to see him.

    Someone had woken up, probably Tawna feeling one of her Skills move. Would she know the reason? If so, he might be in trouble. He slowly started to walk around the side of the house, so that if she did notice the door was open and peeked her head outside she wouldn¡¯t see him.

    The light turned back off. He waited.

    Ten, fifteen minutester, he started to hear both sets of heavy breathing again. She was back asleep.

    He walked into the house. The entire thing was onerge room, and the woven floor and walls and ceiling gave the ce a nefarious feeling.

    In the center of the room, hanging in the air, he saw something awful. A shifting, writhing monstrous tapestry took up the center of the room. The threads that made it up wriggled like worms, and changed colors like Marksi, changing the picture. He saw Hammon¡¯s Bog, ck and crumbling. Due to fire or something else, he couldn¡¯t tell; the image was very stylized. Those red threads could be fire, but those light blue ones might mean lightning. For some reason, Brin expected to see himself in the picture, but he wasn¡¯t there. The only human figure was a ck-haired girl that could be Myra, hiding in a well.

    The moon must¡¯ve gone behind a cloud, because the room darkened to the point he couldn¡¯t see the picture anymore.

    What even was that thing? Was that some kind of augury for the future? Hogg had said that [Weavers] couldn¡¯t actually see the future, but what else could it be?

    He could think about thatter. He needed to steal something and leave. He couldn¡¯t see much anymore, but he¡¯d gotten a pretty good look at the room before the moon had been shadowed, and he knew there was a table to his left.

    In the darkness, the breathing of the Myra and Tawna made them seem much closer. Right, there was a woman and a girl in this house, right over there, while he snuck around in the same room. He¡¯d thought being a thief would make him feel cool, but honestly he kind of felt like a creep.

    He ran his hands along the table, hoping to touch something he could take. He needed something normal; he wouldn¡¯t take <em>anything</em> that might be touched by Tawna¡¯s power. He found a little brass tablemp, and grabbed it, then retreated from the house as quickly as he could without making a sound.

    Onest look inside, and the moon peaked out long enough to give him another glimpse of the demented tapestry. It was all chaos except for four figures. Cartoonish renderings of Elmon, Hogg, Tawna, and Toros the [Smith], judging by their hair and clothes. Theyy down and had ck X¡¯s on their eyes.

    He wanted to stay and watch, but forced himself to move on. He had what he¡¯de for.

    Outside, and with some distance between himself and the house, he asked Marksi to close the door again. He waited in silence until he felt Marksi¡¯s familiar weight climb up onto his shoulders again.

    A light,ing down the street. Still faint, but antern-man wasing this direction. Brin hustled around towards the back of the houses, and then walked alongside the waste canal until he came to another alleyway and went up. There was a light over here, too.

    The alleyway was full of tall grass; things were always growing in Hammon¡¯s Bog unless someone cut them down. He walked slow enough to move through it without making a sound, and then got down to crawl thest little bit. He spied on the street through the grass.

    There were twontern-men. Curse his luck. Was that every night, or had something tipped them off? Either way, there were two out tonight, at least two, and he needed to deal with it.

    He had the tablemp in his backpack. He probably wouldn¡¯t give it back, right? He¡¯d keep it. Start amp collection. Except, he¡¯d have to keep it hidden while he lived in Hammon¡¯s Bog. Zilly might recognize it. Aw, who was he kidding? There was at least a thirty percent chance he¡¯d end up feeling guilty and returning themp. He needed better.

    He needed to steal from someone who he¡¯d never see again. He needed to rob the merchants; they would leave soon and he¡¯d never get a chance to return what he took.

    He watched thentern-men. They talked in the middle of the street, both carrying high poles from which theirnterns hung. Neither were armed, but honestly that didn¡¯t matter. If they saw him, it was over. He couldn¡¯t see either of them well enough to tell if he knew them, not without sitting up more for a better look, and he wasn¡¯t going to do that.

    He waited until they separated, both going in a different direction. When they were well and truly out of sight, he started to move again, but froze when he heard a sound.

    A door on the street opened, and Briny down t. Someone walked out and down the street, and he resisted the urge to get up for a better look.

    Another door opened a momentter, and five minutester another. People called ¡®hello¡¯ to each other on the street. Apparently this ¡®midnight stroll¡¯ thing was a real event.

    Any other night, and he could just walk down the street as well, but tonight there was too good a chance that someone might recognize him. Hopefully the added difficulty would make his achievement better? He wished he had a better idea on how that worked, but apparently <em>not knowing</em> worked in his favor.

    Hey in the grass for an hour, until the midnight strollers returned to their beds, and then until thentern-men passed by again, and then ten minutes after that.

    Crime was much more boring than he¡¯d expected.

    When it was finally quiet and dark again, he got up out of his hiding spot and walked down the street towards the center of town.

    The merchants had circled their wagons together and shut them tight. A man sat on the endboard of one, holding a pipe. He looked rxed, like he¡¯d just stepped out for a smoke, but he didn¡¯t actually seem to be smoking, and he didn¡¯t leave even after Brin watched him from a hiding spot for twenty minutes.

    He was a lookout. The merchants knew they were targets for theft, that people who would never consider robbing their neighbors might not extend the same courtesy to them.

    Each of the wagons hadnterns on the front and back, so there was no area that was in shadow in a wide ring around the wagons. There was a blind spot, though, directly behind the lookout.

    Brin would just have to walk straight into the light, right here in the middle of town. Brin scanned the surroundings, trying to peer into every window, scanning for any eyes he might be missing. There was never going to be a guarantee. He needed to take a chance.

    He walked straight up to the wagon, focusing only on being quiet. He reached it, somehow. Adrenaline screaming, he forced himself to carefully climb onto the roof instead of the mad scrabble his body wanted to try.

    He made it. Thankfully, the wagons were strong wood all the way around, and he got on top without a single creak. He could hear snoring inside from up here, and nothing else.

    Hey there, internally freaking out at how scary that had been, forcing down the panicked scream and the relievedughter that was fighting its way up his throat.

    When he was ready, he reached over to take the second big risk. Thentern on the far end of the wagon was a gasmp, and while it had a little twisty switch to turn it on and off, that would make a clicking sound. Instead he opened the ss door, leaned precariously over the edge of the wagon, and blew it out.

    He waited, but the watchman hadn¡¯t seemed to notice themp back here had gone out.

    Brin tried to pick it up, to lift the loop off the hook on the end, but then he noticed a link of metal chained thentern to the wagon. How paranoid. Who would steal theirnterns? Well, he would, for one.

    He brought out the file and started to saw. He went slow enough that it wouldn¡¯t make a sound, but that meant he was going <em>slow</em>. He couldn¡¯t stay up here all night.

    He put two fingers in the little metal link, and pulled with all his might. It wasn¡¯t one piece, there was a little gap, but as soon as he stopped pulling, it closed again.

    He tried again, pulled the metal link open just enough to get it off the hook. It scraped the metal a little, but barely made a sound.

    When he got the link off, he identally dropped thenternpletely, but managed to snatch it with his other hand, just in time. He put it in his bag, got down from the roof of the wagon, probably too quickly but his nerves were shot and darted away into the blessed darkness.

    The blessed darkness didn¡¯t stay blessed for long. A light was moving up a side street. In literal seconds, he was going to be trapped between antern-man on one side and the caravan lights on the other. He ran to a building, and pointed up, hoping Marksi would remember themands.

    Like a moving shadow, Marksi grabbed the grappling hook and slid up the building. Brin felt the rope catch on something, and climbed up. He barely pulled the rope up and got to the other side of the roof in time before the light from thentern-man cast that side of the building into rity.

    Brin climbed down the other side.

    He followed the canal down a ways, and nearly stumbled right on top of a man who¡¯d gone out back to relieve himself. He waited until the man finished and went back inside before moving on, but that even got his pulse up even more than stealing thentern from the caravan had. He was on high alert the rest of the way back, so it was almost a letdown when he got back to the watchtower without issue.

    He rappelled down the side, and Marksi undid the hook and tossed it down before jumping down himself. Brin caught them both, then started the walk back home.

    He didn¡¯t get the notification when he reached the forest. Well, if he had he would probably have turned right around to give all this stuff back. Particrly thentern. He was feeling bad about that already. If Hammon¡¯s Bog got the reputation for stealing from merchants, it would be hard to get more caravans toe out here, and that was already a problem.

    He didn¡¯t even get the notification when he got back to the house. He opened up his pack, to look at his gains. A deck of cards, amp, and antern. How ugly. Worth a few measly silvers at most. This is what he got for selling out his morals?

    He waited. He paced back and forth. He watched the night sky, waiting for it to get brighter. He debated going back. He was so pathetic. This wasn¡¯t even that big of a deal. Nobody would probably even notice it was gone.

    Hogg didn¡¯t get up when he arrived, just stared into space which meant he was focused on his illusions.

    Brin waited, until finally the barest hint of light appeared on the horizon, warning that morning was nearly there.

    It was toote. The merchants would leave in the morning. He¡¯d lost his chance to give thentern back. Whatever was going to happen, would happen.

    He got a notification.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Thief (Rare) Without aid or instruction, you have snuck into a hostile territory and stolen from right under the nose of a lookout. +10% Dexterity. Improved hearing. Improved darkvision. You can estimate the approximate value of things.

    He couldn¡¯t help but smile. Thatst one was probably the most valuable part of this, at least to him. He knew what things were worth in his old world, but had a hard time relearning it all in this one.

    Hogg¡¯s eyes focused on him. ¡°You got it, didn¡¯t you? You get a certain look on your face, like you¡¯re mad to be interrupted but also really excited.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I got Thief,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Obviously, but what did it give you?¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°It¡¯s not always the same?¡±

    ¡°It depends on the circumstances.¡±

    Brin recited the achievement¡¯s description.

    ¡°Nice,¡± Hog said, drawing it out. ¡°That value estimation, that¡¯s going to be a lot more useful than I bet you¡¯re thinking right now.¡±

    ¡°Really? Because I thought it was going to be a game-changer,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, good.¡± Hogg nodded. ¡°All right. Hand it over. I can still put this all back before anyone notices it¡¯s gone.¡±

    ¡°Wait. Really?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yep. Unless¡­ you wanted to keep it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°No! Please, take it all back. I¡¯m not cut out for this,¡± said Brin. ¡°The cards¨C¡±

    Hogg cut him off. ¡°I was watching. I need to get at this quick though. Be back soon.¡±

    Brin watched him go.

    Behold! Anshar spits at yourck of resolve. Achievement: Thief has been confiscated.

    His heart sank. Well, it was probably better this way. It hadn¡¯t sat right with him to¨C

    Behold! Solia smiles upon your act of contrition. +10% Dexterity bonus from Thief transferred to Dextrous I. Improved hearing, vision, and value estimation merged with [Know What¡¯s Real].

    Checking his Status, he saw that Dextrous I now had a 10% Dexterity bonus. The description for [Know What¡¯s Real] had updated as well..

    Brin went outside, into a dark part of the forest, the darkest he could find. Yeah, he really could see better in the dark. Only a tiny bit better. But a small bit of light went a long way in absolute darkness.

    He sent off a quick prayer of gratitude to Solia. It was only right.

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    Child of Travin''s Bog

    Level

    1

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    36

    Dexterity

    31

    Vitality

    30

    Magic

    15

    Mental Control

    19

    Will

    30

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    Locked

    Traveler

    Locked

    Otherworlder

    Locked

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System.

    +10% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Strength.

    +10% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +10% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Dexterity.

    +10% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +10% Dexterity attribute growth. +10% Dexterity

    Lively I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Vitality.

    +10% recovery from wounds. +10% stamina. +10% Vitality attribute growth.

    Disciplined I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Will

    +10% spell power. +10% skill power. +10% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +1 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Vitality per level

    <strong>Skills</strong>

    Know What¡¯s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You can now approximate the value of things.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 1. Chapter 29

    Book 1. Chapter 29

    A mirror image of Hogg returned minutester. Brin expected to get right back into training, but Hogg said, ¡°Hey, how much money you got left?¡±

    ¡°More than a thousand gold. Why?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°The merchant caravan is leaving soon.¡±

    ¡°I know. They¡¯re only staying for two days, and I¡¯m banned for three. I think Elmon was thinking of that when he banned us from town for three days,¡± said Brin. ¡°He saw how excited I was to see it.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Like he even thinks about you that much. Anyway, you still want to invest some of your money? If so, we¡¯ve got a good opportunity here. I don¡¯t know if you knew this, but the average level of Hammon¡¯s Bog is quite a bit higher than the average in a city. Being isted like this can mean a lot of extra work and danger, but it also means levels. We have some crafters here who can make things as good as the very best in the city.

    ¡°Since caravans have been so rare this year, the town has a lot of built-up inventory on their high-Skill, high-quality stuff, especially Toros and Chamy. We could front the merchants the money to buy it here, and they¡¯ll sell it for you for a portion of the profit once they get to the city. And they¡¯re headed straight to ckcliff after this. With the Prefit guarding them on the way back as far as Oud¡¯s Bog, well, it¡¯s about as close to a sure thing as you¡¯ll ever get in this life.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Five hundred gold, I think. More than that and they won¡¯t bother to haggle,¡± said Hogg.

    A huge chunk of his savings, but honestly he was d to finally invest some money. He hated the idea that it was just sitting there. ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±

    ¡°Good. Someone wille by the houseter to finalize things, but just to be clear: You¡¯re fine with me negotiating on your behalf?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°They¡¯re going to have to meet me at the town gates and then do all the purchasing by running back and forth across town. It¡¯s going to make Prefit Elmon look like a jackass.¡±

    ¡°Somehow I can live with that,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg chuckled. ¡°Me too. Now let¡¯s talk about training. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to get to the second threshold on Will or Vitality, but with that 10% bonus it may be in reach for Dexterity.

    ¡°I¡¯d really like to get to the first threshold in Magic and Mental Control,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°In that case, getting Mental Control to the first threshold is your best bet for locking in onest achievement before System Day.¡±

    Brin had thoughts on that. It still bothered him that System Day gave nearly every other kid in town <em>more </em>time to rack up achievements, while it had stolen nearly six months from him, just because of an inconvenient birthday. If he left town, could he get more time? Maybe he could get to the first threshold in every attribute. There <em>had</em> to be something cool for doing that.

    He didn¡¯t bring it up, though, in case Hogg actually said yes and wanted to start packing immediately. He still wanted to hunt alone in the forest first. Once he¡¯d killed a monster and got the achievement for that, then he¡¯d bring it up.

    ¡°What about Magic?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°If we had another year, and Lumina¡¯s help¡­ maybe. As it is, Mental Control will still help your chances at getting a magical ss, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re aiming at. It¡¯s <em>by far</em> the most important attribute for magic. Hands down.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Mental Control it is.¡±

    ¡°Did you ever get any while practicing with Jeffrey?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Brin guiltily thought of his lute gathering dust in his room. ¡°I got a few Dexterity for it at first, but I sort of stopped ying after the attributes dried up.¡±

    Thinking about it, he hadn¡¯t wanted to y music for the sake of gaining attributes. He¡¯d wanted to make music. He¡¯d learned the first few songs Jeffrey had taught him with gusto, and figured out how to y <em>Sweet Home bama</em> from memory, even including the sweet little guitar solos between the verses. He didn¡¯t remember the words past the first verse, but he¡¯d started revising the lyrics to match his new home. At the time, he hadn¡¯t been thinking about attributes at all. He¡¯d been doing it because it was fun. When had that stopped?

    Maybe everyone was right about him. He¡¯d been consumed with his goals of gaining as much power as the System would give him, andpletely forgotten to enjoy his life. Even if he wasn¡¯t just a kid, an ambitious adult should remember to have fun now and again. He promised himself that after System Day, he¡¯d slow down and live his life a little.

    He realized he was zoning out while Hogg was talking. It almost felt good because <em>that</em> was a key personality trait from the old Brin, back when he had been Mark.

    ¡°...from concentrating on more than one task at once, and from taking control of your mind. Music is a good way to do that, but you have to be learning deliberately. Just ying your favorite three songs over and over won¡¯t do anything. Actually, I¡¯ll have someone fetch Jeffrey over. I¡¯ll summon Gustaff too, if you catch my drift.¡±

    Was Hogg hinting that he was going to use a mirror image to create a fake Gustaff? Wait a second. Did he do that all the time? He could. Now that he thought about it, had Brin ever actually seen Gustaff? Like, the real [Illusionist]? He only ever remembered seeing mirror images of the man, like the one near the town square that yed movies and stuff.

    ¡°Is Gustaff real?¡± Brin asked.

    Hogg¡¯s hand twitched, like he wanted to p Brin on the back of the head, but he didn¡¯t. Well, he couldn¡¯t because he was a mirror image, but he likely wouldn¡¯t have anyway. Instead, he frowned and said, ¡°Of course he¡¯s real. You think I want to waste my magic with that garbage? Get a grip.¡±

    ¡°Sorry,¡± said Brin, emphasizing it hard enough to make it clear he wasn¡¯t really sorry.

    Hogg shook his head derisively. ¡°We¡¯ll have you meditate, I think.¡±

    ¡°Meditate? Isn¡¯t there something useful I could be doing?¡±

    ¡°Meditation is useful. It trains your concentration. You¡¯ll likely be able to snatch up a point in Mental Control or two before I get home. Now sit down.¡±

    Brin sat. ¡°Do you do this?¡±

    ¡°Not for years,¡± said Hogg. ¡°My ss and achievements give me an absurd amount of Mental Control. One more point isn¡¯t worth the days or weeks of daily meditation I¡¯d need to get it, not when I can train it by using my illusions to their fullest instead.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s instructions were surprisingly simr to stuff he¡¯d learned about meditation in his past life, but like everything he went a bit harder. Where Brin had learned that it didn¡¯t matter how you sat, Hogg was adamant that he do the ssic crossed legs and ramrod straight back. ¡°We¡¯re learning how to concentrate, not trying to put you to sleep.¡±

    He talked about breathing, and set a long, slow rhythm. ¡°Don¡¯t try to stop yourself from thinking. If you¡¯re thinking about not thinking then you¡¯re getting distracted. Let the thoughtse and go, but never stop concentrating. Now, is there a prayer you like to do?¡±

    ¡°No, not really,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then make a sound with your voice. Anything you want. You¡¯re going to concentrate on making the sound and on listening to the sound. Only that.¡±

    Brin thought back to the old cliche of the buddhist monk sitting exactly like this saying ¡°Aum¡± over and over. He always thought that was a Hollywood exaggeration. Was that a real thing?

    ¡°Aum.¡± He gave it a try, and to his surprise, meditation was actually kind of hard. His mind kept going to Jeffrey, the merchants, his night in town. Sure, he wasn¡¯t supposed to try to stop all thoughts, but he was supposed to acknowledge those thoughts and then dismiss them, rather than dwell on them.

    Part of what made it so hard was that he was exhausted. His rhythm was all messed up now that he¡¯d been awake through the night two nights in a row. But doing mental work while you were tired was one of the best things for training Mental Control. He¡¯d figured that one out all on his own.

    He was a little jealous of Marksi, actually. The snake had climbed into his tank and passed out the second they got back from town.

    ¡°Stop saying it over and over. Say it once and draw it out as long as you can,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now concentrate!¡±

    Brin tried again. It was still difficult, but he gave it his all, and after what was probably two hours or more, he got his first notification.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Mental Control +1

    ¡°Huh. You got that in twenty minutes. Not bad,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°This is harder than I thought!¡± said Brin, feeling gratified but also a little annoyed that his ¡°two hours¡± was actually only twenty minutes. Could he me this on the child body, or was he really that impatient?

    ¡°Take a break. Do some pushups or something, then try again,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin scowled at him, but he did the pushups and they really did make him feel better. He hadn¡¯t gone this long without weight training for months now and he was starting to feel the itch.

    The second time he tried it went a lot easier, but that also meant that he wouldn¡¯t get rewards as quickly. He chased that thought away with every other, and meditated.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scratch your nose! Concentrate on your Aum. All other thoughts are irrelevant,¡± said Hogg, about halfway through.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Mental Control +1

    Two in one day. And the promise of more on the way. Maybe he really could do this. Three weeks was a tight deadline and he knew that he¡¯d run into dwindling returns, but if Hogg only knew two or three more tricks like this, Brin would be there. He wasn¡¯t as excited as he should be; sitting still for so long really drove home how tired he was. He pped his cheeks a couple times, trying to jolt himself awake.

    ¡°Got one more, huh? Good work. I wasn¡¯t sure if you were really awake there for a minute.¡±

    Brin yawned. ¡°I¡¯m awake. Somehow.¡±

    Hogg wasn¡¯t in his usual lounge chair and he didn¡¯t have a drink; he was standing stock still. Easier to render that way. This was still the mirror image, and Jeffrey wasn¡¯t anywhere in sight.

    ¡°Jeffrey wouldn¡¯te. He¡¯s still asleep, which I should have guessed. [Bards] keep odd hours. But I got him to spill on a good way to train Mental Control. Better this way, actually, since now I don¡¯t have to conjure up a pretend Gustaff. Basically, you¡¯re going to y some music and I¡¯m going to be a very annoying and distracting audience, just like what a real [Bard] has to go through. Let¡¯s get started. y something.¡±

    Brin went to his room, dusted off his lute, and brought it out. Wanting to show off a little, Brin yed his ¡°Sweet Home in the Bonds¡±. Hogg interrupted him after two bars.

    ¡°Did you make that up?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s from Earth. I adjusted the words a little,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s never going to work. No [Bard] in Frenaria would write lyrics like that. It needs to be more poetic,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Now that I think of it, the songs [Bards] sing are really snooty and pretentious-sounding,¡± said Brin. ¡°What¡¯s with that?¡±

    Hogg smiled at the insult to his people¡¯s music and culture. ¡°That¡¯s High Frenarian. It¡¯s a little archaic-sounding, on purpose. It¡¯s how the nobles are taught to speak and it¡¯s how they speak at court. Maybe in your world it¡¯s cool to pretend to be dirty and ignorant, but here people want to be elegant and refined. Everyone likes to think they¡¯re good enough for high society, so you¡¯ll never find a [Bard] alive or dead singing any other way. This is good, though. Trante your song, not just from English to Frenarian, but from English to High Frenarian.¡±

    That would be difficult. The System had imprinted Frenarian straight into his brain, but High Frenarian he¡¯d learned by picking up bits and pieces here and there from music and movies.

    Brin cleared his throat and started to y what he was now calling ¡°Fair Home in the Bonds.¡±<blockquote>

    <em>¡°Oh faithful wheels, thou stalwart rollers,</em>

    <em>Bearing me forth past trees and boulders,</em>

    <em>To thend where dwells my family,</em>

    <em>And I will deem it sinful, verily!¡±</em></blockquote>

    The meter was all off. He was trying to cram twice as many sybles into the same line of music, which made the whole thing even harder. Even that wouldn¡¯t have been too bad if Hogg had just sat and listened quietly.

    Hogg didn¡¯t listen quietly. He walked around, bumped into a table which sent a ss of water to the ground, where it shattered. Neither the bump nor the ss were real, but the illusion was good enough that it was pretty distracting.<blockquote>

    <em>¡°I hearkened well to Master Young who sang her woe,</em>

    <em>Also hearkened I to Master Neil who scorned her so,</em>

    <em>I hope Master Niel will bethink to hear this truth,</em>

    <em>A boggish man doth not require him, forsooth!</em></blockquote>

    Hogg met his eyes. He summoned up some colorful lights, then casually started to juggle them. The lights started to strobe, shing different colors. It was enough that Marksi peeked out of his cage, before sneezing at the racket andying back down to sleep. Brin pressed forward, trying to trante the words without slowing down the song.<blockquote>

    <em>Fair home in the Bonds! Thy skies are of umon blueness,</em>

    <em>Oh, home in the Bonds sweet, I hasten back to thee with trueness.</em></blockquote>

    Hogg bit his lip. His juggling orbs started to make chirping sounds.

    Brin held his gaze steadily, and then blew through the solo without skipping a beat. He really had practiced the song quite a lot, this wasn¡¯t enough to throw him. Then he went into the solo from after the second verse as well, because he still didn¡¯t remember the rest of the words, and there was no way he was going to be able to make something up.

    He only remembered one more line, and he tranted it on the fly.<blockquote>

    <em>¡°In Oud¡¯s Bog they love the ruler. Fie! Fie! Fie!¡±</em></blockquote>

    Hogg burst outughing, and his colorful distractions disappeared. ¡°Ok. Ok. You got me. That song. I can¡¯t handle it. Is that what music is like in your world? It¡¯s killing me.¡±

    For your feat of mental discipline, you have been awarded the following. Mental Control +1

    Brin smiled, more at the notification than at Hogg¡¯s insult to his people¡¯s music and culture. A feat! That means the reward was probably more for ousting Hogg than from the training itself. Which meant that he likely still had another point in store frompleting the actual training. ¡°It sounds better in English.¡±

    ¡°It has to. It literally has to,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think people are really going to like this,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t like it. I just don¡¯t think they¡¯ll like it for the reasons you think,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I mean,e on. The only good thing you can think to say about it here is that the skies are blue? The skies are blue everywhere.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re umonly blue,¡± Brin said, grinning.

    ¡°They¡¯re less blue than almost anywhere! They¡¯re usually gray,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Ten years from now, everyone is going to be singing this,¡± said Brin, mostly enjoying how much this was getting under Hogg¡¯s skin.

    Hogg rubbed his face. ¡°Please no. Well if you¡¯ll take some notes, there are some [Bards] who have songs trashing the Bonds. Guibertil and Hipolit, to name two. Only [Bards] aren¡¯t Master, they¡¯re Maestro.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll work that in. I just decided; I¡¯m teaching this to Jeffrey. I¡¯ll pay him to y it if I have to,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then all I have to do is convince him to leave with the merchants, got it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Won¡¯t they leave in a couple hours? He¡¯s not going to wake up that early,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°So you do understand [Bards].¡± Hogg looked up into space. ¡°I¡¯m almost back with a merchant. Remember, I¡¯m not an [Illusionist], I haven¡¯t been here and you haven¡¯t seen me at all today.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s illusion faded away.

    Soon after, Brin saw the real Hogg walking up the street with a merchant. The man wore traveling clothes, a long overcoat and hat, and kept a spear on his back. From what he¡¯d seen of them in town, the merchants had been wearing bright, colorful robes. Fun, but also expensive-looking. Now the merchant could easily pass for a soldier marching off to war.

    ¡°Hey Hogg!¡± said Brin. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you all day!¡±

    Hogg scowled at him, then remembered hispany. ¡°I¡¯d like you to meet Master Moura. Master Moura, meet Young Master the Mistaken.¡±

    The formal use of honorifics andst names was sort of surprising. In Hammon¡¯s Bog everyone used first names, to the point where he didn¡¯t know thest names of many of his acquaintances. Apparently, that wasn¡¯t the norm in the wider world.

    The merchant widened his eyes in surprise when he entered Hogg¡¯s living room. He probably expected the man¡¯s house to look as weather-worn and practical as the man himself, but Hogg lived in style. Moura stepped gingerly on the plush rug, as if not sure he should really be allowed in.

    The negotiations were already done, so all Brin had to do was sign the document and let Hogg hand over the gold. Gemstones, in this case. He¡¯d negotiated to have the entire original sale price plus eighty percent of the profits go to Brin, which was much more than he expected considering he wasn¡¯t doing any of the work. Then again, the merchants had nothing to lose by bringing along extra cargo on a route they were already nning on traveling, so this was a win-win.

    The entire affair was concluded in minutes, without Master Moura ever sitting down or taking off his hat.

    Then he and Hogg were back to training.

    Hogg found some sheet music for Brin, and while he¡¯d never learned to read music in this world¡¯s style, Hogg also had a guide on where to ce fingers for each note. He had Brin use that to try to learn the songs while learning to read sheet music in the first ce, all while being as annoying and distracting as possible.

    Marksi woke up after ten or so minutes of that, and chirped angrily at Hogg for waking him up, but when he realized the point of all of it was to annoy Brin, he joined in. The little monster scrambled around the floor, shing all different colors. The part that really tested Brin¡¯s concentration was when Marksi went into camouge, snuck up close, and then changed back to rainbow colors all at once.

    Brin thought he made a pretty good showing. If he had a main stat in his past life, it would be Mental Control. Going through a Computer Science degree when all his roommates had party majors like Education and Art History had been an extreme test on his ability to stay focused when the people around him were acting stupid. Compared to that, this wasn¡¯t much.

    After an hour of work, and with no point in Mental Control to show for it, Brin had learned to y through the first song.

    ¡°Sounds pretty good,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m not sure if it sounds right, not without hearing someone else y it,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg took the lute from Brin¡¯s hands. He yed through the entire song effortlessly, and yeah, it turned out Brin had misunderstood a little sh through some notes and held them too long instead of cutting them short.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t ask me to sing,¡± said Hogg.

    Personally, Brin thought Hogg had a great voice for singing. He could really pull off the rugged cowboy style, which apparently was <em>not</em> an appropriate way to sing in Frenaria. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you can y at all, honestly.¡±

    ¡°It pays to be able to do all kinds of things,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And with high Dexterity you¡¯d be surprised how easy it is to pick these things up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that, actually.¡±

    Hogg handed the lute back. ¡°Let¡¯s switch things up a bit. I want you to keep practicing that song, but now you¡¯re going to start dancing with your feet.¡±

    ¡°[Bards] dance?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Some do. This will also help you learn the steps for your first dance at the solstice festival. Which if you think about it, the Prefit might¡¯ve <em>shortened</em> our exile to only three days so that you wouldn¡¯t miss it.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Like he even thinks about me that much,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Touch¨¦,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But maybe he does. Alright, on your feet.¡±

    Not for the first time, Brin regretted not taking the three-day vacation option. But he¡¯d asked for this, and he¡¯d see it through.

 Book 1. Chapter 30

    Book 1. Chapter 30

    The solstice dance was surprisinglyplex, like a wandering riverdance but while holding the hand of a partner at arm¡¯s distance. The partners switched as the dancers moved in rotating circles, and you had to keep track of the steps because the circles would suddenly switch direction. Hogg magicked up a couple dozen figures for him to dance with. They were sort of blurry and low-definition, but good enough for him to keep track of his ce.

    He did all that while also ying the music on his lute, and Hogg also provided back-up music to make sure he would never miss a beat. His hands were full with the music, but the girls in the dance still held their hands up to him and acted as if he were holding them.

    They used the grassy clearing outside the house, which added anotheryer because the ground wasn¡¯t exactly t. He didn¡¯t actually know where the real dance would take ce; there wasn¡¯t a dance hall or anything. It would probably be in the town square.

    It was noon by the time Brin got another point in Mental Control. They had plenty of time to keep going, but he was done. He didn¡¯t think he could tie his shoes, much less try to recite the alphabet backwards while doing a handstand under a waterfall or whatever psychotic thing Hogg would dream up next.

    ¡°Good time for a break anyhow. Look alive, we gotpany,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin dragged himself off the ground and over to the chair on the deck, just in time for Prefit Elmon to appear on the road leading from town.

    Like the merchant earlier, therge man wore a traveling cloak, a wide-brimmed hat and had a sword at his side. Unlike the merchant, the metal of a full suit of armor peeked out from under the heavy clothes, which Elmon wore with the same casual ease as Gn had. Instead of only looking like a soldier, this was a real [Warrior].

    He approached Hogg first. ¡°I was present with Tawna for every moment she spent outside of her house for thest two and a half days. However, I must now hurry to catch up to the merchants if I am to uphold my agreement with them. I trust this fulfills your requirements?¡±

    Hogg thought it over, while scratching at the stubble on his neck. ¡°We¡¯re square.¡±

    ¡°May I speak to your son?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Prefit,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin stood up and approached, while Hogg went inside, although there wasn¡¯t a doubt in anyone¡¯s mind that Hogg would hear every word that was said.

    Prefit Elmon folded his arms and looked down at Brin. ¡°First, I need to make it clear that you were absolutely guilty of the crime I charged you with. You <em>did</em> spread those rumors, and a few hours or even a few days at the pillory would not have been too much.¡±

    Another time, Brin might have argued, but after a night robbing the town he didn¡¯t feel all that innocent, and after a night robbing the town and then half the day training Mental Control, he was too drained to summon up the energy to argue about anything.

    ¡°I understand,¡± he said neutrally.

    ¡°That being said, I was too hasty in passing judgment. After spending two days with Tawna¡­ suffice it to say I learned that she was far from meless in this matter.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°Thank you for saying so.¡±

    Elmon searched his eyes, and apparently didn¡¯t find what he was looking for, because he frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you felt at the time that justice was being applied unevenly. Do you still feel the same way?¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t have any reason to lie. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then think on this: I¡¯ve not visited everywhere or seen everything, but to my knowledge there¡¯s never been a [Witch]-burning of a pre-System child. Perhaps, somewhere, it¡¯s been done, but for all intents and purposes, it simply doesn¡¯t happen.

    ¡°On the other hand, when friendless, unpopr [Weavers] are concerned, I¡¯ve personally seen it happen <em>twice.</em> Not here, thank Solia, but there¡¯s nothing different in our makeup that makes us immune to human foibles. Only with diligence and caution have we avoided it so far. You might think a [Witch]-hunt is a surgical procedure, a knife in the dark to remove an unpopr neighbor. You haven¡¯t seen it, so you don¡¯t understand the <em>madness</em>. The sheer chaos that¡¯s unleashed upon a town when fear and paranoia are stoked into an inferno. For however dangerous [Witches] are, the fear of [Witches] is even worse.

    ¡°Do you think I could stop it if a mob came for Tawna? Hogg aside, I could easily defeat any two men or women in this town. But what about ten? What about a hundred? Impossible. To prevent a tragedy, I must stop it before it gets that far. I can¡¯t let that happen here.¡±

    ¡°For the record, I don¡¯t want that either,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good. Officially speaking, your rumors against her were damaging and illegal. Her rumors against you were not. As Prefit, that¡¯s my only interest in the matter. On a personal note, however, I¡¯ve warned Tawna and Myra against continuing such rumors, and I have asked them both to be nicer to you.¡±

    Even through the weary haze, thatst part shocked Brin. He hadn¡¯t expected a red cent from Prefit Elmon. After the browbeating and public humiliation Hogg had given him, Brin expected to have an enemy for life. Instead, the Prefit was trying to fix things. It wasn¡¯t exactly some grand gesture, and he really doubted Tawna and Myra would change their attitude, but it was still something.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Brin.

    The Prefit finally must¡¯ve found what he was looking for in Brin¡¯s expression, because he smiled and thumped Brin on the shoulder. ¡°Goodd.¡±

    The Prefit left, and Brin didn¡¯t even remember stumbling off to bed.

    He awoke at dawn the next morning, having slept away half the day. Just like that, his three-day exile was over.

    His mind was a lot clearer after a good night''s rest, even though he was a little irked that he¡¯d slept so long. Yesterday might have been exhausting, but it had been worth it. He¡¯d gotten four whole points of Mental Control in one day, which meant that he only had three left for the first threshold. That was looking entirely possible.

    Not to mention all the other gains. The 10% increase to Dexterity, the improved vision, the value sense. He¡¯d totally forgotten about that one, but now that he remembered it, he wanted to try it out.

    Why had he not noticed a changest night? He¡¯d noticed his night vision get better, but he hadn¡¯t seen the value of things. He looked at his nket, and¡­ five silver. Oh, that was all; it wasn¡¯t automatic, but only needed a little bit of intentionality.

    The lute in the corner, four silver. The dresser with his clothes cost six silver. There wasn¡¯t much else to look at in here; he was pretty spartan with his personal space. Not by choice so much as by omission.

    The door cost another five silver, but he couldn¡¯t really get a feel for what the walls were worth. Until he thought of the house while looking at them, and the two-hundred-fifty gold came to mind. It was strange how the Skill operated. It worked the same way as how he knew what was real or fake. There was no pop-up or line of text in his mind. He just¡­ knew. The information just arrived as part of his perception. The same way he knew that the door was brown, he knew that the doorknob cost two silver, eight copper, four bits, give or take.

    Outside, he saw Hogg, and was relieved when the Skill didn¡¯t give the man a price tag. That would be ufortable. Marksi, on Hogg¡¯s shoulder, cost a whopping eighty-five gold. <em>No. Marksi is not for sale.</em>

    The Skill didn¡¯t change its assessment. Was that on him? Did he think of Marksi as an object? Well, whatever the Skill said, Marksi was family. End of story.

    It was rare to see Hogg up at the hour, and not only was he up, he was making breakfast. Good stuff, too. Bacon, eggs, and fried bread. No weird Hammon¡¯s Bog stuff like mato mash or barf yogurt. Although, the marshmallow yogurt hadn¡¯t been half bad.

    ¡°This new value sense is pretty crazy. It¡¯s going to take a minute to get used to,¡± said Brin. ¡°Does everyone have the Thief achievement?¡±

    ¡°You have a pretty advanced version,¡± said Hogg. ¡°The value sense part is hard to earn.¡±

    Brin looked around the room, putting a price to everything. The beautiful reclining lounge chair¨Ctwelve gold. The finely carved end table next to it¨C20 silver. The carpet was fourteen gold. It almost cheapened the experience to see exactly how much everything cost. The real value of the room was how everything worked together to give a feeling of civilizedfort.

    The plush yellow loveseat¡­ Brin¡¯s eyes bulged out. Two hundred gold. What in the world could make a <em>couch</em> cost two hundred gold?

    ¡°Food¡¯s up,¡± said Hogg.

    Still looking at the loveseat, Brin took a seat at the table. ¡°Can the value of an item increase based on what¡¯s inside it?¡± Maybe Hogg was hiding something in there? It was the only thing Brin could think of.

    ¡°Nope, if you see a chest, you¡¯ll see the value of the chest itself. That¡¯s one of the key loopholes,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then why¨C¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I meant to keep it a secret forever,¡± said Hogg, noticing Brin¡¯s eyes glued on the couch. ¡°But why don¡¯t you eat first and then figure it out.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± said Brin.

    He looked back down, and saw that the meal was worth twenty silver. ¡°What in the world? The Skill must be buggy. No offense, but you¡¯re not that good a cook.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s taking the value of my time into ount,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Another way you¡¯ll get swindled if you¡¯re not careful.¡±

    ¡°Every merchant needs this. They¡¯d be stupid not to have it. Are they all thieves, then?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nah, there¡¯s a slow, honest way to get the value sense. I thought you¡¯d appreciate the quick way,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    He took a bite, still watching that yellow loveseat. Could it fly or something?

    The bacon was pretty good, though, and for a moment that was enough to distract him. ¡°Thanks for breakfast. This is good. Didn¡¯t expect to see you up this early,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, well, you¡¯re up. Besides, it¡¯s the day of the solstice festival and all. Plus I wanted to be here when you figured out that loveseat.¡±

    Brin shoved the rest of his eggs into his mouth and walked over, poking at the chair. He pulled off the pillows, searched around for a button. Anything. He tried lifting it to look underneath and found that he couldn¡¯t. It was too heavy, or maybe bolted to the floor.

    He ran his hands along the bottom of the chair, and felt a little catch. A lever. He pulled, and the seat flipped open. He¡¯d been right; there was something inside it.

    Looking inside, he saw a warehouse for faeries. Little swords and spears, tiny suits of armor, a pile of ck weapons like the sword he¡¯d taken from the undead except toy-sized, a little shelf full of potions, some glowing, and all sorts of other random trinkets.

    One little table in the corner had a suit of leather armor, two swords, and a little ck potion. He recognized that stuff! That was the stuff he¡¯d bought from Perris, except mini.

    The loveseat was some kind of chest of holding. He reached inside, and met a firm wall of electricity that zapped his hand.

    ¡°Ow!¡±

    Hoggughed.

    ¡°That¡¯s my stuff!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, Perris brought it overst week. Hold on, it¡¯s set to only ept me,¡± said Hogg. He reached inside, then brought out Brin¡¯s items, one by one. It looked sort of like he was reaching into water, except his arm got really small when it passed that lightning barrier and seemed to detach and float around like a mouse cursor. ¡°Put all this in your room; you won¡¯t need any of it today.¡±

    When Brin was finished securing his awesome adventuring gear in his room, he asked, "I assume you had a good reason for hiding my stuff from me?¡±

    ¡°For reasons I¡¯ve half-exined, I need to pretend not to know what you¡¯re nning on doing with it. But <em>whatever it is</em>, I knew you¡¯d need every attribute you could get first. I nned on giving it to you two days before your System Day.¡±

    ¡°You could¡¯ve just told me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah. I promised to do better, and giving this to you now is part of that. We good?¡±

    Brin rubbed his temples, then dropped his hands. ¡°Fine, yeah, we¡¯re good.¡±

    Marksi had been sneaking up in pounce mode. He leapt, and Hogg snatched him out of the air before he could get electrocuted by the defensive barrier.

    ¡°No,¡± said Hogg. Marksi looked at him with wide eyes. Hogg <em>never</em> told him no. The snake chirped sadly and Hogg stroked his back but didn¡¯t relent.

    ¡°What is this thing? How did it get past my [Know What¡¯s Real]?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg¡¯s eyes lit up, clearly excited to talk about his cool toy. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t buy it to fool your Skill specifically, but I did want something that would fool someone who could see through illusions. It¡¯s not an illusion, see? It really is a couch. I had to build the whole living room around it, to make it so it wouldn¡¯t look out of ce.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why everything here is so nice! I knew you weren¡¯t the type to care so much about color coordinating your furniture,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg looked offended. ¡°No, I do. What¡¯s the point of having all this money if I can¡¯t live well? I had the storage sofa custom built. Oh, but maybe I¡¯m traveling?¡±

    He kicked the sofa, and it turned itself inside out. The walls inside the storage space were now plush yellow. The outside was an old wooden crate, with the lid off. Hogg kicked it again, and it went back to a partially dismantled sofa.

    ¡°How is it doing that without magic?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s magic, just not illusion magic. And the magic is all on the inside, holding it together, holding itself contained. Nothing leaks out, no sign that anything magical is going on from the outside,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That¡¯s really neat. Do they make these travel sized? Like a backpack?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, yeah. We¡¯ll get you set up with one sometime,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin thought back to when the Heroes had rescued him. Hogg had carried a big ck hiking backpack. ¡°Let me guess, you carry your bag of holding in a muchrger backpack so that no one will be able to identify it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Clever,¡± said Brin.

    He gave a nce back at his room. There was nothing stopping him from going through with his ns to go kill a monster in the forest. Well, nothing except the festival. Tomorrow, he promised himself.

    ¡°Time to go?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Onest thing,¡± said Hogg.

    He walked into his room and came back out with some folds of cloth over his arms. ¡°The harvest festival is a day when everyone trots out their best dress. You can¡¯t go like that. Put this on. It¡¯s supposed to look like this.¡±

    Hogg threw up an illusion of Brin, standing in the clothes that Hogg was apparently holding. There was a paper-white cored shirt underneath a navy blue overcoat. The overcoat had glistening gold trim and as the model rotated, he could see a stylized rainbow dragon, like an adult Marksi, flying across the back. There were tasselsing off the sleeves, a vibrant red sash to tie across the middle, and matching blue trousers. The illusion wore shiny leather boots, and Hogg carried a matching pair in his hands.

    ¡°For me? But¡­ who would sell to you? The merchants? How did you order it?¡±

    ¡°Think. There was a solution. Who¡¯s the only other person in town who makes clothes that Tawna never touches?¡± asked Hogg.

    Even now that Hogg had agreed to treat him like an adult, he could never simply answer a question. Everything had to be a puzzle or a test. Looking closer, Brin noticed how thick the cloth was. No, not cloth.

    The answer came with a memory of the first time he¡¯d ever met Perris, and noticed that the man¡¯s ck and white clothes were made from leather, cleverly disguised to look like fabric. Natural, for a [Leatherworker].

    ¡°Perris did this?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I had to twist his arm and pay way too much,¡± said Hogg. ¡°He definitely didn''t tell me to say that. He definitely didn¡¯te up with the idea and then insist on doing it for free as a gift.¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°That sounds like him.¡± He mockingly raised his fist. ¡°Curse that greedy salesman! We¡¯ve been had!¡±

    Hogg smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll tell him you said that.¡±

    Brin put it on in his room, and did his best to hide how <em>good</em> it made him feel to look this good. He eyed himself in the mirror in the living room, and it took every ounce of willpower to not strike a pose. They fit perfectly, and he looked <em>good</em>. The style was the same as what the vigers wore, but elevated. For once, he¡¯d stand out because he looked better than everyone instead of worse.

    Brin picked Marksi up, who slithered around to the normal spot around his neck. ¡°No outfit isplete without your Marksi!¡± said Brin. The snake acted a little put out that there wasn¡¯t a hood, but the leather was soft and felt pretty nice, and it wasn¡¯t too long before Marksi was settled in and purring.

    Hogg wore his normal ck leathers. Well, the old guy was clearly capable of getting clothes if he wanted them. Brin only gave him a little bit of teasing for it, but Hogg was incapable of self-consciousness. He wore what he wanted, end of story.

    The trip into town went quickly, and as soon as they crossed the gates, Brin started looking for his friends or really anyone he recognized so he could show off. The first person he saw wasn¡¯t Davi or Zilly, or even Myra.

    It was a figure in immacte white robes and a tall headdress. The priest, Ellion.

    Brin turned around. ¡°Time to go.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Brin. I was wondering if we could have a word,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°Uh, sure,¡± said Brin. ¡°We can talk about whatever you want here. Right here.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you would be morefortable if we retired to the temple,¡± said Ellion, a twinkle in his eye.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s fine, but it¡¯s just you, right? We¡¯re not going to meet anyone else there, are we? No, um, statues?¡±

    ¡°The gods will do as they will,¡± said Ellion with a world-ss poker face. ¡°I am only their messenger.¡± He was teasing him, right? He had to be.

    ¡°You¡¯reing with me, right Hogg? Hey, where¡¯d Hogg go?¡± The treacherous old [Illusionist] had abandoned him. Even [Know What¡¯s Real] wasn¡¯t spotting anything.

    ¡°Come along,¡± said Ellion.

    Maybe Brin was being a little melodramatic about being terrified of the temple, but that was only to cover up the real, actual terror he felt at the idea that a goddess would want to speak to him again. She¡¯d imprinted all sorts of knowledge into Ellion so she wouldn¡¯t have to do that again, right? Brin gulped, and followed Ellion down the street.

 Book 1. Chapter 31

    Book 1. Chapter 31

    ¡°Ok, but if I see a single statue in there, I¡¯m out,¡± said Brin. He and Ellion the priest walked side by side down the town¡¯s boardwalk, and everyone gave them a wide berth, even so far as to cross the street to the other side. No one was rude, though, and most everyone also stopped when Ellion passed them to put a hand on their hearts and bow their heads.

    Everyone was busy with the festival, and all were wearing their finest clothes, which Brin had to admit were on a whole other level than what he was used to. Tall hats and bright colors were everywhere,yered skirts, loads ofce, andplex patterns were sewn into every inch of fabric. Brin wasn¡¯t underdressed in his new clothes, but he wasn¡¯t even close to overdressed either.

    Everyone moved with an excited urgency, hanging up banners and putting out flowers, but no one was too busy to pay proper respect to their priest.

    Ellion quirked an eyebrow. ¡°And you believe that would protect you? Do you believe that if you do not enter the temple they cannot find you? Never fear, if they want to destroy you, or to give you another traumatic vision, or anything else, they could do so here as easily as anywhere else. The gods are not limited, Mark.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a little weird to be called that,¡± said Brin. He still didn¡¯t know the entirety of Ellion¡¯s vision, just that the goddess had put English into his brain and given him some instructions.

    ¡°I apologize,¡± said Ellion. ¡°But did you stop being Mark when you became Brin, or are you both?¡±

    ¡°Something to think about.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. But I didn¡¯t seek you out to speak of names. The events of the earlier day made me wonder if I was truly doing all I could to help you adjust to your new reality. In fact, I¡¯m sure that I have not.¡±

    ¡°Look about the thing with Tawna¡­¡± started Brin.

    Ellion held up a hand. ¡°I did note to chastise you. I only wonder if there¡¯s more I could be doing to help. Perhaps you have questions about our world, or the System, that would be strange to ask someone who doesn¡¯t know your circumstances.¡±

    ¡°Is there any way to avoid System Day? It¡¯s unfair that the other kids get more time than me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Why would you want to avoid it? Are you not anxious to finally get your ss, and the power thates with it?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Brin. ¡°But I¡¯m <em>so</em> close to crossing the first threshold in every attribute. I¡¯m sure that with six more months I could figure out Magic.¡±

    ¡°In that case, you¡¯d need to obtain legal residency in another vige or city,¡± said Ellion. ¡°Leaving Hammon¡¯s Bog for a long time would also work, but two weeks isn¡¯t enough.¡±

    ¡°My ss is [Child of Travin¡¯s Bog], not Hammon¡¯s Bog. Is there any way I¡¯m still a legal resident over there?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No,¡± said Ellion. ¡°Hogg registered you when you came to town. There¡¯s paperwork involved.¡±

    ¡°What does the [Child] ss do anyway?¡± asked Brin. ¡°What¡¯s the benefit of having one town versus another?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, and there are none. Though, there are some interesting Skills if you select [Child] on System Day, mostly around learning and apprenticeship,¡± said Ellion.

    Brin mulled it over as they walked. They approached the town square, and Brin almost didn¡¯t recognize it. Men and women carried polished nks of wood and were in the process of boarding over the entire grassy field in the center. Since they were adults with levels doing the work, it was going <em>fast</em>. So the dance really would be right here, only it wouldn¡¯t be in the mud and it wouldn¡¯t kill the grass; grass could be covered for one day without damaging it. It was a bit jarring to see them do an amount of work in one day that his modern world would never even consider.

    ¡°What about Oaths?¡± asked Brin. ¡°What¡¯s the consequence of breaking an Oath as a child?¡±

    ¡°What did you swear on?¡± asked Ellion.

    ¡°My ss and levels,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°And do you have any of those?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a [Child of Travin¡¯s Bog],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If you broke your Oath, you would lose that ss. The System would then automatically reassign your ss to the next avable one. I expect it would be [Child of Hammon¡¯s Bog]. If you were to break an Oath again, I think it would still give you [Child of Hammon¡¯s Bog] again, though in your adulthood, don¡¯t expect to be offered a ss again if you lose it the first time.¡±

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it?¡± asked Brin. ¡°I could break my Oath right now, and nothing would happen?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Perhaps Solia would be slightly irked, since you swore by her. And I¡¯d urge you to remember the exact wording of the Oath,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°The Oath had us swear that we¡¯d avenge each other if one of us was ever forced to break our Oath. But it never said anything about voluntarily breaking the Oath. I thought it was a strange omission.¡±

    Ellion nodded. ¡°And which of the five of you would be most likely put in that position? You. They added that use to protect you. If anyone asks you to betray that Oath, you can truthfully tell them that four of the highest level people in the country will be forced to <em>destroy them for it.</em> However, perhaps you¡¯d rather not risk it. Every Oath is a vulnerability, and perhaps it¡¯s not one you care to adopt. Choose what you will, but do so before System Day or you really will lose your ss.¡±

    They arrived at the temple, and Brin paused outside the door and faced Ellion. He pretended it was casual, but really he didn¡¯t want to go in there. At least he didn¡¯t see any statues today. ¡°But what about after that? If I break an Oath after that, but I¡¯m only level three or four, it¡¯s not a big deal, right?¡±

    Ellion walked inside, forcing Brin to follow him if he wanted an answer to his question.

    ¡°Correct,¡± said Ellion, once Brin was inside and walking with him again. ¡°sses are not very. If you really don¡¯t like the path you¡¯ve begun to walk down, there¡¯s no shame in trying again with something else. You¡¯ll keep your attributes you earned with training and feats, as well as any achievements or titles, or and Skills not tied to a ss. You only lose what you swore by, your ss and levels.¡±

    ¡°Why are you pointing out all the loopholes? We swear by the gods, so shouldn¡¯t you be telling me to keep all my Oaths?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Ah, yes, you¡¯re quite right,¡± said Ellion. ¡°Sit there.¡±

    Ellion indicated a bench on the front row and Brin took a seat, then Ellion walked around to the lectern, as if he were going to give a sermon to an audience of one. Well, that was exactly what was happening.

    Maybe a year ago he¡¯d find it odd that in a town where stone was so rare and precious, there would be a massive stone structure in the middle of town, and it would be virtually empty most of the time, but now that he was here, it wasn¡¯t weird at all.

    Ellion was a good guy, but this ce could be a little intense sometimes.

    ¡°What is an Oath? Why do we have them?¡± asked Ellion.

    Brin thought about it. ¡°That¡¯s a really good question. You said sses aren¡¯t very, but Oaths sure are. Or, they can be. What if I went around kidnapping people and forcing them to take Oaths to obey me, and then had those people gather more victims? I could own this country in like, a month.¡±

    ¡°What you are describing is called Oath-very, and it is exactly what Oaths are <em>not</em> supposed to be. We swear by the gods, because Oaths are meant to be <em>for</em> the gods. We swear as a proof of our faith. Perhaps we swear to avoid a temptation that has been troubling us in order to increase our righteousness. Perhaps we will swear an Oath as a sacrifice to increase our faith. But always, it should be in service to the bond between men and gods. Do not use Oaths to enforce simple business contracts; this is a sacrilege.¡±

    At first, Ellion had kind of seemed like a <em>cool</em> priest, like a youth pastor who lightly nudged you in the right direction sometimes, but never at the cost of being too harsh or uncool. It turned out, Ellion was <em>extremely</em> dedicated, it was just that the things he was dedicated to were totally different than Brin had expected.

    ¡°If it doese into your head to build a tiny empire through the use of Oath-very, I will warn you: Do not. Do not think that your victims can protect you. I am authorized to remove unrighteous Oaths as a token of my service. Your own Oath-ves will be the first to condemn you to the chopping block.¡±

    ¡°You can <em>remove</em> Oaths?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I can. If you ever swear an Oath you regret,e to me. Perhaps I can remove it, sometimes I will mediate it, but often I willmand you to keep it. Do not swear careless Oaths.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°There is one other matter,¡± said Ellion.

    That couldn¡¯t be good. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°You have offended Anshar. This is unwise. You should make him an offering.¡±

    Brin gulped, looking around. ¡°What¡¯s Anshar the god of?¡±

    ¡°This is a silly question, and you know better. If I told you that Solia is the goddess of rivers, protection, and maternity, what would you say to that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say that you are vastly oversimplifying a being beyond yourprehension,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Just so. By that token then, think of Anshar as the god of conquest,¡± said Ellion. He gestured with one robed hand towards the offering bowl on a raised column.

    Brin thought carefully before he moved. Did he even care if Anshar hated him? Yes, he did. He wanted to grow and get stronger and defeat any enemies who came at him. That meant he wanted to conquer, at least to some degree.

    It wouldn¡¯t do toe at this half-heartedly. These gods were very real, and very present, and he shouldn¡¯t try to lie to them, even in his own mind. Did he actually feel penitent about how he¡¯d treated the god of conquest?

    He didn¡¯t regret letting Hogg give all the stuff back. He didn¡¯t want any of it in the first ce. That was the problem right there, though. He¡¯d stolen a bunch of stuff he didn¡¯t need or want, just to game the system. He didn¡¯t need Thief right away; there was no time limit with System Day like with the attribute achievements. Not that he¡¯d known that, but he could¡¯ve learned by asking around if he¡¯d cared to.

    He could¡¯ve waited to get the achievement and found a better target or figured out some kind of Robin Hood deal where he¡¯d be able to steal without viting his own sense of principles. Instead, he¡¯d just gone for it. It had been entirely selfish; he got the achievement, while the town might miss out on future caravans due to having a reputation for thievery. That much, he regretted.

    ¡°How much should I offer?¡±

    ¡°Everything you have with you, I should think,¡± said Ellion.

    Brin winced. Only five silver, but he¡¯d brought that money for the festival. Oh well, no use trying to cheat the gods.

    He bowed before the offering tray, and whispered. ¡°Anshar. By returning what I stole, I have stolen from you. I repent. Amen.¡±

    He ced his silver in the tray, and faintly felt the impression of an eye that had been staring angrily at his back suddenly turning away.

    Maybe it was his imagination.

    <em>IT WAS NOT HIS IMAGINATION. IT WAS REAL.</em>

    Brin shivered. Never doubt anything you see or feel in this ce. Got it.

    ¡°And perhaps something for Solia? You wouldn¡¯t want to seem ungrateful,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°I¡¯m out of money,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Borrow from me,¡± said Ellion and handed Brin a little corduroy bag with five silver inside.

    He didn¡¯t have to think long for this one.

    ¡°Blessed Solia. I am ovee with gratitude for the grace and mercy you have shown me. I apologize for my failings, and implore you to continue to watch over me. Amen.¡± He ced the offering in the bowl.

    He felt¡­ not much. A nod of eptance, perhaps? He wouldn¡¯t question it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d spot me another five silver for the festival, would you?¡± asked Brin, kind of joking.

    ¡°Of course!¡± said Ellion with a cheerful smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re a scary person, you know that?¡±

    Ellion waved. ¡°Please. Don¡¯t worry; you¡¯re a child. I will collect from Hogg.¡±

    ¡°Oh in that case¡­¡± Brin snatched a second corduroy bag from Ellion¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Onest thing, then you can be on your way,¡± said Ellion. ¡°I wonder if you would consider worshiping Solia.¡±

    Brin had figured Ellion would ask him this at some point, so he was ready with an answer. ¡°There¡¯s a relief sculpture of all the gods outside, in a pyramid. That one at the very top, he¡¯s the <em>real</em> god, right? The god of everything. It seems like he¡¯s the one I should worship.¡±

    Ellion nodded. ¡°And you will, through Solia. This wasn¡¯t your exact faith culture, but in your old world there were many who found it daunting to try to pray to the all-powerful Lord of everything. Instead, they worshiped the almighty with one of the righteous dead as an intermediary. The Saints, they call them. Perhaps you could think of Solia as one of these?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you make a pretty good point,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Did Solia tell you to say that?¡±

    ¡°She did.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    ¡°You will. Now run along and enjoy your festival day. I¡¯ve used enough of your time,¡± said Ellion, and waved him out the door.

    Brin bolted.

    He didn''t have long to think about Ellion''sst question. Davi was waiting for him outside the temple with Marksi.

    "So what happened?" Davi asked, before even saying hello. It took a minute for Brin to figure out what he was talking about. Right, Davi hadn''t seen him since he''d been exiled from town. He probably only learned what happened from hearsay.

    "The Prefit tried to pillory me. When Hogg showed up and said he couldn''t, he banned me from town for three days."

    Davi frowned angrily.

    Right, the big guy was a real rule-follower. He wouldn''t be happy to hear that Brin had trouble with thew, so it was natural that he''d want to side with the Prefit.

    "What a jerk," said Davi. "He has no idea what''s going on."

    "Wait, you''re taking my side?" asked Brin. That''s what it sounded like, but he wanted to be sure.

    Davi huffed. "Obviously. My best friend got grounded for three days, whose side should I be on?"

    "I''m your best friend?" asked Brin. That was a position with a lot of responsibility, and honestly he wasn''t sure if he was living up to it.

    "I''m at your house every single day. Who else would it be? Do you not--"

    "That''s not it!¡± Brin said in a rush. "Obviously you¡¯re <em>my</em> best friend. I just didn¡¯t want to take it for granted that I¡¯m your best friend. You¡¯re one of the town¡¯s golden children and the fact is that I''m¡­ kind of weird. You know?"

    "I''m weird, too. You''re the only one who doesn''t make me feel stupid for wanting to try my best. The adults like me I guess but they¡¯re always telling me to slow down and people our age call me a try-hard. Cole says I''m exhausting to be around. You don''t get exhausted. You pull me along behind you." Most people would be embarrassed or awkward in this kind of conversation, but Davi talked inly, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world, likementing on how the sky is blue or the grass is green.

    "Thanks," said Brin. "Those kids are stupid. You¡¯re one of the coolest people I¡¯ve ever met. And I don''t feel like I''m dragging you along. If anything, I just want to catch up to you."

    Davi pushed Brin''s shoulder. "Come on. Tell me the whole story."

    Brin told the story.

    He told the whole story, about how Tawna had done every little indirect and passive aggressive thing possible to screw with him, about how he''d hinted that it was possible that the [Witch] was a [Weaver], although he was very firm in the fact that he''d never actually used her of anything, or even brought her name up for that matter.

    He told the story, about how Hogg had given the Prefit an epic beatdown and how he''d been banned for 3 days. He even mentioned how the Prefit hade over and offered a half-apology. He omitted the stuff about sneaking into town and stealing stuff, of course, but he did talk about all the training Hogg had given him with attributes. Davi didn''t need the Dexterity, and it was a longshot for him to earn Mental Control, but he still found it all interesting.

    "You can get Mental Control from sitting around thinking about nothing? No wonder I don''t have very much," he said.

    "It''s a bit moreplicated than that, but yeah. I should be a lot higher in Mental Control than I am," said Brin. He hesitated, but decided to say a little more. He couldn''t tell Davi everything, but he also wanted his friend to understand him at least a little better than he did. "I don''t know everything that happened to me before... you know. But I really have a strong feeling that Mental Control is supposed to be my strong suit. I don''t know why all my attributes were so low when I.... woke up. Maybe they were always low, or maybe something happened to get them taken away."

    Davi nodded gravely. "That makes sense."

    "No it doesn''t," Brin said. Then heughed. "I must sound crazy."

    Davi shrugged.

    Zilly found them next, and then he had to tell the entire story again. This time, he gave extra care to detail Zilly''s quick thinking and heroism in running to fetch Hogg, to her intense satisfaction.

    Marksi looked a little put out that his part in the story had been passed over, so Brin took great pains to y up Marksi''s role in helping him train his Dexterity and Mental Control, and then together they showed Zilly and Davi all themands that they''d taught each other. That was fine for Marksi¡¯smands to pick him up ande quickly, but then Marksi insisted on showing off how he could open doors and climb up to the top of a building with a rope in his mouth.

    "Huh. Those would be really useful for a [Rogue]," said Zilly.

    "Please. I''m not going to be a [Rogue]. I''m way too honest." For once, he was actually sort of telling the truth.

    Zilly giggled. "Sure, Brin."

    "That¡¯s exactly what a [Rogue] would say, though," said Davi.

    "You too, Davi?"

    Marksi was chirping furiously, and running around in circles. Clearly, he wanted Brin to talk about their awesome adventures sneaking around robbing people. For once, Brin was d that snakes couldn''t talk. "Are you hungry, Marksi? You know, I bet they''re selling those honey-coated grasshoppers."

    Sadly, that actually was a thing here. They trotted them out in ce of popcorn or roasted peanuts and sold them in little bark paper bags. They weren''t even that bad if he could trick his brain into forgetting he was eating bugs. Normally he avoided them, but if it would get Marksi''s mind off of Brin''s little omission, then it would be worth it.

    The adults were still mostly busy setting up, but ady had already set up a booth and was doing good business. Brin bought three bags for his friends. It worked like a charm. Marksi immediately dunked his head into his bag and didn¡¯t bothering up for air.

    He decided right there, that he was going to spend the rest of the day screwing around and having fun. A part of Brin screamed at him that he was wasting precious attribute-earning time, but he shoved it down. He could take one day off.

    Yeah, he was excited for System Day, but in two weeks his second and hopefullyst childhood would be officially over. He would probably miss days like this.

    They ran into Myra and Tawna soon after. Tawna scanned the group once, but then walked away without a word like she hadn¡¯t even noticed them.

    Myra approached timidly, no doubt wondering if they were going to have a fight. Well, you couldn¡¯t choose your parents. Besides, he¡¯d already decided to enjoy today. He could fight with Myra any other day.

    Brin held out his uneaten bag of grasshoppers. ¡°Want some¡­ what do you guys call these? Chapulines? I¡¯m cutting Marksi off.¡±

    She took them, and took them for the peace offering they were. ¡°Thanks.¡± She gave him a slight smile, then walked over next to Zilly. Of course Zilly got the wrong message and stared at Brin with a bright smile and a raised eyebrow. He shook his head at her.

    They wandered around town, yed a coin toss game with a group of kids, yed a beanbag game the adults set up. Brin saw some men ying a board game on the street and stopped to watch them y a game that looked like a cross between Go and Chess. They let him y the next round, and even though he lost quickly, he thought he really had a knack for it. The kids dragged him away before he could y again, but he promised himself he¡¯d get a set. Maybe Hogg could y.

    They watched one of Gustaff¡¯s movies, bought more snacks, yed more games, but mostly just clowned around. Myra didn¡¯t have any new barbs for him; even she must¡¯ve realized how ridiculous it was for her mom to try to get him pilloried.

    The day passed quicker than he expected, and as night began to fall,nterns were lit and the whole town descended on the square, now an impromptu dance hall.

    The men lined up on one side, wearing their best formal clothes. At once, they bowed to the women.

    The women were lined up on the other side. He saw Zilly and Myra there, with all the other women, each of them in their best formal dresses. They bowed back to the men.

    They approached each other until they were close enough to just barely grasp the tips of each other''s hands, and the dance began. The dance was fun, but it was ordered and civilized and painstakingly regimented. The children ran around in the darkness around the dancefloor,ughing and cavorting like animals.

    The symbolism of it hit him all at once. He¡¯d kind of known what it meant to be an adult in this town, but now it was written out inly before him.

    Soon, it wouldn¡¯t be so simple for him and Davi to spend a carefree afternoon with Zilly and Myra.

    Dating and courtship were very formal in this town. They didn¡¯t trust in idents of proximity; you had to go through the proper channels. It started with a conversation with the parents, and then every outing would be heavily supervised. Not that he cared about Myra, but Zilly was his friend. He had no interest in actually courting Zilly, but if he didn¡¯t go through those channels, hanging around her at all would be seen as highly suspect.

    Things would be different from now on. There was a lot to look forward to, but things would be different.

    The circles shifted, and now Zilly was the one holding his hand. She smiled brightly at him, and made a mocking ¡°O¡± of surprise when she noticed that he didn¡¯t stumble his steps. Nothing had changed with her yet, at least. She was still just Zilly, and enjoying the moment. Heughed.

    A bittersweet moment, and a fitting end to his night, and his childhood.

 Book 1. Chapter 32

    Book 1. Chapter 32

    The next day, Brin had been nning on setting off to fight a monster, but Hogg suggested another idea over breakfast. ¡°I had an idea for how you could knock out thosest three points in Mental Control. What¡¯s your background in math?¡±

    Brin wasn¡¯t a huge lover of mathematics, but he¡¯d taken enough to get through his degree. Algebra, Calculus, and Discrete Mathematics. He wasn¡¯t certain, but he¡¯d be willing to bet that was more than they had here. ¡°I¡¯m pretty confident, honestly. Why, can you train Mental Control by learning math? I don¡¯t know if that¡¯ll work for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes. You can also get Mental Control as a feat, for proving that you know it. I have two tests, they should give you one each, but you have to get a perfect score,¡± said Hogg. ¡°After that, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to get thest one with meditation.¡±

    Would that really work? If so, this would be the first time he could remember his past life giving him a real, measurable advantage. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡±

    So instead of fighting monsters, Brin spent the entire day with a math primer. He was right that math wasn¡¯t as advanced here, or at least that the math Hogg wanted him to do wasn¡¯t as difficult as his university courses. They heavily emphasized geometry, and had algebra which shouldn¡¯t be surprising, since you¡¯d have a hard time understanding the System without even a little bit of algebra, but it never approached calculus.

    It was still harder than he expected, though. He had to learn a brand new notation, he was using new numbers, and while he recognized the numbers, he couldn¡¯t put them together on instinct the way he could with the numbers he was used to.

    The primer went into great depth in Geometry, focusing on practical applications. The practice questions wouldn¡¯t simply ask for the missing angle of a triangle, it would ask how to calcte a ship''s location based on its speed and the location of the stars, or calcte the height of a tree based on the length of its shadow.

    There was also arge emphasis on Newtonian physics. Calcting forces, estimating power and impact. He didn¡¯t miss the implications here. The System did a lot of work in quantifying things like Strength with numbers. This math could help someone figure how Strong a person would need to be to throw a spear that could break your shield, or how fast an arrow needs to fly to break through a Mage¡¯s barrier. It¡¯s possible that high-levelbat had lots of people doing these kinds of calctions on the fly, as hard as that was to imagine. These calctions would especially be more valuable to someone with a magical ss. He wondered how much Lumina actually ran the numbers, or if she could just fire her spells off and let magic do the rest.

    In his past life, he¡¯d rarely done homework and barely studied for his math sses, preferring instead to procrastinate and then cram at thest minute. C¡¯s get degrees. But this time, he needed to get a perfect score.

    He took his time, and went over the material again and again, making sure he had each step mastered before moving on. He didn¡¯t get to the point where he felt he was ready by the end of the day, but that was fine. This was thest threshold he could realistically get over, aside from Strong II, and he had the entire two weeks.

    The next morning, Davi came over. They went through their usual exercise routine, not that they had any real reason other than habit, since Davi already had Strong II and Brin was hoping the monster hunting achievement would push him over. Hogg had implied that it would, and Brin was counting on it.

    Brin made breakfast, biscuits and gravy. They had all the ingredients for it already; it was only a matter of putting it all together.

    ¡°I have to admit, this isn¡¯t half bad,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°It¡¯s good,¡± Davi said through a mouthful. ¡°But I¡¯m surprised you made this. It¡¯s basically pork yogurt on rolls.¡±

    Brin gasped. ¡°You take that back!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Hogg chuckled.

    ¡°It¡¯s not even close. You eat the yogurt <em>cold</em>,¡± Brin spoke with a mournful tone, remembering the trauma of seeing someone eat something really gross. ¡°There¡¯s a solidyer of fat from the pork on top. It¡¯s hard, and you break it up with your spoon and mix it in.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the best part,¡± said Davi. ¡°Although this really isn¡¯t all that bad served warm.¡±

    Brin sighed and took a bite. It <em>was</em> good. They even had a decent ck pepper here. He wouldn¡¯t let the unwashed heathens ruin this for him.

    ¡°So what¡¯s your n for today?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Brin. A person couldn¡¯t do math all day or they¡¯d go crazy. He¡¯d take a break, he decided, and do his homework in the afternoon. This wasn¡¯t procrastinating. This was <em>mental health</em>. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll head into town for a bit. Actually, I had an idea.¡±

    He went back into his bedroom, and took out a heavy ck sword he¡¯d kept under his bed. A souvenir that Hogg let him keep. He could pick it up with little effort now, though it was still too heavy to be practical as a weapon.

    Davi¡¯s eyes widened as Brin returned.

    ¡°Is that¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin. ¡°It¡¯s a sword from one of the undead that Hogg killed. He let me keep it.¡±

    It was actually the sword Brin had used to kill a whole team of undead, but telling that story would give away Hogg¡¯s secret.

    Davi blinked at it, chewing on his lip. ¡°Everyone¡¯s heard by now that there¡¯s undead out there. And I never heard anyone say they didn¡¯t believe it, Hogg¡¯s not the type to lie about something like that. But seeing a real sword like this¡­ now I <em>really</em> believe it. You know?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Even for me, it¡¯s easy to forget once I get caught up in the normal routine,¡± said Brin. ¡°I was wondering, Hogg, did you ever get someone to look at these? Try and figure out where they came from?¡±

    ¡°Of course I did. What do you take me for?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You know what? Take it to Toros. Ask him to tell you what he told me. Davi isn¡¯t the only one who could use a reminder,¡± said Hogg.

    That worked for Brin. His main goal here was to have something to do that wasn¡¯t math.

    He and Davi walked into town, Marksi darting through the trees nearby. The snake was getting bolder; where before he stayed on Brin¡¯s shoulders whenever they left the house, he would now dart into the forest and only reappear several minutester.

    In town he and Davi went directly to Toros¡¯ ce. The short, muscr man was bent over his work table, etching at a purple gemstone, with his goggles over his eyes. They weren¡¯t the usual ck ss from before, instead they were clear and clearly magnified, so his eyes looked twice asrge as normal. The goggles must be able to switch out lenses.

    Toros stood when he noticed them enter.

    ¡°Davi, Brin, what brings you in?¡±

    ¡°I was hoping you could take a look at this. Hogg wants me to hear what you told him,¡± said Brin. He put the heavy ck sword on an empty worktable.

    Toros'' eyes grew more serious, and he stroked his beard with a leather glove. ¡°I see. What do you know about cksteel?¡±

    ¡°Not a thing,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s stronger than steel, but also much heavier,¡± Davi offered. ¡°It¡¯s cheap, too, but so heavy we only use it for things we never n on moving, like stakes for fence posts.¡±

    Toros nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Doesn¡¯t hold enchantments very well, either. I can make it easy as pie, but it¡¯s not my go-to for anything, really. Regr steel is better for most things, unless weight really won''t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°For example, if you¡¯re outfitting an army of super-strong undead soldiers,¡± said Brin.

    Toros nodded seriously. ¡°The important thing here is how cksteel is made. Unlike most esoteric metals, you don¡¯t need a ss to make cksteel. You can make it by taking regr iron, pounding it into dust, then bond it together with Enfula, then pound it to dust again. Over and over, until it stops being so brittle. Then you melt the ingots and pour it into a mold, shaped like whatever you wish. After that, all you need is a bit of sharpening.¡±

    ¡°To be honest, that doesn¡¯t sound the best,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the best,¡± agreed Toros. ¡°But it¡¯s good enough. More importantly, you can mass produce it if you have a lot of free, unskilledbor.¡±

    ¡°For example, if you had a giant army of undead,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s the way it looks,¡± said Toros.

    ¡°Onest question,¡± asked Brin. ¡°Can you tell how long ago this was made?¡±

    ¡°Less than three years, I¡¯d wager,¡± said Toros. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind leaving it here, maybe I could take another look. It¡¯s starting to itch at me that this happened almost a year ago and we still don¡¯t know anything.¡±

    ¡°Be my guest,¡± said Brin.

    They left him to it and Toros went back to working on his gemstone, but the sword stilly prominently on the main worktable. Brin already knew where he wanted to go next, but Davi might not agree so he just started walking.

    Davi asked, ¡°So what¡¯s that mean?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s two big possibilities for the undead army, and they''re both horrible. One is that some random [Witch] discovered a Burrow City. That means they have millions of undead at their disposal, but nothing else. I think the fact that they have to mass-produce cheap weapons points to that.

    ¡°The other possibility is that the undead are from the Queendom of Arcaena. The special high level troops I saw with the Heroes points to that, but then where are these other undeading from? And what are they even doing here?¡±

    ¡°We should ask Gustaff,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Gustaff?¡± To Brin, the other [Illusionist] was basically aflix. He¡¯d never really thought about actually <em>talking</em> to the man even though after Jeffrey and Hogg, Gustaff was probably the most well-traveled person in town. ¡°I doubt he¡¯d know anything that Hogg doesn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°What does Hogg think it is?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°He goes back and forth,¡± said Brin.

    They walked in silence for a bit. Past the town square, already back to the regr grassy field.

    Davi noticed where they were walking and asked, ¡°Why are we going to the public house?¡±

    ¡°Not there. Next door,¡± said Brin.

    Davi stopped. ¡°Perris¡¯ ce?¡±

    ¡°Well, yeah. The caravan just came through town. I want to see if he has anything new,¡± said Brin.

    Davi gulped, then noticeably steeled himself. He nodded, and they kept walking. At the front door, he paused outside and took a deep breath.

    ¡°Oh,e on! He doesn¡¯t bite,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I do!¡± Perris called from inside. ¡°But rarely hard enough to break the skin. Come in.¡±

    Davi followed him inside, but eyed the adventurer¡¯s tools and armor warily, as if something were about to jump out at him.

    Marksi slithered up to Brin and made the hup sound that meant he wanted to be picked up. Brin did, but then Marksi changed his mind and leapt over to Davi. Once secure in therger boy¡¯s arms, he turned to Perris and <em>hissed</em>.

    ¡°Oho! Grew some spine, did we? Maybe you¡¯ve got some new skills you¡¯ve been showing off? Well, don¡¯t be too proud of yourself. You¡¯re still only <em>barely</em> useful.¡±

    Brin squinted at Perris. How much did that guy know? Did he know Marksi could open locked doors now? Or was he referring to something else? Perris only crooked an eyebrow, looking back. Well, it¡¯s not like he could ask with Davi here. He¡¯d have to drop it for now.

    He eyed the wares as he approached the counter; he¡¯d never been in here with value sense before. Pickaxes, canteens, leather boots, their prices were pretty close to their actual worth. The swords in the enchanted ss case, though, were only selling for about half what they were worth. Being in the frontier really was difficult for those selling high-value goods. No wonder everyone was so anxious to get a caravan here.

    Brin put his elbows down on the counter. ¡°So what did you get?¡±

    Perris stroked the polished end of his mustache. ¡°My boy, whatever could you mean?¡±

    ¡°A merchant caravan came through herest week, so there¡¯s <em>no way</em> you didn¡¯t get anything cool. Come on, you old viin, out with it,¡± said Brin.

    Davi looked at Brin with wide eyes, and even took a step back. Honestly though, there was a certain way Perris liked to be talked to, so Davi might as well see it in action if he ever wanted to be able to shop here.

    Perrisughed in maniacal glee. ¡°Happy to! Delighted to, in fact. Because unlike you, I had <em>full reign</em> of the merchant¡¯s caravan for the entire duration of their stay. Oh, but not to fear, I¡¯ll sell you what I got. At a <em>significant markup.</em>¡±

    Brin stroked a finger across Perris¡¯ counter, then examined his finger, pretending to be disgusted at the dust that wasn¡¯t there. ¡°I¡¯m sure you heard of the incident that preceded that? Where Hogg beat up a high level [Warrior]... <em>for me?</em> It would be a shame if something happened to your little shop here.¡±

    Perris titled his head back as if struck. ¡°Is that a threat?¡±

    ¡°Of course¡­¡± Brin let the word hang in the air for a full five seconds before ending with, ¡°...not.¡±

    Perris smiled. ¡°Good. You¡¯re learning.¡± He wiped a fake tear from his eye. ¡°They told me you were growing up, but I didn¡¯t believe it until right this moment. But enough of that. Feast your eyes on this!¡±

    Perris lifted a heavily gilded ss bottle from under the counter. The green ss held a liquid that looked to be a heavenly light blue, with abel in flowing letters that were hard to read. Quennochet? Guerrochet?

    The bottle was impressive, and his value sense appraised it for an eye-popping one hundred and twenty gold.

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy. Who would pay more than a hundred gold for a drink?¡± asked Brin.

    Even Davi overcame his fear long enough to step forward and eye the bottle with awe.

    ¡°What an interesting achievement you must have, to know how much this costs,¡± said Perris. ¡°Yes, one hundred and twenty-two gold. This bottlees from the winery that serves the royal family of Ond, and I promise you this: I¡¯m going to sell it for <em>full price</em>.¡±

    ¡°Not to me. Come on, you know I don¡¯t have any taste,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ah well, such is the weakness of youth,¡± said Perris.

    ¡°Come on! Show me the cool stuff!¡±

    Perris did have quite a few new interesting little trinkets. No new weapons, though. Perris wasn¡¯t in the business of buying weapons since Toros already made more than he could sell.

    Brin left the store with a bottle of anti-venom, a little enchanted cylinder that could make a candle-sized me, basically a lighter, and the board game he¡¯d seen the adults ying at the festival. It was called Jogosa, apparently, and Davi imed he knew how to y.

    As soon as they exited the store, Davi looked around, and when he saw they were alone, asked. ¡°You¡¯ve been shopping from Perris for a while. Adventuring stuff?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Are you going for Monster Hunter?¡±

    So that was the name of the achievement. Of course Davi would know about it. Was it safe to talk about it, or would discussing it weaken the rewards? Well, probably it was fine to talk with Davi, since he also didn¡¯t have a ss yet.

    ¡°I am,¡± Brin admitted.

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°I can afford to, for one thing. I have all Perris¡¯ best stuff, and he thinks I have pretty good odds. I just know that if I don¡¯t take the risk, I¡¯ll regret it for the rest of my life,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°And Hogg is ok with this?¡±

    ¡°Hogg could stop me if he wanted to. He knows I¡¯m going to try and hasn¡¯t said anything,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°How are you going to do it? Do you know how to find the monsters?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Brin said. ¡°I was just going to set out and hope I get lucky. It might take a couple days.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid. What if you run into a chimera or something? You should ask a [Hunter] where the weakest monsters are,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°They¡¯d never tell me. It¡¯s probably illegal. They¡¯d go straight to the Prefit, and he¡¯d lock me away until after System Day,¡± said Brin. ¡°But¡­ you do have a point. They would know. They just wouldn¡¯t tell me. Who¡¯s out on patrol this week?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know all of them, but [Hunter] Tiago is out this week for sure,¡± said Davi. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Do you know where he lives?¡±

    It turned out, Davi did know, so they went over together. The house was in a narrow corner street, sort of a back apartment that you could only get to by walking through a sidestreet that was almost an alleyway. Brin walked straight by the house, marking it in his memory forter.

    It was strange to him that he was even considering this. Hadn¡¯t he felt so guiltyst time that he¡¯d ended up offending a god? Only this time was different. There was something in there that he <em>actually</em> wanted. Hopefully. And he didn¡¯t actually n on stealing anything, just having a bit of a look around. No one would ever know he was there.

    He stopped and looked around. It was right in the middle of the workday, about two hours after lunch, so there really weren¡¯t that many people around. Yes, it would be smarter toe back tonight¡­ but he didn¡¯t want to. And this house was in the <em>perfect</em> ce for going in and out without anyone seeing.

    ¡°Hold my stuff,¡± he said to Davi before he could second guess himself.

    ¡°Wait!¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Calm down. All you have to do is stand by the street here. If anyonees by, just say hello to them. I¡¯ll hear it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± said Davi, as Brin pushed his things into Davi¡¯s hands and took back Marksi.

    He walked down to the door, and mimed like he was going to knock on the door, while looking left and right to see if anyone could see him. There was no-one around. He tapped on the door, and Marksi slithered inside, then unlocked it from the other side.

    Brin walked in. The front room was clearly not meant for visitors. Ayer of dusty on all the furniture, speaking of someone who wasn¡¯t home often, and didn¡¯t do much cleaning when he was home. A pair of gleaming ck horns were mounted on a wall, no doubt a prize from an especially hard-to-kill beastie. A skinned hide covered the floor, and the only other furniture was a writing desk made of raw wood. It was extremely rustic-looking, which may have been a deliberate choice, considering how easy it was to get something better around here.

    It felt wrong to be in here, in someone¡¯s personal space without an invitation. Wrong, but exciting. <em>No</em>, he told himself. He would <em>not </em>develop a taste for this sort of thing. This was thest time.

    Inside the desk, Brin saw a bunch of folded barkpaper letters. He opened one.<blockquote>

    Date:

    Hunter:

    ? Dense copse

    ? Snake cave

    ? Spinewolf den

    ? Spider nest

    ? Thick brush

    ? Stone dam

    ? Red clearing</blockquote>

    Were those locations? He found six papers with the exact same list on them. A form to fill out after a patrol, he guessed. The seventh however, had a bit more information, written with a different hand.<blockquote>

    Date: 8th of Sommerset

    Hunter: Tiago

    ? Dense copse - clear

    ? Snake cave - clear

    ? Spinewolf den - 2 spinewolves, pups

    ? Spider nest - clear

    ? Thick brush - 3 small spiders

    ? Stone dam - not checked

    ? Red clearing - clear</blockquote>

    Those were definitely locations. They had to be locations that the [Hunters] checked regrly, probably because monsters tended to congregate there. Spinewolves, those didn¡¯t sound fun. And how small was ¡°small¡± for those spiders? Dog-sized, like the one he¡¯d seen? Hopefully they didn¡¯t get bigger than that.

    ¡°Hello there, miss!¡± Davi said from outside. Too loud. Suspicious sounding. Whoever it was, they got drawn into a conversation with the bigd, but Brin knew he should hurry and finish here.

    He had a list of locations, but he didn¡¯t know where they were. He kept digging around, until he found an old piece of bark paper, with some kind of drawing. A map, he thought, but he couldn¡¯t make it out. It had letters in random ces. DC, SC, SD--those could stand for dense copse, snake cave, and spinewolf den, but he couldn¡¯t figure out where they were in rtion to the town. Then he noticed the one written-out word. ¡°Hogg¡¯s ce - avoid.¡±

    If that¡¯s where the hut was, then that meant this part was the town¡­ He had it. He put everything back and walked over to lock the front door. Then he went around back.

    This was the risky part, he had no way to look ahead to see if anyone would see him as he exited towards the sewage canal. He stepped out, looked around, panic rising in his chest¨Cbut nothing.

    It was possible someone had seen him and simply hadn¡¯t thought anything of it. After all, people didn¡¯t randomly break into houses in the middle of the day, right? So rather than look around and scan the windows, which would definitely look suspicious, he just walked down the canal until he could wrap around to where Davi was.

    Whoever he had been talking to was gone, and he was standing at the entrance to the sidestreet, looking flushed and sweating heavily. He sagged in relief when he saw Brining from the other way.

    ¡°Thanks, man.¡±

    ¡°Any time, Brin.¡±

    ¡°I know this was asking a lot. I promise I¡¯ll find a way to pay you back. Actually¡­ you could use the equipment I bought just as easily as me. After I get it, would you want to¨C¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Davi. ¡°Not for me.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. Smart, probably,¡± said Brin. Honestly, he was relieved. He could risk his own life, but he didn¡¯t know if he could forgive himself for risking Davi¡¯s life.

    Now he had everything he needed. As soon as he finished Hogg¡¯s math tests, he would set out.

    That afternoon, Brin dove back into his studies. In his other life, he¡¯d sworn the day he graduated that he¡¯d never study for a test ever again. Yet here he was.

    It wasn¡¯t miserable work, in fact he felt pretty confident that he¡¯d be able to handle it. But he wanted to be sure to do this right, so he forced himself to concentrate even though there were about a hundred things he¡¯d rather be doing.

    He got a notification right as he finished for the night.

    Through training you have increased the following attributes. Mental Control +1

    Nice. He only needed two more, and he¡¯d get those from the tests. No more meditation needed.

    He was running out of excuses. He was really going to have to face the monsters, and as much as he tried to put a brave face on it, he had to admit it: He was stalling. There was no reason he needed Mental Control before he fought monsters. It just gave him something else to do while he put it off.

    A coin flip: that was what Perris had said. A coin flip, with his life on the line. A fifty percent chance that he¡¯de out of this alive with a shiny new achievement, and a fifty percent chance that he¡¯d die. What kind of idiot took those odds?

    Even stupider was the fact that he <em>knew</em> he was going to do it. He didn¡¯t want to call it fate; there was no invisible hand pulling him there. It was only that he knew himself. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to talk himself out of it. What were all those hours spent working twice as hard as everyone else, if not for this? One more day, and he would conquer or die. Either way, he wouldn¡¯t have any regrets.

 Book 1. Chapter 33

    Book 1. Chapter 33

    The next day, Davi came over again for their workout and breakfast again, and he stuck around for a bit to y Jogosa. Davi won the first three games handily. It was surprising how good he was, actually. Brin had never thought he was dumb exactly, but he¡¯d also never pegged the big guy as a tactical thinker.

    By the fourth Brin was starting to get the hang of it. He won the fifth game, but then Davi won the sixth game.

    Davi gained a point in Mental Control for it, and left soon after. Brin asked Hogg to y a game, and was surprised when he said yes.

    Hoggpletely obliterated Brin. It was great. He already had ideas on how to do better next game.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have something better to do?¡± Hogg said, looking pointedly at the math primers.

    Brin sighed. ¡°I guess.¡±

    He gave it two hours of solid effort, but then let himself get distracted by lunch. After that, well, he really didn¡¯t want to get started again.

    ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you promise to show me how to use the sword?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, yeah, but honestly we¡¯re this close to System Day, we might as well wait and see what you get. Swords might not even be the best weapon for you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It takes years to master the sword. Not something you can do in a day.¡±

    ¡°Can you get a basic foundation in a day, though?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg tilted his head side to side while he thought it over. ¡°Might be a good idea. Alright, meet me out front.¡±

    Brin waited in the clearing outside the house, and Hogg joined him a momentter, carrying two of the cksteel swords the undead had carried.

    ¡°Make no mistake, these are still too heavy for you. But if we¡¯re doing this, you might as well get a workout,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now. Do this.¡±

    Hogg ced his feet in a forward stance and pulled the sword back to a ready position. Then he walked over and adjusted Brin¡¯s feet and elbows until he was satisfied.

    ¡°Remember that chop I had you do when we were running from the army?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Brin. It was crazy to think of how much he¡¯d grown since that day. This sword that he could barely lift was barely a burden to him now.

    ¡°Do me a favor and forget all that,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It was all you could do to get the sword in the air back then. A real downward strike looks like this.¡± He moved slowly into a two-handed chop.

    Brin moved to copy it, and again, Hogg adjusted his form until he was satisfied.

    Brin went through the motion again and again. Repetition is the mother of learning, or so they say.

    Hogg urged him to chop faster and faster. ¡°You need to count on fighting enemies that are faster than you. Every blow needs to be as quick as you can make it.¡±

    His arms were burning five minutes into it, and after ten minutes, Hogg was satisfied. ¡°Alright, now do this.¡±

    He showed Brin how to sh from the side, and they went through all the steps again. When he mastered that, they went on to the next motion. Brin learned to sh from each side, cut upwards, and then thrust.

    ¡°The thrust is the most important. There are enemies you won¡¯t be able to cut but who can still be pierced. Step forward with this one, you¡¯ll want to give it all the power you can muster.¡±

    Then Hogg had him put them all together. Down, left, right, up, thrust.

    ¡°Yes! Combo attack!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so happy. This isn¡¯t going to work against a real opponent. We¡¯re just practicing your form,¡± said Hogg.

    This time, Hogg stepped forward with his sword in the ready position. ¡°Against me, this time.¡±

    Brin struck with as much strength and speed as he could from the getgo; there was no use holding back against Hogg.

    The older man blocked every blow, easily, just as Brin expected him to.

    ¡°Again. Faster,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin did his best toply.

    He practiced again and again, until the minutes turned into an hour and he thought his arms were going to fall off. Hitting Hogg with the heavy cksteel sword felt like he was striking an anvil, and he¡¯d grown bruises on his palms.

    ¡°Good enough,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now it¡¯s time to learn to block.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s sword came down from above, and it was all Brin could do to get it up in time. He managed to stop the blow, no doubt because Hogg let him, but the old guy went straight into the next one, and the next one, relentless. Brin blocked most of them, but any time his form was even a little bit off, Hogg knocked the sword straight out of his hands.

    By the time Hogg finally let him go, Brin was happy to get back to something as simple as math. He literally couldn¡¯t lift the sword anymore; Hogg had to bring it back inside.

    When he got back and sketched some math problems into a bark paper writing pad, his hands were shaking so much it was barely legible.

    He put it down, and focused on rubbing some life back into them instead.

    ¡°By the way. Don¡¯t go around telling people you know how to use the sword now. You don¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin chuckled. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Hogg suddenly looked pained. ¡°But¡­ I have to admit. You did pretty good out there. I thought you¡¯d give up after ten minutes. You¡¯re no swordsman, but you¡¯ve got the basics. When we met I figured you¡¯d get [Rogue] or possibly some kind of ss that¡¯s intellectual like [Philosopher]. Now, though, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you really do get [Warrior].¡±

    ¡°Th-thanks,¡± said Brin. Hogg was pretty stingy withpliments, which meant that Brin would probably end up remembering this one for the rest of his life. He really had worked hard, hadn¡¯t he?

    He looked down at his math homework. Yeah, that wasn¡¯t happening. He stood up to go sit next to the coffee table, where they¡¯d left the Jogosa game. He looked up at Hogg with puppy dog eyes.

    He hadn¡¯t been <em>that</em> into chess back in his old world, but he had been addicted to games, and now that he¡¯d been reintroduced to one he¡¯d awoken a deep hunger for them.

    ¡°Oh, fine,¡± said Hogg, and pulled a stool over to the other side.

    Brin made the first move, predicting that Hogg would use the same strategy fromst time. Hogg did somethingpletely different that left Brin scratching his chin.

    ¡°What¡¯s ss selection like? Can I ask?¡±

    ¡°Well, I was nning on having this conversation a little closer to the night before System Day, but there¡¯s no real reason I can¡¯t tell you now.¡±

    Brin perked up, extremely interested.

    ¡°Most people get offered two sses. One is [Child]. If you really don¡¯t like your choices, you can take [Child], and you¡¯ll have better options next year. It really is a valid option. No one will look down on you for taking it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Can you¡ª¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t get the pre-System Day achievements that way,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Shoot. Worth a shot,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Everyone will also be offered at least one Common ss. Most people will have two or three. For me, I could¡¯ve chosen from six, but only one was a real temptation,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What was it?¡±

    ¡°[Smoker]. They can do stuff with smoke. Also, lung protection,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°No offense, but I think you made the right choice,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Sometimes I wonder about that,¡± said Hogg.

    Something about the term [Smoker] made Brin picture young Hogg as a stoner. Hogg smoked a pipe asionally, but not more than once a week or so. Had he toned it down for health reasons? Was this the origin story for Hogg¡¯s gravelly voice?

    Brin stared at the board. He seemed to be doing really well, but he didn¡¯t really understand what Hogg was up to. What was he missing? He moved his queen. Hogg moved to block and¨C oh. He was three turns away from losing. Could he turn it around?

    Hogg talked while Brin stared at the board. ¡°Some people get offered a Rare ss. I don¡¯t need to exin to you why they¡¯re worth taking, so let me tell you the exceptions instead. Remember to ask what the pre-evolutions are. If you get offered [Knight], ask if you can have [Squire] instead. If you get offered [Mage], ask if you can have [Student of Magic]. You¡¯ll still end up with the more advanced ss eventually, but you¡¯ll be <em>much </em>better off for it in the long run. Some sses aren¡¯t worth it, though, and don¡¯t bother with Common sses. [Tinker] to [Smith], for example. Don¡¯t take [Tinker] unless you like to [Tinker].¡±

    ¡°I can remember that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Next¡­¡± Hogg looked down, clenched his jaw, then looked back up. ¡°Don¡¯t take an evil ss, alright? It¡¯s not just [Witch]. There are plenty of sses that are predisposed towards the unsavory.¡±

    ¡°Can a ss really <em>make</em> you evil?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No. But actually, yes. The gods won¡¯t take away your freedom, but you can take it away from yourself. There are sses that bend your mind, that remove yourpassion, that give you dark appetites. Maybe you think you have the willpower to resist those appetites. Well, good for you. Resist taking the ss in the first ce and make it easier on yourself.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t see a way out in this game. Hogg had him beat. He made a random move, hoping that maybe something he hadn¡¯t noticed would save him. Hogg¡¯s next move surrounded Brin¡¯s citadel. Sure, they could y it out, but the game was basically over. He started setting up the board to y again.

    ¡°How will I know if a ss is evil?¡±

    ¡°There are obvious things I could say. Don¡¯t take gue sses. Don¡¯t take anything pre-undead. But honestly? Just look at them. The System isn¡¯t going to hide anything from you. Evil sses will look evil. If you take the ss, expect to be the kind of thing that you¡¯re looking at. I know I¡¯m talking in vagaries here, but the process is a little different for everyone. If you¡¯re ever in doubt, find out what you have to do to gain experience.¡±

    Brin was doing better this game. He gave up on long-term strategy and tried to capture as many of Hogg¡¯s pieces as he could, something that Hogg was finding very frustrating from the long pauses he kept taking.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t everyone get experience the same way? Killing monsters? Except people with Common sses, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Except ny percent of people, you mean? You can get experience from killing, but for the most part you get experience from doing what your ss is for. There¡¯s power in that. Lots of sses that seem worthless will turn out extremely powerful due to how easy or fun they are to level up. [Gambler], for one. Nobles will generally try to get a magical ss due to the prestige, but it¡¯s absurd how many high-level [Phnderers] there are in the upper echelons.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Nope. Get a ss doing something you like to do, that¡¯s rule number one. On the flip-side, some sses are strong, but hard to level. [Assassin], for example. On the surface, it looks like it¡¯s an advancement from [Rogue] in every way. Well, there¡¯s a problem with that. [Rogues] can gain experience from all kinds of things. [Assassins] have to kill people, and <em>only</em> people¨Cmonsters are no good. If you ever meet a high-level [Assassin], it¡¯s because they spent years and years leveling up as a [Rogue], and then changed their ss once the levels weren¡¯ting fast enough to be worth it any more.¡±

    There was still a rebellious part of Brin that wanted [Witch], just to prove that he could handle it without turning into a psychopath. Before Hogg¡¯s change in attitude, that had started to seem like a good option. Now, though, it sounded like a whole lot of extra trouble for no good reason. Well, maybe he wouldn¡¯t even get the choice. He couldn¡¯t know until System Day.

    They yed a few games more, and Brin studied the rest of the day.

    The next morning, Brin took both tests. They weren¡¯t exactly easy, but the questions were very simr to the ones in the primer. He didn¡¯t even need Hogg to score them to know he¡¯d gotten a perfect score.

    For your feat of mental discipline, you have been awarded the following. Mental Control +1

    For your feat of mental discipline, you have been awarded the following. Mental Control +1

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Disciplined I (Common) You have reached 26 Mental Control +10% focus and concentration + 10% Mental Control attribute growth

    <strong></strong>

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Workhorse (Rare) Now gives you: +1 Mental Control per level.

    When he shut the book, Hogg gave him a long, steady look that seemed tomunicate trust, but not a little worry.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be busy today. Entertain yourself or whatever. I won¡¯t be watching.¡±

    It was today. Today he was finally going to kill a monster.

    When he¡¯d nned this out in his mind, somehow he¡¯d always pictured it happening at night. Obviously that was stupid. Why make it harder on himself? He was already doing something dangerous; he needed every advantage he could get. Even if night would¡¯ve been more romantic.

    At least the sky wasn¡¯t blue; it was the color of a moody gray, like it hadn¡¯t decided yet if it wanted to rain or not and it was still grumpy from being woken up so early.

    He carefully put on the leather armor. He hadn¡¯t even thought about a helmet, but Perris included it. The armor felt solid. Strong. He looked at himself in the mirror, and saw a young warrior staring back. Excited, he strapped one sword to his back, and put the other in a sheath at his belt. The one on the back would be harder to pull quickly, but two at the sheath would be too awkward. It would have to do.

    He put the rest of the items he¡¯d prepared in a backpack. It didn¡¯t take long at all to get ready. Minutes. He felt like it should¡¯ve taken longer. He walked out the door.

    Marksi came along beside him. Would he get a better achievement if Marksi stayed home?

    ¡°Marksi, I¡¯m going to do something dangerous. You¡¯d better¨C¡±

    That was the wrong thing to say. The snake shed up his back and wriggled around his neck so tightly he almost couldn¡¯t breathe.

    ¡°You cane!¡± he gasped. Then when Marksi loosened up a little, he continued. ¡°But you¡¯re going to stay safe. <em>I¡¯m</em> fighting the monsters. You¡¯re going to hang back. Actually, let¡¯s do this.¡±

    Brin took a minute and taught Marksi that when he yelled, ¡°Run!¡± Marksi was supposed to get away as fast as possible, and not return until Brin called him back. He stayed until he was sure Marksi would listen.

    Then he was out of excuses. It was time to move.

    Thest thing to decide was where he¡¯d check for monsters first. He figured that the ces that [Hunter] had cleared most recently would be the least likely to have new monsters. Or would it be the most likely? He didn¡¯t know why monsters returned to the same spot, or if they really even did. He didn¡¯t even know where monsters came from. Were they justrger-than-average beasts, or did the word monster indicate there was something magical about them?

    He hadn¡¯t made it far when he saw a female figure standing in the middle of the road. Long ck hair, clothes fit for a princess, and a surprisingly pretty face when it wasn¡¯t in the middle of a scowl. Just the sight of her made his stomach clench with irritation and anxiety.

    ¡°I would have a word with you,¡± said [Weaver] Tawna.

 Book 1. Chapter 34

    Book 1. Chapter 34

    Brin wondered why it had never urred to him that Tawna might actually want to kill him. That she hated him was clear, but if she¡¯d actually wanted him dead, she would¡¯ve made her move before now, right? Or maybe she was waiting for the opportunity. This was the perfect one.

    He thought about the sword of speed at his side, priming himself to grab it and then run away. As much as he loved the idea of cutting her through right here and now, he was under no illusions that he could win. He had no idea how high a level she was, but it had to be high. No, he couldn¡¯t fight. He wouldn¡¯t even try.

    He stopped fifteen paces away from her. ¡°You¡¯ve never had a problem telling me what you think in town. Why follow me all the way out here? Unless you had something else in mind.¡±

    ¡°Tempting. But no. You are in no danger from me,¡± said Tawna.

    Brin put his hand on his sword, where he could get to the trigger mechanism quickly. ¡°You don¡¯t seem worried about being in danger from me.¡± It was a bluff, and probably a stupid one, but if she did mean to kill him he¡¯d rather she make her move now while he was ready.

    ¡°Fool boy,¡± she said quietly. Then she raised her voice. ¡°I do not leave the vige often, and when I do I am never unprepared.¡±

    She raised a hand, and a breeze went through the forest. The grass stirred, the leaves on the trees shook, and the trees themselves bent slightly. The wind started a hundred yards behind her and passed down the road, past her, and then past him so he could really feel what was going on.

    There was no wind. She was moving the world with her Skills. Maybe she could bend anything even vaguely thread-like, or maybe she¡¯d covered the area in tiny little threads that she used to move everything else. Either way, the message was clear.

    ¡°Never fear, if I wanted to, I could twist your pretty little head clean off,¡± said Tawna.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m pretty?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Ah, you seek to test my patience. I have practice with this; you test my patience with every breath you breathe.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve hated me from before you ever met me. Why?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°This is what we must speak of, is it not?¡±

    ¡°Then tell me. What did I ever do to you?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You exist. You live and grow and with every heartbeat bring death closer to my home. Before you came, disaster was on the horizon, but it was also clear that we¡¯d find a way to avoid it. Now, everything is in chaos. Every path leads to our doom. If that were all, it could be managed. We could evacuate the town, or I could hide away with Myra. But every path also leads to our salvation, and the threads are ever in flux. If you die, we die. Or not. If you live, we die. Or maybe not. Every path is clouded. There is no way forward.¡±

    He thought back to the pictures he¡¯d seen on her tapestry. In one, the town had been destroyed, but in the other only the four highest level people. ¡°No way forward for the town, or just for you?¡±

    ¡°If I knew that, I could make ns. The patterns are unstable.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t tell the future? How sad. I¡¯m sorry you have to live like, oh, every single other person in the world. But why is this my fault?¡±

    ¡°Because it started with you!¡± Tawna barked. ¡°It started the day you arrived in Hammon¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°But if changing my life doesn¡¯t change the fate of the town, that suggests something rather obvious, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Tawna stared at him, visibly trying to put her face back into a mask of cool indifference. She didn¡¯t answer his rhetorical question.

    ¡°It means I¡¯m not the chosen one! I¡¯m not the one with a ss and levels and the ability to change things. I¡¯m also not the only one who came to town that day! You should be talking to Hogg about this,¡± said Brin.

    Tawna snorted in derision. ¡°Hogg. He will do what best suits you. Your choices drive our fate, like it or not.¡±

    That made Brin feel surprisingly warm. Until recently, the old [Illusionist] had seemed very distant and distracted, but he really did care. But that didn¡¯t make what Tawna was saying any less stupid.

    Brin raised his hand to rub his eyes, but then stopped himself. Better not to block his own vision. He still didn¡¯t trust her. ¡°Have you ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy?¡±

    ¡°Please. Why does everyone think that I don¡¯t watch the same movies from Gustaff and hear the same epics from Jeffrey that the rest of you do? We aren¡¯t fools, child. The first thing a [Weaver] learns is how to tell when her actions are causing that which she wishes to avoid.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± asked Brin. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why have you treated me like garbage since day one? If you¡¯re so against me picking an evil ss, you¡¯d think you¡¯d be nicer to me, instead of going out of your way to sabotage my life at every turn.¡±

    Tawna smiled, a real smile, something he¡¯d never seen on her face. With her straight ck hair framing her face, her perfect white teeth, the slightly manic gleam in her eyes, he had to admit, she was actually kind of cute in a I-hope-she-dies kind of way.

    ¡°What makes you think¡­¡± Tawna breathed out heavily, as if stifling augh. ¡°What makes you think I don¡¯t want you to take an evil ss?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin.

    His heart pounded. His stomach churned. The edges of his vision seemed to turn ck, a dark tunnel with Tawna at the end.

    Obviously. <em>It was so obvious</em> Tawna wanted him to turn evil. He should¡¯ve seen this. All that time, when he let resentment build and he entertained dark fantasies, it had seemed like a rebellion, but it was ying right into her hands. She <em>wanted</em> him to fail. She <em>wanted </em>him to turn dark. Why? What could she possibly gain from that? There had to be something more here; he needed to think it through. He couldn¡¯t, though. All he could think about was flipping the switch on the sword and seeing if her threads were faster than his magic sword.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about that,¡± said Tawna. ¡°Here¡¯s a prediction that you can count on: if you don¡¯t focus on your hunt today, you will <em>certainly</em> perish.¡±

    His vision snapped back into focus. ¡°You¡¯re not going to stop me?¡±

    ¡°Why would Ie all the way out here to stop you, when a single whisper in the right ear would do? No, I¡¯m here for something else. I came to give you a choice.¡±

    She glided towards him, floating above the ground like a ghost. He could faintly see threads, like a million tiny insect legs. She moved unnervingly fast, and stopped inches away from him.

    She put her hand on his chin. Her fingers were soft, and surprisingly warm and he wanted to p her hand away. She pointed his face to the south-west.

    ¡°Go there, to the thick brush. Something small and weak awaits you. You will return home unscathed.¡±

    Brin tried to pull back, but her grip was firm. ¡°Did you just screw up my achievement by helping me?¡±

    ¡°Soon you¡¯ll see that there is no definition of ¡®help¡¯ among gods or men that describes what I¡¯m doing right now. I¡¯m simply giving you a choice.¡± She pointed his face to the north. ¡°Go this way instead. Something deadly has moved into the spinewolf den. I cannot tell you much, as I do not know much, only that if you choose this path, you will face extreme danger. You will also receive extreme benefits from the System, more than you expect. Most importantly, you will find an answer. Information, some vor of knowledge that you desperately want, and that we desperately need. If you survive. Most likely, you will find your death. Choose wisely.¡±

    Tawna patted him on the back with a knowing smile, and then her feet touched the ground. She walked away, down the road towards town. He watched her until she was out of sight.

    She was right. That wasn¡¯t helpful at all. If she hadn¡¯t told him anything, he might¡¯ve went south-west first, nning on hitting every area on the [Hunter¡¯s] map until he found a monster, which would¡¯ve been the first ce he tried. Then he would¡¯ve gone home happy.

    Or maybe he would¡¯ve gone north first, and died the way he was going to die now, because he already knew what he was going to decide.

    He wasn¡¯t going to live a small and careful life. He¡¯d tried that, and still ended up dead on the road. In this life, he was going to try for greatness.

    There was no choice at all. Or maybe there was. After all, he had the whole day ahead of him. Why not choose both? Killing the weak monster would give him an achievement that would make him stronger for the next one. Now that he knew where they both were, it wouldn¡¯t even take that much time.

    He went south first, towards the easy monster. His newfound determination and the fact that he knew exactly where to go made him want to run, but he took it easy. It was important to conserve his energy.

    The weather grew more chilly, although it failed to prate his warm leathers. The sky darkened a bit as he walked. It started to rain, twice, but only for a few seconds each time.

    Normally the forest would be alive with the sounds of birds and insects, but for now they were subdued in the chilly weather. It was quiet enough that he could hear everything; his own breathing, and the asional drip of water onto a stone or tree trunk.

    He tried to focus on the hunt as he walked, but he couldn¡¯t get her words out of his mind. She <em>wanted</em> him to take an evil ss? That had to be reverse psychology. By saying that, she made him want to take the most good, perfect peaceful ss he could. [Child], if he didn¡¯t get offered anything else.

    Unless that was what she <em>wanted </em>him to think. It could be <em>reverse </em>reverse psychology. He could go round and round like this all day.

    And that wasn¡¯t even the most baffling part. If something that he¡¯d done or would do was causing the town¡¯s destruction, why would his death make the town¡¯s destruction <em>more</em> likely? The fact that the town was in danger wasn¡¯t hard to believe. There was an undead army out there somewhere. The fact that he might have a key in saving the town made sense, too. He wasn¡¯t important, but he knew some important people. The rest of it? He didn¡¯t know. He could guess all day, but he didn¡¯t have enough information.

    Information was exactly what the [Weaver] had promised him for risking his life. She sure knew how to bait a trap.

    After an hour of walking, he found what must be thendmark from the map, so he chased all thoughts of [Weavers] and visions out of his head.

    He¡¯d wondered what ¡°thick brush¡± would mean; after all, in this forest there were all sorts of ces where bushes and saplings would grow so thick you couldn¡¯t get through them, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d recognize it until he saw it.

    Four giant trees formed a square, and between them was the biggest mess of tall bushes, tangled vines, and intergrown tree branches that he¡¯d ever seen in his life. It was like a solid block of greenery, surrounded by a wrap of rose-like vines that were as thick as his arm and had six-inch thorns.

    Where was his monster?

    He made a ring around the thick underbrush, and about jumped out of his skin when the back of it was covered in spiderwebs. Giant spiderwebs. The thread of the web was as thick as kite string, and it was all mushed together in a mass, like someone had been tidying up out here and put it in a pile for disposal.

    Looking around, he didn¡¯t see any sign of them. The web also looked old. Spiderweb had a certain kind of look when it was fresh versus abandoned, and somehow that was even more obvious when it was a giant spider web.

    He checked it with his sword, and something moved inside.

    He jumped back, ready for anything, but nothing happened.

    Carefully, he crept forward again. He cut through the spiderweb, and this time nothing moved. Emboldened, he cut harder and harder, hacking his way through. He used the sword of speed, since it wouldn¡¯t activate unless he flipped the switch.

    Finally, he got the glimpse of something ck and wriggling, and jumped back again. He felt stupid for being so cautious, but better cautious than dead.

    He carefully peeled back theyers of spiderweb, and saw a giant spider. It was ck and as big as a basketball, so much smaller than any giant spider he¡¯d ever seen. It was almost small enough to be a regr spider.

    This was a nest, he realized. It had been born here, and then somehow gotten trapped in the web. It was hard to tell what exactly was keeping it trapped here, it seemed like it should be able to crawl straight out. Maybe he¡¯d already cut something away. It wriggled when he exposed it to the light, but lethargically. It was practically dead already, maybe starving. All he had to do was finish it off.

    He looked over at Marksi, still riding on his shoulder. The snake could probably take it. Who knew, this might be exactly the opportunity that Marksi needed to fuel his growth. Would Brin still get the achievement if Marksi helped kill the monster, though? He hated that he was even thinking along those lines.

    ¡°You want to do the honors, Marksi?¡± asked Brin.

    Marksi eyed the spider with suspicion, then snuggled in closer to Brin. He tapped his tail side to side. <em>¡®No¡¯</em>.

    Well, it might be small to him, but it was still bigpared to Marksi. Brin stabbed the spider straight through.

    Alert! You have defeated: Giant Spiderling [1]

    <strong></strong>

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    That second message still made his blood boil. That experience was <em>his</em>. They had no right to take it away. At least it was almost over. Soon he¡¯d have his ss and everything would be better.

    Marksi made a terrified squeak, and Birn turned around just in time to instinctively swat another spiderling out of the air with his sword.

    There were dozens of them, swinging out of the forest on long, nearly invisible strands of spider web. They were bigger than the first little basketball-sized one; these were the size of dobermans.

    Another on his left nearlynded on his arm. Marksi pounced and bore the spiderling to the ground.

    Three more arrived at the same time, and Brin cut one in half. It felt surprisingly solid against his sword.

    The other twonded on his arms and he jolted in a panic, waving wildly. They flew off, but more wereing.

    Panicking, he looked for Marksi. The spider he¡¯d taken down was dead on the ground, but Marksi was nowhere to be seen. Right, sneaky snake. He could take care of himself.

    Brin covered his face with his arm and ran towards the side, trying to get some space between himself and the spiderling horde.

    Theynded on him, climbed up his legs; not too heavy when it was just one but they swarmed all over him, weighing him down. He could feel them skittering around, biting into his armor, but they weren¡¯t even close to piercing through it.

    Then one bit into the exposed back of his neck, and it felt like a bee sting if the bee was a foot long and on fire.

    Panicking, he jumped, as high as he could, andnded on his back. He felt a crunch, saw a slew of notifications which he dismissed, and then rolled. The spiderlings jumped off him when he rolled to avoid being crushed, but were on him again when he got to his feet.

    Only a few, though. He sprinted, trying to outrun the rest while he tore away the few spiderlings on his back.

    One was on his chest, then in his face. He saw its mandibles open to prepare a bite, but he bit first. It jumped away after he snapped an appendage off in his mouth. It felt like a hairy finger. He spit it out, and almost lost his breakfast as well.

    Still running, he pulled thest spiderling off of him, and mmed it against a tree, watching with pleasure as its middle popped like a water balloon full of custard.

    He risked a nce behind him. The spiderlings weren¡¯t in a swarm anymore; more like a line since they had to follow his path through the forest. He¡¯d dropped his sword, but if he could face them one at a time he could win.

    He turned and used the momentum to kick the first off to the side. He hit the next with a front kick and saw its middle crack even before it hit the one behind it.

    He stomped on the next, using it as a springboard to jump andnd on the next one with both feet. It squirted out its insides, reminding him of jumping into puddles as a child. Moving forward, he caught a spiderling jumping towards him. He used both hands to smash its body with his head, grateful for the leather helmet.

    A solid haymaker cracked the next spiderling, and a quick jab knocked the next one out of the air. Once on the ground he punted it like a football.

    Half of them were gone. This was actually kind of fun.

    A spiderlingnded on his back, and wasted no time before biting his hand. Son of a¡­ <em>that hurt!</em>

    He grabbed it off his back and tore its front legs off, then grabbed it by some of the remaining legs and used it as a il to knock back the three spiderlings trying to swarm him.

    He fought with it until it fell to pieces, then returned to punching and kicking his way through.

    Then there was only one left. He stepped forward, smiling.

    Marksi appeared from behind it. He jumped on its back and bit down, then burrowed his way inside, then out through the other side.

    The spider died silently.

    A slew of notifications greeted him. All of the spiderlings were under level five, and all of the experience was confiscated.

    He checked Marksi for injuries, but the snake was unharmed. Just a little tired and a lot full of himself. Well, Brin figured he deserved it.

    ¡°Great job, Marksi! No one can say you don¡¯t hunt now. You really saved me there!¡±

    Another slew of notifications appeared, and this one was much more interesting than thest.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Monster Hunter I (Common) You have in a monster. +5% attribute growth rate for all attributes. Skill granted: Monster Sense.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Monster Hunter II (Common) You have in more than 10 monsters. +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes. Skill upgraded: Monster Sense.

    System override: Monster Sense unlocked. You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Warbound (Epic) You thirst for violence. +10% Strength upgraded to +20% Strength

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Workhorse (Rare) +1 Strength per level upgraded to +2 Strength per level.

    Brin cheered, and Marksi squeaked along, probably thinking they were just happy about killing the spider. Monster sense was interesting. It basically confirmed that there was something special about monsters that made them different from regr animals. He¡¯d have to learn more about that; people were suspicious about children who wanted to learn all about monsters, and Hogg had only recently started answering all of his questions, but both of those weren¡¯t going to be issues any more.

    Interesting as that was, the real win here was obviously the upgrade to Strength. He¡¯d broken through to the second threshold!

    He checked his injuries. The bite on his neck and the one on his hand both hurt like he¡¯d been stabbed, but he didn¡¯t have any loss of motion, and after watching it for a minute, it didn¡¯t seem to be getting any worse. Just pain. Well, he could deal with a little pain. He took the potion of cure poison just in case, but he wouldn¡¯t let this end his day.

    This was only the appetizer. The real fight would be in the spinewolf den.

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    Child of Travin''s Bog

    Level

    1

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    40

    Dexterity

    31

    Vitality

    30

    Magic

    15

    Mental Control

    26

    Will

    30

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    Locked

    Traveler

    Locked

    Otherworlder

    Locked

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Epic)

    You are born for war. You thirst for violence.

    You defeated at least 10 enemy soldiers before unlocking your System. Without aid from an adult, you have defeated at least 10 monsters before unlocking your System.

    +20% Strength. +10% Vitality. +10% Will. +50% experience from meleebat.

    Monster Hunter II (Common)

    You have defeated more than 10 monsters.

    +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Strength.

    +20% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +20% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Dexterity.

    +10% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +10% Dexterity attribute growth. +10% Dexterity

    Lively I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Vitality.

    +10% recovery from wounds. +10% stamina. +10% Vitality attribute growth.

    Controlled I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Mental Control.

    +10% focus and concentration +10% Mental Control attribute growth

    Disciplined I (Common)

    You have reached 26 Will

    +10% spell power. +10% skill power. +10% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +2 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Vitality per level, +1 Mental Control per level

    <strong>Skills</strong>

    Know What¡¯s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You know the approximate value of things.

    Monster Sense

    You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 1. Chapter 35

    Book 1. Chapter 35

    On the way to the spinewolf den, Brin couldn¡¯t stop his brain from thinking. Was doing all this ying right into the [Weavers] hands? If it was, so what? If Tawna wanted him to do something that he also wanted to do, would it make sense to not do it just to spite her? That would be giving her too much power. The best decision would be to live his life as if she didn¡¯t exist, not to rearrange his life based on every little thing she did.

    She¡¯d given him a choice, and he¡¯d chosen to do what he wanted. What she wanted was irrelevant. Although, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he¡¯d screwed himself by going after the weaker monsters first. What if trying to do both meant he wouldn¡¯t get the information she¡¯d promised? Well, if that was the case, so be it. This was already an extremely lucrative day.

    The clouds continued to darken as he walked, and a chill wind began to blow, but for now the rain stayed constrained to a few drops here and there.

    Around noon, he knew that if he went any further then he would be near where he thought the den should be. Before that, he should take a break. The fight with the spiderlings had taken a lot out of him. He needed to approach whatever this was at his absolute best.

    He found a patch of soft grass, asked Marksi to keep watch, and theny down and closed his eyes. Back in his old life, he¡¯d been the king of the fifteen minute nap. He wasn¡¯t sure if that talent had transferred. With all the preteen manic energy he¡¯d been living with, he¡¯d never needed it. But it was worth a try now.

    Hey on the ground, but couldn¡¯t sleep. His neck and hand hurt too much. Well, even if he couldn¡¯t sleep, a rest would still help.

    He woke up and it was dark. Panicking, he thought he¡¯d slept through the night, but it wasn¡¯t actually that dark. The clouds had gotten a little bit darker and the wind was blowing harder, but he doubted he¡¯d been asleep for more than an hour.

    The pain in his neck and hand had diminished to a dull ache, but for some reason all his other muscles had started to ache more. Oh well, this was as good as he was going to feel. Best to get started.

    He continued north towards the spinewolf den. The trees thinned out, but the water became more and more muddy, until pools of stagnant water started to cut off his path and he had to wander through them like a maze.

    He copied Lurn¡¯s trick of cutting a tree branch to use to test that the ground in front of him was solid. He didn¡¯t fear illusions, but sometimes grass that looked normal was actually floating on top of the water.

    Slowly, he made his way through the swampy forest. He might have gotten lost, but Marksi had no problem swimming over the top of the water, so Brin could send him ahead and use him as a goal post.

    Finally, Brin saw a trail. A game trail, probably. Whatever animals lived in this forest would know the best way to get through on solid ground.

    He followed the trail, astonished at how <em>easy</em> walking was when you didn¡¯t have to fear every step.

    Soon he found a small hill rising out of the swampy surroundings. There was an old dead tree he recognized; it had been drawn on the map. Underneath it on the other side, there would be the mouth of a cave. The perfect home for whatever evil thing happened to be passing through the area.

    The area around the hill was wet and treacherous. Without his stick to test the ground, he would have sunken into the mud a dozen times over.

    He approached cautiously, straining his ears to pick up any sounds. Yeah, something was definitely in there. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it was that made him think so, just a strong sense of danger and¡­ wrongness from that direction. This had to be what [Monster Sense] felt like. He¡¯d need to remember this feeling.

    He backed away, and thought about his n of attack.

    Without knowing what it was, he couldn¡¯t really think up a strategy, but the fact that it sought out this hill as a ce to hang out meant that it probably couldn¡¯t live in water. Maybe he could use the swampy terrain to his advantage?

    He also couldn¡¯t swim very effectively while wearing full leather armor and carrying a backpack and weapons, but that didn¡¯t mean there was nothing he could do. He saw a tree covered in vines, some of them hanging down all the way to the water, and that gave him an idea.

    He pulled out the rope with a grappling hook, and had Marksi carry it up to a high branch on a tree overlooking a pond. By getting a running start, he should be able to jump, catch the rope in midair, and swing around to dry ground. Anything following him would either plunge into the water, or have to stop and go around. His biggest saving grace in the fight against the spiderlings had been the fact that he was faster than them. That meant that he had been able to disengage and then fight them on his own terms.

    He tested it, running along the ground and leaping into the air to grab the rope. He was gratified to feel the strength in his arm as he easily held his body¡¯s weight with one arm. The first swing didn¡¯t go quite as he nned, and he had to swing back and forth a couple times to get to dry ground again. The second attempt went perfectly. He swung on the rope, around the tree, tond on solid ground on the other side.

    He only found that tree and one other that would work for this, but that also meant he only had to cut his rope once.

    After that, he spent some time going over every inch of ground in the surrounding area, figuring out what was dry and what was wet. If he was going to be running around here, it would help to know what was safe to stand on. It would be just his luck to die because he stepped on the wrong spot and plunged down to his neck in mud, presenting his head nice and convenient for some monster toe and bite it off.

    The entire time he jumped and flinched at every sound, thinking that it was the monstering out of its den, but the monster stayed put while he got they of thend.

    Finally, he decided it was time. He was as ready as he¡¯d ever be. He did onest mental inventory. He had the smoke bomb that would shoot sparks and heat¨Cgood for fooling undead. He had one wand with a potent me spell, and two fakes, and a lighter. All that, he kept in the various pockets on the armor, where he could get to them quickly if he needed it.

    He had the potions of turn undead, which he left in a backpack a little distance away. He also had his two swords. The sword of speed was still a bit slippery from the pool of spider goo he¡¯d found it in. And the other sword.

    He pulled out his sword of strength. Perris hadn¡¯t really given it a name, but Brin was calling it the ss cannon sword, because it would break after one or two uses, and because of the enchanted ss core that gave it its power.

    In video games, he¡¯d always been the person to die with all his best items unused and a backpack full of health potions. In real life, though, he was going to jump straight into his strongest attack and hopefully end things before they even started.

    If that didn¡¯t work, he¡¯d use the fire wand, and if that failed, he¡¯d use his sword of speed to run away. He already had the Monster Hunter achievement; this was just the victoryp. If things got too hairy, he¡¯d leave.

    He approached the hill, using every bit of stealth to walk as silently as he could. Sure, the monster probably knew he was out here, but he¡¯d rather not let it know he was approaching it now. It was probably too much to hope that he¡¯d be able to sneak up and stab it while it was sleeping, but that would obviously be preferable to a straight out fight.

    He saw motion, and froze. Something rose behind the hill, a line of red and yellow spikes. They were on the back of arge green head; a giant lizard. It had the protruding eyes of a chameleon, but spines along its back like an iguana.

    Monsters roar in movies. The first time you see a monster in any movie, tv show, or video game, it always roars. The giant lizard didn¡¯t roar. It barely even looked interested. It simply climbed over the crest of the hill, approaching in no great hurry.

    It was bigger than any lizards they had on earth. Bigger than komodo dragons, it was more like some dinosaur he didn¡¯t have a name for, especially with the way that its tail curled up and around, with a dagger-length stinger on the end. Its legs were much longer than he¡¯d expected, keeping it high off the ground. Maybe the size of a horse, if a horse was a lizard with the tail of a scorpion.

    It walked casually, moving faster than it looked because of its size. What would it look like if it actually wanted to move fast?

    It stopped only ten feet away and stared at him for a long moment. He started backing up, towards the tree with the rope.

    All at once, the giant lizard charged, jaws open, scrabbling towards him across the mud. It moved unnaturally fast, and was upon him before his brain even registered what was happening. He dodged the stabbing stinger tail on instinct and swung his ss cannon sword towards its head but felt only air. He dodged its bite, but then it spun and the side of the tail clubbed him across the chest.

    He flew backwards, further than he expected because he skipped across the water once before sshing in. He iled against the water to stay on the surface, and realized that he was right below his rope, so he grabbed it. His wet fingers slipped in his panic, but he tried again, got a hold and started climbing up. It was difficult with his sword still in his hand; somehow he hadn¡¯t dropped it, so he put the hilt in his teeth and climbed with both hands.

    All his strength went into getting a strong enough grip on the wet rope to hold his body weight. Actually moving up was taking forever.

    He couldn¡¯t breathe. The armor had miraculously stopped the stinger from running him through, but he still felt like he¡¯d been kicked in the chest by a bull.

    The giant lizard was hesitating at the side of the shore. Could it not swim, or was it afraid of the water? Was there something in here that was even worse? The panic that thought brought him nearly made him lose his hold. He took a deep breath and kept climbing.

    He noticed the giant lizard had a heavy wound in its side; he¡¯d thought he¡¯d missed with the sword, but apparently it had cut through the monster''s flesh so easily he hadn¡¯t even felt resistance.

    The ss cannon sword had cut and it hadn¡¯t shattered. Lucky. Perris said it would work for one or two blows, and apparently he was getting two. He needed to make the next one count.

    He tried to focus on climbing, but he was still holding his breath, and his vision was starting to go dark. He forced his lungs to move and he managed to suck in air, but his chest screamed in pain.

    He slipped, falling two feet down the rope before barely managing to catch it again.

    The giant lizard liked what it saw. It slid into the water and swam towards him. He was only a few feet above the water; the stinger would hit him easily.

    Unless something changed, his only chance would be to jump from the rope and stab the monster on the way down. The monster would be ready, of course. He didn¡¯t like his chances.

    How dumb had he been when he had gone over the terrain, picturing a long, drawn out battle where he¡¯d have lots of time to maneuver? One way or another, this would be over in seconds.

    Marksi appeared on the surface of the water, a sh of camouged motion that he only barely noticed. The snake must not have watched enough movies either, because he didn¡¯t roar or screech either. He slipped up to the giant lizard, wiggled around an arm that tried to swat him away, and bit the lizard¡¯s protruding eye.

    The monster let out a high-pitched screech, and the water erupted into sshing chaos. Brin couldn¡¯t tell if the lizard had caught Marksi, but he knew that it was angry, in pain, and most important of all: it wasn¡¯t thinking about him.

    He took the sword from out of his mouth, and let go of the rope.

    He brought the sword down in a solid overhand sh, and this time he was watching so he saw the full effect of the ss cannon sword.

    It parted the water like Moses. It split the flesh of the monster like a knife through butter. No, like a knife through <em>fog</em>. He cut the neck just above the shoulder, and if he¡¯d aimed better he was certain he¡¯d taken the head clean off. He wouldn¡¯t get another chance; the sword shattered as it exited the wound, the pieces falling into the water.

    It was definitely a mortal blow. Which is why he was surprised when the monster¡¯s mouth mped down on his leg and started twisting him around in the water.

    His throat filled with water, and he forced himself not to cough as his body churned in circles through the whitewater. And then, slowly, it stopped.

    Alert! You have defeated: Facaldagart [12] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

    He was right; he¡¯d mortally wounded it, but its death throes had nearly killed him in return.

    The mouth holding him let go, and he swam to the surface again. The leather armor was more buoyant than he¡¯d have thought, which is why he survived at all, but it was all he could do to strain his way upwards and take gasping, coughing breaths.

    Somehow, he made it to the shore and pulled himself up, just happy to be alive. Marksi was already there, slithering in agitated circles. When Brin pulled himself up, he switched from fear for Brin to extreme pride in his role in the fight.

    Once Brin was sure he wasn¡¯t going to pass out or hack up his lungs, he spared some energy to lift one weary hand and give Marksi some scritches.

    More notifications arrived.

    Alert!

    Due to extreme levels of experience confiscation, your experience will temporarily be transferred to attributes.

    You have 3 free attributes. Please assign them within the next 13 hours or they will expire.

    Alert!

    Due to your actions, you have lost a measure of System protection. You will now give experience to your yer upon your death.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Warbound (Epic) Your thirst for violence cannot be quenched. +10% Vitality upgraded to +20% Vitality +10% Will upgraded to +20% Will

    That was awesome. At the same time¡­ he couldn¡¯t help but feel like it was a bit anticlimactic. It was a nice but expected increase to his Achievement. It wasn¡¯t the earth-shattering, mind-blowing advancement that Tawna had promised. Had she just been screwing with him, in the hopes that he¡¯d die?

    At the same time, it wasn¡¯t as dangerous as she¡¯d said either. True, he could¡¯ve died, but with his magic sword, it was closer to the coin-flip Perris had talked about. Not the [Weaver¡¯s] ¡°most likely you will die¡±.

    That meant that either the [Weaver] was totally full of crap and that Perris was the only one who was actually straight with him, which totally checked out, or it meant that¡­ the danger wasn¡¯t over.

    That thought had him sitting up straight despite his exhaustion. This was a <em>monster den</em>. He shouldn¡¯t expect to be safe here.

    He stood up, groaning at the pain in his middle. He loosened the armor to poke around a little and he didn¡¯t think anything was broken, just very bruised. He¡¯d have to walk it off, he didn¡¯t want to stick around here.

    He did another quick inventory. His wands weren¡¯t broken, the lighter still lit, and the sword of speed was still in its sheath. The other sword was broken and lost, he hadn¡¯t even held onto the hilt.

    Surprisingly, his armor waspletely whole. It was scratched, but none of the monster''s attacks had cut through. Just how good <em>was</em> this armor, Perris?

    He fetched his backpack, ready to leave before something else came to the spinewolf den, but Marksi refused to leave the spot. He kept moving around, looking agitated, and pointing at the water where the corpse of the giant lizard, the Facaldagart apparently, was still floating on the surface of the water. Strange, that it could float. The thing was definitely heavy.

    ¡°Well, if you want it, you¡¯re going to need to fetch the grappling hook for me,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi quickly climbed the tree and loosened the grappling hook, then climbed back down with the rope in his mouth.

    Brin threw it out to the monster, where it hooked against the tough scaly hide. He pulled it to shore. Actually getting it onnd was difficult. He couldn¡¯t get good leverage, and the ground was slippery. He ended up using the grappling hook again by stabbing it in deep and then using the rope to pull it up.

    Marksi found the hole in the monsters side, and started biting it, trying to dig itself in deeper.

    ¡°Marksi, I don¡¯t really know how to dress a kill, and I don¡¯t think we could exin where we got the monster parts if we brought it to town. I think we¡¯d better leave it here.¡±

    The little snake wouldn¡¯t give up, so Brin sighed and used his sword to deepen the hole Marksi was trying to dig into. He didn¡¯t know what he was looking for, so he stabbed deep inside in several different directions. The smell was intense. He knew corpses smelled bad when they rotted, but he had nothing to prepare him for the strong, stinging smell of an animal¡¯s insides.

    Marksi disappeared inside the monster. He re-emerged, slimy with blood and viscera, holding something in his mouth. It was red and glossy. It looked like a rock. A gastrolith, maybe? It could also be a Mana stone. He¡¯d heard that adventurers collected them from monsters and that Chamy used them for enchanting, but he¡¯d never seen one before. Before he could get a better look, Marksi swallowed it.

    ¡°No, Marksi! We don¡¯t know what that is!¡±

    It was toote. Snakes could regurgitate, but it was dangerous; he¡¯d only make Marksi do it if he was sure the thing he¡¯d eaten would kill him. He¡¯d ask Hogg about the stone before he made him do it.

    For now, Marksi curled around in a pile and immediately fell asleep. Right there, in full view of a spinewolf den. Exasperated, Brin picked him up and put him in the backpack.

    Then he took off. He ran from the area at a steady, maintainable pace. He was exhausted, but the worst was behind him and now he just wanted to get home. There was nothing to conserve his energy for.

    No other monsters found him as he ran. He didn¡¯t hear or see anything out of the ordinary. He didn¡¯t even see any animals, and the birds were silent. The rain started toe down steadily, a light drizzle. Not enough to make it cold, especially not to him in his leather armor, but it was enough that the ground started to get slippery, so he slowed down to a walk.

    The walk almost felt worse because now that he wasn¡¯t expending so much effort, he could start to think about how tired he was, and about how much his bruised chest hurt.

    To get himself to stop thinking about that, he started thinking about Tawna instead, which wasn¡¯t any better.

    Danger, rewards, and information. She¡¯d promised him those three things, but hadn¡¯t really delivered. Was it because he¡¯d gone to the thick brush first? Would something different have happened if he¡¯d gone to the spinewolf den right away? He couldn¡¯t imagine what. He¡¯d have fought the same monster, thene home after, walking this same exact direction. The timing would have been different.

    As nice as it would be to have more achievements, he¡¯d aplished a lot today. More than he¡¯d even expected when he set out. He actually <em>hoped</em> that he¡¯d missed whatever it was Tawna wanted him to find.

    The other option would be that he was doing exactly what she wanted him to do. That she would guess that if she gave him two choices, that he¡¯d be greedy and pick both. After all, if she had really wanted him to go to the spinewolf den right away, she could have just not told him about the thick brush.

    The sky grew a bit darker. The rain came down harder, a proper shower now, and the wind picked up.

    His mood began to darken, too. He felt strange, like a thread was connected to his heart and pulling on his heart, guiding him forward. Not to where he wanted to go, but to where <em>fate</em> intended him to go.

    Could people other than [Weavers] feel fate? Could they feel it, when they did exactly what a [Weaver] manipted them into doing, and walked the exact path she wanted him to walk? If so, that¡¯s what he was feeling now. The terrible shackles of fate. He could take them off, if only he was certain they were really there.

    He could turn aside. He could go a different direction, take a longer path home. But he wouldn¡¯t, because he wasn¡¯t sure if that was wise or simply superstitious. Mostly, because he wanted to see it, whatever fate had in store. He knew he wouldn¡¯t turn aside. And so did <em>she</em>.

    Even so, even with the sharp tugs of fate pulling him along, and with all his dark thoughts and terrible expectations, it still took him by surprise. Even after all of that, Brin was <em>still </em>surprised when he found him.

    A manlike figure, wearing tight and ugly ck clothing, sitting on the ground. A crude spear in hisp, also ck. Skin, a terrible gray.

    Absurdly, he didn''t set off Monster Sense. Not a monster. A person? That was highly debatable.

    The figure had his back turned, and Brin thought he might not have noticed he was there. Maybe he could still get away. The figure turned, slowly. He looked Brin in the eye.

    In his eyes, Brin saw death.

 Book 1. Chapter 36

    Book 1. Chapter 36

    This couldn¡¯t be real. Somehow, Brin had convinced himself that these creatures from his nightmares would stay in his nightmares. That was how he¡¯d gotten himself to be able to sleep at night. He¡¯d convinced himself that they were gone, that they were far away, not even real anymore. He¡¯d told himself that he was protected, that he¡¯d never have to worry about them ever again.

    That¡¯s why it felt like an impossibility. It <em>was</em> an impossibility. The dead don¡¯t move. They don¡¯t get up and walk and kill. They don¡¯t hunt little kids and they definitely don¡¯t do it twice in one lifetime. Yet here he was.

    The undead soldier casually stood and faced him.

    With slow, unthreatening movements, Brin slowly withdrew the bottle from his backpack and ced it in a loop at his belt. His mind gibbered in horror, his thoughts reeling, but for some reason his body was calm, like it knew what to do. His hands didn¡¯t shake.

    The undead cocked its head to the side, but was content to watch Brin make ready.

    Brin withdrew his sword from its sheath. Then, oh so slowly, with the kind of slowness that you use when a police officer asks you to put your gun on the floor, he gently set the backpack containing Marksi on the ground. His first goal would be to get away, and to draw the undead away from Marksi. If he couldn¡¯t get away¡­ well he had some other tricks. He wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight.

    The undead raised his spear into the guard position.

    Brin raised his sword straight up in front of him, a fencer¡¯s bow that he¡¯d seen Hogg do, then got into the guard position. He flipped the switch with his thumb.

    The world stopped. The individual raindrops fell noticeably slower in the air. He needed to move; he didn¡¯t know exactly how much time this wouldst.

    In the first second, he dashed to the right. The sword sped up his perception, but it sped up his body even more than that, so he took five steps in the time it felt he should be taking one. The forest flew by around him, hardly more than blurs.

    He nced back, sure he¡¯d already lost the undead, but he realized that he¡¯d never given Hogg enough credit for how much he¡¯d handicapped these things back then, because the undead was keeping up.

    In the second second, Brin weaved to the side, but the undead moved to match him perfectly, as if inertia didn¡¯t apply to him at all. The soldier made up the space between them and shot out with the spear as quick as an arrow.

    Brin deflected it with a forearm, and even the ncing blow cut through his leather armor to scratch his skin. He swung his sword, and the undead jumped back. Brin turned and ran.

    In the third second, Brin ran wildly. He needed a ce where the undead wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge, some kind of narrow gap. He saw a log fallen over a wide andzy stream, more like a pond in slow motion. Or it could be moving quickly for all he knew; he was moving fast, sshing through fields of raindrops.

    He ran to the log, and during the fourth second, he crossed it. It only went halfway through across the stream, so he leapt the remaining distance. When he hit the ground on the other side, he immediately turned and fired his wand.

    Just as he¡¯d hoped, the undead was in midair¨Cno way to dodge. A beam of fire burst from his wand¡­ but it was too slow.

    The undead threw its spear into the ground, then jumped off it, over the fire beam which only singed the end of one foot.

    During the fifth second, Brin turned to run, but something mmed into his shoulder, knocking him to the ground. A stone. The undead had hit him with a river stone.

    He rolled to his back and brought out one of the other wands, one of the illusion ones. He fired it, and the undead dropped the second stone he¡¯d picked up and jumped to avoid the bar of illusory me. He left the stream and charged him, spear forward. Brin had one more illusion wand, but he knew it was useless. The undead could see heat, he wouldn¡¯t be fooled a second time.

    Six seconds. The undead was limping now, but he still closed the distance while Brin got to his feet. Heshed out with a swing from the side. In terror-fueled anger, Brin stepped into the blow, with one arm up to block and the other swinging his sword around.

    His blocking hand caught the shaft of the spear, but he wasn¡¯t strong enough to stop it and the blow came through. His helmet saved him, the spear nced off it, but then slid onto his face. It sliced deeply into his cheek, ncing against his cheekbone and away. Brin¡¯s sword hit its target, too, gouging a deep wound into the undead¡¯s unarmored side. A notification appeared, one like he¡¯d never seen before.

    You have been scarred. Title granted: Scarred System Override: Scarred unlocked. Your wounds heal 10% slower.

    <em>That sucked!</em> You could get bad Titles? In the moment of distraction from the notification, the undead punched him. His vision blinked ck. The hit knocked him back, but he kept his feet and that gained some space between them. He ran.

    Seven seconds. The undead could still run, but he was limping now and Brin quickly outpaced him. He gained ground, getting further and further away, until he nearly made it out of sight.

    Then eight seconds had passed, and the magic ran out.

    The rain poured down quickly again, like the world had been holding its breath, uncertain of the oue, only now it knew. The undead, which had seemed like it was slowing and awkward, now cked towards him at a breakneck speed.

    Brin turned to run, and dropped the smoke bomb behind him. As soon as the plume of hot, static-charged smoke erupted behind him, he ducked down into the shadow of a nearby shrub.

    The undead burst through the smoke an instantter, and kept running, expecting Brin to have made some headway.

    Brin debated in his mind, whether he should run or stay hidden. Ha! Deja vu. Stay or flee. If he ran now, he might get away. He only had to get far enough away that the undead couldn¡¯t see or hear him anymore, then he¡¯d be set.

    On the other hand, if the undead figured out his ruse quickly and returned, running away would give away his hiding spot. Stay or flee? He hadn¡¯t missed this game.

    He stayed hidden, just likest time. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was his n or if he¡¯d just frozen in terror.

    Then undead returned less than a minuteter. He¡¯d been nearby; he would¡¯ve seen Brin if he¡¯d tried to make a break for it. He¡¯d been right, but that didn¡¯t make him feel better.

    The soldier walked with obvious effort. It clutched its wound in its side, still oozing ck blood. Why did undead bleed? Make no mistake, he was d they did. But why?

    How wounded was it? Could he take it now? He didn¡¯t think so. At the same time, he wasn¡¯t sure he would get the choice.

    The smoke bomb was still going, obviously distracting the undead. He looked at it longingly, then shook his head and scanned the surrounding forest, only for his gaze to inevitably be drawn back to the smoke bomb.

    As long as that smoke bomb kept going, he was safe.

    All too quickly, it started to putter out.

    Brin had two items left. The spent sword of speed, and the potion. He had one n left. A bold, stupid, silly n. Perfect. He should die as he lived.

    ¡°Fine! You looking for a real fight? You got it!!¡± He threw the sword on the ground and smiled. He looked at the potion, and startedughing. He was going for triumphantughter, but it came out hysterical. Good enough.

    The undead, sensing that something was up, ran towards him.

    Brinughed, and brought the potion up to his lips.

    The undead jolted in surprise, leapt towards him and got there in the nick of time. He stabbed Brin in the chest with the spear, but his full attention wasn¡¯t on it because it didn¡¯t pierce the armor. His other hand reached out to grab the potion away from Brin¡¯s mouth.

    Brin let him have it. He punched the potion into the undead¡¯s face. He¡¯d liked to have shattered the ss, but ss is actually pretty tough. Even so, the motion poured the bottle''s contents right into the undead¡¯s eyes.

    Brin jumped back, scrabbling away from the undead until his back hit a tree. His feet wanted to run, but that wouldn¡¯t work. If the potion didn¡¯t work, then anything else he tried would be futile.

    The undead blinked.

    It tilted its head to the side again.

    It spoke. ¡°Ah. Freedom. How nice. What a strange freak of fate for the two of us to meet again here. Out of all the days you could have gone hunting. Out of all the scouts you could have run into. You run into me. Here and now. I hazard to guess that¡¯s no coincidence.¡±

    ¡°No. No, I don¡¯t suppose it is,¡± Brin let out a shuddering halfugh, half sob. He breathed in and out, too quickly. He had to force himself to stop hyperventting.

    It was really over. The potion had worked. The undead wasn¡¯t going to kill him. Still, it was standing there, that thing from his nightmares. It was just¡­ standing there, looking at him with those dead, unseeing eyes. Not just standing there. It was talking to him. He wasn¡¯t going to die, but he¡¯d almost rather fight to the death again than hear the dead speak. The undead¡¯s voice sounded like frogs in a blender.

    ¡°You seem to have the advantage of me, sir. Do you recognize me?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Of course, Aberthol. It¡¯s me. I am, unfortunately, your father.¡±

    To Brin¡¯s surprise, the first thing he wanted to shoot back with was that his name was Brin and that Hogg was his father. How strange was that? He hadn¡¯t forgotten about his dad on earth, who for the record was a really good guy. But here in his current world, it was true. For better or worse, Hogg was his father.

    He wasn¡¯t stupid, though. The undead must recognize this body. Aberthol. He finally had the boy¡¯s name.

    His eyes widened in shock, and the undead seemed to ept that response.

    ¡°You must have many questions. We must be quick about them. That potion should be drunk, that you sshed it on me means that we have limited time. I will warn you before I return to my previous master¡¯s control, so that you may y me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re ok with that?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    "How are you talking? I knew the potion would free you from the necromancers control, but I figured you''d go into a blind rampage. I didn''t think it would bring back your personality," said Brin.

    "My soul never left," said the undead. "We remain as we were, only chained, able to act only as directed."

    ¡°That sounds like torture,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯ll put you out of your misery soon.¡±

    ¡°I find it quite restful. There is no pain. Anxiety and guilt have fled. I have no will or agency. My body moves on its own. My mind thinks on its own. Without effort or struggle,¡± said the undead. ¡°Bute, I know you have better worries than that.¡±

    ¡°Why were you so much stronger than all the other undead I¡¯ve faced?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You faced other undead? How strange. Were I still a man, I would be sorrowed to hear that. To answer your question, not stronger. Faster. I was a [Scout] in life. I imagine most of the undead you faced were animatedmoners.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about the night you died,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°When we entered the town, you must imagine what they thought of us. A woman and a man traveling alone with a child? And the woman carrying an aura of authority, ordering her husband about and iming to be an [Enchantress]? I think they must have seen the fatigue in our features. The worry in our eyes. You can imagine what they must¡¯ve thought.¡±

    ¡°They thought she was a [Witch]. They shunned us,¡± said Brin, nodding along like he already knew.

    ¡°Well yes they thought that, but¡­ do you remember being shunned? People don¡¯t treat you badly when they <em>actually</em> know you¡¯re terrible and powerful. They weed us with full hospitality.¡±

    The way he¡¯d phrased that¡­ it was odd.

    The undead continued, ¡°The town¡¯s Prefit entertained us in his own home. Fed us from his own table. He and his wife promised to look after you when your mother and I went to face the army.¡±

    ¡°The undead army? Why would you try to face it?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°We were surrounded. What else could we do? I expect she thought she could talk her way out of it. Foolish. You don¡¯t talk your way out of treason to Arcaena. Not even if you¡¯re one of her precious little apprentice [Witches]. They cut me down immediately, and by the end of the night I joined the army. Her death, I imagine, took much longer.¡±

    That confirmed it. His birth mother¡­ was a [Witch]. Not just any [Witch], but an apprentice of Arcaena. Then how had she made that artifact that saved his life, the one only [Enchantresses] could make? Unless¡­ [Weaver] wasn¡¯t the ss that [Witch] evolved from. [Enchantress] was. Chamy.

    Something else about that bothered him. ¡°People here, they say that Arcaena doesn¡¯t tolerate other [Witches] in her queendom.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Of course they would say that,¡± said his zombie dad. ¡°Do you mind if I sit down?¡±

    He sat before Brin answered, still clutching the wound in his side. It was possible he¡¯d bleed out before the magic of the potion ran out. That would be fine by Brin. As much as the undead imed kinship with him, he felt nothing but fear and disgust for the monster. But he <em>needed</em> this information.

    ¡°Could she still be alive?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°If she is, then she wishes that she were not.¡±

    ¡°So the undead army really came from Arcaena. Not a Burrow Kingdom. What¡¯s it doing all the way out here?¡±

    The undead cocked its head in confusion. ¡°Did you really not hear us, when we spoke of this? I know she ordered you never to listen, but can a child really turn his ears off?¡±

    Brin ventured a guess as to what kind of rtionship that child had with his mother. ¡°Fear can make you do crazy things.¡±

    ¡°This is so. I cannot offer you an apology for never interceding. I resented you, as another chain around my neck. Now in death, I cannot im otherwise. The dead have no use for lies,forting or otherwise.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve moved on,¡± said Brin, though if he needed another reason to <em>really</em> not care about this guy, that was it. ¡°Tell me about the army.¡±

    ¡°It was both. Our spies found a Burrow Kingdom in the wastes. When Aberfa learned of it, she rebelled. She could serve someone who wanted to rule the world without hesitation. However, serving someone who <em>actually might</em><em>seed</em> in conquering the world was a different story. There is a level of madness and death that even your mother couldn¡¯t ept.

    ¡°Aberfa tried to take control of the army, but the others beat us there. We fled. We sought to make it to Steamshield. Perhaps if we brought a warning to Frenaria they would offer us sanctuary. This potion¡¯s effects will soon wear out. You should y me soon.¡±

    ¡°Do undead have weaknesses I should know about?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°We are weak to fire. Bright heat blurs our vision.¡±

    ¡°And it doesn¡¯t hurt? Even that wound in your side?¡±

    ¡°No. You need not pity me. What may look like pain or fear or anger is simply a readjustment of tactics due to changing conditions. We must obey our orders. We must preserve ourselves. We must preserve our master. Anything else?¡±

    ¡°Who is your master?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Where is the Burrow Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. In the Wastes.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s their current n for the army?¡±

    ¡°To bring it home. Therein lies the difficulty. If the army is discovered too soon, the whole continent will unite against Arcaena. However, if they can move across the Bonds in secrecy, then only Prinnash lies in their way. They will burn a line straight across Prinnash and then reinforce Arcaena. The world will still unite against her, but it will be toote. She will be unassable.¡±

    ¡°Then they don¡¯t want to destroy Hammon¡¯s Bog...¡± Brin thought out loud. ¡°They want to get past without anyone noticing. If I wanted to get a message to them, to talk things out, is there a way to contact them?¡±

    ¡°You could write a letter. We have orders to retrieve any mail we intercept.¡±

    ¡°Is there another way I¡¯m not thinking of? A way to stop this army before tens of thousands of people die?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps in life, I could have made a n. I have no wish to bend my mind to this now, and youck the means to force me. Oh. One thing I should mention. I had another family, before your mother took me. You have a half-sister, and two half-brothers. They may yet live. A town called Canibri, in Prinnash.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know how to feel about that. A strange sense of longing, maybe, to meet someone rted by blood. Someone who wasn¡¯t a corpse, who hadn¡¯t tried to kill him.

    ¡°My mother was Aberfa, right? What¡¯s myst name? And what¡¯s your name?¡± asked Brin.

    The undead paused, confused. ¡°You are Aberthol Beynon. And I was Cadwy Baines. Cadwy Beynon after I was taken. Are you¡­ are you not Aberthol?¡±

    Brin winced, then smiled, then winced again when the smile reminded him of the oozing gash on his face. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    The undead twitched, then started to shake.

    ¡°Is it the potion? Is it wearing off?¡±

    ¡°y me now, whoever you are. Or perish.¡±

    Brin picked up his sword, and hacked off his father¡¯s head. It took four tries before the head finally tumbled to the ground.

    A tinkling chime sounded as a series of notifications appeared.

 Book 1. Chapter 37

    Book 1. Chapter 37

    May as well get the bad news out of the way first. It was time to look at Scarred again and see if he¡¯d missed anything. It was totally unfair. A fight to the death with an absurdly high-level undead, and he got a <em>decrease</em> to healing speed? He had to be reading that wrong. When he pulled up the status screen, there was a little more information.

    Title: Scarred

    An undead delivered a wound to your face that inflicted necromantic rot. You have been scarred. Your wounds heal 10% slower. This title cannot be lost while the wound or scar remains.

    That sounded like the Title hade from some kind of ability or Skill. The wording ¡°while the wound or scar remains¡± was promising, though. Hopefully that meant that there was something he could do to nullify it, or possibly even turn it into a positive?

    He remembered back in his old world, there were a bunch of people who liked toe up with worthless superpowers, and then find a way to exploit them to be crazy powerful. Your toast alwaysnds on the butter side down? Put butter on both sides and you have infinite energy. Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t think of an exploit for ¡®your wounds heal slower¡¯.

    It was dumb because he wasn¡¯t even scarred yet. Scarring is what happenedter. You weren¡¯t scarred when your wound was still bleeding. The cheek where he¡¯d been punched ached, while the one where he¡¯d been cut felt like it was on fire. He didn¡¯t even have anything for it now, but he didn¡¯t think he was in danger of bleeding out or anything. He could take care of it when he got home.

    The next notification was more exciting.

    Alert! You have defeated: Elite Undead Soldier Scout [32] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    <strong></strong>

    Alert! Your System is currently locked. Experience will be rewarded as free attributes. +5 free attributes. Please assign them within the next 13 hours or they will expire.

    <strong></strong>

    Brin pumped his fist. That was eight now. He could bring Dexterity, Will, or Vitality to the second threshold. Or if he put them all into Magic, he¡¯d only need three more to get to the first threshold. Then he¡¯d have theplete set.

    He could do it, too. He didn¡¯t need to fight monsters alone anymore; he already had that achievement. He just needed a bit more experience. Surely Hogg would help him with that.

    It was also strange that Cadwy was only level 32, when he was so much stronger, or at least faster, than the other undead he¡¯d fought. The word Elite must be important. Levels weren¡¯t always a good judge of how dangerous something was. He¡¯d proven that tonight.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Warbound (Epic) Without aid, you have defeated an enemy soldier before unlocking your System. You sing the song of the battlefield and your enemies fall before you. +10% Dexterity. +50% experience from meleebat upgraded to +100%. Skill granted: Battle Fury

    Notice: System skills are locked pending full System ess.

    <strong></strong>

    <em>Ohe on!</em> Why was he only rolling snake-eyes today? The System had unlocked Monster Sense for him, but not Battle Fury? That was unfair. He couldn¡¯t wait to find out what it did. It sounded awesome.

    Although, the 100% experience increase was incredible. He¡¯d basically level up twice as fast as anyone else, from meleebat, at least. He was starting to realize he didn¡¯t actually <em>like</em> meleebat. Too much a chance of getting his face cut to pieces, even when he won. He should really learn to use a bow.

    The notifications weren¡¯t finished.

    Congrattions! You have gained an achievement. Filial Piety (Epic) You performed a noble act of service to your father at great risk to yourself, freeing his captive soul from those who bound him in servitude.

    Extra resistance against mental maniption, soul maniption, and Mana pool maniption.

    You may also pick one of the following options:

    Strength of arm to match your strength of character

    Mental fortitude to always know what must be done

    Magical growth to gain more wisdom of the world

    Brin didn¡¯t have to think about the choice for long. He selected magical growth.

    You have received: +100% Magic attribute growth.

    <strong></strong>

    He had been hoping it would be a straight-up increase to Magic to push him over the threshold, but still it was an unexpected boon. He had never considered that man his father, but apparently it counted even if it was only your birth father. The hundred percent Magic attribute growth was like water in the desert. Hogg had made light of the regr +10% attribute growth he¡¯d gotten with other achievements, saying it didn¡¯t mean much against the natural rule of diminishing returns from training your attributes, but 100% still had to be something special. He might even be able to train up to twenty-six using the mana drainer, never mind getting Hogg to help him hunt monsters.

    As far as the other stuff was concerned, it was kind of scary to hear the System talk about <em>soul</em> maniption. Was that something that could happen? Hopefully that just meant being bound as an undead. Cadwy hadn¡¯t seemed all that bothered by the experience. And mind maniption? What did that look like? Would he even know if it was happening to him? Well, better to know what was out there and have resistance to it, rather than not know and be vulnerable.

    Things were looking up, but he was feeling¡­ down.

    The adrenaline from the fight was wearing off, and now the pain from his wounds were starting to overwhelm him. The burning cut, the aching bruises, not just on his face, but <em>everywhere. </em>Was there any part of his body that didn¡¯t get hurt somehow? Even the spider bites from earlier were painfully itchy.

    He grabbed everything from the area he felt he should. His sword. The spear. The head of his father. He needed proof of what he¡¯d seen tonight. Hogg would believe him, but he figured the town would need to see a zombie head for it all to sink in.

    He stumbled back south¡­ ish. Night was falling and he couldn''t find the sun behind the clouds.

    His journey felt long, although he probably only went ten steps before Hogg caught him.

    ¡°Oh thank G¨C thank Solia,¡± said Brin. ¡°Were you watching?¡±

    ¡°Of course I was watching,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You said you weren¡¯t going to watch.¡±

    ¡°Of course I said I wasn¡¯t going to watch. Otherwise you¡¯d have known there was a safety and your rewards would¡¯ve been smaller,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Look, you can trust me. Just not always my words.¡±

    Hogg eased Brin onto the ground, and then started digging around in a satchel. He had that and a backpack¨CBrin¡¯s backpack. The one with Marksi in it.

    Hogg himself looked pale and worried. Oh, he probably heard all that stuff about the army.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t like it. I knew you wouldn¡¯t want me to intervene in that fight, not when it still looked like you were going to make it, but just sitting there watching you fight for your life and not doing anything? I didn¡¯t like it. I really¨C¡± Hogg stopped abruptly, frowning hard.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin. ¡°Thank you for trusting me. And thank you for looking out for me. Next time, you can step in.¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t going to be a ¡®next time¡¯. Your days of going off on our own are <em>done</em>, you hear me? You want to get stronger, you''re doing it the normal, slow way.¡±

    ¡°Fine with me. But Marksi¨C¡±

    ¡°Huh? He¡¯s fine. He¡¯s in here. Sleeping.¡± Hogg absently patted his backpack, and then apparently found what he was looking for in the satchel. It was a white square. An adhesive bandage of some kind. He pressed it against Brin¡¯s cut cheek.

    He hissed when it felt like he¡¯d been stabbed all over again, this time by something cold, but the pain soon faded, and it took the burning pain with it, drawing it out like oil from the desert. From the corner of his eye, he saw the bandage turn ck and start to steam.

    ¡°He got you with something potent here. Lucky I got to it,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Was it¡­ poisoned? I didn¡¯t know they used poison,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Probably a Skill of some kind.¡±

    ¡°I got a Title off that. Scarred. It¡¯s a permanent ten percent loss to my healing speed,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg winced in sympathy. ¡°Stronger undead have permanent debuffs. Nasty stuff, that. Scarred can be fixed, but it¡¯ll take a specialist. Nobody like that in the Bonds. There are other ways to turn it around, though.¡±

    Hogg prodded his spider bites, then took out an ointment and started dabbing it on.

    ¡°Ok, but Marksi, he ate something,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg paused. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Some kind of stone. Probably a beast core, from the Fecal¡­ Ffel¡­¡±

    ¡°Facaldagart.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that.¡±

    ¡°Bit of an expensive snack, but he can probably handle it. We¡¯ll keep an eye on him.¡±

    Brin sagged in relief. ¡°Oh, good.¡±

    ¡°Alright, where else are you hurt?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°My chest?¡±

    ¡°Nothing broken, but you¡¯ll be sore in the morning,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You¡¯re bleeding somewhere else. I can smell it.¡±

    Brin tried to think. There¡¯d been so much today that trying to think of every time he¡¯d been hit was difficult for his frazzled mind. The spiders had bit him, the giant lizard he knocked him around, but the armor had protected him. The undead soldier¡­ Oh, right. His arm.

    He held up his forearm. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you couldn¡¯t just, you know, see in the dark.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know what else is watching. I¡¯d rather not turn the lights on,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin held up his lighter with the other hand and created a candle-sized me. His forearm looked worse than he remembered it being. Blood ran through the rent in the armor and down to his elbow.

    ¡°I think I can glue this shut,¡± said Hogg, and reached into the rent with a dab of a green substance that smelled like rotten spinach. It stung when it touched the skin. Hogg pinched the cut closed, and the bleeding stopped soon after.

    ¡°Next time I go on an adventure, I¡¯m bringing medical supplies,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You think?¡± asked Hogg.

    Hogg dug in his rucksack again, and brought out a small yellow bottle. ¡°Drink this.¡±

    Brin examined it. Ten silver. He knocked it back and it tasted like nothing, but somehow had a really terrible limey aftertaste.

    He started feeling warm. Light. The pain in his body seemed to melt away, and the fog in his mind lifted. He¡¯d really been fading there for a second; now that he was back to himself, he could tell.

    He wasn¡¯t just free from pain, he felt <em>good</em>. Energetic. He could <em>run</em> the entire way back home.

    ¡°What <em>is</em> that stuff?¡± asked Brin. ¡°You¡¯ve been holding out on me! I know it wasn¡¯t that expensive, so why aren¡¯t we drinking that all the time?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s absurdly addictive. I¡¯m not even going to tell you what it''s called, because you¡¯re going to be craving it for the next two days. Also, it doesn¡¯t actually fix what¡¯s wrong with you. You¡¯re still going to be <em>very</em> sore in the morning, and now your headache will be ten times worse.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± said Brin. Sure that didn¡¯t sound the best, but right now he didn¡¯t care. He tested winding his arms around in circles, marveling at how all the soreness was just <em>gone.</em> ¡°So you heard all the stuff my zombie dad told me?¡±

    ¡°I did!¡± Hogg¡¯s face lit up. ¡°It¡¯s great! Well, no, it¡¯s terrible. The worst possible scenario. But at least now we know! Finally! I¡¯ve been in the dark for so long, imagining every possible nightmare, and now <em>finally</em> we have something to go off of.¡±

    ¡°What are we going to do about it? We have to tell everyone,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Already on it. I have a mirror image in Oud¡¯s Bog as we speak, dictating letters to send to every corner of the nation, and hopefully it won¡¯t matter if they arrive or not, because I have eyes heading to the capitol and the Tower, as well as the front lines with the same message. Soon, everyone will know. We need to warn the town, too, though. You should take that head and bring it to the Prefit. Tell him everything you saw and heard. The undead, the army, and don¡¯t forget to mention that a certain [Weaver] manipted a child into near certain death. She may have saved us all, but that kind of thing is illegal around here, or so I hear.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Brin with a smile. ¡°But what are you going to do?¡±

    Hogg looked off into the forest, then back at Brin, clearly conflicted. ¡°I have to go after them. They can fool my illusions, but I can track them in person. This might be our <em>one</em> chance to find the real army. Even with the letters, and even if it¡¯s me saying it, if we don¡¯t have the army, then¡­¡±

    ¡°Go,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But¨C¡±

    ¡°You should go! Get going now, the trail is getting cold! I¡¯ll be <em>fine,</em>¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m going straight back to town, and you just came from that direction. There¡¯s nothing there. I¡¯ll be safe. Just make sure youe back, ok?¡±

    Hogg clenched his jaw. ¡°Arg! Fine. I¡¯m keeping a mirror image with you, just in case.¡±

    A fake Hogg popped up next to Brin, and the real one disappeared into the forest.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll be getting back.¡±

    He started walking with Hogg¡¯s mirror image by his side. He didn¡¯t engage the man in conversation. Hogg was doing at least three things at once right now, and it wouldn¡¯t be helpful to pull away any of his attention. He contented himself with the cool night air and the feeling that the danger was finally over.

    It was probably the drug potion Hogg had given him, but he felt good. Content. It was a beautiful night. The clouds were blocking the stars, but the rain had stopped and the world felt fresh and that beautiful after-rainstorm aroma hung in the air. It was quiet, the birds and bugs were still asleep from the cold and rain, but he figured they¡¯d start chirping any moment now.

    Hogg knew where to go, so Brin followed him, hands on the back of his head.

    With no warning, Hogg¡¯s illusion disappeared. A secondter, Brin heard crunching footsteps behind him¨Cloud walking so he wouldn¡¯t be startled. It was Hogg, the real one.

    ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t feel good about it. I¡¯m not letting you walk back alone. I¡¯ll pick up the trailter if I can, but only <em>after</em> I see you safe in town.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid,¡± Brin pointed out. ¡°Even if I die on the way back, which I won¡¯t, the army is more important. Figuring out where the army is could save <em>thousands</em>.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. He walked right past Brin, moving quickly so that Brin had to trot to keep up. ¡°I was thinking, see? I was thinking about what the [Weaver] done. She used you, she messed with your mind ying all those games, pushing you to get stronger and meaner. Oh well, people are mean sometimes, I thought. Lots of people are mean to children because they just don¡¯t like children. [Weaver] at least, she got a reason, right? [Weaver¡¯s] always got a reason.¡±

    Hogg was slipping into an ent, one Brin didn¡¯t really recognize. Hogg never had the most meticulous diction, sure, but this was new.

    ¡°Maybe it was a good one,¡± said Brin, not knowing why he was sticking up for someone he truly didn¡¯t like.

    ¡°Yeah, but then tonight. She put you in danger with her ¡®choice¡¯ that was no choice at all. And I¡­ I went along. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been doing wrong, see? A vige elder, she can say ¡®One must die for the good of all¡¯, but a parent, that¡¯s something different. Parents protect their kids no matter what, even if all the rest of the world burns for it. I had no call to let her do that to you. I should have put a stop to it.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s the truth. Well, so what? That¡¯s also part of being a parent. I should have done it anyway. I should have told you that you had to take a break once in a while and have some fun, rather than training all day every day.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a child. I¨C¡±

    ¡°Grown-ups need someone to tell them that, too. You have one week of childhood left and I learn all this now. Noctis¡¯ starry abyss, I¡¯m a slow study.¡±

    Brin put a hand on his shoulder, awkward because of how quick he had to walk to keep up. ¡°I think you¡¯re doing just fine. You¡¯re trying. I can see that, and it¡¯s all I ever asked.¡±

    Hogg grunted.

    They walked along, and Brin expected his energy drink to wear off, but if anything the effect just got stronger and stronger, until he started feeling like they were going too slow. Yeah, people <em>really</em> shouldn¡¯t be drinking this stuff. It hadn¡¯t even worn off yet and he already wanted another one.

    ¡°What¡¯s she doing now?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°She¡¯s with the Prefit,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What are they talking about?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t usually eavesdrop on people I know, but¡­ yep. She¡¯s flirting with him. Awkwardly. He¡¯s not having it. I¡¯m shutting that out.¡±

    Brinughed at the scandalized expression on Hogg¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hey, so listen, I was thinking,¡± said Brin. Now was as good a time as any to bring up the Magic threshold thing. He figured he¡¯d start with asking Hogg to skip town, and when he shot that down he¡¯d ask Hogg to help him hunt monsters. Better chance of getting a yes on the second question. ¡°System day is in a week, and frankly it sucks. It¡¯spletely unfair that I¡¯m losing out on almost six months of preparation just because this town has a stupid Skill. Is there any chance you could get me to another town and register residency there, so I¡¯d have a bit more time?¡±

    To his surprise, Hogg actually took the time to mull it over. Then he nodded. ¡°Sure, we could do that.¡±

    Brin stumbled over his own feet, tumbling to his knees. Hogg helped him up.

    ¡°You mean¡­ just like that?¡±

    ¡°Well, why not? I mean, I want to protect my home. But I also want to protect you, and frankly, Lumina would thank me if I took you away from the center of theing disaster. There are plenty of ces that would be safer than Hammon¡¯s Bog for the next year or two, looks like. I could get you to Eduard¡¯s Bog in a day, or Oud¡¯s Bog in three days if we hurry. Hammon¡¯s Bog won¡¯t miss me if I¡¯m just gone for a week or two. I reckon they won¡¯t miss you at all.¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°No, I imagine they won¡¯t.¡±

    A notification appeared.

    Alert! You have reached majority. Your System will be unlocked. Please prepare for ss Selection.

    ¡°What? What, no. That can¡¯t be right!¡± Brin said, desperately trying to blink away the notification. ¡°I still have a week!¡±

    ¡°What is it? What¡¯s going on?¡± Hogg searched Brin¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s saying I¡¯m unlocking my System. Can people spoof System messages?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg¡¯s eyes zed over. ¡°Damn it all! The Prefit did this! Tawna had him move System day up a week!¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°More like, how did she know what we were just talking about? It can¡¯t be anything else, can it? She doesn¡¯t want us to leave. Burn her! And burn this town! They can¡¯t <em>do</em> this to you.¡±

    ¡°What should I do?¡±

    Hogg wiped his face with his hands, ¡°Get ready, I guess. Let¡¯s find somece dry so you don¡¯t wake up soaking wet.¡±

    Hogg found a pine, and swiped away the lower branches with one sh of his shortsword, making a nice covered little area where they could sit on dry pine needles.

    Brin sat, in shock. Well, no, the sad part was he wasn¡¯t shocked. He knew, somehow, that they were going to take it away from him.

    He had to make a quick decision. Vitality was higher than Dexterity. He put six points into Vitality, bringing it up to the second threshold. Notifications announced that he got the expected Lively II and upgrade to Workhorse. He didn¡¯t read them. He put thest three points into Magic, bringing it up to eighteen. Hopefully it would be enough.

    Hogg couldn¡¯t even look at him. The old guy¡¯s jaw was clenched so tight it looked like he might break his teeth, and he kept gulping.

    Brin sighed. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ss Selection Initiated.

    <strong></strong>

 Book 1. Chapter 38

    Book 1. Chapter 38

    Brin opened his eyes to an unusually familiar sight. This was home, his home from before, the living room of the nice single-bedroom apartment. Everything was exactly as he remembered it. The carpet, the paint, everything was still like new because only he had ever lived here. The armchair matched the sofa and fit with the coffee table and the TV stand. He¡¯d bought them all together with his first paycheck after college, still flush with the novelty of being able to afford things like new furniture. His gamingputer on a sleek, ck desk with a trendy gaming chair¨Cit wasn¡¯t nearly asfortable as themercials imed. Regr office chairs were honestly better for sitting for long periods of time.

    The dining table, too big for him eating alone, but perfect for the weekly game night with his friends. It didn¡¯t hurt to remember them, even though he¡¯d never see them again. A fun group, but he couldn¡¯t really say they were close.

    For a moment, he wanted to pretend that he was really here. That he¡¯d fallen asleep in his chair and that he¡¯d dreamed the whole thing. [Know What¡¯s Real] wouldn¡¯t even let him pretend. He knew this wasn¡¯t real. This was a dream, or illusion, or vision.

    He stood up and went to the mirror, the one on the wall that he¡¯d bought with some other random decorations he¡¯d bought when people started asking why his walls were all so bare. In the mirror, he saw Brin¡¯s scarred face staring back at him. He still had the bruise on one side and the adhesive bandage on the other, though he couldn¡¯t really feel either.

    He suddenly felt sick with anger at being here. This was ss Selection. The System had created this little mind pce. Why? To make him feel at ease? It was rank maniption.

    He calmly, carefully went over to the dining table, picked up a chair, and hurled it at the wall, shattering it.

    <em>He had been so close. He had almost gotten Magic I. Was that really too much to ask?</em> The broken chair disappeared, and reappeared at its ce at the table. Apparently, this space wasn¡¯t going to indulge in his tantrums. He took deep breaths, trying to force the rage down.

    This was Tawna¡¯s n again. Go into ss Selection angry and upset, and he¡¯d definitely pick an evil ss, right? Well, he was upset, but knowing he was angry didn¡¯t make it go away.

    He heard a knock at the door, and it opened before he answered it.

    Mark walked in. It was him, looking as he did in his old life. Somehow too skinny and too fat at the same time, his sandy blonde hair already balding.

    The strangest part was what he was wearing¨Cnothing but lederhosen. No shirt or socks either, just the shorts-suspendersbo that German children used to wear. They weren¡¯t real leather, either; they looked like he¡¯d bought them from a halloween costume store.

    He went to the fridge and pulled out an orange creme soda, and then sat at the table and looked at Brin.

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know where to start. Um. Hi. Wee to ss selection?¡±

    Brin frowned. ¡°Hi. Who are you supposed to be? And can we do thister? I kind of had ns.¡±

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s start there. First off, I feel you. I really do. It sucks what just happened.¡±

    Brin fumed, walking across the floor of the living room that now felt too small. ¡°It sucks? That¡¯s all you can say? I was <em>so</em> close. Why would she do this? What could I have possibly done to earn this ridiculous level of sabotage from her?¡±

    ¡°When I think about it,¡± said the lederhosen Mark, ¡°everything she¡¯s ever done to me hasn¡¯t been because of what I¡¯ve done, but because of what I could do in the future, or not do. I think it¡¯s safe to assume this is to prevent some kind of bad future. The guess that she somehow figured out that I was nning on skipping town and that she needs Hogg here seems the most likely to me.¡±

    ¡°Why are you saying it like that, like you were the one that this happened to?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m you. You can call me the Child.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, because that makes sense,¡± said Brin. He was irritated to find that it actually <em>did</em> make sense. [Know What¡¯s Real] pointed it out; in some strange way, he was talking to himself. ¡°What could she <em>possibly</em> gain from this? It isn¡¯t just me this time. She screwed over the entire town with this stunt. People treat System Day like their wedding day and college graduation all wrapped up in one. This is going to piss <em>everyone</em> off. Why would the Prefit fall for that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that,¡± said the Child. ¡°Hogg is going to murder her. He¡¯s been sticking up for me recently, and even if he hadn¡¯t been, do you really think he¡¯s the type of person who¡¯s fine letting himself be manipted to this degree? This isn¡¯t just mean, it¡¯s stupid.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. I honestly don¡¯t see how she thinks she¡¯ll get away with it,¡± said Brin. ¡°By triggering System Day, she¡¯spletely stopped Hogg¡¯s ability to track down the army. Or maybe that was the point. Are wepletely sure she isn¡¯t allied with the [Witches]? Hogg seemed pretty certain she wasn¡¯t, and the visions I saw on her weaving showed her dead with the rest of the town. But I can¡¯t think of anything else that would exin it. Maybe this is all just about getting me killed. Maybe she assumed Hogg would leave me to fend for myself and that I¡¯d beatose on the forest floor, perfect pickings for some monster toe along.¡±

    ¡°You really think this is all someplex n to get a monster to kill me?¡± asked the Child.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a win-win for her either way. Either I die and her visions clear up, or I bring back word of the army.¡± Brin stopped pacing back and forth and slumped into the armchair. ¡°Well, I could sit here making guesses all day, but we really won¡¯t know until we get back to town. Let¡¯s just get this over with. How do I select a ss?¡±

    ¡°Oh, buck up. You missed <em>one </em>achievement that you wanted, but you still have an incredible start. I don¡¯t think there are even very many noble kids with as good a start as you. But yeah, time¡¯s wasting. I already introduced myself. I¡¯m the Child. I¡¯m here to represent the possibility of choosing the [Child] ss. I¡¯m you, but mostly I¡¯m the you that would choose [Child].¡±

    ¡°If I choose [Child] I¡¯ll go back to looking like I did before? And what¡¯s with the lederhosen? Why aren¡¯t you wearing a shirt? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re goingmando.¡±

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t tell you,¡± said the Child with a wink. ¡°I think your subconscious couldn¡¯t imagine that you would choose my ss, so it had a hard timeing up with what that would look like. But don¡¯t worry! The other guys will get here soon. We just figured I¡¯de on ahead and exin how this is going to work. And by ¡®we¡¯ I mean ¡®you¡¯. We¡¯re all you. Different possibilities of you, based on what you choose today.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really nailing this,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well <em>sorry</em>,¡± said the Child. ¡°I didn¡¯t get any time to prep, ok? I¡¯ve only existed for like two minutes. Or I¡¯ve existed your whole life, because¨C¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re me. Got it,¡± said Brin.

    The Child chugged his orange creme soda, straight down. Then he got up and grabbed himself another. Those were the expensive brand, so he had to drive to a special store in the city for them. He didn¡¯tin, though, because they weren¡¯t even real.

    The Child mmed his empty bottle on the table. ¡°Alright, so first things first. Where are we? This is your soul space. It can be anywhere, but we decided on a ce that would feelfortable and familiar to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t choose Hogg¡¯s ce, or my earth parents¡¯ house.¡±

    ¡°Hogg¡¯s house is Hogg¡¯s house. It needs to be <em>your</em> ce. As for your parents'' house, this should be a time of self-reflection, not a time for breaking down and crying about all the stuff you miss. Which reminds me, time is moving at a normal rate in the real world. We should be able to discuss all your options, but we can¡¯t stay in here forever.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Fair enough. So tell me about [Child], I guess?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, for sure, but first, why don¡¯t we look at all the other stuff, first? As of now, your System is unlocked. You finally get to see what those titles you¡¯ve been lugging around actually do.

    On cue, the notifications appeared.

    Title unlocked: Survivor of Travin¡¯s Bog You survived the massacre at Travin¡¯s Bog that ended your family. +50% resistance to heat, cold and poison.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s cooler than it sounds. You won¡¯t be able to pick up hot coals or tank a frost ray, but it includes temperature resistance. You can basically sleep naked in a snowdrift at this point. Pretty hot, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, dude. That¡¯s fire,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°So like, are we intending our puns now, or what?¡±

    Title unlocked: Traveler You have journeyed to a strange and foreignnd where you now live. +30% movement speed when out ofbat You have argely increased ability to learnnguages.

    ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Trust me, you¡¯re going to need that. You don¡¯t even speak all thenguages of Frenaria right now,¡± said the Child.

    Title unlocked: Otherworlder You have traversed the stars and arrived at an entirely new world. +50% experience while your ss is below level 30. Strengthened immune system. Strengthened magic resistance.

    ¡°What¡¯s magic resistance do?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Lots of sses have that, even if they don¡¯t get an explicit Skill or Title for it. I think it increases with Vitality. You know how a [Warrior] might survive a lightning spell from a [Mage], but still might die from a natural lightning strike?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t know that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s like that.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a nice, broad assortment of bonuses. No one of those Titles are a game-changer, but I figure putting them all together is pretty powerful.¡±

    ¡°Sure, and we¡¯re not done. You still have a locked Skill,¡± said the Child.

    Skill unlocked: Battle Fury (Epic) Your fury in battle lends you greater power.

    +5% increase to the effects of your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality with each wound you take and with each wound you give. +50% increase with each enemy you y. These increases are capped at +100%. These increases expire thirty minutes after you leavebat.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡± Brin said. ¡°That really would¡¯ve made things simple when I fought all those spiders. Although I¡¯m worried this is going to lock me into a melee ss.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to be forced into anything. That¡¯s what today is all about.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± said Brin. ¡°And it¡¯s not like I hate the idea of [Warrior]. Am I going to be offered [Warrior]?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°[Mage]?¡±

    ¡°No. But we¡¯ll get to that! Let¡¯s talk about [Child] first,¡± said the Child.

    Brin sighed. ¡°Fine. Tell me about [Child].¡±

    The Child leaned back in his chair, making the wood creak. ¡°The thing about [Child] is¡­ you don¡¯t want [Child]. It¡¯s not much of anything. It¡¯s got [Unobtrusive Presence] which makes me look smaller and like less of a threat, and monsters will have a hard time noticing me. I¡¯ll also get [Emte] which lets me learn Skills from adults. I¡¯ll be able to use a much weaker version of a Skill that an adult directly teaches me, and I can only hold one at a time. I¡¯ll get <em>zero</em> attribute points from the ss, but one free attribute per level for being human. I also won¡¯t be able to get the pre-system achievements. Those are still gone.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like it sucks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It does.¡±

    ¡°Come on, there must be at least one reason to pick it.¡±

    The child sighed dramatically. ¡°The only good thing about [Child] is that it lets me dy my choice. When I <em>do</em> pick a real ss, it¡¯ll give me all the attributes I missed as if I¡¯d been leveling in that ss the entire time. I <em>guess</em> there¡¯s one other thing. If there¡¯s a certain ss you <em>really</em> have to have, and you have someone willing to teach you, you can use [Child] to give yourself a better chance.¡±

    ¡°I can get [Mage] that way?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Child said reluctantly. ¡°But some nobles have to try six or seven times before they finally get it. That¡¯s six or seven <em>years</em>. That¡¯s the other thing. Choose [Child] and you won¡¯t be able to switch sses for another year. Not even breaking Oaths will work.¡±

    ¡°But that will work for other sses?¡±

    ¡°Sure, if you have a ss you really can¡¯t stand, break an Oath and you¡¯ll get something else. But it¡¯ll be automatic. You won¡¯t get to choose. And [Child] is the mostmon ss to get automatically assigned to. Try to choose something you really want.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

    The Child nodded. ¡°Cool. Now, for the record, please state the reason why you¡¯re not going to choose me.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t really love how the Child acted like he knew what Brin was going to say. He probably did if he really was him somehow, but that didn¡¯t need to act like it.

    But he was right. ¡°I¡¯m done with being a child. I¡¯ve had enough of it for two lifetimes.¡±

    ¡°Yup. Alright, so like I said, time is still moving like normal. We¡¯re probably fine with Hogg watching over us, but for the rest of the¡­ spirit vision or whatever, I¡¯m going to be looking through our eyes and hearing through our ears, just in case. I¡¯ll tell you if something happens.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate it,¡± said Brin.

    The Child took another soda from the fridge, and sat down at the gamingputer, putting on the headphones. He was really going through those sodas. But why not? It wasn¡¯t like he could get fat. Brin stood and got one for himself, a ck cherry. It tasted exactly like he remembered. The rush of sugar was intense after months of eating unprocessed foods. Probably a mistake. They didn¡¯t have anything like this in his new world.

    As soon as he was back on the sofa, the door burst open.

    Brin walked inside, only it was an older version of him in his new-world body. This guy looked to be around twenty. He wore heavily battered and burned leather armor, was darkly tanned, and every inch of exposed skin was covered in scars. They crisscrossed everywhere, some wide and jagged, some thin white lines. The two that stood out were the two he also bore, the one on the forehead and the slice on his cheek.

    The scarred Brin walked in with restless energy. He immediately darted from window to window, peeking outside, and when he was satisfied, set to pacing back and forth across the room like a caged tiger.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Scarred One,¡± said the Child.

    ¡°No,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Just hear me out,¡± said the Scarred One.

    Brin would, but only because he was morbidly curious. Looking at his choices was like looking at what the System actually thought of him, of what kind of person he was on the inside. But he would <em>not</em> be choosing that guy. Hogg said you turn into the thing you choose, and this guy looked like a murder hobo, in and simple.

    Before the Scarred one could make his pitch, the door opened again.

    The next choice to enter was more normal looking. Him, if he was in his thirties. He had Brin¡¯s same scar on his forehead and the scar on his cheek was healed, but no other scars, and he dressed like Gustaff, in a long blue robe bedecked with stars. He didn¡¯t lookical in it, the way Gustaff did. He looked professional, and there was a hardness in his eyes. He gave the [Scarred One] an appraising nce, then took the other armchair in the corner.

    ¡°[Illusionist]?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m the ss you¡¯re going to pick.¡±

    ¡°Nice confidence,¡± said Brin.

    The [Illusionist] shrugged. ¡°But you should really consider the next guy instead.¡±

    The next guy was Brin in his middle years. This one was calmly confident and fairly ordinary-looking. He wore the nice traditional clothes of Hammon¡¯s Bog. He looked solid enough, but not threatening in the way he met the eyes of every other man in the room, one by one. He gave Brin a nod, and then went to the fridge. He took a soda, and clinked it against the Child¡¯s on his way to the sofa.

    He picked up the remote and turned on a football game, which for some reason Brin couldn¡¯t see or hear. The man lifted his drink. ¡°sser. Or ssmaker, whichever you prefer.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± said Brin. That would be themon ss, and for some reason, he already felt oddlypelled by that choice. That was the only version of him that wasn¡¯t hard and lean. He was strong, but soft, like someone who didn¡¯t have to fight with his life on the line every day.

    ¡°Let me go first,¡± said the Scarred One.

    Brin stood up to face him, eye to eye. For some reason, despite the evil ss¡¯s clear penchant for violence, Brin didn¡¯t feel intimidated looking at him. Maybe because [This Was Real] made him sure that this really was some version of him. Even evil Brin still had Brin¡¯s best interests in mind.

    ¡°Not going to lie; I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything you can say that will change my mind,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt anymore,¡± said the Scarred One.

 Book 1. Chapter 39

    Book 1. Chapter 39

    Brin sat down. ¡°Oh.¡± That¡­ was a good pitch. Because he really felt it. The vulnerability. The sincerity. The <em>fatigue</em>. It was like he was the one who was talking.

    ¡°Why is it that everywhere I go and everything I do, I have to hurt so much? Everything is pain. It¡¯s painful to work out all the time, to always be tired, to always have sore muscles. And most of all, it hurts to get hurt. I get cut up and stabbed and poisoned and it hurts. It never gets better. It hurts every time.

    ¡°And the things they say about me. Why do I have to care what a bunch of ignorant dirt-farmers in the middle of nowhere think about me? Rejection, hostility, back-biting, all of that hurts, too. I shouldn¡¯t care. I shouldn¡¯t think about them at all. But I do.¡±

    If ss selection had happened even two weeks earlier, Brin definitely would¡¯ve been swayed by this line of reasoning. Even now, he was still furious at Tawna¡¯stest trick, but he¡¯d also found a certain kind of peace. Not <em>everyone</em> was out to get him. Some of the town had listened to Tawna, but there were others who he now saw had always gone out of their way to be nice to him.

    The Scarred One said, ¡°I can free you from all that. I start right off the bat with [Pain Resistance]. You¡¯ll feel it as information, and as fuel to push you to greater focus and ferocity. That alone would make this worth it. Can you imagine it? A life free from pain? A life where you actually enjoy what you do every day? That¡¯s what I can do for you. I know what you thought when you first saw my face; you didn¡¯t fear me at all. I¡¯m not here to hurt you. I¡¯m here to free you.

    ¡°That¡¯s just one Skill. Next, and this is the base Skill of the ss, [Regenerative Scarring]. My wounds heal faster. And it stacks! Stacks on stacks. The more scars that have healed, the faster my new wounds will heal.

    ¡°Next,ing in clutch is [Ugly On the Inside]. This gives me <em>quick</em> internal scarring. Do you know how many people die from internal injuries? It¡¯s a lot. But not me. I can survive <em>anything</em> that doesn¡¯t kill you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s everyone. Everyone survives whatever doesn¡¯t kill them,¡± Brin pointed out.

    The Scarred One¡¯s eyes glowed with zealous light. ¡°Not like me. And that¡¯s just the level one stuff. Those are the benefits you get right out of the gate. You want to hear about some higher level Skills, like the one of the ones you¡¯ll get offered at level five? It¡¯s called [Mana Scars]. You can literally use Mana to hold yourself together when your muscles get cut or your tendons are shed. That means you¡¯ll have no loss of power or mobility as long as your Mana pool doesn¡¯t dry up. This is the ss that won¡¯t quit.

    ¡°You should know this is a Rare ss we¡¯re talking about. Every level you¡¯ll get two points to Strength, two to Vitality, and one to Dexterity, and that¡¯s in addition to your free stat for being human. This is an opportunity you won¡¯t want to miss.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sort of starting to sound like a salesman,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s the magic scars. Huge bonus to charisma,¡± said the Scarred One.

    Brin gave the others a questioning nce. The Illusionist shrugged, while the sser smirked and shook his head.

    ¡°Look, thanks foring in¨C¡± started Brin.

    The Scarred One put his hands up in mock surrender. ¡°Look. I get it. Evil ss, and all, there¡¯s some stigma attached. So what if I sweeten the pot, huh? I¡¯m prepared to make you a one-time offer. Act now, and [Regenerative Scarring] won¡¯t be applied as a Skill. Instead, it will merge with your Scarred title. Ten percent slower healing turns to ten percent <em>faster</em>. Oh, and did I mention this title is upgradeable? The best part is, it¡¯s a title now. You try the ss, don¡¯t like it? Fine. Lose the ss, but you¡¯ll <em>keep</em> the title.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Brin chuckled with sudden anxiety. ¡°That is <em>very</em> tempting.¡±

    ¡°It may not be as easy as you think to change your sster,¡± said the Illusionist. ¡°Evil sses have a tendency to change your outlook. Perhaps even alter your personality.¡±

    The Scarred One stepped over and put a hand on Brin¡¯s shoulder, facing down the Illusionist. ¡°Maybe for others. My man here has what it takes to live life on <em>his terms</em>. He won¡¯t let something like a ss rule him.¡±

    The Illusionist stared, not answering.

    ¡°It¡¯s true, though, I¡¯m betting he will keep me, once I show him what I can do.¡± He turned to Brin. ¡°I¡¯m what you¡¯ve been working for. All those hours lifting weights, working out, pushing the boundaries and breaking every taboo you can find. All the pain and suffering. All that time, living as an outcast. The lies you told, the crimes youmitted. What was it all for, if not for me? These guys, they¡¯re what you get for being in a town and for having the right father. I¡¯m the ss you earned! You didn¡¯t even think about Magic until recently¨Cyour goal was improving your body. I am your body¡¯s perfection. You want to be strong and brave like Gn. I¡¯m as strong as Gn¡¯s [Knight] and I am absolutely fearless. Don¡¯t believe all that? Fine. Pick me for the free upgrade, and then move one to something else. What do you have to lose?¡±

    ¡°ss selection after breaking an Oath is random. You won¡¯t get to choose a second time,¡± warned the Illusionist.

    ¡°Well!¡± the Scarred One pped. ¡°That was my pitch. Why don¡¯t you go next?¡±

    The Illusionist nodded and didn¡¯t rise from his spot in the armchair. ¡°You already know much of what an Illusionist can do. I have the power to summon light and sound, and I know you¡¯ve already thought much about the possible applications. What you don¡¯t know is that I receive two Magic, two Mental Control, one Will, and one free attribute per level, in addition to the racial free point. I am certain that you will choose me, but for now I would yield my turn to the sser.¡±

    Brin honestly didn¡¯t hate the idea of being an [Illusionist], but Scarred One was¡­ troublingly tempting, and it was a little weird that this guy wasn¡¯t trying at all. He didn¡¯t have any reason to refuse though. He nodded at the sser.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said the sser. He turned off the football game, stood up, and sped his hands behind his back. ¡°I¡¯d like you to think back to the moment of your death.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather not,¡± Brin said with a sardonic smile.

    ¡°Please. This is important,¡± the sser responded evenly. ¡°Think about that moment,ying on the ice, and all the regrets you had. And think about the regrets you had the next couple days, after you realized that life was over. Can you honestly tell me that you wish you had spent more time on your career?¡±

    ¡°Oof,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Exactly. And here you are, making all the same mistakes. I will not make the same mistakes as my past life. I could try to sell you the ss based on its merits, and don¡¯t get me wrong, there are a few. I make ss, and given time I¡¯ll be able to summon, shape, and move it with Mana alone. Also, there¡¯s a memory Skill. At level 10 I can remember <em>anything</em> I ever saw or learned about ss. Flipped past a page of a textbook where the chemical properties of ss was mentioned? Fall asleep with the tv on something about the manufacturing process? I¡¯ll remember all of it. Frankly, I¡¯ll revolutionize the field. You think you might know what ss can do, but you haven¡¯t even scratched the surface. With your memories and my abilities, I can see ss that waves in the wind like grass, a shining ss tower with walls stronger than cksteel, ss weapons that are named in the epics.

    ¡°That aside, though, I think it¡¯s important to recognize what I <em>represent.</em> Look around the room. What¡¯s different about me from everyone else?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a little bit fatter,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°True. I¡¯m not starving¨Cnot even close. I eat dessert every night, and then sleep in my own bed. But that¡¯s not what I meant. How am I different from all the others, even including the Child?¡±

    Brin knew the answer. ¡°You¡¯re the only one who¡¯s happy,¡± he admitted.

    The sser smiled. A kind smile. A smile Brin wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d ever worn on this face. ¡°I can be happy. My profession isplicated, difficult, and creative. Perfect to capture the attention of my sharp mind. I can be satisfied with my work, but it won¡¯t overwhelm me. I am a respected and beloved member of mymunity. I can get married, have a family, and grow old.¡±

    The Scarred One spat on the floor. ¡°No you can¡¯t. Who could you marry? You¡¯re too old for the kids your age.¡±

    ¡°In this culture, it isn¡¯t strange at all for a teenager to marry a thirty-year-old,¡± said the sser.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that. In my culture that¡¯s <em>weird</em>. You wouldn¡¯t marry a teenager,¡± used the Scarred One.

    ¡°Are we really doing this?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s got a point,¡± said the Illusionist.

    ¡°You¡¯re siding with him?¡± the sser asked, aghast.

    ¡°Do we really have to talk about this?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Who else are you going to talk about it with?¡± asked the Scarred One, dramatically pointing at him with an using finger. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly been thinking about it hard enough.¡±

    Brin raised his hands in surrender.

    ¡°Alright,¡± the sser nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s hash this out then. I don¡¯t think I should rule out romance for my entire life. It¡¯s not healthy.¡±

    ¡°Who are you going to marry? Someone Lumina¡¯s age? Face it, that would be even worse. That would just make her the creepy one. And I¡¯m <em>not</em> marrying a teenager. I¡¯m twenty-six years old, by Anshar,¡± said the Scarred One.

    ¡°You¡¯re really going to swear by Anshar?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to swear by the awesomest god. No teenagers. I mean it. I¡¯m not going to be that creep that hangs around little girls asking if they¡¯re legal.¡±

    ¡°Fine. Ok,¡± said the sser. ¡°But did you notice? You said you¡¯re twenty-six. That was a year ago. Am I twenty-six or twenty-seven?¡±

    The Illusionist stroked his chin thoughtfully. ¡°I think I¡¯m twenty-six. I think I¡¯ll be stuck at twenty-six until this body turns twenty-seven.¡±

    The sser said, ¡°Ok, now we¡¯re getting somewhere. What¡¯s the rule for how young someone can be before it¡¯s weird? Half your age, plus seven.¡±

    ¡°Twenty,¡± said the Illusionist.

    The Scarred One nodded hesitantly. ¡°But don¡¯t go out and shack up with the first random girl you see. I want to live my life a little.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine. Are we in agreement?¡±

    The other aspects nodded.

    ¡°d you got that settled,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, you weren¡¯t going to,¡± said the Scarred One.

    The Illusionist raised a finger. ¡°Actually, that¡¯s an interesting metaphysical question. Technically if we settled it then he <em>did</em>¨C¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s settled,¡± said the sser. ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said the Illusionist, annoyed to be cut off.

    The Child made a thumbs up from the gamingputer, while the Scarred One gave a terse nod.

    They all looked to him. ¡°Yeah, sure. I have other stuff on my mind right now, you know,¡± said Brin.

    The sser pped his hands. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. I can get married to someone twenty years or older, when my new body is also at least that age. I um¡­ geez you guys, you sort of made me lose my thought a little. I didn¡¯t interrupt <em>your</em> pitch, Scarred One. Where was I? Oh yes, the <em>point</em> of all this is that I can live a life of substance. I can have <em>real</em> rtionships, and give them the attention they deserve. I can do all the things that you regret not doing.¡±

    ¡°I regret not traveling more,¡± said Brin.

    The sser waved that away. ¡°If you wanted to travel, you would have. You <em>hate</em> travel. It¡¯s ufortable and boring. Why drive eight hours just to see something you could have looked up on the inte in three seconds? No, you¡¯d much rather stay home with a good book and a mug of something hot.¡±

    Brin thought about it for a long moment. ¡°I wish I was the kind of person who could choose you.¡±

    ¡°You are, or I wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s an army of undead out there. My life isn¡¯t safe. I need to be able to protect myself,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m not defenseless; how about morphic ss armor, sharp des, and ss projectiles that shoot like bullets?¡±

    ¡°But how long will that take? A year? Ten? I need to be able to defend myself now,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll find that the world is less dangerous for people like me. There will always be violence out there; leave it to the violent. The only way to find peace is to be peaceful. What do I care if my town is conquered? I have no loyalty to Frenaria. I¡¯ll pay taxes to Prinnash or even Arcaena; it makes no difference to me as long as the people I care about are ok. And there will be people like that. I will love, and be loved in return.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Brin.

    The sser took that for what it was. ¡°Well, thanks for hearing me out. Think about what I said, will you? There¡¯s no reason an [Illusionist] can¡¯t be happy someday. It¡¯s a perfectly respectable trade, if you want it to be.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I will,¡± Brin said.

    The sser returned to his seat, and the Illusionist stood. He straightened his robes, and walked from his spot in the armchair.

    ¡°My ss¡¯s base Skills are [Summon Light] and [Summon Sound]. From there, you¡¯ll find some branching paths that I¡¯m sure Hogg can better exin than I. I think Hogg is a special case, though. It would probably be wiser to think about doing the things that Gustaff can do. Mirror images, recorded moves, shadows during the day and light during the night. I think you know that there is virtually no end to the possible applications. Blind your enemies with bright light. Deafen them with sound. Is there any enemy you couldn¡¯t defeat if it were deaf and dumb? And that¡¯s just scratching the surface; you know all kinds of things that can be done with light. Lasers maybe? I think they must be harder to create than I¡¯m imagining, but that just means that when I <em>do</em> create them, it¡¯ll be that much more groundbreaking. Radio? I¡¯m sure I can crack it when I work on it myself.

    ¡°Music. You know, I didn¡¯t expect to be so interested in learning to y the lute, but look where I am. I have so many regrets from my old life it¡¯s hard to fit any new ones in, but there¡¯s one. I regret not making more time for music. I hardly spent a minute in my old life without music ying in the background. Forget [Bard]; they¡¯re all about control and maniption, where music is a means to an end. [Illusionist] is a ss of infinite music.

    ¡°Now, the Scarred One has made some interesting points. He said his is the ss I¡¯ve been working for. That¡¯s certainly true, in this life. But wasn¡¯t that out of necessity? I hardly had any other options. If I could¡¯ve spent all that time in a library instead, I definitely would have. In my old life, I had so many more options than I have here. I could¡¯ve be a gym rat or a soldier if I were interested in those things. I didn¡¯t. I worked hard on my mind. I studied the applications of logic on light and sound. I became a programmer.

    ¡°Illusionist is the ss of information Technology. It¡¯s the life I chose, back when I could¡¯ve chosen anything.

    ¡°It¡¯s the life you will choose again. You¡¯ve acted differently out of necessity. I think you¡¯ve acted admirably, most of the time. But that was all a reaction to your situation. It isn¡¯t who you are. You are who you are, and you haven¡¯t changed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve made some good points,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But I¡¯ve evaded the heart of the matter. I¡¯ve got all those reasons, and they aren¡¯t the real reason you¡¯re going to choose me,¡± said Illusionist.

    ¡°True,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°For the record, please state the reason you will choose me,¡± said the Illusionist.

    ¡°It¡¯s so simple. I want magic. Sure, I¡¯ll do what I have to in order to stay alive, but when ites to what I want? I don¡¯t want to live in a world with magic and not have any of it for myself.¡±

    Brin stepped forward and offered his hand.

    The Illusionist folded his arms. ¡°In that case, I¨C¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± yelled the Child.

    He tumbled backwards out of the gamer chair. The sight was somewhatical, but Brin could feel the panic the Child was feeling. This wasn¡¯t a moment for joking around.

    The Child was the lookout. He was the one who¡¯d been tasked with keeping an eye out.

    ¡°Stop! Choose the Scarred One. I¡¯m sorry. We don¡¯t have time. Scarred One. Choose now,¡± said the Child.

    Brin looked between them, from the Child who was breaking down in utter anguish, to the Scarred One, who¡¯s battered features looked confused and a little worried.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] didn¡¯t let Brin stay confused. He <em>was</em> the Child, and all the others. He knew what would cause him to choose [Scarred One], what it had to be.

    ¡°Well, burn me,¡± said Brin, and chose the evil ss.

    He opened his eyes. His real eyes, and at once the world burst into vibrant sensation.

    He felt a glowing, burning spike of energy in his stomach. He looked down. A cksteel sword was buried to the hilt in his gut. Impossible.

    The sword was carried by desated fingers, hardly more than tight skin over bones. So, so impossible.

    He looked at Hogg, staring back at him with shock and anguish written on his face. Hogg, taken by surprise? Completely, irrevocably impossible.

    Past Hogg, more undead burst from the ground in plumes of earth. They¡¯d been underground? Ridiculous. Funny actually. Hrious.

    Finally, he met the gaze of the undead who¡¯d buried a sword in his guts. Its eyes widened. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he¡¯d say it was afraid.

    The [Scarred One] smiled.

 Book 1. Chapter 40

    Book 1. Chapter 40

    The undead pulled the sword from his stomach, and he grasped it in a vain attempt to keep everything in, feeling the warm sensation of blood spilling through his fingertips. He staggered under the expectation of pain, but none came. He felt heat, burning hot and glorious, urging him to action.

    He raised his head and met the rotting eyes of his would-be assassin. The undead flinched back into a guard.

    The System had some things to say. He didn''t have time to read millions of messaged, and luckily, the System seemed to realize that.

    Abridged messages activated. Level up! Level 1 -> 6 Combined attributes from your ss and achievements: +20 Strength, +20 Vitality, +10 Dexterity, +5 Mental Control, +5 Will, +5 free attributes.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded achievements. Disciplined I -> II, Dexterous I -> II

    He threw all his free points into Vitality. Right now, his survival depended on healing and durability and not much else.

    Congrattions! You have earned a new Skill! Please select from the following three choices.

    He selected on instinct, not even reading the choices. He knew what he needed to stay alive.

    You have selected: [Mana Scarring]

    The blood seeping through his fingers slowed to a trickle, then stopped, and he felt the strange sensation of his internal organs sliding back to their original ces.

    Hogg recovered from his shock, and grabbed a brass handle from a pocket on his forearm. He swung it, and a whip of golden fire sprung from the handle. He twirled it in one long circle, somehow leaving Brin untouched but burning straight through all circling the undead.

    All but one. A tall figure in dark blue armor was also unharmed. His helmet covered his eyes, but when he grimaced Brin saw white, healthy teeth. Not an undead; a human leader.

    Hogg disappeared, his illusion magic rendering him invisible, but the armored figure thrust out his sword and a noxious wind cut through the forest to cling on Hogg, rendering him visible.

    Suddenly there were hundreds of Hoggs and hundreds of wounded Brins all of them running in every direction. One of the Hoggs was real, though, and that one grabbed Brin by the cor of his leather armor and threw him over his shoulder.

    Hogg ran at full tilt, blisteringly fast, but not as fast as that time Lumina had hastened him. Brin could see undead rising from all around, cutting at all the mirror images.

    "[Scarred One], huh?" asked Hogg.

    "Self-healing tank. Only way to survive," said Brin from atop his back.

    "Take [Inspect] yet?"

    Brin checked.

    You have 1 free general Skill. Please choose from the following list: Animal Husb-- You have selected General Skill - Inspect.

    Suddenly a bright and pure light erupted throughout the forest, and Hogg''s illusions faded away. The Evdis, what Hogg had described as the death of [Illusionists]. The alchemical reagent was in the air now, there was no stopping it. The undead hade prepared.

    Hogg changed course, aiming away from the rapidly expanding circle of anti-illusion alchemy, but another one exploded in front of them, then more from the sides.

    Of course. Hadn''t he just told Tawna this? None of this was about him. The undead army was trying to sneak through the Bonds, and the one thing standing in their way was an irritatingly persistent [Illusionist].

    All this time, it was <em>Hogg</em> whose existence doomed the town. Yes, Brin had been the start of it, because without Brin¡¯s Quest, Hogg never would have learned about the existence of the army. But then Hogg had returned here and spent all his days desperatelybing the Bonds with his illusions.

    In their eyes, all they needed to do was kill Hogg, and the army¡¯s secrecy would be secure. They''d drawn him out, and now they meant to destroy him.

    This wasn''t a war. It was an assassination.

    Something ck mmed into Hogg, and they both skidded to the ground.

    Hogg was on his feet an instantter, smoking slightly from the back. His hands blurred as he quickly picked items from ces in his pockets and activated them.

    Magical bolts, zes of fire, streaks of lightning, and sparks of light all flew from him in a dazzling array of destruction. Each of them burned through dozens of undead.

    Gold flowed like water as Hogg unleashed his consumables. That wand, 20 gold. That stone, 2 gold. That crown, 30 gold. More and more came from his pockets, and each of them wreaked destruction.

    More undead arrived to rece the fallen each second, and some of them started to survive the attacks. A huge, armored undead with a shieldrger than a barn door blocked a shimmering me in the shape of a phoenix.

    An ugly, shriveled, robed undead threw a handful of powder at a group of neon butterflies, causing them to go dim and turn to ash.

    An archer shot an arrow through a ball of lightning, making it explode. Then he changed his aim and-- <em>Oh no! </em>Brin tried to dodge out of the way. The arrow punched into him, lodging itself in his thigh.

    Level up! You have reached level 7. +4 Strength, +4 Vitality, +2 Dexterity, +1 Mental Control, +1 Will, +1 free attribute. Congrattions! You have upgraded achievements. Lively II -> III

    The archer nocked another arrow. The robed undead turned to Brin, and the armored brute lifted his shield.

    Hogg shouted in dismay, and then threw a smoke bomb to the ground.

    Unlike Brin''s smoke bomb, this one was absolute. The world wentpletely ck. He couldn''t hear anything. Even his sense of smell was numb.

    He felt Hogg grab him, and then they were running again.

    They soon ran through the affected area, and Brin awkwardly broke the arrow off and pulled it out.

    "Can you run?" asked Hogg.

    "Yes."

    "I could get away myself, but not if I have to protect you. Run when I tell you. Get to the town. Once I''ve covered your escape, I''ll follow you."

    That felt like a lie, but Brin couldn''t argue with the main point; he really wasn''t any help against these enemies. "Got it."

    He saw the blue armored figure stride through the smoke behind them. He used [Inspect], not really thinking it would work, but it gave him something. Just two words of information. The assassin''s ss was [Anti-Mage].

    Hogg held up a ss orb with a frothy clear liquid inside. Two hundred gold. It exploded, but didn''t harm him.

    "Quick recharge," said Hogg. "Use this, and your sword. Now run!"

    Hogg tapped Brin with a twisted tree branch and then threw it behind him. It sunk into the ground, and then a heavy fog sprang up from all around.

    The whole world was covered by mist, except for a narrow tunnel leading through the forest. Brin got the picture.

    He ran down the tunnel of fog. From inside, he could just make out the outside world, where everything was moving in slow motion. Hogg wasshing out with his whip-- and then Brin was too far away to see.

    It felt strange to run on his wounded leg. It didn''t hurt, but it burned, and that burning made him... angry. Not berserker furious. It was an energetic, yet calmly calcting kind of anger. He felt good. He felt dangerous.

    Far ahead, something hit the wall of fog, making cracks appear. An undead a quarter-mile up the path was striking the tunnel. It punched again, and one fist actually broke through.

    Brin flipped the switch on his sword, and yes, the recharge had worked. The world slowed down even further.

    His legs seemed to double their speed. He sprinted forward, determined to pass the undead before it could get into the tunnel. As he neared, he realized he wouldn''t make it. He got his sword in position, and then swung with all his might as he ran by.

    The undead got a ck mace up in time to block and the collision sent Brin tumbling. He skidded to a stop, and looked back. The undead sagged against the foggy wall of the tunnel, it''s head cloven in two. Brin''s sword was nearby, he scrambled over and grabbed it again, but the world didn''t speed up when he held it. The speed magic in it was spent.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Warrior [19] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Habit made Brin expecting the other, very disappointing message. This time, however, he got to keep his experience.

    Level up! Level 7 -> 9 +8 Strength, +8 Vitality, +4 Dexterity, +2 Mental Control, +2 Will, +2 free attributes. Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Strong II -> III

    He smiled. How was his Mana doing with holding him together? There was no convenient disy, but he sort of felt¡­ mostly full. He was fine. He could take <em>much</em> worse wounds than this and keep moving.

    He put them into Strength.

    Another undead climbed over the body of itsrade. This one was clothed in ck, much darker than the rank-and-file, though, it was like he was clothed in the living night. Inspect told him the ss. [Undead Assassin].

    Brin ran.

    He felt rather than heard the footsteps behind him, and turned right at thest second to block. The [Undead Assassin] cut under his block with a rapier to strike both of his forearms at once. The leather armor showed its worth and slowed the attack enough that it left barely a scrape. Not even enough to get a level out of, apparently.

    Quick as a gunslinger, Brin brought out one of the illusion wands and fired. The [Undead Assassin] dodged the fake me, giving him some space. Brin cheered inwardly that the wands had recharged like his sword. That would have been an embarrassing death, if not.

    He ran, but kept his head faced back to watch the undead. He drew out the other illusion wand.

    See, he¡¯d learned something in thest fight. He''d used the wands in the wrong order.

    He raised it with shaking hands, and fired wildly. The [Undead Assassin] still dodged this one, but with a little less haste. It turned its gaze from the fake me back to Brin, a hint of mockery in its features.

    Brin tripped, then scrambled backwards. "Stay back!"

    He held up thest wand. The real one.

    "Stay back or I''ll use it!" said Brin. Maybe a bit too much? No, just enough judging by the way the undead sauntered forward so confidently.

    When it was only a few feet away, Brin activated the wand. A jet of real, non-illusory me knocked the undead back and through the air.

    Heughed. "Fool."

    He turned to run again, but to his surprise, something rose from the ground. The undead hadn''t evaporated in the me. Oh, this one was tough. That should rm him, but for some reason he felt oddly excited.

    The undead lurched forward, stumbling and awkward but persistent, the way all good undead should be.

    Brin should''ve run. He didn''t want to.

    He charged the undead, and went into thebo Hogg had told him definitely wouldn''t work. Right, left, up, down, lunge. The undead parried the first two blows, but the second two left deep gouges, and with the lunge, Brin pierced its monstrous heart.

    During the short fight, the mist of the tunnel had disappeared. He was back in the forest, back in regr-moving time.

    He must''ve outrun most of the army, but there were still a few undead within sight, already moving towards his area.

    They hadn¡¯t seen him yet. Brin bent over and lit the body of the undead on fire with his lighter. Luckily, now that it was dead, whatever had been protecting it from me stopped working and the corpse caught easily. He kicked it over towards some tall grass and then ran.

    The undead converging on the scene were drawn to the me. He could hide, for now. He took a moment to check his messages.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Assassin [26] Due to level disparity extra experience will be rewarded.

    Level up! Level 9 -> 12. +12 Strength, +12 Vitality, +6 Dexterity, +3 Mental Control, +3 Will, +3 free attributes.

    It looked like the third threshhold was at sixty-five. He''d already gotten that for Strength and Will, and he wasn''t close to that for anything else. He put one into Mental Control, and the rest into Strength.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement. Controlled I -> II

    Four undead had arrived, and they stood in a circle around the burning corpse. The fire spread into the grass. None were looking towards him, so he figured he had the chance to keep reading his notifications.

    Congrattions! You have earned a new Skill. Please select from the following three choices. Upgrade - Pain Resistance

    Pain will feel even better, like pleasure instead of simply heat and energy. Upgrade - Ugly On the Inside Increase healing speed of internal scars. New Skill - Bloody Vengeance

    Increased power and speed proportional to the amount of wounds received.

    The increase to [Pain Resistance] was easy to rule out. His wounds already felt kind of good. He didn¡¯t need to turn into a full-blown masochist. It was already going to be hard enough trying not to let himself get hurt on purpose for the free levels.

    As for the other two? What he should take sort of depended on what he wanted to do. He was back to that age-old question. Hrious, that he was back here again.

    Hide, or flee?

    Flee was the obvious answer, but they¡¯d be expecting that. They probably had the route home swarming with undead. Right now while he was hidden near a fire, the undead couldn¡¯t use their heat sense to find him. He had some time. Not a lot, but maybe enough.

    Enough for what, though? Whether it was two minutes or twenty, the mes would go out and his hiding spot would be useless. Hide wasn¡¯t an option.

    But flee wasn¡¯t either. He was going in circles. There didn¡¯t seem to be a best option.

    How much of this had Tawna foreseen? If she¡¯d known about the army, she would¡¯ve told someone, right? Even she couldn¡¯t be <em>that</em> obtuse. That meant she probably only knew the beginning and the end; the action she could take, and whether or not that brought doom closer or further away from the town.

    He ran the scenarios in his mind. He was d [Scarred One] hadn¡¯t made him dumber. He could already feel his emotions shifting in subtle ways, but his mind was the same as ever.

    <em>Scenario 1: Brin does the smart thing and goes home after killing the easy spiders.</em> He wouldn¡¯t have learned about the undead army. He would¡¯ve taken [Illusionist] on System Day. Hogg would¡¯ve kept scouting. Nothing would¡¯ve changed.

    <em>Scenario 2: Brin dies in the fight with his undead father.</em> Hogg would¡¯ve gone to investigate. He would¡¯ve killed Cadwy easily, but the ambush afterwards would¡¯ve still happened without Brin to take the first blow. Hogg would¡¯ve died, and the town would never have learned what happened. The undead army sneaks by. The town is unharmed. This was probably the most likely scenario, but that ship had sailed. Brin had survived.

    <em>Scenario 3: Brin dies in the ambush, but Hogg survives</em>. Hogg would probably get word to Lumina in time for her to send a rescue. The town might still be attacked, but most would survive. This was the second-most likely oue.

    <em>Scenario 4: Hogg dies holding off the undead, but Brin survives</em>. In this situation, the whole town would find out about the army, and Arcaena would have no choice but to massacre them all. Frankly, this oue wasn¡¯t very likely. Brin would almost certainly die trying to get back alone.

    And why should he try? He could hide again, maybe survive, but why would he want to? He pictured Hogg, Davi, Zilly, Perris and everyone else, all shambling along with the horde while he hid in cers again. Him, hiding in the cold again with his memories and some new scars. Is that really what he wanted?

    No, that wouldn¡¯t happen. The army didn¡¯t know this, but Hogg had already seeded in spreading word. Rescue woulde either way. In the real Scenario 4, only Hogg would die. Brin would be fine.

    The choice was smaller. Would he let Hogg sacrifice his life for a beat-up, angry, evil-ssed little jerk?

    No. Logically, that was a bad move. This was logic, right? This wasn¡¯t just him trying to justify something he wanted to do anyway?

    Brin checked his sword. The magic was gone, but it should still serve to kill some stupid undead. There was no choice, right? No choice at all.

    You have selected: [Bloody Vengeance]

    With the wounds he already had, [Bloody Vengeance] hit him like a tidal wave. The burning wounds across his body felt like limitless batteries, pumping a sick and intoxicating energy into his soul.

    He would try for Scenario 5. Tawna''s ns could burn, and so could the rest of the town for all he cared. He would save Hogg, or die trying.

 Book 1. Chapter 41

    Book 1. Chapter 41

    There were four undead watching the mes lit by the [Undead Assassin] he¡¯d killed. Even now, with all his new levels, he thought just one alone would be a hard fight. What could he do against four? But he had to do something. Running would just cause him more problemster.

    He rose from his hiding ce and rushed them. They turned around casually, as if unsurprised to see him.

    Running, he held his de to the side, as if he was nning to cut into the middle one with a sideways sh. The one he was aiming at readied a parry with its broadsword, while the two to the side of him made ready as well.

    Right before he reached them, he stopped. The feint worked; the middle undead hit only air with his parry, and the two undead next to him stabbed out with ck spears, missing Brin by inches.

    He dropped his sword, jumped and tackled the middle undead into the fire, then rolled through it to the other side.

    The fourth undead struck down with an ax, and on instinct Brin put his hands up and caught it. The blow was strong enough that he didn¡¯t stop itpletely, but to his surprise, he was able to stop the majority of the momentum, so that the ax didn¡¯t even break through the armor of his shoulder.

    Brin pushed, knocked the undead off bnce, and then wrenched the ax out of its hands. Was he actually stronger than these things now?

    He spun with the ax and knocked away another stab with a spear; the blow was so solid that it left his hands ringing, but he still knocked it away. He could do this. He was strong enough now to actually fight them.

    The next undead stabbed into his thigh, and rather than step back to avoid it like any sane fighter would, Brin epted the blow and traded it for a swing at the undead¡¯s exposed neck, severing it.

    He kept the momentum up and dispatched the unarmed undead behind him. The sword-wielder rose from the fire, stumbled and fell back down again. The ces on its back where the me had touched him burned straight through like tissue paper.

    He got notifications for the three kills, and blinked them away along with the notification that he¡¯d gone up to level fourteen. There was still one left.

    This time, it approached more cautiously. He tried to bait it into an attack with a wide swing that left him exposed, but it danced back and used the spear¡¯s greater reach to poke his armor. It had seen that Brin was willing to trade wounds for kills. It nned on staying cautious, keeping a distance, and using the spear¡¯s greater reach to wear him down.

    Brin didn¡¯t have time for that. More undead could arrive any second. He charged, swinging wildly, the undead stepped back, warding him away with sharp shes, but Brin ignored them and kepting. Frustratingly, the undead was faster, even running backwards.

    It didn¡¯t have eyes in the back of its head, though. The undead tripped, and Brin swung down with the ax. The undead blocked it, but no matter. He swung again and again, beating the undead into the mud, until finally the spear was knocked from its grasp and he ended it.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Warrior [15]

    For once, there was no message about level disparity.

    Level up! You have reached level 15. You receive: +4 Strength, +4 Vitality, +2 Dexterity, +1 Mental Control, +1 Will, +1 free attributes.

    <strong></strong>

    Congrattions! You have earned a new Skill. Please select from the following three choices. Upgrade Title - Scarred +10% healing speed -> +30% healing speed. Upgrade - Pain Resistance Pain will feel even better, like pleasure instead of simply heat and energy. Desperate Nutrition Nutrition is given from the consumption of scabs, even your own. More energy is added than is lost from the healing process.

    He still had enough of himself to remember that that was incredibly gross. Also, an anti-starvation skill wasn¡¯t exactly a priority right now. He upgraded his Title.

    He dashed over to the scene where the fight had started, and pulled the unburnt corpses into the still-burning grass. The undead would be drawn to the me, and hopefully that would give Brin time to get away. The other corpses had burned themselves out. Anything he could add to make the firest longer? He didn¡¯t have time to find wood. Hopefully it would be long enough.

    He found his sword, put it in the sheath, and ran with the ck ax still in his hands. He didn¡¯t want to be caught with just one weapon again.

    He ran towards where Hogg was fighting. He¡¯d gotten a bit turned around in the fight, but there was no way he could miss it. shes of light illuminated the trees. Sudden, hot bursts of wind from me attacks. Shockwaves that he could feel through the ground.

    As he got closer, he started to find bodies. A decapitated corpse there, and broken undead here. Up in a tree, he saw an undead who¡¯d been thrown in the air and impaled on something. ck weaponsy on the ground, many of them broken.

    Further on, he found a spot where bodies covered the forest floor like a carpet. Most of them bore the same wound; a burn straight through the middle. There were probably two dozen undead here that Hogg had taken out with a single attack. The high levels were something else. Could he even help here?

    He could. Even if all he did was distract one enemy or take one wound meant for Hogg, it would be worth it.

    The shes of light stoppeding. He no longer felt or heard the evidence of magical effects, but still heard the telltale sound of metal striking against metal. Hogg was still fighting.

    He saw movement in a clearing up ahead. That was it; that was where Hogg was fighting.

    Hogg stood in the center of a clearing. Some of the undead from before stood in a circle around him. The huge, armored one with the ten-foot tall shield. The nimble and dangerous archer. The caster with the burning powder. A ck-d assassin. Then in front was the human leader, a tall and heroic-looking figure in blue te armor, the one his [Inspect] called an [Anti-Mage].

    It was a brief moment of calm. The glow of the Evdis still hung in the air, illuminating every de of grass and leaf on the trees in a faint glow, revealing the truth of the world, banishing any possibility of illusion. The sky seemed ck, so the only other illumination was the dim light cast from the magical weapons. Only Hogg¡¯s short swords seemed ordinary. Of course, they weren¡¯t.

    Hogg waited for them, silently, eyes somewhat vacant as if pretending he didn¡¯t really care about them. His enemies also watched, not moving in.

    At first, Brin wondered what they were waiting for, but then a group of six regr undead soldiers burst in from the treeline, and they closed the circle, all attacking at the same time.

    Hogg moved in a blur, rushing through the six regr soldiers, hacking through them like a dark tornado. He dodged a thrown ball of green acid from the undead caster, redirected an arrow in midair from the archer towards the giant undead, where it shattered against the shield.

    Hogg was here, consumables gone, sspletely countered, fighting a group of assassins created to kill him specifically, and <em>he was still hanging on</em>.

    But no one could fight against numbers like that without taking injuries. The [Anti-Mage] darted in andnded a few shes through Hogg¡¯s ck leathers, before backing up again, his sword dripping with blood.

    The four powerful undead and their master reformed the circle, none the worse for wear. Hogg still stood tall, but bore a few new scrapes. If things didn¡¯t change, they would eventually wear him down.

    Hogg said something, quietly, but the words had an unnatural quality that made them impossible to miss. ¡° <>

    That was the magguage, the one that he¡¯d heard Lumina usest year to guide her spells. What was Hogg trying to do?

    ¡°Silence,¡± boomed the [Anti-Mage], the first word Brin had heard him speak, and it had the weight of a Skill behind it.

    Hogg¡¯s face went rigid, like he was trying to speak but couldn¡¯t. Then he rxed a bit and said, ¡°You know, that¡¯s getting really annoying!¡±

    Then that ¡°Silence¡± skill didn¡¯t stop you from talking, it only stopped you from speaking in the magguage? He didn¡¯t have long to puzzle it out, as a group of twelve undead soldiers arrived from the forest. Hogg dashed to meet them and Brin took his opportunity as well.

    With everyone¡¯s attention fully on Hogg, Brin leapt from his hiding ce and ran towards the undead archer. If this thing was surviving in the proximity of someone like Hogg, then it was high level. Brin had no illusions that he¡¯d actually be able to outfight the archer. But he was starting to realize that wasn¡¯t what [Scarred One] was for. If he couldn¡¯t outfight someone, all he had to do was out-crazy them.

    He swung with the ax in a lumberjack¡¯s chop. The archer saw himing in time to block, but unfortunately for the undead, it blocked with its bow. Brin felt intense satisfaction as the wood shattered, though the shock of the hit knocked the ax out of his hands.

    At the same time, he felt a zing, thrilling heat. He looked down, and saw a sword¡ªnot cksteel, something nicer¡ªsticking into his lung. The undead had stabbed him with its sidearm.

    Brin smiled with bloody teeth and pulled his own sidearm, and stabbed the undead in return.

    The stab didn¡¯t get as far as he¡¯d like; the undead staggered back with only a light wound, but the look of shock on his face made it worth it.

    Level up! You have reached level 16. You receive:

    +4 Strength, +4 Vitality, +2 Dexterity, +1 Mental Control, +1 Will, +1 free attributes.

    Brinughed, but it came out as a bloody cough. ¡°Still got your sword!¡± He pulled it out of his stomach. Even without the pain, seeing the gush of blood like water from an unclogged sewer drain made him a bit woozy.

    He sucked in a breath, and his chest burned with a poisonous and glorious energy. He couldn¡¯t standpletely straight; thatst wound had broken some ribs.

    He felt his magic start to wane. [Mana Scars] was having trouble keeping up. He did have some free points, though, so he put them all into Magic. He immediately felt a bit better, he could hold his body together a little longer.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    He heard Hogg swear, then a grappling hook wrapped around his leg. He looked up just in time to see Hogg yank on the rope and pull Brin towards him.

    Two strong pulls brought Brin all the way to Hoggs feet, just in time for Hogg to drop the rope and parry a series of lightning-fast shes from the [Anti-Mage].

    The [Anti-Mage] backed up, and Hogg was sporting a series of new shes on his arms, though he acted as if they weren¡¯t there. He reached into a pocket and dropped a potion into Brin¡¯s hands.

    The potion was like nothing he¡¯d ever seen before. Small, maybe two tablespoons of a dark red fluid, nearly ck, but that¡¯s not what made it stand out. Value sense told Brin that it cost <em>two thousand gold</em>.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°Drink it. Why are you back here?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°The way back was blocked,¡± said Brin. It was probably true. ¡°What happens when I drink this?¡±

    ¡°Healing potion,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin put it in his pocket. ¡°Later then. Fights not over. I might still get more wounds.¡±

    Hogg made some strange gestures, then breathed out a sigh of relief. ¡°Finally! <>

    ¡°Silence,¡± said the [Anti-Mage].

    ¡°Burn it! How many times can you cast that?¡± shouted Hogg.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Did you¡­ did you finally advance your Skill?¡±

    ¡°As soon as the fight started,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But I haven¡¯t figured out how to use the new magic. And this isn¡¯t really the best environment for learning to use a new ability.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing too bad learning to use <em>my </em>powers,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg scowled at him. ¡°Drink your potion.¡±

    ¡°How many do you have?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a <em>real</em> Healing Potion, Brin. How rich do you think I am? Just the one,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll save it.¡±

    Hogg might¡¯ve argued, but a new group of undead converged on the scene.

    Another half dozen undead appeared from the forest, but themander kept them back. Hogg eyed them warily, but didn¡¯t move.

    More arrived, and the new arrivals grouped up near the [Anti-Mage], until the [Anti-Mage] had thirty in a formation around him. The undead who¡¯d been spread out in a circle around them moved around, joining the group and leaving the rear free. The caster and the giant with the shield stood on the leader¡¯s right and left hand. When the group was fifty strong, and no other undead were in sight, the whole group started to march together.

    Hogg picked at his fingernails with a shortsword, though Brin could tell he was watching the group carefully.

    ¡°Should we run?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yes. Except it kind of seems like that¡¯s what he wants us to do. [Witchhunter] has an anti-retreat Skill, kills anyone who tries to leave after fighting for a certain amount of time. I wonder if [Anti-Mage] has something simr. Otherwise, why get in a big group like that?¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°To be a big target for you to conveniently wipe out with your secret finishing move?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°If only,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin felt a secret thrill that retreat was firmly off the table. He could be smart if he had to, but he <em>wanted</em> to fight. [Battle Fury] and [Bloody Vengeance] both got stronger based on wounds he''d received, and he wasn''tcking on those. The power burned through him like a furious but polluted furnace.

    The [Anti-Mage] sheathed his saber, and pulled a two-handed broadsword from a sheath at the hip of the armored giant. It was absurdly long, two hands longer than the wielder''s height, but he carried it lightly. He gave it a flourish, and then pointed it at Hogg. The entire group went into a run, and Hogg twirled his shortswords, ready to meet them. Brin held his new sword eagerly.

    An itch at the corner of his vision, [Know What¡¯s Real] was warning him. He turned and saw a blur in the air. Whatever it was, it was heading straight for Hogg¡¯s back.

    Brin jumped to intercept it, and saw the undead archer, now without its bow, tear away a camouge cloak of some sort. It hit Brin before it could get to Hogg, and buried a ck knife in his guts.

    Its face twisted into a mask of outrage, and it stabbed him again and again, six more times, moving up his body. Thest stab almost hit his heart. Almost. Smiling, Brin felt the rush of excitement as more wounds filled him with fire. In no great hurry, he drew back his arm and then thrust out, stabbing the undead¡¯s heart with its own sword.

    He blinked away the kill notification and the new levels, his vision blurry, his heart pounding. Could it have killed him if it had stabbed his heart or would [Mana Scars] hold even that together? He would never know. Even so, it was getting impossible for [Mana Scars] to hold it all together. He started bleeding again, and felt¡­ not pain. He felt strange. Things in his body weren¡¯t where they should be.

    Hogg fought in a maelstrom, swirling around the undead like a toddler through a crowd of mannequins.

    ¡°Got anything for Mana?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need it if I ever¡ª gah!¡± Hogg darted around the undead soldier who¡¯d gotten a lucky strike in. ¡°Fine! Here!¡±

    Brin snatched a glowing silver potion out of the air and downed it. In a daze, he saw his wounds stop bleeding again. A few shining drops of silver seeped from the lower stab wounds. Then the energy hit and his mana went from empty to overful. His body burned. His wounds closed. His organs shifted, putting themselves back in the right ce. He even stood up straight again, as the skin and muscles on his chest pressed against his broken ribs, putting them back into ce.

    His vision cleared; and he saw enemies everywhere, and Hogg, desperately fighting to keep them away from him.

    Brin attacked. The first undead didn¡¯t even see himing. The second swung at him with a mace, but his sword seemed to know right where to go to knock it to the side and take the monster¡¯s neck.

    A punch from Hogg knocked an undead into the air, and Brin stabbed it through the chest before it hit the ground.

    An ax hit his head, knocking his leather helmet off. He whipped the sword around and took the arm off the ax-wielder without really looking, then stepped backwards, stopping a furious series of stabs from a spear-wielder.

    He fought madly, uncaring of any wounds. He couldn¡¯t care; he didn¡¯t have skill or strength or numbers, all he had was the madness of his ss. Three spear wielders came at him at once, and he charged into them swinging every direction wildly, beating them down with no Skill, just overwhelming strength.

    Something hit his sword hand, cutting two fingers off. He found them on the ground and stuck them back into ce, and [Mana Scars] held them there. He used that same hand to grab the ded end of a war-scythe and yank it out of a surprised undead¡¯s hands. Then he set to work with it, waving it in wide sweeps around himself, forcing the undead to step back and give him some space.

    It gave him the space to see Hogg¡¯s fight. The undead caster was dead, and the armored giant was bunkered behind its shield. None of the regr undead could touch him, but the [Anti-Mage] pressed him back. The huge broadsword was supernatural in its ability to find Hogg in the crowd. It knocked him out of the air, batted him around like a volleyball. Every strike hit with the force of a mortar shell. Hogg blocked every strike, but still took heavy wounds, as if they were appearing on their own.

    Hogg jumped off an upward swing, and flipped through the air tond next to Brin. He stumbled trying to reach his feet, but made it up on the second try, while clutching his side.

    The man in blue armorughed. He started to say something, but just as he did, a blur tore through the air, aiming at Brin.

    Hogg moved in an instant, catching it. Brin fired off [Inspect] just in time to see the words [Undead Assassin], before Hogg hurled the ck-d undead towards the rest of the group.

    Hogg roared in anger. ¡°¡± He threw out his hand, and a burst of green sparks flew a couple inches before disappearing uselessly. Whatever he had just tried didn''t work. But Hogg didn¡¯t seem to realize that. He squared his shoulders, smiling, his eyes gleaming.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is,¡± he said.

    ¡°Silence!¡± shouted the [Anti-Mage].

    This time Brin was near enough that he felt the wave of magic--or anti-magic?--pass through him.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s toote for that. See, now that I have the trick of it, I can do it even without the Language. Let¡¯s try something like¡­¡± He pushed out his fist, and a bright green me appeared in front of him, only it didn¡¯t look exactly right, almost stic, and it disappeared after a half-second.

    Hogg stroked his chin. ¡°Hm. I guess it¡¯s more like¨C¡±

    The undead attacked as one, swords up, axes out, spears stabbing before Brin could even hear the order.

    Hogg stomped on the ground, and a line of yellow spears burst from the ground like a barricade, pinning the front line of charging undead in ce. The spears were glossy and partially transparent, almost like they weren¡¯t real, but the wounds they left were real enough.

    The [Anti-Mage] shouted, and the yellow spears shattered and disappeared. Hogg pointed and a storm of arrows flew into the undead, and they kepting, hundreds of them, until the [Anti-Mage] activated what looked like a consumable of his own, creating a magical bubble around what was left of his troops.

    Hogg gesture, and a blue fist materialized inside the bubble, smashing the giant undead into the ground. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I waited so long to do this!¡±

    He waved like a maestro directing an orchestra. Inside the bubble-shield, pandemonium broke loose. The remaining undead were torn to pieces by colorful and translucent shapes and weapons. Writhing ropes, cutting buzz-saws, swords and axes, all tearing into the army without remorse.

    Only the [Anti-Mage] remained standing. Everything he touched with his broadsword shattered into nothingness, and he moved with superhuman speed, trying vainly to protect his warband. He failed.

    Then he was alone, and Hogg¡¯s magic descended on him. An orange anvil knocked the sword out of his hands. Gray chains climbed over him like snakes, tying his arms and legs behind his back.

    Hogg gestured, and the chains dragged the struggling [Anti-Mage] closer. He grabbed the chains with his bare hands, and pulled the [Anti-Mage] to him. Then he collected his shortsword from the ground, and without fanfare stabbed through the armor¡¯s gap in the neck, ending it.

    Brin turned around, looking for the next ambush, eyes darting into the trees to try and find the next [Assassin]. There was nothing but wreckage, dead bodies, scorched earth, craters and burning trees. Nothing came. No new undead were visible in the trees. It was done. They''d really done it. He started tough.

    Hogg copsed onto the ground. Brin''sughter choked off in his throat, and he ran to Hogg''s side. His wounds were so much worse than Brin had thought. His entire body was wet, although how much of it was his own was an open question.

    Brin shuffled backwards, staying out of reach.

    ¡°It¡¯s done. Drink the potion,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin looked at himself. Perris¡¯ spectacr armor was barely more than a bunch of blood-soaked leather straps. Without the [Mana Scars] holding him together, his body wasn¡¯t much better. He had some levels. How far had he gotten? A quick look told him level 22. He had another few General Skills, so he selected [Hide Status].

    He put every free point he had into Magic. He immediately felt relief as his mana flooded in again, holding the wounds closed, but it wasn¡¯t enough. After that, he figured he had maybe an hour, and then the wounds would all open again. And that was only if he was holding still. [Battle Fury] was currently doubling his Strength, Dexterity, and most importantly, Vitality, but that would wear off after a half hour, making his wounds slow down their healing speed. If he had to walk all the way back to town, or fight more undead? He¡¯d never make it.

    He barely glimpsed over the Skill options for his ss. He had another Skill point now. One of the new Skill options was his level 20 capstone if he chose to take it.

    Wound Transfer Transfer a portion of your wounds to an ally. Extra experience for ying an ally in this manner.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you drinking it?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m done getting hurt tonight,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°The fight¡¯s over. I just need a rest, see, and then we can go back home together,¡± Hogg lied.

    It was dark now that no magic was flying around, but even in the dark Brin could see that Hogg bore wounds that would already have killed someone from earth. No, it would kill someone from this world, too. It would just take a lot longer.

    ¡°You have any more healing supplies in those pockets? Any bandages?¡± asked Brin.

    From his back, Hogg made a show of looking down at his ck leathers. They weren¡¯t in any better shape than Brin¡¯s armor. Rags. Hogg¡¯s pockets were finally empty.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Marksi?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Camouge bag, back that way a bit,¡± said Hogg, indicating with his chin. ¡°Now, drink it. What are you waiting for?¡±

    There was only one way this was going to work, so Brin turned his heart into stone. He barked out augh. A cruelugh. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you to weaken a bit more. You understand, right? What kind of Skills a [Scarred One] has? Face it, you''re going to die either way, so why waste the opportunity? I just need to know for sure you aren¡¯t going to magic my head off the second I get close enough to activate it. Nothing personal, but I can¡¯t pass up an opportunity like this.¡±

    Hogg closed his eyes. ¡°An evil ss really works that fast?¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°No. Don¡¯t you get it? I¡¯ve always been this way. It makes sense, see? We get the ss we really deserve. A ss isn¡¯t what you do. It¡¯s what you <em>are</em>. It¡¯s nice though, not to have to hide who I am any more.¡±

    ¡°No. You¡¯re not. I don¡¯t believe that. You weren¡¯t. You¡¯ll see. So¡­ so take it. I want you to. Take my experience. There¡¯s probably some good Achievements in it for you, too. But just¡­ listen. Just listen, ok? Some day, you¡¯re going to wake up. Evil sses will sometimes evolve their way back into sanity, and when that happens to you, don¡¯t beat yourself up, ok? It¡¯s my fault you have an evil ss. My fault, ok? It¡¯s <em>mine</em>. There¡¯s a hundred things I could¡¯ve done differently to stop all this from happening. When youe back to yourself, I want you to.... When, someday¡­¡±

    Hogg really was fading, so Brin sprang forward.

    Hogg gasped in surprise, which was the perfect opportunity. Brin poured the potion down Hogg¡¯s throat. Hogg tried to spit it back into his face, but Brin had been expecting that. He used every single new point of Strength he¡¯d earned to hold Hogg¡¯s mouth closed until the potion started to work.

    There was no visible effect, no sh of light, so Brin had no idea if it was even working. Hogg struggled against him weakly. Then, less weakly. Then Hogg threw him off, his strength fully returned.

    Brin fell to the ground, barely feeling it, and started tough. ¡°I can¡¯t believe¡­ you actually thought¡­¡±

    He couldn¡¯t really me Hogg. Evil sses really did get inside your head, and even though it had never been his n to kill Hogg, he had been <em>really</em> close to taking and using [Wound Transfer]. That would be the smart thing to do, right? He hadn''t done it, though, because there was a chance the Skill would¡¯ve killed Hogg before the potion healed him. He still wasn¡¯t sure if it was the right call or not, but he did know it would¡¯ve been callous and cruel, and that''s not who he wanted to be, not even as the [Scarred One].

    Instead of [Wound Transfer], Brin put hisst Skill point into his [Scarred] Title.

    ¡°Idiot!¡± Hogg yelled.

    Brinughed again, but fell onto his back. His mana still had about an hour left before his organs turned to mush, but his stamina waspletely spent. Darkness started to seep across the edges of his vision. His body was still on fire and his insides felt like he was full of wriggling worms. His Vitality was insanely high, was that the feeling of his body healing? Or maybe he was getting delirious. Even the energy of his transformed pain couldn''t keep him conscious much longer. Would [Scarred] and [Ugly on the Inside] fix him in time? This was a good way to find out. He¡¯d either wake up, or not.

    In hisst moment of consciousness, he saw the trees blurring by in the darkness as Hogg carried him home.

 Book 1. Chapter 42

    Book 1. Chapter 42

    Brin ended up waking up after all. He sort of expected to be in his room. He wasn''t. He was in his bed, and that was his wardrobe with his clothes, but the room was different. Looking down, he was naked under the nket, unless you counted bandages. If you counted bandages, he was fully clothed. He sneered at them. Who needed bandages when you had scars? They were allpletely white without a speck of seepage, and he could feel [Mana Scars] still burning his magic, keeping everything where it was supposed to be. He was surprised he still had mana, honestly. How long had it been?

    He checked his status first, and grinned at all the high numbers. How long ago had it been that he was so proud of twenty-six Strength? Now he was at nearly a hundred and fifty.

    That should¡¯ve been the best part, but it wasn¡¯t. He had an achievement waiting for him.

    Alert! You have upgraded an Achievement. Warbound (Epic) bes Warbound (Legendary)

    <em>Warfare was his birthright, he craved the sh of steel,</em>

    <em>He sang a song of bloodshed that the dead could hear and feel,</em>

    <em>The terror of the battlefield, a cursed child was found.</em>

    <em>Warbound.</em>

    <em>+20% Strength, +20% Vitality, +20% Will, +10% Dexterity</em>

    <em>bes</em>

    <em>+20% to all attributes.</em>

    You have been granted a new Skill:

    Battle Sense

    You have an innate sense about the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to direct your allies to greatest effectiveness during conflict.

    What he¡¯d done felt legendary. He couldn¡¯t believe his memories, the things he¡¯d done. He¡¯d fought those undead like he was immortal; he¡¯d run right through wounds like he couldn¡¯t feel them. He¡¯d out-zombied the zombies.

    His [Scarred] Title was different.

    Heavily Scarred You have been scarred. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars. Your wounds heal 60% faster.

    Would that one increase after all these injuries were healed? That was a happy thought. Almost as an afterthought, there was onest notification.

    Alert! Through training you have increased the following attribute. Magic +5

    Apparently his Magic had been working overtime while he slept.

    He sat up, moving slowly, and his body exploded with warmth and energy. He knew enough of his ss by now to know that that wasn''t a good sign. That was pain, transformed into something more useful. Only, in this scenario it was the opposite of useful because it made him want to jump into action, but what he should be doing right now is holding still so his body could mend.

    The movement made something stir at his side. A coil of snake wasying on hisp, all shiny, shimmering colors. Looking at Marksi, Brin felt something like... fond irritation. All his emotions were probably tinged with anger now, a side-effect he''d been expecting after meeting the [Scarred One] in his ss Selection, but it was good to know he wouldn''t be ovee with hatred. He still liked Marksi.

    He put old-Brin''s voice on and said, "Marksi! Good to see you, buddy! I was worried about you!"

    Marksi uncoiled and stretched, letting out a big yawn. He crawled into Brin''s arms, and it was only then that he noticed.

    He was crawling. The four nubs on Marksi''s sides had sprouted, and he had arms and legs now. Little arms that ended in three-fingered hands with pads like a gecko. The limbs were too short, but maybe they''d grow? He didn''t know. Apparently he didn''t know much about his little friend.

    He looked up to see Hogg enter the doorway.

    "Marksi has legs now? What happened?" asked Brin.

    "He''s a little young for it, but not surprising, considering that beast core you fed him. He slept through the whole fight, and then two days after that," said Hogg.

    "Two days... How long was I asleep?" asked Brin.

    "Four days," said Hogg. ¡°It was a close thing for the first couple hours. We had to force feed you mana potions nonstop to keep your body together until your internal scarring Skill could close all the wounds to your innards. You¡¯re allergic to mana potions now, by the way. Happens sometimes. Should clear up in a month or two. Just got the results back.¡±

    "Four days¡­ Then the army--"

    "It didn''t kill us all, obviously. Haven''t really seen a sign of them since we escaped the forest. They''re out there, though. Six of our [Hunters] disappeared. The forest isn''t safe anymore," said Hogg. "I even had to buy a house in the town! That''s where we are now."

    ¡°But help is on the way, right? You got a message out?¡±

    ¡°I got some letters out before I had to switch my Skill. Not as much as I''d have liked. But that¡¯s it¡¯s own thing; I can¡¯t do illusions anymore,¡± said Hogg. Then he brightened. ¡°I¡¯m a [Conjurer of Hard Light] now. And if I ever get the hang of it, [Mage of Hard Light] isn¡¯t too far away.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome! But that means we¡¯re penned in? Can Gustaff send another message?¡±

    ¡°Gustaff¡¯s range doesn¡¯t even get to the next Bog. But if the letters don¡¯t make it, Lumina will start asking questions when I don¡¯t make it to the next scheduled appointment. I <em>never</em> miss an appointment.¡±

    Brin wanted to ask more, but he was interrupted by a growling stomach.

    "Stay right there, I''ll get you some soup."

    Brin swung his feet to the side and sat up.

    "Youy back down right now, or I swear to Nedramus I will put you down. You''re being held together with shoe glue and fishing line at this point."

    "I''m being held together with magic," grumbled Brin, but hey back down anyway.

    Hogg returned with the soup, and Brin as soon as the smell of it hit his nose, he realized he¡¯d never wanted anything so much in his entire life. He gulped it down and asked for more, then asked if Hogg had anything more solid. Bread, anything.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you keep that down, first.¡±

    Brin scowled. ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to keep it down.¡±

    But he still waited like a good little boy. To his surprise, he already felt full. Bloated, even, like his body wasn¡¯t used to food. Looking at his forearm, his muscles didn¡¯t seem any smaller, but his skin looked like it was shrink-wrapped to his body.

    That made him curious, so he started to untie the bandage around his fingers, the ones that had been cut off. Even that movement made them burst out with energy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin scowled at him and removed the bandage. The fingers were scabbed over on the outside, and he immediately felt the overwhelming urge to start picking at them.

    He red at Hogg again and put the bandage back on.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t there to hold you together. They¡¯re there to¡­ remove temptation,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I get it,¡± snapped Brin.

    ¡°So listen,¡± Hogg started delicately, which immediately made Brin suspicious. ¡°The Prefit needs to talk to you. It¡¯s sort of urgent.¡±

    ¡°About what?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to say,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin frowned. It was probably to pin some stupid punishment on him. He¡¯d <em>technically</em> broken the rules when he left town to hunt in the forest without an adult. If that was all it was, he would be lucky. No doubt Tawna had used the past few days to whisper treachery into everyone¡¯s ears. At least no one but Hogg knew his ss. He¡¯d taken [Hide Status] as one of his first general Skills.

    ¡°Send him in,¡± said Brin.

    Fifteen minutester, the Prefit arrived, as well-dressed and dignified as ever. If Brin was expecting to see stubble on the chin or rings under the eyes of the Prefit while the town was virtually under siege, he was disappointed. He looked like he never lost a day of sleep in his life.

    ¡°You¡¯ll understand if I don¡¯t get up,¡± Brin said, trying and failing to keep an acerbic tone out of his voice.

    ¡°No need,¡± said the Prefit. Then to his surprise, he found a footstool and sat down by the side of the bed. ¡°How are you feeling, son?¡±

    Brin bit back an insulting response to the over-familiar tone. Instead he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt worse.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure if that was a lie or not. True, he¡¯d never been in this much pain before, but the pain felt very nice.

    ¡°Good, good. I have a few questions, and then I¡¯ll let you get back to your rest,¡± said the Prefit.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Hogg filled me in on the entirety of the events in the forest that night, but I¡¯d like to confirm some details with you. First, you should know that I know you¡¯re a [Scarred One].¡±

    Brin growled. ¡°Hogg told you? He didn¡¯t have the right!¡±

    ¡°The [Pharmacist] and [Midwife] needed to know in order to render proper treatment. I was told as a matter of course. No one else was informed, although people will no doubt... specte. That¡¯s what brings me here today. I need to confirm some details with you.¡±

    Brin fidgeted uneasily. Hogg was in the other room, and he¡¯d proven that he could be trusted. There was nothing the Prefit could do, he told himself.

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°First, can you confirm that Tawna told you in person that she intended for you to pick an evil ss?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she said that.¡± Brin was a little confused.

    ¡°Do you believe her actions that day and in the preceding weeks or months led you towards an evil ss?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they did,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I see.¡± There was an expression of sorrow on Elmon¡¯s face, but also determination.

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin. ¡°Tawna? She¡¯s the one in trouble?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for me and the council of elders to decide,¡± said Elmon. ¡°But driving a child to an evil ss is a terrible crime. It isn¡¯t illegal to be mean to a child or even to say cruel things about them. But if that cruelty drives the child in question to pick an evil ss, then that¡¯s a different matter entirely. This alone would be enough, but she also manipted you into going into the forest alone, and gave you information designed to put you in even greater danger. And now her actions have borne poisonous fruit. Another question. When I moved System Day up by a week, did that make picking an evil ss more or less likely?¡±

    ¡°More, but only because I needed it to save my life. I was going to pick¡­ something else,¡± said Brin. ¡°The logic goes in circles. If you hadn¡¯t moved up System Day, I wouldn¡¯t have survived getting stabbed. But would I still have gotten stabbed if we hadn¡¯t been waiting right there?¡±

    ¡°ording to Hogg, the only reason the ambush was so sloppy was because you weren¡¯t where they expected you to be. He ims that if you¡¯d kept moving at the previous pace, you both would have died. Tawna¡­ ims the same. She told me that her reading of fate made it certain that if I didn¡¯t do it, both you and Hogg would have died, though she didn¡¯t know the cause at the time.¡±

    ¡°If Hogg said that then it¡¯s true,¡± said Brin. ¡°But she should still be punished for what she did.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Prefit nodded solemnly. "And if her punishment were up to you, what would you choose?¡±

    Looking back at it, the fact that he hadn¡¯t gotten Magic to the first threshold before System Day was the thing that bothered him the most. He¡¯d been <em>so close.</em> He wasn¡¯t even sure if it was totally her fault, but¡­ who was he kidding? It was <empletely</em> her fault.

    Brin had no end of imagining horrible things for Tawna, but he kept himself to choosing the best thing he thought he could get Elmon to agree to. He wanted her to be embarrassed, for everyone in town to see her being punished, see that she was the one at fault. ¡°Pillory. For at least a day. Do what she tried to do to me.¡±

    The Prefit gave an appreciative nod. ¡°Son, the normal punishment for driving a child to an evil ss is exile or death. Your sufferance will be noted, however.¡±

    Brin nearly screamed. The pillory was <em>less</em> than the Prefit had in mind? Because he agreed. She should be flogged! She should have her hair cut off and be hung in a gibbet and stabbed with spears! But he¡¯d just look stupid saying that now.

    He gave a terse nod.

    The Prefit left, and Hogg came back into the room.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I screwed that up so badly,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You did good,¡± said Hogg. ¡°He probably would¡¯ve been <em>more</em> lenient if you¡¯d screamed for blood and torture. Now his conscience is going to eat at him.¡±

    ¡°Ha! A conscience. What a stupid weakness to have,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah. Almost got you killed,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You should¡¯ve drunk the damn potion.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    Hogg frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ make me watch you die, alright? I¡¯m starting to get used to ya.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, alright,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly and Davi visited him that afternoon. They entered cautiously, footsteps quiet, as if sudden movements or too much noise would be enough to reopen all his injuries.

    Zilly stopped in the doorway to his room, and gasped, although there wasn¡¯t much to see. All his scars were covered with bandages except for the ones on his face that had alreadypletely healed, and he¡¯d even put on some clothes even though they made everything itch.

    Davi didn¡¯t make any visible reaction to Brin¡¯s injuries, though he couldn¡¯t help but notice the way Davi¡¯s eyes quickly slid away from him to a spot on the wall right next to his head.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I¡¯m even more handsome than you remember? I get that a lot,¡± said Brin.

    Davi snorted. ¡°You look like crap.¡±

    Brinughed, and the spike of hot energy from his broken ribs made him want tough louder, but he forced himself to stop.

    Zilly gave an uncertain smile. ¡°You look like actual garbage.¡±

    ¡°But in a cool way, right?¡±

    ¡°You look like a pulled pork sandwich covered in mallow sweets,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Thanks Davi,¡± Brin said, feeling a strange mixture of amusement and anger. ¡°So what¡¯s going on out there? Is it true Tawna¡¯s in trouble?¡±

    Zilly nodded eagerly. ¡°Oh, yeah, everyone is furious. Obviously almost getting you killed is bad or whatever, but moving up System Day? That¡¯s too far. They¡¯re out for blood. It¡¯s actually a little scary. I feel bad for Myra, she can¡¯t even go outside.¡±

    That tracked. To them, System Day was like your wedding day and university graduation all rolled into one, and apparently Tawna had given them the equivalent of a shotgun wedding in the middle of the night.

    ¡°You know Madely? She wasn¡¯t even in her bed when it hit. She was on the street, no doubt sneaking back from Rodrige Moda¡¯s house,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Wait, the [Woodworker] kid?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, the [Car¨C the carpenter,¡± said Zilly, but he¡¯d noticed the slip. She¡¯d said his ss name.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me hanging! What did you two get?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t,¡± said Davi. ¡°We¡¯re still going to do the ceremony like normal. No one is allowed to tell anyone what ss they have until then.¡±

    Brin could just use [Inspect], but he decided not to. If it was that important to them, he¡¯d wait.

    ¡°Well at least you¡¯re here to keep mepany. I¡¯m going to go crazy from boredom here,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay long. We just wanted to see how you were, and give you this,¡± said Zilly. She offered him a pretty paper package tied with a bow.

    He opened it, and saw it was full of candied grasshoppers. He gagged. Marksi erupted from under the covers to help himself to them.

    Zillyughed, and handed Brin another box. This one was full of candied nuts. He could appreciate the prank since they still had brought him a real treat, but he found it disturbingly hard to push down the irritation.

    Then Zilly choked. She raised a shaking finger. ¡°L¡­ legs!¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Yeah, he has legs now.¡±

    Marksi didn''t answer at all, just munched happily, his head in the bag of candied grasshoppers.

    After a few minutes, Zilly and Davi made their excuses. They were pretty busy getting ready for the celebration. Hammon¡¯s Bog was <em>going</em> to have its party, and no conniving [Weavers] or undead armies were going to stop them.

    They left, leaving Brin alone. The next few days were an exercise in boredom. Hogg didn¡¯t let him leave the room, and although he brought him a few books, they were dry histories and he just didn¡¯t seem to have the patience for it.

    Brin entertained himself by going through the house and using [Inspect] on every single thing he could find. Apparently, one of the many notifications he¡¯d ignored in the fight was this one:

    <strong>Alert! [Inspect] leveled up! 1 -> 2</strong>

    Some Skills could level, and now he was already addicted to it. Inspect rarely gave him more information than he could deduce on his own.

    A chair. A bed. The floor. The ceiling. When he used it on his pet, it just said ¡°Marksi¡±. It called Hogg ¡°A man.¡± The yellow loveseat that was actually a hidden dimensional storage just came back as ¡°Afortable and stylish sofa.¡±

    Some things were more interesting though. He used it on the sword he¡¯d stolen from the undead archer. ¡°A masterwork silverite sword. Enchanted for speed and uracy. Rechargeable.¡±

    Other things were sort of funny. When he used it on Hogg¡¯s silverware, everything came back ¡°Bog Standard fork¡±, ¡°Bog Standard knife¡±, and ¡°Bog Standard cup¡±.

    <strong>Alert! [Inspect] leveled up! 2 -> 3</strong>

    It was strange though, because to him, Hogg¡¯s things were quite nice. The cup was wooden, but made from artfully fitted pieces in an interesting pattern, and he just knew somehow that no glue was involved; the pieces just fit together that well. The silverware was also very nice, but apparently that was totally normal.

    Eventually he asked Hogg about it.

    ¡°Oh, noticed that, did you? Good call on taking Inspect. Yeah, it¡¯s another town Skill. When a craftsman gets to a certain level of proficiency, the town will recognize their work and let them attach the town¡¯s title. It¡¯s our own little private joke, see? And a demonstration of our pride. Somewhere else, this cup would be showing ¡®masterwork quality¡¯, but to us it¡¯s ¡®Bog Standard¡¯.¡± Hogg smiled, obvious joy in his eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s dumb,¡± said Brin. ¡°That¡¯s way too much effort to put into selling a pun.¡±

    Hogg scowled. ¡°Well, we like it.¡±

    Over the next two days, Brin tried to keep himself busy. He yed way too many games of Jogosa with Hogg, until the man started avoiding the house to get away from him. He yed the lute until the strings broke, then fixed it, and broke them again. His new Strength was difficult to get used to with fine-control things like that.

    He yed with Marksi a little, but Marksi liked to do more active things like chasing or fetching, and Brin knew he shouldn¡¯t move too much with his injuries. Just leaving his room was pushing it.

    The hours dripped down like mud from a rain gutter, and Brin¡¯s wounds healed. When he got up the morning of System Day, [Mana Scars] had finally stopped sucking on his magic.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re done healing,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It just means you¡¯re out of the danger zone. That Skill, [Ugly On the Inside], still might be going to work. You shouldn¡¯t do anything to your ss until you get checked out by [Midwife] Costanza again. In case you were thinking about¡­ doing something, that is.¡±

    Brin narrowed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

    ¡°So, about System Day. What are we telling everyone?¡±

    ¡°[Warrior], of course,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°[Warrior] it is.¡±

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    Scarred One

    Level

    22

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    149

    Dexterity

    91

    Vitality

    146

    Magic

    41

    Mental Control

    59

    Will

    59

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    You survived the massacre at Travin¡¯s Bog that ended your family.

    +50% resistance to heat, cold and poison.

    Traveler

    You have journeyed to a strange and foreignnd where you now live.

    +30% movement speed when out ofbat

    You have argely increased ability to learnnguages.

    Otherworlder

    You have traversed the stars and arrived at an entirely new world.

    +50% experience while your ss is below level 30. Strengthened immune system. Strengthened magic resistance.

    Heavily Scarred (3)

    You have been scarred. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars.

    Your wounds heal 60% faster.

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Warbound (Legendary)

    <em>Warfare was his birthright, he craved the sh of steel,</em>

    <em>He sang a song of bloodshed that the dead could hear and feel,</em>

    <em>The terror of the battlefield, a cursed child was found.</em>

    <em>Warbound</em>.

    +20% to all attributes. +100% experience from meleebat. Battle Fury and Battle Sense skills added.

    Monster Hunter II (Common)

    You have defeated more than 13 monsters.

    +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

    Filial Piety (Epic)

    You performed a noble act of service to your father at great risk to yourself, freeing his captive soul from those who bound him in servitude.

    Extra resistance against mental maniption, soul maniption, and Mana pool maniption.

    +100% Magic attribute growth.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    Strong IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Strength.

    +40% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +40% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous III (Common)

    You have reached 65 Dexterity.

    +10% Dexterity (Transferred from Thief). +30% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +30% Dexterity attribute growth.

    Lively IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Vitality.

    +40% recovery from wounds. +40% stamina. +40% Vitality attribute growth.

    Magical II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Magic.

    +20% spell power. +20% mana regeneration. +20% Magic attribute growth

    Controlled II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Mental Control.

    +20% focus and concentration +20% Mental Control attribute growth

    Disciplined II (Common)

    You have reached 39 Will

    +20% spell power. +20% skill power. +20% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You have earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +2 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +2 Vitality per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Mental Control per level

    <strong>General Skills</strong>

    Know What¡¯s Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You can now approximate the value of things.

    Monster Sense

    You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    Inspect (3)

    Active Skill - Receive information on the target.

    Upgradeable.

    Hide Status

    Your ss and other System details are hidden from Inspect and other observation skills. Note: Your information may still be vulnerable due to high level disparities and powerful inspection skills.

    Upgradeable.

    Battle Fury (Epic)

    Skill unlocked: Battle Fury (Epic)

    Your fury in battle lends you greater power.

    +5% increase to the effects of your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality with each wound you take and with each wound you give. +50% increase with each enemy you y.

    These increases are capped at +100%

    These increases expire thirty minutes after you leavebat.

    Battle Sense

    You have an innate sense about the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to direct your allies to greatest effectiveness during conflict.

    <strong>ss Skills</strong>

    Ugly on the Inside

    Enhanced ability to form healing scars on internal organs. Nearly any injury can heal naturally, given time.

    Pain Resistance

    Feel pain as information, with a boost to energy and focus.

    Mana Scars

    Your body is held together by mana when wounded. Consumes mana.

    Bloody Vengeance

    Increased power and speed proportional to the amount of wounds received.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 1. Chapter 43

    Book 1. Chapter 43

    He gave into temptation, right before the System Day celebration. He brought out the little knife he¡¯d made under Toros¡¯ tutge and cut the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes and let himself savor the experience, the fire, the sudden passion, the forbidden pleasure. He hadn¡¯t taken the upgrade to turn pain into pleasure, so [Pain Resistance] turned his pain into heat and excitement. Even so, it was almost too much. Oh yes, it was going to be hard to stop himself from doing this. But he would. This wasn¡¯t for pleasure. He actually had a reason.

    Most of his wounds had healedpletely, or aspletely as they were going to. His whole body was crisscrossed with a web of jagged scars. They were cool-looking though, not ugly, blotchy blobs. Even the stab wounds had healed into thin white lines. Cool scars, like the¡­ well, let¡¯s face it. Like the heroes in anime had.

    With the scars hade a bonus. [Heavily Scarred] wasn¡¯t lying when it said healing would improve with each new scar.

    Heavily Scarred You have been scarred. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative. Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars Your wounds heal 120% faster.

    As good as it felt, this was just a test. This was an experiment to see what the title meant, in real terms.

    Sure enough, the cut stopped bleeding right away. Then he watched, as the blood dried and a scab began to form. He counted one minute until the scab was fully hardened and started to look tasty. It was nothing like wolverine-speed healing, but it was still eerie to see the way the scab popped out in real time. Normally a cut like this would take a couple days to go awaypletely, but the way it was healing, he¡¯d be surprised if it wasn¡¯t gone by morning.

    He closed his fist, resisting the urge to mess with it.

    Time to get dressed. All the children, even him, were to wear ceremonial robes, and his were currently on the bed. They were made of silk, ording to Hogg, but he didn¡¯t know what that meant in the terms of this world. He¡¯d never seen any silkworms around.

    The fabric was certainly smooth like silk, but also thick and warm. They were white, and were prismatic in the way they caught the light, putting little rainbows in the air around them that didn¡¯t set off [Know What¡¯s Real].

    He shrugged them on and looked into the mirror. He looked like a devil in the clothes of an angel.

    The only other item he was to bring was the tool of his trade. He brought the undead archer¡¯s sword, belted around the outside of the robes at his waist.

    Then he left the house. Hogg¡¯s new ce was right on the edge near the wall, of course, so there was a bit of a walk.

    This part of the town was empty, but when he got to the connecting street, he was greeted by a warm glow. All the town¡¯s adults were lining the streets, holding candles. They watched in silence, some with proud smiles, others solemn. Hogg was standing right at the corner, and for once he had forgone his ck leathers for the borate formal clothes of the Bog.

    The newly advanced children walked down the center, and some Skill had been used to make the streets t and dry,pletely clear of mud or detritus.

    Brin was the furthest and thest, so as he passed, the adults ringed around and followed behind him. That got his back up, he <em>hated </em>the feeling of people walking behind him. The remaining unhealed wounds in his body gave him an ufortable amount of energy and he wanted nothing more than to dash forward and be done with this, but of course that wouldn¡¯t be proper. No, it wouldn¡¯t be right. He could control this.

    He walked as slowly as he could make himself, just barely faster than the other kids. And he had that +30% movement speed when out ofbat from [Traveler], so basically he was walking like a turtle. Except¡­ that wasn¡¯t how it worked. He hadn¡¯t been out at all since he returned to town, but already he could feel that improved how fast he <em>could</em> travel, not how fast he always would travel. His normal walking speed was the same as before. He was just impatient.

    He heard the sound of singing, and a lute ying, but it wasn¡¯t the sound of country dances. This was slower, more spiritual, almost a chant. He could pick out a voice belonging to the [Bard] Jeffrey, and one other. Lower, rougher, and younger. A little shaky, but still on-tune. Hammon''s Bog had a new [Bard]. He wondered who the lucky brat was. How galling was it, that he didn''t even have an idea? No one else his age had asked Jeffrey for lessons... he shoved the broiling anger back down. What did he care? He didn''t. He wouldn''t have picked [Bard], even if it had been offered.

    He listened as he walked. The words were in Ithmallian, and he didn¡¯t know what they said, but he knew what they <em>meant</em>. Peace, growth, and reverence. Actually he did recognize one word. ¡°Lumina¡± kept repeating in the chorus, and without anyone ever having told him, he knew it meant ¡°light¡± in the ancientnguage.

    He let Jeffrey¡¯s magic pour over him, hoping it could make him feel something different than the [Scarred One¡¯s] ever-present simmering anger. It soothed him, but he felt vaguely hollow. His old emotions would have felt something here, he was sure of it. Holiness, maybe. Now what he felt was¡­ grudging respect for something he couldn¡¯t understand anymore.

    The whole town was circled around the square so he couldn¡¯t see what was there right away, but he saw hundreds of floating papernterns above it, suspended in the air.

    The song grew clearer, and he thought he started to recognize the second voice in the song. Then he was through the crowd, and he thought of the answer right before he saw the hulkingd.

    Davi. Davi stood next to Jeffrey on a tform, standing over the rest of the children, weing them. Brin didn¡¯t even need to fire off [Inspect], but he did anyway, just to be sure. Davi had gotten [Bard].

    <em>Davi? How was that fair?</em> Brin had never so much as seen Davi lift a musical instrument, and <em>he</em> got offered [Bard]? Where was the reward for all the hours Brin had spent practicing that lute?

    He mped down on that line of thought quickly. That¡¯s <em>not</em> how you treat a friend. You were happy for them. He still remembered his true self well enough to know exactly how to smile, in surprise and delight. Davi caught his eye and smiled back while still singing, visibly relieved to see a friendly face. Brin made motions showing his brain exploding, then gave a hearty thumbs up. Davi¡¯s smile grew, but then he had to look down so that he wouldn¡¯t startughing.

    Brin held the smile as long as he thought he could, though it felt stic on his face.

    The other children started to take their ces. He saw a boy, the same Rodrige that Zilly had mentioned the day before, bring out his [Carpenter] tools and a block of wood, and start working with them on the grass. The other children did the same with their new trades, mending tools, digging in the earth, one girl even fried eggs on a self-heating frying pan.

    It should have been silly and sort-of wild, but with Jeffrey and Davi¡¯s song in the air, it was a thing of peace and beauty. A time of revtion and discovery, though Brin didn¡¯t feel that either. The first levels were the easiest, so many of them would get their very first levels tonight if they had been able to resist getting some this past week. Brin sure hadn¡¯t.

    His ce wasn¡¯t with any of them, though. He walked past and then stood on the outside looking in. He drew his sword and held it point down on the ground, resting both hands on the pommel. The protector¡¯s ce. The ce of a [Warrior].

    To his surprise, Zilly stepped up next to him and ced a sword of her own point down into the ground. Zilly, the [Warrior].

    She gave him a quick, nervous smile, then looked back at the town¡¯s young adults. He¡¯d been coached to keep his eyes on them, as their protector. A ceremonial role, obviously, but an important one.

    He watched the emotions on Zilly¡¯s face, since he couldn¡¯t seem to feel them for himself. Her face whitened a bit, perhaps as the symbolism of it all started to dawn on her. This celebration was for them, for the Common sses, for the peaceful people. Her job would be to protect them, but in times of peace, times like tonight? She didn¡¯t really have a ce with them. She stood on the outside, looking in.

    Brin watched them; he saw them jump to their feet with joy as their first levels came pouring in.

    Myra was there, red-eyed, but withplete contentment in her expression as she moved threads by hand through a darning loom.

    He saw Tawna in the crowd, and for once, the sight of her didn¡¯t fill him with anger. The Prefit hadn¡¯t been lying; ording to Hogg, the town council was fiercely debating giving her the death sentence. No one would be able to tell that by looking at her. She wore her finest dress, and her eyes were wet with unfeigned joy and pride as she watched her daughter work. Even Tawna, for all her crimes, hadn¡¯t been excluded from the beauty of this moment.

    Only Brin was excluded. Because of his choices, and because of Tawna¡¯s. His heart didn¡¯t seem to want to feel anything at all.

    The ceremony was long. And boring, for him at least. He was sure that for the rest of the young adults and their families, it would be a night they remembered for the rest of their lives.

    Well, Brin would always remember this night as well. He¡¯d remember how much he really didn¡¯t want to be this person anymore. Hopefully, this boring, failure of a night would help him remember why he would throw away something that it took most people <em>years</em> to earn.

    There was a feast next, and dancing, and Brin could still enjoy those things at least. Everyone stayed pretty close to their families, but he did manage to congratte Davi and have a quick, four-sentence conversation with Zilly.

    ¡°What are we going to do, Brin? Can we really do this?¡±

    ¡°Of course you can do this, Zilly. And for me, well, I¡¯ve already done it.¡±

    Sheughed, and then her sisters pulled her away.

    The celebration dragged on, and Brin endured it. When it was finally over, Brin walked away, at a pace that wasfortable for him

    This time, it was Hogg that had to jog to catch up.

    They walked in silence as Brin tore up the road, walking as quickly as he could without turning it into a full-on run. He worked off all the ufortable excess energy, trying to order himself, trying to find himself. Trying to figure out what was real.

    They walked in a circle, going a whole block around his destination.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice that we aren¡¯t going back to the house,¡± Hogg observed.

    ¡°I have onest thing I need to do first,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg sucked in a breath to say something, then let it out. Then again. Finally, he said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to tell you to do it. I was going to support you whatever you decided. It¡¯s my fault you got this way, and I decided I was going to live with the consequences and stick by you no matter what.¡±

    ¡°But you do want me to change it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Then you need to know why. This isn''t for your town. I don''t owe them a thing. I''m doing this because... I''ve won. I¡¯ve conquered this ss. It tried to get to me. It tried to twist me, to change me into something vile, and it couldn¡¯t. With every choice I faced since I got this ss, I chose to do the right thing. Tell me I¡¯m wrong.¡±

    ¡°You should have drunk the¨C no. You¡¯re not wrong,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°And I might even be a better person with this ss, you ever think of that? Brin let things go. He let things slide. He let people walk all over him, in the name of avoiding conflict. I won''t. I won¡¯t let things go. I see something wrong, and I¡¯ll put a stop to it. I won¡¯t let things build for weeks and months, I¡¯ll say something right away.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯ve learned that lesson, no matter what ss you have,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t going to try to convince me, so don¡¯t,¡± said Brin. ¡°I''m not doing this because I have to. I can live with this. I can control it, and use this power to do something good. Do something great!¡±

    Hogg walked along silently. He twitched his head in a nod.

    ¡°I like the way it feels, most of the time. I feel safe. I feel like nothing can hurt me,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg said, ¡°I understand.¡±

    Brin abruptly veered away, toward the temple.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, shut up. This isn¡¯t for you. I want to feel safe inside my own head again.¡±

    Costanza the [Midwife] stood in the doorway, next to Ellion the priest.

    She was a plump, white-haired woman, with the mannerisms of a drill sergeant with a toothache. Without preamble, she lifted up Brin¡¯s robe and ced the palm of her hand against his bare stomach. He was wearing shorts underneath, but it still surprised him. People in this town had very little respect for privacy, and [Midwives] had even less.

    ¡°Internal injuries are good enough. I¡¯ve seen hundreds of women survive worse. Bit of achiness, nothing major.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Ellion.

    She turned on her heel and marched away.

    Ellion looked at Brin, unflinching at all his scars. ¡°Come in.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t tell Ellion why he was here. He hadn¡¯t warned him in advance. He supposed he didn¡¯t need to.

    Ellion walked slowly towards the shrine. Slower than normal, to be honest. A reminder, maybe, that the gods wouldn¡¯t move to the pace that Brin set.

    He indicated the shrine, a stone block, unadorned, where any of the gods could be called upon in prayer. ¡°Seek peace with the gods. But first, perhaps a donation¨C¡±

    He was interrupted by the sound of heavy gold hitting the donation bowl, courtesy of Hogg.

    ¡°Very good.¡±

    He indicated the shrine again, and stepped back.

    Brin knelt. ¡°Solia. Don¡¯t be too mad at me for breaking an Oath, ok? This is for you, partly. Anshar, don¡¯t take this as an insult to you. I¡¯m doing this for me, but make no mistake; my conquest has only begun. To you two and any other gods out there, give me a way to do this that isn¡¯t breaking a sacred Oath, and I¡¯ll do it, alright? This is the System you set up. Don¡¯t fault me for ying by your rules. Amen.¡±

    Maybe it wasn¡¯t the most respectful of prayers, but the [Scarred One] wasn¡¯t really much for prayer and he didn¡¯t think faking it would be the right move for something like this.

    He felt nothing, no eyes, no sense of peace, or anything at all, and he was grateful for that.

    ¡°You may begin,¡± said Ellion. ¡°Swear whatever Oath you wish, only do not swear by any gods, lest you risk offending them.¡±

    He briefly thought about breaking his Oath with the Heroes, but his reasons for keeping it were the same. He didn¡¯t want to betray something they¡¯d trusted him with.

    ¡°I swear on my ss and Levels that I will never speak the word I am thinking of out loud three times in a row. So help me¡­ no one in particr.¡±

    ¡°You may proceed,¡± said Ellion.

    Brin gulped. He nced at Hogg, who bit his lip. He looked at the ground. Then up, towards the high ceiling of the temple. ¡°Beetlejuice, beetlejuice, beetlejuice.¡±

    It didn¡¯t hit all at once. He expected fatigue, or a huge burst of pain. Instead, it was like the weight of the world slowly descended on him. Gravity was heavier. His bones began to ache, and it got worse and worse until he could barely stand it.

    He was in pain. If all his emotions before were tinged with red, now they were tinged with blue. Even if he¡¯d had another ss before the System Day celebration, it still would have been ruined. He was so sore.

    The words he was waiting for finally appeared.

    ss Selection Initiated

    ss Automatically Assigned You are now a [sser]

    With the cruel inevitability of an avnche, the messages came.

    Strength 149 -> 42 Dexterity 84 -> 37 Vitality 146 -> 39 Magic 41 -> 29 Mental Control 59 -> 32 Will 59 -> 33

    Ugly on the Inside removed. Pain Resistance removed. Mana Scars removed.

    Bloody Vengeance removed. Inspect removed. Hide Status removed.

    On the bright side, he kept [Know What¡¯s Real], [Monster Sense], [Battle Fury], and [Battle Sense], and all his Titles and Achievements. Those practically had the power of a ss all by themselves.

    You have 1 free general Skill. You have earned a new Skill! Heat Resistance You have earned a new Skill! Shape ss

    So much lost, for so little in return.

    Brin closed his eyes. The disappointment on top of all the aching pain was too much to hold back the sudden tears. He¡¯d really thought he was going to get¨C

    ¡°YES!¡± Hogg shouted.

    Brin looked up, feeling betrayed.

    Hogg had both hands in the air. ¡°YES!¡± he yelled again. The sound echoed in the vast hall. Ellion¡¯s eyes were opened wide, looking at Hogg in horror.

    Brin couldn¡¯t believe it. A Common ss. He¡¯d hoped for [Illusionist], to be a little like one of the Heroes he admired so much. And honestly? He¡¯d hoped that Hogg would want that for him too. It left him hurt, and empty.

    He couldn¡¯t speak. He whispered. ¡°[sser].¡±

    ¡°[sser]! Exactly! What¡¯s the <em>one</em> piece of advice I gave you for System Day? Do you remember?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t pick an evil ss,¡± said Brin, starting to get his tongue back. He felt a little hot in the face. Nice to know his anger hadn¡¯tpletely left him.

    ¡°The other thing,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Always ask for the lesser version, the ss that can evolve into the ss you want,¡± said Brin as it started to dawn on him.

    ¡°Exactly. And what are the two sses that can evolve into [Illusionist]? I¡¯ll give you a hint, they¡¯re [sser] and [Smoker].¡±

    ¡°[sser] evolves into [Illusionist]! I should have known. The first thing the [Illusionist] told me when I met him was that I should pick [sser] instead. I can¡¯t believe I almost forgot to ask about that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°ss Selection wasn¡¯t over when you were interrupted, remember,¡± said Ellion. ¡°I feel certain you would have remembered in time. It is my distinct feeling that this is the ss you would have picked, given enough time to make the proper choice.¡±

    His distinct feeling, or an impression distinctly given to him by the gods?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± said Brin. ¡°It might be the best choice overall, but it¡¯s going to take a lot of time to ramp up. I would¡¯ve been worried it would take too long to get the power I¡¯ll need during the crisis that¡¯sing. I probably would¡¯ve wanted to do this, but then I would¡¯ve made the more responsible decision.¡±

    ¡°Then thank the gods that for once you didn¡¯t get the chance to make a martyr of yourself. One of my biggest regrets in life was that I didn¡¯t take [Smoker] when I had the chance. [Illusionist] gives you a ridiculous amount of magical power, but nowhere to stick it! If I¡¯d had [Summon Smoke] I could¡¯ve been choking out my enemies with poisonous gas this whole time,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t every [sser]--¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s incredibly difficult to evolve [sser], or [Smoker] for that matter, into [Illusionist],¡± said Hogg. ¡°Unless you have, I don¡¯t know, a bonded animalpanion with illusion magic, and a mentor who knows literally everything there is to know about illusion magic. In that case I¡¯d say it would be pretty easy.¡±

    ¡°Oh. OH!¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a [ss Mage].¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. At the very least, you aren¡¯t going to be a normal [Illusionist].¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Instead I¡¯m going to be a Bog Standard [Illusionist].¡± Brinughed. ¡°Bog Standard. That¡¯s actually pretty funny. You used an entire town-wide Skill just to go all-in on an inside joke. I love it.¡±

    ¡°Right? RIGHT? I about smacked you upside the head, telling me it¡¯s dumb. Little scarred prick. It¡¯s amazing, is what it is,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°This is still a temple to the gods,¡± said Ellion, though he bore a half-smile at their antics as well. ¡°Please take this outside if you must be so loud.¡±

    He and Hogg did, still chuckling, but the smile died on his lips when he saw who was waiting for them outside.

    Prefit Elmon waited for them in the dark with [Weaver] Tawna by his side. Her head was bowed and her hands were bound together with rope; a formality, no one would believe a [Weaver] could be restrained by ropes. She hadn¡¯t needed to wear the bindings at the party; this was out of respect for him, a reminder that her crimes weren¡¯t forgotten.

    Elmon stood proud, and the look in his eyes was that of intense relief. Brin hadn¡¯t decided yet whether he would take [Hide Status] again and pretend to be a [Warrior], but it was toote for these two. They saw what he was. They knew what he¡¯d done.

    The [Prefit] stepped forward. ¡°Despite all our blunders, you¡¯ve still somehow turned into a fine young man. This town owes you a great debt. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I know. And that alone speaks to your character. You did it on your own because it was right, not out of any force or pressure from others,¡± said [Prefit] Elmon. He put a hand on Brin¡¯s shoulder and opened his mouth as if to say more, then closed it again. He patted Brin¡¯s shoulder and then stepped back.

    Tawna lifted her head. ¡°I think I have grown to approve of you, somewhat.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you think,¡± said Brin. He still hadn¡¯tpletely sorted out his feelings, but he did know that much.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t change the fact that I especially owe you a great debt,¡± she said. ¡°Two dooms departed from me the moment I realized what you would choose.¡±

    Two dooms? He¡¯d probably saved her from execution by switching his ss. She¡¯d still be punished; no doubt Hogg would insist on it and so would Brin for what it was worth, but it wouldn¡¯t be death. They wouldn¡¯t execute someone for driving a child to an evil ss if the child in question already switched to something else. She was right this time: She owed him.

    He sighed, ¡°It looks like you did actually save my life by asking the Prefit to move System Day up a week. It still galls that I didn¡¯t get¨C nevermind. The fact is, you did save my life.¡±

    Elmon frowned. ¡°The things before that though, the needless cruelty, and the lies. She manipted you, me, and many others. She could have chosen a different path. She had no call to treat you that way.¡±

    ¡°Knowing what I know now, perhaps I could have,¡± said Tawna. ¡°But with the fate that was visible to me then, I cannot say I chose poorly.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not helping,¡± said the Prefit.

    Brin shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re meless, Elmon. You were ready to pillory me in front of the whole town and that was a big part of what pushed me to [Scarred One]. You could have given me a helping hand at any point, but you didn¡¯t. Tawna at least had a good reason, as misguided as I think her actions were, and no one can say her n didn¡¯t work. You were just being callous.¡±

    ¡°I will say in her defense¡­¡± Hogg started, looking cautiously at Brin.

    Brin made the ¡°get on with it¡± hand motion.

    ¡°It bothers me that we¡¯re pinning all this on her. All of us here, and I mean all four of us, bear arge amount of responsibility for the pain Brin went through. Tawna started it all, but can you honestly say you wouldn¡¯t do the same in her shoes? Forget bullying a child, any of us would murder a child if that¡¯s what was necessary to protect that town, especially if that child were a [Witch].¡±

    Prefit Elmon put an arm between Hogg and Tawna, as if to shield her. ¡°Only her own crimes will be pinned on her; those are grave enough. And as the Prefit, it¡¯s my duty to advocate for the maximum punishment. I will continue to rmend her death to the council. They will decide if her sentence should be lessened.¡±

    Brin looked at Tawna, eyes wide at the Prefit¡¯s deration, but she looked back with absolute serenity. She knew she¡¯d be fine. She¡¯d probably already seen the council¡¯s verdict in her fate.

    Elmon looked at the ground, almost shamefaced. ¡°They certainly will lessen it, but I will see to it that it¡¯s not by too much.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not good enough,¡± Brin said to the Prefit, then looked at Tawna. ¡°From now on I want total transparency from you. No more going behind my back, no more subtle maniptions or cryptic warnings. If you see something in my fate, you tell me and only me, and let <em>me</em> decide how to deal with it. We¡¯re done with this stupid game.¡±

    ¡°I ept,¡± Tawna said with a nod. ¡°I swear on my ss and Levels to abide by your terms, in the spirit in which they were given. So help me, Nedramus. And in the spirit of total transparency¡­ this Oath will do wonders for earning the sympathy of the council.¡±

    Brin groaned. She just couldn¡¯t help herself. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m done with this.¡± He turned and walked away.

    They ended up having a second little celebration at home. Hogg had bought a little cake for the two of them; easy to do stuff like that when you lived within the walls. It was a brief, happy little thing, but it was also prettyte at night, and soon they drifted into silence. Hogg sat on his favorite lounge chair, nursing a ss of wine, while Brin sat on the magic yellow loveseat with a small-beer.

    One bright spot was the painkillers. It turned out the [Pharmacist] made really effective drugs, and Hogg had some. That got Brin to thinking about what effect they would¡¯ve had with his [Scarred One] ss. Toote to test something like that. Maybe he¡¯d meet another [Scarred One] someday. If he did, though, he¡¯d probably just turn around and walk the other direction.

    [sser] didn¡¯t have much for him right off the bat. [Heat Resistance] would let him work closer to me without difort, but he still didn¡¯t think a drop of molten ss would feel very good. The only other Skill was [Shape ss], which Hogg said would eventually let him move ss freely, evenunch it like bullets, but right now he couldn¡¯t seem to get it to do anything. Hogg told him that he should keep the ss until he got [Summon ss], even if that meant he¡¯d lose out on ten or fifteen levels worth of attributes that [Illusionist] would¡¯ve given him.

    Right now, [sser] was¡­ nothing much. Barely better than [Child]. He tried not to think about all the power he¡¯d given up. It was for the best, he knew, in the long run. He wanted magic, and this was magic. But for now, the wound was still raw, and he was back to feeling his pain again. The painkillers helped.

    Checking his status in morbid fascination, he noticed one small shift to his Title that hadn¡¯te with a notification.

    Scarred, but Healing

    You have been scarred, but you¡¯re healing. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars. Your wounds heal 160% faster.

    ¡°One thing I still don¡¯t get,¡± said Brin, closing his status screen. ¡°How did they know where we would be? How did Tawna know all the things she did, for that matter?¡±

    ¡°Two separate questions. ording to Tawna, she didn¡¯t know anything about anything. All she knew was what actions she could take to lead the town to a future where all of our deaths were a little less certain.¡±

    ¡°But the undead army. How did they know that you were the [Illusionist], and that you would be out that night, and where to set up the ambush?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°Not just that, but why wouldn¡¯t they assume that Gustaff was the [Illusionist]? You¡¯d have to observe him up close to know for sure that he¡¯s not capable of that. And another thing, why does Arcaena think they can manage this town by cutting us off rather than killing us all? Sure, killing us would cost them thousands of undead. Tens of thousands. I¡¯d make sure of that. But still, what makes them so certain they can control us?

    ¡°Also, how they knew I wasn¡¯t at home that night. Well, anyone in town knew. When System Day came early, an angry mobnded on the Prefit¡¯s door, demanding answers. Tawna spilled everything, including that you were in danger and that I¡¯d gone to rescue you. That¡¯s another part of the story you don¡¯t know¨Cthe Prefit led a team out to rescue us. He and fifty men, including ten [Hunters]. But they got lost in the forest, and ended up back home before they found us.¡±

    ¡°But¨C¡± Brin started.

    ¡°You heard me right. The Prefit. And ten [Hunters]. Got lost in the forest they¡¯ve lived in their entire lives.¡±

    ¡°What could do something like that?¡±

    ¡°Just ask,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Is there a [Witch] in Hammon¡¯s Bog? A spy?¡±

    Hogg downed the rest of his wine. ¡°Yes and yes.¡±

    Brin felt a little dizzy, even though he was already sitting down. It waste. ¡°Do you have any ideas on who it might be?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve been doing nothing this whole time, you know. First thing you should know is that you were sort of right about Evil sses. They¡¯re rough if you get them young, but an adult should be able to resist the temptations. If you¡¯re a [Witch], just don¡¯t make anyone sick or steal their youth. Simple. The other thing you need to know about [Witches], is what their starter ss is.¡±

    ¡°[Enchantress]?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yes. And [Weaver],¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    ¡°And [Cook]. And [Laundress] and [Baker] and [Cleaner] and [Gutter Sweeper] and about two dozen others. That¡¯s why everyone, the nobility especially, is so terrified about [Witches]. Incredible power,ing frommoners, and it cane from <em>anywhere</em>. That¡¯s also why [Witch]-hunts get so bad, because the [Witches] in question inevitably start pointing fingers in order to shift the me away from themselves.¡±

    ¡°Are there [Witches] in Hammon¡¯s Bog?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t been doing anything this past year. There are seven [Witches] in Hammon¡¯s Bog. Tawna isn¡¯t one of them. Neither is Myra, in case you were worried. Most of the [Witches] are innocent. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d say all of them were, but the facts are out; no use pretending.¡±

    Hogg stood and walked to his room. In the doorway, he paused.

    ¡°There are seven [Witches] in Hammon¡¯s Bog, and one of them is a traitor.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 33

    Book 2. Chapter 33

    Basil the Bunny removed the knife from Brin¡¯s stomach. Myra¡¯s shirt repaired itself immediately, and the ck cloth barely showed the wetness of his blood.

    ¡°Go to your room. Don¡¯t give Hogg any sign that something is wrong,¡± said Basil.

    ¡°What about sound?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. We can talk.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t waste any time. He didn¡¯t look to the left or right. He casually went to his room and closed the door behind him. Basil didn¡¯t follow, but when Brin looked up he saw the bunny already on his bed.

    ¡°Let me exin how this is going to be. We¡¯re going to y some games. If you lose, you get cut. If you win, you still get cut,¡± said Basil.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very fun,¡± said Brin. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be safe if I win?¡±

    Basil tsked and shook his head sadly. ¡°How were you raised? Games aren¡¯t about winning or losing. It¡¯s about having fun! And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve been cutting children for a very long time. I¡¯ll be careful and make sure not to slice anything important. As long as we¡¯re having fun. But if you don¡¯t do what I say, then maybe I won¡¯t be so careful.¡±

    That was it? They were just going to y a bunch of sadistic little games? What was the point? If Basil made good on his threat and killed Brin, Hogg would hunt Awnadil to the ends of the earth. Why would she take that risk? The only thing he could think of was spite. Basil had tortured Bruna¡¯s son for messing with her ns. Now this was Brin¡¯s punishment.

    The stuffed yellow rabbit started hopping around Brin¡¯s room. He snapped the curtains closed and then checked in the drawers and under his bed, searching for something? Checking for more visible eyes, most likely.

    It gave Brin a few seconds to think. How was he going to handle this? Back on earth he¡¯d heard that if you were getting kidnapped, the most important rule was to scream and fight. The best chance of escape was right after you¡¯ve been nabbed, while you were still strong and still generally in public.

    But that was on earth, with earth rules. Basil was something like level 60 if he remembered correctly. There was no doubt in Brin''s mind that he could cut him in half before he let out more than a squeak.

    If this really was a punishment, then there was a good chance he would walk away from this. He just had to endure it.

    ¡°What are you looking for?¡±

    ¡°Toys,¡± said Basil, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. He stood on top of Brin¡¯s dresser and opened the top shelf. That was where he kept some spending money. Fifty gold; the rest was in Hogg¡¯s Sofa of Holding. ¡°Where did you get all this money?¡±

    ¡°Hogg gives me an allowance,¡± said Brin. He had no reason to let this thing know about Lumina.

    ¡°That¡¯s bonkers. This is too much money for a child. Do you mind if I have it?¡± asked Basil.

    ¡°Sure. Why would I mind? I¡¯m just a¨C¡±

    A sharp prick announced Basil¡¯s knife, piercing his chest and scraping one of his ribs. ¡°Don¡¯t get sarcastic with me, Aberthol. It¡¯s not funny and it¡¯s not fun.¡±

    Brin had been going for childish innocence, but obviously he¡¯d put a little more bite in the statement than he meant to. He¡¯d been taking this lightly. It was hard not to, when your opponent was a little stuffed rabbit. He grit his teeth and forced himself to look contrite. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s forgiven!¡± Basil said, his sewn mouth beaming with a smile. ¡°See how easy that is? But back to business. Where are your toys?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thirteen years old,¡± said Brin, then quickly followed up with, ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t have cool stuff! Here¡­¡±

    Thinking quickly, he reached under his bed and pulled out his collection. ¡°This ck sword is from the first undead I ever killed. This nail is the first thing I ever made with metal, and <em>this</em>,¡± he held his old iron knife up triumphantly, ¡°is the first knife I ever made!¡±

    Basil eyes it critically, ¡°It¡¯s not very good.¡±

    ¡°Like I said, it was my first ever. This is the first <em>ss</em> knife I ever made,¡± said Brin. He held up the ss knife that he¡¯d made by painstakingly sanding it into form.

    ¡°That¡¯s a little better, but nothing like <em>my</em> knives,¡± said Basil.

    ¡°You should see what I can do now,¡± said Brin. ¡°Can I see your knife again?¡±

    ¡°This old thing?¡± Basil showed Brin the knife by stabbing it into his forearm. Brin winced, and grit his teeth, making sure to show nothing on his face.

    The knife was pretty thin and a foot and a half long, no doubt so that Basil could stab people who were taller than him, which was everyone.

    Brin felt the beginning of a n take shape. He called on [Summon ss] and the magic responded with an ease he¡¯d never felt before. The ss sprang into being in nearly exactly the shape he wanted, and it only took a little bit with [Shape ss] to make it perfect.

    In under a minute, Brin produced an exact replica of Basil¡¯s knife, in ss.

    ¡°Careful¡­¡± Basil warned.

    ¡°Of what? Are you afraid I might identally cut you?¡±

    Basil snorted. ¡°No.¡±

    Brin tossed him the knife. ¡°For you.¡±

    Basil caught it in his other paw. There were no fingers or anything; things that Basil wanted to grab just sort of adhered to his paw.

    ¡°I bet it¡¯s way sharper than your other knife. I don¡¯t like getting cut with dull des.¡±

    ¡°Well who would?¡± Basil said with a smile. He stabbed Brin, deeply this time, into the shoulder. Brin hissed in pain as Basil twisted the knife around a bit.

    He couldn¡¯t keep going like this. He was going to break. Tears entered his eyes, and a scream crawled its way up his throat. Only a titanic effort of will let him shove it back down. He couldn¡¯t do this. He didn¡¯t have a high pain tolerance; that was why [Scarred One] was so tempting in the first ce.

    But the [Scarred One] was still a part of him, wasn¡¯t he? He still remembered what it was like. He still remembered how he¡¯d acted, who he¡¯d been.

    Brin threw on the personality like a mask. He felt his mouth spread wide in a nasty grin. He wanted tough. And why not? The first chuckle came low and dark, like a cough, but then it erupted into a bout of reckless cackles.

    The pain was still there, but it was fine now. It would just make him happier, angrier and crazier until this was over.

    Only then did he think to check Basil¡¯s original knife with [Inspect].

    Masterwork Longdagger. Enhanced by a master smith for sharpness and durability.

    He was dead. He was so dead. No way his on-the-spot ss knife was actually sharper than a masterwork. The thought just made himugh harder.

    ¡°So? Pretty good, huh?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to hand it to you, Aberthol, this knife is really sharp,¡± said Basil.

    Brin thought he was probably just being nice. That idea was funny enough that he thought he might throw up fromughing so much, so he tamped it down.

    Basil winked at him. No, he was probably blinking, it was just that one of his eyes was sewn shut. The other was blue and ssy, but it wasn¡¯t ss. Brin¡¯s Skill didn¡¯t detect it at all. Probably some kind of gemstone.

    Basil pulled the knife out of his shoulder. It burned with pain the entire time, but the burning was like a double shot of espresso at four in the afternoon on a Friday. It was making him more alert for their next game.

    He lifted his arm when the knife was out, moving it around. He didn¡¯t feel any kind of limit to his range of motion or even his strength, even though every slight twist brought another wave of burning pain. Basil was true to his word; he really was good at making sure to not cut anything important.

    Both of the knives disappeared. He¡¯d figured Basil had some kind of dimensional storage, after all that knife was nearly as tall as he was; he had no ce to hide it. Now it was confirmed, he felt the knife nearby but also somehow distant. It was the same feeling as the potion bottles that Hogg kept in his bag of holding.

    ¡°So what do you want to do next?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°How about cards?¡±

    They yed a game that was sort of a demented version of go fish, and Brin got stabbed three times. Once, because he actually cheated and the other two times because he was winning.

    Anyone crossing on the street would hear the sounds of a boy ying a card game with his younger brother. Childish bickering interspersed with uproariousughter at every twist and turn of the game.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey Aberthol¨C¡± Basil was saying, while pretending to read his cards with all of them facing outwards.

    ¡°Did you know? No-one here calls me Aberthol,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°What? Really? Why not?¡±

    ¡°No one knew my name when I got to town so I told them all I was named Scar the Mistaken.¡±

    ¡°No way. No way that¡¯s true,¡± said Basil.

    ¡°It¡¯s true. Cross my heart,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go ask. And if you¡¯re lying I <em>will</em> cross your heart. And not in the way you want.¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t¨C¡± Brin started, then bit his lip.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t what?¡±

    He shouldn¡¯t have said anything. No, he definitely should. Just because he was pretending to be the [Scarred One] didn¡¯t mean he¡¯d totally forgotten what was right and wrong. ¡°Don¡¯t kill anyone.¡±

    ¡°Huh. So that¡¯s how I get to you. Ok, <em>Brin</em>, if you¡¯re telling the truth and you keep being fun, I won¡¯t kill anyone.¡±

    Basil disappeared. Vanished from all sight. The necessity of putting on a brave face faded away and Brin¡¯s real face started to show through. He grit his teeth and took in a long, shaky breath, willing himself not to break down.

    It hurt. His shoulder, and then Basil had stabbed his stomach again, his leg, and his bicep. Each time, Basil had brought out a new knife, and each time, Brin had insisted on recing it with one of his ss ones. He was burning through mana fast, but hopefully it would be worth it.

    Every movement hurt, although he somehow still felt like he could move normally. Clearly, Basil liked ying with children for a very long time.

    When Basil returned, it was almost a relief. Brin¡¯s smile returned to his face, as well as the burning anger. Right, feeling sorry for himself could wait until <em>after</em> the danger had passed. Now was the time for hatred.

    ¡°You little turd,¡± said Basil. ¡°They really are calling you Brin isu Yambul. I can¡¯t believe it. You were telling the truth. Here¡¯s your reward.¡±

    He brought out a scalpel and shaved off Brin¡¯s skin. He made a quarter-inch thick line that ran in a spiral all the way around, moving from his armpit down past his elbow.

    ¡°That is a very interesting feeling,¡± said Brin. He flexed, and little dots of blood appeared all up and down his arm from the area where he¡¯d been yed. He tried to keep his voice casual but couldn¡¯t help gasping in pain. ¡°Here. Let me try that one.¡±

    He called on [Summon ss], and this time [Directed Meditation] was the only reason he could make it work at all. He created the scalpel and then shaped it into extreme sharpness.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Basil, and made both it and his original scalpel disappear. He looked down at the cards on the floor and then kicked them. ¡°I¡¯m bored of cards. Let¡¯s do something else. How about hide and seek?¡±

    Brin tried to keep the excitement off his face. Hide and seek meant going outside, right? More chances that Hogg would notice ande save him. ¡°Sure, sounds fun.¡±

    ¡°Ok, then you hide first. And don¡¯t worry. If anyone bothers you, I¡¯ll take care of them,¡± said Basil.

    ¡°No one is going to bother me. They love me in this town,¡± said Brin.

    Basil smirked condescendingly. ¡°I bet they do.¡±

    ¡°Mind if I get changed first?¡± Brin gestured at his ruined clothes. Myra¡¯s enchantment had worn out pretty early. It was only meant to repair one or two scrapes between charges, not a full on torture session.

    ¡°Oh, I can take care of that,¡± said Basil. He patted Brin on the shoulder, and for once it was just his stuffed paw without a knife. Brin¡¯s clothes instantly mended back together.

    ¡°Wow!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You¡¯re really surprised that I can repair fabric? Really?¡±

    ¡°What did we say about sarcasm?¡±

    ¡°Huh. You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Basil.

    ¡°No problem,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Now are you ready to hide?¡±

    Basil put his yellow paws to his eyes and started counting, even covering the eye that had been sewn closed with an ¡®x¡¯. Brin took off.

    He dashed out the door and down the street, towards the walls. Nobody gave him a second nce. People were rushing around everywhere, no doubt due to the undead that had been spotted outside the walls.

    He didn¡¯t bother shouting out to any of the people that he passed. That would just be condemning them to death. The only person he trusted to deal with Basil was Hogg, and Hogg should be near the walls, either under a gate or in a watchtower.

    He neared the walls to the easter gate, but didn¡¯t see Hogg, so he changed direction and ran alongside it except a block away so it wouldn¡¯t be too obvious what it was doing.

    He didn¡¯t get lucky. Time for n B. Because he really needed to find a hiding spot or Basil would be disappointed. He needed a ce where no one would be; he couldn¡¯t take the risk of getting someone else mixed up in this. There weren¡¯t a lot of spots like that in the middle of town. Sure, there were probably lots of empty houses, but which ones could he <em>guarantee</em> would be empty? He had a better idea. He ran towards the silos.

    The butcher¡¯s silo where all the chimera¡¯s were would probably be locked, but Hammon¡¯s Bog was a trusting enough society that no one would bother to lock the others. He tried the chimera silo first, just in case, and to his surprise the door opened without any trouble. He ran inside and found a charnel pit.

    The cages hanging from the ceiling were all open, and the chimeras were all dead. Theyy on the ground in massive heaps. Someone had killed all the chimeras. Did they scrap the power-leveling n for the new System Day kids after Bianca went crazy?

    It was the perfect hiding spot, though. He found a massive bear w and snuggled in underneath it.

    It was cold, and gross, and heavy, but luckily he didn¡¯t have to wait very long. The soft sound of a stuffed animalnding on the floor announced Basil¡¯s arrival, and momentster, he casually kicked the bear w off of Brin.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would really hide, but you did,¡± said Basil. He rewarded Brin with a stab straight through the top of his foot. This time he used a metal pole that could¡¯ve been a firece poker. Brin dutifully recreated it in ss and gave it to Basil, who made it disappear.

    By now, there was a lot of Brin¡¯s ss in Basil¡¯s hidden storage.

    ¡°You know, this is a nice spot! Did one of your local [Witches] set this up?¡± asked Basil.

    ¡°Yeah, and I killed her!¡± Brin said proudly. Then he winced as if something just urred to him. ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t think Awnadil is mad about me killing a [Witch], do you?¡±

    ¡°Not about this one, no,¡± said Basil. ¡°What you really shouldn¡¯t have done, is¨C¡±

    Basil stopped suddenly, and frowned. ¡°He¡¯sing. You warned him, didn¡¯t you?¡± His face twisted, veins bulging, his ordinary cutesy features mutating into something monstrous.

    ¡°No!¡± Brin objected, though he felt a swell of hope. There was only one person Basil could be talking about.

    ¡°I thought I told you not to give him any sign,¡± Basil growled.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t! I swear! He must¡¯ve found out on his own!¡±

    Basil rxed, his features turning back into an ordinary stuffed bunny. ¡°Well, then I believe you. No big deal, we got to y a lot, didn¡¯t we? I guess I should go now.¡±

    He opened the door to the outside, and stepped out.

    Brin followed him, his shoe squelching with every step.

    Hogg stood outside blocking the way, looking as vast and cold as a winter storm.

    ¡°See youter, Aberthol. See youter, Hogg. Mama told me to tell you that she doesn¡¯t like what you¡¯ve been up to. You¡¯re dangling on a thin thread.¡±

    ¡°You really think you¡¯re going to walk out of here?¡± asked Hogg. There was a light in Hogg¡¯s eyes, something that the [Scarred One] in Brin definitely recognized. If that expression was ever pointed at him, he¡¯d start making funeral ns.

    Hogg was here. And he was pissed. Brin wanted to sink to the ground in relief, and only excitement at what was about to happen kept him standing.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± said Basil. ¡°If you bother me, then Mama is going to bother you.¡±

    ¡°Two things. The first one is that I don¡¯t believe you. I have protections enough that Awnadil won¡¯t be able to hex me from a distance. She¡¯d have toe close, and she¡¯s not going to do that. [Witches] don¡¯t live long enough to be [Great Witches] by taking risks.

    ¡°Second thing. I don¡¯t care, even if she did.¡± Hogg massaged his temple. ¡°I was going to let you get away with it. I was going to keep my head down and y along. All you had to do, the <em>only thing</em> you had to do, was to keep your filthy hands off my son.¡±

    Sensing that this was his moment, Brin locked onto all the ss inside Basil the Bunny, and pushed. He used [Shape ss], nning to push all the rest of his magic into it and make it all explode at once. Only, the magic didn¡¯t take. He could <em>sense</em> the ss inside the dimensional storage Basil was using, but he couldn¡¯t interact with it.

    It was a good thing he didn¡¯t try this earlier. Well, Hogg would have to deal with it.

    The sun went dark. Brin looked up to see what was blocking it, only to find an enormous dome made of utter ckness grow out of the sky, sinking down to the ground like chocte being poured on an ice-cream cone. It was huge, going over the top of the silo and surrounding the area in utter ckness. The dome hit the ground. He was trapped. Not Brin, he was fine. Basil was trapped; he¡¯d never see daylight again.

    Hogg blurred into action, moving so quickly that it was hard for Brin to follow. The old guy wasn¡¯t an [Illusionist] anymore, but Brin still had a hard time keeping track of him. He seemed to dart around the impromptu arena as if he were the one who could teleport. Sometimes the Hogg that Brin saw was a mirror image, which exined some of it, but mostly it was the fact that he was just that fast.

    At first, Brin could only keep track of the fight with the asional sh of sparks and the sound of steel shing against steel. Here, then there, then back again. Basil teleported around the area, but he apparently couldn¡¯t teleport outside of the dome Hogg had created.

    Sometimes the sh of sparks was inches away from Brin¡¯s nose, but there was nothing he could do except trust Hogg to protect him. This fight was beyond him; he was just getting in Hogg¡¯s way.

    All sorts of strange shapes appeared, random-looking constructs of hard light. With the ck dome in ce, Hogg was able to use the full spread of his colors, and he did. A bright red tripwire there, a few green tforms in the air there, and weapons. So, so many weapons. Blue sabers, orange pikes, and pink bows shooting violet arrows.

    The wall of the silo shattered as something yellow and fluffy was thrown through it. The wall near the flow exploded as the bunny came out again. A wall of hard light popped up to shield Brin from the shrapnel, then sank away again.

    There had to be something he could do. He could still feel where Basil was, just based on where his ss was. Maybe that would help?

    He pointed, following Basil¡¯s path around the inside of the dome. The frequency and violence of the shes of steel increased drastically. It was working.

    He saw Basil more often, saw tears start to show in the yellow fabric. Blood poured out with stuffing.

    All at once, his ss became a lot bigger and more visible in his mind. Basil had caught on and summoned it all out of his storage. Before he even saw what was happening with his eyes, Brin acted on instinct. He pushed into it with [Shape ss], and made it expand wildly and get sticky.

    The sstched onto Basil, slowing him down for a precious instant.

    Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 18 -> 19

    A vicious kick from one of Hogg¡¯s clones sent Basil into the wall of the dome. A hammer blow knocked him to the ground, where he bounced back up just in time for a swarm of ck arrows to blow through him and shred his fabric.

    From there, it was just in bullying. Hogg chased him around the arena, shredding him to pieces, pulling out stuffing, and shattering his masterwork knives.

    Basil had some power to repair himself, but it wasn¡¯t enough to keep up with the onught. His yellow fabric never stopped trying to regrow the pieces that Hogg tore away, but Hogg relentlessly broke him back down every time he built himself up.

    Finally, Basil started to slow. He stopped teleporting around the arena. One armpletely torn off, a leg dangling to the side, Basil summoned what was left of his strength, carrying a broken knife in a shaky paw, and leapt at Hogg.

    Hogg summoned a sphere of clear hard light and mmed it around the stuffed bunny, capturing him in ce.

    ¡°Ok, fine. You win. Now let me go and we¡¯ll call it even,¡± said Basil.

    Hogg shook the container, mming Basil against the walls. ¡°Shut up.¡± Then he turned to Brin. ¡°Basil Bunny Bubble.¡±

    Brinughed, but it came out sadder than he wanted it to. He wanted nothing more than to sink down to the ground. Now that the danger had passed, all he could think about was the burning, open wounds all over his body. Instead, he summoned thest dregs of the [Scarred One], smiled, and said, ¡°A Basil Bunny Battle Bubble for the Basil Bunny Battle. I thought you told me that you weren¡¯t sure if you could beat him.¡±

    ¡°That was before I had a few days toe up with a valid counter-strategy,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to do it,¡± said Basil. His cut fabric slowly started to mend itself. He stayed slumped on the floor of his bubble, but Brin didn¡¯t fail to notice the way that his torn leg was reattaching itself. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t bother capturing me if you were really going to kill me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. Killing something like you isn¡¯t that easy. If even one thread remains you can rebuild yourself. That¡¯s why I had Calisto make me this.¡± He pulled a green vial out of his overcoat. ¡°This potion removes enchantments from fabric. It¡¯s a poison, specifically designed to kill Basil Bunny.¡±

    ¡°A bottle of Basil Bunny bane,¡± Brin noted.

    ¡°Basically,¡± said Hogg.

    Hogg handed Brin the potion. ¡°Brin, be a brave boy and bring the Basil Bunny bane bottle to the Basil Bunny battle bubble.¡±

    Brin chuckled, and found it wasn¡¯t forced at all. The silly word game was actually making him feel a bit better, and this kind of silly, nonchnt send-off was exactly what Basil deserved.

    He opened the lid and stepped forward. ¡°If I¡¯m going to pour this Basil Bunny bane bottle for the Basil Bunny battle into the Basil Bunny battle bubble then I¡¯ll need to breach the Basil Bunny battle bubble with the Basil Bunny bane bottle.¡±

    ¡°ce the Basil Bunny bane bottle onto the Basil Bunny battle bubble, and the bubble will let it in. It¡¯s quite bibulous.¡±

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯m cing the Basil Bunny bane bottle onto the bibulous Basil Bunny¨C¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t do this!¡± Basil shrieked. His voice grew louder, enough to hurt the ears, taking on a resonant tone that seemed to make the sound prate the entire world. ¡°STOP SITTING AROUND YOU IDIOTS AND HELP ME! ATTACK! EVERYONE ATTACK!¡±

    ¡°Do it,¡± said Hogg. Brin was so deafened by Basil¡¯s shout that he saw the words on his lips rather than hearing them.

    He ced the vial on top of Hogg¡¯s sphere, and it sank inside. Hogg shook the bubble again, mming him back and forth at top speed. The vial smashed against the sides of the bubble, and sizzled and foamed when it touched Basil¡¯s fabric.

    ¡°HELP! HELP, THEY¡¯RE KILLING ME! OH! Oh, no no no. Mama is going to be so upset. Mama¡­¡±

    Basil¡¯s voice quieted as the poison did its work. Hogg kept shaking. The poison melted him away until nothing was in the sphere except a frothy, sizzling liquid.

    A full minute after Brin thought Basil waspletely gone, they finally got the notification.

    Congrattions! You have defeated: Basil the Bunny [61] Experience split between party members based on contribution.

    Level up! Level 21 -> 22 +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    ¡°Just one level?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get experience for executing prisoners,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You only got that much for pointing and for slowing him down a bit with your sticky ss. I got a level, though, and I don''te by those very often anymore.¡±

    ¡°Why not fire, by the way?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Fire is expected. If he didn¡¯t have near perfect fire resistance, then he had some other trick; I¡¯d bet my eye. Poisonous fumes, maybe.¡± He fished around inside his overcoat and brought out the Healing Potion. ¡°Here.¡±

    Brin pushed it away. ¡°Save it for when we need it. I¡¯ll use that cream you have for stopping the bleeding on small cuts. Really! I feel surprisingly good. Very limber, like after a good massage.¡± He actually feltpletely terrible, but his injuries weren¡¯t life threatening. He just needed to sit down. Again, he couldn¡¯t, not while Hogg was here worrying about him instead of out there protecting the town.

    As if on cue, the ringing in his ears receded enough to hear a different ringing, an rm bell. There was shouting. Then, the sh of steel. The town was under attack.

    The End of Part 2

 Book 2 - Lumina Interlude

    Book 2 - Lumina Interlude

    Lumina sat on the open window sill of the tower, letting her legs swing over the edge, looking down. The tower was absurdly tall, and only a year ago she would''ve been petrified at this view, but things like heights held little fear for her now.

    Little fear, and much allure. All of Recidory open before her. The fort city was more fort than city now that the suburbs outside the walls had been cleared away. Past that was the jagged canyon. Normally the bottom would be full of water and ferries taking travelers back and forth, but that had been pumped away for the battlefield. Now only a dusty in separated Prinnash''s forces from theirs.

    The canyon was a jagged wound in mother earth, eight miles wide and twenty miles long. It looked like the effects of her own Shatterbolt spell, lightning mixed with earth magic, only her spell was still on the scale of mortals and this looked to have been done by a god.

    Although, if power output were the only difference, perhaps this was obtainable. With a couple years of research, the aid of a score or so of [Mages], and the proper reagents, she bet she''d be able to create a ritual device that would... Oh, what was the point? It was an interesting idea, but she had many ideas and no ability to test them out. Not while she was stuck in this stinking tower.

    Not that her suite in the tower was poor or shabby. Quite the opposite. It reminded her of the time back when she¡¯d first been apprenticed. Her Master asked her to design her own vi in Steamshield, she''d modestly insisted that she didn''t need much.

    Master hadn''t gone so far as to rebuke her; he hardly ever even contradicted her. Instead, he''d let those bushy eyebrows droop sadly and said, "You won''t be designing a home for the daughter of a [Choirmaster]. That girl could leave any time she wished, to visit the fish market and to chat with her friends on the way. Lumina the [Mage] doesn''t have this luxury. You cannot leave home without everyone knowing. Every time you go anywhere it will be an event. If you visit a store, they will clear all the other customers out in advance. If you see a y, they will write about it in the papers. What did Lumina mean by watching this y instead of that one? No, my poor sweet girl, I''m asking you to design your own prison."

    It was like that now. The Kingdom would give her anything she asked, but she couldn''t leave her rooms. No one could know she was here. If Prinnash found out, they''d send their [Mages] here to counter her. Or more likely, they would attack one of the other border cities in her absence. Even sitting on the windowsill was probably too much of a risk, despite the tower''s anti-espionage enchantments, but she had to allow herself this much or she''d go mad.

    The sound of horns sounded the advance, and even from up here Lumina could faintly feel the [Bard]-imbued energy and excitement. ¡®Do your duty and follow orders, and everything will be fine,¡¯ they seemed to say. The soldiers in their tidy ranks looked like little toys. It was hard for her to remember that each of them was a real person. It was hard to think of them as individuals at all, instead of groups and numbers.

    [General] Grimwalt sent Cavalry first, then a phnx right behind them, five-hundred strong. It looked to her like an error, so clearly Grimwalt knew something she didn''t.

    The Prinnashian general, [Lord] Pomba, responded by sending two groups of irregrs in a pincer formation. Unlike Grimwalt¡¯s cavalry and phnx, these soldiers were Commoners. They were armored and as professional-looking as any other group of soldiers, but their weapons gave them away. A wide variety of axes, scythes, hoes and spears, each of them optimized for their various sses. Their goal would be to hit hard, using any cooldown Skills they had, and then back off.

    Pomba also sent a group of archers down the center. They loosed, using Skills to send their arrows incredible distances, but of course not a single arrow wounded even one of the heavily protected [Knights] of the cavalry. Waste of arrows, honestly.

    The cavalry swerved to the side, making clear their intention to engage the irregrs on the right side. That group of irregrs stopped in their tracks, and the cavalry on Frenaria''s side slowed down as well before reaching them, waiting for the order to engage.

    That left the irregrs on the left side free. The phnx was in trouble. With their long spears, tall shields, and [Warrior] Skills, they were as close to invincible as it was possible to be against any threatsing from straight ahead. That left them painfully vulnerable to enemiesing from the side, which was the case now. Grimwalt''s valuable [Warriors] were so exposed that for a moment, she thought Pomba might actually give the order to engage.

    Then a new call sounded from the trumpets. The phnx stopped, as one, and turned. It was, frankly, an impossibility. To do something like that, every member of the phnx would have to know their part perfectly. Their spears were twenty feet long; they couldn¡¯t simply point them to the side, the rows of spearman and shield carriers all had to move as well, and the ones at the edges had to move quicker than those towards the middle. Choreographing a group dance would''ve been easier, and yet, they somehow pulled it off.

    She wondered if Grimwalt had a new Skill, or perhaps one of the [Bards] had leveled up.

    The phnx moved to face the irregrs dead on, which just left Prinnash''s archers free, who still weren''t hitting anything.

    gs came up from Prinnash''s side, a cross of blue on yellow signifying an intent to withdraw. They weren¡¯t going so far as to sound the retreat; that would admit that Frenaria had won this battle. They were simply stating their intent to return to their camp for the day.

    For a moment, Lumina rebelliously longed to see a g of red and ck from her side, to see [General] Grimwalt press the advantage and lead his forces to ughter. It wouldn''t be a perfect rout. The irregrs would get off their cooldown Skills before sumbing, but it would still be a victory. It would be <em>something</em>.

    Instead, Grimwalt did what she expected and sent a cross of yellow on blue, signaling eptance.

    Both sides withdrew in good order, the same as every other day. The history books would call this a battle, even though she was fairly certain not a single life was lost.

    ording to Grimwalt, weapons were for scaring your enemies and for ughtering them as they ran away. He wouldn''t signal the attack for anything other than an absolute victory.

    She had the urge to fly down there herself. She''d throw a tornado of fire into the archers first, then destroy both groups of irregrs with a series of shatterbolts, gouging smaller canyons into therger one and filling them with blood. Then she''d enter the enemy camp, zing with fury and power,ying waste to all she saw... and... and then what? She had literally nothing to gain personally by destroying Prinnash''s army here. What was the point? What did she care if the borders shifted slightly or if one side got slightly better mining rights to the mountain range they shared? Had she really fallen so far that she''d consign thousands to death just to assuage her boredom? None of the men down there even knew why they were here, except because they were getting paid.

    The frustratingck of movement in this war was <em>exactly </em>what they were aiming for, she knew. As long as they [Mages] stayed hidden, no one would riskmitting their full armies, and the loss of life would be minimal. The best solution, the solution that Grimwalt was aiming for, would be to dy like this until their rulers came to an agreement.

    It was a perfect symbol of the absolute state of this war that [General] Grimwalt had a Prinnashian family name while [Lord] Pomba, the Prinnashian general, was of Frenarian descent.

    She sighed as their brave soldiers made their triumphant return, armor gleaming, only slightly dirty from the dust of the canyon. It was good that Grimwalt was in charge instead of her. He held their lives dearly, while she probably would''ve wasted them by now out of boredom, or out of frustration at the increasingly difficult logistics of keeping them all fed.

    She walked down to her kitchen, fully stocked by her servant. The pots and pans and knives would fly into action, quite literally, upon hearing her order and make her whatever she wished. At first she''d ordered all sorts of challenging dishes, but that had lost its fun. Today she ate a simple lunch of bread and butter, with fresh berries and cheese.

    She checked herself in the mirror, fixing her hair, fiddling with her dress. Red, of course. She left her wide-brimmed hat in her room. Hats were currently in vogue in Steamshield, but who was she fooling? She didn¡¯t need a hat. She never went outside. Then it was finally time to go. She marched towards the council chamber, and returned quickly when she decided she wanted the hat after all. Then it was on to the meeting.

    Every member of the war council was sworn to secrecy about her presence, of course. She went to the door and listened as they filed in and took their seats. They couldn¡¯t risk someone without proper clearance to see her through the opened door, so she waited outside while the rest of them came in. Only when they were all in ce and the other door was shut, did they knock on the door to her suite.

    When she entered, all eyes were fixed on her. If she was ever tempted to sleep in one day and show up in her pajamas, this part would convince her otherwise. Every man at the table stood at her arrival and bowed. The only other woman, [Lady] Odessa, stayed seated and put a hand over her heart while bowing her head.

    Odessa was an interesting figure. Officially, she was here so that Lumina wouldn¡¯t be alone in a room full of men. Unofficially, Odessa had recently advanced her ss to [Assassin] after [Rogue] had stopped giving her levels.

    Lumina walked across the breadth of the room, passing fine vases and golden pirs and the officers of Grimwalt''s army who turned their bodies to stay facing her at all times. She sat at the head of the table, opposite [General] Grimwalt, and only then did the men take their seats as well.

    "Let me express my gratitude at your presence, mydy Lumina," said Grimwalt, as he did every day.

    "And where else would I go? Honestly, Grimmy," said Lumina.

    "Nevertheless, your involvement in these meetings is an incredible honor." Ever the perfect gentleman, her general Grimwalt. He was a sharp-faced man with a pointed chin and eyes like an eagle. His fine-pressed suit, his flowery words, and his rehearsed manners didn''t fool her for a minute. Grimwalt was a soldier through and through. A killer. Steel and velvet--minus the velvet.

    "Officer Diali will begin our briefing," said the general.

    Now, Officer Diali was a treat. He was only a second Lieutenant, which always made Lumina wonder why he was here. Either he had some family connection she wasn''t aware of, or the general had noticed how inconveniently attractive Lumina found him. Tall, with wide shoulders, sandy hair, pronounced cheekbones, and pouty, kissable lips. She could stare at him all day, and the fact that he gave the summary of the day''s battle gave her the perfect opportunity.

    He stood behind the general at the front of the room, and an image of a top-down view of the battlefield appeared at the wall-sized viewing mirror behind him,plete with indicators that identified the major elements.

    He indicated positions on the map as he spoke, and if she kept her eyes focused on his mouth as he spoke, well, Master always said it was polite to pay attention when people spoke to you.

    He took his seat when the briefing was finished, and she gave him a polite smile. He didn''t so much as nce in her direction, the spoilsport, but she noticed a bit of sweat under his cor when her eyes stayed on him just a bit too long. Ha! He didn¡¯t need to worry. She liked older men; Diali was just nice to look at.

    There was a brief discussion of the war effort and the overall strategy, but it didn''tst long. Today''s farce of a battle had gone as it should, and the farce of a war would continue as it had.

    Grimwalt cleared his throat. "As for the next item of business, I''m happy to announce that we''vepleted an assignment that was issued by you, mydy Lumina. I''ll let Gelber exin."

    A thin, bespectacled man stood next. One nce and she could tell he was no [Warrior]. He looked more like an ountant. A quick [Inspect] informed her that he was, in fact, an [ountant]. Rare, for someone to take a Common ss that specific when [Merchants] could do most of what [ountants] did.

    "We have sessfully frozen the assets of the [Illusionist] identified as Hogg. We believe we have eliminated his ability to smuggle funds to Arcaenean agitators.¡±

    [Lady] Odessa raised a hand timidly, the slow movement making her many bracelets clink down her arm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t here when this started. What¡¯s this about?¡±

    ¡°No, dear, nothing to apologize for,¡± said Lumina. ¡°I have a friend, an [Illusionist] who pretends to be a [Rogue]. He lives in that little town I keep asking the general to keep an eye on.¡±

    ¡°Hammon¡¯s Bog,¡± said Odessa.

    ¡°Just so. There was a matter of some undead in the area, and he was keeping an eye on it and sending me regr updates in the form of mirror images.¡±

    ¡°To here from somewhere in the Bonds? How is that possible?¡± gasped Odessa.

    ¡°This is when I was still in Steamshield,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°Still, that distance¡­¡±

    ¡°I suppose he is a somewhat powerful [Illusionist],¡± said Lumina with an idle flick of her fingers as if such things were beneath her notice. That elicited a little twitch from Grimwalt¡¯s normally stoic features. ¡°Then one day, the mirror image <em>wasn¡¯t</em><em>Hogg</em>. It was an imposter. I captured his consciousness and kept it in a little jar on my desk, but it disappeared, no doubt because the main body was killed before I could figure out how to interrogate him. Weter found out that I wasn¡¯t the first person that the imposter visited. He¡¯d been visiting Hogg¡¯s businesses and ounts, trying to funnel his wealth towards supporting Arcaena.¡±

    ¡°And the real [Illusionist], your friend. Is he dead?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no I¡¯m certain he is not. It worries me that I haven¡¯t heard from him since the incident,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°I dare say,¡± Grimwalt announced with a snooty little sniff that was <em>adorably </em>fake, ¡°that I¡¯m a little concerned about the real [Illusionist] in question. That an [Illusionist] of his ability operated in this kingdom for <em>decades</em> without any of us the wiser, speaks to an extraordinary talent. What will he do when he finds out all his money is unusable?¡±

    ¡°Fall down on his knees and thank me, I expect,¡± said Lumina.

    She wasn¡¯t worried Hogg would be angry about the money; she really had done him a favor in that regard. She was more than worried he¡¯d take offense to the fact that she¡¯d outed his ss to the Frenarian regime. There hadn¡¯t been any other choice. Frenaria¡¯s counter-spies had been willing to look the other way when Hogg had just been a random informant. When they started to find signs that he was an Arcaenean subversive, she¡¯d had no choice but to spill everything to save him from being branded a traitor.

    ¡°Continue your report,¡± said Grimwalt.

    Gelber the [ountant] stood up straighter. ¡°The man in question operated in forty-three towns and cities, under at least seven different pseudonyms. He was the sole owner of seven businesses and an angel investor in more than eighty. It isn''t possible to say that we found every investment, but we estimate as verified by redited fate-aligned sses, that we captured at least ny-seven percent of them.

    ¡°Forty percent of the businesses in question took our offer to buy out Hogg¡¯s share, and those funds have been transferred to ounts in his name in the Steamshield National Bank, the First Bank of Frenaria, and the Merchant¡¯s Cooperative Union. Seven businesses were defunct, six of them because of the death of the owner. The remaining businesses have been issued an edict of non-transferability. Hogg will not be able to direct the movement of funds or collection of funds unless he arrives in-person, verifies no illusions, and bears a seal of release from the King. Further actions¨C¡±

    There was a knock at the door. ¡°An urgent message for you, general.¡± All eyes moved to Lumina. She huffed in irritation, and stood. Of course, that meant all the men stood as well, and watched her leave towards her private rooms.

    On the other side of the door, she patiently waited as the messenger was let in. A short timeter, a knock on her door let her know that she was allowed back in.

    They repeated the ritual of everyone waiting on her before they could finally be seated, and she was surprised to see that they¡¯d allowed the messenger to remain. A young man, who couldn¡¯t be more than six months past his System Day.

    ¡°Tell her what you told me,¡± said Grimwalt. ¡°And remember: Not a word of what you see in this room to anyone.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± said the young man with admirableposure. Would Brin look like this? Well, no. Thisd was much taller, and had all of the nobles'' little tricks and cheats working on him to make him stronger, smarter, and more handsome.

    Brin was just an ordinary boy, growing up in a vige. A sweet, weak, perfectly regr child, despite the hardships of his past.

    It pained her that he was still basically a stranger to her. She should have gone to him by now, especially with all the strangeness reported in the area of Hogg¡¯s supposedly ¡°safe¡± hometown. Curse this sham of a war for keeping her from where she really ought to be!

    The messenger reported, ¡°Our scouts in the Bonds report that the undead have begun to move. Hammon¡¯s Bog is under attack.¡±

    There was a minor racket as every chair in the room except [Lady] Odessa¡¯s scooted back. Lumina looked around, wondering why all Grimwalt¡¯s officers were looming over her, looking grim, until she realized that she¡¯d stood first.

    ¡°I will depart immediately,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°With respect, you¡¯re needed here, mydy,¡± said Grimwalt.

    ¡°<em>With respect</em>, I wouldn¡¯t have to leave if you¡¯d done what I asked and sent soldiers to the Bonds weeks ago! Here we are, posturing and y acting against our friends in Prinnash while Arcaena moves with impunity in our hearnd!¡± She pped the table, drawing a cloud of sparks and leaving a ck imprint of her hand in the fine wood.

    A side effect of being an [Archmage of the Mystical Elements] was that magic seemed to leak out of her sometimes, especially when her emotions were high. The air in the room had turned blisteringly hot at some point.

    ¡°There was a time when Frenaria was a country, a real country! When a single rumor of undead would send every [Knight] worth their name to scouring the country-side until all evil was rooted out and destroyed. And now we have an entire army in our borders and you want me to do <em>nothing!</em>¡± Oh dear, she was starting to sound like Master. Perhaps better to cool off a bit.

    She took a calming breath, willing the temperature to drop. The air cooled until it was merely warm, and then kept going, colder, colder, until she saw the beads of sweat start to freeze on the officers¡¯ skin.

    ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± Lumina said simply.

    He gave her a long, hard look, and she endured it, gazing back evenly. She didn¡¯t know why staring contests intimidated some people. She¡¯d never found anything all that interesting in the eyes of another person, and definitely nothing to be afraid of.

    After a moment, he nodded. ¡°It may be for the best. Take some [Knights], say a hundred or so, and make a show of it. Prinnash won¡¯t have any idea of what to make of that. My guess is they¡¯ll stay back for at least a week while they try to figure out what our game is.¡±

    Lumina shrugged. ¡°Verify that, if you wish. I <em>am</em> leaving. On the hour.¡±

    The general muttered a few words to his messenger, who walked to the door, but paused before opening it. All eyes turned to her.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°In an hour you said. Before then, it is my duty to keep you safe,¡± said Grimwalt.

    He was just being annoying, no doubt to make up some of the face he¡¯d lost when she¡¯d openly defied him. Well, no matter. She didn¡¯t sigh orin. She kept her chin up and walked back through her door. She could endure minor vexations if it meant that he didn¡¯t have a major vexation in mind.

    They made her wait outside the room while some soothsayer or fate reader was let in to give their premonitions. Then she heard the door close as that person left, and they still didn¡¯t let her in.

    She couldn¡¯t hear what they were talking about; the anti-espionage wards were too good for that. She could hear voices and any footsteps or movements, but she couldn¡¯t tell what anyone was saying or who exactly was speaking.

    After what must have been forty minutes, the door on their side opened and two more people entered the room. Only then did they knock on her door again.

    When she reentered, it was to face two heavily armored [Anti-Mages], standing to either side of the general. ¡°I have a mind to put these two in your escort. For your protection, of course.¡±

    She felt a bit of heat under the cor. She was inplete control of herself at all times, of course, but perhaps in her field of vision there was a slight tint of red.

    ¡°Are they prepared to depart immediately?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Immediate departure would not be ideal,¡± said Grimwalt with a pained smile. Ah, so here was the major vexation she¡¯d been worried about.

    She found herself entertaining a daydream, at that point. A tower exploding, flinging shrapnel every direction, showering down on the fort city and shattering the walls. Two [Anti-Mages] falling to the earth likeets, the rest of thempletely eviscerated. The neat and clean ranks of soldiers running for cover. And there, in the middle of it, in a zing sphere of glory, would be her. Lumina.

    Just for fun, she thought about the exact spellbination she would use to make it happen. First something for Odessa; it had to be instantaneous. Then something for the [Anti-Mages], then shielding for herself, perhaps an inverted glimmermoss array? After that she would¨Csomething Grimwalt said drew her back to the moment.

    ¡°...after you leave in the morning.¡±

    ¡°The morning?¡± she asked. At some point she¡¯d moved to stand in front of him, between him and the [Anti-Mage] who¡¯d been forced to step back to make room. She clicked her nails on the conference table.

    Grimwalt¡¯s face was impassive, but hisplexion had taken on a greenish tint. ¡°You will depart in the morning.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°The morning is eptable.¡±

    ¡°The morning¡­ of the third day. Of next week.¡±

    She kept drumming her fingernails on the table, thinking.

    He rushed out the rest. ¡°To go to Favora to inform your Master. With his permission, you¡¯ll be free to continue on to Hammon¡¯s Bog.¡±

    The Kingdom bound her with Oaths to her Master, not to the King and definitely not to Grimwalt. She didn''t think Master would strip her of her her ss and Levels even if she really did kill everyone here. Master had never used her Oaths against her, and she didn''t think he ever would.

    They probably think they had her beat by sending her to Master, but he never denied her anything. That wasn¡¯t the problem. The problem was more than a week¡¯s dy, in addition to the time it would take to travel there. Could Hogg hold out that long, alone against an entire army of undead? She doubted there was anyone else in that town worth mentioning.

    She frowned. After she destroyed the tower, Prinnash would attack, so she¡¯d have to deal with that. There was a good chance she¡¯d find herself between both armies, fending off attacks from both sides. If Prinnash really did have one of their better [Mages] hiding in that army, she might have a difficult time. Even in the best case scenario, her mana would be spent; she¡¯d hardly have anything left for the journey.

    ¡°A week, mydy. There is more to this war than you know. Things will be clearer in a week, for better or for worse.¡±

    She nced at him, but didn¡¯t respond, still thinking. There was of course the chance that Grimwalt was bluffing. No, he definitely was. Probably. If he didn¡¯t waste the lives of Commoner soldiers, he definitely wouldn¡¯t want to lose all the officers here. Would he?

    He might, however, call her bluff. She had no desire to ughter thousands of people today and then spend the rest of her life being feared and hunted. Not to mention how disappointed Master would be. It also urred to her that there was likely nothing she could do for Hammon¡¯s Bog. She wouldn¡¯t be able to get there in a day no matter what, and if they could hold out one day then they could probably hold out for two weeks.

    Grimwalt reluctantly added, "This dy... will advantage a certain resident of that town as well. I would stake my life on it.

    He thought that having her show up early would endanger Brin somehow? Preposterous! How could Brin be safer than when she was near. But he <em>was</em> staking his life on it. The King would call her a traitor if she disobeyed direct orders from a superior, but he wouldn''t alienate one of his greatest [Mages] if she settled some scores after the war was over.

    She sighed. ¡°Very well. As youmand, I¡¯ll wait until the third day of next week.¡±

    An audible sigh of relief went through the room. One officer forgot himself entirely and sank into his seat.

    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare my best [Knights],¡± said Grimwalt.

    ¡°Prepare your fastest ones. Anyone who can¡¯t keep up will be left behind.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 34

    Book 2. Chapter 34

    Brin followed Hogg down the streets of Hammon¡¯s Bog, ignoring his attempts to send him home. There was no way he was going to sit around at home when there was an attack going on. The worst was the stab through his foot. His steps left bloody footprints behind, and while he¡¯d been awkwardly applying Hogg¡¯s wound-sealing cream to his other cuts, he wasn¡¯t able to get to his foot without sitting down. If he sat down, he wasn¡¯t sure whether he would ever get back up.

    The only reason he was moving at all was probably because [Battle Fury] was doubling all his stats. He never had the time to think about it in the heat of the moment, and the gains were incremental enough at first that he didn¡¯t notice them right away. Did they apply as soon as he got hurt, or as soon as he enteredbat after getting hurt? He thought it was thetter. He hadn¡¯t noticed anything during ytime with Basil.

    ¡°I wish there was some way to tell when [Battle Fury] was going to run out. When did we leavebat? Ten minutes ago? Fifteen?¡±

    ¡°The System will give you a timer if you ask for it,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Figure it out on your way home.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t respond to that. Just tell the System he wanted a timer? How did that work? Oh, there it was. A small notification appeared at the edge of his vision.

    Battle Fury Amount activated 50% Time Remaining 7.43 minutes.

    At 45%, that meant that he¡¯d taken nine wounds and that the System gave him only a tiny bit of credit for his assisted kill against Basil, The five percent for wounding him, when he¡¯d made the ss explode.

    Actually, this was as good a time as any to test something else. He made a small sliver of ss and cut a line on the top of his arm.

    Battle Fury Amount activated 50% Time Remaining 7.31 minutes. Warning: Skill misuse detected.

    Message received. He couldn¡¯t game the System by injuring himself.

    As they walked, they passed crowds of people rushing the other way. Men with weapons ran in every direction, while families withrge packs carried their children wrapped in nkets towards the center of town. There wasn¡¯t exactly another ce to hide if the undead got through the walls, but from the looks of things, people were sending the children and other nonbatants away from the houses on the edge of town to lock up in homes closer to the town center.

    Soon they arrived at the west gate. A group of twenty people stood lined up in front of them, half [Hunters], the other half a random collection of Common sses. They were all armed, and most wore gambesons although one [Woodsman] wore armor carved from wood.

    Six or seven undeady dead on the ground, but the defenders all seemed to be uninjured, if a little shaken. It looked like a small group of undead had tried to rush in, but now they were hanging back a bit and waiting for overwhelming numbers.

    These were the new undead, vile and rotten, seeming to dpose in real time. That was a trick. Despite how they looked they weren¡¯t frail or weak at all, and they depended on their bodies being intact just as much as the undead in the tight ck clothes. Did these new undead belong to Awnadil, or was there something else Brin was missing?

    Something shook the trees in the distance, high branches that made Brin wonder if the undead were climbing them. Then it came; a massive figure shoved through the branches of the trees. A giant undead.

    He stood easily fifteen feet tall. Unlike the other disgusting undead, this one was put together enough that he almost looked alive. He had a full head of hair, and while his skin was ashen white and king off in ces, he had an almost noble bearing. He held a polearmrge enough to be the mast of a fishing vessel, a long tree trunk with a spiked ax de at the end.

    He said something. Not a groan or a war-cry, a regr sentence in anguage Brin didn¡¯t know, and then the rest of the undead formed into a line and started to advance.

    The defenders were so intent on watching the advancing line of undead that none of them noticed Hogg until he pped his hands. That made some of them jump in rm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll cover this gate. [Hunters], patrol the walls. We can¡¯t let a single one sneak over. The rest of you head to the north gate and reinforce them there.¡±

    One of the men turned to the side, so that he could see Hogg while also keeping an eye on the undead. ¡°You¡¯re sure you can hold here alone?¡±

    Hogg snorted, then let out a little chuckle, which gradually turned into a full-throatedugh. He shoved his way through the small group of defenders until he was between them and the enemy. Stillughing, he raised his hands dramatically, and a pool of ckness seeped out and grew under his feet. The small group of defenders had to step back to avoid it touching them.

    Hogg gestured dramatically to both sides. ¡°[Dance of the Shadow King].¡±

    The earth erupted into a chorus of groans, like a pack of angry demons being woken from slumber. The ckness on the ground spread out several yards to either side of Hogg, and then it grew arms. They pulled themselves up out of the ground, rising bodies, copies of Hogg except all of them pitch ck.

    Seeing Hogg¡¯s mass-summoning, the undead charged forward as one. Brin spared a nce for the other defenders, but they were already fleeing; they¡¯d left the moment Hogg had called out his fake Skill name.

    The ck shadows looked insignificant against the advancing hordes, small and insubstantial, and outnumbered five to one. Brin wondered what tactics they¡¯d employ. He expected them to fight like Hogg, using quick attacks and dodging around the enemy. After all, these were just hard light, and Hogg had already shown that he could move hard light extremely fast.

    The two armies moved imcably towards each other, neither of them capable of fear. Hogg¡¯s shadows were only two dozen, while there must¡¯ve been a hundred undead, not counting their giant leader.

    The groups reached each other. The shadows met the undead and¡­ kept going. They didn¡¯t dodge or evade at all. They simply swung their shortswords with mechanical precision and kept walking forward, straight into the overwhelming numbers. The undead shed at them with swords, bashed them with maces, stabbed with spears, but the weapons bounced off. Hard light was stronger.

    There was a horrendous ughter as the undead from behind continued to push the ones in front of them forwards, straight into the indomitable wall of shadow. The line erupted into a spray of gore. The first wave of undead was cut down. The second wave faltered. Hogg''s shadows pressed forward, and the undead cracked, broke, and fled.

    The giant walked through his retreating allies as if unbothered. He leveled his halberd and stepped into a mighty swing, aiming to bisect two of the shadows at once.

    Only now did the shadows start to move quickly. They blurred over the swing of the halberd as if their reliance on gravity were nothing but an illusion, which was probably the case. The shadow on the left stabbed into the giant¡¯s side while the other flew up to take his throat. The first stabs didn¡¯t kill the giant, and he dropped his halberd to wave and swat at the shadows, who scrambled around his body, stabbing into him over and over. Finally, the giant fell.

    The remaining zombies fled.

    Brin checked his timer. Four minutes. He wasn¡¯t ¡°inbat¡±, ording to the System.

    He made a bullet-sized piece of ss and used [Shape ss] to try tounch it at the undead. It made it about six feet. He¡¯d never tried telekinesis to any real degree, and now he wished he¡¯d asked for the words in the Language.

    ¡°Try throwing it,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin summoned a baseball-sized hunk of ss. He wasn¡¯t the greatest pitcher, but he¡¯d yed catch with his dad enough times to know what he was doing. He wound back, pumped mana into the ss ball with [Shape ss], and then chucked it.

    He felt the wounds in his arm and chest scream in agony, but it was a perfect throw, and the help from [Shape ss] gave it a boost of speed that far exceeded what his raw muscles were capable of.

    It flew straight and clipped an undead one the shoulder. It staggered but kept its feet. That was fine. The important thing was that his notification was updated.

    Battle Fury Amount activated 55% Time Remaining 30 minutes.

    One of Hogg¡¯s shadows caught up to the undead and cut it down, which didn¡¯t move the needle again.

    Brin thought about throwing more ss baseballs, but the pain of tearing all his wounds open again wasn¡¯t worth the 5% attribute bonus. If he did enough to get to 100% he¡¯d probably die from blood loss or pass out from exhaustion, increased Vitality or not.

    ¡°Nice throw,¡± said Hogg. His eyes didn¡¯t leave the battlefield. ¡°Did that renew your [Battle Fury]?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°The only reason I¡¯m allowing this is because increasing your Vitality will help your wounds heal, but you are not going to fight. You¡¯re going to stay back, away from melee distance. Any time you see a hint of undead with bows, you get behind the walls. I want to hear you promise me.¡±

    ¡°I promise,¡± said Brin.

    He removed his shoe and applied the healing ointment, sighing in relief as the bleeding slowed and the throbbing died down considerably. He put his shoe back on and watched the fight.

    Thest of the surviving undead fled into the trees, and the shadows followed behind them.

    Hogg folded his arms. ¡°They¡¯re giving up on this gate. Too bad, I¡¯d hoped to kill a few more before they realized they aren¡¯t getting through this way.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to stay here, or will you help with the other gates?¡±

    Hogg red out at the trees. ¡°I should stay here. They¡¯ll probablye back for this gate if we leave it empty. I could send some shadows to the other gates¡­ but they really start to drain mana badly when they get further away. No, I better hold off for now. I shouldn¡¯t exhaust myself against small fries in case something biggeres. The town will have to hold the other two gates on their own.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go check it out,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You can watch. Remember your promise.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± said Brin.

    He couldn¡¯t run on his wounded foot, but he made his way towards the southern gate as quickly as he could. On the way, he saw a suspicious, robed figure walking the same way. The person was only a little taller than him, and people didn¡¯t often walk around Hammon¡¯s Bog in a full cloak with the hood up. He grit his teeth and forced himself to walk faster.

    He got a glimpse of the figure¡¯s face when they turned their head to the side and saw a glimpse of torn, red, oozing skin. An undead infiltrator?

    He summoned a ss knife in one hand, kept behind his back, and crept up.

    The figure turned all the way around to look at him.

    ¡°Zilly?¡±

    The entire right side of her face was dominated by purple and green bruises, with a wicked gash on her cheekbone. That¡¯s what he¡¯d seen. Not undead, just injuries. Now that he was looking, he noticed that she was favoring one leg and had a hand pressed to her side. Much of the clothing under her cloak was stained with blood, and she held it closed when she noticed him noticing.

    ¡°Were you caught in the attack? What happened?¡±

    ¡°N-no, I¡­¡±

    He used [Inspect].

    Name Zilyana (Zilly) Mentirose Race Human Age 14 Level 25 ss Rogue Description: Zilly is a close friend. She is using Hide Status to pretend to be a Warrior. Skills: Perception - Zilly¡¯s non-primary senses are all increased, scaling with Mental Control. These senses include those involving heat, electricity, bnce, and vibration.

    Dash - Zilly¡¯s movement speed increases significantly when entering or retreating frombat. Increase starts at 300%, scales with Dexterity, and can be increased with a heavy mana cost.

    Kick - Zilly can perform a powered kick that disrupts spell-casting and Skill preparation, and dispels ongoing magical effects.

    Overload - Zilly can channel mana into a weapon, making it more powerful. This Skill has been upgraded once.

    Slippery Mind - Zilly is a lot harder to target with mind-altering skills or abilities, and has the chance to shrug off mental maniption.

    She¡¯d leveled up a lot. Too much, she was higher level than him now. That was impossible. Had she defended one of the walls alone? The attack hadn¡¯t been going on for long, if she¡¯d leveled up from killing undead she¡¯d already be at the gates. Instead, she wasing from the area of town with the silos.

    ¡°You killed the rest of the chimeras, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    She opened her eyes wide and said, ¡°No!¡± in a way that made him know he was right. As bad as the gash in her face was, it wasn¡¯t bleeding. It wasn¡¯t fresh. It¡¯d probably happenedst night.

    After their duel, she¡¯d been determined to catch up to him, and she¡¯d spent all night killing the chimera¡¯s in secret. Stupidly dangerous, but he wasn¡¯t exactly in a position to judge.

    He put on an overdone cocky grin and said melodramatically, ¡°You¡¯re never going to catch up to me, Zilly. I don¡¯t know why you even try.¡±

    She smiled a resentful Zilly smile. ¡°We¡¯ll find out next week, won¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Ironic, because now Hammon''s Bog actually needs a [Warrior], and you¡¯re too tired and wounded to fight.¡±

    She gripped her swords tighter. ¡°I can still fight.¡±

    ¡°No way,¡± said Brin. ¡°And I can''t either. We both suck. Come on. We can go watch together.¡±

    The two of them limped their way. It was strange to be the only two walking when everyone else was running. The whole town was in an uproar, and to all appearances, they were on a casual stroll.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± asked Zilly.

    ¡°Long story short, there was a [Witch] familiar spying on the town in the form of a stuffed animal. He cut me all to pieces before Hogg killed him. He got Yon, too.¡±

    Zilly gasped. ¡°Oh no. Is he¨C?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. He might end up with a weird ss, though.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s got seven years until then,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Assuming anyone survives tonight. Are they reallying? How many are there?¡±

    ¡°Hogg seems confident we can handle it,¡± said Brin. ¡°Hey, so why are you lying about being a [Warrior]?¡±

    Zilly whirled on him and mped a hand on his mouth while pointing at him with her other hand. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±

    Brin brushed her off with a smile. ¡°Sorry. But why?¡±

    She snorted. ¡°What do you mean ¡®why¡¯? What do you think would happen if everyone found out that their perfect little daughter got a ss for stealing things? It would break their brains. People would die.¡±

    ¡°How did you earn that ss, by the way?¡±

    She nced away. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    ¡°Is this why you¡¯ve been so weird to Myra?¡±

    ¡°I had to stay away. She would find out. I know she would,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°She thinks you¡¯re avoiding her because you think you¡¯re too good for her now that you have a Rare ss and she¡¯s just a Commoner.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡± Zilly snapped.

    ¡°That¡¯s what she thinks. That¡¯s what I thought until our duel,¡± said Brin. ¡°You know, Myra was Hammon¡¯s Bog¡¯s other perfect little daughter until just recently. Overnight, everyone who used to practically worship her mom suddenly wouldn''t give her the time of day. She learned who her real friends were and who was just hanging around her out of convenience. That was about the time that you started avoiding her,e to think of it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¨C¡± Zilly bit her lip. Brin was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

    He suddenly felt bad. He shouldn¡¯t be doing this now. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine. Just talk to her, ok?¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± she said with a sniff.

    When they got to the gates, someone shouted at them to turn back, but of course, they ignored it. They stayed on the inside of the gates, and no one bothered trying to force them to leave. There were other things to worry about.

    Hundreds of undead stood in lines on the edge of the forest. These had mixed weapons, and there was even a group of archers behind their front lines. Three giants stood behind the rest, two with halberds and one with a hooked sword.

    Two hundred men of the Bog stood in front of the walls in two rows, holding a wide variety of weapons. Toros the [Smith] stood out in the front and center, wearing gleaming armor polished like mirrors. Brin wouldn¡¯t even have recognized him except that he was a foot shorter than the men to either side. Simao stood next to him in matching armor, and both of them held warhammers that exuded a dangerous aura. [Inspect] called them ¡°Bog Standard Warhammers¡±. Typical.

    Tawna stood shoulder to shoulder with the defenders, although she carried no weapon. Her dress went past her corbones and to her ankles, but from the way it hugged her form it looked more like she was ready for a hot date rather than a fight to the death.

    A group of twenty [Hunters] stood behind the two rows of fighters, led by Kevim. Leader of the [Hunters], and also one of the town council. He¡¯d been one of the chief voices arguing to have Tawna exiled.

    Four more [Hunters] were on each of the watch-towers, although now that he was looking, one of them wasn¡¯t a hunter at all. Zilly¡¯s dad was up there, holding a slingshot in one hand, a lump of coal in the other. He was a high-level [Collier], although he focused more on using his Skills to create coal from wood rather than mining it from the ground.

    Davi¡¯s dad, Alvir, was there as well, in the second row. He wore a leather cap and a gambeson and held a quarterstaff. His huge, muscr frame made the entire army seem more dependable just by being there.

    Without warning, the undead archers loosed their arrows. Brin watched in dread as a wave of wooden arrows with cksteel heads soared through the air towards the vigers. They didn¡¯t move to dodge or retreat, and there weren¡¯t nearly enough shields.

    The arrows rose, flew, and then fell short, all of themnding at least ten feet in front of the lines of vigers. Brin saw Zilly¡¯s draw drop in astonishment, and he closed his own mouth, realizing he¡¯d been the same. Why? Couldn''t the undead aim?

    He saw that Toros had stepped forward alone, and now he had his hands on his knees, panting. The [Smith] must¡¯ve used his affinity for metal to bend the arrows¡¯ trajectory in the air.

    More volleys came, and Toros stopped them all. On thest one, he didn''t bother to lean on his knees, panting. That had been fake, apparently. He could do this all day.

    The undead soldiers stepped forward and began marching on the defenders. Their appearances were wild and grotesque, but they marched together. Those that could march, at least. Some lurched forward, some limped, some stumbled three paces at a time, and then waited for the others to catch up before stumbling forwards again.

    Like the townspeople, they carried many different weapons, and the shape of their bodies were more diverse still. Some were so skinny and frail-looking that it seemed like they might blow away in the wind if they weren¡¯t anchored down by impossibly-heavy cksteel weapons. Others were muscr or fat, some so bloated they were nearly spherical. One was so rotten that it was barely more than a mass of crawling ooze.

    The smell hit the moment the undead took a step forward, as if they were sending it out as an attack. Rot and waste and all things vile.

    Kevim shouted orders, and the lines of defenders stayed still. ¡°Let¡¯s give them a taste, shall we? Archers free!¡±

    The [Hunters] let their arrows fly, and unlike the townsfolk, the undead had no protection. The arrows stuck into them like pin-cushions, driving some into the ground. Most undead that only took one or two arrows kept marching forward.

    A fireball streaked from one of the watchtowers quick as aet and crashed into the undead. It exploded, incinerating one and catching two others on fire. The undead waved and ran, breaking ranks. They tried to pat out the me and rolled on the ground, but nothing helped, and soon they sumbed, falling to the ground and still burning, creating plumes of ck smoke.

    Brin''s first thought was that Lumina hade, that there was a [Mage] up there, but he only saw Zilly''s dad. The man ced a lump of coal into his sling, whipped it, and another fireball shot towards the enemy line.

    The undead ceased their steady march and ran forwards in an all-out sprint.

    The townsfolk stepped forward, readying their weapons, and Brin braced himself for a bloodbath.

    These undead weren¡¯t weak; most of their levels were in the twenties and thirties, the same as the average level in town.

    The vigers eviscerated the undead in the first strike. He saw [Carpenters] batter cksteel weapons down with wood axes. One man cut an undead straight in half with a giant pair of scissors; a man with a scythe removed three undead¡¯s heads with movements Brin couldn¡¯t even see. Skills went off everywhere, mming into the undead, smashing them t.

    Toros roared his excitement while mming his warhammer through the undead as if they were snowmen, and Simao by his side was barely a breath behind him. Tanwna stood with her hands to the side, but he could see the strain on her face. Her work was evidenced when the few undead who avoided the first frenzied attacks suddenly had their own counter-strikes sabotaged by sudden jerks from barely-visible threads.

    The first wave of undead staggered backwards, most of them injured, only a quarter of them still on their feet at all.

    Brin expected the defenders to press their advantage, but instead the first line moved back as well, falling behind the second line.

    It took Brin a moment to understand what was going on, but Davi''s dad being in the second line gave him a clue. The first line had been made up of sses with hard-hitting Skills. The [Lumberjack''s] [Final Swing], for example, was a one-per-day cooldown Skill for chopping down onest tree before heading home. Others had pumped all their Mana into the blow, destroying their enemy in one hit while exhausting themselves. This line had used their Skills and were now backing behind the second line, people who could fight longer.

    The second line was almost entirely [Farmers]. They didn''t have any Skills that could attack; they were all here on virtue of their high Strength. When the undead rallied and approached again, the results were more mixed. The second line fought with more steadiness and caution, but Brin didn¡¯t see a single one of them fall.

    Alvir especially fought like he was born to it. He battered the undead to pieces with graceful movements, no doubt honed and practiced over years.

    Brin didn¡¯t see the first viger take an injury; he just saw members of the second line alle together to pull a [Farmer] back. They helped him down, and then Brin could see a ck-fletched arrow jutting out of his chest. It was hard to say if that would be fatal; Vitality could fix all kinds of things, even without [Scarred, but Healing], but that guy was definitely out of the fight.

    Moremotions broke out down the line as other defenders took arrows. The undead were firing straight into the melee, uncaring if they hit their own soldiers.

    Zilly¡¯s dad roared andunched fireball after fireball into the archers, decimating them, but the arrows kepting.

    Suddenly, all the undead¡¯s bow strings broke. Brin caught a nce of Tawna, hands outstretched, looking smug.

    The three giant undead finally decided to enter the fray with their remaining soldiers, no doubt sensing that they were on the verge of losing.

    The [Hunters] focused their fire on them, and one giant went down before even reaching the front line.

    The other two were met by Toros and his apprentice Simao. Toros hurled his warhammer at the giant, hitting him right between the eyes. While the giant was stunned, Toros wrenched the gigantic polearm out of his grip, swung it around as if it weighed nothing, and then stabbed the giant straight through.

    Simao fought more cautiously, jumping back to avoid the wide swings from the mighty hooked de. The giant brought it down, and Simao dashed underneath it. His warhammer sted through both the giants¡¯ knees as he ran between his legs. The giant stumbled to his knees, which brought him low enough that Simao could leap up into the air and smash his head like a barrel-sized watermelon.

    A jump like that shouldn¡¯t be possible in full te armor, but Simao wore it like it was lighter than cloth.

    The remaining undead staggered back towards the forest. The town had sessfully defended this gate for now.

    ¡°Oh, shoot!¡± Brin smacked his forehead. His timer was down to one minute remaining.

    He formed a ss baseball and hucked it but missed the undead he was aiming at it. He calmed down; he¡¯d only get one more chance at this before they were too far even with his mana-enhanced throws. He used [Directed Meditation], pumped as much mana into the baseball as he could, and threw. Thankfully, this one managed to hit an undead, although it didn¡¯t do much damage. It would be a while before ss projectiles were feasible for him. For now, he¡¯d have to focus on making effective melee weapons.

    Thest of the undead disappeared into the forest, and the defenders let up a cheer.

    His wounds ached, and he wanted to sit down, but he wanted to see this through. There was one gate left.

    Zilly approached Kevim now that the fighting had stopped. ¡°It''s over? We won?¡±

    The lead [Hunter] wiped his brow. ¡°This is a distraction. The worst of it is on the north-eastern gate, where the Prefit is.¡±

    Brin started the trek, and Zilly was close behind him. His foot was bleeding again, making his shoe squelch, but he didn''t slow down. He needed to get there before his timer ran out.

 Book 2. Chapter 35

    Book 2. Chapter 35

    They passed through the center of town on their way to the other gate, and the town square waspletely packed full of livestock. All of the Pimental¡¯s cows, Odilon¡¯s sheep, as well as every other farmer¡¯s animals were all pressed together. Several [Farmers] surrounded them to keep them in line. Yon was there with Davi¡¯s sisters, but Davi himself was nowhere to be seen. Poco the bull watched over them all with a calm dominance.

    Brin and Zilly didn¡¯t stop to chat with anyone and soon arrived at the other end of town. The gate was so packed with the crowds going in and out that Brin and Zilly couldn¡¯t see the other side. The gate was wide enough that two wagons could pass side-by-side, but they weren¡¯t able to see what was going on until after they shoved their way through the press of bodies.

    On the other side, the vigers had cleared a wide space and defended it in a ring. There must¡¯ve been four hundred defenders here. Many held the line in a huge curved line around the gate, while others waited to relieve them and still othersy on nkets on the field, having injuries tended to by busy nurses running from person to person. The overall mood was somewhat positive. Men with bloody bandagesying in the impromptu infirmary joked with each other and cheered or jibed the performance of the defenders.

    The defenders themselves seemed to have a bit of breathing room. The undead were arranged in orderly rows, and seemed to be attacking in short, almost reluctant engagements before quickly backing off.

    More and more arrived from the forest every moment, however, and moved to fill in the ranks. There were many times more enemies here than at the other gates, which is must¡¯ve been why more defenders hade here as well. This was the main battle.

    The undead numbers were increasing much faster than the town was killing them. Seven giants directed the smaller undead from near the shelter of the trees. There was a band of what must be two-hundred undead archers who stayed back, waiting, as well as another hundred who were armored and much more deadly-looking than the rest. As much as the town seemed to be holding their own for now, it was obvious that the worst was yet toe.

    On the human side, sweaty, muddy men waited their turn, some with scuffs or scrapes on their armor, mostly gambesons or leather. They¡¯d obviously gone a round or two against the undead, but he didn¡¯t get the impression that they were tiring or wearing out.

    Still, looking at the odds arrayed against them, he couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy. More undead were arriving every minute. If he had his say, he would have the townspeople attack rather than wait for the undead to organize and form an unstoppable horde. Charge in, break them up. He had a hard time exining to himself why he felt so certain that that was what they were supposed to do. What did he know about this, honestly? Not much.

    One thing he did know was that he was nearly out of time again. Four minutes were left on his timer. He quickly moved past the reserves, formed another pointed ss football, and hucked it at one of the undead that was waiting in reserve on their side. The movement tore his shoulder open again, and it hurt more this time than it had when Basil had cut him. Luckily, it hit the undead he was aiming at, earning him another 5% and another half-hour of higher attributes.

    Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 19 -> 20

    He turned back to see Zilly trying to casually enter the line of reserves, and Brin followed, if only to tell her it was a bad idea. This would be a <em>great</em> idea for getting some experience, if she wasn¡¯t already tired and wounded.

    A man in very expensive-looking leather armor, ck and embossed with gold, turned to sneer at her. He¡¯d clearly left just enough of the helmet¡¯s face open to show off a sneer and a very impressive ck mustache. ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t my least favorite customer.¡±

    ¡°Perris! I didn¡¯t expect to see you defending the town!¡± said Brin, while Zilly took a step back as if she¡¯d seen a ghost.

    ¡°And with this you reveal yourself a fool and a novice! I sell weapons and armor, you dunce! What better way to show off my best stock than to let people see it in action! These ingrates have no eye for quality. They need to see it in action to really understand excellence!¡± Perris enunciated his words with a shake of a beautifully ornate sword.

    ¡°That¡¯s a sword. You¡¯re a sword guy!¡± Brin used.

    ¡°nder! I just told you; this is advertisement. I¡¯ll break out my real weapons if we ever see any <em>real</em> fighting. For now, some fool <em>wants </em>this sword, mark my words. Marcel here wants it, don¡¯t you, Marcel?¡±

    A timid-looking [Farmer] in cheap armor nced over nervously. ¡°Well it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    Perris let out a string of derisiveughter.

    Brinughed along. ¡°Good old Perris. Hey, but why¡¯d you call me your least favorite customer?¡±

    ¡°Not you! Her!¡± Perris pointed down at Zilly who flinched. ¡°Although calling her a customer is a little much. Customers <em>pay</em>.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t steal,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Not from me! Because you can¡¯t. Can you? Ha! You shouldn¡¯t hang around seedy types like this, Brin. She¡¯s a bad influence.¡±

    ¡°Literally everyone thinks it¡¯s the other way around,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Literally everyone is stupid!¡± said Perris.

    Brin pulled a red-faced Zilly away before she could respond, and before Perris could drop any more hints in front of the whole town that she was a [Rogue]. Did he know, or had he caught her trying to steal from him?

    ¡°I don¡¯t steal anymore,¡± she said, quietly enough that only he could hear.

    ¡°I believe you,¡± said Brin. He cast his gaze around looking for a distraction, and noticed the adventurers were there, although they were hanging back and looking perfectly fresh.

    Brin moved toward the three he already knew. They wore mostly the same attire as in the public house. Otanyn, in her dreadlocks and shirtless except the small vest with knives, also held a head-sized stone in one hand. Just a big rock, but rocks were hard to find around here. She probably brought it with her from out of town. Blonde-haired Rinnel stood in full-te armor and held a gleaming broadsword that clearly hadn¡¯t seen any use today. Rat Scratch with his big beard still wore an borate three-piece suit, except now he also had a top hat and an extremelyplicated-looking crossbow.

    ¡°How is it going, would you say?¡± Brin asked. He guessed that as outsiders, their opinion on the battle would be more neutral than anyone else.

    ¡°Fine so far, but it hasn¡¯t really started yet,¡± said Rinnel.

    ¡°Why do you think we¡¯re all outside like this? Shouldn¡¯t we be inside the gates? That¡¯s literally what they¡¯re for,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Sure, and trust me, there will be time for that. When your leaders decide they¡¯ve had enough you¡¯ll have a ce to retreat to. For now, the strategy will be to kill as many undead as you can before their numbers be overwhelming. After that it¡¯ll be a real siege.¡±

    ¡°Are you here to join the fighting?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nah,¡± said Rinnel, looking a bit awkward. His cheeks were missing their normal flush¨Che waspletely sober. ¡°We¡¯re, um, just here. Just in case.¡±

    Otanyn snorted in derision. ¡°We¡¯re here doing what that thieving merchant rat bastard of a¨C¡±

    ¡°I take offense to that,¡± interjected Rat Scratch.

    ¡°My apologies. I should say instead that we¡¯re doing the same as that cutthroat devil of a merchant is doing. We are advertising,¡± said Otanyn. ¡°We are hoping the town will hire us.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not here to fight?¡± asked Zilly. ¡°But¡­ but look at them! Zombie problems are <em>everybody</em> problems. It¡¯s not like the undead would leave you alone after they kill all the rest of us.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t me them. That¡¯s what adventurers are.¡± The Prefit had arrived behind them. He wore the same gleaming armor as he had when guarding Neptune¡¯s cave, white leather and polished brass, with a matching broadsword at his side.

    The adventurers frowned, but didn¡¯t argue. The Prefit strode forward, talking as he walked. ¡°An adventurer fights for two reasons: for gold, and to save their own skin. If you¡¯re looking for heroes, Zilly, for men and women who fight for duty and honor, or to defend the innocent, or simply because it¡¯s the right thing to do, then look no further than the friends and neighbors you grew up with.¡±

    The Prefit¡¯s voice carried much further than it probably needed to, which was definitely on purpose. Brin saw more than one person stand up a little straighter at the Prefit¡¯s words. The casual attitude of the reserves disappeared, and their rows became a little straighter now that the Prefit was here.

    He gestured that Zilly and Brin should walk on his left and right, and then walked towards the line of defenders.

    ¡°Who are we? Have you given that question much thought? Who are we, the people of Hammon¡¯s Bog? Many of us have grown up here and don¡¯t know anything different. That¡¯s fine; it¡¯s good to stay loyal to your hometown. But how can you really know who you are, if you don¡¯t know how you¡¯re different from others? And we are different, make no mistake. This is normal to you, but I tell you now, there is strong wood in Hammon¡¯s Bog that doesn¡¯t grow in the cities.¡±

    They walked behind the line of defenders, many of them currently engaged in throwing off the undead¡¯s probing strikes. The Prefit spoke evenly, eyes forward, as if he didn¡¯t notice that the men were listening to his every word.

    ¡°Frenaria has many beautiful ces. Gentle ins and rolling hills, ces where strong armies keep order, ces where no one has ever heard of a monster attack except as something that only happens in far offnds. There are prosperous cities, mighty fortresses, and quiet, sleepy viges.

    ¡°We are the ones who left those ces. We are the ones who struck out into the unknown, into the untamed, wildnds. Just as the Lantern-men carry their lights into the streets at night, we carry the light of civilization in our hearts casting away the shadows of even the darkest forest bog.

    ¡°They call us settlers. Ha! We are conquerors. We didn¡¯te here assuming that no evil would ever contend against us. We came here <em>hoping</em> for it. We came here to find fierce enemies to test ourselves against, for steel to sharpen our steel against. Did you feel panic on the streets today? Did you see despair? No. You saw excitement. You ask why the adventurers won¡¯t fight. Well, because I haven¡¯t paid them. Why would I want to? We don¡¯t need strangers from afar to save us. We aren¡¯t waiting for a rescue army from Steamshield to save us.

    ¡°We didn¡¯te here to be rescued. We came to conquer. Finally. <em>Finally</em> we meet the enemies we¡¯ve dreamed about. Finally! Worthy foes!¡±

    There was amotion back at the narrow gate. Anyone trying to get back inside were pushed away, and soon a group of organized armored figures marched through, four-by-four. Brin recognized a man in the front row¨Cthe high-leveled [Firefighter]. Then he realized that each of the men in the troop were Lantern-men. These were Hammon¡¯s Bog¡¯s elites.

    They marched out until there were fifty in total, a small fraction of the total number of defenders, but an imposing force all the same. They marched into a wedge formation, and waited.

    Prefit Elmon took them across the entire line, shouting encouragement to the troops in the guise of instructing a couple young delinquents on the town¡¯s history. Theypleted the circuit, and he dropped them off near the adventurers where they had started.

    ¡°The both of you will stay behind, of course,¡± said the Prefit, back in a conversational voice.

    Brin wanted nothing more than to tell the Prefit that he was going to fight, but he couldn¡¯t. ¡°I will. I promised that I wouldn¡¯t fight.¡±

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t promise! I¡¯m here to¡­ to conquer,¡± said Zilly.

    The Prefit put one hand on each of their shoulders. ¡°Good, Brin. It is good to know your duty. I¡¯m ashamed to say I thought worse of you. As for you, Zilly, I¡¯m ashamed to say I thought better of you. I would have been d to have you at my side today, but you aren¡¯t prepared. You¡¯re wounded and tired. Who gave you those injuries? It wasn¡¯t the undead.¡±

    The Prefit had to have known that Zilly had stayed up all night and killed all the chimeras. Zilly took in a sudden breath and bit her lips hard, clearly struggling not to cry.

    ¡°You stole glory that didn¡¯t belong to you, and now the glory that should have been yours will go to another. Go rest. You¡¯ll get another chance, I¡¯m sure, but it won¡¯t be today.¡±

    He turned around, and looked over at the unit of Lantern-men. The wedge had a ce missing right at the spear point, clearly meant for him.

    The Prefit sauntered towards his spot in the formation, and called back towards Brin, ¡°You know, I¡¯ve heard rumors that you¡¯re aiming for some kind of ss-based [Warrior], is this not so? I¡¯ll tell you this; I don¡¯t believe [Warrior] is the ss for you. I mean no insult by this. They say you are a cunning fighter.¡±

    Brin had no idea how he was supposed to respond to that. By now, the Prefit was shouting loudly enough that everyone could hear him.

    Just then, music started to swell. Jeffrey stood near the gates with Davi, and urgent, exciting music rose into the air, more intense andplex than could be ounted for with their two lutes.

    The Prefit¡¯s voice rose to match the swelling song. ¡°A [Warrior] is not a cunning fighter. A [Warrior] fights a war, with hisrades by his side. I will not dodge. I cannot move to my left or my right, when I have trusted friends to either side. I cannot take a step back, lest those that depend on me mistake my movement for retreat. There is no retreat. A [Warrior] only knows one direction. Forwards! A [Warrior] moves forward! A [Warrior] attacks! Attack, you men of Hammon¡¯s Bog. You [Warriors]! Attack and step forwards!¡±

    The Prefit drew his sword. ¡°My friends! Neighbors! Brave sons of the Bog! Step forwards! Attack!¡±

    He stepped forward, and then charged. Every single Lantern-man followed, and a great roar went up. ¡°Forward! Attack!¡±

    The line of defenders retreated to either side to make room, and the wedge moved into the line of undead.

    They met the undead in a loud crash. An armored undead, vile and deadly, ced itself in front of the Prefit with a greatshield, no doubt aiming to slow the charge before it could really start, but the Prefit punched the shield, knocking the undead to the ground, and walked right over him. The Lantern-men behind him finished the struggling shield-bearer off. The Prefit didn¡¯t nce behind.

    The Prefit¡¯s group charged straight through the mass of undead, cutting a line straight through, and the relief force who¡¯d been waiting behind the lines followed them through until the battlefield was cut right in half.

    At the front, the archers and giants and heavily-armored undead elites all charged the Prefit at one. The Lantern-men unleashed their Skills. Walls of me burned arrows out of the air and sent dozens of undead ame. Some of them fought on as if they didn¡¯t care, but some undead screamed, and went berserk, attacking friend and foe alike.

    Other Lantern-men threw the earth in waves, some summoned plumes of water. In one ce, the ground caved in and dozens of undead fell into mud deeper than they were tall. They struggled to the surface, swimming in thick mud until the ground hardened again, trapping them in ce.

    The first giant fell when a group of three Lantern-men working together brought it to the ground withs and stabbed it on the ground. The Prefit and five more sword-wielders broke off the group to tear bloody carnage through the disorganized archers, removing them as a cohesive force before returning to their group. Everywhere he looked, the townsfolk cut the undead down.

    Maybe against a human army, this would have been enough. Out-nned and outmaneuvered, the undead were dying by the score, but they still didn¡¯t hesitate. Whatever semnce of order the giants were trying to instill had fallen apart, and now every undead soldier simply threw itself mindlessly against whoever was closest. The line of defenders cutting through the undead were suddenly beset on both sides.

    Up until now, Brin had agreed with the Prefit¡¯s attack. He felt in his bones, or maybe his [Battle Sense], that this was the best way to defend the town. They had to kill as many undead as they could while the humans were still fresh and the undead were still sparse.

    But it wasn¡¯t until now that he realized what that meant. The undead had lost their formations and fought like a frenzied mob, throwing themselves against the vigers in a suicidal rage. The defenders had no chance at resuming their careful defense. They were forced to strike the undead down as fast as they could or be overwhelmed, and despite the sheer overpowering strength of the Prefit and his Lantern-man, the undead were too many to fight off without casualties.

    Antelm, the towns¡¯ highest-level [Woodsman] got separated from the line by the sheer weight of the horde, where a giant took the opportunity to bash his head in with a giant club, and then struck down his two sons behind him.

    A [Farmer] got pulled down by something below, and when three of hisrades pushed forward to try to help, they all sank down as well. Brin never saw exactly what happened to them, only that they never came back up.

    There were triumphs as well. Gudio, the massive [Rock Crusher], fought bare-chested, roaring while swinging freely with a massive hammer, much bigger than the maul he used to crush rocks. The undead pressed around him, cutting him off like they had the [Woodsmen] and his boys, but Gudio fought in a berserker¡¯s fury, striking two or three of the undead down with every blow. When an undead giant singled him out, it swung down at him with a mighty blow that Gudio barely blocked. He was sent reeling, but when the giant raised it¡¯s arm to strike another blow, the entire arm crumbled to dust. Apparently Gudio could crush more than just rock.

    Gudio¡¯s howl as he finished the giant off could be heard over the din of the battlefield and even over Jeffrey¡¯s music.

    Brin turned back to the adventurers. ¡°Help them.¡±

    Rat snorted and turned away. Rinnel had the manners to look sad, while Otanyn wouldn¡¯t even look at him. ¡°Your leader is right about us. We fight for¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay.¡±

    She sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t want your life savings. Even if you managed to scrounge up a couple silvers¨C¡±

    Brin grabbed her hand and pulled it palm up. He took out his coin purse and dumped it into her hand. About thirty gold. This wasn¡¯t his whole fortune, really just walking-around money in case he decided to visit Perris or Calisto. But he did know that to most people, it was a lot of money.

    Rat Scratch''s eyes went wide, and Rinnel made a visible effort not to appear impressed. Otanyn just smiled. All of them seemed relieved; they wanted to fight.

    ¡°What will that get me? If it¡¯s not enough I¡¯ll make up the difference after the battle,¡± said Brin.

    Otanyn made eye contact with the other group of adventurers¡¯ [Hunter], who nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll fight. How do you want us to do this?¡±

    ¡°Just help them. Kill the undead and save who you can.¡±

    ¡°You got it, boss.¡±

    The adventurers leapt into action. Rinnel actually leapt, bounding forward, further with each step, until he jumped straight over the line of defenders to crash into the undead like aet. Otanyn threw her knives, each of them thundering as if they¡¯d been shot from a cannon. Rat moved more methodically, walking to the side to get a good angle, but when he had it, his crossbow fired and reset with the speed of a semi-automatic rifle.

    Brin wanted nothing more than to follow them, promise or not promise, but he had to face reality. There were hundreds of defenders, andpared to a normal adult from this town, he wasn¡¯t actually all that strong.

    He tried forming a javelin from ss and throwing it over the line. He hit the undead he was aiming at, but it turned sideways and didn¡¯t do enough damage to reset his [Battle Fury] counter. He wasn¡¯t good at throwing javelins. Maybe if he had a bow¨Cbut he wasn¡¯t great with a bow either. Better to leave the arrows to the [Hunters] who knew what they were doing.

    Maybe he could help make arrows? He tried to form one out of ss, and while summoning it was easy enough, getting it in the exact right shape was a difficult process. He gave up after two minutes. This was going to take too long to be any kind of help, and besides, it didn¡¯t actually look like anyone was running out of arrows.

    He watched the battle in impotent frustration, and noticed that Zilly had joined the fight after all, stepping in to rece someone that fell. Well, whatever. He couldn¡¯t stop her, and it looked like the two [Carpenters] to either side of her would watch out for her. He wondered if Myra was at another gate somewhere, using thread to trip the undead as a smaller imitation of what her mother was doing. Davi was here. Davi¡­ now that was a thought.

    Brin ran over to where Davi and Jeffrey yed the battle music. He knew this song, and Davi was ying the supporting part. Brin could do that just as well.

    He plucked the instrument out of Davi¡¯s hands and resumed the song only missing a couple beats. Davi reached out to grab it back, but Jeffrey ground out through clenched teeth, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt the song!¡±

    He sounded more angry that Brin had ever heard him.

    Davi looked shocked and offended until Brin said, ¡°Get out there.¡±

    He leaned over to pick his quarterstaff up off the ground, and shook his head ruefully. He gave a smile, and then ran towards the front.

    Brin really hoped he hadn¡¯t just sent his best friend to his death, but if Davi was anything like him, then he wanted to be out there and was cursing himself for needing to stay behind.

    Davi¡¯s quarterstaff whirred as he ran. His first thrust was to stop an enemy ax that would¡¯ve taken the arm off a [Potter]. The awkward angle should¡¯ve made it ineffective, but Davi¡¯s arm held, firm as a tree trunk. He swiped up, moving the ax into the air, and then swiped down, knocking the undead off his feet. The bigd stepped forward, quarterstaff flying, trusting that the undead on the ground behind him would never get back up. It didn¡¯t; the [Potter] finished it off with a quick spear thrust, then moved to watch Davi¡¯s back.

    Brin¡¯s attention was pulled into the song. He¡¯d figured the job of the [Bard] was easy. Just y some music, and everyone would be inspired, but the truth was much vaster. Now that he was part of the song he could feel the magic in it, and the magic was vast and beautiful. Jeffrey wasn¡¯t just ying the song, he was ying the battlefield. Brin could feel his consciousness split into dozens of different threads, giving hints and warnings and individualized inspiration in many different ces. Some of the undead he distracted or confused at pivotal moments, giving the defenders the edge they needed right when they needed it. If the battle was going well, it was only because Jeffrey was changing the odds, just a little, in a hundred different ways.

    The [Bard¡¯s] mind was alien and vast. Brin had known enough to be wary of a man who could bend your mind to his whims, but he¡¯d never imagined the sheer scale of what Jeffrey was doing.

    The battle raged on. More defenders fell, despite everything Jeffrey could do, but many more were saved. Brin yed, with tears streaming down his face. Now that he was a part of the music, there was nothing to protect him from the overwhelming emotion. A thousand stories were being created right here, and Brin could do nothing but watch and y the music of violence and death.

    With the addition of the adventurers, the undead died by the score. He didn¡¯t think the Prefit <em>wanted</em> the adventurers there, because every undead they killed was an undead that wouldn¡¯t give a local more levels. They might need those levels someday soon, but Brin didn¡¯t care. They needed their lives more.

    The day wore on. The undead died, until all at once, the music stopped. Brin kept ying, willing it to keep going, but it didn¡¯t. Jeffrey sighed with weariness.

    The undead were all dead.

    The Prefit and the Lantern-men charged into the forest to chase off stragglers, or perhaps join the fighting at other gates. Brin didn¡¯t care. He was too tired to care about much at all. Most of the defenders didn¡¯t follow either. They moved back through the gates, or collected the dead, or searched the field for any survivors. One of Antelm¡¯s sons was found still alive, a bright spot on a dismal day.

    Brin wearily turned from the battlefield and made his way home. He was under no illusions that this was over, but for today, they¡¯d beaten the enemy back.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an achievement! You have fought in your firstrge-scale battle. You participated in the direction and organization of troops. Warbound (Legendary) now gives you: +10% Mental Control, in addition to previous increases.

 Book 2. Chapter 36

    Book 2. Chapter 36

    The next day, life in Hammon¡¯s Bog was strangely normal. The milk was still delivered to his doorstep. The [Laundress], the one who wasn¡¯t a [Witch], still delivered his clean clothes, and he heard Hogg¡¯s snoresing from the other bedroom. He had no idea when Hogg hade homest night; it might¡¯ve been five minutes before Brin woke up, so he left quietly. Outside, people walked the streets of the town like any other day. There were more children everywhere, that was one difference. Now that the town¡¯s cattle had taken over their primary yce, they¡¯d been pushed to the streets. If anything, it made the town seem happier and more energetic than usual. To these kids, the war was a big adventure. To most of them, at least. Here and there he saw the red, puffy eyes of some child to whom a sudden loss made the war all too real.

    A good night¡¯s sleep had closed Brin¡¯s wounds well enough that he wasn¡¯t afraid that he¡¯d open them again, but that didn¡¯t do anything for the soreness. Every part of his body ached, worse even than they hadst night. He hoped a quick walk would alleviate some of that, but he was second guessing that decision. He wanted to go back to bed and sleep for three more days. No, he couldn¡¯t afford to do that right now. He needed to know what was going on with the attack.

    He made his way to the western gate first and found it closed up tight. There were [Hunters] in the towers, but they weren¡¯t shooting arrows. One on each tower looked outward, head swiveling slowly as if scanning the area, while three more sat on stools. There wasn¡¯t an immediate threat, which gave rise to the question of why not.

    No one that he stopped on the street knew any more than he did, although everyone was happy to talk about it as if they knew everything. Sure, he could ask Hogg when he woke up, and he would, but from seeing the walls and the fact that Hogg was asleep instead of out here told him enough. The battle was over for now. The undead had withdrawn. For how long, he didn¡¯t know, and wouldn¡¯t know until they showed up again in force.

    He didn¡¯t feel like cooking so he had the vague idea of buying breakfast, but when he got to the public house it was packed to the brim with people. Every single chair was full and many people simply stood around, all of them speaking loudly over each other. He peeked through the window to see H running back and forth between the bar and the kitchen, while a harried-looking Effa Peck shouldered her way through the crowd, delivering drinks.

    Brin decided to cook for himself today after all. First, he decided to check next door at Perris¡¯ ce.

    The adventurer¡¯s outfitting shop was more crowded than he¡¯d ever seen it, and a long line went from Perris counter all the way out the door. Brin dutifully stepped to the back of the line, which thankfully moved pretty fast. When he got inside, the shelves were almost bare, picked over by townsfolk suddenly realizing that they needed weapons, armor, and anything they could get. Even Perris¡¯s vaunted disy case with his most expensive swords was empty.

    By the time Brin got to the front of the line, the crowd in the store was dying down, if only because there wasn¡¯t much left for sale. Backpacks, field rations, knick-knacks, and leather goods like belts remained, but little else.

    He expected to see Perris looking as worn-out and exhausted as H and Effa, but the man was more cheerful than Brin had ever seen him.

    ¡°You look happy! Should I be scared?¡± said Brin.

    Perris gesticted with his hands, not even bothering to stroke his mustache. ¡°Ha! Not unless you¡¯re here to buy something. I¡¯m having a <em>very</em> good day. After how much I¡¯ve already made today, I won¡¯t have to work again for ten years if I don¡¯t want to! Twenty! No one is even bothering to barter. I say a number, and they p the money on the table and run. I can¡¯t believe I thought I would have to advertise yesterday. There¡¯s no advertisement as good as an army of the dead.¡±

    ¡°A true life lesson,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I see you haven¡¯t selected anything. I¡¯m all out of consumables, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re after, and I don¡¯t have time to chat today, regretfully.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no that¡¯s not it. See, I got to thinking. Yesterday, while I was being sliced to pieces, I was thinking about how nice it would be to <em>not</em> get sliced to pieces.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I see what you mean. When you arrived at the battle, you were already covered in wounds. An understandable mistake, but I can tell you where you went wrong: You¡¯re supposed to get wounded <em>during </em>the battle. Not before.¡±

    Brin pped his forehead. ¡°So that¡¯s how it¡¯s supposed to go. That makes a lot more sense than what I tried.¡±

    ¡°I should start charging for my wisdom, now that I have nothing else left to sell,¡± Perris said with a grin.

    ¡°Actually, I was wondering about my armor,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh, very well,¡± said Perris. ¡°One moment.¡±

    He went to his back room, and returned a momentter with Brin¡¯s chimera-leather armor. It was as fine as everything Perris made. It was a deep reddish-brown, the chimera¡¯s natural coloring, but finely cut and polished. When Brin had given it to Perris, it had been little more than bloody ragged strips, but now it looked brand new again.

    Perris thumped it on the table and sneered at it. ¡°I was right about getting a level off this. It was an absurd amount of work. Ridiculous. I told you when you bought it the first time that I¡¯d repair it for free. I¡¯m amending that promise now: I¡¯ll resize it for free as you get older and I¡¯ll repair <em>small</em> scrapes. If you tear it to pieces again, I¡¯ll have you pay for my time and mana.¡±

    Brin chuckled guiltily. ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± If Perris were half the cutthroat that everyone used him of being, there was no way he would have done this for free even the first time. He guessed that the reason no one was arguing with his prices was because he was still selling everything less than [Value Sense] told them it was worth. ¡°You¡¯re a good man.¡±

    ¡°Keep your voice down if you¡¯re going to talk like that,¡± Perris said with a sniff.

    Brin left the store, and dropped by Calisto¡¯s ce next. A sign on the door warned, ¡°Inventory sold out. DO NOT ENTER unless to pick up a finished order. Currently not epting new orders.¡±

    He thought that Calisto would probably make an exception for him, but he didn¡¯t actually need anything that urgently. He just sort of wanted to buy stuff. He should¡¯ve thought of this before the attack.

    Nothing left to do, he wandered over to Davi¡¯s house, and found his friend filling bottles with milk in the workroom while Myra sat on a stack of empty crates chatting with him.

    ¡°Wow, Brin! I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be walking around again so soon,¡± said Davi. ¡°Mom says that you got all cut up by the same monster that got to Yon. How, um, how are you doing?¡±

    Brin was a little surprised that Bruna had told her family about Basil. Then again, it wasn¡¯t something you could hide forever.

    He rolled her shoulder, demonstrating that it was fine, although his muscles groaned in protest. ¡°It looked a lot worse than it was. A good night¡¯s rest and I¡¯m fit as a fiddle. How¡¯s Yon?¡±

    ¡°Mom won¡¯t let him get out of bed until the swelling goes down. Some of his cuts were infected,¡± said Davi.

    Myra stared closely into his eyes. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re ok? I heard that thing was a [Witch¡¯s] familiar, spying on the town.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± said Brin. ¡°This isn¡¯t my first time getting cut up like this.¡±

    ¡°Think you might be ready to start our workouts up again soon?¡± asked Davi.

    Brin shook his head. ¡°I think we should postpone those for the time being. We¡¯ll need all our strength for when the undeade back. We don¡¯t want to be caught too tired to lift a sword if the undeade at dawn right after our workout.¡±

    Davi sighed, but nodded. ¡°Do you really think they¡¯lle back? We gave them a good thrashing.¡±

    ¡°They will,¡± said Myra, without a hint of doubt.

    Brin asked, ¡°What makes you say that?¡±

    ¡°Mom thinks so, and¡­ don¡¯t look at me like that, I said she <em>thinks</em> they¡¯lle back. She doesn¡¯t know for sure. With everyone putting fate-catchers everywhere she can¡¯t see much with her Skills. But she¡¯s certain they will. She says that they¡¯ve set up an entrenchment in the forest somewhere and they¡¯re grouping up for one big attack. They¡¯re going to wait until they have enough numbers that they canpletely overwhelm us. She thinks yesterday¡¯s attack was a mistake, that the [Witch¡¯s] spy sent the call for attack too early, and we all got a bunch of free levels as a result. Even I got some levels.¡±

    Brin used [Inspect].

    Name Myra Corrigid Race Human Age 14 Level 18 ss Weaver Description Myra is a close friend. She likes you, but Davi likes her. Skills

    [Spin] - Myra is able to twist materials into thread.

    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    [Weave] - Myra can turn thread into fabric.

    [Manipte Thread] - Myra can move thread with the application of mana. She can imbue mana into thread, giving it additional properties. This Skill has been upgraded twice.

    "That¡¯s insane! I can¡¯t believe you joined the fighting. I thought Zilly was being crazy,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°She was. I stood way, way behind the front lines and bothered the undead with strings where I could. I got pretty good experience whenever I managed to trip one so a real fighter could finish it off,¡± said Myra.

    He couldn¡¯t believe she was already this high level. A quick [Inspect] on Davi showed he had also jumped up. The young [Bard] was at level 22. Davi had already caught up to him. Just how talented were these crazy kids? Well, it made sense. Davi had probably gotten a few levels ying along with Jeffrey, and that was before he jumped into the battle and started crushing undead left and right.

    ¡°Alright. You going to hide over there forever?¡± Myra suddenly asked out of nowhere.

    Brin looked to where she was looking and saw a small scaly head poke out from behind some boxes. ¡°Marksi!¡±

    Marksi¡¯s head poked back down. Marksi hated the cold. The fact that he was over there instead of cuddling someone in the refrigerated milk room didn¡¯t look good.

    Davi set down the pallet of eggs he¡¯d been about to stack. ¡°What did you do to him?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, I¨C¡± Brin mentally reviewed what exactly he could tell them. ¡°Hogg put some magic on me for protection against [Witches], and Marksi can¡¯t stand the way it makes me smell. Poor guy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, Marksi! It¡¯s still Brin. You like Brin!¡± said Myra.

    Marksi crept out from behind the boxes. He stared at Brin for a long moment, then nodded to himself. Reluctantly, he crept forward, and nudged his head against Brin¡¯s leg. Brin reached down to give him scritches. Marksi endured it, then scampered away again. A safe distance away, he turned back and gave Brin an apologetic frown.

    ¡°I understand. It¡¯s fine,¡± said Brin. ¡°The magic will wear off soon.¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail. Not really yes or no. Maybe understanding? Then scampered away again.

    Brin sighed. ¡°You think you could watch him for a few days?¡± he asked Myra.

    ¡°I¡¯d be delighted.¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t appear again. Even with his aching body, it might¡¯ve been the most painful part of the day. Brin couldn¡¯t exactly ask the [Witches] to remove their protection spell, not when he was still a target. He¡¯d just have to hope that they could reconnect after this was all over. The truth was, Marksi could take care of himself. He could sneak out of this town without a problem if he wasn¡¯t attached to Brin.

    ¡°Hey, I meant to ask you something. Is it possible to enchant clothing to erase heat? I was just thinking, the undead can see heat; it¡¯s how they hunt the living. It would help if you could make clothes that erase that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s possible, but it¡¯s not something I could do alone. I¡¯d have to get my Mom to help,¡± said Myra. When Brin didn¡¯t say no right away, she rushed to add, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have to talk to her! I¡¯d handle everything.¡±

    Brin tapped his cheek. He¡¯d thought as much. There was <em>no way</em> that Hogg¡¯s expensive leathers didn¡¯t already hide heat. Back when he was an [Illusionist], he could¡¯ve snuck away at any point. When the undead were attacking them after their retreat from Travin¡¯s Bog, and then again when they¡¯d been ambushed in the forest. The only reason he¡¯d stuck around to fight was to protect Brin.

    Brin wasn¡¯t sure he would need this, but he had Hogg¡¯s wristband that would give him a few seconds of invisibility. It would be better if he was alsopletely invisible to the undead. Did he trust Tawna? Well, no, but he trusted the undead less.

    ¡°How much?¡±

    When she named a price that was less than a gold, he agreed.

    Myra rushed away to get started on his order. He spent some time jamming with Davi on their lutes. Since Davi already knew he was an [Illusionist] Brin used that as an opportunity to mess around with [Call Sound]. He was able to get a fewputer-sounding beeps and chirps, but nothing that could be used, unless he needed a really annoying distraction. Still, the Skill was so low-leveled that even that much practice gave him a level.

    Alert! [Call Sound through ss] leveled up! 4 -> 5

    Hogg woke upter in the day, and reaffirmed the things Myra had told him. The undead were still out there, regrouping. When they had the numbers to destroy Hammon¡¯s Bog without giving them the chance to counter-level, they woulde.

    He spent some time looking through his ss ring, testing the memories. He couldn¡¯t fast-forward or skim. When he looked at a memory, he was all-in, to a painful degree. He remembered all the pain of the wounds he bore, and they stacked right on top of his current aches. He could, however, jump to different points in the day, so he took quick glimpses into his memories. Everything stored in the ss was how he remembered it in person, so he didn¡¯t think anything had messed with his memories. It shouldn¡¯t be possible with the protection the circle of [Witches] had given him, but it didn¡¯t hurt to check.

    Hogg gave him some words in the Language that let Brin project his own voice. He could speak, and use [Call Sound] to dampen his voice and project it from a ss bead, and the range on that was actually pretty far. It was only a few minutes of work, but it got him another level.

    Alert! [Call Sound through ss] leveled up! 5 -> 6

    The next day was more of the same. The town was uneasy. The undead were out there. They might arrive at any time. There was nothing left to do but prepare. But how? It would take months or years of work for Brin to get his [ssbound Illusionist] powers to the point where he could fool people in abat situation. He decided to spend all his time working on mirror image. If he could read the long page of the Language that Hogg had given him, even just one time, then he should be able to use [Memories in ss] to reproduce that feat.

    Actually, that was something he could test. He checked the memory in his ring for the time that Hogg had taught him how to create darkness. That had been a longish sentence, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he could remember how to say it just right on his first time.

    He looked into the memory, and had his real mouth repeat the words of the memory. ¡°>¡±

    The spell worked perfectly the first time. <em>Excellent</em>.

    He spent his day working on the page of Language that would make a mirror image. He found Hogg to help him when the old guy had time, and when he didn¡¯t, he got Chamy to help him. When both of them were too busy, he practiced it on his own until the headache became too much to manage. Then he practiced the lute with Davi the rest of the afternoon.

    Brin chugged away at the paper. He got a paragraph down after two days.

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    A day after that, he¡¯dpleted half the first page.

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    He was d he hadn¡¯t dumped the rest of his points he¡¯d nned for magic, yet. He would do it when he really needed to, but for now it was helping his training. The next day, hepleted the first page.

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    One day bled into another, until a week had passed. For seven days, the undead continued to mass, out of sight. Hogg made asional trips through the woods, but never found them. He figured that the scouts he killed along the way warned the main group in time for them to run away. He tried sneaking through the forest, but still never found the main body.

    On the morning of the seventh day, Brin was practicing the page in the living room, sitting on a sofa while an increasing headache threatened to halt his progress, even though it was still early.

    It was frustrating work. He didn¡¯t get little bits of a mirror image if he failed. This casting was all or nothing. Hogg and Chamy told him he was on the right track, but he had no way of knowing if that was true for himself, and he wouldn¡¯t until hepleted the entire thing. The only thing that let him keep going was the focus that [Directed Meditation] brought.

    He read through the page again, front and back, and suddenly got a slew of notifications.

    Congrattions! Through training you have increased the following attribute: Magic +1

    Alert! [Directed Meditation] leveled up! 20 -> 21

    Alert! [Call Light through ss] leveled up! 6 -> 10

    Alert! [Call Sound through ss] leveled up! 6 -> 7

    Level up! Level 22 -> 23

    +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    ¡°For what?¡± Brin asked out loud, and heard an echo. He looked up see¡­ himself? From the back, hanging in the air as if he were lounging on an invisible sofa. He didn¡¯t need [Know What¡¯s Real] to tell him it was an illusion.

    [Directed Meditation] dropped away, and he jumped up in the air. His mirror jumped with him.

    He¡¯d done it! He raised both hands in the air and cheered, and his illusion followed suit. What could he do with this?

    He willed the illusion to stay still, and it did. He was able to walk around while the mirror image stayed perfectly in ce. It looked for all the world as if a perfect copy of Brin was standing there in the living room. Anyoneing in would see two Brins.

    Is that what he looked like? It was strange. It was different to see yourself in real space than it was looking in a mirror. Sort of uncanny. No wonder people were so freaked out by doppelgangers.

    He said, ¡°So that¡¯s what I look like,¡± and his mirror repeated the words in his voice. His voice was weird. Is that what he really sounded like? Useful though.

    He had so many scars! How long had he had that one on the back of his neck? He didn¡¯t even remember getting that one.

    The scars were good though. Basil¡¯s little adventure had already given him a huge boost to [Scarred, but Healing]. He was already up another 20%, and he was pretty sure there was a little bit to go.

    He tried making the illusion lift its hand, but couldn¡¯t get it quite right. The hand sort of clipped right off his arm and hung in the air. He mentally willed it to follow him again, and the movements were much more natural. If he was going to use this, he¡¯d have to hide and puppet his mirror images from a distance, at least for now.

    He was thrilled. He¡¯d done it! This was a high-leveled [Illusionist] Skill, and he¡¯d replicated it with [Call Light] alone. Sure, he¡¯d had the help of direct tutoring from two very high-leveled individuals, but it was still an aplishment.

    Now that he had this down, he could move on to something else. Maybe he could start working on sound? It depended on how much time he had.

    He left to go find Hogg, and before he found him on the north-eastern gate, the calls were already going up. He was out of time; they all were.

    The undead had returned.

 Book 2. Chapter 37

    Book 2. Chapter 37

    Brin stood in the reserve line, a shield in one hand and a spear with a ss head in the other. Myra hade through with his heat-vision-blocking clothes, and he¡¯d put them on under Perris¡¯ leather armor, so all in all he felt ready for anything. They¡¯d ced him between two decently-leveled [Farmers], and he wasn¡¯t the only one his age out here. Zilly, still wearing a few bandages, was in the row in front of him, and seven other boys and one girl from his System Day were scattered among the reserves. The town had brought nearly everyone out who could hold a weapon, hoping to get them all some levels while they still could.

    That didn¡¯t mean that they were going to underestimate the enemy. Brin had already paid the adventurers in advance. He didn¡¯t want to lose a single life that could be saved bymitting their full strength from the beginning.

    The undead were arrayed against them in ordered rows. There were nearly twice as many of the armored elites asst week, but only four giants. The army was ghastly; no matter how much he stared, he couldn¡¯t get used to the sight.

    At least it wasn¡¯t the rotting, zombie-looking undead this time. These were the undead he was more used to, in tight ck clothing. Aside from being too skinny and slightly too pale, you could almost squint and pretend they were living men.

    That made it worse. Regr zombies were disgusting on their own, but you couldn¡¯t mistake them for anything but monsters. These were in the uncanny valley, and it made his skin crawl how they moved just a little bit wrong or stood much too still.

    It was profane that something this ugly should attack during the day. It disgusted him to share daylight with these things. Shouldn¡¯t they attack at night? That¡¯s how it always happened in the movies. Then again, maybe they did mean to attack at night. They¡¯d left the forest two hours ago, but for now seemed content to wait.

    Despite the fact that the enemy had slightly greater numbers than before, the morale of the defenders seemed high. This wasn¡¯t an unknown threat any more. They¡¯d faced this before, they could do it again. They¡¯d win and level, and have an even better chance against the next army that came.

    Brin didn¡¯t need [Battle Sense] to know that this was going to be a one-sided ughter, although it was nice to have that confirmation. Everyone knew, and he could see it in their faces, the way they held their weapons with eagerness instead of dread. That alone gave Brin pause. The enemy should know that they were going to lose, too. So why had theye? Unless they knew something that he and the rest of the town didn¡¯t.

    Hogg had said that he thought the first attack might¡¯ve been an ident. The undead could have been drawn by Basil¡¯s shout and then theck of a [Witch]mander had caused them to attack too soon, before they¡¯d properly grouped up. Hogg had said that they wouldn¡¯t make that mistake again. And yet, here they were.

    It was extremely likely that even greater numbers of undead were hiding in the forest, but even if that was the case, that shouldn¡¯t mean the town was doomed. They could cut this smaller force to pieces, get their levels, and then hide behind the walls when therger force showed up.

    The Prefit was walking back and forth behind the front line, shouting encouragement, flourishing his weapons, and overall acting like the mascot at a pep rally. The front line defender cheered as he passed, banging weapons against shields.

    Brin had to admit that the Prefit was good at this. He thought the big man was a substandard leader most of the time, but here, on the battlefield, he was exactly who the town needed. The attackst week had gone perfectly, and ording to [Battle Sense], this one was going to go just as well.

    The wedge formation of Lantern-men were ready to go, just waiting for their spearhead to take his ce. The Prefit walked to his ce, but then at thest second veered off and ran down the edge of the Lantern-men, ringing his sword against their upraised spears. He wore a brilliant smile, his perfect white teeth glinting as brightly as his polished bronze armor. The Lantern-men stood taller, the reserves cheered, and there was another loud cheer from the townsfolk who¡¯d gathered to watch from the other side of the gates. Only after making aplete circuit of the Lantern-men did the Prefit finally take his position at the front of the wedge.

    ¡°Another day! Another charge! Another blow against our enemy! Fight, you sons and daughters of Hammon¡¯s Bog! Step forward into another day! Step forward and attack!¡±

    He took a step forward, and then another, and then tripped on something and fell on the ground. The entire formation halted, many of them running into each other, not expecting to stop so soon.

    It was such a perfect Charlie Chaplin moment of pstick humor that Brin couldn¡¯t help butugh, though he stopped when the [Farmer] to his left scowled at him. The Lantern-man to the Prefit¡¯s left, the town¡¯s [Firefighter], walked up to see what had happened, before he too fell to the ground.

    Then three other Lantern-men copsed. In the reserves, a high-level [Farmer] fell to the ground. A man in the center of the front defensive line fell to the ground. This man wore polished wooden armor and was level 44. The town¡¯s best [Carpenter]. A [Hunter] up on a tower copsed next, that one level 50. He heard a musical clunk as a lute fell to the ground. Jeffrey the [Bard] was down.

    The highest-level people were dropping like flies. Only seven out of hundreds, but they were seven that couldn¡¯t be reced.

    Another Lantern-man worked up the courage to check on the Prefit, and recoiled. ¡°Witchery! This is a [Witch¡¯s] evil!¡±

    The news caused the front row of their formation to jump back as if a meteor hadnded in their ranks. Soon, everyone was shouting and the press of bodies prevented Brin from seeing what happened next.

    He looked back, and saw the adventurers. Rat Scratch had a huge horn pressed to his ear, and a hand sped to the other ear. He was wincing as if the act of listening were causing him physical pain. He put the horn down and said something to the others.

    Brin left his ce in the line and ran to them. ¡°What? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°The same thing happened to the defenders at other gates. The south gate lost someone named Toros, and Chamy the [Enchantress] has fallen as well.¡±

    Brin grabbed Rat Scratch by the shoulders. ¡°Hogg?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±

    Shouts came from past the line of defenders. ¡°Make way! Make way!¡± The lines parted to reveal two Lantern-men carrying the Prefit by the shoulders and ankles. Little of his skin was visible beneath the shining armor, but his face was ckish-green, the skin peeling back to let oozing white puss spill free. Pairs of men soon followed, carrying the others who¡¯d copsed.

    ¡°Where are they taking them?¡± Brin shouted. The adventurers didn¡¯t answer so Brin ran towards the men carrying the Prefit and punched the lead Lantern-man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Where are you taking him?¡± he demanded.

    ¡°To the temple!¡± the Lantern-man shouted back without slowing. ¡°To Ellion the priest!¡±

    More shouts came up from the defenders, so many shouts of rm it was nearly deafening. The undead had begun to advance. A perfect formation, ck spears forward, shields high, archers ready.

    [Battle Sense] told Brin that someone needed to rally them. They still had the numbers to make a strong stand, but someone needed to shout orders and get them in ce. The Lantern-men needed to charge, the front line of defenders needed to step out of their way, and the archers needed to loose their arrows all at the same time. Soon one of the remaining Lantern-men or [Hunters] would realize they were inmand and take charge, but until then someone needed to call them to the fight. He could do it. <em>Should</em> do it, since he knew what to do and he could make his voice louder. This was a pivotal moment. It needed to happen <em>now</em> or dozens of lives could be lost.

    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Brin threw down his weapons, turned, and ran. He tried to justify it to himself by saying that they¡¯d never listen to him. By adding his voice, he¡¯d just be adding to the confusion. The real truth was more simple: He needed to find Hogg. Even the few moments it would take to start shouting orders were too long, because Hogg was on the western gate, and he was fighting alone. If he got cursed and copsed, there¡¯d be no one there to drag his body to the temple.

    It felt cowardly. Maybe it was. That didn¡¯t change the fact that this is what he had to do.

    The crowd that had been waiting eagerly from just outside the gates to watch the town¡¯s inevitable triumph were now running in every direction. Brin grit his teeth and charged straight through. He pushed and struggled, careening off bodies marching through the outstretched limbs of those unlucky enough to have a lower Strength than him. He didn¡¯t even bother to look at who threw an elbow into his head, and he didn¡¯t look back to see if the woman he identally flung to the ground made it back up. He pressed forward, and soon, he was through the mess. He ran.

    He dashed down the streets, past the houses, through the town square. He didn¡¯t stop when people tried to hail him, didn¡¯t slow down when they asked him what was happening. He didn¡¯t even bother to shout answers to their demands for attention. Until he knew that Hogg was safe, he couldn¡¯t spare the breath.

    There was smoke in the air. A few of the houses were burning? People ran to put out fires, and nothing looked that bad, but everyone seemed to be dealing with something. Smoke poured from windows, just a little in each home. A door mmed open, and a woman threw a ming bit of cloth into the street. Brin recognized it as one of Tawna¡¯s fate-catchers, the ones she¡¯d been forced to create for the whole town. He¡¯d forgotten about those because Hogg hadn¡¯t put one up, and neither had Davi¡¯s family. Everyone else had, apparently, and now they were all on fire. He ignored it and ran.

    He ran past his home. The western gate was just ahead. On the other side, he saw ten figures fighting against a crowd of undead. Ten inky ck shadows in the shape of Hogg. He let out a sigh of relief that was closer to a sob. Hogg was fine.

    Then, impossibly, one of Hogg¡¯s shadows fell. An undead clubbed him with a spiked mace, and the shadow disappeared. The undead charged through the gap it left. Encouraged, more of the undead charged forward. A group of twenty moved in a heaving mass, a mob more than an army, and swarmed the beleaguered shadows. Hogg¡¯s illusions fell, one after another, until none were left. Twenty. Only twenty undead had defeated Hogg¡¯s shadows. Now there were ten, and they charged through the gate.

    Brin yelled, ¡°Undead in the city! Help! We need defenders at the western gate!¡±

    There was no one else here. Everyone knew that Hogg was invincible. Why waste any bodies backing him up? Brin knew he should stand and fight. He could stop these ten, or at least dy them until more help came.

    He didn¡¯t. When the ten reached him, they grouped up, forming a ring. He activated his armband, then enchanted one Hogg had given him, and felt a significant pull as it drained his Mana. He turned invisible, and nearly tripped as his arms and legs disappeared, even to his own sight. Wasting no time, he darted through a gap in the ring.

    The armband onlysted for a few seconds, and soon his arms and legs were visible again, but he was already past the undead.

    He scanned the ground, seeing hundreds of destroyed undead littering the in. Most of them were from a week ago, with only a few from today. Clearly the undead hadn¡¯t counted on being able to ovee Hogg, because they hadn¡¯tmitted very many troops to the attempt.

    <em>There!</em> [Know What¡¯s Real] pointed him to a patch of ground that wasn¡¯t what it seemed. There were more undead on the way, six or seven across the field, but he would make it before they got to him.

    He ran, and felt the area where he spotted an illusion. He felt something soft. It was a nket, somehow projecting a perfect camouge on its surface.

    He pulled it away, and then felt his stomach sink at the sight of Hogg. The man looked like a corpse. He looked worse, even, than some of the undead Brin had seen. He turned his head away from the sight, and started to pick Hogg up.

    Hogg grabbed his wrist. ¡°It¡¯s not Awnadil. You hear me? She¡­ wouldn¡¯te¡­ wouldn¡¯t risk it¡­¡±

    ¡°Save your strength!¡±

    ¡°No¡­ listen. The [Witch] in charge here is the spy. We never caught the spy¡­¡± Hogg¡¯s voice was barely above a whisper, but his grip was an iron vice.

    ¡°If you have something to say, tell me on the way,¡± said Brin.

    He heaved, and pulled Hogg up onto his shoulders. He took an unsteady step, then another. No, it wouldn¡¯t be enough just to walk back. He had to run. He had to outrun the undead behind him.

    With Hogg in a fireman¡¯s carry, Brin ran. He got to a very good pace, slowly at first, then faster and faster until he was running at a full sprint. He was nearly as fast as he could go unhindered, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy to stop; even turning was going to be tricky.

    He ran back through the gates.

    The gates. He should really close those. There were more undead on the way. Taking thirty seconds now to m the heavy gates closed would activate their enchantments and make this area impassible to the enemy army for the near future.

    He didn¡¯t know how much time Hogg had. Thirty seconds might be too much. He ran forward.

    A [Hunter] had arrived, and Brin saw him retreating while sending arrow after arrow into the undead, despite a gaping wound on his forearm. Brin didn¡¯t stop to help.

    Three of the undead reared up in front of him, spread out and ready to catch him. He had no choice but to try to ram through. Hogg might be incapacitated, but his leathers were more than enough to block a few weapons.

    He put everything he had into his legs, and ran faster.

    Right as he was about to reach the undead, he heard a loud, angry chirp. A battle cry¨CMarksi charged, darting forward in a sh of rainbow light. He climbed up onto the shoulders of an ax-wielder, scratched its eyes, and then jumped to the next undead before the first one could respond. Marksi distracted all three of them, and Brin ran right between them, untouched.

    He felt a swell of emotion and bit his lip. Even though he smelled like [Witch] and Marksi wouldn¡¯te near him, the little guy was still watching out for him. Brin didn¡¯t deserve Marksi, but he swore he¡¯d find a way to make it up to him.

    Brin ran. The rest of the way was boring and painful. He knew he should pace himself, that a run across town with this much weight wasn¡¯t something he could do at full speed. He knew what he should do, but he refused. This was Hogg.

    Brin sprinted the entire way. Chest burning, legs aching, back straining, he refused to slow down.

    Every step was agony; every breath was an eternity, but somehow when he arrived at the temple he felt like it hadn¡¯t taken any time at all.

    He stumbled thest few steps into the temple, and saw the Prefit and ten othersid out on the stone floor. H was there, too, and Gudio. Brin went down on his knees, andy Hogg down as gently as he could.

    Someone tried to speak to him, but he was beyond hearing. His ears were ringing. His eyes were blurry; he could hardly see past the red fog.

    He thought he saw Hogg start to recover; his skin was clearing in the holy magic of the temple. Then Brin blinked again and the rot on Hogg¡¯s skin returned. It had been a trick of the mind. Whatever Ellion was supposed to be doing, it wasn¡¯t working.

    He looked for the priest, and found him right next to him, holding out a ss of water. Brin drank, but had to stop after a couple gulps to keep gasping. After he caught his breath enough to keep going, he drank down the rest of the ss and handed it back to the priest.

    Only now did he notice that the temple waspletely full. Every single bench was full of worshippers, and nearly all the floorspace was filled with people praying on their knees.

    ¡°Hogg. Can you help him?¡± Brin asked, still panting.

    ¡°The curse will not progress as long as they are in these walls. Hogg is safe, for now, though he will not awake until the curse is removed,¡± said Ellion.

    ¡°He¡¯ll live?¡±

    Ellion nodded. ¡°He will live. Fear not: No undead or evil [Witch] will enter here.¡±

    Clearly not <em>all</em> [Witches] were banned. Chamyy on a nket together with the others who''d been damaged by the curse.

    Brin looked around again at the crowds of people. ¡°Is that what they¡¯re all doing here?¡±

    ¡°It is,¡± said Ellion, though he looked a bit sad. ¡°I offer them sanctuary, and they will survive even if the rest of the town falls. I fear I cannot offer you the same.¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t worship Solia. You offered, but I never took you up on it, and now it¡¯s toote. I understand,¡± said Brin.

    Ellion¡¯s features twisted in disgust and he shook his head so fast that his headdress fell out of ce. ¡°Do you really think me so crass? No, it¡¯s because you weren¡¯t here first. There are another hundred waiting outside in line. If the undead break through the walls, they wille in and fill in the walking spaces and mausoleum and every nook and cranny. I would shelter the whole town if I could, but I cannot.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. ¡°Well, that¡¯s as fair as you could be, I guess.¡±

    ¡°I will pray for you, Brin the Mistaken. That much is still within my power,¡± said Ellion.

    Brin thanked him, then walked over to crouch down next to Hogg. He looked around, but there was no way to do what needed doing discreetly.

    Well, let them think what they wanted. Unapologetically, he began to rifle through Hogg¡¯s pockets. He found the Health potion, and debated using it on Hogg right there, but something told him that wouldn¡¯t work. He found a couple of potionsbeled with a crude picture of an explosion, and one with a symbol for fire. There were plenty of weapons, but nothing that would be better for him than his ss spear. Last, he found two more potions of Turn Undead. Apparently, Calisto¡¯s batch had been bigger than the one they¡¯d used for Neptune. He also found ten mana potions, and took them all.

    And that was it. Hogg had exhausted his consumables already in the fight in the forest. This was honestly more than Brin had been expecting, but he¡¯d need it. Even if Ellion had offered him sanctuary, he wouldn¡¯t have taken it. There was a war going on out there, and he intended to help fight it.

 Book 2. Chapter 38

    Book 2. Chapter 38

    Brin gripped his spear, waiting for the gates toe down. After the battle yesterday, the town had retreated behind the walls and the undead had been hacking at them ever since. Even Bog Standard gates had limits, and they were about to hit theirs.

    ¡°[Carpenters] andborers hang back. Infantry, steady. Archers, ready,¡± Kevim shouted. As the only surviving member of the town council with anybat experience, he was the de facto leader of the town. It was a miracle that the leader of the [Hunters] hadn¡¯t been taken by the curse, having taken the only [Hunter] higher-level than him instead. He was doing well enough as near as Brin could tell, but he was no Prefit Elmon.

    The thumping continued, undead axes against the other side of the wall. From this side, they looked perfectly fine, but he knew that couldn¡¯t be the case. The undead had been chopping at the walls all through the night without tiring. At first, the town had put [Hunters] on the towers to pick them off, but the undead had responded with swarms of arrows in return, and the [Hunters] had been forced to retreat. No one voiced the opinion that they should charge out of the gates and try to whittle the enemy down again, not now that they were missing all their best fighters. Now, the game was all about survival. They would meet the undead after the gates fell, and only long enough to drive them back long enough for theborers to rece them.

    The logs and beams were cut and ced in carts. The workers held their tools, ready to go. All they needed was the space to work in.

    Until the gates fell, all they could do was stand and wait, listening to the steady thunks. It had been strange, to go to bed with that sound in the air, in a house that felt so empty without Marksi or Hogg. He had slept; he¡¯d needed it. He¡¯d slept like a baby, and nearly missed the rallying cry for the defense.

    The first chunk of wood was pulled away, and all at once the ghastly pale face of an undead peered through the door of the gate. An arrow immediately struck it in the forehead, followed by a dozen more.

    A pike-holding [Candlemaker] stepped forward, no doubt to jab his long weapon through the opening. Kevim shouted, ¡°Infantry stand back! Let them all the way through before pushing them back out!¡±

    As if in response, a ck arrow came through the hole in the wall, hitting the shield of a defender.

    The defenders waited, holding back, and the chopping resumed. The undead were staying clear of the holes they made, but the more of the gate they tore down, the less they had to hide behind, and the archers picked off a few more.

    Davi began to y his music, and Brin felt his courage rising, and felt clear understanding on what he was supposed to do. After Brin had left, it had been Davi that rallied the troops. He¡¯d apparently learned a lot from his short time shadowing Jeffrey; and besides, Davi was a person who¡¯d read a thousand battles. He¡¯d known what needed to be done, and he¡¯d acted in time to make it happen. He¡¯d used his music to send instructions to the defenders, and formed a capable defense until one of the Lantern-men took charge. Brin had only joined the very end of the battle as the defenders made an ordered retreat back into town. No one had used him of cowardice from running off earlier. He didn¡¯t think anyone had even noticed him leave.

    Now Davi yed a simple marching tune, but from the look of concentration on his face Brin thought he was probably sending different motivations to the three different groups, which wasn¡¯t simple at all.

    All at once the rest of the gate fell inwards, and the undead rushed forwards. ck d ax-wielders ran in front. There was no expression on their faces, as if they were bored by this whole experience. Or rather, as if they were already dead.

    The front line of defenders were the best of what Hammon¡¯s Bog had left. A Lantern-man threw a tree trunk straight into the oing line, which smashed through them and into the crowd of undead behind. A wave of water sshed more undead to the side and then Zilly¡¯s dad threw his artillery-coal into the grouped-up attackers. It exploded, flinging limbs in every direction and clearing an area on the other side of the gate.

    [Farmers] holding greatshields with both hands and no weapons poured through the opening, creating a line and pushing it outwards. More men with weapons filled in the space between them as the ring expanded. As many defenders as could get through the gate charged in after them, and soon Brin found himself running over the bloody ground, through the gate and into the battlefield.

    In no time he was on the front line, shield forward and spear to the side. [Inspect] told him that the undead soldier headed for him had a really nasty downwards chop, but it was only level 16, so after that it would be an easy kill. All he had to do was dodge the chop¨Cbut he couldn¡¯t do that.

    The Prefit¡¯s lesson the other day hadn¡¯t been a metaphor. He had allies behind him and to both sides. He couldn¡¯t dodge.

    He raised his shield, and took the chop straight on. The powerful strike knocked him to his knees, left his shield-arm numb, but it didn¡¯t push him back. He stepped up and forward,shing out with his spear and stabbing the undead in the stomach. It wasn¡¯t enough to kill the thing, and it wound up for another chop, so Brin pushed [Shape ss] into his spearhead and detonated it.

    There was a muted thump, and the undead slumped to the ground.

    Alert!

    You have defeated: Undead Soldier [16]

    Due to level disparity, less experience will be rewarded.

    He stepped back, and another defender moved in to take his ce. He took the time to rece the spearhead on his staff, taking one from a bag on his hip that he¡¯d prepared beforehand. He just stuck the spearhead on the end, and used [Shape ss] to affix it. He could probably float the spearhead out of his bag and onto the spear shaft, but he¡¯d need more practice before he could move ss that precisely, and besides, it was a waste of mana.

    Not that he couldn¡¯t afford it. Last night, he¡¯d decided that the time for waiting was done, and put every spare attribute point he had, all twenty of them, into Magic. Now, his mana pool felt like a great, swirling ocean.

    The defender in front of him threw a scythe, and it shed through four undead before getting lost in the mob. A [Harvester¡¯s] cooldown Skill, ording to a quick [Inspect]. Brin stepped up to rece the [Harvester], quickly moving his shield up in time to stop an ax-blow that would¡¯ve hit the man next to him.

    ¡°Crafters! Repair the gates!¡± Kevim ordered. Now that they had the area clear, the [Carpenters] could get to work. Brin¡¯s previous world-knowledge told him that repairing a gate in the middle of a battle was a ludicrous idea, but the crafters of Hammon¡¯s Bog knew what they were about. They¡¯d have the gate rebuilt in no time, and it would hold for another day.

    Fighting in a line was surprisingly easy. No, not easy. Simple. There weren¡¯t a lot of options. You could block or stab. There wasn¡¯t room for anything else. Brin blocked, and he stabbed, and the defenders held their ground. Once, he felt a hard rap on the top of his helmet, a ncing blow from a spear, but Perris did quality work and he wasn¡¯t hurt at all. Other than that, he didn¡¯t take so much as a scrape.

    The undead were fighting more cautiously now as well, so he didn¡¯t make another kill, but got a couple good stabs in.

    A tap at his shoulder told him his time was done, so he stepped back.

    Before anything else, he reced the spearhead again. The ss spearheads were very effective on the first cut or two, but they lost their edge quickly. Luckily, they were receable. Once the ones in his bag ran out, he¡¯d be fine sharpening them with his magic or just summoning them from scratch. For now, it was easier to just rece them.

    He risked a nce back. The craftsmen were about halfway done with the gate. It looked like they were going to make it.

    He saw that Zilly had ended up on the frontlines nearby, and even though he knew he really shouldn¡¯t, shuffled his way over towards her.

    She stood with sword and shield, and Brin could tell she was struggling. [Rogues] weren¡¯t meant for fighting in a line; her rtively low Strength was hurting her, and from the exhaustion he could see in her shoulders, her Vitality wasn¡¯t up to snuff either. As he watched, he saw how shepensated with Dexterity. She never blocked anything head-on, rather parried things out of the way just enough and conserved her strength.

    When an undead soldier swiped at her with a mace, she made a perfect parry with her shield, knocking it upwards. Her sword snaked out and caught the undead¡¯s neck. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to force it back. This would all be easier if the undead kept fighting until they fell, but they fought just as the townsfolk did, swapping out their injured for fresh reserves.

    When the spear of the man next to her cracked, Brin stepped up to rece him.

    ¡°Maybe you should take a break!¡± Brin yelled. ¡°You look tired!¡±

    Zilly barked augh. She pushed forward with her shield, forcing an enemy spear to stick into it, then used the opening to step forward andsh out, decapitating the undead spear holder. Then she used [Dash] to jump past the enemy line, and cut into the backs of the necks of the two undead on either side, and [Dashed] back before anyone couldin that she¡¯d left a hole in the line.

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    Brin didn¡¯t even get a kill notification for the undead in front of him, which meant that she got all the experience for it.

    ¡°How was that?¡± Zilly said, shaking her head to fling her ponytail back behind her.

    ¡°That was ok, I guess,¡± said Brin, trying and failing to hide how impressed he was. She snorted in amusement.

    He thought about what he could do to show off, but decided not to be stupid for once. Zilly was fighting more viciously now, taking kills and gaining experience rather than just barely hanging on. Hopefully she¡¯d have enough sense to withdraw when she got too tired.

    Brin¡¯s next opponent was a crafty sword-fighter; they went back and forth with neither of them finding purchase, until Brin was forced to detonate another spear head, wounding the undead¡¯s arm and forcing them both to withdraw.

    A burly [Woodsman] took his ce, and pretty soon Zilly stepped back as well. He met her eyes, and they both chuckled nervously.

    On the other side of the defensive line, he saw a man go down. One swing of a warhammer broke through his shield and caved in his chest. Brin only got a brief nce at the undead¡¯s armor, but what he saw left no doubt who that was.

    ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± came a shout, and Brin winced. Why shout it out? They¡¯d be better off not knowing. ¡°It¡¯s the undead in Simao¡¯s armor!¡±

    The southern gate had been attacked in just as great numbers as the north-eastern gate, despite the fact that there were only a fraction of the defenders. When Toros had fallen to the curse, Simao had bravely stepped forward to hold off the undead¡¯s charge to give the others the chance to flee. He¡¯d saved dozens of lives, but hadn¡¯t made it through the gates before they closed. It was a heroic story, and would¡¯ve been inspiring if they were fighting against anything else.

    The undead wearing Simao¡¯s armor. That¡¯s what they were calling him now.

    Several Lantern-men swarmed the section of the line where Simao had been seen. He retreated before they got there, but the damage was already done.

    The effect on the defenders was immediate. Some were angry and stepped forward too far, swinging too hard and leaving openings that the undead quickly exploited. Others grew cold and their movements grew sluggish as they were ovee with dread. The townsfolk tried to pull away the bodies of any who fell, but they didn¡¯t get all of them. Anyone who was left behind would soon be fighting on the other side, just like Simao.

    Davi yed louder, but the song was wrong. He was still ying a song about glory and triumph, about marching toward victory, but that wasn¡¯t the mood anymore. This was now a somber, tired fight. People were enduring because they had to, because there was no other choice. His song shed with their spirits, screwing up their reflexes, causing them to make mistakes.

    ¡°Stop the song!¡± Brin shouted, using [Call Sound] to project his voice. The man in front of him fumbled a block and dropped his shield. Brin pulled him out of the way of an ax-swing, and then stabbed the attacking undead, taking his ce in the line.

    He wasn¡¯t any better at resisting the song, and against the next undead he had a few close calls as the soldier kept putting a spear where Brin least expected it. He summoned a ball of silence around his head with [Call Sound], and it got better. The undead in front of him seemed to slow down a bit. He couldn¡¯t do much for the others, though. People were taking injuries left and right.

    The line shrank as those defenders who had one-off Skills used them and retreated. It shrunk further as more and more wounded were pulled back behind the walls. He found himself walking steadily backwards, to stay with the men at his sides. Maybe they were following orders that he couldn¡¯t hear, or maybe they were being pressed back.

    The retreat stopped; they weren¡¯t walking backwards anymore, and the men at his sides seemed to be moving better. He dismissed the orb of silence around his head, and found that Davi had stopped his music.

    By now there were only a hundred defenders left outside the walls.

    ¡°Done! Get back inside! We¡¯re ready to shut the gates!¡± came Kevim¡¯s call.

    The hundred couldn¡¯t all move inside the gates at once; only about eight at a time fit through. Brin was one of the first to disengage and fall back. A row of eight Lantern-men held the front as the rest of them moved through the gate.

    Right as thest of the defenders were through the gates, Simao appeared again. He smashed his way through the attacking undead and brought his hammer down on the centermost Lantern-man, shattering his arm and flinging him to the ground. He reared back for another strike.

    ¡°[Blunt Shot]!¡± Kevim called out his Skill name right as itnded. An arrow knocked Simao¡¯s hammer to the side just enough to stop the hammerblow, and the undead apprentice [Smith] fell back.

    The wounded Lantern-man barely scrambled back in time before the gates closed. The few undead who¡¯d alreadye through were quickly cut down and then¡­ it was over.

    They¡¯d done it.

    They mostly stood in ce, catching their breath. Some girls Brin¡¯s age or younger walked between the defenders, offering them water. Brin took a tall ss thankfully and gulped it down. The ss was foggy and brown, one of his earlier pieces.

    He checked himself for any injuries that he¡¯d missed in the heat of battle, and found none. Perris¡¯ armor had done its job. He reced a ss spearhead and then thought about his shield. He¡¯d just taken one that they¡¯d been passing out to everyone, but he might be able to cover the surface with ss. That would make it easier for him to use, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he had the time.

    They didn¡¯t have time to sit around for too long. There were two more gates to repair.

    Brin walked around the outer edge of the town, following the walls. The undead didn¡¯t only attack the gates, after all. There were many who tried to scale the walls, and more than half of the [Hunters] patrolled every inch of the boundary for anyone trying to sneak through, while many other defenders waited in groups here and there, ready to plug any gaps if there was an incursion.

    Even as he watched, an undead crawled over to the top of the spiked wall. Some kind of enchantment slowed it down as it reached the top, and it struggled to pass over, as if the air had suddenly turned to msses.

    That gave a passing [Hunter] more than enough time to put an arrow into its head.

    He heard a cry from two blocks over. ¡°Alert! Incursion!¡± The voice was loud, but strangely monotone. Brin ran to the source of the rm, and when he got there it was already over.

    Seven undead soldiersy dead on the ground, and a man in a cloak stood over them. He didn¡¯t have any weapons that Brin could see, and he was seven feet tall. There was no one that tall in this town. Brin could see vaguely human features through the hood, but couldn¡¯t make out exactly what he looked like. Which was strange, since in the middle of the day a hood shouldn¡¯t cast such a dark shadow.

    [Inspect] just told him ¡°A hooded figure.¡±

    One more undead crawled up from the ground, and the man stomped down on its head, smashing it. Then he turned to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Brin called out.

    The hooded figure paused, and looked over to consider. He shook his head. ¡°Request denied.¡±

    He turned and ran into the city. His movements were oddly fluid, like a loping gazelle.

    Strange. rming, and yet he was definitely on their side. He¡¯d helped with the undead, and he¡¯d called the rm. Brin focused on where they wereing from, and saw a hole in the ground, with another undead pulling itself through.

    ¡°rm! We¡¯ve got a tunnel!¡± Brin shouted with [Call Sound]-improved loudness.

    A group of a dozen defenders arrived before the next undead even made it through. An [Earthmover] stepped up. This was an older man with a stooped back, although he wore a nice set of Bog Standard chainmail. He had to set his cane down to use his Skill, but with a wave of his hands the tunnel plugged up, trapping the squirming undead underground. Brin didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d die from that or not.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been seeing lots of these. Not a problem if I can get here in time,¡± said the [Earthmover].

    ¡°Did you see that guy who found them?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t you?¡±

    Brin shook his head and trotted off. He went the direction that the man had gone, but after seeing no sign of him, continued on his way towards the other gate.

    The battle for the next gate was worse than the first. Everyone was talking about the ¡°undead in Simao¡¯s armor¡±, and the defenders were demoralized before the fighting even started.

    Davi yed a more somber tune this time. It was a song about fighting even when all hope was lost, of moving forwards against impossible odds, even when you knew you couldn¡¯t win. It fit the mood quite well.

    When Simao showed up, Zilly¡¯s dad shot him immediately with a zing fireball that demolished all the undead around him and scorched the shields of the unlucky defenders nearby.

    Simao¡¯s armor was too damn good, and the undeadughed as he retreated again.

    By the time they got to the third gate, everyone was exhausted. The Lantern-men didn¡¯t need to conserve their mana anymore, so theyunched everything they had at the undead from the beginning. The undead ranks were pulverized by an unrelenting wave of fire, wood, and water. Return volleys from the undead archers were a problem, but dedicated shield-only [Farmers] protected the casters. Brin was in the reserves, but didn¡¯t do any fighting. Few undead soldiers approached the town¡¯s front line.

    Zilly¡¯s dad and several other Lantern-men were so exhausted that they¡¯d needed to be carried away, and Brin barely felt any better. A weary army shuffled through the gates, and they closed behind them.

    Kevim stammered out a speech and then sent everyone home.

    Most people left immediately, trudging home, or running to check on loved ones. Some were visibly stealing themselves for bad news they had to bear. Others formed into teams to carry the casualties away to be cremated. The [Midwife] and anyone else who''s sses could be applied to healing crouched over the worst of the wounded, whoy on nkets near the gates in rows.

    There was also some who didn''t do anything. They stared nkly in the air, processing the insanity, ovee with the death and violence of the day. Now that they were briefly free of any urgent task, they were left naked to the horror of it all.

    Brin was one of those. He sat and looked at the sky. It was a beautiful day, nice and sunny with only a few white fluffy clouds. That was starting to fade in half the sky as the sun sat right on the edge of setting. Hammon''s Bog didn''t have too many beautiful days; it was usually overcast.

    He needed to move. He''d sit here forever if he didn''t force himself to do something. He wanted to go home, to make dinner for Hogg and Marksi. Then maybe a nice pot of tea. The warmth of that vision called to him, and so of course he''d never be able to go to that empty house now.

    A [Baker], an older woman with gray hair, handed him a sausage roll. She had lots of them in a big basket, and she was walking from person to person, handing them out. Brin tried to protest, since he wasn''t a worker or a nurse. She pulled out a damp cloth, wiped off his grimy hands, and then pressed the food into them.

    He took a bite. It was delicious. He started walking, munching on the sausage roll, and felt some of his humanity return. The crust was golden and ky, the bread was soft and the sausage was rich with spices and vor. All too soon, it was gone and he started licking his fingers and looking around for something else to eat. What had he been doing? He didn''t have time to sit around. There were a thousand things he could be doing, like sleeping if he couldn''t think of anything else.

    Before sleep, though, he was curious about something. Brin walked towards Ademir¡¯s workshop. He had a hunch about something. He didn¡¯t know for sure, but this was the best bet.

    The light was still on inside, but curtains had been drawn over the windows. Brin tried the door, but it was locked. He knocked.

    He heard a shuffling sound from inside, but no one answered.

    ¡°Come on, Ademir! I know you¡¯re in there! Open up!¡±

    The door creaked open, only an inch, and Ademir peered out at him. ¡°Brin? What brings you by at this¨C¡±

    Brin pushed the door open further. In the workshop, just behind Ademir, stood arge hooded figure, seven feet tall.

    ¡°I knew it! Ademir, you have to introduce me to your familiar.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 39

    Book 2. Chapter 39

    ¡°May I, Father?¡± asked the deep, monotone voice. The way the figure held the cloak closed, it looked as if he¡¯d thrown it on in a hurry when Brin had knocked on the door. Pants, boots, and a shirt that would fit someone seven feet tall sat near Ademir¡¯s work table, and there were all sorts of tools and things out, as if he were in the middle of a project. Or a repair.

    Ademir stared hard into Brin¡¯s eyes, as if weighing him. He nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    The robe fell to the ground.

    The first two words that popped into Brin¡¯s head were ¡°handsome squidward.¡± Ademir¡¯s familiar was carved to look like the perfect exemr of male beauty. A square jaw, prominent chin, full lips, intelligent eyes underneath a slightly narrowed brow¨Cthe only imperfect part of his face was the nose. It was a bit too long and bumped as if it had been broken a few times¨Ca match for Ademir¡¯s.

    The artificial man was carved to look like a prime specimen of the male physique, although thankfully the careful attention to detail didn¡¯t make it to his waist. The puppet was carved mostly from wood, but reinforced in several ces with steel, tin, and even gemstones.

    Brin knew right away he was looking at a masterpiece, and not just because of the handsome face. Even as a statue this was the type of thing that belonged in a museum, but the way he moved elevated it to another level. The wooden pieces fit together so seamlessly that Brin could barely tell they weren¡¯t all one piece. The way the puppet leaned forward in interest, the slight squint to his eyes, the crooked eyebrow, if Brin squinted he could believe this was a real, living being.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I do not have one yet. Father requested that I choose my own name.¡± He had a full, resonant voice, though a bit monotone. Not necessarily in a robotic way, more like he was simply a very calm person.

    Brin turned to Ademir. ¡°What do you call him?¡±

    Ademir blinked twice, his expression inscrutable. Brin figured he wasn¡¯t going to get an answer until Ademir eventually said, ¡°Son.¡±

    Brin nodded as if that were perfectly natural. He might be the first person who¡¯d seen Ademir¡¯s familiar. He was definitely the first non-[Witch]. He wouldn¡¯t punish the [Crafter] for trusting him with this.

    Brin looked back at the big familiar and grinned. ¡°Well, I have to say. You are so <em>awesome!</em> Even without a weapon, what you did to that undead! You stomped him t! What other kinds of things can you do? And your eyes! That¡¯s my ss, isn¡¯t it? With gemstones in them? Emerald, it looks like. You know, Ademir could¡¯ve just asked me to mold them into shape, it must¡¯ve taken forever to carve them so perfectly like that. Oh, but we should figure out a name first.¡±

    He¡¯d started pacing back and forth in his excitement, but he stopped. ¡°How about Pinnochio? It¡¯s from a story where I''m from where a man builds a puppet whoes alive. The puppet dreams of bing a real boy someday, and eventually he does.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said the familiar. ¡°I am already real. I am alreadyplete.¡±

    ¡°Deathbot 2000,¡± said Brin, half-joking.

    He tilted his head to the side, actually considering it. ¡°What does the 2000 signify?¡±

    ¡°It makes you sound futuristic. Like, you¡¯re so advanced that it must be the future.¡±

    ¡°I like that,¡± said the familiar, not seeing Ademir¡¯s wince. ¡°But Deathbot is not eptable. Father insists that I am more than a killing machine.¡±

    ¡°I said you should pick your own name,¡± said Ademir.

    ¡°Correct. But if you dislike it then it is not eptable.¡±

    Brin snapped his fingers when he came up with the perfect name. ¡°Ademsi.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Ha ha. As in, little Ademir. Ha ha ha!¡± The familiar¡¯sugh was just him saying the words ¡°ha ha ha¡±. He probably didn¡¯t have lungs. If Brin had to guess, there was an enchantment projecting the words, and the familiar was making his lips move out of politeness.

    ¡°Ha ha ha,¡± heughed again. ¡°Approved. I will be Ademsi 2000.¡±

    Ademir¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What? Just like that? We¡¯ve spent ages trying to pick a name!¡±

    Ademsi 2000 turned around with jarring swiftness. ¡°You don¡¯t like it? Am I overstepping myself by naming myself after you?¡± His voice pitched up, breaking the monotone. His eyes must not have been emeralds after all, because they changed from green to blue.

    Ademir waved his arms in denial. ¡°No, no, no! I love it! I¡¯m honored. Pleased to meet you, Ademsi.¡±

    ¡°Ademsi 2000,¡± the puppet corrected.

    Ademir flicked a quick look of irritation towards Brin, before opening his arms wide. ¡°Ademsi 2000. Of course. Come here.¡±

    Ademsi¡¯s eyes switched to purple, and he wrapped Ademir in a hug. The [Crafter] looked kind of small in the golem¡¯s huge, muscr arms.

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Ademsi 2000,¡± said Brin, holding out his hand.

    Ademsi looked down at it. ¡°What is the significance of this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a handshake,¡± answered Ademir. ¡°You sp his hand, but not hard enough to break it.¡±

    ¡°I understand. eptable.¡± Ademsi¡¯s hand shot out like lightning, but despite the speed, his grip was gentle. Gentle, butpletely unyielding. Brin let go, and Ademsi followed suit. ¡°A handshake. A gesture of trust and restraint. For acquaintances?¡±

    ¡°Or even friends!¡± said Brin. ¡°Hey, I make ss and I heal from cuts really fast. What kind of cool stuff can you do?¡±

    ¡°Behold,¡± said Ademsi. His eyes moved from purple to yellow. He held out the same arm that he¡¯d used to shake Birn¡¯s hand, and it split in half. Brin hadn¡¯t even been able to see the seam before, but they angled on perfect little gears and swung to the side. Ademsi¡¯s hand flipped around, and was reced by a hand-sized saw de. The arm snapped back to ce, and the de buzzed as it began to spin.

    Ademsi casually lifted up a piece of scrap wood and tossed it in the air. He swiped straight through it with his buzzsaw, cutting it in half in the air.

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    ¡°Whoa,¡± Brin said.

    Ademsi switched his hand back, and then his chest opened up, revealing a wall with several tubes. He heard a soft whisper, and Ademsi closed his body again. It shut perfectly with a click, so smoothly that Brin couldn¡¯t see where it opened up anymore.

    ¡°Look behind you,¡± said Admemsi.

    A crossbow bolt was stuck several inches deep in the wall of Ademir¡¯s workshop.

    Brin pped. ¡°That was amazing!¡±

    He [Inspected] Ademsi.

    Ademsi 2000. Arge wooden doll. He is enchanted and designed with manybat abilities. He is Ademir¡¯s familiar.

    Alert! [Inspect] leveled up 22 -> 23

    ¡°Huh. I wonder why my [Inspect] didn¡¯t give me anything before. You¡¯re wide open now,¡± said Brin.

    Ademir answered, ¡°There are some rituals that make [Inspecting] familiars more difficult. It all falls apart if you figure it out, though.¡±

    Brin nodded. Thinking about it, this was the first time he¡¯d sat down and had a private conversation with a [Witch]. There¡¯d been too much going on since the ritual, so he hadn¡¯t gotten a chance yet, but considering who their enemy was, it was past time he asked some of his questions.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve been wondering. I met an undead who could think and talk. Once I freed him with a potion of Turn Undead, he remembered everything about his old life and¡­ honestly, he acted like a normal person. Since then, I¡¯ve been wondering¡­ worrying, really. Is that what they¡¯re all like? Are they all trapped souls? If so, that means that when you die, your soul sticks to your body forever, just waiting around in case someone decides to resurrect you?¡±

    Ademsi turned to his father, his eyes going from yellow to green. He sat down on a stool and held his chin in his hand, his posture brimming with curiosity. Ademir¡¯s eyes went from Ademsi to Brin, and then sighed. He sat as well, and gestured for Brin to take a seat on the workbench.

    ¡°Have you heard of the days of Nhamanshal? Have the [Bards] told you of how things were back then?¡±

    Brin shook his head.

    Ademir must¡¯ve had a little bit of bard in him, because he spoke with a soft and poetic cadence. ¡°Great and glorious were the days of Nhamanshal. Their roads stretched across continents and all could travel safely. One could journey from Steamshield to Favora in an afternoon, though neither of those cities existed in those days. The cities they had are forgotten to time, but we know that they must have been glorious.

    ¡°In those days, they didn¡¯t fear the dead the way we do now. [Necromancers] were favored for doing a necessary business, not feared and despised like today. They moved from city to city, town to town, and hunted ghosts and the restless dead, and brought them peace. A natural undead is ovee with hunger for human flesh, but [Necromancers] and [Witches] can quiet that appetite and bring them sanity. There is nothing in the [Necromancer] ss that says you must only raise the dead. In fact, it can be used in the opposite way, to put them down. [Necromancers] helped the spirits of the dead move on, so that none could chain them and use them for evil. All of the dead in their catbs that we call the Burrow Cities were attended to by a [Necromancer] and made safe.¡±

    ¡°But that didn¡¯t work,¡± Brin objected. ¡°Every time a [Witch] finds a Burrow City, it¡¯s a worldwide threat. They can still raise the dead.¡±

    ¡°They found a method of breathing undeath into those corpses, but it¡¯s an inferior creation. They do not have their original souls so they cannot remember their lives, and they cannot be made to think or speak. They must be controlled by a greater power.¡±

    ¡°Is that a weakness we can exploit?¡±

    ¡°I suppose,¡± Ademir scratched his chin idly. ¡°If you kill the officers, it will cause confusion and chaos in the ranks. But that¡¯s true in any army.¡±

    ¡°How long after someone dies until their soul departs?¡± asked Brin.

    Ademir shrugged. ¡°It varies. Usually a priestpletes the rites and then burns the corpse. If someone dies to treachery or violence where no-one can find them, their soul may stay bound for quite a while. They may even rise again as natural undead.¡±

    "Why is it that undead die from blood-loss, by the way? I saw Luiza slit an undead''s throat, and it bled and died."

    Ademir rubbed his chin. "I don''t know. I''ve never tinkered with the undead, you know. But seems like that shouldn''t be the case. The undead are energized by the Wyrd, not from the regr functions of their body. Maybe it would be better to think of these Burrow Kingdom corpses as necromantic constructs rather than the regr restless dead. Biological machines, that cease to function when broken. Or maybe I''m misinformed about how all undead are. Like I said, I''ve never tinkered with this."

    ¡°Hm. Next question. What¡¯s going on with Chamy? She got caught up in the curse. How is that going to affect the ritual you put on me?¡±

    ¡°Her ability to defend you has been nullified, but other than that it shouldn¡¯t matter. The ritual will split any curse aimed at you between all of us, but it won¡¯t make you bear our afflictions.¡±

    ¡°How does that work with her being in the temple? I thought [Witches] weren¡¯t allowed,¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Maybe she repented in Ellion¡¯s eyes when she switched sses? Chamy is <em>barely</em> a [Witch]. Otherwise, she should¡¯ve been able to shrug the curse offpletely. I¡¯m honestly surprised she still wasn¡¯t able to. [Enchantress] should¡¯ve lent her some ability to do so. It¡¯s possible that our spy tampered with whatever protections Chamy put on herself.¡±

    ¡°Hm. Next question. The giant undead. What are they?¡±

    Ademir nced around his shop nervously. "Sorry, it''s still a strange feeling to speak of these things so openly. You aren''t frightened of my ss?"

    "I had a ss that people called evil, but it didn''t make me bad, it just made me angry. I still remembered the difference between right and wrong. You''re a good guy, Ademir. You''ve always done right by me."

    Ademsi 2000 nodded firmly, and Ademir chuckled weakly. "Thanks. To your question, I''m not sure. There are ways to modify undead. One can make themrger, or shape their bones into weapons, or do all kinds of things. It could be that some [Witch] has deliberately grown them from regr undead, or it could be that they were taken from a race of giants. It''s said that the men of Ond are giants, and I''ve heard of a race of giants in Pollisia or west past the corruptednds."

    Brin knew for a fact that all of the men of Ond were not all giants, since that''s where Gn was from. But who knew what kinds of things might exist here? He couldn''t wait until this siege was over. He still wanted to get out there and see the world.

    It had felt fine to wait, back when things were peaceful and he had all the time in the world. But now that they were cut off, it felt more urgent. It was possible that they¡¯d all die here, and he¡¯d die without ever seeing more of this world than one crappy little town. For some reason, that bothered him more than the thought of dying did.

    Brin sighed and put his head in his hands. ¡°It¡¯s bad out there, Ademir. Every time we have to push the undead back and repair the gates, we lose more people we can¡¯t afford to lose. If the Prefit were still here, that would be one thing. He could charge into the undead and hold the ground practically by himself. Now that he¡¯s not here, we need casters to do that. But these aremon sses and nobody has the mana to keep that up. Zilly¡¯s dad won¡¯t have his mana back by the time the undead break the gates again tomorrow. We¡¯ll have to take that ground with steel and blood.¡±

    Ademir didn¡¯t answer, and Ademsi¡¯s eyes darkened a bit.

    ¡°We need incredible, explosive power. Someone who can break the undead line and push them back. Our casters need to save their magic for emergencies; we can¡¯t have them waste it all on the first push.¡±

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you talked to Bruna or Clementine then? Poco and Ferir would be perfect for that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to them next. But we need a person to lead the charge,¡± said Brin.

    Ademsi stood abruptly. ¡°I will go.¡±

    Ademir held up a hand as if to try to stop him, then let it fall.

    ¡°Talk to my brother familiars. I would wee their aid. But regardless of their answer, I will fight. This is the town my father loves. I will protect it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a great man, Ademsi 2000. Better than we deserve,¡± Brin said.

    ¡°I know,¡± the war puppet said solemnly.

    ¡°Bring him home safe,¡± said Ademir.

    ¡°I will,¡± said Brin.

    He made three more stops that night. Bruna agreed to send Poco. Clementine agreed to send Ferir, and even talked about getting Odilon to lend some of his dogs to the war. To his surprise, Balbi agreed to send her familiar, whose name was Comofome. Comofome was a sentient suit of clothes, but he was extremely flexible and could resize himself to fit Ademsi¡¯s prodigious frame. When the battle puppet went to war tomorrow, he¡¯d be <em>wearing </em>another familiar.

    The next time the undead broke through the gates, they¡¯d have some real power to contend with.

 Book 2. Chapter 40

    Book 2. Chapter 40

    Balbi the [Laundress]-[Witch] had a caustic personality and made no attempt to hide the fact that she didnt like Brin at all, but even so she was surprisingly quick to see reason. As a member of the town Council, she was the natural choice to talk to Kevim about their ns.

    First thing in the morning, she approached him with the idea to have the familiars defend the gates, but he refused. Without being able to exin that they were familiars, it was impossible to get him to believe that a pack of dogs, a bull, and someone you dont know were going to be able to pull it off.

    So, without the aid of the familiars, the town mounted their defense. When the undead broke through the first gate, Zillys dad sted them with fire. Rather than annihting the charging foes likest time, he and the other Lantern-men only thinned them out, and then it was up to a group of townsfolk holding towershields and wearing the towns best remaining armor to push them back.

    It was a slow, methodical fight. Everyone that could hold a spear and a shield joined the relief force, choosing to spread the burden to as many people as possible rather than continue to only risk their strongest fighters. The defenders only made a small ring around the gate as it was being defended, and no one was made to stay out the front line very long. Two minutes, and then they were swapped out, whether they were injured or not.

    Zilly was on the front line. Despite her young age, shed been leveling a lot, and the fact that she was a so-called [Warrior] made Kevim agree to put her with Hammons Bogs best. Brin was relieved to see that she was also the very first person to leave the front lines. She came through the gates looking dazed. Her steel helm was dented, and she had a line of red running down her face.

    The nurses tended to her, and luckily it must not have been that bad, because she soon took her ce at the back of the line with the reinforcements.

    Davi was at his ce near the gates, ying his music. The tune spoke of grit and resolve. It was a song about the long war, about endurance, about fighting to thest. It was depressing, and yet somehow energizing, because it felt real. It was honest.

    Brin had more than three hundred fighters in front of him in line when he got to the gate, but it still moved much too quickly. The sounds of fighting grew louder, orders being shouted, screams of rage, shouts of pain, and the ringing of steel against steel.

    As he got closer to the front, he saw that the mood of the undead had shifted as well. They were adjusting to the quick swap-out times of the defenders by fighting like berserkers, trying to break them before they could be swapped out.

    Few on either side fell, but there was a decided defensiveness to the towns side, where it was apparent that most had given up on killing any undead and were concentrating on simply staying alive.

    As he got closer, the sounds of war got louder, the stink of fear and blood got more intense, even the temperature seemed to rise.

    Then he was at the front.

    An undead with a ck two-handed club was in his face with no time to prepare. It battered at him wildly, desperate to take him down as quickly as it could. The first blow against his shield numbed his arm, and every one after that threatened to wrest it out of his hands.

    He called a sheet of ss onto the surface of his shield, burning his Mana to make it appear quickly. When the club struck it again, and wrapped the ss around it and made it stick to his shield. He pulled back, and the undead lurched forward unsteadily. Brin stabbed with his spear, piercing the undeads neck.

    Then his hand was ringing as the spear was smacked away. The undead to the right of the club-wielder had intervened. It shed out with a rapier, tracing a long cut along the arm piece of his leather armor before the defender to Brins right got a shield between them.

    The undead with the club stumbled back, and a new soldier reced it, this one with a jagged ck sword.

    Brin braced the shield with both hands, defending against the onught. They didnt have to kill the undead, they just had to hold them back long enough for the gates to get repaired. Long enough to survive another day.

    Every strike from the undead bruised his arms, even through the shield, but he held on. He pushed back when the undead tried to break through, bashed the shield forward when the undead tried to take advantage of hisck of weapon to harm his neighbor, but most of all, he held on. He hung on to the shield like a life raft, and it protected him from the swings of cksteel weapons that battered him like a storm.

    Then, he felt a tug at his shoulder. He was done.

    He stepped back, and another defender took his ce.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [25] Greater experience rewarded to thebatant who dealt the killing blow.

    A [Hunter] mustve finished the club guy off. That was a lucky break, although he didnt get a level off of it. He was due for one soon, though.

    He pushed through the gates, crowded with the constant movement in and out, and then made his way to the back of the line. When he got there, a woman wearing a white armband, to designate that she was working with the wounded, pulled him out of line.

    I can still fight! Brin protested.

    She pointed at his arm. There was a bit of blood running out of the armor, but only a little. He hadnt even noticed that the cut had gone through.

    He patiently removed his armor and let her bandage the cut, even though by the time she was done it had already stopped bleeding. It really was just a scratch. Beneficial, really, because it activated [Battle Fury]. By the time that was done and his armor was back on, the battle for the gate was over. The repairs were finished, and they had another day, at least on this gate.

    Before anyone could leave, Brin pushed through the crowd and found Zillys dad. He pressed one of Hoggs mana potions into his hands.

    Zillys dad wasted no time. He uncorked it and down the whole thing without hesitation. He wiped his mouth and said, Its not enough. Even with alchemical help, theres only so much mana a person can go through in one day. I have to save some for thest gate.

    Hopefully well have some extra help for the next gate. Save your strength, as much as you can, said Brin.

    He nodded distractedly, and soon another Lantern-man pulled him away, speaking urgently.

    Brin let the crowd push him. They were all going to the same ce anyway. They all walked together to the next gate, only to find that a herd of dogs were already there. Hed say a pack of dogs, but there were thirty of them. Odilons total supply.

    The biggest was Lup, a hound dog the size of a horse, but the most dangerous one was obviously Ferir. Brin had never seen Clementines familiar before, but he needed no introduction. It was a pitch-ck wolfhound with a wicked snarl, and only about a foot shorter than Lup.

    Poco the bull stood in that group, too. The dogs gave him a wide berth, but he didnt even nce at them. He sat overlooking the battlefield like a general, unimpressed with everything he saw. Brin didnt see Ademsi 2000 anywhere.

    The hacking at the gates continued, as more and more defenders arrived, puzzled at the pack of dogs. Finally, the first ax-de appeared, breaking through the wood.

    That was enough for Poco. He charged.

    Hang back! Make him hang back, Alvir! shouted Kevim, but Poco would not be deterred.

    He hit the gate with a crash, and moved straight through as if it were made of paper. The bull charged straight through the mob of undead whod been pressed against the gates, tearing a furrow through their lines with his horns, spraying sickly undead blood into the air.

    Sadly, the undead werent the mindless zombies that would make all this easier. Once he broke through the front lines, the undead in his path scattered. They angled around him, and spear-wielders darted in to stab his nks. Pocos hide ran with his own blood, mixed with the blood of the undead, but he didnt slow. If anything, it just made him angrier.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    The vigers pulled away the rest of the broken gate. Odilon already had tears in his eyes, but his hand didnt tremble as he raised two fingers up to his lips and gave a whistle. The pack of dogs charged.

    They moved in a group and rushed towards Poco, guarding his nks. To Brins surprise, the dogs worked with a coordinated strategy as well. They worked in tandem; one dog would bite a shield or a weapon, pulling it away so that the next one could get the throat. The undead lines stepped back, holding up their shields while they adjusted to this new threat.

    Lets get this done! Defenders, get out there and form a line! Builders, get ready! Kevim shouted.

    The first line of fighters poured through the gates into the space that Poco and the dogs had opened up.

    Just then, he saw a tall figure, every inch of skin covered with cloth. Ademsi 2000. The puppet-man didnt even bother with the gate. He loped to the wall, then with a running start, leapt over it.

    Brin heard the screech of metal and the sound of whirring buzz-saws, but he couldnt see what was going on. He cursed his position in the relief force. If he was on the front line, he could see Ademsi go all out.

    The line wasnt moving very fast at all. Whatever was happening on the front, things were going well for the defenders.

    Brin left the reinforcement group and ran over to climb up a tower. There were three [Hunters] there, letting loose a constant stream of arrows. None of them nced back at him.

    From up here, he could see everything. With a jolt to his heart, he realized that half of Odilons dogs were dead or dying. Poco was still going strong with Lup on one side and Ferir to the other, charging through the undead lines with impunity. All the other surviving dogs had already moved back behind the defenders, and there were far too few of them.

    Brin was surprised to feel his eyes water a bit. He shouldnt care more about the lives of dogs than he did people, but for some reason his emotions didnt always do what he thought they should.

    On the other side, Ademsi 2000 fought. He fought like a tavern brawler, with wild punches and kicks, but his huge size and overpowering strength made him unstoppable. A wide haymaker shattered a cksteel shield, and then a snap front kick sent its owner flying into the air in two pieces. He cocked back, and then spun one arm around like a sideways helicopter, knocking down four undead who tried to jump him at once.

    He pressed his arms together, and they joined somehow. Then his hands disappeared, and a st of fire rocketed out of his arms. Ademsi scorched dozens of undead, sending them screaming in all directions. Brin had seen thousands of undead soldiers die, but nothing made them run and scream like fire.

    An armored undead with a giant cksteel axe snuck up behind Ademsi. Ademsi didnt notice him, and couldnt hear Brins shouts of warning. The undead elite swung the ax down, and embedded it deep into the back of Ademsi''s head.

    Brins breath hitched, until he saw Ademsi reach back, grab the undead elite by the neck, and then use it to pummel the other soldiers around him. Only when the elites head fell off, did Ademsi reach back and pull the greataxe off his head. He made as if to drop it, then held it up, examining it a bit. He shifted his grip to the handle, and then gave it a few swings. Seemingly satisfied, he charged the undead lines with his new weapon.

    On the other side of the field, Ferir gave a loud bark, and Brin saw what he was looking at. Simao had taken to the field, still wearing his gleaming armor and carrying a warhammer. He sauntered through the lines of undead, who made way for him.

    Poco was already charging. A few undead tried to slow him with spears nted in the ground, but the beast acted like he knew only one direction. He casually swiped the spears out of the way with his horns and trampled them, pressing forwards. A few roguish undead with knives angled to take him in the sides, but the dogs took them down before they could get in position.

    Then Poco met Simao. There was a loud crack as horn met hammer, and Pocos horn shattered. Without stopping, he rammed Simao with the horn on the other side, flinging the armored undead back.

    Simao got to his feet, then saw his warhammer on the ground. Poco stepped on it and snorted. The armored undead turned and retreated into the forest.

    Hey! You cant be up here! One of the [Hunters] had noticed Brin, so he went back down before he could get in trouble.

    Back with the reinforcements, Brin could do nothing but wait. Only a few defenders were injured, and as far as he could tell, there werent any deaths. Not unless you counted Odilons poor dogs, which he definitely did.

    The mood of the backup force lifted as they saw how slow the line was moving and how few people needed to be relieved. This was a rout. Even the first day hadnt gone this well. The lines buzzed with gossip, as well. Word traveled fast in this town, and it traveled faster when so many people were in one ce. Before long, Brin could hear the men around him talking about Hammons Bogs Secret Defender. The [Masked Warrior]. They wondered who he could be, since no one in town was that tall. To his relief, he didnt hear any words about [Witches].

    It seemed like a ring omission, honestly. He didnt know if people simply werent thinking about it, or if everyone was so relieved to have more power on their side that they just werent bringing it up. Any harbor in a storm.

    The gate was reced quickly, and soon the defenders marched back through with heads held high. The workers closed the gates, and the gathered defenders let out a cheer. Davi yed a triumphant song again, and this time, it didnt jar with the towns mood at all. There were smiles everywhere. The one exception was Odilon, who tried to hug all his surviving dogs at once while sobbing. Lup had made it with only a few scratches, and Ferir hade out fine as well. He panted, and his tail wagged happily, though he was dripping with the blood of the undead.

    Bruna was already tending to Pocos many gashes and scrapes. Her lip trembled as she sewed up his cuts, patting him as if trying to reassure him. Poco bore it with patient amusement,pletely unbothered by his many injuries, and even the loss of one horn.

    He saw a sh of movement; something wasing over the walls. He quickly recognized Ademsi 2000, leaping back over the walls, still holding the cksteel greataxe. Whatever enchantments held the undead back from easily scaling the walls seemed to have no effect on Ademsi. He slowed unnaturally before hitting the ground, and thennded softly. Was that possibly the work of Balbis familiar, the suit of clothing?

    Whatever the case, Ademsi didnt stick around. The town cheered at the sight of him, and called for him to stop and talk. He raised one hand awkwardly in hello, but didnt stop. He ran easily on his long legs, further into the town and out of sight.

    Brin smiled as he listened to the excited chatter of the defenders. The Lantern-men had been preserving their mana for three fights. Now that one had been taken care of, theyd be able to go all-out on thest gate, so it was likely thest battle would be the easiest of all.

    Suddenly, the crowd to Brins left got quiet. Many of the defenders were already moving towards thest gate, but the quiet wasing from the wrong direction. There were too many bodies to see what was going on, so he pushed his way through until he came face to face with the source of the disturbance.

    Tawna was there, wearing a dress that practically thrummed with power, and a long cape that was burning at the edges.

    We must talk. My Oath requires me to inform you before I take any action that could alter your fate, and now that the fate-catchers have been destroyed, your fate has been revealed in to me. Come, this is a discussion best had in your cer. She whirled around and marched in the direction of Brins home, not even bothering to see if he would follow.

    Of course, he did.

 Book 2. Chapter 41

    Book 2. Chapter 41

    The old familiar cer lookedpletely different illuminated by Tawnas burning cape. On the way over, hed followed behind her and gotten a good look at it. It was sewn with the same constetion pattern that her fate-catchers had used, but rather than embroidered on, it had been sewn into the pattern itself. The me burned hot but slowly, slowly whittling away the edges of her cape, and ashes dripped onto the floor where she stood.

    The rest of her dress was no less impressive. She wore a tight maxi dress, split at the sides, with form-fitting blue trousers underneath and surprisingly in traveling boots. The fabric was purple highlighted in blue, and faintly reflective, almost liketex. The entire outfit thrummed with power, and his value sense told him that it would all cost nearly as much as a Potion of Healing.

    The overall effect had a quality about it that sort of reminded him of something. It felt almost nostalgic, although he couldnt remember quite from where.

    The first thing that you should know is that I dont see everything. I am as a woman in a forest fire. What vision I have is blocked by smoke. Im choking and see death in every direction. The best I can do is feel the heat of the mes and choose the path through the smallest fires, to the ces that will burn my flesh the least.

    She dered it all with apleteck of emotion, and something about that got his back up. This wasnt the time for it, but he couldnt help it. He said the words that had long beening. If thats true, if youre so blind, then why are you so confident in your cruelty? You treated me worse than I deserve, worse than you needed to. Some of the things you did, sure, maybe they were necessary. But the way you acted, what was the point of all that?

    Its because I see little that I have tomit fully to my actions. When the path to sess is so narrow, and my grasp on it so inurate, how could I risk doing anything less than my utmost? And truth be told, I never liked you. Youre hiding something. Something only you and Hogg know. When I sew you into cloth, your outline isrger than the shape of your body. You are strange, and not what you appear to be. What thirteen-year-old talks like this? Answer me that, if you can.

    Brin clenched his teeth. This was going nowhere. What did youe here to tell me?

    I dont know what wille, but I can feel the shape of the enemy. The foe, the spy, she is out there, directing the army. Do you know who she is?

    I have a hunch, said Brin.

    When she returns, to spy on the town, to take our measure, to bask in her inevitable victory, you must y her.

    I will, Brin promised.

    Next, you must do everything in your power to ensure that the town holds out. Soon the undead will spend less time attacking the gates and more time attempting to tear down the walls. Repairing the ces they break through will not be drastically different than what youve been doing with the gates. Defend the workers. Let me be clear: You can win this. There is an amount of time that is enough. I dont know how long. Three days at least. A week at most. I dont know by what method salvation wille, but it wille. You can survive this. The [Witch] will ask for the towns surrender. Deny her. If you have Kevims ear, convince him that he must not surrender. I have already spoken to those in the Council who still listen to me.

    What will you be doing?

    I swore to reveal to you what I see in your fate, not my own. And yet, in the spirit of cooperation, I suppose I can tell you that I will fight. I will defend thest gate alone to give the Lantern-men rest. Simao is a danger; he grows stronger in undeath by the day. If he fights tomorrow, many will die. I will destroy him if I can. I will drive him away if not.

    Is that cape protecting you from the curse? Why not give it to someone else, like Hogg? asked Brin.

    It is, and I would, if Hogg were able to use it. One must be a [Weaver]. I believe you are familiar with an artifact with simr conditions. Her eyes flicked down to the armband he wore. How did she even know about that?

    What else can you tell me? asked Brin.

    Care for your life. If you die, we all die with you, I know not why. If you require a sanctuary, seek the snake pond. The undead leave that area alone for obvious reasons. And her eyes flicked to the side, and for a brief instant, he saw hesitation on her features. I should go. They will break through thest gate soon, and if I am not there many will suffer.

    What were you just about to say? Brin demanded.

    Ive told you enough. More than I needed to.

    The problem with Oaths that are vague, is that you dont know exactly what might break it. Someone once told me that if your sight is inurate, you cant risk doing any less than your utmost, or something like that.

    Tawna scowled. This is why I find you unbearable. Very well, have it your own way. You will lose someone. Happy? Someone who cares for you a great deal will certainly die. There you have it.

    Brins mouth went dry. Hogg?

    Perhaps. Perhaps not. It need not be only one person. There, now Ive done my utmost. I have seen nothing else in your fate.

    She swirled her ming cape and stomped out of the cer before he could respond. He followed her dumbly. For some reason he couldnt keep up with her steps, she seemed to glide at the speed of a horse. It didnt matter; he knew where she was going.

    All the way over, Brin found himself counting the names of people who cared about him a great deal. Hogg. Marksi. Bruna? All of Davis family might count. Davi. Zilly, probably. Myra. Perris. Chamy, and Ademir. Why was this list so long? Dared he hope that he had a secret admirer that he didnt know? That was the problem with people that cared about him. He couldnt help but care about them in return.

    When Brin got to the gate, the undead were already visible through the broken gate, and already tearing down thest pieces. A line of armored defenders stood ready to push them back. Davi struck up a song on his lute that felt like grim determination. Tawna tapped his shoulder and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Her tight dress and close proximity made him blush, but he clenched his jaw, averted his eyes, and began to y whatever shed just requested.

    It was a boisterous, triumphant song. Tawna sashayed past the line of sturdy defenders, then stopped in front of them and put a hand on her hip. She examined the nails on her other hand, acting like she was bored.

    The undead had broken enough of the gate that a few could get through, but they hung back, waiting until they had it all down so as many as possible could charge at once. Tawna tapped her foot impatiently, giving no sign of fear at all.

    Suddenly, the music swelled, Tawna took a step forward, her burning cape pping behind her. All at once, Brin remembered what her outfit reminded him of.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    It looked exactly like a superhero costume.

    She hit the undead like a rock against the tide, exploding into their ranks, flinging them in every direction. It looked like a bomb had gone off, and Brins brain struggled to keep up with what he was seeing. Had Tawna somehow learned to destroy things with her mind? Then he realized; it was the clothes. Their tight ck clothes betrayed them.

    As Tawna met their lines, she picked up the nearest of them by the hem of their shirts and flung them in the air. The clothes on many swirled and tightened, and then literally twisted their heads clean off. The momentum of the undead halted abruptly, and then reversed. The enemy fled.

    Defenders rushed in to take advantage of the clear gate, and workers jumped into action behind them.

    Past them all, Tawna leapt. She flew, gliding in the air, carried by her own clothes, and then mmed down into the bulk of the retreating arm. A wave of threads burst out of her, thinning her dress. Though each of the threads were so small as to be transparent from this distance, all of them together formed a chaotic cloud.

    Tawnas threads stopped weapons in their path and slid around armor like snakes, then cut like razors, strong as steel. The undead fell to the ground in pieces, but their clothes writhed and churned, joining Tawnas magic.

    She moved her hands inplicated gestures as she worked, muttering in the Language. As she worked death, she spun slowly in ce to give herself a view of the battlefield, though her threads lost none of their dexterity even when they were behind her. Her Mental Control must be ridiculous. Too bad Mental Control didnt mean Attitude Control or Tawna would actually be a decent person.

    An armored undead managed to burst through her weaves, and she jumped into a flying roundhouse kick that shattered its breastte and turned its blood to mist.

    She stopped, but only because all of the undead near her were destroyed. She turned back towards the city, and spoke. Her voice carried much further than it had any right to. Come, my daughter. Come and witness me. Witness the pinnacle of your ss.

    Brin spotted Myra in the crowd. She gulped, but stepped forward. Brin fell in next to her, and together they walked through the gate to stand right behind the front line of defenders, who as of yet, hadnt seen any action during this battle. All the undead were focused on Tawna.

    Tawna watched her daughter approach, and satisfied, turned her attention back to the undead.

    At first, Brin thought that there might not be that much left to see. The first charge had been decimated, and the undead remaining were staying far away, out of Tawnas range.

    Then he saw movement in the forest. A white figure carrying a cksteel sword. A naked undead. More followed, a whole unit of them. Fifty naked undead appeared from the treeline.

    Oh gross, said Brin, feeling his face scrunch up involuntarily. He looked over to Myra, whod reflexively pinched her eyes shut. She visibly had to force them over, to do what her mother had said and witness.

    Before the undead reached, a group of undead archers levied their bows and took aim. Brin felt a jolt of rm, thinking they must be outside Tawnas range, but she waved a hand and all their bowstrings snapped.

    Then the naked undead reached her. Spears of threads, woven together on the fly into spikes, erupted from the ground, skewering unarmored flesh. pping cloth, made from the clothes of other undead,nded on the charging soldiers and bore them to the ground. Threadsshed out, cutting down the rest.

    Brin heard a roar from the forest, and then saw light. Another group of undead appeared. These ones were naked as well, and in addition to their cksteel weapons, they bore torches.

    Tawna sent a few tentativeshes against them, but she flinched as the torches burned any that got close.

    Encouraged, the undead charged. From behind them, the undead Simao stepped forward, his armor sparkling in the fading daylight. Hes reced his enchanted warhammer with a standard cksteel one, but looked no less dangerous.

    Tawna let her waves of thread fall, and pulled a new thread out of a patch on her belt. It was golden, only barely visible as golden glints here and there. She whipped it at the undead, and it took off a torch-bearing arm. Her next strike was blocked by a sword, and the next. Now that the undead only had one thread to watch out for, they were able to stop it.

    Tawna started to slowly step back, casting her eyes around, then she saw what she was looking for. Thergest weapon on the battlefield was a huge warhammer that a giant had left on the field two days before when Prefit Elmon struck it down. Tawna picked it up with the golden thread, and then whipped it around, striking one of the undead and smashing it t.

    The undead charged in a sprint, no doubt trying to overwhelm her. Despite its overwhelming power, she only had one weapon.

    Suddenly, more weapons rose into the air. These ones Tawna flung at the oing undead, releasing them before her ordinary threads could get close enough to the torches to burn.

    Meanwhile, her giant warhammer went to work with impunity, smashing the undead to pieces and breaking apart their formation. The advancing group looked like it would fall before it got to her.

    Then Simao struck, and his ordinary cksteel warhammer shattered Tawnas giant one. She whipped the bar back and flung it at him again, but Simao pped it down with contemptuous ease.

    An arrow hit Tawna. It struck the dress, not prating it, but the distraction cost her precious seconds. Three of the naked undead reached her at one. She broke one in half with a quick front kick and pped the second hard enough to pull his rotting face off his skull, but the third stabbed her square on with a spear. She fell, revealing a speartip slick with blood.

    Myra gasped, and Brin grabbed her arm to stop her from running into the fight.

    Tawna quickly leapt to her feet and punched. Her shirtsleeve followed the movement and stabbed a hole in the undeads chest.

    Then she ran back, arms over her face to block more iing arrows. The undead archers whose strings shed snapped had quickly restrung their bows. They looked strange, the pull was too tight. Could they have restrung with metal cords?

    Tawna didnt snap them again. Instead, she flung the weapons of the fallen in their direction. The archers broke and ran for cover.

    That left the naked undead wide open, and there were still at least twenty in their group, along with Simao.

    Maybe in life, Simao wouldve been honorable and faced Tawna in singlebat. In death, he had no honor, and paused for a moment so that all twenty could circle her and attack at once.

    Tawna used that brief moment to pull a mana potion from her belt and chug it down. She dropped it, swaying a bit.

    Right as the undead reached her, she mmed both arms into the ground. Fabric and thread burst around her like a volcano. Every bit of thread shed stolen from the undead, and much of the thread of her dress, all of it mmed into the undead. No precision or mastery here, just overwhelming power. It pulled and twisted, snapping bones and breaking monsters in pieces. Simao swiped left and right, struggling against the onught. Tthread around his throat pulled him backwards and for a moment it looked like he would fall, but then he dropped his hammer and tore it away. He retreated, breaking free.

    He was the only one that did. The rest of the undead sumbed, and the archers retreated into the forest. Tawna sank to her knees, panting. For a moment, it looked like Simao was considering returning to finish her off. He shrugged, brushed off his shoulder pauldron, then turned and retreated into the forest.

    The town let up a mighty cheer. Davis song reached a fever pitch, and despite himself, Brin got caught up in the mood as well. This was undeniably a good thing. Tawna might honestly be the strongest person in town after Hogg, and she was still in the fight. After today, the undead would adjust their tactics to counter her, but even so they couldn''t shut her downpletely.

    Hammons Bog really had a chance here.

    Myra screamed.

    Brin saw her on the ground, moving towards the forest. She grabbed at the ground, scraping the mud with her fingernails, but nothing could stop her from flying away from the town. Not, not flying. Brin saw a glint of gold around her ankle. She was being dragged.

    Zilly rushed past, heading towards Myra in a full sprint, but a [Farmer] on the front line had already turned around and saw hering. He dropped his spear and shield and grabbed her out of the air with steely arms. She struggled, but the man didn''t loosen his grip. It''s already over. Look!

    The gate repair was finished, and the defenders were already starting to move back inside.

    But Myra! Zilly shouted, still struggling.

    Tawna gave up the pretense, and started to pull with her arms as well as her magic. She pulled the tiny golden thread arm over arm, dragging Myra towards her at full speed.

    Myras scream died down to confused gasping as she saw that her destination was her mother. She opened her mouth to ask a question, and a gag quickly flew into it. Tawna spun her around and around wrapping her up. Soon, Myra waspletely cocooned. Tawna put her daughter on her back, and then ran.

    Whats she doing? he heard someone ask.

    Realization hit Brin like a brain freeze hangover. He clutched his head against the bright, painful anger. Aw, damnit! She took Myra and split! Shes leaving us all to die!

 Book 2. Chapter 42

    Book 2. Chapter 42

    After the defenders dispersed, Brin followed Kevim to try to get a word with him. He hung back while Kevim conferred with what was left of the towns leadership, following along behind quietly. Kevim stayed between others the entire walk, though,then headed towards the Prefits house. The Prefits front room was a big conference room where the Council conducted their business. Apparently it was still in use even though the man himself was indisposed.

    Brin called out before they went inside, Kevim, sir, can I?

    Not now. Kevim waved him off, and stepped inside. The leadership, Balbi included, followed him inside, but a firm nce at the head [Farmer] made it clear that Brin wasnt wee to follow.

    Brin tried to listen outside the door to get an idea of what they were talking about, but the ce mustve been enchanted against eavesdroppers. He tried using [Call Sound through ss] on the windows, not to make any particr sound, but more to see if he could figure out how to listen through the Skill, but the window shed red. Some kind of magical protection? Brin took off before he could get in trouble.

    Well, that was a bust, but the chances that Kevim would take him seriously even if he could get his attention were slim to none. Who would he listen to? A fellow [Hunter], maybe? Brin decided to track down Luiza, the [Gatherer] turned [Huntress].

    After asking around, he found that shed been positioned near the south gate. She was one of the [Hunters] who patrolled the walls, making sure that nothing climbed over, and taking notes of spots where the undead were trying to hack through. Pretty soon, the gate defense wouldnt be the only battles of the day. The town would have to do the same thing to repair sections of the wall as the undead started to break through.

    When he found her, she didnt stop her quick pace, so he fell in beside her. Hey, Luiza, hows it going? Hows that new and improved [Trickshot] treating you?

    Actually, he could just [Inspect]. When he did, he realized that shed already gone up to level 32 and gotten a new Skill, [Effortless Pull]. It decreased the magic costs of all her offensive bow Skills. Right now she only had one of those, but now she could use it much more often. The perfect choice for leveling during a siege.

    Never mind, looks like youre doing great! Brin said before she could answer.

    Its weird, to level so fast after being stagnant for so long, Luiza admitted. Her eyes never stopped scanning. Up and down the walls on one side, and then peering through the alleyways on the other. Do you mind? Im actually in the middle of a shift.

    I dont mind at all, said Brin, pretending that he hadnt noticed the dismissal. I was wondering, does Kevim listen to you?

    I guess he probably would if I had anything to say. He always has time for fellow [Hunters].

    Could you talk to him for me? Before she ran away, Tawna came and talked to me. She said that we can win this, we just need to hold out for a little longer. She wanted me to make sure that Kevim knows that we shouldnt surrender. Although, honestly I wonder why she didnt talk to him herself.

    Luiza snorted. Oh, I can answer that one. Kevim hates Tawna. Underhanded people like her drive him crazy. You probably didnt know this, but when Tawna was on trial for what she did to you, Kevim was the one who tried to push for her to be executed.

    Balbi is going to try to talk to him, too, but I dont think hell listen to her.

    Luizaughed, then remembered she was on patrol and moved her eyes twice as fast along the walls, as if some infiltrator was waiting for her momentary distraction. You got that right. Nobody likes Balbi. Shes good withundry, though. I identally left some sugar candy in a pocket in my blouse one time, but when I got them back from her it was totally fine. The shirt was clean, too.

    So can you talk to him? asked Brin.

    Sure. I bet I can convince him, as long as I dont mention Tawna or Balbi or you.

    Whats wrong with me?

    Uh I really need to keep moving. Luiza zipped forward, and Brin let her go. As long as shed talk to Kevim, that would be enough.

    He walked by Perris shop next, but found the door locked. He heard banginging from inside, so he peered in the window. Perris was at his counter, but hed set it up as a work table. He was striking a pile of leather with a wooden mallet. The leather didnt look the right shape for a person. Brin had to watch for a few minutes before he understood. It was the right shape for a bull, or a dog. Poco, Ferir and Lup were some of their strongest fighters now, but they needed armor, and Perris was the best person to make it, especially now that the town didnt have a [Smith]. Ademir might be able to help with armor, but something told Brin that Ademir was already busy.

    He went to Ademirs shop next. The door was locked there, too, but when he knocked and called out, Ademir opened the door for him.

    Ademsi 2000y sprawled out on a table. He was riddled with scars. The wood was splintered in ces, and the perfect artwork of his massive frame had been vandalized with rents and gashed. Hed seemed so indomitable during the battle that it was hard for Brin to believe what he was seeing. If Ademsi were a person, he might already be dead. No, he <em>would</em> be dead, judging by the deep gash in the back of his head.

    H-how are you feeling Ademsi 2000? he asked.

    I feel grand, the wooden man said with a smile. Today was a triumph!

    Ademir scowled. You couldve died.

    I saw no foes there that could truly test me. I stalked through them like a wolf among sheep, and there were none to interfere, said Ademsi. Brin couldnt help but smile at the matter-of-fact tone. Ademsi wasnt intentionally bragging, he was stating the absolute truth.

    How are the repairsing?

    Ademir set down a chisel and hammer hed been working with and sighed. Hes in no condition to be walking around like this, and I dont think Ill have him ready to go by morning, not at this rate. It would be one thing if I could have a [Woodsman] regrow his broken pieces, the way you would if you needed to fix a fence, but theres no one I trust enough to bring in just yet. Carving out new pieces to rece them would take too long, especially if I want to do them up special and strong like the ones he has now. Patching them is an option, but my levels in [Tinker] just arent enough to do this as fast as Id like. I might have to use cement or glue at this point, but thosee with their own problems.

    What about ss? asked Brin.

    I got some cooking just in case I decide to go that way, but itll burn him when I apply it. I could make the pieces ahead of time and then cool them down, but thatll take too long.

    Let me try.

    Ademir nodded slowly, and Brin noticed the dark bags under Ademirs eyes. He mustve been pullingte nightstely.

    Brin scooped up some of the ss hed been working with. Broken bottles, odd shapes, failed experiments and the like. He brought it over to Ademsi and began to work.

    He didnt overload [Shape ss] this time like he had on the battlefield. That was fine for emergencies, but if he went slower it saved a lot of mana. He used a chip from a broken bottle, andy it over one of the smaller cuts on Ademsis arm.

    Slowly, gently, he pushed mana into the ss, willing it to melt. Without growing any hotter, it started to trickle down into the cut, filling it up. Then he separated it along the surface and pulled off the excess. Running a finger along Ademsis arm, it felt perfectly smooth.

    The whole process had taken about five minutes, but barely used any mana at all. This could work. He could use ss to bind the splintered and severed wood in ce, without removing the magic of any enchantments that Ademir had put in ce.

    When he was done, Ademir had Ademsi stand up and flex the broken arm. The ss held, regardless of how quickly Ademsi twisted and turned. It looked kind of neat, somehow giving a small degree of realism to the overly-perfect puppet man.

    Brin went to the biggest injury next, the one of the back of the head. Ademir helped by squeezing Ademsis head so that there was only a tiny line for Brin to pour his ss into. Slowly but surely, Brin moved his ss to fill it in and bind it together. When he was done, Ademir was reluctant to move his hands away, not really believing it was really stuck, but Brins ss wasnt like glue. When he stopped putting his magic into it, it was done moving.

    He went from injury to injury, filling them in with ss. The only ones he didnt get were the ones along the joints, or those touching the internal clockwork. One hammer blow to the elbow had broken it straight open, revealing an intenselyplex array of gears and mechanical joints. Brin shuddered at the sheer genius it would take to create an entire <em>person</em> out of machinery like that.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Hed sort of had the idea that Ademsis movement and fluidity could all be exined by the magic from the familiar bond, but obviously there was more to it. If he had to guess, the puppet wouldve been able to move just as well without it. All Ademir had been missing was the sentience to direct it.

    Alert! [Shape ss] leveled up! 20 -> 21

    My mana is fine. I can keep going, Brin said as they were wrapping up.

    No, I dont want him to lose any mobility. Ill finish thesest sections off by myself, said Ademir.

    Do you think hell be ready to fight tomorrow?

    Truth be told, Id like another day, but I dont think well have that luxury, said Ademir.

    I dont think we will. Today went well, but the familiars are hurt and tired, Odilons dogs are all but gone, and now Tawna ran away. One way or another, tomorrow is going to be a difficult day.

    It surely will be, Ademir agreed.

    Oh, onest thing. If Ademsi is out there, will you be safe in here? What if something tries to sneak in?

    To his surprise, Ademsi barked out a monotone, mechanicalugh. Father is not unprotected here.

    But

    We will leave it there. Thank you for your assistance, Brin the Mistaken. Ademsis tone brooked no argument.

    When Brin left the shop, it was already dark. He knew he should head home and get some sleep, but he had onest stop on his mind.

    Tawnas warning about losing someone who cared for him had been reying nonstop in his mind. There had to be something he could do about it, right? Hogg had said that the [Weavers] soothsaying wasnt foolproof, that she was just seeing possibilities. Why had she said someone would certainly die, when she had to know that nothing to do with fate was certain? Unless she nned on killing someone? He could try to unravel Tawnas snarled, knotted up mind all he wanted and hed nevere any closer to untangling it.

    Besides, it didnt matter. If she thought someone who cared for him would die, then the people that cared for him needed to be warned. He headed towards the Pimentals house next. Of all people, Bruna would understand the warning, and shed be in the best position to do something about it.

    On his way, he saw Davi moving the other way. He raised a hand to call out to his friend, but then let it drop. Davis shoulders were hunched, his eyes darted every which way, and he kept turning his head around to see if anyone was following. When he noticed Brining, he immediately stepped over to lean against a house and look down so that his wide-brimmed hat would block his face. As if his huge frame or the lute in his hands wouldnt give him away. Davi obviously didnt want Brin to know what he was doing, and he definitely didnt want him to follow him.

    Brin had no choice but to follow him.

    It was a little nostalgic, honestly, but at least Davi was a <em>little</em> better at acting casual. After Brin pretended to continue on his way and then ducked behind a corner to watch, Davi waited a full minute before moving on his way again. He didnt fix his guilty-looking posture, but he yed something on his lute that felt like <em>dont look at me, dont notice me, Im not here, Im not important.</em>

    He went down side-alleys and doubled back a couple times, but eventually they got to the destination. Brin had thought they were going to a watchtower and might have lost him if he wasnt careful to keep Davi in his sight. Instead, they arrived at a bare patch of wall, out of sight of any watchtowers. That made sense, since the watchtowers would have [Hunters] on them day and night.

    He half expected to see Zilly when he turned the corner. Instead, he saw Davi hastily throwing on a ck cloak, and he saw wooden stakes had been driven into the wooden wall. Handholds, for scaling the walls.

    And what are you up to, I wonder, said Brin.

    Davi jumped a foot in the air at the sound of his voice, but when he turned around he adjusted his hair and tried to act casual again.

    I dont know what you

    Spare me. Youre the most unsubtle person I know. Youre nning on going over the wall. Why? If this is some harebrained scheme to get more levels

    Its not about levels, Davi said softly. He idly strummed a chord.

    Without the lute, if you please, said Brin.

    Davi flinched. Its not about levels. Its about Myra.

    Brin shook his head. No. No, youre not going after her. I wont let you. Id prefer you walked away, but Ill yell and alert the watch if I have to.

    If you do that look, Zilly is already out there. She went on ahead to check if this would even work. And it does! The undead didnt notice her at all. But if you call the watch and start a fuss, the undead will swarm around here, too. Youd be as good as killing her.

    That cloak. Its enchanted against heat vision?

    Yeah, and Zilly has something simr. After Myra made a set for you, Zilly found out about it and wanted a pair. Only, she asked in the typical Zilly way so Myra dug in her heels and refused. We didnt even know shed made them after all until tonight when we searched their hut after they were gone.

    Ok, but that doesnt exin why you even think Tawna needs your help.

    We dont have a lot of time! Davi nced at the line of stakes on the wall, as if contemting just climbing over. He sighed. Her n failed. Even [Weavers] can fail, you know. Something happened, and Tawna had to bury Myra underground and then run to lead the enemies away. Shes trapped.

    How do you know all this?

    Marksi followed them in secret.

    Brin shook his head. Marksi told you all this? How?

    Davi grunted in irritation, then whirled towards the wall. If youre going to yell, then yell. Im going to go find Myra. He climbed the scattered line of stakes easily, and then slipped over the top of the wall.

    Brin didnt exactly have much choice. If he alerted the town, then the undead really would converge over here. Zillys [Rogue] might be able to stay hidden, but she had focused onbat rather than stealth, and he didnt like Davis chances at all, not if the undead were on alert.

    He climbed over the wall after him. The field between the forest and the town was empty, but this would still be the most dangerous part. There was nowhere to hide, and the light of the stars made the area seem as bright as noon day. He knew that was just his darkvision ying tricks on him, and besides, without a heat signature it should be very difficult for the undead to spot him, but he couldnt shake the feeling of being exposed. Still, there was nothing for it. He ran across the field.

    All his workouts had paid off, and by the time he crossed the long, open stretch ofnd, he wasnt even winded, and he was d to see that Davi was doing fine as well. Even heavy breathing was too much of a risk, since there was nothing wrong with the undeads ears. Well, there was nothing wrong with their <em>hearing</em>.

    A short walk into the forest, he heard Zilly whisper. I cant believe you brought Brin again.

    He spotted her then, in the shadow of a tree, dressed all in ck. Marksi stood on her shoulders, his long tail wrapping around her tightly. He flinched when Brin turned around the corner but didnt flee. That was a start.

    Hey Marksi, said Brin.

    Marksi let out a sad cheep.

    I get it. Itll be over soon, Brin said quietly.

    No talking. Lets go, Zilly hissed, and then led the way.

    They crept through the forest, doing their best to stay absolutely silent. Zilly moved ahead, using her [Perception]-enhanced senses to stay away from any undead patrols. They often turned to the left or right with no exnation, and once they even doubled back for a few minutes before heading forward again. She also seemed to be listening to Marksi, who would tap her back with his tail to indicate the direction they would be moving.

    Brin had a hunch of where they were going. Tawna had given him that one for free. Theyd be near the snake pond.

    One part of him wanted to stop and insist that they turn around and go back to town. Myra really didnt need help. The only reason he didn''t was because he knew it would fail. There was no way Davi would turn aside from rescuing the girl he liked. Teenage hormones were an absolutew of the universe.

    Were they throwing a wrench in Tawnas ns by doing this? Did he care if they did? Tawnas ns were Tawnas ns; they didnt always benefit the people around her. At the same time, they <em>did</em> always benefit Myra, and he didnt want to put her in danger.

    Davi wouldnt want to put Myra in danger either, and this rescue might actually be putting her more at risk. That was an argument hed probably be able to make, if he was willing to talk at all. Here in a zombie-infested forest, they couldnt dare to make any extra sound.

    These dumb kids really had him in checkmate. There was nothing left to do but follow along and keep them from getting themselves killed.

    Brin heard a click from a forest. Not a snap, not the tap of a tree branch against the trunk in the wind. A click. Then another, until a small chorus of clicks came from all around them.

    Damn. Lets run, said Zilly.

    She darted forward into the night, and Brin followed. Even at this speed, Zilly was silent, but Davis feet started to thud against the ground, and Brin had to admit his steps werent perfect either. He used [Call Sound through ss] to project a sphere of silence around his feet, but Davi wasnt carrying ss around, and Brin hadnt figured out the trick of moving his summoned sound away from the ss source yet. He ran closer to Davi, and then widened the silence field until it covered Davis feet, too. He made sure to keep their ears clear, though.

    For a few minutes, they ran in silence, and Brin began to think theyd outrun whatever had been making the clicking sound.

    Suddenly, Zilly stopped. She unsheathed her sword, so Brin brought out his spear. Ahead of them, an undead soldier stepped into view. He made a clicking sound, and another three walked from behind the trees.

    Hed never heard the undead shout orders, he realized, but he knew they had tomunicate with each other. Apparently, they clicked.

    And the clicking wasnt stopping. More were on their way.

    Well have to break through, said Zilly.

    Wait, said Brin.

    An undead in resplendent armor stepped in front of the soldiers. He hefted a cksteel warhammer on his shoulder, heavy and crude andpletely at odds with his Bog Standard te.

    Hi Simao, said Brin.

    The undead Simao made an apologetic smirk. He was so recently deceased that he barely looked dead at all, more just pale and sick. Sorry about this. But you know, being dead isnt as bad as you probably think. Youll find out soon.

 Book 2. Chapter 43

    Book 2. Chapter 43

    Brin forced himself to believe they actually had a chance. Despite how much he terrified everyone, Simao wasnt invincible. Actually, if he remembered correctly, Simao was underleveled for his age. The danger he posed to the town was mostly psychological; he was a popr guy, friendly, with a good ss. Seeing him undead was drastically demoralizing for Hammons Bog. It was demoralizing for Brin, to be honest. Hed liked Simao.

    Apart from that, most of the danger came from Simaos Bog Standard te armor, but even then it wasnt insurmountable. In battles Simao had always arrived, taken a cheap shot with his signature Skill, and then run away again. Not exactly the tactics of an unstoppable juggernaut.

    He used [Inspect].

    Name Simao Fonter Level 26 Race Undead Description Simao was an apprentice smith before his death. The [Witch] who raised him has empowered him to a significant degree. Skills

    [Shape Metal] is the base Skill of his ss. Simr to [Shape ss].

    [Heat Resistance] is the same as what you have with sser.

    [Strike Metal] - Simao has a highly empowered swing when striking metal or using the tools of his trade. This Skill has been upgraded.

    This wouldnt be as easy as he hoped. Simaos one day of battle had given him plenty of levels, and he didnt like the look of that detail in the description saying Simao had been empowered. Well, its not like they had any choice. They needed to kill Simao fast and keep moving before he could call reinforcements.

    His first n would be to use the Potion of Turn Undead. If they could get back to Hammons Bog with another ally, then so much the better. But hed only use it if he got a clear shot. Simao would dodge it if he saw iting, and Brin wasnt the best at moving things with [Shape ss] yet.

    He might have a better shot with the other potions hed taken from Hogg, two explosions and one fire. Hed use them if he got an opening, but he didnt want to waste them.

    Hey, look on the bright side. At least you didnt run into a giant, Simao said with a shrug. His face was just as expressive as in life, and it felt wrong. Dead faces should stay still, and Brins mind kept switching back and forth between seeing his friend alive again and seeing a cold, dead thing.

    Soften them up for me, Simao said to the undead near him. Im going to see if I can call a giant over.

    Come and face me yourself! shouted Davi. His face betrayed a range of emotions, alternating between horror, disgust, and fury. Zilly was pale and tense, like a startled cat.

    Right, these two werent used to this sort of thing yet. Theyd faced the undead army, but that was with an army of their own. It was different to be alone and exposed in a dark forest in the middle of the night. He needed to show them the way.

    y my song, Davi, said Brin.

    I dont like that song, Davi responded.

    Go on. It fits the mood.

    During the week that hed had to prepare, Brin had spent several hours practicing music with Davi, and theyd found that Davi could alter the sound of his lute to some degree. He could make it louder or softer to fit the mood. With more experiments, theyd found that he could make it squeal like a tortured animal. After adding a simple drum beat, they had a pretty good reproduction of one of Brins favorite video game themes. Something for extreme, over-the-top violence. Music for defeating abominations that shouldve stayed in hell.

    Just do it, Davi. Right now!

    Davi yed the Doom theme.

    The undead soldiers took that as their cue and charged. Brin shot off a quick [Inspect] on all four of them, getting a quick glimpse of their Skills. The System seemed to understand his intent, because it only showed him the most relevant Skill, using concisenguage.

    [Juggernaut Charge] - Fast run, increased force.

    Brin nted the butt of his spear in the ground, and then rolled out of the way. The undead soldier mmed straight into it, closing the distance in a blink of an eye. It pushed the spear right through its own stomach, sticking the spear further into the mud and pinning itself to the ground.

    Brin ran past, already ready for the next undead holding an axe.

    [Quick Chop] - Simple woodsmen skill.

    If he didnt know it wasing, he never wouldve been able to dodge in time. As it was, he stepped to the side and felt the rush of air as the undeads axe missed him and pped into the earth. Brin grabbed the axe, wrested it out of the undeads grip, and mmed it into the monsters neck. It stuck there, so Brin let it go and turned to face the next undead.

    [Farmer]. No relevant Skills. High stats.

    Brin used his armband to give himself a moment of invisibility. He stepped around the undeads spinning ck spear and jumped onto its back, drawing out his ss knife just as his invisibility faded. He probably couldve stabbed it in the heart, but a clean kill like that didn''t fit the music.

    He sliced the undead [Farmers] throat, and then stabbed it again and again, wildly from every angle, riding it to the ground.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [24] Experience shared with your bard.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [26] Experience shared with your bard.

    Level up! Level 23 -> 24 +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    Davis music suddenly had a tone of urgency. <em>Behind you!</em> He turned to see an undead with a cksteel sword, already swinging towards him.

    With the two kills he''d gotten, he''d already maxed out [Battle Fury], but even with all his stats doubled, he wasn''t sure if he''d be able to get out of the way in time.

    Zilly mmed into it, using [Dash] to move in and decapitate the undead soldier before it saw hering. Both its head and sword spun into the air.

    Brin turned back to the first undead, the one with the charge Skill, and saw Marksi furiously strangling it with his tail and biting into its neck. The dragonlings t teeth barely pierced the skin. With another [Dash], Zilly flew over and finished it off.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [24] Experience shared with members of your party.

    Brin ran over and pulled his spear through and out of the undead. The heads were receable, but he needed that haft.

    Five more undead came into view, and Brin turned to face them. This time Zilly and Davi looked much more confident. He himself was thrumming with energy from [Battle Fury]. They could win; Brins [Battle Sense] was certain of it, but they couldnt do this all night.

    Take them down quick, then we flee. Follow me when I go. Use [Dash] to slow them down and distract them to give Davi and me some breathing room.

    Zilly nodded. Got it.

    Davi switched his music from Brins theme to something more usual, an upbeat adventure song. That was fine; probably better for Zillys sake.

    Brin stepped into the charging undead. An undead soldier with two shortswords ran ahead of the rest, so Brin used his spears reach to safely stab it, detonating the spearhead.

    Alert! You have defeated: Undead Soldier [21] Experience shared with your bard.

    Level up! Level 24 -> 25 +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes. You have 1 free ss skill avable. You have 2 free general skill points avable.

    Luckily, the notifications didn''t show his Skill options; he didn''t have time for that now.

    He stepped back to quickly fix another spearhead into ce while Zilly darted in and out with [Dash], preventing the undead from grouping up.

    Davis music stopped. Brin looked over to see if something had happened, and saw Davi pointing back at him. That and the sound of one footstep was all the warning he got.

    It wasnt enough.

    Pain erupted through his body, so intense and so <em>everywhere</em> that at first he couldnt even tell where hed been hit. He tried to turn, to move his eyes and see what had gotten him, but his body was paralyzed. He slumped to the ground.

    He was sprawled awkwardly on his side. Not on his back or his front, sort of shifted at an awkward angle. The good news was that he knew where the wound was. His back. Hed been hit in the back.

    An armored boot came into his vision. Simaos boot. Simao had hit him in the back.

    He tried to call out a warning, but nothing came. He couldnt speak. He didnt know if the wound had pierced his heart or just his spine, but regardless, he was certain of one thing. He was dying.

    ckness crept up along the edges of his vision, in a solemn sort of way. It wasnt as painful as it shouldve been. This wasnt a warning, like his body telling him hed drunk too much. This was the end. The soft inevitably of death. Strangely, this death was less painful than the one on the ice.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    No. He wouldnt die here. He hadnt even seen the world outside this one small town. He hadnt fallen in love or had a family. He hadnt done <em>anything</em>, not in either life. As luck would have it, he had an ace in the hole this time.

    He couldnt move his eyes enough to see what was going on, but heard Zilly and Davi shouting, and felt the presence of Marksi frantically scurrying up and down his body, trying to find a way to help.

    He tried to speak. The Healing Potion. He just had to say it. Potion. Even just P, and clever Marksi would understand. He couldnt.

    He called his magic, and surprisingly, it answered. Hed never been good at using [Shape ss] to make ss move telekically, but he poured his mana into it, and pulled the ss bottle from his pouch. He tried to move it towards his mouth, but his uracy waspletely off and he missed. Luckily, Marksi saw what he was doing, scampered after it, and deposited it in Brins mouth.

    The cork was still on it. If it had a ss lid, that would be no problem, but this one was corked. Brin was blind. He couldnt even feel the ss in his mouth, he just knew it was there from his magic. He shattered the ss.

    His eyes immediately cleared. He moved a hand to his face, and it came, just as ordered. He was healed. He patted Marksis head. Good boy.

    It was strange how easily he rolled to his back. It felt like nothing had happened, except for the cold spot on his back where there was now a hole in the armor. He used [Shape ss] to pull the shattered ss out of his mouth, and then swallowed again, his blood mixed with the rest of the potion. Then even the little cuts in his mouth were healed. No wonder these things were expensive; it was a second life.

    He saw Zilly darting through a group of undead, using [Dash] over and over to keep out of their clutches, holding them back. Simao was bearing down on her. She shouted Go! and Davi ran into the forest.

    It mustve only been a few seconds since hed been hit, even though it felt like a lifetime.

    He concentrated on the ring where hed stored the memory of casting mirror image. Hed have to chant out the whole thing, but since he could just repeat the words he was saying in his memory, he was certain he could do it without mistakes. It wouldnt be possible if it were a simple voice recording, but his [Memories in ss] Skill also recorded how he was feeling, and the intent behind the words. With this, he was certain not to make any mistakes. It was jarring to feel the memories of that time. The boredom. Hed tried to cast it a thousand times, and hadnt really believed he would this time, either.

    [Directed Meditation] let him ignore the unwee feelings and concentrate on the magic. He carefully chanted the entire thing. Soon, the spell was ready.

    Davi waspletely out of sight. The undead had spread out to make it harder for Zilly to enter and leavebat so casually. She was starting tog. One mistake was all it would take, and shed go down. Simao was biding his time, taunting her with casual friendliness, and waiting for the chance to strike.

    Brin stood and hid behind a wide tree. He cast mirror image behind him, facing the opposite direction, and in full view of Simao and Zilly. The mirror image would do whatever he did and say whatever he said, so he had to be careful with how he did this.

    Hey! Brin shouted. Forgetting someone?

    Simao turned. Brin? How did you survive that?

    Brinughed, and put some [Scarred One] into his voice. Did you think you could kill me with wounds, Simao? How quick you were to forget exactly why they called me Scar the Mistaken.

    Simao shook his head slowly. No. You dropped that ss.

    Maybe thats just what I wanted you to think.

    Simao smiled and pointed a scolding finger. Youre a [sser]. Ive seen the ss you made.

    You saw that metal knife I made, too. Does that make me a [Smith]? It doesnt matter. Im not telling you this to bluff. I just want the Simao I knew to understand exactly who it was that avenged him.

    Simao tilted his head to the side, as if confused. I am the Simao you knew. I dont have any freedom so I cant spare you, sorry about that by the way, but its still me in here. And honestly? I kind of wish I didnt know. He sighed. Toros would be so disappointed if he knew you were still evil.

    He gestured forward. Kill him.

    The undead around him abandoned the fight with Zilly and charged towards Brin as one.

    He waited until the veryst second, then made a face of exaggerated fear. Woops! Uh-oh! He turned and ran, earning a surprisedugh from Simao. At least, thats what his mirror image did. His real body ran straight into the tree he was hiding behind, and kept trying to run into it. He was like a stupid video game character, uselessly running into a wall to test if there was a secret passage there. His mirror image obeyed the signals he was sending and actually moved, although somewhat awkwardly, drawing the undead away.

    Even if the undead soldiers noticed the real Brin, they didnt change targets. Undead were single-minded like that. They had their orders, and theyd follow them because they had to. If they noticed the trick, they didnt care.

    Simao would care; despite his ims about not having freedom he obviously had moreplex orders and some degree of leadership. But luckily, the funny moment had been enough to draw his interest, and he followed Brins mirror image, not even ncing at the tree that Brin was awkwardly running into.

    Marksi squeaked in confusion, and Brin grunted as he scraped his face against the bark of the tree, but the undead made enough noise running through the underbrush to cover the sound.

    Satisfied that hed given himself enough room, he moved around the tree and actually ran. He caught Zilly, whod started moving towards Simaos group. She opened her mouth in surprise, but he put a finger to her lips and she nodded understanding.

    She pointed towards Marksi, and then in the direction that Davi had fled. Marksi patted Brins cheek and then pointed into the forest. Could Marksi track Davi? He honestly didnt even know if snakes had a sense of smell, and hed definitely never taken Marksi as a bloodhound. Still, he mustve been able to, because theyd been using him to find Myra in the first ce.

    They ran, Marksi guiding them.

    Youre still with me? Brin asked, panting it out. Even though I have a [Witch] spell on me?

    Marksi nodded firmly, and the grip of his tail tightened.

    They caught up to Davi soon after. They kept running, and Davi kept the pace easily. Hed probably been moving slowly, hoping theyd catch up, nning to head back if they didnt.

    Now find Myra! Zilly hissed.

    Brin realized that he knew where they were. Scratch that! This way! he whisper-shouted back.

    Luckily, Marksi indicated that Myras scent was in the direction that Brin had wanted to go anyway.

    He ran, sprinting as fast as he thought the others could keep up with. Except, every time he sped up, they matched pace. Were they moving slower for him? He went all-out, sprinting for everything he was worth, and he barely started to pull ahead of them. He would feel more enthusiastic about beating them in a footrace if [Battle Fury] hadn''t <em>doubled</em> his attributes. He hoped that theyd lost Simao, but he wasnt about to slow down, just in case.

    Then they were there, at the banks of a familiar pond. He copsed on the ground in relief, breathing too heavily for words.

    Zilly drew her sword and watched the forest in rm. Here? Why are we at the snake pond? I figured you had a n.

    Davi held his lute in one hand, his quarterstaff in the other, as if unsure which he would need. He also watched the forest with apprehension.

    I do, Brin said when he caught his breath enough to speak. I do have a n.

    Simao walked into view; he mustve turned and followed the real Brin right away. He was nked by more than twenty undead. A nice trick. Im d I got to see that. Thank you. But its over.

    It is, said Brin.

    Zilly closed her eyes, struggling against despair. When she opened them again, her eyes were firm. Ok. Then Ill face it on my feet.

    Oh, calm down, said Brin. Its over for him.

    Simaoughed. Youre mistaken.

    Zilly looked at Brin. I dont get it.

    Brin smiled. I got an Achievement once. [Blessing of the Hidden Guardian]. You get it now? Look where we are. You know, at first I felt like I was robbed, because the Achievement didnt give me anything. Shouldnt I get something, like a magical bond to help memunicate with dragons, or a new sense that only dragons have or something? At the very least Id want a couple Strength or Dexterity. I thought the System was being stingy.

    Except that wasnt it at all. I think the System was simply recognizing that the eptance of a dragon is already too much of a bonus.

    Brin didnt hear the sloshing of the water as she left her sleeping chamber. He didnt see her rise into the air, so perfect was her control over her camouge. She made no sound, and didnt so much as disturb the air. The only way he knew she was there at all was by tracing her shape with [Know Whats Real].

    She was enormous. She wound up and into the sky, stretching hundreds of feet above him. She curled back, ready to pounce, the same movements hed seen little Marksi do a hundred times back when he was a snake catching bugs.

    She struck. To Brins eyes, it was like the entire world stopped being real for a blink of an eye. To the others, it mustve looked like the enemy had simply stopped existing. One second, Simao led his dark band. The next, they were gone.

    Silence returned to the snake pond. Brin didnt hear the ssh as she flew back under the water; he only saw the disturbance as a disturbance in [Know Whats Real]. He used the Skill to trace the waves until they hit the shore. There was no visible trace or sound of her passing at all. However, because he was expecting it, he thought he felt the shudder of the earth as she settled in.

    Zilly copsed to her knees. What just happened?

    Davi looked up into the sky, a mysterious smile on his lips. Theres a song in that, I think.

    Brin scratched Marksis chin. That was amazing! Are you going to be that powerful when you get older?

    Marksis tail twitched a yes with absolute confidence.

    Congrattions! You have upgraded a Title. Survivor of Travins Bog <em>You have survived a fatal wound that stopped your heart. You havee near death on multiple asions. You are beginning to get a feel for it.</em> <em>Instinctual awareness of attacks that will cause you death or fatal injury.</em>

    Congrattions! You have upgraded an Achievement. Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare). You gain further insight into yourpanions abilities.

    The awareness of death might have just pushed [Survivor of Travins Bog] up to being his best Title, depending on how well that instinctual awareness worked. Still, he was more interested in the Blessing of the Hidden Guardian at the moment. He looked at Marksi, but didnt immediately gain any insight that he could tell. Marksi was just Marksi.

    One thing Ive been wondering. You said that Marksi told you that Myra got buried underground. How did he do that?

    Zilly was still sitting on the ground, staring around in shock. The undead. Theyre gone

    Davi answered his question. Why dont you ask him?

    Marksi, how did you do it? Brin asked.

    Marksi clenched his teeth in concentration, and the color of his scales seemed to whirl. They showed a picture, Myras face maybe, though it was small and blurry. The image zoomed out to show her in a bag carried on another blurry figures back. Tawna, no doubt. Tawna was being chased by ck blurry shapes. She threw Myra, and Myra hit the ground, then sank. Down, deep underneath.

    The colors went back to the usual rainbow, and Marksi panted with the effort.

    Thanks, said Brin. That was certainly a useful ability, and a new awareness of what Marksi could do, but he didnt think that was what the Achievement meant.

    He used [Inspect].

    Marksi. A dragonling. Marksi is very sneaky, and can use illusion magic to change his color as camouge. He has near-human intelligence from his draconic heritage, something that will only increase as he gets older and more powerful. He can eat beast cores to trigger evolutions and increase his growth.

    Marksi can smell magic.

    That line at the end was the only thing new, but that was enough.

    You can <em>smell</em> magic? Brin gasped. Marksi twitched a yes.

    Is that how you could tell the ces where [Witches] had used their magic?

    Yes.

    And thats how youre following Myra. Can you even smell [Weaver] magic?

    Again, Marksi twitched a confirmation.

    Can you tell where she is now?

    Rather than answer, Marksi hopped down and scampered around the pond.

    Right! Myra! said Zilly,ing out of her shock. We still need to find her!

 Book 2. Chapter 44

    Book 2. Chapter 44

    Brin had expected that Myra would be here at the snake pond. Tawna had left a pretty big hint that shed being this way. It was lucky they had Marksi, though, because if Myra was really underground, he doubted hed ever find her by himself.

    Marksi started to move through the brush, pushing aside tall grass, looking everywhere. Brin joined in, and Zilly and Davi helped as well.

    What he really wanted to do was sit down and maybe do a little light sobbing to recover from their intense journey here. He needed to process the terror and pain from the fight with Simao, and maybe recover from the overwhelming awe from witnessing the Hidden Guardian. But they didnt have time to waste. He needed to keep going; this night was far from over. He searched.

    As he searched, he realized he still had that level up to take care of. He pulled up his status to look over his options.

    Upgrade - Call Light through ss Increased mana efficiency when summoning light. Upgrade - Call Sound through ss Increased mana efficiency when summoning sound.

    Mana Well +50% to the amount of mana you generate and hold per point of Magic.

    Brin smiled in delight. With only two [Illusionist] Skills, it was no wonder what Skills the System would offer to upgrade, but he was very pleased with the new Skill he was offered. Sure, it wouldve been nice to see an upgrade to his [ssbound] Title or even [Lightmind], but that might be asking for too much.

    Hogg had warned him that [Illusionists] had all the mana they needed and not enough things to do with it, but that was an ordinary [Illusionist] problem. For him, [Mana Well] was <em>perfect</em>. Eventually his [Illusions] would be powerful, but for now he mostly used his mana to work with ss, and having another 50% mana to work with was extremely nice. He took the Skill without a second thought.

    He still needed to spend his general Skill points, but didnt think hed be able to decide right now. He wanted to keep at least one free in case he got another Achievement that let him upgrade one of his existing Skills, like hed done from [Directed Meditation]. He decided to save them forter.

    That done, he turned his attention back to the search. He should look for disturbed earth, he supposed. Was Myra really underground, though? If so, why? What was Tawnas game here? He could understand why she would take Myra and bolt. If she really thought that someone who cared about him would die, then she would want Myra as far away from town as possible. But he didnt understand how someone who would do that would then just leave her daughter underground and run away.

    Oh, wait, I think I found something! called Davi.

    Brin rushed over, but didnt see it at first. It looked like Davis hand was empty. Then he got close enough to see it. A tiny, thin line of thread.

    Davi pulled, and the thread came free. At first Brin thought he mustve pulled too hard, until a rumbling sound came from underground.

    The ground started grinding in a six-foot ring, so Brin and Davi stepped back. Mud churned up from below, almost liquid.

    Zilly approached. Is that? Her question was cut off as a huge flower burst up from the ground. It was closed like a tulip at night, four feet tall, and a dirty grayish-pink. It didnt take a close inspection to see that the entire thing was made of cloth. The fabric was rough and uneven, hasty-looking, andpletely at odds with Tawnas seamless craftsmanship.

    Before they could think of what to do with it, it bloomed. The petals of the cloth flower folded back to reveal Myra, curled up in the fetal position.

    Her hair was drenched and her dress clung to her with sweat or maybe water. She was soaking wet, like shed been dunked in a pool. Aside from that, she looked normal, but too still. Her eyes were closed, and he couldnt tell if she was breathing.

    Zilly stepped forward and leaned down to check on her. As soon as her hand touched her shoulder, Myras eyes shot wide open and she gasped in a huge breath of air. She jumped to her feet and stumbled back, panicked and startled.

    Zilly moved forward to calm her down but Myra scrambled away until her back hit a tree.

    Hold on, Zilly, give her some space. Myra, its us, said Davi.

    Myras eyes locked on Davi, then they flicked to Zilly and she started to breathe more calmly. Davi? And Zilly, and Brin. If youre here wheres my mom?

    Zilly stepped forward to help Myra up, but she pushed her hands away. Im fine. If youre here, does that mean its all over? Wheres my mom? Did she?

    We dont know where she is. Its only been a few hours since you were taken, said Brin.

    Myra put a hand to her head. That doesnt make any sense.

    Why dont you tell us what happened? Whats this flower you were stuck in? asked Brin.

    Myra shook her head. Its a hibernation Skill. She actually used a Skill point for it, since she didnt have anyone to teach her how to make it normally. The n was she thought

    Take your time. Tell it from the beginning, said Brin.

    Im fine. Myra shoved a wet lock of hair away from her eyes. Mothers visions were blocked, for the most part, when she made all those fate-catchers for the town. That was her idea, and she wouldve done it anyway, but telling everyone in town that it was her punishment got them on board with putting them in their homes. They probably wouldnt have if they thought she <em>wanted </em>to make them. [Witches] can read fate, too, and mother started to get nervous that they were better at it than her, so she decided to blind fate for everyone. But then that curse hit. She was barely able to keep it at bay, just enough to keep herself alive. She couldnt even get out of bed.

    You could have taken her to the chapel, said Brin.

    Myra crossed her arms. Yeah, well, no one bothered telling us that. Besides, she couldnt move, but she could use her weaving. She could read fate again. And she saw that she was going to die. If she was still in Hammons Bog when the battle ended, she would die. And if she took off without me, somehow I would die? I think she was just saying that to get me toe with her. So she told me we were leaving, and then spent the rest of the day and night making that cape that would let her move around. Only, I didnt want to leave. Mothers visions arent always perfect and I well, you know the rest.

    No, I knew that part already, or I had guessed, said Brin. What happened next is the part Im curious about.

    The undead mobbed us. Mother was already tired from defending the gate, and they seemed to be everywhere we went. We made it here, and they didnt follow. I think theyre afraid of the snakes.

    Zilly scratched her ear. What I want to know is why Simao followed us.

    Brin had an answer for that. Undead that still have their original souls are more intelligent, and they have a little bit more autonomy. Simao probably had orders to kill us and also to stay away from here, but he couldnt do both so he made a decision. Honestly, he might have known the dragon would kill him. He might have been doing us a favor.

    How do you know so much about undead? asked Zilly.

    Simao? A dragon? I thought you said I was only asleep for a couple hours! Myra looked around, no doubt expecting something to jump out at her. There was nothing in the trees, and no sound except the gentlepping of the water in the pond.

    We didnt see a dragon, said Davi. The undead just disappeared. Actually,e to think of it, it might be a little reckless for kids from the Bog to keeping here.

    Brin snorted. Nonsense. The hidden guardian, still in the water over there by the way, wouldnt harm us any more than you would harm a baby snake.

    It dawned on Davi immediately what Brin was saying. I would never!

    Me either! said Zilly.

    Gods forbid! said Myra. She made the sign of Noctis, crossed fingers over her heart.

    And then? Brin prompted Myra to finish her story. Did Tawna tell you what her n was before she put you in a flower?

    She told me that shed go on ahead and get help. If someone gets word to the outside world, this whole siege is <em>over</em>. Maybe thats why itll be done two or three days from now. She said that she also left a note in our house, so if she never returns someone woulde find me eventually.

    I guess she never figured that wed try to save you right away, said Zilly.

    Oh, no, she did. She just assumed that Brin would talk you out of it. Myras eyes darted to him, and then away again.

    There was an awkward silence until Brin realized everyone was waiting for him to say something. Well, I would have, but

    Its fine! Myra said.

    So should we head back? asked Zilly.

    Brins first instinct was to say yes, that they should return as soon as possible, but was that really the right choice? They were safe here. It might be more responsible to wait it out.

    We should go back, said Myra. And Mom said it would be safe. She said that this ce wont be safe forever, not now that Im out of stasis. We need to get back to town.

    What? When would she have said that? Zilly asked. Myra was nervously twisting a piece of thread in her fingers, and Zilly squinted at it.

    Myra put both her hands behind her back, fumbling her words. What I mean, is, um She said that if Brin isnt in town at the end, a lot more people will die.

    This was too suspicious. Brin used [Inspect].

    Name Myra Corrigid Race Human Age 14 Level 21 ss Weaver Description Myra is a close friend. She likes you, but Davi likes her. Skills

    [Spin] - Myra is able to twist materials into thread.

    [Weave] - Myra can turn thread into fabric.

    [Manipte Thread] - Myra can move thread with the application of mana. She can imbue mana into thread, giving it additional properties. Myra can imbue thread with the aspect of Fate. This Skill has been upgraded three times.

    She had fate weaving now. Did that mean that Myra was predicting the future? It didnt seem likely to Brin. She knew that her mother barely trusted her own predictions, theres no way she would depend on them herself.

    That led him to another thought. How likely was it that Tawna had actually run on ahead? Much more likely was that she was hiding somewhere nearby, maybe using that same hibernation Skill on herself. After all, why break through the entire army when she could just wait a couple days for it to leave?

    Zilly knew something was up, too. She grabbed Myras arm and twisted it around, forcing her to show the thread shed been fiddling with, but of course it was just ordinary thread.

    Ow! Whats wrong with you?

    Zilly didnt let go of Myras arm. What are you doing with that string?

    Im a [Weaver], Zilly. What are you doing with that sword? Myra said. She pushed Zilly away, which never wouldve worked if Zilly hadnt allowed it. Zilly took an exaggerated step back, looking offended.

    Davi looked as if he wanted to say something but didnt know how.

    Brin shook his head, thoughts on something else. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Was he really supposed to believe that Tawna somehow predicted this exact situation and told Myra what to do just in case? Unlikely. Using an ordinary thread to pass information? A lot more usible. Tawna was telling Myra to go back, and that theyd be safe.

    Now all he had to do was decide what he was going to do about it. If he told on her, Tawna would have toe back with them. If she didnt, the rest of the town would know she was here, and he didnt think theyd be too pleased with her for her little stunt.

    He cleared his throat. Myra, is

    Myras eyes widened in rm. She stepped forward and grabbed Brin by the shoulders. Lets go back now. Please? Lets just go back. Well make it. I know well make it and I dont want to lose anyone.

    Brin paused. He stared into the eyes of a young fourteen-year-old girl, afraid of losing her mom. He sighed. Fine. Lets go.

    Wait. Wheres Marksi?

    As if on cue, Marksi slipped out of the water of theke. Myra held out her arms, but Marksi skipped past her to climb up on Brins shoulders.

    Myra smiled. Oh, so you two made up?

    Marksi purred and rubbed his face against Brins cheek. Despite just getting out of the water, his scaly skin was surprisingly warm.

    Did you have a nice time catching up with your actually, is that your mother or your ancestor?

    Marksi didnt answer, purring contentedly.

    Well, I hope you know we cane back here sometimes, if you ever want to see your family, said Brin.

    Marksi gave him a contemptuous huff. Clearly he thought it was obvious that he was allowed to visit his home whenever he wanted.

    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The journey back through the forest was a lot slower. Myra stumbled over branches and her feet sank into the mud, even after Davi gave her his hand to help guide her along. Zilly walked with her eyes closed, straining her [Perception]-enhanced senses to the limit to try to scout out any undead.

    They didnt find any, surprisingly. It made the trip feel longer. In the silence, for no one dared to speak, Brin was alone with his thoughts and could do nothing except think about the fight against Simao. Hed nearly died. Honestly, he had sort of been medically dead there for a minute, and hede back from it. The strange part was that he felt fine. The strike had been so sudden that he hadnt really had time to be afraid, and then his healing afterward had been soplete that it felt as if nothing significant had really happened.

    He knew he was almost out of tricks, but it didnt feel that way. His armband wouldnt recharge for another day, and his Healing Potion was spent, but he waspletely uninjured and his mana was nearly full.

    He knew he should be freaking out right now, but he wasnt, and now <em>that </em>was making him freak out. Was he in denial, or was he really starting to get used to this? Which was worse?

    When Zilly stopped the party with a raised hand, it was almost a relief. She guided them back a couple minutes, then stopped. We should be good to talk if we keep our voices down, she said in a whisper.

    Whats going on? Brin whispered back.

    There are packs of undead all around us, but none of them areing this way. Theyre all heading to the town. Theyre grouping up for something big.

    Can you guide us through? asked Brin.

    For now, said Zilly. The forest is emptying out so theres more space to move in. But the closer we get to town the harder itll be to hide from them.

    Myra twisted her string through her fingers. We should keep going. Theres going to be a way through.

    They kept moving, more of the same. Myra stumbled and caught her dress on what seemed like every single tree branch. Zilly moved slowly with her eyes closed, straining her senses. Davi shepherded them all patiently, and Brin reyed his death in his mind over and over.

    After a few more minutes, Zilly stopped again. It feels like theyreing everywhere but here.

    My mom knew this would happen, said Myra. She knew wed be able to find a path through.

    They kept moving, Myra with more confidence, and the rest of them more warily. It wasnt too long before the other shoe dropped.

    Zilly froze. A patch of earth in front of them stood out, looking different from the ground around it. It took Brin a second to realize what was wrong. It was dry, bone dry. The ground was never dry in this forest. Had Zilly spotted a trap?

    The ground shifted, rising up.

    "No," she said, shaking her head. A huge, ck form grew from the forest floor, not twenty paces in front of them. The starry sky had been more than bright enough for Brins dark vision to see by, but he hadnt seen this figure at all. It stood up, and up, and up, until it was fourteen feet tall.

    A giant undead. He wore no armor, and his clothes were the same tight ck as all the other undead soldiers, but there was a certain dignity in his bearing and an intelligence in his eyes that was impossible to miss.

    I didnt see him. How did I miss him? Zilly asked, pale-faced. They dont have heat, but I can sense electricity and vibration. I should have felt him, even underground.

    Someone good at making clothes can add enchantments to block those extra senses. This was a trap. The [Witch] kept the undead away from this area so we''de through here and run into him, said Brin.

    "I still should''ve sensed--"

    Brin threw one of Hogg''s potions, an explosion one, before the giant could react. It stopped in midair, halfway between them, and harmlessly exploded in a burst of bluish light. Had the giant stopped it with some kind of Skill? Zilly and Davi used the st as a signal to attack and moved in from both sides.

    The giant shouted, knocking all four of them to their backs. Brin rolled and got to his feet. His body moved just a bit slower than it should''ve, yet the giant didn''t press the advantage. His limbs felt just a bit weaker now. The spear in his hands and even Marksi''s slight weight were just a bit heavier.

    The giant didn''t press the advantage, so Brin used [Inspect], mentally wishing for a condensed version.

    Name Nico Bricanic nric Race Undead Description Nico was a [Warrior] in life, who fell in his first battle. He waster gigantified by a [Witch]. Skills [Iron Body], [Battle Cry], [Sword Mastery] (upgraded once), [Face Me] (Anti-projectile Skill)

    Judging by the number of Skills, he had probably been somewhere between level 15 and 19 when he died, but that didn''t mean this would be an easy win. It was possible he''d grown a lot stronger since his death, and not just because he was a giant. At least he knew why his potion had failed. They''d have to do this hand-to-hand.

    Nico crinkled his eyes in sorrow, though didnt close thempletely. When he spoke, it was with the carefully polished diction that Brin had learned to call High Frenarian. O children. Wo be unto you! I would that you had not found me this night.

    His words wereden with despair, and each sentence he spoke made Brin lose heart a little more, made him a little less confident. That could only be the effect of [Battle Cry], but knowing that didn''t make it go away.

    Just to see what he was working with, Brin [Inspected] his friends.

    Name Davi Pimental ss Bard Level 29 Description Davi is your best friend. He''s put therge majority of his free points into Strength and has some achievements boosting it further. He''s stronger than you.

    Skills

    [Inme the Spirit] <em>The soul is me and you are its keeper. </em>Empowers a Bard to alter or enhance the emotional state of his audience. Can send directions or warnings through music. Increase attributes or magical power of targets. Upgraded three times.

    [Color of Music] <em>You are an artist. Music is your paint and words are your brush.</em> A bonus to learning instruments and memorizing songs.

    [Write your Story] <em>Your life is the story you sing for the world.</em> Heavily empowers a Bard in particr scenarios.

    [Strength of Song] <em>Firm is the hand that holds the lute. </em>A Empower your magic through physical strength.

    Brin only had the chance to briefly skim the message, but his eyes popped at Davi''s level. Apparently, singing war songs was prime leveling fodder for a [Bard].

    He [Inspected] Zilly next. Her status sheet wasn''t too different fromst time he''d seen it, except that she was level thirty now and she''d upgraded [Overload] again with the new Skill point. All those risks she''d taken on the front lines had paid off.

    He still felt the fear and shaky from Nico''s [War Cry], but it was gradually being ovee with hope. They could do this. He just needed to convince the others. Davi and Zilly''s faces were pale, and Myra looked as if she were about to pass out.

    How did how did you my mom, did she? Myra stumbled.

    Nico frowned in sympathy. Rest easy, little one. You were not betrayed. Hear this: Are [Weavers] the masters of fate, or readers of it only? The directions you received from that thread came not from your mother. She sleeps. You were led here by another. You were led here to your doom.

    Myra gasped out a sob, and maybe wouldve fallen to her knees if Davi hadnt been there holding her elbow.

    Oh, buck up, said Brin. Its not that bad. We just have to take this guy down and then were home free.

    The giant shook his head sadly. Would that it were so easy. I have offered you all the sce that I can. Now I must fulfill the other part. Now I must fulfill my purpose. Wo unto me! Would that it were not so!

    Brin cracked his neck side-to-side and sized him up, trying to project confidence. He needed his friends to think this was possible, or else theyd never make it, but truth be told, this guy looked tough. You dont look so tough.

    You appear to me as a talented child. I was also at one time a talented child, said Nico. He hefted his huge ck sword, eight feet long, but a regr arming sword in his hands. He stepped back into a perfect martial stance, eyes resolved. Whether or not he was telling the truth about how he didnt want to do this, it was clear that he wouldnt be holding back.

    "Guys? He''s not talking to us to be nice. That shout gave us away, lots of undead are headed in our direction. We need to move fast," said Zilly.

    Brin made a show of cracking his neck side to side and limbering up. Alright, let''s do this. Wheres the music, Davi? Zilly, I want you jumping around like an annoying mosquito. Give me an opening.

    Davi began an adventurous song, but his hesitation came through the music. The [Battle Cry] had shaken him, and the music wasn''t enough to shake it off. Zilly gripped her sword with white knuckles and gulped. Obviously they both thought they should run. Maybe they should, but [Battle Sense] was telling him something else. It was telling him they didnt have to. They could win. It was time to show them the way.

    Brin pumped mana into his spearhead with [Shape ss], strengthening it. He couldn''t use projectiles, but he could use [Shape ss] to make his weapon tougher and even to make it hit harder.

    He ran forward, and to her credit, Zilly got there before he did. She didnt bother to strike, she just darted in and then dodged when Nicos sword swung down at her. That gave Brin the instant he needed to leap up and stab with his spear.

    With speed that belied his giant size, the giant brought his sword around to parry Brins spear. The ck metal hit ss, and Brin felt a pull on his mana, but the spearhead stayed intact. Still in the air, he spun the spear around and got a ncing blow onto the giants side. It broke the skin but didn''t go much further. [Iron Body] was the whole body apparently, not just the skin. That was going to make this tough. He kicked off the giant to get some space.

    As soon as he hit the ground, Brin jumped back in.

    Marksi squeaked and leapt at the giant, climbing up and scratching at his face. He couldnt do anything to break through the giants skin, or even hurt the eyes, but it had to have been distracting. Still, the giant didnt even react to Marksi, he kept his focus on Brin and Zilly.

    Zilly used [Dash] to speed in and out, avoiding the giants counterstrikes. Brin attacked head on, using his spears greater reach to keep some distance between himself and the giant while trying to think of a n.

    Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something cutting the grass. Myra was using thread to shave away the foliage and give them a clear arena to fight in.

    They struck back and forth, Brin keeping his distance and Zilly using quick hit and run, but they werent gaining ground. The giant fended them off with smooth practiced movements, clearly at home on the battlefield and not totally new to fighting multiple opponents. All he needed was one good hit and Zilly or Brin would be dead, and he was content to take his time.

    Brin couldnt see a way through it. Zilly was doing her best, but she wasnt quite enough. Brin needed a <em>perfect</em> stab to break through [Iron Body].

    The next sh, Brin used [Shape ss] to catch Nicos sword on his spear head, binding them together. Nico pulled and Brin pulled back. He had to release the sword or have his spear pulled out of his hands, but hed done enough. Zilly had a clear opening.

    She jumped, sword aimed for Nicos throat. Nico raised his off-hand and pped her out of the air. She bounced, hitting the ground and rolled.

    Nico took a step towards her. Myra screamed. Not with fear, with anger. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Myras face contorted in rage.

    Green ropes erupted from the ground, tying themselves around Nicos ankles and knotting. They pulled his legs together and he tripped. Brin dashed forward to capitalize, but Nico rolled away. It wasnt graceful, but it did the trick, giving him enough space to hack at the ropes with his sword.

    What about me? Myra roared. Another rope burst from the ground, wrapping itself around Nicos wrist. You told them what to do but not me! Did you really think Id just stand here? You think youre going to leave me behind?

    She hadnt been clearing the ground for their fight. Shed been gathering fiber and then [Spinning] it into thread.

    Zilly stood, shaky on her feet, but then she was a blur of movement as she used [Dash] again. She nted a strong [Kick] into Nicos side. He freed his sword arm and swiped at her, but she was already jumping away.

    Brin stabbed at his arm on the other side, and surprisingly, the spear went straight into the bicep. He stabbed again, but this time [Iron Body] stopped it.

    [Kick] disrupts [Iron Body]! Brin shouted. Keep going!

    Davis music swelled with excitement as for the first time, the big teen really started to believe that theyd win. He started directing them through the music, matching nearly perfectly what [Battle Sense] told Brin they should be doing. Brin didn''t even think Davi had a Skill for that, he was just smart.

    Myra reformed her ropes as quickly as Nico could pull them apart, and snaked out to pull him off bnce, disrupting his perfect form. Zilly used [Dash] and [Kick] together, and now that she knew it would help, always made one or two cuts on her way out. Brinshed out with his spear, scoring deep gouges and keeping the giant away from his friends.

    He started to smile as they fought, and then started tough. All his hard work, all of the hard work of his friends, it was alling together for this one perfect moment. He couldnt help but remember being a teenager himself, watching anime and dreaming about what it would be like to be one of those heroes in that moment.

    It was everything hed imagined. His blood thrummed in his veins.

    He saw it then, the path through the violence. In his minds eye he saw Myra pulling Nico off bnce, Zilly focusing his attention to his left, and then Brin would jump straight on and deliver the finishing blow.

    Davis song zed with emotion. The ecstasy of battle, the inevitability of victory. And then just a little bit of envy.

    "To the left!" shouted Zilly.

    A group of six undead burst from the forest. Brin didn''t hesitate, and whipped his second exploding potion at their group. He used [Shape ss] to shatter the bottle at just the right moment, catching all of them. Four of the undead went down instantly, and Zilly [Dashed] in to finish off thest two.

    It took seconds. Brin blinked away the kill notifications. Nico had started to edge to the side, clearly thinking he''d do what Simao had done and angle himself for a surprise attack while they were distracted with the fodder. With them dead, he seemed to be tfooted for the first time.

    He lifted a hand. "A pause, if you will."

    "Sure," said Brin.

    "No! He''s just waiting for more undead!" said Zilly.

    Just a sec.

    Davis music stopped, looking at Brin with his mouth open.

    Brin tossed Myra a mana potion, who snatched it out of the air and drank it gratefully. Then he stepped up and pulled the lute out of Davis hands.

    Im tired. You finish this, he said.

    Davi shook his head, eyes wide like Brin had gone mad. Brin put Davis quarterstaff in his hands, and then pushed Davi around and kicked his back, pushing him forward. Then he began to y.

    Hed actually given some thought about what song hed y in this moment. The turning point, the victory music. There was Bleach, but that wouldnt work. The music in that show only got good when the rest of the show got bad. Naruto was a little too sad. Natsus theme, now that was perfect.

    Brin yed the song, making the notes loud and pure. He didnt alter them to sound electric, because he knew that this was how Davi would like it.

    He yed the music, and Davis Skill picked it up, reflecting and magnified it. Brin poured his heart into the song, making it drip with power and strength. Now only would they win, they were going to be <em>cool as hell</em> while doing it.

    Just as Zilly had said, three more undead soldiers appeared from the forest and attacked together with Nico.

    Davis quarterstaff whirred as he charged it. He didn''t even nce at the lesser undead as his humming staff struck them down, but kept his eyes fixed on Nico. Myras cords seemed to double in strength as she pulled both of the giants arms down. He thrashed like a panicked animal and pulled one arm free in time to swat Zilly out of the air, though he lost two fingers for it.

    Shended on her feet and jumped straight out again, and Nico took a step back while fending her off, barely able to keep his bnce against Myras attempt to trip him.

    Then the hero was there. Nicos sword swung down with full force. Davis quarterstaff came up and met itand knocked it back.

    Davis muscles bulged as heid into Nico, striking again and again with his quarterstaff. Nico iled at Davi, trying to fend him off, but Davi acted like he barely noticed the resistance.

    Six undead burst from the forest. Davi smashed Nico with a staggering blow, audibly shattering bones. His blunt weapon didnt need Zilly to loosen up [Iron Body]. A Bog Standard quarterstaff and his unmatched strength were more than enough to destroy something as weak as iron.

    Zilly and Davi fought back to back against the arriving undead soldiers, moving through them as if it were a dance they''d coordinated beforehand, while Myra disrupted their movements in a dozen different ways. They destroyed all six before Nico got back in the fight.

    The three of them harried him, wearing him down, dodging every blow with ease and capitalizing on every mistake. Brin coordinated them through the music, but he hardly needed to.

    They were majestic. Brin had another lifes worth of memories in his brain. He had unfair Achievements and the backing of some of the richest people in the kingdom, and he was <em>still</em> barely keeping up with them. <em>Damn </em>these talented kids.

    A mighty crack, and Nico dropped his sword, wrist broken. Davi ducked under his legs and then swung around again, breaking the knee. Nico came down to a kneel and Davi struck him in the back, mming him forward.

    Zilly ran in from the front. Somehow shed gotten Brins spear, so he used [Shape Mana] to push it along with her movements and hit as hard as he could make it. Between the speed from her [Dash] and the power of his magic, the spear was a ballista bolt. It blew straight through Nicos [Iron Body] and pierced his heart.

    Nico died.

    Alert! You have defeated: Giant Undead Soldier Experience has been split between members of your party.

    Level up! Level 25 -> 26 +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    Level up! Level 26 -> 27 +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes. You have 2 free general skill points avable.

    Zilly jumped, fist in the air. Yes!

    Myra wrapped both of her arms around Davis neck in a hug, then pulled back, holding his head. That was amazing!

    He couldnt help but grin at the tion of Davis face. Brin knew he was a hard person to be friends with, but he came through when it mattered. Although, the effect was a little bit ruined when Myra hugged him next.

    Zilly made as if to check if the giant was carrying anything worth taking, but quirked her head and stopped. We cant stick around. The undead are all heading towards us now. We need to move!

    Without another word, they ran.

 Book 2. Chapter 45

    Book 2. Chapter 45

    The four of them ran towards town. When Myra was too slow, Davi hefted her over his shoulder, despite her protests. They dashed at a full sprint, at least for a couple yards until Zilly went down. She immediately got to her feet again, but couldnt hide the limp.

    Now that he thought of it, the giant had pped her straight out of the air a couple times. Are you hurt?

    I can still run, said Zilly, which was a yes. She demonstrated the run, but it was more of a quick hobble. Shed sheathed her sword, and clutched her side with one hand while the other arm hung limp.

    Broken ribs? Brin asked.

    And an arm, I think. The ankle is just sprained.

    He holstered his spear, picked her up under the legs and swept her into a princess carry. He wasnt sure how long hed be able to manage like this, but if he swung her over his shoulder like a potato sack it would drive those broken ribs into her lungs.

    No. Brin, not like that, said Zilly. Here, let me She shuffled around to his back, nearly pushing him down in the process, and then hung on piggyback. Right, this made more sense. He shouldve thought of it.

    Marksi moved from his shoulders to Zillys. Brin wanted to shout at the little guy to get down, but theyd only just made up and he didnt have the heart. Besides, his slight weight wouldnt make that much of a difference.

    His legs started burning immediately, but he was determined. What was the point of all those early morning workouts if not for this? He kept his legs pumping. He might not have Davis endless well of stamina, but he had enough. It would have to be enough.

    Davi saw the way Brin was holding Zilly and then looked like he was having second thoughts about throwing Myra over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He pulled her around to his back as well.

    No, Davi,e on! Put me down! I can run!

    Not fast enough, Davi said firmly.

    Theyre close, Zilly said through gritted teeth from the pain. No, theyre here.

    A line of undead stood between them and the town. They were closing in from the sides as well. Brin didnt think the [Witch] whod set up the ambush had expected them to beat her giant, but shed clearly still had a backup n.

    Up! Let me on your shoulders! Myra said. She hiked up her skirts and then mbered up onto Davis shoulders. Its easier if I have my hands free.

    Despite everything that was going on, Davi still couldnt hide his blush at having his head between Myras thighs.

    Its easier if I have my hands free. Dont stop! Just run straight through!

    Brin was panting so hard that he couldnt yell back an agreement, so he nodded his head and kept running. It felt like it was a suicide charge; the undead got into defensive positions while Brin and Davi ran straight towards them, weapons holstered.

    At thest second, Myra thrust her hands forwards and used [Manipte Thread] to pull the closest undead away by their clothes. It was a far cry from Tawnas explosive power, but it was enough. She disabled the undead long enough from Brin and Davi to run straight past them. The undead chased after them from behind, giving further motivation for Brin to keep his burning legs moving.

    They werent quite faster than the undead, but every time one of them was about to catch up, Myra tripped it and granted them a few more seconds.

    Brin ran on, arms burning from holding Zillys legs, his own legs on fire. His vision started going gray, and he started to phase out everything except what he needed to do. <em>Keep running. Dont drop Zilly</em>. Since he was in no state to pay attention to anything else, he used [Directed Meditation] to wring every bit of strength he could out of his body.

    Marksi mustve noticed he wasgging, because he hopped down and started scampering alongside him. The slight lessening of his burden gave him the little bit of help he needed to keep going, just a little longer.

    He almost didnt notice when they came out of the treeline, into the fields around the town. There was blood in the air, and shouting, and Skill-enhanced torches illuminating the night. The undead were mostly to his left, fighting near a break in the walls, but that was all he had time to notice.

    Dozens of undeady in wait between them and the town gate.

    Almost immediately after they left the trees, explosions rocked the scattered undead in their way. The gates opened and a group of a dozen men shot out. Most of them carried greatshields, all except the one in the lead. Zillys dad.

    He blew a line of holy fire straight towards his daughter, and coincidentally, her wayward friends. He threw so many fireballs that by the time his group reached Brins he copsed from Mana exhaustion and had to be carried. Firm hands took Zilly from his grasp, and Davi finally let Myra down.

    Looking around, Brin saw that Davis dad, Alvir, was among the rescuers. Hed been the one whod taken Zilly from his arms. Zilly and Davis dads mustve been watching the tree line this whole time, waiting for some sign of their children. It was lucky they had.

    They ran back towards the gates, but the undead hardly bothered them; the army was distracted by something else.

    There was a loud, roaring growl as something fought near the break in the walls. In a brief part through the crowd of undead, Brin saw Ferir. The ck wolfhound was riddled with wounds, fighting for his life.

    Even as Brin watched, a cadre of undead spearmen surrounded him and thrust together, pinning him to the ground. He let out a pitiful whine, and then an ax-wielder chopped into his head, silencing him.

    Brin looked away. Thest thing he wanted to see today was another dog dying. Why was Ferir fighting alone?

    Then he saw something else. A monster. It was vaguely humanoid, but it had the snout of a dog with wicked teeth, dripping with the blood of the undead. Long arms, strange hands that ended in wed fingers as long as sword des. Its legs were dogs legs, except with dangerous-looking talons jutting unnaturally from the paws.

    The creature fought the undead in a berserker rage, striking down one enemy down after another, shrugging off wounds that should have killed anything alive.

    It wasnt until it spoke that he realized what he was looking at. killed her! You killed her! My only! Precious! Daughter! Taken from me

    Thats Clementines voice, said Brin.

    She went mad when Luiza died, answered one of his rescuers. Turned herself into that. Dark days, to learn that we had a [Witch] hiding among us this entire time.

    Brin felt a shocking sort of emptiness. Luiza was dead? But hed just talked to her today. How could she be dead?

    Even as he watched, Clementine grewrger and more monstrous. That was the [Witch]s solution to their personal vulnerabilitythey could transform themselves into monsters. Hogg had told him the danger in that: if they changed too much theyd never be able to turn back. From the looks of things, Clementine didnt mean to. She fought and killed and took terrible wounds.

    Brin didnt see her death, the undead blocked it from view. He heard, though. Onest roar of rage, then a scream of pain and fear. Then nothing. Another [Witch] dead. How many could he lose before that protective spell stopped working?

    By then, the section of wall where Clementine had been fighting was repaired, but Brin and his group were already nearly there. He stumbled thest few weary steps through the gate, and men mmed it shut behind him.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    In onest burst of strength, Brin lurched to the side of the street and then copsed onto the ground.

    He was tired. Hey on the ground, feeling sweet relief. He was safe. Theyd survived that stupid mission. He was sprawled out on the dirt next to the boardwalk, but he didnt think hed ever been in a bed thatfortable.

    There was no chance of him getting up, at least not until he caught his breath. But when he had caught his breath, he still didnt get up. What would be the problem if he took a nap right now? The gates would hold for another day. Sure, he should probably go to his own bed, but he was tired enough that it was starting to feel like a good idea to just drift off right here

    He sat up in a panic, remembering something. If Luiza was dead, then who was going to convince Kevim not to surrender? It might not be a coincidence that <em>she</em> of all people had died, especially not if the enemy [Witch] could read fate, too.

    Luiza might be dead because of Brin, because hed convinced her to talk to Kevim and that made her a liability in the [Witchs] ns. Hed gotten her killed. Her mother too. Clementine had gone mad with grief andmitted suicide by zombie, and shed taken Ferir with her. Add one more to the list of people whod died for Brins mistakes.

    Groaning, he got to his feet, and started walking.

    He found Kevim in front of the gates, and surprisingly, no one stopped him when he approached. Kevim was huddled together with a [Woodworker], an elderly [Farmer], Elvira the [Trapper], and Balbi.

    Send a team to find any other vulnerable ces, Kevim was saying. We need to know how many wall repairs well need to make before morning.

    With all due respect, said the [Woodworker], thats everywhere. The walls are failing.

    Kevim rubbed a hand through his hair. It looked thinner than it had been in the morning. Brin was tired, but he knew it was nothing to how Kevim was feeling, just going off how he looked. Kevim had dark bags under his eyes, and his skin seemed to sag. Still, when he nced at Brin, his eyes were alert and focused. What do you want?

    Dont surrender. We have to hold out, said Brin.

    Elvira sniffed. We already know that. Hogg had mentioned the [Trapper] as one of the most dangerous people in town, but she didnt look it. She had graying blonde hair,rge eyes, an overbite, and a small jaw, like an upside-down pear. Surrender is quite out of the picture.

    You do? It is? asked Brin.

    Kevim chuckled darkly. Hey, you know how I felt when Balbi first told me that I shouldnt surrender? <em>Relief.</em> I thought that meant that someone would try to talk to us soon. If someone is going to ask for our surrender, then that means theres going to be some sort of dialogue. That would be a wee change.

    No one has contacted you? asked Brin.

    Of the [Witch] directing this army, we have seen neither hide nor hair, Elvira answered.

    How is that possible? Tawna was certain

    Mention of that name seemed to breathe some life back into Kevim. Oh, Tawna! I see! he snapped, sarcastically. Well if Tawna said so then of course we should all scurry to obey! Let me ask you this: how urate have Tawnas predictions been thest couple days?

    Not the best, admitted Brin.

    Oh, not the best, you say? How interesting. Regardless, it doesnt matter. We cant surrender if the only surrender is death. So we hold on. We hold on and hold out, said Kevim firmly.

    The walls wont hold. I dont know if we have hours or minutes until the next breakthrough. What I do know is that by morning, the undead will be streaming in from every direction, said the [Woodworker].

    Then we go with your n, Kevim said to Elvira.

    Whats your n? Brin asked her. Everyone ignored him.

    Can your men repair the walls if we give you some breathing room? Kevim asked the [Woodworker].

    Theyre already in ce. Give us some space and well have the problem spots fixed in a jiffy.

    How long do we need to evacuate the town? Kevim asked.

    Its already done. Everyone is huddled together in the square. Weve got the barricadesing up, answered the elderly [Farmer].

    Kevim rubbed his face again. Then then I suppose weve no time to waste. Spread the word. Were opening the gates.

    The group split apart, each of them marching in different directions, except for Elvira.

    What? But I thought you said you werent going to surrender! Brin called after Kevim, who ignored him and kept walking.

    Elvira answered. Were not surrendering. Do you think Ive been idle this entire time? No, my dear. Ive been fitting every inch of this little town with examples of my craft. Traps. You see? All this time, weve been fighting for Hammons Bog. Dont you think its about time Hammons Bog fought for us?

    They strolled away from the gate, stopping a few hundred feet down the road, where they turned around to watch. A hundred defenders stood with them, most of them Lantern-men. This group was just here to witness in case something went wrong. ording to Elvira, if her traps worked as nned, a hundred was too much. If they didnt go off for some reason, then a hundred was much too little.

    Several people told Brin to leave, to go to the town square where most of the town was gathered, but he ignored them and no one moved him by force.

    He was supremely interested in watching this go down. His first kills in this world had been with traps, and [Trapper] is one of the Common sses hed be most interested in, if he had to do things all over again. He loved [sser] for its flexibility and for all the things he could create during peacetime, but thebat potential for [Trapper] was off the charts.

    Whos going to open the gates? Brin asked. Everyone had evacuated the area, and he knew they werent nning on waiting for the undead to tear the gates down this time.

    Kevim. The town has a Skill for it, and he can use it as acting Prefit, said Elvira.

    Minutester, it happened. He didnt hear or see Kevim; whatever method they used to activate town Skills was shrouded in secrecy. The result, however, was obvious enough.

    The gates flung open and a storm of ravenous undead charged through the gap. They gnashed their teeth and raised their weapons, heads swinging, looking for prey and finding none. Emboldened, they ran faster, pushed by the undead behind them.

    The gate was only wide enough to fit eight men across, but the undead didnt move like men. They didnt need to breathe and had no concept of personal space. They squeezed through in a tight mass, like water spraying from a leaky pipe.

    In what felt like an instant, hundreds of undead filled the street. Seeing the group of defenders, they didnt look to the left or right and charged straight down the street at the men and women with Brin.

    As they charged closer, Brin started to feel a bit nervous. He saw more than one defender draw their weapons and check their grips.

    Then, when the first undead were only a hundred feet away, they exploded. Gouts of me blew up from under the street, destroying the front line and burning away the undead who charged in after them, pushed by the weight of the charging army.

    Behind them, the ground gave way, a pitfall traponly, it looked more like the ground had suddenly turned liquid. The undead sunk into the mud and disappeared. The ground firmed up again, but none of the undead behind them dared to walk on it.

    The boardwalks exploded, sending stakes into the remaining undead, decimating their number. A few with shields blocked in time, but many died and the majority of the attackers took wounds, slowing them down and sewing panic.

    Fewer undead came through the gates, and they moved more slowly now, more cautious. Most of the undead that came through stayed right near the gate, grouping up. A furious chorus of clicks sounded through the army as they coordinated and came up with a n.

    It took a while for them to decide on a course of action and start moving again. This time, the attack was slower and more methodical. Instead of a mad charge, the undead moved in groups of ten. The defenders started pelting them with arrows, and then they had to go even slower to avoid the arrows. They went from house to house with greatshields, triggering every trap, and only moving on when they were certain the area was secure. It was slow going, as the undead were slow to give orders and slower to understand them.

    Minutes turned into an hour. An hour turned into two. The undead cleared the entire street, and Brins group slowly moved back.

    The undead smashed the houses they cleared, breaking windows and furniture, throwing clothes and bedding on the street, cracking dishes, destroying all they could. It was difficult to watch, but it was just stuff.

    In return, the town got time. Time enough to hopefully rebuild the most damaged sections of walls, although Brin had no idea how things were going on that front.

    No one talked about what was going to have to happen once the walls were fixed, but Brin could put two and two together. They were going to have to shut the gates again and then kill all the undead who were currently in the town. It would be a big, bloody mess. Hundreds of defenders would die, if they seeded at all.

    Well, this is where I drop off. The rest of you should head towards the town square with the others, Elvira said. She moved to walk off towards a very fine house. Unless youd like toe inside with me?

    Why not go with everyone else? asked Brin.

    My home, the ce where Ive invested much of my attention, the ce Ive lived for years, is probably the <em>safest</em> ce in Hammons Bog. You understand? She crooked an eyebrow suggestively. Traps

    No, yeah, I got that, said Brin.

    Even with knowing the traps were there and being ready for them, the undead still took casualties on a quarter of the traps they sprung. They werent all the same things. Here, it would be the floorboards exploding into me, but in the next house the roof wouldunch spinning des.He saw one house where the curtains wrapped themselves around an undead and then melted to acid, burning straight through its armor. Brin had no doubt that the undead would find Elviras house a tough nut to crack. He was almost tempted to take Elvira up on her offer to stay with her and let them try.

    You know, its a little strange to me that this is the first time weve met. Ive heard so much about you, said Brin.

    Hm? No, this isnt the first time. We met three nights ago in the public house.

    Brin froze, feeling like his blood was going cold. He didnt remember that. As far as he remembered, he hadn''t been in the pub since before H got caught up in the curse. Someone had been screwing with his memories. It was viting, and terrifying. At the same time, he couldnt help the smile that crept up on his lips. Finally, a breakthrough.

    He stood right there in the road and searched his stored memories of ss. It didnt take long until he knew exactly who the [Witch] was.

    Apparently he wouldnt be bunkering down with Elvira or joining the defenders in the town center. He had some preparations to make, and then it would finally be time.

    It was time to kill the [Witch].

 Book 2. Chapter 46

    Book 2. Chapter 46

    Effa was bright and alert from the moment he walked in. She didnt pretend to be senile or mentally ill or whatever shed been doing this whole time.

    She smirked, her eyes dancing, though she didnt get up from her chair. Her dress, her skin, and the house were filthy. A rotting queen on a putrid throne.

    Micah followed Brin in, eyes downcast like always. He poured a drink for Effa in a dirty ss, ced it in her hand, and then turned around to leave.

    He paused at the door. We would have done anything for her. Do you understand?

    Im beginning to, said Brin.

    <strong>Alert! [Call Sound through ss] leveled up! 6 -> 7</strong>

    Brin made a mentalmand that he didn''t want any more skill up notifications until he asked for them. Hopefully the System would respect it; he couldn''t afford to get distracted right now.

    Micah nodded and left the room. He didn''t shut the door behind him, giving Brin apletely unimpeded view of what was going on through the doorway.

    Effa picked up her ss and swirled it a bit, then looked up at Brin and gave him a measuring look. She said, After all these years, I cant get him to stop saying that.

    He shrugged. Thats the problem with familiars. Theyve got just a little pinch of autonomy. I bet thats by design, you know. [Witches] trend towards megalomania. They need someone who can question them, who can push back against some of their worst ideas and prevent some of the self-sabotage.

    Effa nodded. But if a familiar hates you, then hell resist every little thing you do for the rest of your life. Hell obey orders, direct orders worded very carefully, <em>most of the time</em>. But nothing can get him to stop saying that thing he says. I should have released him years ago, but you know, I have such a hard time throwing anything away.

    Brinughed. Her house was more disgusting than hed ever seen it. Clearly no one hade in to clean since thest time he and Hogg had visited, and the filth had piled up. At least he couldnt really smell anything at present, which was a mercy.

    She had all the hallmarks of a hoarder; at least thats what theyd call her in his old life. Hed only learned a little bit about hoarders back then, but hed heard that it was caused by some kind of trauma. Some terrible action or event that they couldnt get over, leaving them unable to move forward and scrambling to hold on to any reminder of the past. An event like the death of a daughter?

    She gestured with the ss at the piles of detritus. Well, are you going to clean?

    Brin chuckled. In a minute. Theres a couple things I want to know first.

    The smart thing to do would be to run her through immediately. She was more vulnerable now that she might ever be again, and giving her time to talk meant giving her time to summon some kind of rescue. That was Brins problem; he was too curious, and if he didnt ask now, he might never get another chance.

    Effa nodded. Me too. How did you figure it out?

    Youre a [Seamstress], which means that you could be the one making clothes for the undead. The way your daughter died gave you more than enough pain for getting an evil ss. You were one of the first people I suspected, but I could never really believe it was you.

    Oh? And why is that?

    Hogg. If you were the [Witch], theres no way that Hogg would miss it. At least thats what I thought. Still, I shouldve looked into it closer. You gave me plenty of clues, like the time you got a job working in the public house. Thats the perfect ce to gather small crimes against hospitality to make people vulnerable to hexes. The adventurers especially didnt interact with many other people. The best clue was when H got hexed. The rest of them made sense, high level people, town elders, leaders... but H? Shes not particrly dangerous. My guess is you just dont like her. Nobody likes their boss. I should''ve figured it out at the time, but I had a lot going. Then there was the giant undead. We stumbled right on top of it because it was protected from Zilly''s extra senses somehow. We assumed he had enchanted clothing, but now I think it was the dirt he was buried under. That could be Micah''s work as an [Earthmover]. The thing that really nailed it home is my trip to the public house. Or I should say, the trip I never took. I wasn''t there. You put that memory in Elvira''s head, probably some attempt to undermine the town''s defense? When I had a location, the rest wasn''t hard to put together.

    Brin [Inspected] her.

    <strong>Effa Peck</strong>

    <strong>Level 31</strong>

    <strong>Seamstress</strong>

    Even now, it didnt say [Witch]. That wasnt tracking; the rest of the [Witches] messages had updated after hed figured it out. So thats how it was. Well, he prepared for this, too.

    Youre not the [Witch]. Youre really what you look like. Youre Effa Peck the [Seamstress]. Brin shook his head. Your daughter Siphani is the [Witch].

    Effa crooked an eyebrow, not speaking.

    Brin continued. How did you fool Hogg all this time?

    Effa sighed and set the ss down. Brin frowned. Was she really not going to drink it? She nced at the window, no doubt thinking about whether or not she had to answer. Would you like to y a game of questions? Ill tell you, but then you answer one of mine.

    Fine, said Brin.

    I suppose you deserve to know. The Wyrd has many ways, ways for bedazzling the mind and entrapping the spirit. For Hogg, she only needed to change one thing, one tiny little detail on his oh-so-exhaustive [Inspect]. She only needed to remove the word Undead. Oh, and the fact that were her familiars. Living people cant be familiars, you know. <em>Siphani</em> didnt need to fool his [Inspect] because he never saw her.

    Then how

    Effa brought up a hand to shush him. She wasnt near enough to touch him, but he stepped back anyway. No, no, now I get a question. Why are you not dead? Specifically, why have you not sumbed to the very powerful hex that was thrown at you? Its as if yourepletely immune to the Wyrd and Id like to know why.

    Brin thought about it. If he refused to answer shed probably m up as well. He knew they were both just trading information under the assumption that it wouldnt matter because the other party would be dead soon. On the other hand, she was asking for something that might help her kill him, while he was just trying to assuage his curiosity.

    He decided to go for it. I had a protective spell put on me by some friends of mine.

    Effa sat up straight, hunger in her eyes. Who was it?

    Not so fast. I think I deserve another question, said Brin.

    Oh, very well. I suppose I can tell you

    No, Id like to be very specific with my question. He thought for a moment. You said that Siphani fooled Hoggs [Inspect] by staying away from it. Shes hiding. But shes here. Thats real human waste in that chamber pot, from a living person. Shes probably been hiding under the floor or somethingthats not the question.

    Effa chuckled. I dont mind telling you that my heart beat a little faster every time Hogg mopped a certain loose floorboard.

    I think I already know that youre a student of Arcaena, or a student of one of her apprentices. The thing about how she kills all the other [Witches] she finds is a farce. She recruits heavily from the neighboring kingdoms.

    Effa raised an eyebrow. Is that your question?

    No, said Brin. Ok, Ive got it. The night that Hogg killed Siphani, or thought he did. I mean, this is Hogg were talking about! Theres no way he wouldnt have someone check his memories for any Wyrd-ness. How did she fool him?

    Well, youre quite right, she couldnt. It was me who died that night. Siphani was a new [Witch] back then and juste into her power, but altering the appearance is one of the first things a [Witch] is able to do. She gave me her face and I ran off into the woods for her. Then everything else is exactly how Hogg remembers it. He pursued me, threatened me, forced me to swear an Oath. I swore to never use any [Witch] powers for evil, and of course I kept that promise until my death. I drowned myself. All exactly as he remembers. Effa said it all with a wide, triumphant grin.

    Something about this was not right. This was not the way a person tells the story of her own death. Even if Effa had been proud of killing herself to save her daughter, Brin couldnt believe shed tell the story like that.

    What utter nonsense.

    Effas eye twitched. Believe it or not; I dont care. I told you what happened. Now, my question is

    Hogg got a kill notification for a level 1 [Child]. Theres no way he would miss it if you were a level 31 [Seamstress]. How did you change the notification?

    I dont know. Perhaps the eyes of Arcaena were on us? Or perhaps my daughter is more talented than I ever realized.

    Brin shook his head. No. How can you say that? She betrayed you! She ruined your family! She killed you!

    For a moment, Effas features twisted. It looked like her face was at war with itself. Then they resolved into benign calmness that was almost believable. Who are the [Witches] of Hammons Bog?

    No. Ill put myself in danger, but I wont betray people whove trusted me. Choose another question or this conversation is done.

    Effa hissed in frustration. Then she abruptly smiled as if shed just thought of a funny joke. Fine then. My question: Why in the name of the three Fundamentals did you think that I would actually drink this?

    She picked up the ss and poured out the contents. Brin winced as his very expensive potion of Turn Undead mixed with the rat droppings and rancid food on the floor.

    Well?

    I figured Siphani ordered you to eat and drink anything that anyone gave you, to keep up appearances. She seems like thezy type, so I didnt think shed want to have to order you each time.

    Ridiculous. You think a [Witch] wouldnt be wary of needlessly partaking in hospitality?

    Hey, I answered a question, so that means its my turn, Brin said. Wheres Siphani?

    Effa drummed her fingers twice against the armrest of her chair, and then she stood, and as she did the gravity in the room seemed to double.

    He wasnt sure what it was, but Brin felt his pulse pounding in his ears, all his instincts telling him that this was the time to run. He felt his skin crawl in fearful anticipation.

    She grabbed both sides of her own face, and pulled. The skin tore away in a straight line, as if on a seam, and kept going down. No blood spilled; her body had been built to split like this. Hair, clothes, skin, it all tore in half in a straight line, revealing a porcin-white figure underneath.

    Brin used [Inspect] before shedpletely erupted from the zombified skin of her mother. She mustve had a high enough [Hide Status] to block it, but shed left some things visible.

    <strong>Siphani Peck</strong>

    <strong>Level 45</strong>

    <strong>Witch</strong>

    <strong>Alert! You have uncovered the identity of every Witch in Hammons Bog.</strong>

    <strong>Through your efforts, you have earned a new Skill.</strong>

    <strong>Know Whats Wyrd - You can sense the Wyrd. Increased resistance to the Wyrd and Wyrd-rted abilities.</strong>

    Brins mind barely had time to register the notification; he was too stuck on the image of Siphani Peck erupting out of the zombified corpse of her mother. Effa hadnt been a whole zombie, just a costume, and she fell limply to the ground. Siphani daintily stepped out of the mess. Her nude frame was ghastly and thinner than should be possible. Her ribs stuck out prominently and her hips looked like a shrink-wrapped skeleton. Her arms were round and noodly, almost as thin as Myras ropes. It seemed impossible that her thin legs held her whole weight. Only her head was plump, it was like the ball on top of a lollipop, perfectly round, with thin uneven hair.

    Shed clearly altered herself with the Wyrd. Shed monsterified herself as much as Clementine had done, only Siphanis body hadnt been a rush job. It had clearly been the product of passion. The perfect vision of beauty, from a deranged, psychopathic anorexic.

    Despite her emaciated appearance, something in Brins instincts said she was strong. Not just magically strong, but physically. Maybe it was [Battle Sense], but for reasons he couldnt exin, he didnt think he could beat her.

    She proved it when one gangly arm formed a fist and then quicker than he could blink, drove it straight through his head.

    The actionpletely unsummoned Brins mirror image. Because no, even he wasnt stupid enough to enter a [Witchs] den alone.

    Thats why hed needed Micah to open the door for him and bring in the second potion of Turn Undead, because his real body was in a house across the street. He''d been watching through the door that was left open. The hardest part had been sound. Mirror Image projected his voice, echoing anything he said, but it didn''t hear for him. He''d needed to fool around with [Call Sound through ss] until he found a way to sort of feel sound through the magic he ced on ss--in this case the potion bottle. It wasn''t perfect, but between that and straining his ears at the door of the house across the street, he''d been able to follow the conversation.

    That was also why Brin had expected Effa to drink the second potion of Turn Undead: because Micah had drunk his without a second thought.

    Go nuts, buddy! Im done with her! Brin called.

    Micahs calm demeanorpletely fled. His face sank in a hateful grimace, and he pounded towards the house with heavy steps. Hed spent the time of their conversation wrapping himself in ayer of dirt, the armor and weapon of an [Earthmover].

    With one earth-gauntleted fist, Micah swung his fist into the wall of her house, shattering the old rotten wood.

    We wouldve done anything for you! he howled.

    He swung again, breaking down more of the wall. We took you in! Fed you! Clothed you! Effa wore RAGS so that you could wear pretty new dresses every week!

    He punched again, and this time the entire wall came down.

    Siphani serenely stepped out of the rubble, her pale form shining in the moonlight.

    Micah mmed the ground with both hands in wild anger. Even as Brin watched, he grew, bing more monstrous, more undead. Without the power of a [Witch] to hold it in check, his undead nature ran wild. His skin took a greenish cast, his teeth grew longer, and he drooled with a hunger that could no longer be repressed. We gave you EVERYTHING! We brought meals to your room so that you wouldnt have to see when there was nothing left for us!

    All of this is what a daughter is due from their parents. You shouldnt have taken me in if you were too poor to provide for me, Siphani said simply.

    Micah screamed, losing coherence. He charged her. One of her thin ropey arms swung out and smacked him, mming him to the ground. He began to stand, but she kicked him, flinging him to a building to the side. That action set off traps on the boardwalk. Spikes flew from the boards, impaling him in a dozen ces.

    He stood, shakily, but no less furious. You stole YOU KILLED MY WIFE! He charged again, seeming to grow stronger every second, despite his wounds. This time he weathered Siphanis strikes and rocked her with a wide haymaker, flinging her back into their ruined house.

    Brin had expected that bringing in Micah would end things. After all, [Witches] were personally weak and relied on their familiars. Now, he wasnt so sure.

    He used the brief dy to start summoning another mirror image, following along with his memory of casting it the first time from his [Memories in ss]. He wished hed thought to keep practicing it; making the casting time even a few seconds faster could mean the difference between life and death.

    The slugmatch between Siphani and her undead father went on, and Micah came off worse for it. Siphanis ivory skin was unhurt, only slightly blemished by stters of Micahs blood and his armor of dirt.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Finished, Brin put the mirror image in front of him, and charged at Siphani. As smart as it might be to run away and get backup, if there was a chance he could end this war now, he needed to take it.

    Siphani swiped straight through his mirror image, dispelling it, leaving herself open. Coming in right behind it, Brin thrust out with his spear. She snaked away at thest second, but Brin still gouged a long line through her side.

    She screamed and caught him in the gut with a backhand that knocked the air from his lungs.

    Micah knocked her off her feet with a punch and she rolled away, slithered several yards like a snake, and then took off running.

    Stop her! Brin shouted, but it was already too fast. Siphani was monstrously fast.

    Only, strangely, she wasnt heading toward her army and safety. She was running towards the town square, where Kevim had said that everyone had grouped up for the final stand.

    Even in a world with sses, being outnumbered still mattered. Brin and his friends had proven that against the giant. There was no way she should be able to face the entire town alone. That should be suicide unless it wasnt.

    Brin ran after her. He started the chant for mirror image again, and when it was cast, sent it a dozen yards ahead of him, then followed.

    He felt something. A wrongness in the air, underground, and even inside of him. That was that was the Wyrd. His new Skill, [Know Whats Wyrd] was showing all the things that [Witches] had used their magic on, and it was <em>everywhere.</em>

    This was the perfect Skill for this exact moment, but he didnt have time to teach himself how to use a new Skill. Hed turn the corner towards the town center any minute now, and he didnt know what hed find there. He needed to figure out what this Skill could tell him <em>now</em>.

    He used [Directed Meditation], and focused on the new sense that [Know Whats Wyrd] had given him. Starting with himself, he felt a churning sort of ckness, he could feel how it protected him, and he felt strings of it trailing off into the distance. Even now, he felt Siphanis magic bearing down on him, trying to poison his skin and seed maggots in his blood, and he felt that magic being siphoned off through the threads, towards the towns other [Witches].

    It was fascinating and terrifying, and in other times hed like nothing more than to sit down and study it, picking it apart to see how it worked. He didnt have time for that now. What else could it do? He felt Siphani, even though shed turned the corner and was dashing towards the city center. He also felt something underground, lines tracing the entire town. At first he thought they might be tunnels, but they werent big enough for that. They were thin, like strings, but they went everywhere.

    There were intersecting points, ces where the power was stronger, and then lines connecting them. He also felt

    There were undead down there. Siphani had buried pockets of undead all across the city.

    Up! Get up and defend me! Siphani called, not stopping in her flight.

    Three undead burst from under the dirt and closed on Brins mirror image. He tried to dodge, but the three undead easily struck his mirror image and dispelled it. Then they turned to him. Could he beat three on his own? Hed have to.

    He heard heavy footsteps, and then arge figure ran past him. It was disgusting, an undead, but it wasnt after him. The undead was so transformed from how hed looked just a minute ago, that Brin didnt recognize him at first. Micah. His wounds had been sewn shut, and he was covered in gore, loose skin, and wore a womans dress. Micah was wearing Effa.

    Shed drunken the potion off the floor, then wrapped herself around her husband to join him in revenge.

    Micah clubbed the undead with primal fury, his movements brutal and overwhelming, like a gori. He shattered the three soldiers and then stomped towards Siphani.

    Brin followed behind. Hopefully Micah would kill Siphani before he got there, because she was starting to see through his mirror images and he didnt have much else up his sleeve. He only had his magic, and the rest of the potions hed taken from Hogg. A few mana potions, and one potion with me on thebel.

    Siphani screamed orders as she ran, and by the time Brin turned the corner towards the town center, shed grown a small force of two dozen undead.

    Past her, everyone that was left in Hammons Bog was grouped up in the town center, more than a thousand people. A ring of defenders stood on the outside, spears out and shields high, though the shields all bore scratches and dings. The adventurers were among the defenders, and even Ademsi 2000 was there, although he wore heavy robes to disguise himself. In front of the defenders theyd erected spiked barricades. Behind them stood all the nonbatants. Children, the elderly, and everyone who had a ss unsuited for any kind ofbat. He saw Bruna and Ademir among them, both gritting their teeth in frustration. Though looking at it now, all the adults, even the most elderly among them, were carrying weapons and dressed forbat.

    They saw Siphani standing a hundred paces away, halfway down the street between them and Brin, and many were already nocking their arrows.

    She smiled more widely than a human mouth should go when she saw him turn the corner, a sadistic smile. She looked back at the town.

    And now, for the moment youve been waiting for, you fools! Her voice boomed over the town. Brin was certain every person in Hammons Bog wouldve been able to hear her, even if they hadnt all been right here. This is it. This is your one and only chance to surrender. Arcaena has need of you, and not as corpses, though that would suit me just as well. No, a great nation like Arcaena has very few who are born of such low ambition that they will take a Common ss. Surrender, and Arcaena will wee you as the necessary servants that you are.

    Something was wrong. Siphani only had a few dozen undead. What made her think she was in a position to demand the surrender of a thousand armed people? He was missing something, but he bet it had something to do with the strange formation underground.

    Micah, Effa, hold on, Brin said, and to his surprise, they did. Micah growled and pawed at the dirt with his foot, but he stopped running.

    Brin looked at his spear, shrugged, and used [Summon ss] to turn the spearhead into a perfect American-style spade. He found one of the ces where the lines seemed to intersect the strongest, and started digging.

    Marksi chirped from where hed been hiding nearby, perhaps sensing his moment to help had arrived. He went to the spot Brin had been digging, and then slithered into the soil like a worm. Marksi could smell magic, so he knew exactly what Brin was looking for, but Brin wasnt so sure the little guy would be able to do anything about it. Hed been counting on [Know Whats Wyrd] to disrupt whatever this formation was once hed dug far enough down to reach it.

    A momentter, Marksi dug his way back up. He held a fingernail-sized ruby in his hands, showing it to Brin with pride. The gem vibrated with power, more full of the Wyrd than Micah or even Siphani. It was beautiful and evil, and he bet it was actually a monster core, enchanted with [Witch] magic to power a ritual. He had no idea what to do with it. But as he watched, he realized that the lines of Wyrd were moving in to intersect with the gemstone. All he had to do to disrupt this formation would be to move that gem!

    Marksi brought the gem up to his mouth, and swallowed it in one bite. The lines of Wyrd on this entire half of the formation winked out.

    Oh, no that cant be good. Spit it out! said Brin. Marksi was already starting to look sleepy. Brin picked Marksi up and put him in the hood of his jacket. He needed to find someone who knew how to make a skink throw up. Sure, Marksi got stronger from eating monster cores, but there was no way Brin wanted <em>this</em> one in his little friend.

    Meanwhile, the town hade to a decision. They loosed arrows on Siphani, ying several of her undead, and the line of defenders began to march forward.

    Fools, youve dug your own graves. What? Do you think I lived here all these years and did nothing? Iveid traps of my own.

    She shouted words of Wyrd, and all at once the town turned red. The formation lit up with red light from underground.

    Sparks of scarlet lightning sted from the ground around Brin, shocking him, tracing up and down his body, but doing nothing. That was because he was protectedno one else was that lucky.

    He saw the red lightning hit the people of Hammons Bog, but they withstood it. The defenders continued to step forward. With [Know Whats Wyrd], Brin could feel the intent behind it. Siphani expected the formation to kill every living soul except for her, instead it barely weakened them. He thanked Solia that hed thought to disrupt it when he did.

    She shouted more words of Wyrd, and the intent of the spell focused, this time only hitting the front line of defenders.

    The strongest of Hammons Bog fell to the ground as one, a chorus of screams filling the night. Four or five defenders stayed on their feet, propping themselves up on shields or spears. Most copsed to the ground. He saw Ademir and Bruna grimacing in pain, both of them taking his dose.

    Brin gasped in mock pain, and then staggered back behind a building, already starting the chant for mirror image.

    Siphani brought more undead up from underground. Shed been preparing this contingency for quite some time, no doubt with Neptunes help. More sprouted up until fifty undead stood with her.

    Now that the towns defenders were trapped in her curse, that was fifty too many.

    Onest chance to surrender! But this time with a condition! In your temple therey ten people, ten who have been afflicted with my curse. You will go into the temple and bring them out and deliver them to me, Siphani ordered.

    The door to the temple opened, and Ellion the priest stepped out. No, he said simply. There was no judgment from the heavens, no pir of fire, but Siphani mmed against the ground as if shed been stepped on by an invisible giant. She stood again shakily.

    The gods will not be mocked. You will not vite the sanctity of their temple, not even by proxy. I wish I were notpelled to warn you. I wish I could let you try and see you bear the consequences. Nevertheless, I was made to warn you, and so I have. Good day. He didnt raise his voice, but even from across the town square his voice was crystal clear.

    Siphani grimaced in outrage, but schooled her expression. She made a mocking curtsy, mimicking spreading out the dress she wasnt wearing. I bow to the will of the gods.

    Do you mock me?

    She sank down to her knees, this time looking appropriately cowed. No. No, I am a servant to the gods. I will make an appropriate sacrifice for my error.

    Ellion red at her, then turned and walked back inside his temple. Brin felt his new hope dwindle. Ellion wasnt going to save them. Hed delivered his warning, and that was all he intended to do. Siphani stayed on her knees, head facing the floor until he was back inside. Then she stood, with an angry smile.

    Im afraid I have no reason to spare you now, she said.

    The undead charged. The defenders were still stunned, and there was no one left except nobatants.

    Brin sent his mirror image ahead of them, charging at Siphani to give them an edge, but she ignored him and his mirror image ran straight through her. How many times did you think Id fall for that? Advance, you warriors of Arcaena!

    Go, Micah! Stop her! Brin yelled. He clutched his spear and charged as well, but an undead moved to block his path. They wouldnt get there in time.

    The old [Farmer] from the town council stepped forward, and he wasnt alone. The old and infirm, the nice olddies and the bowed old men separated themselves from out of the ranks of the others. Many of their families grabbed at them to pull them back, but they shook away and stepped forward.

    For a split second, Ademir squared his shoulders and stepped forward, spear in hand. Even while shrugging his portion of the curse aimed at Brin, he looked strong and able. But Ademir wasnt a fighter, and he seemed to remember that at the same time Brin did. His shoulders sagged, and he stepped back.

    The elderly hefted weapons, some barely holding on, some needing canes to keep their feet. They stepped forwards.

    Thest charge of the elders moved through the ranks of the paralyzed defenders and hit the undead with a deafening crash. Age had robbed them of the utility of their attributes, but nothing stopped their Skills. For one dazzling moment, they broke through the enemy, crushing them with staves, cutting them apart with scythes, slicing them in half with scissors.

    Then the moment was over. The Skills were spent, and the remaining undead were unstoppable. Now all the elderly could do was serve as speed bumps.

    Brin could barely pay attention to his own fight, so focused was he on the image of the nice old woman whod given him a sausage roll having her legs chopped off at the knees by a grinning undead soldier.

    Siphanis parents werent distracted by anything. They bowled straight through the undead, nothing slowing them. She formed ws on her fingers and shed out at them, her thin arms striking like whips.

    WE DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU! they screamed in unison.

    Micah and Effa tackled her. All three of them went to the ground, and became a bloody mess, ripping, tearing, and biting at each other.

    Brin threw his potion, the one with the me on thebel, hoping to hit all three of them together.

    He expected fire, but hed somehow forgotten that this was Hoggs potion, made for threats on his level. Nothing prepared Brin for its intensity.

    me burst out in a concussive st, eliminating swathes of undead and catching Effa, Micah, and Siphani ame. All three of them screamed. They writhed on the floor, the alchemical me burning them away. Brin watched in horrid fascination as they turned ck and shrunk, still screaming and squirming in pain. [Battle Fury] poured strength into him, more than he''d expected. He''d either killed them, or this counted as many, many wounds.

    The magical effect of the me died down, but the mes burned on. Effa and Micah went still, but Siphani shifted and writhed.

    <strong>You have defeated: Effa Peck (31)</strong>

    <strong>You have defeated: Micah Peck (33)</strong>

    Siphani''s skin, now ck and charred sloughed off of her, and she stood, all red exposed muscle.

    Brin started the chant for his spell again. This time, on a hunch, he put the magic into [Summon ss] instead of [Call Light from ss]. The sound portions he kept the same.

    Siphani finished off her parents first. She pulled the head off of Micahs corpse, and then used her wed fingers to sh Effa to pieces. She took a step towards Brin. She looked to be smiling, now that shed lost the skin of her face.

    It hurts. IT HURTS! She moaned as she stumbled away from her dead parents, really dead now. I cant believe you made me kill them.

    Through [Know Whats Wyrd], he felt her pull on the power of her formation, changing it somehow. Youre hiding somewhere, but I can still see you; I can see you through the slights made against me. Youve resisted my curses so far, but can your protectors resist this?

    She removed the power of the formation from the defenders, freeing them for a short moment, and pushed all of its destructive wrath into Brin. For an instant, he felt a warning from [Survivor of Travins Bog], telling him that this was an attack that could kill him. Then the pain hit.

    Even though the lions share of the energy was siphoned away into the three remaining [Witches], the power was still enough to wrap Brins body in agony. He was struck with exhaustion, and felt his skin cracking, spiderwebs of wounds breaking out underneath his armor.

    <em>Its too much! We cannot bear it! We must break the spell and free ourselves!</em> He felt the words rather than heard them, Balbi was speaking in his mind, through the bond theyd made with their protective spell.

    Brunas voice came next. <em>We took up this burden. We will carry it.</em>

    <em>No.</em> Ademirs voice was firm.

    The magic of the Wyrd shifted as Ademir carried out aplicated working, pulling on the magic and twisting it to his ends. The emotions of Bruna and Balbi were clear through the bondhorror at what he was doing. They tried to stop him, pulling against his working, but he was too strong. Hepleted his alteration to the spell and the magic mmed into ce.

    <em>No. I will carry it alone</em>.

    The energy attacking Brin slipped away. The portion of the curse hitting Balbi and Bruna erased itself. All of the hateful energy coalesced on Ademir, destroying him utterly. He screamed, and then even that much was too much for him.

    The magic from Siphanis formation was so toxic and full of hate, that Brin was afraid to see what it would do to him. The effect was more dignified than what hed seen happen to others cursed by [Witches], but no less deadly. Ademir turned to dust, starting with his fingers and toes, and then up to his body until nothing remained.

    Ademsi howled in fury and anguish. He ran to Ademirs remains and copsed on the ground sobbing. At least... at least Ademir''s familiar would live on.

    The rest of the defenders had recovered and began to move. Siphani switched the target of her formation back to them, freezing them in ce for the second time.

    He finished his chant. An entire third of his newly expanded mana pool drained away, and a perfect copy of Brin rose up from in front of him.

    It was a perfect ss sculpture. It looked exactly like him, down to the fabric of his clothes and the stters of mud on his leather armor.

    Siphani didnt fall for it. She walked straight past the statue and whipped at him with a wed hand. He brought his spear up to defend, but she shattered the Bog Standard haft and then whipped out to scrape her nails against his armor. They bit deep, cutting into the muscle of his chest. He hissed and scrambled back, pushing mana into [Call Light] to do the only other trick he knew. He made bright, blinding light appear in the head of his broken spear.

    She stepped back, shielding her eyes. Enough!

    She stretched one bleeding red arm back, far further than it should be able to stretch, and pulled a potion from Effas burnt remains. She threw it on the ground, shattering it.

    Pure, clean light erupted from the bottle. Not blinding or painful like Brins light, but calming and revealing. The Evdis. Shed used an Evdis on him to dispel any illusions.

    He scrambled back, groaning. The blinding light winked away, and he couldnt feel his illusion magic anymore; it was like hed lost the light and sound Skills. Oh no.

    Oh yes! she said. She watched his ss sculpture expectantly, but when the light of the Evdis crossed it, nothing happened. It stood there, perfectly intact and lifelike. What?

    She reached over and tapped it. ss? She struck, shattering it, and doing even more damage to her skinless arms. She shrieked in pain.

    Brin pushed every single iota of mana he had left in his body into the sculpture, doing the first trick hed ever learned with [Shape ss].

    The ss expanded wildly, ballooning out, losing its color to burnt ckness. He couldnt stop the expansion, but he could guide its direction. He wrapped it around her, hugging her tight. She strained against it, and he could already feel it starting to crack, but he had just enough time.

    He closed the distance, and stabbed her in the chest with his knife.

    Just like that, it was over. Except she didn''t die right away. That was the problem with stabbing someone. She knew she was dying, and he knew it, too, but she wasn''t dead yet. He stabbed her again, and again. Whatever she''d done to her body made her resilient. Resilient enough to cling to life, but not enough to resist. He kept stabbing, starting to panic, starting to hyperventte, because how could she <em>still</em> not be dead? He didn''t want to look at the terrible damage, but obviously he couldn''t look away. He felt the steady, soothing anger of the [Scarred One] steady his hands and help him do what needed to be done.

    Finally, <em>finally</em>, he got the notification.

    <strong>Alert! You have defeated: Level 45 Witch</strong>

    <strong>Level up! Level 27 -> 28</strong>

    <strong>+5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.</strong>

    <strong>Level up! Level 28 -> 29</strong>

    <strong>+5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.</strong>

    <strong>Level up! Level 30 -> 31</strong>

    <strong>+5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.</strong>

    <strong>You may choose a new ss Skill.</strong>

    <strong>You have 2 free general Skills.</strong>

    <strong>Congrattions! You have gained a new title.</strong>

    <strong>Savior of Hammons Bog.</strong>

    <strong>Gain 20% to all attributes while in Hammons Bog.</strong>

    Brin jumped to his feet, trying to get some distance between himself and what he''d just done. Knives were too close. Too personal. The vision of her face followed him, sticking in his mind. He''d been told that when you die, your life shed before your eyes. Actually, he''d experienced that. What he hadn''t been told, was that the person killing you could see it, too. Brin had watched Siphani''s life pass over her features, but in reverse. First, the monster she''d be, the spiteful woman that had tried to cover her small sins with unforgivable transgressions. Then she''d gone back to a scared little girl. When she''d finally died, it was with an odd look of calm.

    He spat the taste of blood out of his mouth, and started walking, trying to distract himself. He looked over the town. The red light died down, and he felt the presence of the Wyrd clear out, starting near him and then expanding around in a ring, her death cleansing the area. The red electricity torturing the townsfolk dispersed, and he saw them moaning and getting to their feet.

    He approached, and the sight of them sent a spike of anger up his back. He knew this was the [Scarred One''s] feelings, but he couldn''t help it. No one looked in his direction. He didnt exactly expect them to start cheering his name, but werent they ignoring him a little too much? Theyd seen him save the town, hadnt they? They didnt look happy to see him. They didnt look happy at all. The defenders, recovering from Siphanis torture formation, were picking up their weapons, their faces set in grim determination.

    Anger turned to sudden awareness and then dread. He turned around. A woman in a bright pink gown, with bright red lipstick, blue eyeshadow, and two circles of blush on her cheeks stood in the center of the street. A gigantic stuffed bunny stood to her left, colored baby-blue. To her right stood a man-sized stuffed bunny, a sickly green. An army of the undead followed along behind her.

    She tossed something towards them and itnded with a st. A human head. Elvira the [Trappers] head.

    This was yourst great defender, yes? Dear me, but I do hate to take matters into my own hands like this. Id much have preferred if my apprentice had seeded here. What a remarkable failure. She couldnt even subdue one small little vige! And to think I had such high hopes for her. Well, I suppose youre all very proud of yourself, but Ill tell you now that this simply will not do. It will not do at all. Aberthol,e here. Now. Im taking you home.

    Brin knew immediately who she was from Hoggs story. Awnadil. It was over.

    The light of the Evdis continued to expand, illuminating the undead army in perfect detail and nailing home how unmistakably screwed they all were. It went over rooftops, washing over the white walls of the temple. At least the people in there would survive the night. Dare he hope that Hogg would recover from Siphanis curse ande save the day? But when hed personally been hexed, killing the [Witch] hadnt healed him. It had only stopped the spread. The doors to the temple didnt open. The light moved on, over the public house and Perris shop, down the streets.

    Lightning struck, a bar of ck light that Brin wouldnt have believed, only it hit in an area already covered by the Evdis. It sted up a plume of ck smoke, which was quickly carried away by the breeze, revealing another woman. A blonde woman dressed in red.

    Luminaughed. Looks like I got here just in time. Unbelievable! He was right. I cant believe youre actually here. Ha! If wed known this is all it took to drag you out of hiding, we would have done it ages ago, oh [Great Witch] Awnadil.

 Book 2. Chapter 47

    Book 2. Chapter 47

    "Impossible!" said Awnadil. She raised a shaky finger usingly at Lumina.

    Lumina tossed her golden hair back and shed a sparkling smile. "Impossible, she calls me. I rather like that, very ttering. But I think I prefer being called inevitable. Don''t you think?"

    "My apprentice tormented this town for weeks, and I saw and knew every hand that was raised against her. How could she have done all this if you were here?"

    "I only just arrived, obviously. Only, please don''t avoid the dragon in the room. That''s not why you''re so surprised," said Lumina.

    Awnadil grit her teeth, glowering.

    "Go on. Say it. Say something about fate," said Lumina.

    Awnadil gritted her teeth, but held her tongue.

    Lumina threw her head back andughed. Itsted for a little too long, and it didn''t catch on. The recovering townsfolk and the undead all stood stoically, watching her.

    Lumina wiped a tear from her eye. "Now I see why you''re dressed as a clown. Go on, say something foolish."

    "We need not quarrel here," Awnadil said. "Even you could not protect all present from the suffering that I can unleash. I will depart, taking only my godson with me, my Aberthol. I do have such concern for him, you know. Oh, he''s the dour thing there they call Brin."

    The smile dropped from Lumina''s face. "Foolish, true, but I think I should have said I wanted to hear something funny. And thats not funny at all."

    He is mine by right. I am his godmother, said Awnadil.

    My dear crone, I am his <em>mother</em>, said Lumina. That elicited a gasp from several of the townsfolk. Battered, bruised, and broken, they still werent immune to a little bit of soap opera drama.

    I know his mother, and you are <em>not</em> her, said Awnadil. It was Brins turn to gasp at the revtion. Aberthols father had been certain his biological mother was on her way to torture and death, but now Awnadil was talking about her in the present tense. She was still alive? He didnt know how to feel about that. Well, actually he did. He hoped hed never meet her.

    Lumina shrugged, unconcerned. She didnt so much as nce at Brin. I adopted him.

    The Wyrd does not recognize your im. He is mine by natural right. A [Witch] is never stronger than when protecting that which is hers, said Awnadil, and she wasnt being hypothetical. Brin could feel the Wyrd now, and there was more power in Awnadils left pinky than had existed in the entirety of Siphanis formation. It was more power than Brin had ever seen or felt before, more power than he knew was possible. This is what a [Witch] is for. This is the power and purpose of my ss.

    My ss is [Archmage], Lumina said simply. There was no simr build-up of power that Brin could feel, but Luminas casual confidence almost made him feel safe.

    You will not deliver my godson to me?

    I will not, said Lumina.

    Then I curse you!

    Curses were invisible and insidious, but Brin thought hed have been able to see this one even without [Know Whats Wyrd]. All the spite in the world seemed to be contained in the curse, and Brin wished he couldnt feel its terrible intentions. <em>Melt her eyes, a stew from her brains, cockroaches in the intestines, skin falls off</em>

    Lumina reached out a hand and yanked the spell out of the air. She forced it to coalesce, to manifest physically. It became a thick ck sludge, and as she wrapped her fingers shut the sludge disappeared inside her fist. She squeezed, and the curse winked outpletely.

    I will repeat. I am an [Archmage]. Did you think your petty tricks were something too exotic for me? I am a master of magic. Your Wyrd is not weird to me.

    Awnadils eyes narrowed. You dont intend to let me flee. You wont ept surrender.

    Quite right, said Lumina. Youre too dangerous. I can give you that onepliment at least.

    Then why speak to me at all?

    Why else? To give my [Knights] some time to catch up. I had to

    The green bunny sted forward on a cloud of rotten mist, moving so fast that it almost looked like teleportation. Lumina brought her staff up just in time and warded it off with a bar of glowing me, so bright it hurt Brins eyes.

    Lumina shouted words of the Language, and the bar of white-glowing me separated into darts that flew at the green bunny, dispersing wide swaths of its corrupted cloud everywhere they flew.

    The bunny itself was quick as thought, dodging around the darts and instantly healing over any ces where the darts burned through. Brin used [Inspect] when it held still for a fraction of a second, and to his surprise, actually got something.

    Tigsi the Bunny. Shes the cute one.

    The big blue bunny dashed forward to join.

    Zappo the Bunny. Hes the greedy one.

    He was gigantic,rger than a giant undead, and he moved so quickly that it couldnt be natural. He leapt, jumping higher than anything that size had a right to, aiming to crash down where Lumina stood.

    Lumina swung her staff and a fist made of ice bashed Zappo, knocking him to the side. Hended so hard Brin could feel the vibrations in the ground. Somehow Zappo was heavier than he appeared.

    Lumina cast a golden cage around herself, warding Tigsi offpletely, which let her give her full attention to Zappo. She threw a fireball at him, then a bolt of inky ckness, then something silvery and metallic. Spell after spell went hurtling toward the giant blue bunny.

    Zappo held a boxer''s stance, stepping much more lightly than should be possible. He dodged some of the spells, letting them destroy wide swaths of the undead behind him. Others he punched out of the air. A few connected, and the giant bunny fought a defensive battle, falling back.

    There were two bunnies, and theyd killed Basil, but Hogg had said Awnadil had four familiars. As if summoned by his thoughts, a third bunny crashed down from the sky. This one was red with a white stomach, and unlike the other two, it didnt even pretend to be cute. It wasnky, with matted fur, long ws and fangs like a vampire. He used [Inspect].

    Sorrow the Bunny. Shes the funny one.

    She streaked down like a bolt of bloody lightning. Lumina threw a bar of golden light at her but the spell shattered and Sorrow broke through, and then broke through the golden cage as well.

    Now pressed on three sides, Lumina fought with her staff. She spun it as quickly and easily as any of the [Farmers] he knew. Each blow struck with a titanic wave of force that knocked a bunny into the air, but she was outnumbered and being pressed hard.

    Worse, there was a ck spot on Luminas palm, and it was growing bigger. Stopping that curse hadnt been as simple as shed made it out to be.

    Brin heard a <em>bang</em> and looked to see the temple doors m open. Inside, nothing but shadow. Had Awnadil somehow corrupted the temple? The darkness probed out with tentacles, then it climbed out of the temple, like a freakish, malformed spider, only the body of the spider was a man. It was Hogg.

    He hung limp, being carried along by his own power. His visible skin was still dark and corrupted, his face held no expression, and his head hung to the side as if he were a puppet with the strings cut. Still, he must be conscious, because there was nothing wrong with his magic. The spider carried him until he was near Lumina, and then the legs of the spider separated off, turning into ck shadow men. They joined the fight, leaping on Awnadils familiars.

    Only one shadow stayed behind, holding Hogg under the arms to keep him upright.

    How can I help? Hogg asked, though his lips didnt move.

    You can stand back there and watch, old man, said Lumina. Im just getting warmed up.

    Hogg sent his shadows out anyway,ying into the bunnies with ck shortswords. This gave Lumina the space she needed to work. Shed been holding her own before, but Mages werent made for meleebat. Now that she had time for a proper recitation, her real power was unleashed.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    She chanted the Language, and Brin actually knew a few of the words. He recognized Gravity and some words for directions.

    Zappo stomped forward heavily, but then his next step pushed him into the air, where he floated like a balloon. One of Hoggs shadows jumped up to kick him, knocking him a bit higher, where he stayed, unable to get down.

    Lumina cast a of light around Tigsi, who curled up into a ball to avoid touching any of the edges.

    That left only Sorrow, who darted around Lumina like a ghost, throwing bolts of red lightning that sshed liquid when they hit her magical shields.

    Awnadil wasnt idle. She whistled, and the army started moving forward. In the meantime, Brin could feel her pumping more magic into the original curse. It covered the entire front of Luminas hand and was creeping around the back.

    Shields up! The army is on the move! Get ready for a fight! Brin shouted, using [Call Sound] to amplify his voice over the battlefield.

    Lumina summoned a dozen rings of something slimy and green and caught Sorrow tight. Rather than finish the bunny off, she stared at it curiously. Sanguine Fulmination is such an interesting element. Blood and lightning arent something you would normally think ofbining. [Archmage of the Mystical Elements] am I, but this is a rare one, even to me. I wish I could take you to the tower and study you, but unfortunately youre too dangerous for that.

    Sorrow hissed and spit, but the bands of green slime held her tight.

    Of particr interest is the effect on undead. Some people say Seraphic me is best for undead, but I find that its more effective to use evil to destroy evil.

    One of Hoggs shadows dragged another man out of the temple. Jeffrey the [Bard]. The shadow began to turn a crank on a box, a music box. The very same one that Hogg had shown to Davi and Brin. To all appearances, Jeffrey wasatose, but when the epic orchestral music began to y, it had every ounce of Jeffreys magic behind it, urging Lumina to greater power and glory.

    She smiled, then lifted her eyes up to the undead, fast approaching.

    Excuse me, but youre scaring my son. Her calm face twisted into hatred. NOW SUFFER FOR IT! She screamed out words of the Language, words that made Brins mind feel raw, like sunburn on his soul.

    Energy poured through the bloody red rabbit, pushing her lightning out into the oing horde. The bunny shriveled up like a prune as waves of her own energy poured through her and back into the undead army.

    The effect was immediate. The undead on the front row screamed in pain, actually screamed, sounding surprisingly humanlike. Red lightning arced wildly from one to another, bright and staticy, and yet it sshed red drops of blood in every spot it hit. They turned, retreating in a mad scramble as the bloody lightning spread and magnified. The undead scrambled and thrashed, spinning in circles, wing at their own faces, doing anything that they could to diminish their suffering. Every time one of them bumped a neighbor, the lightning spread and grew more intense.

    Brin had been told on good authority that it was impossible for undead to disobey orders and equally impossible for them to feel fear. Hed heard that from the mouth of an undead with no reason to lie, and yet thest rows of undead, those who hadnt been struck, threw down their weapons and fled.

    The wail of suffering undead only seemed to join the chorus from Hoggs music box.

    Lumina wasnt content. She raised her staff and a bright light appeared in the sky, like a sun shining at midnight. The light fell down from the sky as a beam of fire, mming down towards Awnadil. The [Great Witch] raised a crooked branch above her head, warding off the me. The branch was some kind of artifact and it created a barrier, but it wasnt enough. The me hit an invisible barrier but then sshed out around her, igniting the hem of her dress.

    I suppose I should take care to not burn down the forest, Lumina said.

    Bond wood is too wet for that to be a danger. Youd sooner boil the ocean, said Hogg.

    Do you think I couldnt boil the ocean? asked Lumina. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she chanted in the Language. The words hurt and Brin felt light-headed. He put a finger up to his ears and felt something wet. This again, just like the first time hed seen her go all out. Hed hoped that a year in this world would toughen him up against this sort of thing, but standing behind Lumina he felt as if the gap between them hadnt shrunk at all.

    She pointed forward with her staff, and the pir of fire doubled in width,pletely blocking off any view of Awnadil. She tightened her grip. > The pir of fire doubled in width again until it was ten yards across. It created a deep trench all around Awnadil, burning down deeper and deeper.

    Zapponded on the ground, free from whatever gravity magic Lumina had done to him. Heunched himself at her, but this time a man in mirror-polished armor stepped in front of Lumina. He seemedically smallpared with Zappo, but when the giant bunny swung down, the armored man blocked easily with his shield. He followed up with a swing of his sword, cutting into the bunnys fluffy stomach.

    At first, Brin thought he was seeing Gn, but then the armored man nced to the side enough that he could make out his features. This [Knight] was a stranger, but looked like he couldve been the model for Ademsi.

    Ah, Officer Diali. Right on time, said Lumina.

    Disperse the cage and my men will finish the other one as well, said Diali.

    No need, responded Lumina. Step back, if you please.

    Diali jumped back to avoid a double-fisted m from Zappo.

    Lumina let go of her staff and it stayed in ce, spinning. She thrust both hands to the sides and spoke a word of power that left Brin seeing stars as if hed been struck in the head. Another pir of fire fell from the sky and mmed into Zappo, burning straight through the familiar. A third pir of firended on Tigsi, incinerating her inside the golden cage.

    Even then, Lumina wasnt done. Onest push, and the beams all brightened in intensity. Brin smelled brimstone and ozone.

    Then the mes died down. There was no trace of Tigsi or Zappo, just holes in the ground lined with steaming ck ss.

    Awnadil, ckened and burned, was still on her feet. Even as Brin watched, strips of ck fell away to reveal pink skin underneath.

    Lumina caught her staff, and blinked forward to stand immediately in front of Awnadil. She swiped out with her staff, and a de of air formed at the tip just in time to remove Awnadils head.

    Awnadils headless body jumped into the air, sprouting enormous bat wings and already regrowing the head. Lumina dashed up into the air after her, as if stepping up an invisible staircase. She shed out with her staff, cutting off both of the wings and then stabbed Awnadil in the heart. They both fell to the ground, Lumina stabbing the [Great Witch] down into the earth.

    The ground exploded where theynded, and Awnadils body evaporated into a flurry of shadows and dark, pping wings. They flew along the ground as quick as thought, but Lumina said, > and the escaping thing mmed into an invisible barrier and resolved into the form of Awnadil again.

    Awnadil grew, bing sharper and more monstrous. Horns formed on her head and spouts of me came from her nostrils as she formed herself into a weapon.

    By then, Lumina was ready. Glowing words of Language appeared on the ground in a circle around her. She pointed her staff at Awnadil and said, >

    A stream of elemental ice as wide as a semi-truck sted out from her staff, hitting Awnadil and passing straight through and engulfing herpletely in a chaotic fury.

    Then, the spell ended.

    Suddenly, everything was still. The whole world seemed to hold its breath. For a brief, surreal moment, no one spoke, and no one moved. Awnadil was nowhere to be seen, so they all watched and waited for her to appear again.

    For the first time sinceing to this world, Brin saw snow. It grew up from the ground in the trail her ice spell had made, one long line all the way down the street, through the town walls, past the fields, and into the forest beyond. Scattered kes took to the air, moving in all directions as if confused.

    The ice had extinguished all the fires that Lumina had started, and it looked like the town had been cut in half. Behind Lumina, nothing was touched, few were hurt, and you could almost believe the town was the same as it had always been. In front of Lumina, utter devastation. The nearest homes were burned and then frozen again, while those further out had smashed doors and broken windows from when the undead had sacked the town. There were many sections of burned, melted or annihted houses from smaller spells that Lumina had flung.

    The undead themselves had been ughtered. Theyy scattered on the ground, tortured expressions on their faces.

    Lumina wiped her brow. Phew! d thats done.

    Then shes? Brin started.

    A notification appeared.

    Behold! The Great Witch Awnadil is dead. You have won your first war. You have been instrumental in your factions sess. An achievement has been upgraded. Warbound (Legendary) now gives you: +100% resistance to physical damage. You are now twice as difficult to cut, bruise, or otherwise harm with non-magical means.

    Since the System was sending him notifications anyway, he decided to unpause his Skill-ups as well.

    [Call Sound through ss] leveled up! 7 -> 15

    [Call Light through ss] leveled up! 11 -> 18

    [Summon ss] leveled up! 12 -> 20

    [Shape ss] leveled up! 20 -> 22

    [Inspect] leveled up! 23 -> 35

    Alert! Through training you have increased the following attributes: Vitality +1 Mental Control +3 Will +3 Magic +6

    Was that all from his fight with Siphani? He bet that just standing next to an [Archmage of the Mystical Elements] while she went all out counted as training.

    Ow Brin said, touching his bleeding ears again. It was strange, because his hearing was totally fine. Maybe the damage wasnt physical? In that case why was he bleeding?

    Mageburn. Sorry about that. Theres nothing for it except exposure, Im afraid. Lumina stepped over to Brin and bent down to look him over, looking at his ears and pulling up his eyebrow to peer at the white of his eye. Satisfied, she wiped a smudge on his cheek away with her thumb, then looked suddenly awkward and stepped back, clearing her throat.

    Its um good to see you again, um, young man, or that is to say

    Brin knew his part. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Lumina in a hug. Thanks foring. I knew you would. He felt her shake. With indignation? Their height difference ced his face directly in the middle of her chest; he hadnt predicted that. He started to pull back, when she returned the hug, squeezing tight.

    My boy. My poor boy. Im sorry. Im so sorry I didnte sooner.

 Book 3. Chapter 5.5

    Book 3. Chapter 5.5

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name

    Brin isu Yambul

    Age

    13

    Race

    Human

    ss

    ssbound Illusionist

    Level

    31

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength

    160

    Dexterity

    117

    Vitality

    118

    Magic

    124

    Mental Control

    151

    Will

    83

    Unassigned points

    0

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    Survivor of Travin''s Bog

    You survived the massacre at Travins Bog that ended your family. You have survived a fatal wound that stopped your heart.

    +50% resistance to heat, cold and poison. Instinctual awareness of attacks that will cause you death or fatal injury.

    Traveler

    You have journeyed to a strange and foreignnd where you now live.

    +30% movement speed when out ofbat

    You have argely increased ability to learnnguages.

    Otherworlder

    You have traversed the stars and arrived at an entirely new world.

    +50% experience while your ss is below level 30. Strengthened immune system. Strengthened magic resistance.

    Scarred, but Healing (3)

    You have been scarred, but youre healing. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars.

    Your wounds heal 240% faster.

    ssbound

    <em>Like a shattered mirror, you are strong and sharp yet oddly fragile.</em>

    Feel the presence and rtive location of ss. Drastically increased mana efficiency when working with ss. -50% experience from all sources.

    Savior of Hammons Bog

    You have saved Hammons Bog from the dread Witch Siphani.

    Gain +20% power from all attributes while in Hammons Bog.

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Warbound (Legendary)

    <em>Warfare was his birthright, he craved the sh of steel,</em>

    <em>He sang a song of bloodshed that the dead could hear and feel,</em>

    <em>The terror of the battlefield, a cursed child was found.</em>

    <em>Warbound</em>.

    +20% to all attributes. Additional +10% to Mental Control. +100% experience from meleebat. Battle Fury and Battle Sense skills added.

    Monster Hunter II (Common)

    You have defeated more than 13 monsters.

    +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

    Filial Piety (Epic)

    You performed a noble act of service to your father at great risk to yourself, freeing his captive soul from those who bound him in servitude.

    Extra resistance against mental maniption, soul maniption, and Mana pool maniption.

    +100% Magic attribute growth.

    This achievement is iplete.

    Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    You gain further insight into yourpanions abilities.

    Meditative (Rare)

    You have reached level 20 in the Meditation Skill

    +10 Mental Control

    Strong IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Strength.

    +40% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +40% Strength attribute growth.

    Dextrous IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Dexterity.

    +10% Dexterity (Transferred from Thief). +40% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +40% Dexterity attribute growth.

    Lively IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Vitality.

    +40% recovery from wounds. +40% stamina. +40% Vitality attribute growth.

    Magical IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Magic.

    +40% spell power. +40% mana regeneration. +40% Magic attribute growth

    Controlled IV (Common)

    You have reached 104 Mental Control.

    +40% focus and concentration +40% Mental Control attribute growth

    Disciplined III (Common)

    You have reached 65 Will

    +30% spell power. +30% skill power. +30% Will attribute growth.

    Workhorse (Rare)

    You work like a horse. You earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +2 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +2 Vitality per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Mental Control per level

    <strong>General Skills</strong>

    Know Whats Real

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You can now approximate the value of things.

    Know Whats Wyrd

    You can sense the Wyrd. Increased resistance to the Wyrd and Wyrd-rted abilities.

    Monster Sense

    You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    Inspect (35)

    Active Skill - Receive information on the target.

    Upgradeable.

    Hide Status (3)

    Your ss and other System details are hidden from Inspect and other observation skills. Note: Your information may still be vulnerable due to high level disparities and powerful inspection skills.

    Upgradeable.

    Directed Meditation (21)

    Train your focus and concentration, as well as to actively achieve a clear mind and peaceful mental state.

    Upgradeable.

    Battle Fury (Epic)

    Your fury in battle lends you greater power.

    +5% increase to the effects of your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality with each wound you take and with each wound you give. +50% increase with each enemy you y.

    These increases are capped at +100%

    These increases expire thirty minutes after you leavebat.

    Battle Sense

    You have an innate sense about the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to direct your allies to greatest effectiveness during conflict.

    <strong>ss Skills</strong>

    Shape ss (26)

    You have the ability to transform ss. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with ss.

    This Skill has been upgraded twice.

    Summon ss (21)

    You can use your magic to call ss into being. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with ss.

    Heat Resistance

    You have greatly increased resistance to heat and burns.

    Memories in ss

    You can perfectly recall anything youve seen or learned about ss.

    In addition, this Skill allows you to store your memories in ss, to be retrieved and reviewed at your convenience. Stored memories do not need to involve ss.

    Call Light through ss (19)

    Summon illusory light through ss.

    This Skill has been upgraded once.

    Call Sound through ss (15)

    Summon illusory sound through ss.

    Mana Well

    +50% to the amount of mana you generate and hold.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    Oath of the Quest Survivor

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 3 - Interlude - Aberfa

    Book 3 - Interlude - Aberfa

    Aberfa watched in exquisite agony as the knife scraped its way up her arm, gouging her muscles. The old, rusty knife wasn''t sharp enough to make a clean cut, and her skin bunched up before finally tearing through all at once. She watched it draw upwards, hoping to see it nick her artery, hoping she would bleed out before anyone noticed, but of course Thesa wouldn''t be so careless. When Thesa healed it, she healed it wrong, with diseased and patchy skin. Nearly all her body was in such a state by now.

    She met the auburn eyes of her torturer, and a lifetime of shared memory passed between them. Thesa was enjoying this, she knew. Her actions were painted with a sadistic glee. It delighted her to finally punish one who''d been her rival for thest twenty years. Her rival, and though she would never admit it, her better.

    There was anger there, as well. Despite everything, Thesa was still a true believer. Aberfa''s betrayal must''ve felt like a betrayal of everything. At first, Aberfa had thought to use that. She''d spouted rebellion and sedition against Arcaena, in an effort to make Thesa snap and cut her suffering short, but it hadn''t worked. She was too patient for that.

    Sadistic pleasure, anger, hatred, and patience. For any other woman, that would be enough, but anyone who thought that was all that passed between them didn''t understand [Witches]. To be a [Witch] was to be everything all at once. Anger and pain, but there was also love andpassion here. Why else did Thesa hold her head in herp, drying her tears each night after the day''s torture was done? Why did she guard her sleep, so that no one might disturb her one brief escape?

    But the escape didn''tst for long. A new day always came, and with it, new pain. The pain would never end until Aberfa wasn''t Aberfa any more. That was Arcaena''s decree. She was to turn herself into something else. Something monstrous and dumb, something that would hunt and kill and wouldn''t remember herself or her crimes. Something that would bear spawn and release a new breed of monster to punish the world. Until then, pain, and only in her dreams could she be free.

    That gave her an idea. If sleep could be an escape here, why couldnt it be an escape from everything? What if she turned herself into a monster that could dream? By day, she would be mindless and monstrous as Arcaena could please, but by night her mind would return.

    The seed of an idea quickly turned into a n. Once one requirement solidified, all the other requirements fell into ce and from there a path forward revealed itself.

    Nature abhorred useless things; unused limbs grew smaller and smaller over time until they disappeared. Dreaming had to be <em>central</em> to this new monster''s purpose if she was to depend on it bringing her back to herself.

    What about a creature that hunted in dreams, the way a [Witch] could use hexes to capture and beguile her victim during sleep? If such an ability could be given to a monster, it would be even <em>better</em> than what [Witches] do. Without the touch of the Wyrd, she wouldnt have to worry about those nasty [Witchhunters].Her first idea was to turn herself into a creature that lived only in the aether, moving from prey to prey like a foul vapor in the wind. That work was fruitless. If she had twenty years, or even two, she thought she might find a path forward. As it was, even staying another day under Thesas cruel ministrations seemed more than she could bear. She needed a faster solution.

    Her second idea was something vampiric, something that could inject mesmerizing dreams into its prey to keep it paralyzed while it fed on blood. She soon hit a snag when she couldnt imagine how to put a vampiric ability into something alive. She had no wish to be undead.

    She settled on a sea creature. The deep ocean was too dangerous for anything but krakens and sea dragons, so her monster would stay near the shore. Hunting fish would allow her to sustain herself, but for real growth shed need stronger prey. Yes, shed invade the dreams of her prey, luring it to the water. Shed pull it underneath the waves and drown it, then feast.

    Everything was ready, and with the new burst of hope that her solid n gave her, she spent onest day enduring Thesas torture, just to give herself time to beautify herself. Keeping a human form was forbidden, but there was a certain kind of beauty in gleaming scales and shing fins. Then she was ready.

    She began her transformation, pulling on the Wyrd to fuel her monstrous change and growth only the Wyrd did not respond. It wasnt there at all. Her [Witch] powers were gone?

    Oh. Oh, how nice. How funny! <em>How utterly absurd!</em> She''d already done that. She''d already seeded. This was the dream.

    Shed already turned herself into a monster. Shed already fed and grown and reimed her mind. Yes, she could feel her real body now, gliding along with the motion of the waves. She was dreaming of one of her memories.

    Sheughed, and changed the dream. Thesa screamed in pain as the skin melted off her body. Aberfa felt the old familiar thrill of satisfied anger and utilized power. She burned Thesa, hung her on hook, cut her to pieces and put her back together like a flesh golem and then burned her again. Over and over until it wasn''t fun anymore.

    With a sigh of satisfaction, she prepared to return her full memories back to her mind. She currently didnt remember anything past the dungeon. She mustve done that to herself, but she wasnt sure why.

    Before she could, she felt a handnd on her shoulder. It pulled, turning her around, and saw a perfect ck copy of herself. It frowned and shook its head.

    Youre my shadow, she said. Shed been face to face with this once before, back in the waking world. As part of her training, Arcaena had separated off the evil side of herself into physical form, and she battled it for a hundred days. Only once she learned that the battle wasnt the point, did she finally win. Shed made peace with the shadow, bing one with the dark and bitter parts of herself, and her power in the Wyrd had soared.

    Now it was back? The only possible answer was that she had done this to herself. Not a power she had in the waking world, but in dreams she could do anything.

    Why are you here? she asked.

    The shadow pointed, and she saw a memory. Oh, this was a nice one. Her favorite ce. Rather than view it from a distance, she jumped straight in.

    She sat in front of a roaring campfire, leaning back to feel Cadwys firm warmth. This was the ce where shed felt the most <em>right</em>. The most firm in her objectives, the mostplete, the most safe and protected, the most fully realized.

    She turned her head, and traced the handsome lines of his face as he stared mournfully into the me. He''d been so strong back then, so noble. She smiled in contentment as she felt the growing bump of her belly. She dreamed of a daughter and heir, someone to share everything with, someone to teach the lessons of magic and life... With the herbs shed taken and the spells shed cast, it shouldve been a girl. The chance of anything else was minuscule, but then it had still happened anyway. A boy.

    She hadn''t known the disappointing boy this child would turn into or she would''ve plucked it out and cast it into the me.

    How did it all go so wrong? asked her shadow. Time stopped, the crackling fire now a frozen image.

    Is that why youre here? she asked.

    The shadow nodded.

    She''d thought Aberthol would bind Cadwy to her. He was a good andpassionate man with the children he''d given to that saggy, filthy peasant. Surely he''d love her child even more. How could he not love Aberthol?

    How could anyone love Aberthol?

    She stood with a grunt of irritation. This wasn''t working, and now she was no longer in the mood to be happy.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    How did it all go so wrong? her shadow asked her again.

    Well, to me it seems as if it all went swimmingly. Pun fully intended. Ha!

    Her shadow red. Ah, yes, that was to be expected. Her sense of humor was only on her good side.

    Oh fine. It wasnt my fault, you see? Cadwy was the problem. He was always supposed to be the counter to me, the silver lining to my dark cloud. But then, Aberthol was born, and Cadwy remained distant. He longed for his family at home, and kept Aberthol at an arm''s length, emotionally speaking. He held him when he cried, changed his diapers, and kept him fed, but never gave him a single smile or a kind look. Always thinking of his family in Prinnash. That was my mistake, wasnt it? I should''ve had them killed, to remove the distraction. Im too kind, everyone says so, and its led me into trouble more than once. Thats it, isnt it? Thats what youre trying to teach me.

    The shadow shook its head, and then Aberfa realized her mistake. With her shadow separated off, only her good side was left, and <em>too kind</em> wasnt ever something a good half should say. Shed said that out of habit, perhaps, and it waszy of her. What was the real problem?

    I was unkind to Cadwy, by leaving his family alive. It kept him in suspense and gave him hope for a thing that must never be. It was unkind to them as well, to lose their father and be cut loose on the wind. It would have been better for all if I had in them. Yes, Im sure thats the answer.

    The shadow stared at her for a long time. What happened next?

    <em>That wasnt the answer?</em> Aberfa tsked and shook her head. Aberthol grew. He became a somber, closed-off, distant child. He never smiled or cried. He didn''t react when I gave him toys, fed him cake or candy and also didn''t flinch when I struck him. Thatpleteck of connection only made me angrier, and his punishments became more severe. Despite it all, he never reacted. He trudged through life patiently, as if waiting for it all to be over. There was one bright spot, though. Do you remember? Oh, lets y it back and watch.

    She imagined herself in the pce, and sat on her favoritefortable armchair. She sipped from a cup of nice mint tea and watched. Shed thrown a scrying mirror on the wall, and was currently viewing her son, though he did not know it. Cunning Awnadil gifted him a toy, a stuffed bunny, and led him to believe that Aberfa didn''t know about it. He loved that bunny, whispering secrets to it, ying with it at all hours, and hiding it under the sheets when Aberfa entered his room. When the bunny had revealed himself to be Basil and started cutting Aberthol for the first time, the boy actually cried. It was the one moment of real emotion she''d ever seen from him after the age of four, and it had been gifted to someone else.

    Why? Why couldnt he look at <em>me</em> that way? Why only her? I am his mother. His smiles should be <em>mine</em>, and his tears doubly so!

    The shadow ced aforting hand on her back, stroking it up and down. She sighed.

    The shadow waited for a long time for her to continue, but Aberfa didnt know what else to say. After a minute, it dawned on her. You dont know the answer either! Youre trying to y the part of a wise soul guide, but you dont know what I did wrong either!

    Dont be stupid. Think harder!

    No. No, Im right. You dont know the answer.

    The shadow folded her arms. Yes, but you realizing that undermines the point of this exercise. Shall we wipe your memory and start over?

    She shuddered as she imagined going through Thesas torture again, even in a dream. It was a necessary starting point; it made her humble and put her in a teachable mood. But she wasnt ready to do it again. No! No need. Lets continue on as before. After this we went on that mission and discovered the Burrow Kingdom. My reading of fate was clear about what that meant about Arcaena and the world. You know what happened next. But what after that? My memories are still blocked from my life as a monster.

    Your first days as a monster were mindless, even in dreams. Nothing else wouldve fooled Thesa. I still wonder if you fooled Arcaena. Perhaps she saw what you were doing and saw the genius of it, the potential, and allowed you to continue. Regardless, it went as nned. As a beast, you ate fish and crabs. You slept twenty hours a day, and dreamed. You managed to do as you wish, and your dreams connected with the dreams of others. You managed to pull a level 28 wild goat into the water, and pulled it down to where it drowned. In the pattern of the game of gods, this achievement fueled your growth. Your body swelled in size, your limbs grew longer, your teeth grew sharper. Most importantly, your dreams grewrger. More intelligent andplex, until one day, you found yourself again.

    Aberfa smiled. And now Im here, totally and absolutely free, in a way I never was in my old life. I can have anything I wish, exactly how I wish it to be at all times. I can go where I wish, do what I wish, taste every fruit and delight in every sensation. I wont even be lonely, as I can create whateverpany I desire, such as you. How then, do you ask me where it all went wrong? I am in paradise.

    The shadow blinked at her, unimpressed.

    Aberfa huffed. Oh, dont give me that. I know youre just me. Aberthol found a way to ruin this, didnt he? Thats what happened next. Oh, go ahead and show me.

    They stayed in thefortable sitting room in the pce, but the image on the scrying room changed to show <em>him</em>, quiet little Aberthol. He looked exactly as he always had, except with a new scar on his forehead. On second nce, he had many new scars. Disgusting. Shed never let any permanent scars show on his skin back then, not even the ones that Basil left. Was no one taking care of this boy? Where was Cadwy.

    You say you have everything you desire, but there is no mother alive or dead who would forget the fruit of her womb. You sought out Aberthol, and found him. The Mothers Knot seeded in saving his life. He made his way free of Travins Bog and ended in another small town called Hammons Bog. By the time you found him, hed been through multiple battles, and even taken a ss.

    What? Aberfa was stunned. She wanted to <em>be there</em> for his System Day. She could forgive Arcaena for forcing her to transform herselfa predictable punishment for her transgression. But for making her miss her own sons System Day? <em>Never</em>.

    He is a [ssbound Illusionist], said the shadow tly, making no effort to soften the blow.

    No, said Aberfa. What of the Achievements I gave him? He shouldve been offered a more appropriate ss than that!

    It seems he lost all his Achievements and earned attributes during the process of resurrection, said the shadow. It gets worse. He has the [Scarred] title. [Scarred, but Healing] now. That means he <em>had</em> the [Scarred One] ss, but gave it up.

    Aberfa groaned. [Scarred One] wouldve <em>perhaps</em> been eptable, if he were given the proper guidance. But who was there to guide him? And hed given it up. <em>Why?</em>

    She rubbed her temples against a growing headache. It shouldnt be possible to get a headache in dreams, but she had one.

    I think I can guess how I reacted. Still, you may as well show me, said Aberfa.

    Then she was there, living it again. Shed found him in his dreams and unleashed her fury, torturing him with images plucked from his own mind. She found his memories of near-death at the hand of Arcaenas army, and turned it into real death, stabbing him again and again. She heightened the realism, heightened the fear and despair he felt, but otherwise kept the dream in the confines of his own imagination. It wouldnt do to reveal herself too soon.

    And Aberthol suffered. Here, in the privacy of his own mind, he saw no need to keep a clear face. He screamed and panicked. He frowned and groaned. He cried.

    It was delightful. This was all she wanted. Something real. Something authentic. A little bit of vulnerability, was that too much to ask?

    Perhaps she went a bit too far, in the few days that followed, but all too soon, the fun was up. Somehow, despite the sheer impossibility of changing a dream that she controlled, he closed himself off again. He didnt scream or cry. He didnt blubber in fear. He didnt cry out in pain when insects devoured his intestines or when she executed those silly little friends of his.

    He sat patiently with a nk face, and waited for it to be over.

    Just like before. Here, she was a monster of incredible power. Here, he was a simple ssmaker of all things. And <em>still</em> everything was exactly as it was before! She raged, sting the image of him to pieces, only to summon him again and strike him with lightning until nothing remained but crispy ash.

    Yes, said the shadow. Thats how you reacted. You raged. You tortured him for weeks on end. You grew obsessed, forgetting even to feed yourself in your quest to make him open up, to show you even a tiny glimmer of personality again. But he never did. You grew angrier and angrier, and he never relented. You are trapped, you see. It grew to a fever pitch, where you attempted to snuff him out, right in the dream. It may have worked if he had not woken himself up in time. This ability requires further refining. Regardless, this was a step too far, and the sudden guilt at trying to kill your own child broke your fury long enough for you to set up this thought experiment. And now youre caught up to the present.

    Aberfa slumped back in her chair. It no longer felt quite sofortable as it had. I see now, why I separated myself from my shadow. Its obvious, from this side. I know what I did wrong. I overyed my hand. I shouldnt have given him so many nightmares in those early days. I should have given him sweet dreams as well. I dont only wish for tears. Did I forget that Ive also longed to see himugh? Myck of discipline made him determined to find a defense against me.

    Such a defense should not be possible, said the shadow.

    And yet it is.

    I see. You shouldnt have pressed so hard when you first found him. A simple solution, but one impossible to see, as wrapped up in your anger as you were.

    Yes, Aberfa said with meek eptance.

    You understand your mistake. Now how will you fix it? asked the shadow.

    Aberfa shed her shadow a mischievous smile. And how is Aberthol now?

    You have wasted too much time with this. He slept wellst night. Your previous n was to break him down with exhaustion, but now youll need to start over from scratch.

    No, I believe this is for the best. Ill draw back for now. A more subtle approach is in order. After all, I dont need to break down his mind. I only need him to step into the water. Just a single time, and well be together again and everything will be better.

    She met the eyes of her shadow and it grinned wide with perfect ck teeth.

 Book 2. Chapter 32

    Book 2. Chapter 32

    His initial thought was to check it out himself and then warn Hogg if it really turned out to be a problem, but he¡¯d been burned enough times by that line of thinking that he was finally starting to learn his lesson. This time he went straight for Hogg.

    He didn¡¯t know exactly where he¡¯d be, but there was a good chance he was with the council who met in a formal conference room in the Prefit¡¯s house. He started walking there before getting struck by a thought. There was a pretty good chance Hogg was spying on him somehow.

    ¡°Hogg?¡±

    He peered around, trying to find some sign of a visible eye. There wasn¡¯t anything up in the air that he could see. At night Hogg would probably get away with it but there¡¯s no way people would miss floating eyeballs in the sky in the middle of the day.

    He waited, but nothing came. Was Hogg really not spying on him? Well, he knew someone who Hogg definitely <em>was</em> keeping an eye on.

    He walked to the Pimental¡¯s house, and found exactly who he wanted to see. Bruna was in the business room in the front, using a funnel to pour milk from a big jug into smaller bottles for the morning deliveries. She carried the big ten-gallon jug with ease, despite her thin and bony frame. Clearly a few of her attributes from her high levels had gone into Strength.

    ¡°Brin? Davi is out, I¡¯m afraid,¡± she said.

    He folded his arms against the refrigerated air. ¡°I¡¯m actually here for you.¡±

    Brunaughed. ¡°A confession! I¡¯ve told you; our love is not to be!¡±Brin frowned. ¡°I need to talk to you and Hogg.¡±

    Her eyes twitched in annoyance. ¡°And am I going to like what you need to tell me and Hogg?¡±

    He looked around for the visible eye. Hogg had promised that he was going to keep an eye on the remaining [Witches] night and day whether they liked it or not. There would be one nearby.

    ¡°Hopefully it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m worried about Yon,¡± said Brin.

    He saw it. An eyeball was sitting on a crate. It looked like it was made of ss; that¡¯s probably what they would pretend it was if anyone saw it. Brin walked over and poked it. ¡°Hogg, get over here.¡± The eye didn¡¯t react, so he pped it. It disappeared.

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s not going to like that,¡± said Bruna.

    ¡°He¡¯ll get over it.¡±

    ¡°Now, what¡¯s this about my Yon?¡±

    ¡°Do you know where he is? Can you find him?¡±

    Bruna looked at Brin as if measuring him in her mind. She seemed toe to some decision and nodded. She reached into the pocket in her apron and pulled out a little silver bell. She rang it four times. ¡°Yon, dearest. Come home.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t feel anything specifically magical, but that had to be some kind of [Witch] ability. He didn¡¯t know how to feel about it. Clearly, Bruna had her hooks into her family to some degree. There was no way you could live in a home and <em>never</em> vite your mother¡¯s hospitality. At the same time, being able to call your children home wasn¡¯t exactly an <em>evil</em> power. Not necessarily. ¡°How does that work?¡±

    Bruna crooked an eyebrow and said nothing.

    A short timeter, little Yon opened the front door, just as expected. He had bags under his eyes, which opened wide in shock when he saw Brin standing near his mom. He stepped back, but then Hogg was behind him. He gently pushed Yon by the shoulders, into the house, and closed the door behind him.

    Brin whirled on Yon. ¡°You¡¯ve been ying with dolls. Can you show me one?¡±

    Yon gulped but said nothing.

    Bruna snorted. ¡°That¡¯s what this is about? Children are allowed to y with toys. There¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of, Yon dearest.¡±

    Hogg looked at Brin. ¡°Toys. You don¡¯t think¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t, honestly, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to check,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Check what?¡± Bruna said uneasily.

    Hogg crouched down to Yon¡¯s level and put a smile on his face. Probably trying to look friendly, but he clearly didn¡¯t have a lot of experience with that. ¡°Yon, can you tell me a little about the toys you¡¯re ying with? Dolls, or the like?¡±

    Yon pursed his lips so tight they went white.

    ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you two? All of this over a stupid little stuffed rabbit?¡±

    Brin¡¯s stomach sank. Yon whimpered. Brin saw Hogg¡¯s face go white as he came to the same conclusion that he did.

    Hogg closed his eyes and stood slowly. ¡°A yellow rabbit? One of the eyes is missing?¡±

    Bruna nodded.

    ¡°Where did he get it?¡± Hogg closed the distance between himself and Bruna in a sh. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. ¡°Do you remember where he got the toy?¡±

    Bruna pushed Hogg¡¯s arms away from her, stepping back. Her face was nk as she thought, and then it darkened, turning a deep red and twisting into a furious grimace. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ remember. Someone hexed me. Yes, I can feel it now. Someone hexed me? ME? Someone put that evil on me? They¡¯vee after MY FAMILY?¡±

    She shrieked and threw a pint of milk, shattering it against the wall.

    ¡°Who was it? It had to have been Balbi. I¡¯m going to <em>kill</em>¨C¡±

    Yon stood still, heaving silent sobs. There was still one thing to check. Hogg had told Brin that Basil the Bunny liked children and he liked to y with knives. If Yon really had been ¡°ying¡± with Basil, there would be evidence.

    Yon didn¡¯t resist when Brin took his arm and pulled up the sleeve to reveal arge collection of scars. Some were healing over, others were still puffy and red. Basil had been having his fun for quite a few days now. Hammon¡¯s Bog might have another [Scarred One] a few years from now.

    Yon whimpered. ¡°He said he¡¯d kill you if I told. Lu found out and¡­ and he¨C¡±

    ¡°He? Ademir?¡± Bruna growled. She hunched forward, seeming to deform herself in her anger. The whites of her eyes changed to ck. Her fingernails grew longer; her hair became wilder.

    ¡°No,¡± said Hogg. ¡°This is so much worse than that. Basil Bunny is Awnadil¡¯s familiar. A servant of Arcaena.¡±

    The gravity seemed to double in the room. Bruna took a step forward, whichnded with a loud <em>thunk</em>. The shadows behind her lengthened and stretched, dancing like the only light in the room was a flickering candle about to go out.

    ¡°Awnadil. Arcaena,¡± Bruna whimpered, as if her anger were so profound it was starting to cause her pain. ¡°She couldn¡¯t just leave it alone. She couldn¡¯t just let it go. This is punishment. Isn¡¯t it? For Neptune. I went with you to turn Neptune and now¨C¡±

    ¡°Mom,¡± said Yon, pleadingly.

    All at once, Bruna¡¯s twisted, angry features snapped back into her regr motherly self. She swept Yon up in her arms. ¡°Oh, sweet boy. You¡¯re fine. You¡¯re safe now.¡±

    Yon hugged her back, weeping. She patted his back, consoling and kind, whispering words offort. ¡°You¡¯re fine now. He can¡¯t hurt you here. You¡¯re safe. No one will hurt you like that ever again.¡±

    She nced up, over Yon¡¯s shoulders, and Brin could see that none of the fury had departed at all; it was only buried. ¡°Never, ever again,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ll get your ritual, Hogg, and much, much more. We¡¯re part of this now, until the bitter end. Send him tonight. Now get out!¡±

    The door flung itself open, and Brin felt a strong wind push him out the door, not that he needed much convincing.

    The door closed behind him. He and Hogg found themselves blinking in the sunlight in the street outside the house. Even though he¡¯d only been in there for minutes, it felt like he¡¯d been in a dark cave for hours and his eyes were shocked by the bright sunlight.

    ¡°Good catch,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin. ¡°So Yon was the spy?¡±

    ¡°One of them, I suppose. I think Bruna¡¯s guess was more on the money, though. Those types tend to be¨C let¡¯s continue this in the cer.¡±

    Brin mped his mouth shut on any other question. The walk back home was one of the longest of his life. When they finally got there, he didn¡¯t waste time on pleasantries.

    ¡°What ritual? What was she talking about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to persuade the [Witches] of Hammon¡¯s Bog to give you special protection. That¡¯s more important than ever now that we know that Awnadil knows you and knows you¡¯re here. Go with them tonight and do what they say. Oh, and keep some ss nearby recording your memories, just in case. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll try any funny business but you can¡¯t be too careful.¡±

    ¡°Wait, after all the warnings you¡¯ve given me, you want me to just follow a group of [Witches] into the forest and let them use me in a ritual?¡±

    Hogg winced, looking genuinely regretful. ¡°It¡¯s the best I can do for you right now.¡±

    ¡°Why me? When pushes to shove, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s going to throw down with Awnadil. They should do the ritual on you.¡±

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re the one I have a duty to protect!¡± snapped Hogg. Then slower, he added, ¡°And because you¡¯re the most likely next target. She knew you as Aberthol, and you¡¯ve messed up her ns with Neptune and now Yon. She has ns for you. Mark my words.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That means our game is over, though. Anyst minute guesses? You¡¯re still two down, byst count.¡±

    ¡°Dulce was one. That was a mean trick,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°What? Nothing in the rules said I had to tell you if they died?¡± Hogg spread his hands out in feigned innocence.

    ¡°Was she really the traitor? Did she turn Neptune?¡±

    Hogg frowned. ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure, but we couldn¡¯t take the chance. The original n would¡¯ve had all the [Witches] visit Neptune together. They¡¯d capture and turn him, and then let his testimony decide her fate. I don¡¯t think I need to point out the obvious w in that n.¡±

    ¡°If Dulce was the traitor, she¡¯d have lots of opportunities to screw up the ritual,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Right. To all appearances, Dulce was furious about what happened to her son and desperate to find out who had done it. But of course she would act that way. You can¡¯t be a [Witch] without being a good liar. Your idea to use the potion was a good one, and the way things turned out was much safer for all involved. Except Dulce.¡±

    ¡°There are still things about this story we don¡¯t know. Dulce didn¡¯t turn Neptune, he turned himself. She might not even have been involved,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°In which case, she let the whole thing happen right under her nose without noticing. A [Witch] didn¡¯t know her son was undead? It¡¯s possible, but if that¡¯s the case she deserved to die for the crime of absolute stupidity. The most likely scenario is that they were both working for Arcaena and if we¡¯d let Dulce work a ritual with all of the other [Witches] it would¡¯ve been a disaster that left them and half the rest of the town dead.¡±

    ¡°The other [Witches] aren¡¯t upset that you killed one of their own?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Eh, they¡¯re acting like they aren¡¯t bothered, but honestly who knows with that crowd? I¡¯m satisfied they¡¯ll do what we need. Bruna was thest holdout.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± That surprised Brin. If there was a [Witch] who would object to helping him, he didn¡¯t think it would be Bruna.

    ¡°She insisted that she needed all her power to protect her own family. As for why today¡¯s revtion changed her mind? You can ask her yourself. All masks are off. Well, their masks are off. You know what I mean. Anyst guesses? You still have one more [Witch].¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even have any huge suspects. H is in a good position for a [Witch]. If it were her, she¡¯d have most of the town under her power by now. There¡¯s also Elvira¡­¡±

    Hogg¡¯s face didn¡¯t give anything away.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll find out tonight.¡±

    That night, Brin left the town gates alone. A visible eye floated above him in the sky, but Hogg wouldn¡¯te to this in person.

    This wasn¡¯t something a person did in Hammon¡¯s Bog. The forest was something to be feared, or at the very least, respected. A [Hunter] might have some cause to enter the forest at night, but someone like him never should.

    It wasn¡¯t just the cultural taboos that he¡¯d picked up that made him dread this. It was his own personal experience. Traveling into the forest alonest time had predicated a string of disasters that had almost cost him his life. Disasters, but triumphs as well.

    Hopefully tonight wouldn¡¯t be so intense. He was entering alone, but at least this time he nned on meeting some people soon. Some [Witches]. That didn¡¯t make it much better.

    He passed the fields of mato, and into the boundary of the forest.

    It was dark. The moon wasn¡¯t in sight, and the faint starlight barely prated the canopy above. Still, it wasn¡¯t so dark that it challenged his [Know What¡¯s Real]-enhanced darkvision. He could see well enough to not stumble over the roots or walk into a stream. He was a little tempted to use his Skill to make light, just because he could, but obviously that was a dumb idea. If he had any chance of hiding his [Illusionist] abilities, he couldn¡¯t bust them out for every little thing.

    First, he saw a flickering light through the trees, and then heard voices. Not strange or threatening voices, but the sound of casual conversation. He approached silently, hoping to see what they were really doing before they knew he was there.

    A woman in red and white, Bruna, kneeled in front of a raised brazier. She held her hands up, speaking or chanting, to an unnatural-looking me that rose six feet in the air. Sometimes a word she spoke made the me shudder or spark a different color. Green, then a deep red.

    There were four other people, away from the me a bit, sitting on a nket. He saw a bottle of wine, and a basket. And tes. They were having a pic. That group chatted as if it were totally normal having a woman do strange magic right next to them. Maybe for them, it was.

    ¡°You might as welle out!¡± he heard Ademir shout. ¡°We still have a bit of preparation to do before we can get started. Oh, and remove your shoes if you please.¡±

    Brin did, and walked out of the treeline, over wet grass, into an open clearing. The clearing felt supernatural, a liminal space, where something vast and powerfuly just outside his perceptions. The starlight became especially bright, casting its blue glow down into the grass and wildflowers. That contrasted sharply with the bright, powerful light of the shifting mes, but rather than ovee the starlight it mixed and shifted and cast odd colors onto the buzzing dragonflies and pping bats.

    He approached and saw Ademir in the center of the nket, holding a ss of wine. He lifted it in greeting. To his side, Balbi was running her fingers through his long hair, free from its usual tight ponytail. Clementine was sitting on his other side, idly fiddling with a bowl of berries.

    Next to her, was Chamy the [Enchantress]. Unbelievable. That was the final [Witch]. Literally his first guess, and he¡¯d let her talk him out of it.

    He¡¯d sort of expected them in ugly ck robes like Halloween witches, but they were dressed fairly well. Ademir wore a nice ck suit, and the women had matching white dresses with red overcoats. The biggest difference from what you¡¯d see them wear on the street, other than the bare feet, was that they werepletely free from ornamentation. No jewelry, and no embroidery at all. Even Brin¡¯s clothes from Myra had a long dragon embroidered on the back and down a leg.

    Clementine was an older pinch-faced woman who always seemed to him to have a severe personality, but she wore an easy smile. She gestured around with a berry and then plopped it into her mouth. ¡°Wee! Wee to Ademir¡¯s Harem.¡±

    Ademir rolled his eyes and snorted while taking a sip of wine, but apparently the line wasn¡¯t so unexpected as to make him choke.

    ¡°Ok¡­¡± said Brin, not really knowing where to go from there. He pointed an using finger at Chamy. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! You lied to me! You straight up told me you weren¡¯t a [Witch].¡±

    ¡°No one would ever expect a [Witch] to tell a lie," said Chamy with a smug little smile.

    ¡°You said that [Witch] would be a <em>downgrade</em> from [Enchantress]!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You said that?¡± asked Balbi with a frown.

    ¡°I only have five levels in [Witch]. I evolved [Enchantress] <em>from </em>[Witch], not the other way around. So in a way, I told the truth.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s <em>barely</em> a [Witch],¡± said Balbi with a sneer. ¡°More like she¡¯s our mascot.¡±

    Ademir set down his empty ss. ¡°Now, now,dies. Don¡¯t fight. The boy is here, so we may as well get started. I¡¯ll go cast the circle. Maybe you could let Brin know what to expect?¡±

    ¡°Yes, a <em>real</em> [Witch] certainly should,¡± said Balbi.

    ¡°I suppose that leaves only me, then, since Bruna is busy,¡± said Clementine, earning her a re from Balbi. ¡°There¡¯s not much you need to know. We¡¯ll be the ones doing all the work.¡±

    ¡°This will protect me? From witchcraft?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°It will tie your fate to ours. If you are hexed, so shall we be. If we are restored, then you as well. No single one of us could stand against the likes of Awnadil. Even all of us together wouldn¡¯t be able to stop her if she struck one of our number alone. Forcing her to dilute her curses between the s¨Cfive of us will weaken them enough to give us a chance.¡±

    ¡°But if one of us dies¨C¡±

    ¡°This will do nothing for physical violence. You must depend on Hogg for protection from her familiars.¡±

    Near the brazier, Bruna¡¯s chanting increased in volume. Then with a shout, the mes red, then died back down to the size of regr fire. She wiped her brow and stood. ¡°We can begin when the circle is cast.

    Around the edges of the clearing, Ademir poured small piles of salt. He didn¡¯t make a circle in a line like Brin expected, but poured four piles in a square. Each of them he patted with his hands and said some words in the weird, witchynguage they all knew.

    He walked back to the circle. ¡°We can begin.¡±

    Bruna snapped her fingers, and the nket on the ground swept up, gathering the cups and tes from the pic and then wrapping in on itself. It disappeared in a flurry of twisting spiderwebs. When it was gone, it was gone without a trace. The grass underneath didn¡¯t even look like it had been pressed down.

    She and the other women removed their red overcoats, leaving them in matching white dresses, and stood in a ring around the fire.

    Ademir sat on a stump, away from the brazier. He put a drum on hisp and began to sing. He didn¡¯t have the voice of a [Bard], but it was passable, and soon a strange energy began to fill his words, making them resonate with the subtle energy of this ce.

    The women danced, all together like it was a song they¡¯d been rehearsing for years. Their every move and gesture were precisely controlled and a perfect mirror of each other. The movements looked wild and frantic, and yet there was clearly an order there that Brin couldn¡¯t quite grasp.

    They danced to the beat of the drum and the sound of Ademir¡¯s voice. Brin watched, mesmerized, trying to understand what they were doing and how they were doing it. There was something magical, something about the words Ademir was saying. He felt like the words and the dance were the same. As if just like regrnguage could be spoken or written, thenguage of the Wyrd could be sung or danced.

    The mes didn¡¯t rise higher as they went. Instead, every beat of the song seemed to beat the fire down, suppressing and containing it.

    As time passed, whether it was a minute or an hour Brin couldn¡¯t tell, the fire sank lower and lower until in a puff of smoke thest me died out and only coals remained.

    Bruna gestured Brin forward. He walked to the fire, and when he opened his mouth to ask a question, Bruna warned him against speaking with a re.

    She took his hand, and gestured again, towards the brazier, like she were helping him into a carriage.

    He took a hesitant step, and found that the hot coals didn¡¯t burn him. It wasn¡¯t his [Heat Resistance]. They werepletely cool.

    Bruna drew a knife, and for a brief, panicked instant he was sure she was going to plunge it into his heart. Isn¡¯t that the way these things go? Instead, she cut her palm. Then she reached and grabbed a burning coal with her injured hand, crushing it and letting the ash fall through her fingers. With one finger of the same hand, she drew a crescent on the top of Brin¡¯s left foot.

    Balbi did the same, drawing a star on his other foot. Clementine drew a wheel on his hand, and Chamy drew a teardrop on his other hand.

    Then they linked hands and the song resumed, only this time it was a shout that grew louder and louder until it ended in a furious howl.

    Silence followed. Bruna gave Brin a hand, letting him down from the brazier that had gonepletely dark.

    The clearing had gone dark as well. It was now just an ordinary meadow at night.

    He had a million questions, but there was a strange mood. An ominous feeling that made him know that it would be inappropriate to ask. It would be an affront to speak at all. He walked to the edge of the clearing and put his shoes and socks back on. It was annoying; his feet were wet with dew from the grass, but he didn''t voice anyints.

    They walked home in silence. At the gates, they each went their separate ways, turning off one by one as they got to their streets. It was just Bruna and Brin left as they passed her house.

    When her hand hit the doorknob he opened his mouth to ask a question, ominous feeling or not, but at that moment, a shout came from the direction of the walls they had just left.

    ¡°Undead! Undead in the forest!¡±

    The same call came from the other side of town. ¡°Rouse the militia! The undead are leaving the forest!¡±

    Bruna looked at him. ¡°Get home! Get Hogg!¡±

    Brin dashed away towards his house.

    People started to leave their houses, some already rushing to the walls with weapons in hand, others looking about with fear. Brin sprinted, determined to get away before the streets got too crowded.

    Soon, he saw Hogg running towards him the other way, with Marksi on his back. Marksi dropped off Hoggs shoulders about ten feet away. He hissed in rm, looked at Brin, and then flinched away.

    ¡°Marksi, it¡¯s me!¡± said Brin.

    Marksi bolted, flinging himself away through the streets.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got some [Witch] magic on you,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I¡¯ll have a talk with him. He¡¯lle around. But right now I need to get to the walls. They¡¯re staying at the treeline for now; I don''t think this is an attack. Intimidation, more like. But I need to be there.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg grabbed him by the shoulder and put a finger in his face. ¡°Get home. Stay there. You hear me?¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± said Brin.

    Brin did go home, pushing through the increasingly chaotic situation in the city streets. Entering through the front door, he¡¯d be able to say that he¡¯d done as he was told. He¡¯d gone home. He¡¯d stayed there. Hogg had never specified how long. Now, he was going to grab his things and get back out there to see what was happening.

    He felt a prick on his stomach. Looking down, he saw the source.

    A little yellow rabbit, with one eye crossed out with a sewn ¡®X¡¯, stood at his feet. He held a knife, pushed a couple inches straight into Brin¡¯s stomach.

    ¡°Aberthol! I came to y. Be careful, now. One of Hogg¡¯s watching eyes is right behind you, so you¡¯ll need to do exactly what I say if you don¡¯t want your guts to paint this floor.¡±

 Book 2. Chapter 48

    Book 2. Chapter 48

    The next day, Hammon¡¯s Bog was a flurry of activity. He¡¯d expected to see weeping and depression. He¡¯d envisioned sorrowful and depressed people idly picking through the rubble of their homes or openly sobbing on the streets. He¡¯d expected mourning, and there would be mourningter, but for today everyone was busy.

    The [Lumberjacks] and [Woodsmen] were gathering lumber, the [Carpenters] and [Woodworkers] were already rebuilding homes and businesses. Those townspeople who had sheltered in the temple worked twice as hard as everyone else, maybe feeling the need to make up for hiding during the worst of the battle.

    Everyone did the things they were good at. The [Sweepers] swept, the [Bakers] baked. On every street he walked down, at least three people asked him if he was hungry, to which he always answered yes. He seemed to have a bottomless stomach today. A [Seamstress] asked him if he needed clothes to be reced, offering to do it for free, and while he <em>did</em> actually need new clothes he figured he would hire Myra for that.

    Several people directed him to Calisto the [Alchemist] or the [Midwife] for healing of the wounds they¡¯d seen him take, which he really didn¡¯t need. His wounds had already all scabbed over, and while the cut on his chest still twanged with a bit of pain now and again, it would only be a matter of time until it waspletely fixed up and [Scarred, but Healing] would tick up a couple more percentage points.

    The temple was busy, with Ellion leading a crowd in preparing the dead for funeral and cremation. He also tended to those still recovering from the curse who didn¡¯t have anyone to bring them home, meaning just Prefit Elmon and the adventurers.

    Children scurried around everywhere. The younger children yed with sticks, imagining the war, which in their minds must¡¯ve been the most heroic and glorious thing to ever happen. The older ones ran to and fro doing whatever they could to help, mostly acting as pack mules. They seemed energized and happy to finally get to do something useful after days of sitting idly while watching their parents fight for their lives.

    It made Brin want to do something, which led him to Ademir¡¯s shop. No, Ademsi¡¯s shop.

    He found the wooden man slumped over Ademir¡¯s worktable, the puppet one, the ce where Ademsi 2000 had probably been born.

    Ademsi jumped in panic when Brin entered the room. He spun around, but his clockwork features softened in relief when he saw Brin.¡°Oh, it¡¯s just you,¡± said Ademsi.

    ¡°Yeah, just checking in. How are you doing there, big guy?¡±

    ¡°I sorrow,¡± said Ademsi.

    ¡°I know.¡± Brin wiped his face. ¡°Listen, I hope you know that I am so, so¡ª¡°

    Ademsi held up a hand. ¡°Do not! You will not regret my father¡¯s choices. He did not, and neither shall I. You will be grateful for his sacrifice and you will honor him.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Brin said solemnly. ¡°And I¡¯ll do whatever I can for you. He¡¯d want that.¡±

    Ademsi nodded. ¡°Tomorrow, I will attend my father¡¯s funeral. I will do so with my face bare to the sky and all shall see me and know me and know that I fought for them. And fought valiantly! None fought more bravely than I!¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± said Brin. ¡°But don¡¯t you think¡ª¡°

    ¡°Ellion the priest came to me. He told me that he will speak on my behalf during the funeral. I do not need his words, but perhaps this will protect the people, because I fear no man and will brook no insult.¡±

    ¡°Ellion said that? I thought priests hated [Witches],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then they are fools. But I do not believe Ellion is a fool,¡± said Ademsi. ¡°It is irrelevant. I am neither [Witch] nor familiar now. I am a free soul. Though I never asked for freedom, it is mine nheless.¡±

    He¡¯d need to ask Ellion about this, because Brin had always kind of assumed that familiars would sort of¡­ deactivate after their [Witch¡¯s] death. That clearly hadn¡¯t happened, and Ellion expected Ademsi to live a full life if he was making ns to integrate him into themunity.

    He used [Inspect].

    Name Ademsi 2000 Race Magical Automaton Level 17 Description Ademsi 2000 is the creation of a powerful [Crafter] named Ademir Sa.

    Automaton was better than puppet, which is what Brin had been calling him in his head. It didn¡¯t say anything about being a familiar, just that he was created by a [Crafter]. Maybe he wasn¡¯t a familiar anymore, just an ordinary magical creature. Once Hogg had told him that some people thought all the monsters in the world were descended from [Witches] who¡¯d turned themselves into monsters, but what if they were actually all the descendents of familiars?

    Brin¡¯s instinct was still to say that Ademsi would be in danger of a mob, but that might be prejudice. Just because they hadn¡¯t liked him at first didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t like a giant, attractive, heroic wooden man. These people had grown up in a magical world; their ideas of strange werepletely different from his.

    He¡¯d keep an eye on things, and do what he could for Ademsi, in any case. He owed Ademir that much.

    ¡°Hey, listen, I was wondering if I could still use this workshop. The town is going to need ss, lots of it, and now I¡¯m the only person who can make it.¡±

    ¡°I can make ss, too. This is <em>my</em> workshop,¡± said Ademsi. ¡°Ademir left it to <em>me</em>.¡±

    ¡°I know that. I was just asking if I coulde in and use it, the way that Ademir used to let me. I¡¯ll respect your answer if it¡¯s no.¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, er¡­¡± Ademsi stood and began to pace. ¡°I suppose¡­ but wait¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright if you need some time to decide,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Wait! I can decide. You¡­ um¡­ you¡­¡±

    The normally confident automaton lookedpletely wrecked by the question. Brin felt for him. Despite his imposing form, he was basically a child, and now an orphan.

    The door to the staircase leading up to Ademir¡¯s living space opened, which was a surprise. Brin had <em>never</em> seen that door open.

    A nude woman walked out. That was the way his brain processed it, even though the woman was made of wooden pieces that fit together like clockwork, and there was nothing overly anatomical about the way she¡¯d been crafted. Like Ademsi, she was made of perfectly interlocking wooden pieces, trimmed and decorated with polished metal. Unlike Ademsi, who was bald, she had a mane of raven ck hair. Straight like Myra or Tawna, rather than curly brown like nearly everyone else in town.

    She was stunning, a work of art, and a match for Ademsi. Ademir had two familiars. That¡¯s why Ademir had always been so certain that his workshop was safe¨Che¡¯d had another familiar defending him. If he¡¯d stayed in his shop instead of going to the town square yesterday, he¡¯d probably still be alive. And Brin would be dead. No, more likely Bruna.

    The female automaton stepped gingerly over to Ademsi, moving more daintily than nearly any woman Brin had ever seen, and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. ¡°This is a friend of father¡¯s and your friend, too. He will not wish to take advantage of you. Ask him for a portion? A percentage of the sale price?¡±

    ¡°Naturally,¡± said Brin. ¡°I thought that went without saying. Sorry, who¡¯s this?¡±

    Ademsi stood up straight. ¡°Allow me to introduce my counterpart. This is Evita.¡±

    ¡°Evita 2000, now,¡± she said.

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Ademsi.

    ¡°Pleased to meet you! And let me say that you have very pretty¡ª¡°

    A faint glow of red in Ademsi¡¯s eyes made Brin switch thest part of what he was about to say from ¡°eyes¡± to ¡°name. You have a very pretty name.¡±

    Ademsi rxed, and Evita put a hand to her mouth demurely. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°The going rate in town for this sort of thing is between 15 and 30 percent,¡± said Brin, which wasn¡¯t quite true. Fifteen percent would be the price just to use the shop and tools, while 30 percent would be if the shop also supplied the materials. He nned on supplying all the materials himself, but wanted to give Ademsi a good rate without making him think he was doing him a favor. ¡°Shall we say 20%?¡±

    Ademsi made eye-contact with Evita and then nodded, regaining his confidence. ¡°eptable.¡±

    He shook on it and made his good-byes. Ademsi seemed to be doing well, but Brin wanted to get some supplies before he really got started. He thought it would be smarter to do things the old-fashioned way and then speed it up with magic, rather than just summon and shape all the ss with magic. He wanted to set things up so that he¡¯d be able to work all day rather than burn through his entire mana supply in minutes and then have nothing to do. Although,e to think of it, his mana supply was veryrge now.

    Since Gudio wasid up with the curse, he probably wouldn¡¯t get more silica today. He headed towards home.

    Zilly found him on the way. She just started walking next to him without preamble, jaw clenched. She walked quickly enough that he had to speed up to keep next to her.

    ¡°Hey, did you know?¡± she said suddenly with fake nonchnce. ¡°Myra¡¯s father didn¡¯t die. Tawna isn¡¯t a widow. Her husband <em>left</em> them.¡±

    ¡°Oh, boy,¡± said Brin. That was a whole can of worms. Divorce wasn¡¯t really a thing here, because it wasn¡¯t necessary. Why go through a messy legal battle when you could just leave town and never be seen again? That being the case, the stigma against those who were left behind was real. Zilly telling Brin this was a pretty nasty thing to do.

    ¡°Right? She acts like¡ª¡±

    Brin cut her off. ¡°I¡¯m going to do you a favor, and pretend like I never heard you say this. Why, Zilly?¡±

    Zilly¡¯s face went red, whether from anger or shame he couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°I did what you said and tried to talk to her, but she¡ª¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Brin cut her off. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you to talk to her. I told you to apologize to her. You¡¯ve been treating her like dirt since you got your ss. She thinks you¡¯re too good for her now that you have a Rare ss and she¡¯s just a Commoner.¡±

    Zilly spluttered. ¡°She knows I don¡¯t think like that!¡±

    ¡°She really doesn¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Why are you taking her side? You didn¡¯t even hear what she said to me!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly stopped walking. Brin looked up to see Myraing from the other direction. Zilly muttered ¡°See youter,¡± and then she was gone.

    Myra approached with a smile, acting like she hadn¡¯t noticed Zilly at all. Marksi was sitting on her shoulders, though obviously taking pains to hide behind her head.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Ok, Brin, it¡¯s time for you to finally see this,¡± said Myra. ¡°Ready?¡±

    ¡°Ready for what?¡±

    ¡°Tada!¡± Myra said, and Marksi jumped over her head andnded on the ground. Overall, he seemed to have taken well to the Wyrd stone he¡¯d eaten. He¡¯d grown sincest night, a few inches longer, but he was bulkier with more muscle. His legs had grown longer as well, and now he could stand upright when he wanted and didn¡¯t look so funny when he ran. He had the beginnings of a spine on his head and back, made of spikes of bone. The only other effect Brin had noticed was the coloration. Marksi still shifted with a rainbow of color, but his ws were always a bit darker and tinged with ck when he slept.

    That¡¯s not what drew Brin¡¯s attention, though. Marksi was wearing pants, a shirt, a nice overcoat, polished leather shoes, and held a tophat in his hands. He looked every bit the foppish noble gentleman that Brin had only ever seen in Gustaff¡¯s movies.

    It was one of the best and greatest things Brin had seen in his life. He squeaked a little at the cuteness, and Marksi purred at the attention.

    ¡°Put on the hat!¡± Myra said.

    Marksi put it on, but it slipped off.

    ¡°Come on, you did that thing again! Fix your face!¡±

    Marksi¡¯s head grew slightly, filling out until the hat fit perfectly.

    ¡°No. What? What was that? What did you just do?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s been doing that all morning,¡± Myra admitted.

    Marksi squeaked happily and then ran up Brin¡¯s body until he was holding him in his arms. Marksi pulled, so Brin brought him closer to his face. ¡°You want to show me something?¡±

    Once he was sure Brin was watching, Marksi lifted a hand and brought his ws out. Then they kept going, growing longer and longer, until they were nearly six inches long, insanely long for an animal his size. Then they shrank again. Next, Marksi scooted around and wiggled his butt. His tail shrank four whole inches, and then grew long again.

    ¡°That¡¯s not illusion. He¡¯s shape-shifting.¡±

    Myra shrugged.

    ¡°I guess it makes sense,¡± Brin said, mostly trying to convince himself. ¡°[Witch] magic can do transformation. If that¡¯s the only thing that happened to you from eating that witchy beast core, then we can count ourselves lucky. Honestly, Marksi! You can¡¯t eat every strange glowing rock you find on the ground! I was really worried about you!¡±

    Marksi plucked his jacket. He didn¡¯t want to get scolded again. He wanted to show off his new clothes.

    ¡°Yes, yes, they¡¯re very nice. You¡¯re very handsome. Honestly though, Myra, these are terrific. I can¡¯t believe how good he looks,¡± said Brin. He would take a picture, but he had his ring on, he would be able to remember this any time he wanted.

    ¡°All in a day¡¯s work for a [Weaver],¡± said Myra. ¡°There¡¯s not a lot I can do for a handsome little man like Marksi, but a fine suit of clothes is doable.¡±

    ¡°I love it,¡± said Brin.

    Myra nced to the side, seeming to muster her courage. ¡°I saw you talking to Zilly just now¡­ Did she tell you¨C? Never mind. I don¡¯t have my father¡¯s name, you know. I never did. [Weavers] are matrilineal. Lots of guys don¡¯t like that, but¡­ Well if you ever married a [Weaver], a different [Weaver] I mean, then you wouldn¡¯t have to be Mistaken anymore.¡±

    Brin smiled. ¡°Huh. That¡¯s interesting. I didn¡¯t know that.¡±

    Myra cleared her throat. ¡°Anyways, I gotta go. Enjoy!¡±

    Brin waited until she was out of sight, then shook his head. Was pretending to be oblivious really the right choice here? He didn¡¯t know what else to do. <em>Teenagers and their drama.</em>

    He approached the edge of town, but not the walls. They¡¯d already been torn down. With real [Knights] guarding the perimeter, there was no need for them. By the time Lumina and her entourage left, Hammon¡¯s Bog would have new walls, even higher than before. The Prefit was stillying on a rug in the temple, but he¡¯d recovered enough to start speaking, andst Brin heard he was raving about huge walls of stone. That was possible now that Neptune¡¯s tunnel was open for use of the town.

    Hogg¡¯s ce in town had taken some damage during the fighting, so he was back at his old house in the woods. It was a novel feeling to walk down this road again, freely leaving the walls behind, to enter a forest that was suddenly safe again.

    He walked down the road, feeling stranger and stranger. After the terror of thest few months, it felt insane to live alone out here. How did they <em>really</em> know the danger was past? Well, Hogg had his visible eyes keeping watch, and now Lumina was there.

    He heardughing from inside the house and opened the door to find Lumina leaning forward on the couch, smiling at something Hogg had said. He was sprawled out on his favorite chair, looking more rested and less paralyzed than he had even that morning.

    While she wasn¡¯t actively doing magic, Lumina looked a little more like a regr person and less like the avatar of me and destruction. Her left hand was still pitch ck, but the spreading had stopped just past the wrist. He didn¡¯t know what was going on with that and they refused to tell him. She casually hid the hand behind her leg when she noticed him looking.

    ¡°Something¡¯s weird with Marksi!¡± said Brin. ¡°He can shapeshift.¡±

    Lumina¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Those clothes!¡±

    She held out her hands, and Marksi ran over and jumped into her arms. She squealed and poured over him withpliments. Lumina had fallen in love with the little dragon instantly, and Marksi was always happy to be adored. He showed her how he could make his ws grow and retract.

    ¡°Oh! Very impressive!¡± Lumina doted.

    ¡°That¡¯s not weird to you at all?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s weird! But what¡¯s wrong with that?¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check him over again if you wish, but I don¡¯t think you need to worry. Dragons know what¡¯s good for them,¡± said Lumina. ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯re here, though. We¡¯ve been meaning to speak to you. About the war, and about what it means for you. Oh, but first, tell me what you decided with your Skills.¡±

    He¡¯d passed level thirty, which meant that he had a Skill for [sser] and an [Illusionist] Skill waiting for him. On the ss front, he had some interesting options.

    Upgrade - Shape ss Increased ability to transform ss. Increased ability to change the properties of ss. Improves mana efficiency. Upgrade - Summon ss Increased ability to summon ss. Improved mana efficiency. Increased variety of ss properties. Chemical Resistance Increased tolerance to harsh chemicals or poisons.

    Hogg and Lumina had already told him to take [Shape ss]. As intriguing as the line about ¡°a variety of ss properties¡± in [Summon ss] was, power came from specialization. If he absolutely needed strong ss in a pinch, it made more sense to just summon regr ss and then use his more powerful [Shape ss] Skill to turn it into what he needed.

    ¡°I keep thinking about [Chemical Resistance],¡± said Brin.

    Lumina smiled patiently. ¡°You should wear gloves in the workshop, and a mask if there are airborne toxins.¡±

    ¡°I was thinking about outside of the workshop.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t a tank. You need to learn to not get hit in the first ce,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°There are other ways to earn poison resistance, dear,¡± said Lumina.

    Brin sighed. ¡°Fine.¡± There was never really any doubt. He wasn¡¯t going to ignore the advice of two of the highest people in the kingdom out of some childish need to assert himself. He took [Shape ss].

    Next was the [Illusionist] Skill.

    Upgrade - Call Light through ss Increased mana efficiency when summoning light. Upgrade - Call Sound through ss Increased mana efficiency when summoning sound. Copy Illusion Replicate a nearby illusion cast by another Illusionist.

    ¡°And you¡¯re really sure that Copy Illusion¨C¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not for you,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to do that without the Skill soon enough,¡± said Hogg.

    The normal path for an [Illusionist] would be to take that Skill right away. That¡¯s what Gustaff had done. One Skill to copy illusions, another Skill to store them, and then he could make a good living grabbing movies from the city and reying them in small towns. Hogg, on the other hand, had paid a premium to have a specialist put a light-basedputer in his brain that automated much of his magic.

    Brin took [Call Light through ss].

    ¡°Bad luck, that. I was hoping for [Split Focus] or even better, [Persistent Casting]. As soon as you get [Persistent Casting] we¡¯ll be able to set you up with a Lightmind. Hopefully it¡¯lle at thirty-five.¡± Hogg spoke without moving his face much. His voice sounded animated, but it was clear that he had to strain for even the slightest movement.

    ¡°Hopefully,¡± agreed Brin. He took a seat on the yellow sofa. He held his hands out for Marksi, but the dragonling was perfectly happy on Lumina¡¯sp. ¡°So what¡¯s this about the war?¡±

    ¡°I just received word that the war with Prinnash has ended. The war against Arcaena is never really over, but on paper that is ending, too. The king received emissaries stating her intention to surrender to Ond.¡±

    ¡°What? She lost one army to one little town in the middle of nowhere, and that¡¯s enough to end the war and make her surrender?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°There are still legions of undead crawling around in tunnels under every inch of Frenaria, with no word on what she ns with them. And you may have noticed that I said she surrendered to Ond, not Frenaria or Prinnash. Arcaena¡¯s true goals remain opaque as they always have, but we must assume that the loss of a [Great Witch] was a stinging blow, and that she was forced to readjust her ns.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°More importantly for you, the death of Awnadil represents the death of Arcaena¡¯sst bit of interest in you. She was thest one in the Queendom with any connection to you. You¡¯re free.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? Awnadil seemed strangely insistent on bringing me away with her,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg shook his head, weakly but with all of his usual attitude. ¡°Nah. She didn¡¯t care one bent straw about you. That godmother excuse was just a bit of a power-up for her. They really do get stronger when they¡¯re defending their own, and since you were standing there like an idiot, she took advantage.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Brin said. ¡°Your hand, are you--¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about me,¡± said Lumina. ¡°We¡¯re here to talk about you.¡±

    ¡°But I am going to worry, whether you want me to or not. Are you¡ªAre you going to die?¡±

    Lumina¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Heavens no! Is that what you thought? It¡¯s only a bit embarrassing, that¡¯s all. An [Archmage] should be able to shrug curses off like raindrops on a bird. My master would never be vulnerable to something like this. No, it gave me a Title that hampers my magic. That¡¯s all. Five points per level.¡±

    ¡°Five¡­ five points of magic per level? It steals that much? How are you still alive? How can you do <em>anything? </em>Can it be removed? What if I could introduce you to another--¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t finish that sentence, it¡¯ll just make things awkward,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I could remove it, and I will if I must, but I think I¡¯d rather try to advance it in a way that turns it around and brings it to benefit rather than harm,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°Oh. Oh! Like my [Scarred] Title,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Lumina, eyes sparkling in delight. Then she frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t think I missed the scars, by the way. This was supposed to be a safe ce for you! And now look at you! When I find that [Weaver]¡­¡±

    The good people of Hammon¡¯s Bog had been all too eager to throw Tawna under the bus the second an [Archmage] started poking around asking why her adopted son was crisscrossed with old scars. Brin really didn¡¯t know what would happen if Lumina ever found her.

    Lumina cleared her throat. ¡°The point is, you have some options for what you want to do next. I don¡¯t expect you¡¯ll want to stay here your whole life.¡±

    ¡°Is there even going to be a Hammon¡¯s Bog my whole life? I¡¯d think a lot of people will want to leave, after what happened.¡±

    ¡°I expect the opposite,¡± said Hogg. ¡°People be attached to a ce after they¡¯ve bled for it, and the average level in this town just rose by quite a bit. I expect to see a big influx of neers, once word of what happened here spreads. Don¡¯t get us wrong, staying here is always an option. The problem is that I can¡¯t stay here forever. I need to go rebuild all my business contacts, and honestly, I think it might be a good experience for you toe along.¡±

    ¡°That sounds great, actually,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°After that¡­ well, the long and short of it is that the crown knows about me now. We haven¡¯t heard anything yet, but chances are they¡¯ll either pull me into their war or pull me into the tower.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not sure if either of those would be a good ce for you,¡± said Lumina, hesitantly.

    ¡°Me either. What about my¡­ what about my birthmother?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°What about her?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s still alive.¡±

    Lumina pursed her lips and looked at Hogg. He looked back and nodded softly.

    ¡°She¡¯s alive,¡± Lumina admitted. ¡°But she¡¯s not her. Our spies tell us that the [Witch] known as Aberfa Beynon was punished by Arcaena. She was forced to turn her magic upon herself and transform into a monster. A beast, something beyond reason. Her mind is gone, as is her memory of you.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± said Brin.

    Alert!

    That was it. Strange, just ¡°alert¡± with no message. The System hadn¡¯t glitched on him since he first arrived.

    Alert! Let me see here. There may be something I can do for you, Mark.

    ¡°By the way, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve been making everyone call you Brin when your name was Aberthol! It¡¯s a good name, even if I can¡¯t like the one who gave it to you,¡± said Lumina with a slight smile. She was trying to lighten the mood, but he was too distracted by the weird System messages.

    Alert! You have earned more information on one of your achievements. Filial Piety (Iplete) To finish your achievement,plete the following missions. Mission 1: Free your father¡¯s captive soul from servitude. (Complete) Mission 2: Bring word of your father¡¯s death to your half siblings. (Iplete) Mission 3: Free your mother from her abominable fate. (Iplete)

    Brin met Lumina¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯d like to travel, some, with Hogg while he still can. And then there¡¯s a monster I need to hunt. Will you help me?¡±

    She smiled back, a bit sadly. ¡°Of course.¡±

    The End of Book 2

 Book 3. Chapter 21

    Book 3. Chapter 21

    On the morning of Rodrige¡¯s wedding, Brin dug through his wardrobe to find his best formal clothes, and found a problem. They didn¡¯t fit. There was a silver lining¨Cit meant he¡¯d finally hit that growth spurt he¡¯d been waiting for, but that didn¡¯t help him now. The pants left four inches bare above his ankles, and he knew that if he tried to put the coat on all the way it would tear. Sure, he could wear his everyday clothes¨Cthey weren¡¯t poor-looking by any means¨Cbut the formal attire was a whole different affair.

    The jacket was a deep navy blue, with a golden dragon design along the back. It was to be worn with a cored shirt and tied with a nice red sash, and everything was embossed with gold and lined withce and tassels. The red sash still fit, and so did the tall red hat, but everything else needed to be reced, and he didn¡¯t have a lot of time for it.

    The one saving grace was that Perris had made this. With any luck the [Leatherworker] and shopkeeper would be able to do a rush order. He still had four hours before the wedding. Was that enough time? In his old world, obviously not. But here, a little bit of money could convince high level crafters to do literal miracles.

    He gathered it all together and rushed towards Perris¡¯ shop, hoping there wouldn¡¯t be any morning rush.

    When he got to the store, he found Perris behind the counter. He was looking a little gaunt like he''d been working too hard without eating, but that only served to amplify the viinous persona he liked to put on. He leaned over his counter like a ghoul, looking taller than he had before, more shocking and angr. Like always, his long mustache had been polished to points, and they looked even longer than they had been before.

    The shelves were also transformed from how the shop had been during the siege. Before, as the days without a caravan stretched into months, the shelves had been nearly empty. Now they were bursting at the seams. There was a whole row of helmets, opposite a row of breasttes, and Brin suddenly wanted very much to get a look at the locked ss disy case of magical amulets.

    <em>No! </em>He couldn¡¯t let himself get distracted. Then Marksi jumped down off his shoulders and Brin got distracted.

    The little dragon was still nervous around Perris, who seemed to be the one person in the world immune to his cuteness, but that never stopped Marksi froming inside. The brave little dragonling stepped in front of Brin and walked inside.

    He walked with emphasized casualness on all fours, sauntering as if he were perfectly at home. He made a show of looking up and down the aisles with lidded eyes as ifpletely unimpressed.¡°Oh? What¡¯s this? A customer? Yes, that¡¯s it. A customer and his pet worm. But which is which?¡± Perris burst out in maniacalughter, and Brin couldn¡¯t help but smile along.

    ¡°Man, I missed you Perris. d to see you back on your feet,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You may be now, but way until you see how much I charge you for these <em>recentlypleted </em>spears,¡± said Perris.

    Brin rushed to the counter. ¡°They¡¯re done?¡±

    He¡¯d left the strongest ss spearhead he could make with Perris, trusting him to turn it into a full spear with the best of what the town had to offer. At first he¡¯d thought that he could just use the Bog Standard haft he¡¯d bought a while ago and get Chamy to enchant it, but Perris had convinced him otherwise.

    There was better wood that could be used, and System enchantments that could be ced by the town¡¯s best [Woodworker]. A specialist [Lacquerer] improved it further, and apparently there were even bonuses for having Toros bind the head to the haft rather than doing it himself. A [Sharpener] improved the quality of the spearhead, even though it was ss. Only after all that was done, did they have Chamy put on her best enchantments, at a steep discount.

    Once Brin learned everything that went into it, he¡¯d left all the details to Perris. He had plenty of money, but never enough time.

    ¡°Ohe on! Show it to me already!¡± Brin whined.

    With a twinkle in his eye and a contemptuous smirk on his face, Perris lifted thepleted spear up from behind the counter.

    It was, in a word, simply beautiful. The wood of the haft twisted in a long spiral, the grains of the wood perfectly spaced and conforming as if it had <em>grown</em> to be this spear. A trail of runes lined the surface, just barely visible when the light nced off it, shimmering sort of like Marksi¡¯s scales.

    The ss head glowed softly, looking strong and sharp. The spearhead had looked nice when he made it, but now it was downright otherworldly. It had an almost futuristic quality; he could almost believe it was an energy weapon from a science fiction movie.

    Even Marksi forgot everything else when the spear came out. He hopped up on the counter to admire it more closely, purring.

    Brin was about to try to put into words the awe and gratitude he felt at seeing such a masterpiece, but that would just make Perris ufortable. He straightened his back, looked Perris straight in the eye and snorted. ¡°It¡¯s fine I guess.¡±

    Perris spluttered. ¡°Fine? The durability is graded a [Warrior] with double your levels. Cutting power that can prate steel armor with an edge that won¡¯t dull. <em>On ss!</em> Do you know how hard it is to make a ss weapon that can strike metal without dulling or cracking?¡±

    ¡°I actually do,¡± said Brin. For now, his own ss spearheads were close to single-use.

    ¡°Then you know what we¡¯ve done here. And if that¡¯s not enough, Chamy achieved total synergy with ss magic. Give it a try.¡±

    Brin reverently picked the spear up with both hands, delighting in the smooth, firm weight. Despite how he needed to act for Perris¡¯ sake, this was a magnificent weapon. It was lighter than he¡¯d expected, too. Not any lighter than any other spear he¡¯d held, but somehow he¡¯d expected all the magic to make it heavier for some reason.

    Perris had said it synergized with ss magic? He pushed a little mana into it from [Shape ss]. He didn¡¯t use any Language, just sort of imagined it bobbing in ce.

    The spear jumped as if it had been kicked, and then writhed in his grasp as if it were alive until he cut the mana.

    ¡°Whoa.¡±

    Perris smirked. ¡°It¡¯ll do everything a spear does, but better. Swing faster, hit harder, even carry you along if your magic moves faster than your body. The best part is that it¡¯s attuned to <em>your </em>magic. This is every adventurer¡¯s dream: a weapon that can¡¯t be used against you. Unless your opponent is another [sser].¡±

    ¡°[sser] isn¡¯t the best ss forbat. I doubt I¡¯ll ever meet another one,¡± said Brin.

    Perris shook his head. ¡°Well now that you¡¯ve said that, it¡¯s bound to happen. So! Between this spear and the other one, we¡¯re looking at eighty-five gold.¡±

    Brin winced. That was a prettyrge chunk out of the remainder of the allowance Lumina had given him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even start. That¡¯s a <em>steal!</em> The only reason it¡¯s so cheap is because Chamy was willing to work practically for free.¡±

    ¡°Well she better! Lumina tutored her for free,¡± said Brin. ¡°Is the other spear ready, too?¡±

    For the next spear, Brin wanted a backup weapon that he could keep in his storage ring. To conceal the ring¡¯s existence, he made the entire spear out of ss and then asked Perris to find out what could be done for it. Weight was the biggest problem, though. ss was heavy. Heavier than wood by far, more like stone. The ring could only hold five pounds of weight, so he still wasn¡¯t sure if it would be worth it at all, rather than just filling the ring with potions.

    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, an all-ss weapon is stupid. But I think you¡¯ll like what we came up with,¡± said Perris.

    He pulled another spear from under his counter. This one Brin had seen before, and honestly it looked exactly the same. A five-foot long pole that went to a point at the end. He hadn¡¯t made a separate head; it was all one piece, and he thought it would be less vulnerable if there weren¡¯t any edges. Weight had been such an issue that he hadn¡¯t wasted mass with any embellishments. It was sort of ordinary-looking, to be honest.

    ¡°This will hold up in a fight¡­ pretty well, though it¡¯s not as durable as your other spear, obviously. ss isn¡¯t as flexible with enchantment as wood or metal. It really only likes certain things, so rather than try to turn it into something it''s not, we decided to lean into its natural strength. Everything is focused on prating power. Pump this full of ss mana and it¡¯ll break through nearly anything you can imagine. Though like I said, it¡¯s not very durable. Don¡¯t count on using it again if you ever decide to knock down a mountain.¡±

    This story has been uwfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. This is sort of a weapon ofst-resort, not what I n to fight a war with. How¡¯s the weight?¡±

    ¡°We managed to trim it down to three pounds, but even that¡¯s stretching it.¡±

    Brin picked it up, and it really was surprisingly light for something made of ss. Still, three pounds wouldn¡¯t leave him much to work with for potions¡­ He¡¯d have to think about it. As much as he liked the idea of summoning a new weapon mid-fight, he could fit six more potions with that amount of weight. Should he have made the spear hollow? He shook his head. The spear was already fragile enough as it was.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to take it, then,¡± said Brin. ¡°Because there¡¯s no way anyone else would ever buy this.¡±

    Perris mockingly wiped away a false tear. ¡°Who taught you to say such hurtful things?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯d be you.¡±

    ¡°Well, save your gratitude for someone who wants it. I only want your gold!¡± Perris rubbed his fingers together.

    ¡°Right. Oh, I just remembered why I came in here! I have an emergency. Can you resize this to fit me?¡±

    ¡°An emergency you say? An emergency for you is an opportunity for me. The wedding is today, you say?¡±

    ¡°Well, actually, I never said that, but¨C¡±

    ¡°How much is it worth it to you to show up to your friend¡¯s wedding in proper clothing instead of the rags you¡¯re wearing now?¡± Perris twisted his mustache and grinned maniacally.

    Myra had made the clothes he was wearing now, and they weren¡¯t rags. But Perris still had a point.

    ¡°Can you even do it in time?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t feel very motivated today. I wasn¡¯t invited to that big wedding that everyone is talking about and I¡¯m feeling sort of down. Oh, if only a big pile of gold were sitting on my counter to cheer me up¡­¡±

    Brin eventually managed to get Perris to do the work for three silver, not gold. Even that was too much, but he was in a rush. Then he remembered that he¡¯d left his wedding gift at home, and he had to run the entire way back through the forest to get it. Why did they move back into Hogg¡¯s house in the forest in the first ce? Brin thought about moving back into the town house. Except they were leaving Hammon¡¯s Bog tomorrow anyway.

    When he finally arrived at the wedding, ten minuteste, the town square was practically empty. Long tables had been set up, covered with fine tablecloths, but no food had been set on them yet. The feast must beter.

    Jeffrey the [Bard] sat on a folding chair on top of a stage, fiddling with his lute but not ying yet. Davi¡¯s new oud sat on a stand, but Davi was nowhere in sight.

    He did see the bride and groom, standing in a group chatting with their family. Rodrige¡¯s wedding costume was the typical formal attire that men wore to any special asion, but Madely wore a huge structured dress that would¡¯ve looked more at home in ate-Renaissance ballroom. It was light maroon, and ballooned three feet around her in all directions. She and Rodrigue had to hold hands at nearly arms length. If anyone had any worries about the young couple getting frisky before the ceremony, the dress alone would be enough to prevent that.

    Besides, that ship had sailed. The rumors swirling around these two said that if Madely wasn¡¯t already pregnant, then it wasn¡¯t forck of trying. That was part of the reason, he was sure, that no one objected to these two getting married so young.

    The two of them approached Brin, and he shifted therge box around so that he could take Madely¡¯s hand. Lumina¡¯s tutge paid off already¨Cotherwise he wouldn¡¯t have known that he was supposed to address her first. He grasped the tips of her fingers only, lifted them a bit, and then let go.

    ¡°Congrattions and best wishes, Madely. Rodrige is an amazing guy. You look stunning, by the way,¡± said Brin. Thepliment felt a little weird, but Lumina had promised him that theck of thepliment on her wedding day would be taken as an insult.

    Madely nodded half-distractedly, the way that a girl nods at someone who says the exact right social niceties without too much or too little. In other words, he¡¯d nailed it.

    ¡°Thank you, Brin. I¡¯m sure I look hot and ufortable, because that¡¯s how I feel. Is that for us?¡±

    ¡°It is!¡± Brin held the box up in both hands.

    Rodrige quirked a smile. ¡°Only Brin would bring a [Woodworker] box to a [Carpenter¡¯s] wedding.¡±

    ¡°Oh, my mistake. The box isn¡¯t actually the gift. It¡¯s what¡¯s <em>in</em> the box. I¡¯ll actually need the box back. It¡¯s my only one,¡± said Brin.

    Both Madely and Rodrigeughed. Rodrige said, ¡°Here, we¡¯re putting gifts on the table towards the back. Let me help you with that.¡±

    Rodrige walked him over to the table, stacked high with presents. People didn¡¯t really do wrapping paper here, no surprise, so the table was stacked high with nkets, clothes, tools, trinkets and jewelry. Not wanting to put a big wooden box on the table, Brin set the box on the ground and started pulling things out.

    He¡¯d brought ssware, of course. Anything else he¡¯d have to buy and he didn¡¯t know exactly how much money would be appropriate to spend for something like this. Anything he made himself didn¡¯t have that issue. Also, it felt more meaningful to give something he¡¯d made himself.

    He¡¯d made a dozen ss cups, some bottles, and then he¡¯d tried his hand at making tes and bowls. Six of each. He could color ss now with [Shape ss], so he¡¯d made it all apletely opaque white in an attempt to make something like china. It wasn¡¯t really the same; it was still just ordinary ss, but he thought they were still usable. He¡¯d also tried his hand at making a ss ne, but the result had been atrocious and he¡¯d melted it down out of shame. They¡¯d have to do without.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised not many people are here yet. Am I early?¡±

    ¡°A¡­ little. No, not really. This¡­ this part of the wedding is sort of informal, people show up and leave again. The ceremony and the feast afterwards are a lot more busy.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense.¡± Brin shrugged. Rodrige was suddenly acting distracted and strange, and Madely, who¡¯d stayed where she was a little distance away, was now staring at them with wide eyes.

    ¡°What did I do?¡±

    ¡°Brin, that is a <em>lot</em> of ss,¡± said Rodrige.

    ¡°Seems like an ordinary amount of ss to me,¡± said Brin. It wasn¡¯t even a full gold¡¯s worth. There were more valuable things than ss on the table. ¡°Oh, and I don¡¯t actually need the box back. I was just kidding.¡±

    Rodrige barked a surprisedugh. He shoved Brin¡¯s shoulder with one hand, but then grabbed it again and looked him in the eyes. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I make ss, remember?¡±

    ¡°I guess you do,¡± said Rodrige. He tentatively reached down and touched a cup, softly as if it might suddenly shatter.

    To Brin¡¯s luck, Davi chose just that moment to leave the public house. ¡°Oh, hey I should go say hi to Davi. You good?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I should get back to Madely,¡± Rodrige said numbly.

    Rodrige made no move to leave, though, and Madely started walking in their direction, so Brin left him and headed towards Davi. The big guy was walking pretty quick, doing his ¡°I¡¯m busy, don¡¯t bother me¡± walk, so Brin fell along beside him.

    ¡°Davi, you have to help me. Somehow I¡¯m part of a <em>social asion</em>,¡± said Brin.

    Davi huffed and nced at the table. ¡°You don¡¯t do anything halfway, do you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. There are more valuable gifts over there.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but none of those are ss. Hm, I guess you wouldn¡¯t know. So, a while ago the Prefit made aw that said that nothing can be more than twice as expensive here than it would be in Oud¡¯s Bog. Except, there are things you just can¡¯t get out here. Like ss,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Ademir made ss,¡± objected Brin.

    ¡°Ademir made a little ss, split among a dozen other hobbies. He didn¡¯t really get serious about it until he started training you. ss is valuable, but it¡¯s not allowed to be expensive, so Ademir only really liked to do big pieces that would sell for a lot in Oud¡¯s Bog, too. Otherwise it wasn¡¯t worth his time. So when he <em>did</em> make something that people could afford, everyone wanted it. To solve that, the Prefit made a waiting list. Everyone could sign up and then they had to wait their turn. But then everyone in town put their names on the list and it was so slow that you could get maybe one ss bottle every six months. There¡¯s always the caravans, but <em>they¡¯re </em>allowed to gouge their prices.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin, to which Davi just sighed.

    ¡°See, that¡¯s why I need your help. I didn¡¯t realize this until now, but I think I¡¯m expected to wander around and talk to people now! I¡¯m expected to <em>socialize</em>.¡± He said thatst word with disgust.

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me!¡± Davi practically exploded back. He nced around and lowered his voice, but the frustration still bled through. ¡°Nobody exined to me when I picked [Bard] how much of my job would be about sitting around talking to people. I never get to do any real work. When I¡¯m not performing, I¡¯m supposed to work the crowd or drum up more fans. I just spent all morning with themittee in charge of decorating. Yeah, it¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re thinking. They kept asking me ¡®Yellow or green? This flower or that one?¡¯ If I have to look at one more ribbon or banner, I might die.¡±

    Brinughed at Davi, which only darkened his friend¡¯s mood. ¡°Why do it then?¡±

    ¡°Jeffrey says I have to. The atmosphere of a venue feeds into our performance, so it¡¯s in the domain of our magic. He told me my next Skill should be something that works on the atmosphere, but I don¡¯t want it. I want a memory Skill like you have.¡±

    ¡°[Color of Music] is a memory Skill,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Only partially,¡± griped Davi.

    ¡°So what are you doing now? Time to put on some ambience music? Give this ce some atmosphere?¡±

    ¡°Nah. We¡¯ll y during the ceremony, and afterwards. For now¡­ well, count yourself lucky because you won¡¯t have to do any socializing. You¡¯ve just been drafted into the decoratingmittee.¡±

    That worked for Brin just fine. It¡¯s not that he hated talking to people; he just preferred to stick with people he already knew or with small groups. He and Davi walked around the square, hanging up banners, covering shade poles with ribbons, and making sure the flowers were in order.

    Daviined the entire time, which was a hrious departure from his normalposure. He usually was eager to do any job withoutint, but this time he treated Brin to an unending diatribe on the indignity of having to care about things like matching colors. Despite hisints, he did a thorough job, often fixing Brin¡¯s work when it didn¡¯t look quite right.

    It kept them busy until the official ceremony began.

 Book 3. Chapter 22

    Book 3. Chapter 22

    The wedding started out a lot like System Day. Rodrige and Madely were hustled back to their separate parent¡¯s homes, and when they came out the guests lined the street. Except on System Day the adults had held candles and watched in silence at night; here it was the middle of the day and everyone hooted and pped as either of the couple passed by.

    Unlike System Day, not everyone in town was part of the ceremony, but even those not involved stopped and pped and the wedding party went by.

    When Rodrige passed his section of the street, Brin pped and cheered along and followed him down the street until they arrived at the temple. Rodrige and Madely came from different directions to meet at the doors of the temple, and opened the doors hand-in-hand. Music started, yed by Davi and Jeffrey.

    Instead of regr lute music, it sounded like an entire symphony, no doubt from some Skill or device of Jeffrey¡¯s. The emotional power of [Bard] music hit them all at once; it spoke of celebration, but also dignity and ss. It was pompous, in every sense of the word, rather like a French Overture from his old world.

    Rodrige and Madely walked all the way down the aisle to stop in front of Ellion the priest at the altar. Only once they were there did the rest of the crowd filter in to take the pews. The music for guests¡¯ entrance was still flowery, but less grandiose than what had been yed for the couple. Then the music ended, and a hush followed.

    Rodrigue¡¯s best man, his brother, took position to his left, while Madely¡¯s mother stood to her right. With everyone in position, Ellion began his speech.

    Ellion spoke to the couple, and through them, the crowd. It was a new experience for Brin, but also sort of nostalgic from his old life. He¡¯d never heard the priest deliver a sermon before; the man usually counseled people one-on-one. He was rather like an army chain in that way, guiding people along the path for whichever of the gods they worshiped.

    He invoked only the lesser gods in his sermon. He talked about how Eridu demanded strict chastity before marriage for an ufortable amount of time, and neither Rodrige nor Madely turned around so Brin couldn¡¯t see how they were taking it, but he thought he saw the evidence of a blush on the back of Madely¡¯s neck.

    Then Ellion spoke of Solia¡¯s high esteem of motherhood, how Nedramus expected gentleness and forgiveness, and how Anshar expected men and women to love fiercely and protect each other with boldness. Sezorat and Magelin were lumped together, with a warning about how much they each cherished honesty. Maybe they got less time because the domains of Sezorat and Magelin were so simr to Nedramus and Anshar? He still didn¡¯t know as much as he should about them. Most of what he knew about this world¡¯s theology centered around Solia. He¡¯d read some of her scriptures and he recited his prayers¡­ when he remembered to. Then Ellion reached behind him to the altar, where a folded tablecloth was sitting prominently on top. He unfolded it solemnly, to reveal a gauzy, nearly transparent white fabric.

    ¡°Hastow aught to seyn?¡± Ellion asked Rodrige. Brin thought it was a differentnguage at first, and only realized he was hearing archaic High Frenarian when Rodrige gave his response.

    ¡°I vowen to mywful wyf to yeven fulle fwship and leautee, to leden and giden hir, to holden and yeven hirwful sustenaunce, whethir she be riche or povre, seek or hool, foul or fair, from this day forthward, by the hooly ordinance of Solia, I plighten my trouthe.¡±

    Clearly that was a traditional memorized vow, but Brin couldn¡¯t help but smile at the fact that he¡¯d promised to marry Madely even if she was ugly. This sounded like a holdover from days when people got married before ever getting to see each other. The shroud, or veil, over the both of them supported that idea.

    Madely¡¯s vow was next. ¡°I behighte to mywful housbonde to yeven fulle fwship and leautee, to epten and supporten, whether he be riche or povre, seek or hool, strong or feble, from this day forthward, by the hooly ordinance of Solia, I plighte my trouthe.¡±

    It was interesting that both of them swore by Solia. She seemed to be in high esteem in Hammon¡¯s Bog, but Brin wasn¡¯t sure if that was true more generally or just a local thing.

    ¡°I pronounce you husband and wife. You may pierce the veil,¡± said Ellion.

    Rodrigue¡¯s brother drew a sword. Jeweled and golden, it was clearly ceremonial, but the de looked sharp. Rodrigue took it and cut the veil covering him and Madely in half. The fabric tore easily, clearly designed for it, and the separate pieces fell to the floor.

    Everyone stood and cheered, and Brin expected a kiss next. That happened, but not in the way he expected. Ellion kissed both the bride and the groom, both cheeks, Italian-style.

    Both Madely and Rodrige opened their eyes wide in shock, but Brin didn¡¯t think it was from the kiss. He could see their eyes scanning back and forth reading something¨Cthe telltale mark of someone reading a System notification.

    Wait. Was there an Achievement for getting married? He¡¯d ask someone, but then that would be admitting that he didn¡¯t know. He¡¯d have to ask Hogg, but Hogg wasn¡¯t here. Whether he wasn¡¯t invited or he simply hadn¡¯te to maintain his status as a mysterious hermit, Brin didn¡¯t know.

    There hadn¡¯t been a slew of weddings during the siege, so whatever bonus the wedding Achievement gave probably didn¡¯t have anybat applications? Spection made his mind go to ces he¡¯d rather not go here in the temple, under the judging gazes of the gods. He forced himself to think about something else.

    The wedding party left the temple. They moved to the town square where Rodrige¡¯s dad invited them to the feast. Brin sat with Davi¡¯s family as they ate. Myra joined them as well since she didn¡¯t have any family in town, and before too long Zilly snuck over to sit with them as well.

    The food was surprisingly heavy, even for Hammon¡¯s Bog. Huge mutton chops, root vegetables, and thick gravy, served alongside ck bread, somewhat like pumpernickel but even more sour.

    Wine flowed quickly and freely, which was a little bit of a culture shock. In weddings in his old life, the teenagers had to wait for all the adults to get drunk first and then sneak off with a bottle to the back outside next to the dumpsters. Here, Davi filled up his ss three times under the approving gaze of both his parents. Even little Yon got a ss, though they watered his down a little, and he abandoned it in disgust after the first sip.

    Rodrige, ever the social butterfly, moved from table to table, working the crowd with the kind of natural charm you had to be born with. That had to be as much to do with his celebrity status as his [Carpenter] ss. When he got to Brin¡¯s table, he guessed that Brin probably wasn¡¯t drinking enough, poured him another ss and pushed it into his hands.

    Throughout it all, Jeffrey yed softly on stage. Only when tes started to get clear and voices started to get loud did he change the tune to something more lively. His song wasn¡¯t the delicate, wandering tones of an artistic piece for listening, the way he normally started his shows. This music had a clear beat. A <em>demanding</em> beat. This was dance music.

    Almost before he knew it, Brin was on his feet standing with the men on one side and the women on the other. Rodrige, their bannerman, led them forward while Madely led the other side. The two opposing armies met in the middle and the dance began.

    Brin let himself get swept up in the music. Any dance in his past life was marred by social anxiety and awkwardness, as well as aplete inability to dance. Here, he didn¡¯t let that stop him. The only way to get good was to practice, right? His Dexterity should help here.

    Not all of the songs were danced in lines like the first one. After that, Davi joined Jeffrey on the stage and they yed songs more conducive to pairing off. Before the music lost its hold on him, Brin found himself dancing with Zilly and Myra, as well as six other girls his age, and a few women very much not his age. He¡¯d even ended up pairing up with Bruna at one point, to which Alvir pretended to be beside himself with jealousy. <em>What had she told him?</em>

    When the music finally let him go, Brin felt like he¡¯d run a marathon. He thought he was getting kind of good by the end, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that¡¯s because he¡¯d sessfully learned how to move or if he¡¯d drunk too much to care.

    Through training, you have increased the following attribute: Dexterity +1

    [Athleticism] leveled up! 17 -> 18

    That had to mean he¡¯d gotten a little bit good, right? He had nothing on Zilly or Myra, though. They both danced as easily and gracefully as leaves on the wind. Zilly made sense, as she had absurdly high Dexterity with her [Rogue] ss, and probably had Skills and Achievements boosting her. Myra was a surprise, though.

    He took a chance to bring it up. After a while the [Bard] music calmed down enough that people found themselves able to leave the dancefloor if they wished, though many kept at it, including the happy couple.

    He found Myra and Zilly together and said, ¡°You both dance really well.¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡± Zilly said with a lopsided grin.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting there, too,¡± said Myra, patting his arm.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Any advice? Zilly has a high-Dexterity ss, but you didn¡¯t seem to need System help.¡±

    ¡°[Weaver] is a high-Dexterity ss, too. And actually I took the [Dancing] Skill.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Zilly stared at Myra in shock. ¡°Why?¡±

    Myra fiddled with a tassel on her dress. ¡°Hogg said I needed a movement Skill. This seemed like the best fit. I can level it up outside of fighting or runningps, which is good because I don¡¯t enjoy doing either of those things. But it <em>will</em> work inbat. I asked around.¡±

    ¡°That actually sounds kind of cool. Maybe I should¡¯ve taken that instead of [Athletics],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I already have [Acrobatics] or I¡¯d be tempted,¡± said Zilly.

    Soon after that, the wedding party moved on. The close friends and family of the bride and groom escorted them in a loud, drunk procession to their new home. The group made a big show of trying to get them home as quickly as possible, but in ways that actually slowed everything down. They shouted at the people that they passed, ¡°Make way! Make way!¡± but then ¡°identally¡± bumped into anyone who actually tried to move out of their path. Men flung themselves on the ground in front of Madely if they perceived any potholes in the road, only to twist at thest second to make her trip. If she did stumble, the women near her caught her, but they each tried to pull her in a different direction, making her lose her feet even more. Her beautiful poofy dress was thoroughly covered in dirt by the time they made it even a block, but sheughed along in good humor.

    Brin left them to it, not wanting or needing to be involved, grinning at their antics until they were out of sight.

    Davi climbed down from the tform, joining him, Zilly and Myra.

    ¡°So what happens now?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°More of the same,¡± Davi answered. ¡°Now that the main group is gone, the rest of us will y games or watch a show. Rodrige and Madely mighte back tonight, or they might not.¡±

    ¡°What show? Did a new [Illusionist]e with the caravan that I didn¡¯t hear about?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nope! But Sudd¡¯s Bog has a [Puppeteer] family,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I saw some of their shows when I was there, and they¡¯re really good! Tonight is sort of their debut. If people like them, the Prefit will consider giving them the entertainment budget that Gustaff used to get.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Does Jeffrey get a budget, too?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t need it,¡± answered Davi.

    Looking around, Brin saw a group of people taking things out of a covered wagon. The merchants had all cleared out for the wedding in preparation to leave in the morning, but one was back. The three of them identified as [Puppeteers] when he inspected them. Two adults in the 30s and a young woman at level 27. Only his Skill gave away their names and genders, they wore ck, baggy clothing and white masks. The masks were white with ck eyes and mouths that made no expression, sort of like No Face from Spirited Away.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about [Puppeteers]. What¡¯s the advantage of that over [Illusionist]?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Not much,¡± answered Davi. ¡°[Puppeteer] is a Common ss. It¡¯s a lot easier to evolve into if that¡¯s what you want to do.¡±

    ¡°Do they always wear those clothes?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°No, just when they¡¯re performing. I¡¯ve already talked to the daughter. She¡¯s nice,¡± answered Myra.

    The [Puppeteers] set up a mobile stage, and where he expected a small little setup for kids, what they made instead was a ten-foot-wide extravagance.

    After setting up the stage, they worked behind the curtain for half an hour, carrying things from the wagon in bags so that no one could see what it was.

    Finally, the show started, and the wedding guests crowded around to watch.

    A sh of music sounded, nothing like [Bard] music; it had a definite tinny sound like it came from a music box.

    The curtains opened, and they were soaring over a forest skyline, watching trees and hills move beneath them. It took a moment for Brin to pick apart what he was actually seeing. [Know What¡¯s Real] pinged just enough to tell him ¡°no, those aren¡¯t really trees and mountains,¡± but otherwise stayed silent. There was no illusion magic here. What he was seeing instead was dozens of little wooden cutouts, all moving together so precisely that it blurred the motion together and made him feel like he was watching a real scene.

    The picture panned down, deep into the forest. The trees grewrger, and the scene grew darker.

    A deep, masculine voice said, ¡°In a time that was but also wasn¡¯t therey a vige surrounded by deep and whispering woods. It wasn¡¯t this vige, for the trees of the forest were magical. Every night they whispered to all who came near. This was not the whispering of wind in the leaves. No, they whispered exactly like some of you now are whispering to your neighbors.¡±

    The trees all shook and whispered with different voices. ¡°Don¡¯te near. Stay back, stay away. He lurks. He¡¯ll find you if you enter. Stay out.¡±

    Then the trees cleared away, reced by a sunny scene of a happy vige, with a young boy ying by a river. Brin had to keep reminding himself that this was a puppet show; his brain kept slipping into thinking it was a well-drawn cartoon until he focused on picking apart the individual props.

    ¡°In the town, there lived a curious boy named Eli.¡±

    Eli was an actual puppet, not just a wooden prop, and his movement was much moreplex and realistic. Heughed and skipped along the river¡¯s edge, trying to follow a slipper fish as it made its way downstream. The chase led him out of the town and into the whispering woods.

    ¡°Everyone in the vige heeded the warnings of the trees, and stayed out of the forest and away from the creature that lurked within it. But not Eli. He was not afraid of the dark, and was fascinated by the legendary monster that was said to dwell at its heart.¡±

    The voiceover was slow, and only came one every few minutes, dragging the story out a lot longer than it would be if they just told it all at once.

    He noticed after a while that the puppets weren¡¯t <em>actually</em> that realistic. The puppet of Eli was just a face painted on wood with no expression. His imagination was filling in the details, seeing a smile when Eli was happy and making his lips move when he spoke. The other props weren¡¯t <em>really</em> as movie-quality perfect as he¡¯d thought, either. These were Skills; the [Puppeteers] were making him see the story as bigger and moreplete than it was. They had a shadow of a [Bard¡¯s] power, though it wasn¡¯t so strong. They drew him into the story, removing all the natural barriers between entertainer and audience. After a while, Brin gave up trying to remember it was a puppet show and just let himself enjoy the movie.

    ¡°Eli, with a heart full of bravery and a mind full of wonder, decided to venture into the woods. He wanted to find the beast, not to y it, but to tame it.

    ¡°Armed with nothing but antern and his unwavering desire, Eli walked into the woods. He wandered for hours, and all the while, the wood urged him to turn away. ¡®No, not that way, that way lies the beast! Turn back!¡¯ He disregarded the warnings. If the trees said, ¡®Turn not left!¡¯ Eli turned left. When the trees said, ¡®Go not further!¡¯ Eli went further.

    ¡°He wandered for hours until he came upon a clearing where the moon shone bright, and there he found Grendle. It was a fearsome beast with scales as dark as night and eyes that glowed like embers.

    ¡°It was said his roar could shake the earth, but Grendle did not roar. He asked, ¡®I hunt for my meat, but I don¡¯t trust meals that wander into my mouth on their own. Why have youe?¡¯

    ¡°Eli said, ¡®I¡¯vee to take and tame you and make you mine. You will be my pet and I will be the master.¡¯

    ¡°Grendleughed and said, ¡®I ept. Only, you must prove you can provide for me the way that men provide for and protect their pets. Will you give me shelter?¡¯

    ¡°And Eli went home and took a shovel. He returned and dug a deep hole in the earth. He dug long and deep, and made a safe ce for Grendle to sleep.

    ¡°Now Grendle was intrigued. He said, ¡®Men give their pets clothing to keep off the cold.¡¯

    ¡°And Eli said, ¡®They do not, but I will make you a cor.¡¯ and he made Grendle a leather cor and hung it around his neck, and he ced a little tinkling bell.

    ¡°Now Grendle said, ¡®Men feed their pets and give them drink. Will you feed me? If you will do this then I will be yours.¡¯

    ¡°And Eli returned to the vige and found the seamstress'' daughter and killed her. He put her body in a sack, and drained her blood into a goblet. He took it into the forest and gave it to Grendle to eat and drink. When the beast was done, Eli asked, ¡®Now you¡¯ll keep your promise? Now you¡¯ll be mine?¡¯

    ¡°And Grendle said ¡®Yes. From this day forward I am yours. You have done as I bid and youe when I call. I am not your pet. I am your Master.¡¯

    ¡°And so it was. From then on the vige knew the forest whispered about a monster and its pet, and the wise vigers heeded them and stayed away.

    ¡°And if you ever hear a tinkling bell in the depths of night, stay away. Because if Grendle and his Eli haven¡¯t died, then they are still alive today.¡±

    The story finished to enthusiastic apuse, and Brin blinked a little as the hold on his attention slipped away. It was a little disconcerting that they were able to draw him in so fully, but then again he¡¯d always had a hard time looking away from screens in his old world.

    With the props, the story had been deeply disturbing, andpletely inappropriate for a wedding. It was probably fine since the bride and groom had retired, and the show had definitely had the effect the [Puppeteers] wanted. People were already whispering about where they were going to set up permanently and what other stories they might be able to do.

    The note of a lute pierced the thrum, and all eyes went back up to Jeffrey, still up on the stage. ¡°A fascinating performance,¡± said the [Bard]. ¡°Please, everyone give them another round of apuse.¡±

    ¡°Woops, I better get up there,¡± said Davi.

    Everyone cheered again for the [Puppeteers], and Jeffrey pped along. He was earnest; he wasn¡¯t the type to disparage other artists. He also wasn¡¯t even a little bit insecure. [Bards] were the kings of entertainment. [Illusionists] and [Puppeteers] could onlypete for second ce.

    Davi arrived on stage, and together they yed a rousing bad. This one <em>was</em> appropriate for a wedding. It had a rousing and inspirational love story, swept Brin up into a brutally emotional journey that left tears in his eyes.

    They yed and sang through the night. Eventually, Rodrige and Madely wandered back to the party. They wore regr clothes, cut in the style of a married couple, and joined in on the dancing.

    The party wound down well after dark. Extremelyte, for a people who all woke at dawn. Many of the men made a big show about being too drunk to walk. Their wives made a big show about being long-suffering and then swung the men onto their shoulders to carry them home.

    Few of them were actually as drunk as they pretended. Brin¡¯s Vitality was the one stat that was on the lower endpared with the townsfolk, and his four sses of wine had barely left him with a buzz.

    A high-Vitality [Farmer] like Alvir was probablypletely immune, but hey on the ground snoring loudly. When Bruna grabbed him by one foot and dragged him towards home, he pretended to not notice that she moved so that his head would hit every hole and nk on the road, and kept snoring.

    Brin¡¯s journey into his home in the forest was a lot farther than anyone else had to go, and he didn¡¯t have anyone to carry him. He said his goodbye¡¯s and left, hoping that his Vitality was high enough to stop the hangover in the morning.

 Book 3. Chapter 23

    Book 3. Chapter 23

    Brin woke up the next morning with barely a trace of any headache at all. That was a nice change. Even in his old life, four sses of wine would¡¯ve been enough to give him the beginning of a hangover, but he really felt nothing other than the feeling that dawn was too early and he¡¯d rather sleep another four hours.

    He¡¯d already packed the night before, but really there hadn¡¯t been much to pack. Just his clothes, some ss things that he¡¯d made, a few odds and ends that he¡¯d collected. All that went into an ordinary backpack. He¡¯d carry his wooden spear and use it as a walking staff.

    The most important things he owned he already wore on his body all the time. The enchanted armband of invisibility, and the ring of storage. Inside the ring, he put his ss spear, mostly because there wasn¡¯t much else he needed it for. He¡¯d also put hisst potion of no-sleep. Calisto hadn¡¯t been able to give him any other cool potions, but only because he¡¯d been so busy making things for Hogg. Brin had managed to beg an exploding potion off of Hogg, which also went in the ring. Alchemical potions were deceptively small, so he still had a pound and a half out of his five pounds. He decided to put a bottle of water in for now and call it good. If he somehow got separated from everyone and had to survive in the wilderness, clean drinking water would be more valuable than anything else. At least, that¡¯s what he would tell himself until he thought of something cooler to put in there.

    They left the house without ceremony. Marksi climbed up on his shoulders and Hogg walked next to him, not carrying anything. Brin knew that Hogg loved to keep an entire armory in an enchanted backpack whenever possible, which meant that he¡¯d probably already left his bags with the caravan.

    It was a nice morning. The sky was clear, and a cool breeze moved through the air with no sign of the intense muggy heat that came along with theter day. He wondered if he should feel a bit nostalgic. This was thest time he would make this trek for a good long time. Instead, he was impatient. He''d seen these same boring trees and this same bumpy dirt road so many times that he was thoroughly sick of it. He wanted nothing more than to see something else, to go somewhere new. That was exactly how he should feel at the start of a journey.

    "Oh, right." Brin remembered something. "I promised Zilly I would talk to you. She''s banned froming with the caravan, but I get the feeling that was on Kevim''s insistence and not because the caravan has any problem with her. Do you think we could get them to change their mind?"

    "Sure," said Hogg. "But why should I? The fact that she thinks she can do whatever she wants whenever she wants and expects the rest of us to do nothing but bend over backwards is starting to wear. She''s got [Survival], don''t she? Let her sleep on the ground with the bugs climbing all over her for a week or two. Maybe that''ll build some character. Nothing else has worked."

    "Ok, but..."

    Hogg rolled his eyes. "I''ll keep an eye on her.¡±

    "Thanks," said Brin.

    After they got through the forest, they didn''t bother to walk through town. They just walked across the clear area where the walls would soon be built towards the north gate where the caravan was waiting. A few odd stones had already been set in ce for the wall''s foundations, but in other ces the ground had been dug down a little. It looked like they''d started building, but then one of the new arrivals who actually knew what they were doing had convinced them to stop and make a foundation first. The trench wasn''t any deeper than five feet anywhere, and even with the rare obstacles it was still easier than trying to cut through town. If they did that they''d have to say hello and talk about the weather to a dozen different people. Maybe he should take the opportunity to enjoy onest morning talking to people in town, but honestly he was just ready to be going.

    He''d promised himself that he''d travel in this new shot at life he''d gotten; that he''d see the world. He''d dyed on that promise long enough. It was finally time to travel.

    The caravan appeared as they walked around the bend. The wagons weren''t huddled around in a circle any more; they were all in a single file that stretched down the road. Most of them were hitched to horses or oxen, but one of the wagons attached to a giant boar. [Inspect] called him "Big Ron", and he was level 37. The animals had all been grazing with the livestock of Hammon''s Bog, so Brin hadn''t seen them before except from a distance.

    The lead wagon wasn''t hitched up to any animals at all.

    "What''s going on with the wagon in front?" he asked.

    "That''s the caravan leader''s wagon. I''ll save you the trouble of [Inspecting] him. He''s a level 56 [Caravan Master] named Zerif. He''s got the Skill to make the wagon move on its own. [Guide Wagon] is a base Skill of the [Caravaneer] ss, mostly for avoiding potholes or helping give a little nudge when it''s stuck in the mud but he''s evolved it a bunch of times and he''s got the mana pool to keep it moving all day."

    "That''s awesome! How many sses are there that can move vehicles? If I got a small lightweight car, could I get a ss that would push it for me? How fast can it go?" If there was one thing Brin missed most of all from his old world, it was cars. Well, no, it was pizza and thenputer games, but cars came in as a solid third ce.

    "Stop getting distracted. The thing you need to know about the leader of a caravan is that he''s equivalent to a captain at sea. His word isw. Do what he says during the travel, or you risk being hanged on the spot for rebellion."

    Brin snorted. "I''d like to see him try that with you."

    "He won''t have to. I listen to the advice of experts in their domain, and out here that''s him. We''re not in Hogg Town anymore."

    They approached the lead wagon, and a merchant wearing colorful robes stepped off the front to greet them. Zerif was a short man, barely taller than Brin. He had darkly tanned skin and a short goatee. He spread his arms wide as he approached. "Wee! Wee!"

    Hogg stopped. "Permission to join the caravan, sir."

    "Of course! I wee you. Truly, sir, it is an honor. I ampletely at your disposal. Please do not hesitate to tell me anything that I or my people might do to serve you better." The [Caravan Master''s] obsequious behavior waspletely at odds with what Hogg had led Brin to expect, to the point that Brin couldn''t help but wonder if this was the wrong person.

    Hogg nudged Brin with his elbow.

    "Permission to join the caravan, sir," said Brin.

    "Yes, and the young master. Wee!" Zerif grasped Brin''s hand with both of his. "Anything I can do to make your trip morefortable? You must sleep in my wagon. Yes, only that will do. I will take Pio''s wagon and he can sleep with the--"

    "That won''t be necessary," said Hogg.

    "If you''re sure? Well, you must store your things with me at least. Only my wagon is safe enough."

    "He can keep his things in the open cart where theborers and guards put their stuff," said Hogg.

    This tale has been uwfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "Only if you''re sure?" Zerif stretched out the word, and when Hogg didn''t change his mind, he nodded. "Very well. We''ll depart shortly. Brin, I''ll have Pio show you where you can store your things. Pio!"

    Pio appeared like the wind. He wore the same short goatee as Zerif, but other than that they couldn''t have been more different. He was huge and his muscles were on full disy as he wore nothing but a pair of colorful striped pants; he didn''t even have shoes. Where Zerif wringed his hands and nodded his head with a smile, Pio stood domineering with his hands clenched at his sides.

    He fixed Brin with a wide-eyed stare. He looked at Marksi on Brin¡¯s shoulders with a moreplicated expression, then firmed his eyes and stared back at Brin. He tilted his head to the side to indicate he should follow. Brin looked to Zerif who gave him a deferential smile, and Hogg who looked quite pleased. Brin gulped and followed Pio.

    Pio turned and walked quickly. Looking at his back, Brin took the opportunity to do a quick [Inspect].

    Name Pio Melo Age 34 Level 41 ss Beast Master

    Brin had never seen that old Beastmaster movie, but he''d seen the poster enough to know that Pio at least dressed the part. The only thing he was missing was the two leather straps crossing his chest and the wavy golden hair¨CPio''s hair was typical Frenarian light brown, cut short.

    "Keep up!" barked Pio. Brin ran up to walk next to him.

    "Life in the caravan is not so easy as you are used to. You will work. If we are stopped, you are working. If you are ever not working, then find work. There are no passengers or guests; there is only the caravan.¡± Pio had a bit of a Prinnashian ent, even though his name was definitely Frenarian.

    He paused, waiting for a response. Maybe he was waiting for Brin to object to the part where he''d said that his life was easy. Brin didn''t give him the satisfaction. "Yes, sir."

    Pio nodded. "When we are moving, you move. A break, how nice for you! But your eyes are never on break. Always scan the treeline. Keep your eyes moving. They never stop." He demonstrated eye movement, making a show of scanning back and forth, moving his head to make sure he got the full length of the road. "If you see something, tap wood."

    He knocked on the side of a wagon. "Do not call out loud unless it''s human. Some beasts are more likely to attack if they know they are seen, some are less likely. Don''t yell, just tap. We will hear the tap. If we don''t see what you see, someone wille and ask."

    Brin nodded. "Yes sir."

    Pio abruptly stopped walking. He veered to the side and approached an ox. He adjusted the harness on the animal, and then patted its neck, murmuring smoothly to the beast. The ox snorted back as if they were really in a conversation and blinked its eyes in contentment. When Pio left, it looked a lot calmer and happier than it had before.

    He continued his lecture as if nothing had happened. "Do not leave the road without permission. You are not home. You are part of a caravan. You need permission to pee and you need permission to eat."

    "Yes, sir."

    Pio peered at him. "You will do well here. Not like that girl from your town."

    "You''re definitely talking about Zilly, right? Ha! I knew it. You have to tell me some stories. She had to have done something embarrassing, right?"

    "Put your pack here," said Pio. There was a smallish wagon heaped with backpacks. The sides were open above a short rail to keep things from sliding off, and only a thin tarp up above to keep off the rain. Brin slung his backpack onto the cart, but kept his spear in his hand.

    "You can walk where you wish, but remember, keep your eyes moving."

    ¡°Great. Anything else?¡±

    Pio stared off into the distance. His eyes flicked to Marksi, then he looked away again.

    Brin smiled. ¡°He can understand you.¡±

    Pio stared at Marksi in surprise. ¡°You speak?¡±

    Marksi shook his head.

    ¡°He can understand speech, though,¡± said Brin.

    Pio held out a hand. ¡°May I¡­ May I?¡±

    Marksi nodded. Pio reached out to gently scratch Marksi behind the jaw, and the little dragon copsed onto Brin¡¯s shoulders in a fit of purring. <em>No fair! [Beast Master] gave this guy cheat-power scritches!</em>

    ¡°Would you like toe meet my friend?¡± Pio asked Marksi. ¡°Big Ron is a great beast! Great friend! Would you?¡±

    Marksi hopped over into Pio¡¯s arms as if the muscr man was a great friend that he¡¯d known all his life.

    With that, Pio stomped away, in a way that made Brin think he wasn''t supposed to follow.

    "I guess I¡¯ll catch upter," he said to himself. Well, Marksi would be fine. The little guy was a pretty good judge of character.

    A whistle blew, and all at once, the wagons started moving. Brin smiled. They were finally doing it.

    Not sure where he should be, he walked up and down the length of the caravan, and eventually found Davi, walking alongside a wagon. Myra was sitting on the wagon, so of course that''s where Davi would be. He wasn''t sure why Myra got to sit, but she was sharing the driver''s seat with a [Merchant]dy, who guided a tough-looking ck horse.

    "Hey, so don''t get too excited, but I don''t think Pio likes Zilly very much. To hear her tell it, she was a bigshot hero to these people."

    Davi frowned. "Levels don''t lie. She must have done something to shoot up that fast."

    "She was a great help against those bandits," the [Merchant] said. [Inspect] called her Duelna. "And you mustn''t mind Pio. He doesn''t like anyone that walks on two legs."

    "But she must''ve done something, right? Zilly''s always up to something crazy," Myra said.

    After a little more prodding, Duelna got the picture that they wanted to hear funny stories about their friend, and was happy toply.

    Apparently, Zilly had a habit of wandering away no matter how many times she was told not to leave the road. One time, she disappeared for half the entire day, only to reappear with a Cherry Bear hot on her heels. It had been Kevim who took the beast down, and he and Pio had been burning mad about it the rest of the trip.

    "Wait, what''s a Cherry Bear?"

    "It''s a bear that ate too many cherries," said Davi, with the quirk of his mouth that meant he was trying to be funny.

    Myra shook her head. "It''s a bear with metamorphosing rabies. They get these weird red growths all over that look like cherries. Don''t get bit by one or you''ll go insane and die."

    "She''s right," said Duelna the [Merchant]. "You won''t get the antidote in time unless it happens right inside the [Chemist] wagon."

    That gave Brin another good idea for something to put in his ring of storage. He couldn''t afford another healing potion, but maybe he could find some anti-venoms for some of the mostmon nasties out here? Actually what kind of things should he be worried about?

    "You know, I''m worried about the bugs. There''s a town Skill to keep mosquitos and ticks and venomous spiders out of Hammon''s Bog, but we don''t have that out here."

    "Anti-bug [Skills] are pretty normal for [Caravaneers] and [Hunters]," said Duelna.

    Brin sighed in relief.

    They walked along at a good pace. It would''ve felt very quick for any group on Earth, but it wasn''t overbearing to anyone from here. It was refreshing, honestly, just enough to feel some movement in his body but not even strenuous enough to work up a sweat. He still did sweat, though, because the sun climbed in the sky and poured down muggy heat on them.

    They didn''t stop for lunch. A [Caravaneer] walked up and down the line, passing out small loaves of bread and sausages, one each. The sausage was great, but the bread was hard and dense and took forever to eat, which gave him something to do while he walked.

    Four hours after noon, he heard a whistle from the head of the caravan. No one stopped, so Brin asked Duelna what it was about.

    "Anyone who hasn''t finished their lunch needs to put it away."

    "That''s not a problem, I finished mine hours ago. But why?" asked Brin.

    "To keep the smell from attracting things. I think it was about here. Yes, it must be. Notice how the forest is louder now?"

    Now that she pointed it out, Brin did notice. More birds sang in the trees, frogs called from the ponds, and the thrumming rhythm of cicadas, or their Bogworld equivalent, hummed in the trees.

    "Yeah, I can hear it, but why?"

    "The undead stayed near your town, and pushed all the other wildlife out. Animals seem to be able to sense undeath and stay away. There will be more wildlife out there now, and more monsters. Did anyone tell you about how to keep your eyes moving?"

    Brin met Davi''s eyes, and the slight guilt he saw there meant that Davi had also been told and that he''d alsopletely forgotten.

    They kept their heads on a swivel after that, tracing the forest left to right, right to left, never stopping.

    He missed the knocking at first. Tap, tap, tap. Then again. By the third time, he heard it. Guards ahead of him in line had stopped looking back and forth. A [Merchant] and a [Caravaneer], though the two of them both looked like they knew how to use their spears. Their eyes were fixed at a spot in the forest, and they were tapping the wood of the wagons.

    Brin looked to where they were looking, but didn''t see anything.

    There was a crash in the forest, and the spear-wielding [Merchant] yelled. ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 24

    Book 3. Chapter 24

    He saw a sh of color, and then something slipped out of the forest. It had a long, segmented body, alternating tan and blue. A giant centipede maybe, except the legs were so short and thin that it seemed to glide across the ground.

    It pounced towards the [Merchant] guard with two huge ribbed pincers outstretched. The guard held his spear firm, and the monster veered away at thest second to glide away back towards the forest. The other guard threw his spear at the retreating form, but the monster effortlessly dodged it.

    By the time Brin thought to summon some ss to shoot at the thing, it had already entered the trees. He snapped off an [Inspect] before it was out of sight.

    Heath Worm Level 24

    Brin wanted to go after it, but the rules about not leaving the road had been clear, and he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to catch up with it. He wondered what would happen next. Myra and Davi were both tense and ready for action, but no one else seemed that rmed.

    His [Monster Sense] Skill let him sense the presence of monsters, and now that he was concentrating on it he could tell that the thing was still nearby. But that sense slowly faded away as well. The Heath Worm was gone.

    The guard who¡¯d thrown his spear fetched it and returned to the road while his friend covered him. Pio came running, had a short conversation with the guards, and then blew his whistle. The wagons started moving again.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± asked Brin the [Merchant]dy Duelna, but she just shrugged.

    Pio hadn¡¯t brought Marksi with him, and he turned back towards the front of the train, but Brin jogged up and stopped him.

    ¡°What was that? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Just a little bug.¡±

    ¡°That was more than a bug! That was a level 24 Heath Worm, whatever that is.¡±

    Pio gave Brin an impatient frown. ¡°It is what the System says it is. A worm that lives in heath. Were you very frightened?¡±

    ¡°Not at all! If anything I¡¯m annoyed that it ran away before I could get a crack at it,¡± said Brin.

    Pio patted Brin on the shoulder. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯d it run away?¡±

    Pio sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a bug! Bugs are very dumb, and cowards. Nothing likes to hunt prey that can fight back. Dumb bug sees something it¡¯s never seen before. Maybe a healthy snack? Ites closer, only the snack isn¡¯t afraid. The snack looks like it wants to fight back. Dumb bug decides to go find something else to eat. Any other questions?¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for an answer, but turned to leave again, with his very expressive ¡°don¡¯t follow me¡± walk.

    There was nothing left to do but go back to Myra and Davi.

    ¡°Am I crazy, or was that totally normal or something?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°We saw lots of monsters on ourst trip,¡± said Davi. ¡°I guess it¡¯s normal.¡±

    ¡°What? Really?¡± asked Myra.

    ¡°No,¡± said the Duelna, guiding the wagon on which she and Myra sat. ¡°Times are strange. In the past, I¡¯ve driven from ckcliff to Steamshield and back ten times in a row without seeing a single monster or bandit. In those days, it was amon sight to see solo travelers or people walking in groups of two or three. Monsters stayed away from the road and out of sight. Seeing one leap out at us on the first day out of town is <em>certainly</em> unusual.

    After that, he didn¡¯t find it hard at all to remember to keep his head moving. He scanned the treeline, and kept his [Monsters Sense] at the forefront of his mind.

    A few minutester, he felt a little twitch from it, but whatever set it off was far away.

    ¡°You feel that?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°Yeah. Wait, you have [Monster Sense], too?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I earned it during ourst trip. Kevim helped me hunt the monsters to get it,¡± said Davi.

    Brin had earned [Monster Hunter] before System Day, so he thought the [Monster Sense] it had given him was unique to him. Apparently, only the +10% to Strength that had been folded into [Warbound] had been for getting it ahead of System Day, and everything else was part of the Achievement that anyone could get.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have that! How close is it?¡± asked Myra. She was already unwinding the unbreakable string from her wrist, but Davi raised a hand to stop her.

    ¡°It¡¯s gone now.¡±

    ¡°I bet it¡¯s still hanging around nearby,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°They do that,¡± Davi answered with a knowing nod. ¡°Pio told me that even though you rarely see beasts or monsters, that doesn¡¯t mean they aren¡¯t there. They¡¯ll follow wagon trains like this for miles or even days, waiting for someone to slip up. That¡¯s why you should never go out there alone. There might be something out there waiting for someone to wander away by themselves. Predators are naturally wary of attacking groups, they want to pick off the strays.¡±

    ¡°That thing didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of charging our group,¡± Brin pointed out.

    Davi scratched his chin and then said, ¡°Oh! I bet I know what¡¯s going on. Predators in the wild will sometimes charge a herd of prey animals to try to get them to run away. They¡¯re hoping they¡¯ll leave their young and infirm behind for easy prey. That flight instinct is something we have to take a lot of care to train out of our herd back home. Now our dumb cows will just sit there and let wolves gnaw on their thick skin until Poco can get there and take them out. A few bites are preferable to the risk of sprains or broken ankles that cane from a stampede. I bet that Heath Worm was charging us to see if we¡¯d run. It probably thought we were prey animals because we¡¯re in a herd. Predators don¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°You just mentioned wolves. They run in packs,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± said Davi.

    Myra shook her head, still looking worried. "So they''re just going to leave it alone and let it hunt us?"

    Duelna let go of the reins with one hand to pat Myra''s knee. "If we had more [Hunters] with us this run Pio would probably send someone after it. As things are, it''s not worth the effort for a small thing like that. You saw how quick it was to flee. It won''t bother us if we stay with the caravan."

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "I''d still feel better if it was gone. I bet if Zilly was with us she''d be able to find it," said Brin.

    Duelna chuckled. "Don''t remind me!"

    "Maybe I can do something," said Davi.

    "What?"

    "We''ll see. Just get some ss ready to shoot if it appears again."

    Brin nodded and summoned a ss javelin. He could use his Skills to propel his real spear, but he didn''t want that to leave his hands, and the spear in his ring was for real emergencies.

    Summoning the javelin was simple enough, and then he spent some mana improving the ss. It would never be as good as something made in the shop, but it gave him something to do while they walked.

    An hourter, he felt [Monster Sense] go off again. The monster was close this time, just out of sight in the trees.

    Davi yed a chord with his Oud, not going into a song, but just ying the simple up and down, repeatedly. The music had some magic in it, and while it wasn''t directed at him, he still felt the general effect. <em>Come, we are weak and defenseless. We don''t see you. Strike while we aren''t watching.</em>

    Brin began chanting his spell. ¡°¡±

    The Heath Worm appeared right on cue, darting in towards Brin, moving with the same eerie smooth swiftness. Brin waited until he was sure he was too close to miss and threw the javelin, shooting it with his power.

    The Heath Worm jumped over it, but the javelin exploded when it hit the ground, and the beast shrieked in surprise. It turned and veered back towards the forest, but suddenly stopped as something pulled it to the ground. He saw a thin line of thread. It was wrapped around the monster and then led back to Myra.

    Brin dashed forward with his spear. He pushed mana into it, and the spear seemed toe alive in his hands. When he thrust outwards, the spear felt like it was pulling him forward. He stabbed straight through the Worm so easily that he thought he''d missed again until he saw the monster wriggling and trying to free itself with a spear pinning it to the ground.

    Davi stopped ying and ran over. He stomped and crushed the creature''s head beneath his boot.

    You have defeated: Heath Wyrm [24] Experience split between members of your party.

    "Yes!" Brin cheered and gave Davi a high five.

    Even Myra looked satisfied as she reeled in her thread. "Maybe I should get [Monster Hunter]. How many more do I need?"

    Even the two guards in front of them looked impressed. The only person who didn''t look pleased was Duelna, who just shook her head in exasperation.

    Brin pulled the spear out of the monster''s guts and started to clean it by rubbing against the grass. Davi''s boot was sttered with guts, and he rubbed it against the grass as well to little effect. Myra scythed through a patch of grass with her thread, then wove it together into a rag. She handed it to Davi, who used it to clean off his boots. Her magic seemed to change the texture of the grass, turning it into a cloth that was nice and absorbent.

    Myra had an instant-toilet-paper-anywhere Skill. [Weaver] was overpowered.

    "Is there anything we should do about this?" Brin indicated the corpse.

    "We can''t exactly carry it with us," said Davi. "I wonder if any part of it is valuable."

    "Maybe Pio will want it. Pio!" Brin turned to the new voice. It was Zerif, the [Caravan Master]. The person who could legally kill him if he put a toe out of line, and this probably counted as an entire foot of out line.

    Zerif didn''t look mad, though. The short man burst outughing at the expression on Brin''s face. "Oh, the things you young people get up to! Hrious! And you''ve defeated a beast that was pestering us. What a wonderful service to the caravan! Do you want this carcass Pio? Pio!"

    Hogg arrived with Zerif, took a nce at Brin, at the dead monster, and then at Davi. He gave a single shrug, to indicate how thoroughly he didn''t care about any of this, and then walked away again, probably just impatient that the caravan had stopped moving.

    "I''ll leave this to you, my friend," Zerif said as Pio arrived.

    Pio stomped towards them, storm clouds hanging over his head. "Unbelievable. Tell me my ears lied to me. Tell me I did not hear that thing I heard. You lured a monster to attack my caravan? You had this idea and thought, yes, this is something I will do?"

    Marksi sat on Pio''s shoulders, and also shook his head at Brin in disapproval.

    "You too, Marksi?"

    "Fool!" Pio shouted. "You think you know everything in the forest? What if it was a different monster this time, not some little bug? If you see a monster, you knock on the wagon. Like this! You understand? You need I should show you again?" Pio kept knocking at the side of the wagon until both Brin and Davi agreed that they understood the concept.

    "Put my caravan in danger again and I will string you up with ropes and drag you along behind!"

    Pio hefted the Heath Worm with one arm and set it on his shoulder. He red at Davi and Brin again and then marched away.

    Marksi stayed behind, but he was frowning at Brin and had his head turned away, acting upset.

    "Aw,e on. Why are you mad at me?"

    Marksi huffed.

    "It was just a low-level monster. I wasn''t in any danger," said Brin.

    Marksi hissed.

    "Next time I hunt a monster, I''ll make sure to bring you along. But you can''t me me for this! It attacked me! I didn''t have time toe get you," said Brin.

    Marksi relented and stepped forward to let Brin pick him up and administer apology scritches. The wagon train started moving again soon after that.

    "Hm. That was pretty mild. Pio must like you," said Duelna.

    "If that''s how he talks to people he likes, I''d hate to be on his bad side," said Brin.

    "You would," Duelna agreed.

    There weren''t any more monster attacks by the time they stopped. The wagon train found arge clearing and made a circle, setting up camp in the middle. Pio had told Brin he expected everyone to work when the wagons were stopped, and he wasn''t joking. Brin helped unharness animals, helped carry things to and fro for the impromptu kitchen that was set up, and helped set up tents for those who wouldn''t be sleeping in wagons, like him. All the while he kept half an eye on the forest, watching for danger.

    Dinner was amunal pot of stew, dished out into ceramic bowls, though there was plenty and it had lots ofrge chunks of meat. He sat next to Hogg on a stump near the fire. The day was still hot enough that the fire was ufortable, but something about camping meant that there needed to be a fire, and not just for cooking.

    He took a bite, and the stew was pretty good, with a lot of spices he didn''t recognize. Things you couldn''t get in Hammon''s Bog.

    "They really don''t eat too poorly, do they?" asked Brin.

    "No, they really don''t," said Hogg. "We''re just visiting, but their whole life is like this. They take what luxuries they can get, the same as us."

    What would that be like? He''d only been living like this for one day so he couldn''t really say, but he thought he saw the appeal in it. Always a new horizon, always something new to see. You got to travel and see new things, but you never left home because you brought your home with you. It would be weird not to have a <em>real</em> home though, a solid location that stayed in one ce that you coulde back to.

    Come to think of it, Myra might decide to live like this. Most [Weavers] did, moving from town to town, selling fabric and telling fortunes.

    "I have to say, though, that Zerif is nothing like you led me to expect," said Brin.

    "Oh yeah? Maybe he''s exactly like how I told you and it''s your eyes that are wrong."

    Brin checked to make sure he wasn''t near enough to hear, but Zerif was across the camp,ughing at something one of his guards was saying. "Well, ok, I mean he''s high level so I''m sure he''s skilled, but he''s a little..."

    "He seems like a smarmy little twit. A limp-wristed tterer," finished Hogg.

    "I wouldn¡¯t call him a twit. He¡¯s jolly!"

    Hogg took a bite of his stew, seeming to consider it for a moment, before saying, "Zerif acts exactly the way he needs to act. Ship captains can also legally execute their passengers if they need to, but have you ever actually heard of that happening? They''d do anything they could to avoid letting things get to that point, especially if those passengers are part of the profit margin. And just because he¡¯s in charge <em>out here</em> doesn¡¯t mean that there won¡¯t be consequences back in civilization if he abuses his authority. He needs to be able to get into every city and town he passes, which means that good impressions are paramount. Zerif is going to act the way that best sets his customers at ease and make the trip as pleasant as possible. Pio ys the bad guy."

    "I guess I can sort of see it," said Brin.

    "Let me give you a little tip. There are all sorts of people out there. Smart or dumb, good and bad, lucky and unlucky. Level doesn''t always mean that much; sometimes it just means you were in the right ce at the right time. But there''s no one over level fifty who isn''t a badass. Zerif is tolerant because he''s strong, but he''s definitely not the type of person you should ever deliberately cross."

    "So I''m guessing I shouldn''t try to kill any more monsters?"

    "Huh? When did I say that? You should get as many as you can while we''re out here."

    Brin couldn''t help but smile. "Can I start tonight?"

 Stub Notice

    Stub Notice

    Well, the long anticipated day is here. A dark and glorious day. A Bog day. The day of stubbing has arrived...

    Tomorrow, Bog Standard Isekai is going to Amazon. In preparation for that, I will need to remove Book 1 from RoyalRoad and Patreon. If you''ve read this far, then you''re safe! Regr posting will continue here.

    The book will be avable as ebook, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback. Audiobook won''t be ready for pre-order, but it will be avable tomorrow. While none of you NEED to read the new version that is appearing on Kindle, it has been thoroughly revised and edited to make it a much cleaner book without changing any actual content. It''s a significantly smoother version of the story you know.

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    Amazon: https://geni.us/BogStandard1

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    If you have kindle unlimited already, even just a download apparently counts as a sale and can boost myunch rank. Also, on Amazon reviews and ratings are crucial. If you''ve been enjoying the story, I would respectfully ask you to consider leaving a review. You don''t need to have purchased the book on kindle to leave a review, either, though if you download on KU before posting a review, ites up as verified which is weighted higher.

    Thank you for all the support! Your enthusiasm has made this work an absolute pleasure to write. This has been a crazy year of Bog, and if I have my way it''ll be the first of many.

 Book 3. Chapter 25

    Book 3. Chapter 25

    Hogg didn¡¯t like the idea of hunting monsters on their very first night out of town, but he promised to find a way to make it work sometime during their trip.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually how I always nned on getting you your first levels, by fighting isted monsters under direct supervision. Fighting a war against the undead and assassinating [Witches] wasn¡¯t exactly my first choice for you.¡±

    ¡°Assassinating? That was in self-defense.¡± Brin looked both directions, checking if anyone was listening. Everyone was finishing up supper and chatting happily, and no one seemed to be interested in him and Hogg. It also wasn¡¯t like Brin killing [Witches] was a secret or something to be ashamed of.

    ¡°So how is it going to work? I hadn¡¯t really thought about how I would actually <em>find</em> the monsters. Will you being with us?¡±

    ¡°I should stay and protect the caravan. We¡¯re actually traveling for free on ount of me being a high level [Warrior].¡±

    Brin snorted. ¡°So we¡¯re back to that?¡±

    Hogg just shrugged.

    Brin didn¡¯t have to ask. Hogg told people he was a [Warrior] because he wanted everyone to think that he was a [Rogue] with some kind of shadow magic. He didn¡¯t actually know if that was really necessary any more; after all, knowing that he was a [Conjurer of Hard Light] wouldn¡¯t actually help you defend against it. If he had to guess, he¡¯d say it was just that he¡¯d spent his entire life hiding his ss and old habits die hard. But it was Hogg¡¯s secret to tell.

    There was still the question of how he¡¯d find the monsters, and this wasn¡¯t the ce to ask about it, not until he knew how much of Hogg¡¯s abilities he wanted to keep secret.Pio sat down to start eating, one of the veryst to get his meal. Brin moved over to sit next to him.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m really sorry about today. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    ¡°Bah!¡± said Pio, which Brin took as full andplete forgiveness.

    ¡°Cool, so I meant to ask. When Kevim got back to town he was talking about a ¡®Migratory Disarrangement Chain¡¯. Do you know what he meant by that?¡±

    ¡°[Hunters].¡± Pio shook his head dismissively. ¡°They need big words for simple things.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not simple for everyone. You have a whole ss built around understanding beasts,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s an excellent point!¡± said Zerif, who appeared like a friendly ghost from who knows where. ¡°Why don¡¯t you exin it to thed. And perhaps use your outdoor voice?¡± He gestured around to the other members of the caravan, many of whom were showing sudden interest.

    Pio growled in annoyance, but couldn¡¯t refuse an order from the [Caravan Leader]. He set his stew down on the trunk he was sitting on and stood up. ¡°You¡¯ve heard all this before, but let¡¯s do it again, yes? Something made arge group of monsters and animals move all at once, and now we know what it was. Army of undead. So all the living things of the forest want to leave. Monsters, animals, birds, even bugs all move at the same time. So what happens? Let¡¯s say a troll leaves his burrow. He finds a nice new cave to move into, but this cave is a Spinewolf den. Now Spinewolves must find somewhere new to live! They go live in a forest where Giant Spiders live. The Spiders need to go somewhere new. Now think of that happening a hundred times. A thousand times, in a thousand ces. Monsters scurry around everywhere! It used to be, monsters stay away from the roads. Only now, they don¡¯t know where roads are. They don¡¯t know to stay away. So! What do we do? We keep our eyes sharp, always moving. We stay with the caravan. We do not poop alone. You think I like to watch? I don¡¯t. It¡¯s for safety. We do not open food that may attract monsters outside of mealtimes. Yes? You all know this. Oh, and one more. We <em>do not</em> use Skills to lure monsters to attack the wagons!¡±

    At thatst sentence, Pio threw a nasty re at Brin.

    He opened his eyes wide in shock. ¡°I thought you¡¯d forgotten all about that!¡±

    Zerifughed. ¡°Yes, excellent. Thank you, Pio.¡±

    Pio grunted and sat back down to finish his meal.

    After dinner, Jeffrey took up his lute. He yed a few simple songs, without any of the overwhelming emotional power that normally came along with his music. It was ambience music more than anything. Davi joined him and they sang a duet, though even then the music didn¡¯t have any magic behind it. It was just pleasant music, which had a magic all its own.

    They called Brin in to y the bassline of the next song, which he barely managed. He didn¡¯t know the song after that, but Jeffrey took the time to teach it to him. After that they yed it several times in a row, so that he¡¯d get it memorized.

    On the second y-through a woman started dancing. Brin was surprised when [Inspect] called her Mumeli the [Dancer]. Seemed like dancing wasn¡¯t enough to make a whole ss out of, but if it was half as good as [Bard] he could see the appeal. She swayed her hips slowly to the beat, and while she was distracting enough that he had to look away in order to be able to keep ying, it was also clear that like Jeffrey, she was definitely restraining the bulk of her ability. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what Mumeli would be capable of if she put her back into it, so to speak.

    The others of the caravan chatted happily, sipped on wine, or pped in time to the beat. It was aid-back party atmosphere, and he wondered if they did this every night. They reminded him of gypsies, to be honest. Cool Hollywood gypsies, not whatever the real world equivalent was in Europe.

    All the practice gave him a notification.

    Through training, you have increased the following attribute: Mental Control +1

    Hogg gave him a bedroll and a nket to sleep with, and he found a spot in camp away from the loudest snorers to hunker down. He¡¯d never had trouble with sleeping bags on the ground while camping in his old life, so he didn¡¯t expect to have difficulty here with his much-higher Vitality. If he was still having nightmares that would be one thing, but¨C

    He¡¯d just jinxed himself, hadn¡¯t he? He ignored the thought and quieted his mind, and drifted off to sleep.

    When he did, [Know What¡¯s Real] informed him that he had, in fact, jinxed himself. He was in a dream.

    This one didn¡¯t seem to be a nightmare, though. There was no terror or pain, but it was a little bizarre.

    He found a big puppy in the forest, and when he went to pet him, it bit him. But then, it wasn¡¯t a puppy at all, it was a cherry bear. He¡¯d never seen one before, but his imagination filled in the details. A huge, hulking creature with patchy fur and red growths all over its body. The grows were so round, shiny and cherry-red that he couldn¡¯t help but think of plucking one and tasting it.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.

    ¡°Oh no, I don¡¯t have the cure,¡± said Brin, but it was dream-Brin, not his own conscious thoughts.

    Lumina arrived and picked him up. ¡°There¡¯s another cure.¡±

    She carried him into a cookpot over an open fire and dumped him inside. She stirred him around with a big wooden spoon.

    Through all this, he never felt any kind of worry or fear. ¡°Why aren¡¯t I cooking?¡±

    ¡°Your [Heat Resistance] will protect you,¡± said Lumina, her face masked by her big red hat.

    He didn¡¯t remember anything after that. When he woke up, it was morning when everyone else was waking up, and the details of his dream blurred so much in his mind that he hardly remembered it, and had to use [Memories in ss] to get the details back. Even after doing so, he didn¡¯t find anything rming. His long stretch of nightmares might finally be over.

    They ate a quick breakfast and he helped pack up camp and get everything ready. Then they were on the road. In his old world, it would¡¯ve felt like a lot of work, butpared to what he usually put himself through, it was all very light. It was sort of disappointing, actually. He didn¡¯t have the time to do his regr workout, and walking while scanning the forest didn¡¯t leave him any opportunities to practice his Skills. The walking wasn¡¯t even enough for [Athleticism].

    Was he really going to just write off all this time for gaining any kind of experience? Did the fact that he was thinking along these lines mean that he was too far gone? He¡¯d promised himself that he would take it easy after System Day, and that hadn¡¯t happened yet.

    Maybe he should just enjoy the ride? Well, yeah, he would do that. But there had to be <em>something</em> he could do to get levels.

    Maybe he could practice his illusion magic? He didn¡¯t think light would be a good choice, but he¡¯d barely touched sound. Outside of making silence or deafening bombs sounds, there wasn¡¯t a lot he could do with it yet.

    First, he put a sphere of silence around his head and immediately the sounds of creaking wheels and forest birds disappeared. Next all he had to do was make sound inside the sphere and he could practice his magic in a small area where only he could hear it. Simple.

    He cast [Call Sound through ss] to make a quiet tone inside his sphere, and heard nothing. He wasn¡¯t quite sure why, so he increased the volume, but still nothing. What was going on? Oh. He was summoning the sound through the ss ring on his finger. The second stream of sound magic was getting blocked by the first.

    He¡¯d gotten so used to his magic that the ¡°through ss¡± limitation hardly ever bothered him anymore. He could project light pretty much anywhere nearby that he could see without even thinking about it any more, but he¡¯d had much less practice with sound.

    To solve it, he quickly summoned a little ss earplug, and used it to channel the sound magic. First the sphere of silence, and then a little sound inside it.

    It made a long beep like a microwave. Ok, that was a start. He practiced various pitches, and then tried to change the sound of the music, and found it was easy to hit the notes he wanted. After a few minutes of practicing, he was able to get all the notes for the Tetris theme. Putting them together into a song was a lot harder.

    Making the sound magic while <em>also</em> concentrating on keeping the sphere of silence in ce was tricky; he had to concentrate on two things at once. Also, changing the pitch of his beeps on the fly wasn¡¯t intuitive. It was exactly like learning an instrument; he¡¯d need to get better by practice.

    He started ying it slowly, maybe ten times slower than the regr speed, concentrating only on getting the right notes in ce.

    Someone ran past him.

    Brin immediately dropped the sound magic, just in time to hear the whistle calling the wagon train to halt. People were shouting. Something was going on, and he¡¯d missed the original noise that had rmed everyone. There were no monsters or anything out of the ordinary nearby, so he headed towards the sound of shouting.

    He found a crowd surrounding Pio. He had one fist covered in blood, and stood over the corpse of a squat ape-like creature. Maybe four and a half feet tall if it were standing. Its nose and mouth jutted forward, with brutal teeth that pointed every direction.

    From the looks of things, Pio had killed it with his bare fists. No, just one. He¡¯d broken its head open with one punch.

    Brin used [Inspect].

    Swamp Goblin (deceased) Level 12

    Looking closer, it had short glossy hair, more like an otter or a beaver than a gori. Before he could ask about Swamp Goblins or what other kinds of goblins existed, Pio started yelling. ¡°That¡¯s enough looking! Get back to moving!¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s one of those there¡¯s going to be more!¡± shouted one brave [Merchant].

    ¡°We¡¯ll kill whates. No problem. Get back and spread out. Eyes on the forest!¡± Pio picked up the dead goblin with one hand, seemed to consider it for a moment, and then threw it deep into the trees. Apparently there wasn¡¯t any part of that body that they could use.

    ¡°Go on!¡± Pio shouted, and Brin moved back towards the end of the caravan. He didn¡¯t really have an assigned spot, so he went to the front of the wagon train. He found Hogg sitting next to Zerif in the lead wagon.

    Zerif seemedpletely at ease. His seat reclined back like a modern car, and heid back with his head resting on his hands. Hogg just looked bored.

    ¡°Hey, tell me about goblins!¡± Brin said.

    ¡°Little furry guys. Not that dangerous. You rarely see them hit high levels. It¡¯s a little weird that this one approached the wagon train. Usually they¡¯re cowards,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°This one [Inspected] as Swamp Goblin. Does that mean there are other kinds?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my young friend!¡± Zerif said. ¡°The world is vast and there is no end to the variety of creatures that inhabit it. I¡¯ve seen so many wild breeds of goblin that one must wonder if they are really rted. I think that any time someone finds a smallish monster that walks on two legs, they call it a goblin regardless of whether or not it¡¯s truly rted to all the others.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen others? Like what?¡±

    ¡°Here in Frenaria, you¡¯ll find Forest Goblins with much coarser fur and shorter snouts. The ins Goblins of Prinnash are very different. They are spotted yellow with long legs and no fur at all. In Ond, I saw Snow Goblins, which they call Duine. These were white of fur, and had faces much more like men, though all covered in hair.¡±

    Brin realized he had a word for gori, so he asked. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between a goblin and a gori?¡±

    Hogg answered. ¡°Goblins can use tools and speak a dozen or so words. You¡¯ll usually see them with clubs or spears.¡±

    ¡°So is it weird that this one didn¡¯t have a weapon?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yes. It attacked a caravan alone without a weapon, and that¡¯s two attacks in two days. All of this is really¡­ weird,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not so strange as that,¡± said Zerif, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°Sometimes a year goes by and nothing happens. Sometimes, many things happen all at once. Such is life.¡±

    Brin wandered back by himself after that and continued his work on illusions. This time, he made his sphere of silence only envelop the ear with the earplug, keeping his other ear free. He hadn¡¯t gotten into trouble this time, but it had been a really stupid idea to block <em>all</em> of his hearing.

    He thought about using [Directed Mediation] to help him focus, but that would be just as bad as being deaf. When he used that Skill, he focused on one thing to theplete exclusion of everything else.

    He continued to work on the Tetris theme throughout the day. The biggest thing he learned was how much he wanted [Split Focus]. Working on making music while also keeping the silence effect up was extremely taxing. Adding another note to his music so that he could y chords just wasn¡¯t going to happen, not as he was now. He¡¯d also settle for [Persistent Casting], that would let him summon an illusion and then set it in ce, with no additional effort to keep it going.

    The System didn¡¯t give him a level, so he wasn¡¯t any closer to those Skills, but it also wasn¡¯t stingy.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Mental Control +1

    Call Sound through ss 21 -> 22

    When the sun was near setting, Brin¡¯s head was pounding so gave himself a break. They would call the caravan to halt and serve dinner any minute now, and he was ready for it.

    He heard a noise. ¡°Psst!¡±

    He saw a little ck snake on the ground, inching towards him. It was monochrome shadow ck.

    ¡°Hey, pick me up!¡± the snake whispered.

    Hogg? He¡¯d forgotten that Hogg had only lost his light magic from [Illusionist]. He could still project sound.

    Brin hesitated, then picked it up.

    Hogg whispered. ¡°I found something for you to kill. You can head out tonight after we set up.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 26

    Book 3. Chapter 26

    ¡°Ok, but why am I here?¡± asked Myra as she pulled her dress that had caught on a brambly bush. It tore badly as she yanked it free. For anyone else, he¡¯d feel really bad about that, but for Myra it was barely an inconvenience. One dismissive brush with her hand, and the dress repaired itself.

    ¡°Hogg thought you shoulde,¡± said Brin. ¡°That probably means we¡¯re up against something quick that you¡¯ll need to hold down for us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not an endless mana battery like you.¡±

    Davi held out a hand, helping her over a fallen log. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t let anything so much as touch you. Brin has scar powers; we¡¯ll let the monsters chew on him.¡±

    ¡°Oh, nice, thanks a lot,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here for.¡±

    ¡°We actually should talk about tactics, though. Are you going to be swinging that staff or ying the lute?¡±

    Davi chewed on it for a minute, then slumped and said, ¡°I should probably boost you with music. I get more experience doing that than jumping in myself.¡±

    ¡°Works for me,¡± said Brin. ¡°If the fight goes on very long I¡¯ll swap you out.¡±¡°Thanks! But don¡¯t get my hopes up.¡±

    They trudged on through the thick underbrush. The forest around Hammon¡¯s Bog was actually fairly walkable, but he was beginning to understand that was only the case because [Hunters] and [Foresters] maintained it. Now that they were two days away, the underbrush was so thick in ces that they had to cut it away in order to move forward. Myra¡¯s powers actually worked best for that, but they were making her save her mana. Instead, Brin used his ss spear. A machete would¡¯ve worked better, or even a sword, but this is what they had. He could¡¯ve summoned a machete on the spot, but with the enchantments on the spear it actually cut through pretty well.

    This was also giving him a chance to practice with his new spear. It was so powerful that he had a little trouble controlling it with any kind of precision after pumping a bit of mana into it, but the repetitive motions of shing through saplings and bushes helped him get used to it.

    Davi helped by ying an energizing song, so even though Brin had worked up a sweat he actually felt less tired now than when they had started. He only teased Davi about making him do all the work a little bit, and only because he knew that Davi wished he could trade ces with every fiber of his being.

    Hogg had told them to travel southwest for about two miles, but he hadn¡¯t told them how long it would take since they had to go so slow. He¡¯d been at this for an hour and a half, and had no idea how much longer it would be.

    [Athleticism] leveled up! 18 -> 19

    ¡°Nice! I got an [Athleticism]!¡± Brin called.

    Davi stopped his music and sighed sadly. ¡°Maybe you could y and I could cut?¡±

    ¡°Maybe I should dance while we walk,¡± said Myra. ¡°That¡¯s supposed to be my movement Skill.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t actually help much with anything except dancing until youbine it with an Achievement,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you should try!¡± Davi said a little too quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll start ying again!¡±

    Brin turned back and started to sh at a patch of long grass in front of him when a sh of color jumped out of the grass. Brin pulled his spear back just in time.

    ¡°Marksi! I just about stabbed you just now!¡±

    Marksi darted around excitedly, brushing against everyone¡¯s legs. Then he moved back over to the grass and chirped in the way that meant everyone should follow.

    ¡°Did you find it? What kind of monster is it?¡± Brin asked.

    Marksi bared his teeth in an eager grin and nodded towards the tall grass, as if to say <em>Go and find out.¡±</em>

    Brin pushed his way through grass, eager to find what they were hunting.

    ¡°You should still cut it! You¡¯re going to get ticks. Oh¡­ whatever.¡± Myrashed out with her string, and mowed the grass down in front of Brin for a dozen feet. The grass stopped, and the forest floor was a lot more clear after that.

    They walked through, slowly, eyes scanning the darkness.

    ¡°Hey, did you bring a light?¡± asked Davi.

    Brin remembered that his friends didn¡¯t have dark vision. They¡¯d been moving this whole way off moonlight. He took a ss ball out of his pocket. It was a fake, one that he¡¯d made so that he could pretend that Chamy had enchanted it. He put a bright and steady light inside. It was the easiest thing to use light magic for and wouldn¡¯t divide his attention to keep it going. He handed it to Myra.

    She grew a little sock with grass-turned-fabric around it so that she could point the light as a beam instead of letting it half-blind her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll light up the whole area once we get to where we¡¯re going,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°This is good enough,¡± said Myra.

    The trees here weren¡¯t any thinner than anywhere they¡¯d passed, but theck of underbrush made it feelpletely empty. That in turn made the few obstacles that were present stand out in stark relief.

    Only a few feet passed the tall grass, a long, thin white strand hung down from a tree like a vine. Unlike the first time he¡¯d seen something like this, he didn¡¯t have to think hard about what it was. ¡°Spiders.¡±

    Looking further on, there were more and more of the white strings hanging down. It wasn¡¯t a web like he was used to, more like the trees here were infected with a parasitic vinous nt. It was so thick towards the center of the copse that he couldn¡¯t see what was past them, and they swayed gently in the non-existent breeze.

    He picked up a twig from the ground and touched the white strand. It stuck to the thread and wouldn¡¯te off; the spiderweb was incredibly sticky.

    He¡¯d seen Giant Spiders before whose web wasn¡¯t sticky at all, and he knew that in a regr spider web some strands were sticky and some weren¡¯t. This breed was different, though, their webbing wasn¡¯t web-shaped, just lots of loose ropes, and all of it was clearly for trapping or slowing down prey.

    ¡°Now I know why I¡¯m here,¡± said Myra. She reached out and twirled the spiderweb strand in her fingers, then let it go.

    Brin touched the same spot, and sure enough the white strand stuck to him as if it were made of superglue. Myra pulled it off him, and when she let it go it fell away.

    Davi said, ¡°Neat! But where are the¨C¡±

    A wave of spiders erupted out of the sheltered copse. Some were the size of dogs¨Cthere were maybe seven of those¨Cand then dozens of smaller ones ranging from chipmunk-sized spiders to tiny ones like little ck dots.

    ¡°¡± His spray of ss bullets was much more effective than it ever had been against Zilly. A spray of green ichor exploded from the spiders when the bullets hit their ranks, destroying a huge swath of the smaller spiders and even taking down one of the dog-sized ones.

    Brin thought he had enough time for one more shot, so he pulled on his mana and did it again. This time, Daviunched into a zing epic, pouring energy and strength into Brin. ¡°¡±

    The second wave decimated the mob of spiders. Brin gripped his spear and charged. Empowered by Davi¡¯s magic, and wielding his new spear, he moved like the wind. He stabbed straight through two more of the bigger spiders before they could react.

    The next one used some ability to sharpen its fangs and actually deflected Brin¡¯s downward chop. He backed up a step and threw a flurry of stabs, ten inside of a second, eviscerating the spider.

    He swept around in wide arcs, finishing off the smaller ones, stomping on them where he could. To think about how scared he had been of Giant Spiders back when he was a [Child]. This was easy!

    He noticed that Davi¡¯s song had words, and they weren¡¯t the right ones. This was Jeolfrai¡¯s epic, the hero that Jeffrey had been named after, and Davi wasn¡¯t singing it right.

    ¡°They do not value children¡¯s lives,

    They send the young ones out ahead,

    The bigger ones wille out next,

    If we are not yet dead.¡±

    Oh, he couldmunicate like this. Davi was warning him that this wasn¡¯t over. Brin scanned the darkness, but the light he¡¯d given Myra was actually making it harder for him to see. That was fine if it meant that they could see since thest thing he wanted was for the two of them to get eaten by a spider that he¡¯d missed because they were blind.

    Myra tossed the light into the air, and then her threads carried it higher into the trees as if crawling as a spider of her own. Now that the light was up high, it illuminated the entire copse. Many more of the little spiders had arrived,pletely surrounding them. More were arriving every second,ing from all directions.

    Brin tried bullets anyway, flinging them in a wide arc. He crushed several of the little monsters, but not nearly enough.

    Then the beasts were on them. Davi had to stop ying his lute so that he could fight them off with his staff, while Myraid into them with her unbreakable thread.

    Brin and Davi quickly dispatched the few dog-sized ones, but the smaller ones wouldn¡¯t quit. They tried to bite through their clothes and kept trying to climb up Brin¡¯s legs, to his absolute horror.

    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Of all of them, Myra was best suited to killingrge amounts of fairly weak enemies. She cut through several of the little beasts with every swing, although once she swung a bit too wide and cut deep into Brin¡¯s shin. He just smiled a [Scarred One] smile and kept fighting.

    After Myra, it was actually Marksi who was next best. He was quick, darting from spider to spider like a blurry bolt of rainbow lightning, killing each little spider with one swipe of his new ws.

    The swarm broke, and the little spiders lost their cohesion, scattering every direction. Brin immediately threw himself to the ground and rolled around. He felt the crunch and sudden wetness as dozens of spiders underneath his clothes died. ¡°Oh gross. Oh no. I don¡¯t know if this was a good idea.¡±

    Myra looked at him in horror. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so d I¡¯m a [Weaver]. They can¡¯t get inside my clothes.¡±

    Davi grimaced and copied Brin, and they could all hear the soft crunches. He stood again and said, ¡°Look alive. That¡¯s not all of them.¡±

    Brin scanned the treeline, seeing a bulking shape move through the strands up ahead. [Battle Fury] pumped in his veins, up to about 20%. It wasn''t counting each of the little ones as a kill. He summoned a javelin from ss, and waited for his moment to strike while trying to ignore the little spiders he¡¯d missed crawling around on his skin, a few of them biting him here and there. If these things were venomous he was going to <em>kill</em> Hogg. He¡¯d do that after taking a bath for a week.

    Marksi helpfully climbed up and down him, hunting the spiders, and Brin couldn¡¯t help but notice that most of the spiders were going straight into his stomach.

    ¡°Don¡¯t eat so many! You¡¯re going to make yourself si¨C¡±

    Brin was interrupted by an onught of energizing music. The fight was back on. A Giant Spider as tall as a horse crawled into view. It didn¡¯t yell or screech, just charged towards him.

    He already had the javelin ready, so all he needed to do was imbue it with mana. ¡°¡±

    The Giant Spider veered to the side at thest second, so the javelin missed the main bulk but hit a leg, shearing it off at the top joint.

    Brin charged, but something hit his legs. He looked down to see two globby webs had struck his legs, pinning them to the ground.

    ¡°¡± Myra called. The webs slipped off just as quickly as they¡¯de.

    It ruined his charge now, and he was freed just in time to jump back to avoid snapping pincers. Heshed out with his spear, wildly stabbing, then deflecting a sh from a wed leg from the side, then the other side. He kept his spear moving, blocking the blows as fast as they came.

    Fighting a monster was nothing like a duel. There was no thought, no artistry. It attacked in a berserker¡¯s rage, flinging its limbs at him. It bit, shed, and charged, trying to overwhelm him and bowl him over.

    He managed to stay back, which was all he needed. Eventually this thing would give him an opening and then¨C

    Davi¡¯s music suddenly changed. It was more urgent now, pressing him forward. <em>Don¡¯t retreat. Attack!</em>

    Brin nted his spear in the ground, and the spider charged straight into it, but it wasn¡¯t dumb enough to kill itself that way. It took a light wound, then skittered around to the side with a speed that seemed to defy physics.

    Brin spent that brief second charging all the mana he could into the spear. This wasn¡¯t a duel; he didn¡¯t need any fancy moves. He stepped forward, nted his foot, and thrust with all his strength and everything his magic could give him.

    His spear pierced straight through the shell and he buried it all the way down into his hands. When he pulled it back out, a stream of green oozed followed the spear out.

    The Giant Spider shivered, but it wasn¡¯t done. It opened its pincers to bite. He stepped forward and stabbed again. The spear nced off its pincer and kept going straight into an eye.

    He had to drop the spear so he could duck the bite aimed at his face.

    The Giant Spider retreated, taking the spear with it. Brin pulled it back with [Shape ss], but just as his fingertips touched the spear, another shot of sticky web hit his hand and pped it away.

    Another Giant Spider was flinging webs at him, and now that he was looking, a third Giant Spider, also five feet tall, was darting in from his left.

    He called out a wave of bullets to give himself some space ¡°¡± at the same time that Myra freed him from the web ¡°¡±

    Both spiders ducked under the small wave of bullets, taking small wounds here and there. Normally, Davi would be good at noticing enemies approaching and directing Brin through the music, but he was struggling tonight. It had to be because his vision wasn¡¯t as good.

    Brin made a decision. ¡°Tap me out.¡±

    Davi pulled back when Brin tried to take the Oud out of his hands. ¡°Oh, gross! You¡¯re going to get spider guts all over it!¡±

    The Giant Spider darted forward. Davi let go of the lute and jumped in the spider¡¯s path at thest second, hitting it with his quarterstaff. The blow was awkward, and the spider bowled forward, mming into Davi and sending him rolling backwards.

    Brinunched into what he was calling ¡°Davi¡¯s Theme¡± and he instantly felt Davi¡¯s magic take hold and reflect power back into the [Bard].

    Davi got to his feet, and this time when the Giant Spider charged him, he was ready. A mighty baseball swing hit the spider from the side, breaking two of its legs. The blow didn¡¯t slow it down, and it bit at him and swiped with its ws, while Davi parried.

    For a moment they were in a stalemate, both of them swinging and blocking, neither gaining an advantage. The webslinger shot at Davi, but Brin saw iting and warned Myra through the music.

    She unstickied the web mid-air, so that when it hit Davi it was nothing more than getting hit with a pile of cold spaghetti.

    ¡°Sing! I can pull more magic in if the song has words!¡± Davi called back in a panic as he started to get pressed back.

    This song didn¡¯t really have lyrics, bute to think of it, there was a vocal part. He started vocalizing, and his voice chose this moment to crack. He made aplete mess of the song as his voice kept switching back and forth between a boy¡¯s soprano and a teenager¡¯s tenor, but it must¡¯ve been enough.

    More strength surged into Davi, and now a strike that a moment ago would¡¯ve just barely parried a w now made a <em>crack</em> as it broke a leg. Davi¡¯s quarterstaff pounded the spider, breaking the carapace and delivering a slow, relentless death.

    Brin looked around while Davi finished it off. Thest spider in the area, apart from a handful of tiny ones that Marksi was still battling, was the webslinger.

    Rather than try to bring it out through the song, Brin just shouted over the music. ¡°That¡¯s thest one! No need to save mana. If you can drag it over here, we can end this.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure,¡± said Myra. She lifted her hands. ¡°¡±

    The white spider web threads near the slinger spider slithered down and wrapped the spider up, binding it tight. Myra pulled, and the threads dragged the spider toward the group.

    ¡°Hurry!¡± she groaned.

    Brin handed the Oud to Myra, picked up his spear, and ran to the spider. He plunged the spear five feet deep into the helpless spider, killing it in one blow.

    Alert! Due to therge number of small enemies some messages have been abridged. You have defeated: Horde of Lesser Giant Spiders Giant Spider [25] Giant Spider Matriarch [31] Giant Slinger Spider [21] Experience has been split between members of your party.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute: Mental Control +1

    Myra gasped and copsed to her knees, while Davi gingerly took the Oud from her hands, examining it for damages. Brin pulled his spear from the spider. It was so gross. Did he really need this back? He decided to pull it out and carry it with magic for now, at least until they could find a stream or something.

    ¡°I got a level!¡± Davi said with a smile, though he still looked a little disappointed at all the spider gunk on the strings of his instrument.

    ¡°Me too!¡± said Myra. ¡°And I got [Monster Hunter]! Maybe this is why Hogg made mee along. If I¡¯m going to be traveling with caravans, this [Monster Sense] is going to be a must.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± said Brin. He was a little peeved that he hadn¡¯t gotten anything good. He <em>had</em> to be close to another level. And why didn¡¯t he get [Monster Hunter III]? If the only requirement to advance that Achievement was the number of monsters you killed, then this fight alone should have brought him up to [Monster Hunter X]. The little ones must not count.

    The only thing the fight had given him was a Mental Control, which was strange since the only thing he¡¯d done that took much Mental Control was keep the light going above their heads through the fight.

    Marksi gave up on hunting thest few little spiders and walked over to Brin¡¯s feet. He started making that gulping hup sound that a cat makes when it''s about to puke.

    ¡°I told you not to eat so many of those things!¡± Brin scolded.

    Marksi just burped, and then walked off, unbothered.

    Brin stepped over to the giant spider and examined it. ¡°Is any of this worth harvesting?¡±

    Davi nced up from his Oud. He was trying to wipe off the spider cuts with a clean part of his sleeve, and making zero progress. ¡°I guess? You can eat spider meat, but it¡¯s no one¡¯s first choice. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth dragging over. The carapace isn¡¯t actually that strong. You saw how your bullets broke through it. The only way they were deflecting your spear was with some kind of monster ability, and that won¡¯t carry over after death. We should just leave it here.¡±

    Brin sighed. ¡°It feels like a waste.¡±

    Myra eyes the corpse for a moment, and then her eyes went wide like she had just realized something. ¡°Ah! Ah ah ah! I think I finally know why I¡¯m here!¡±

    Brin grinned. ¡°You¡¯ve said that three times now, so¨C¡±

    ¡°Silk! This forest is <em>covered</em> in silk!¡±

    ¡°Wait. You can make clothes from spider silk?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Where else do you think silkes from?¡± Davi responded.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Like, special worms?¡±

    Myra shivered. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯d want to wear something made by worms. Help me pick all this up! No, wait actually, don¡¯t get anywhere near it! You¡¯re filthy!¡±

    Myra marched them out to a stream that they¡¯d passed and directed them to strip down and wash themselves off. He really did want to get the bug juice off, especially from the little ones that had climbed inside his clothes, but still couldn¡¯t get used to their se attitude towards nudity here.

    Davi stripped down without a second thought, and Myra had no intention to since she hadn¡¯t gotten anywhere near the fighting, and her [Thread Maniption] had stopped any spiders from crawling up her dress.

    It was probably dark enough? He stripped down and jumped in the stream. The water was cold, but it felt good to get the gunk off. He dunked himselfpletely under the water and noticed a few still wriggling spiders on the surface when he came back up. Those ones had finally let go of him now that they were drowning.

    Myra made them both little rough towels from woven grass that they used to wipe everything off, and then used her magic to dunk their clothes, wring them out, and then dunk them again, over and over until they were clean.

    ¡°Just remember I¡¯m <em>not</em> a [Laundress]. Don¡¯t get used to this,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°We won¡¯t forget,¡± said Davi.

    By the time they climbed out, Davi¡¯s teeth were chattering, though Brin felt mostly fine. Davi probably had a higher Vitality than him, but [Survivor of Travin¡¯s Bog] had cold resistance, and that was probably doing some work here.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Myra pointed at Brin in shock, which isn¡¯t what any man wants a girl to do while he¡¯s naked, but she was pointing at his leg. Oh, right, that was still bleeding. It must¡¯ve been deeper than he thought.

    He insisted on putting on his underclothes at least before letting anyone look at it.

    Myra reached into her pouch and drew out a little spool of thread. It wasn¡¯t her unbreakable thread, but he got the feeling that she had several types of thread with her at any given time. She threaded a needle and then used [Thread Maniption] to sew his cut closed.

    ¡°How did this even happen?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I hardly remember. Everything happened so fast.¡± No use making her feel bad.

    They returned to the spiders¡¯ copse, and started to gather up all the web. Brin and Davi just walk into it, letting it all stick to them, and then walk back to Myra so she could unstick it and spool it all at once.

    It lost a bit of mass when she used [Spin] to make it less sticky and more like thread. When they were done, they had a spool of thread about the size of a basketball, and Myra was overjoyed. Brin could see why. Value sense was saying it was worth 4 gold already, which was a huge amount of money for most people. After she finished [Weaving] it, it would probably be worth double that.

    They were in high spirits on the walk back. At least until Myra made an observation. ¡°You know¡­ [Singing] is a general Skill. Just saying.¡±

    ¡°Shut up,¡± said Brin, walking faster.

    She smiled, like a cat sensing weakness.

    ¡°Jeffrey said that it¡¯s good that my voice already changed before System Day, otherwise I¡¯d have to learn how to sing again from scratch.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with my singing,¡± Brin tried to say, but his voice broke again halfway through.

    Myraughed in delight and stepped forward to see if his face was turning red, which it probably was.

    He decided to let themugh it up and hope that they¡¯d get bored of the topic and move on. They did not. Myra and Davi found it a very interesting conversation piece the entire trip back to the caravan.

 Book 3. Chapter 27

    Book 3. Chapter 27

    That night his dreams were nothing special. He didn¡¯t remember them on waking, and after examining them with [Memories In ss], he mostly saw nothing but nonsensical shapes and images, and repeated sentences from conversations throughout the day. The most cohesive part of his dreams was a short dream where he¡¯d screamed at the spiders and they¡¯d all run away. Davi said, ¡°They¡¯re really sensitive to sound.¡± And then they both yed a weird song together where every time they plucked a string it screamed like a child. A chilling image to look back on, but in the dream it hadn¡¯t felt weird at all.

    He honestly wasn¡¯t sure what he was supposed to do with that. It didn¡¯t feel like the nightmares from before Lumina had left, and if his dreams were content to stop torturing him, maybe he should just leave well enough alone.

    His bedroll was ufortably hot, so he was eager to be up, but when he climbed out of his nkets he realized that the morning was actually quite cool.

    It was Marksi, who¡¯d been sleeping next to him, who was so warm. Not just that, the little lizard was burning up. A fever.

    Brin hurried to find Hogg, but on the way he ran into Pio first. The hulking [Beast Master] saw the expression on Brin¡¯s face, nced at Marksi, and his eyebrows knitted with worry. He took Marksi out of Brin¡¯s hands without a word.

    Pioy Marksi on the driver¡¯s bench of his wagon after fetching a nket for Marksi toy on. He carefully lifted Marksi¡¯s hands and legs, opened his mouth and looked inside, and peered into his eyes. Marksi cheeped in annoyance and then curled up and went back to sleep.

    Pio sighed. ¡°He will be fine. A little fever.¡±

    ¡°He ate way too many spidersst night. I told him to stop but he wouldn¡¯t!¡± Brin said.

    ¡°Hm. You went out? You fought monsters?¡± Pio asked, a bit of an edge in his voice.¡°Hogg said we could. But maybe I should¡¯ve left Marksi behind.¡±

    Pio seemed to ept that excuse and his posture rxed. ¡°Bah! If he does not fight, how will he grow? Big Ron is great friend, but if he did not fight, he would still be Little Ron. Yes? That¡¯s right, Big Ron?¡±

    Pio¡¯s giant boar responded with a happy oink, a deep and resonant sound, but still cheerful somehow. Brin hadn¡¯t actually seen Big Ron up this close yet. The animal had a domineering presence that reminded him of Poco the bull, but hecked that glint of intelligence that had been in Poco¡¯s eyes. This was just a big warboar that Pio had tamed, not a familiar.

    Any other day and Big Ron would be all Brin could think about, but for now he gave him barely more than a passing nce. ¡°So what do you think made him sick?¡±

    ¡°Maybe the fighting, maybe the eating. But is not bad. Dragons are made to do both, yes? Do you hunt with him many times?¡±

    ¡°A few times¡­¡± Brin gave it some thought. Marksi had been there for almost all of Brin¡¯s greatest fights. Well, no, he¡¯d fallen asleep before Brin had fought his zombie dad and had missed the ambush with the [Anti-Mage] that had nearly killed him and Hogg. He¡¯d stayed out of most of the fighting at the town walls. He hadn¡¯t been there for Basil, or for Siphani. And in the fights he had been part of, his role had been mostly as a distraction. His greatest battle had probably been back before he even had legs, when he¡¯d bitten the Facaldagart¡¯s eye. ¡°No, actually. Come to think of it, this is the first time that we¡¯ve really killed monsters together side-by-side. He took out a bunch of the little ones for us, more than any of us except maybe Myra.¡±

    Pio scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. ¡°[Weaver] girl killed spiders? Eh, whatever. Then this was the first big hunt for him, I think. He worked hard, ate much, got a little too tired. He¡¯ll be fine. Go help pack up camp.¡±

    Brin stroked Marksi¡¯s back onest time. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Then he went to help the caravan get ready for the day.

    He chose chores that would keep him near Marksi, but Pio never left his side. He got a damp cloth and gave Marksi a sponge bath, then stood nearby, checking his fever every so often with the back of his hand.

    Someone else packed up Pio¡¯s tent and put it in his wagon, and Pio stayed with Marksi, even after the wagons started moving.

    With the wagons moving, Brin could walk where he wanted, so he chose to walk right next to Pio who was still watching Marksi.

    Now that he didn¡¯t have anything to do, there was nothing stopping him from worrying. He felt his throat tighten, and not with any kind of sickness. Marksi had never gotten sick before. With the high Vitality that everyone had, flus and colds were rare. Brin had gotten a few colds, but he hadn¡¯t had a fever that he could remember.

    It would be one thing if this were just a regr fever, but it wasn¡¯t. This was his fault. He felt his breath hitch a little bit at the thought and forced himself to breathe normally. This was his fault. He¡¯d brought Marksi to fight the spiders. But wasn¡¯t that what he was supposed to be doing?

    <em>That is a dragon. Can you make him stronger? No, but you could prevent it.</em> Maybe his mistake had been not helping Marksi fight more often, sooner. Whatever had made this happen, he hated it.

    He hated that he was with a caravan. If this had happened in Hammon¡¯s Bog, he would¡¯ve marched straight to the nearest [Witch] and demanded that she take the fever from Marksi and give it to him instead. Now, all he could do was watch.

    Pio kept trying to tell Brin that Marksi was fine, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel like Pio was getting more nervous as time went on. He checked Marksi¡¯s temperature more frequently, gave him another sponge bath, and kept patting Marksi¡¯s side and telling him that he would be ok.

    Some time around noon, when Pio reached his hand up, Brin thought he would take Marksi¡¯s temperature again. Instead, he made a fist and knocked on the side of the wagon.

    He¡¯d seen a monster.

    There were several more knocks, moving all the way back down the line. Brin carefully didn¡¯t try to see the monster himself. He loosened his spear from his harness, and started pulling on his mana so he¡¯d be ready for anything.

    Pio pulled a whistle out of his pocket and blew. The caravan stopped a momentter.

    The [Beast Master] walked up to Big Ron and unbuckled him, releasing the boar from the harness he used to pull the wagon.

    ¡°Come, my friend,¡± said Pio. Then he pointed to Brin. ¡°You, stay here. Stay with your friend.¡±

    Brin nodded and dropped his spear back in its holster. He felt Marksi¡¯s face. If anything, he was hotter than before.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Only Zerif the [Caravan Master] had a wagon in front of Pio¡¯s so Brin got a full view of the proceedings.

    Pio reached down and pulled a stone up from the road. He hucked it into the forest, striking a tree. The noise acted as a signal, and a horde of Giant Spiders flew from the forest all at once.

    They swarmed just as Brin¡¯s enemies had, with the little ones in the lead, and two huge ones in the back, but these all attacked at once.

    When the first tarant sized spiders reached Pio and Big Ron, they ignored them. Pio just spread out his arms to wee them, and Big Ron acted as if they didn¡¯t exist.

    The first dog-sized spider jumped onto Big Ron¡¯s foreleg andtched on with a bite, but the giant boar didn¡¯t react. Three dog-sized spiders drew close enough to leap onto Pio, and finally he moved.

    Pio drew in a deep breath and shouted. ¡°Begone!¡±

    The shout hit the spiders like a concussive st. All the little ones fell away and scattered to the wind. The nearest dog-sized spiders rolled onto their backs, and the ones further away immediately turned around and fled.

    ¡°They¡¯re sensitive to sound,¡± Brin said to himself.

    Pio patted Big Ron¡¯s side. ¡°Go have fun.¡±

    Big Ron charged, heading straight for the biggest of the Giant Spiders. The boar didn¡¯t hesitate when the Giant Spider charged forward in return, pincers wide to bite, forelegs up to stab. He charged¡­ and kept charging, straight through the monster.

    What followed next was lots of happy squealing, lots of crunching and tearing, and buckets and buckets of spider guts. Big Ron moved through the swarm, killing everything that moved, chasing down the spiders that fled. Just like Marksi, the boar ate his fill of the spiders, but unlike Marksi, he stopped when Pio told him to stop.

    When the swarm was well and truly scattered, Zerif stepped down from the caravan with Hogg. He patted his forehead with a handkerchief that was already damp.

    ¡°Three attacks in three days. What absurd luck.¡± Then he seemed to notice Brin watching, and smiled. ¡°Well, at least Big Ron got some exercise! I know he must¡¯ve been feeling antsy.¡±

    Pio roared withughter, and Brin couldn''t quite tell if he actually thought that was funny or if he just thought he had tough at his boss''s jokes. ¡°Big Ron had a very good day today! Not lunchtime yet, but he is full.¡±

    Zerif nodded patiently. "Perhaps leave Big Ron free after you get him cleaned up? It may be wise to leave him unharnessed and ready to react to any situations that arise. I''ll hitch your wagon to mine and pull them both."

    "Yes!" Pio said eagerly. "You hear this? Come, friend, I will wash you."

    Pio fetched a rake and brush from his wagon, and then he and Big Ron left to find the nearest stream. Meanwhile, Zerif pointed and Pio''s wagon rolled under its own power to hitch itself to the back of Zerif''s wagon.

    "How many of those could you pull?" Brin asked.

    "Oh, you know how these things go," said Zerif in a non-answer. "It depends on this and that."

    Hogg pped his hands. "Well. Looks like this is wrapped up. Time to get moving again?"

    "Yes, of course, what was I thinking?" Zerif blew a whistle hanging from a ne, and the wagon train started again. It was interesting that Zerif could move his wagon without touching it. Brin wondered what the range was. "And will you be joining the defense, should more monsters arrive?"

    "I won''t let anyone get hurt. But I don''t n on jumping in for every little thing and stealing experience from your people."

    "How grand. Thank you! That is very noble of you." Those words would''ve sounded like sarcasm from anyone else, but Zerif spoke in his normal deferential tone.

    He dabbed his head with his handkerchief, and then walked back to his wagon, needing to trot quickly to catch up to it. Hogg stayed back with Brin.

    "So how did I dost night?"

    "Not too bad, but you should''ve said something immediately when Myra tagged you. If she''s making mistakes like that then she needs to know," said Hogg. "Also your spearwork was a little sloppy."

    "I think I did alright. What am I supposed to do with a spear against hundreds of little spiders?"

    "Wide sweeping strikes. Pretty much what you did, only better. Too much of your training has been focused on trying to beat Zilly and Davi. Human opponents in a duel. You need to practice with monsters and beasts in mind. But your biggest mistake was failing to use all your assets. You have those light and sound bombs. Why aren''t you using them?"

    "Because... it was the middle of the night? I didn''t want to wake anyone up." The excuse sounded flimsy in his own ears.

    Hogg tapped his ears and pointed up. Brin got the message and made a sphere of silence around them both. It was a little tricky to make one big enough to cover both of them, but he was able to keep it going while they walked.

    "The point of those enchanted balls is so that people will see you using them, to give you a usible disguise for your real illusions. Next time a monster attacks the caravan, you need to use them. I don''t care if it''s unnecessary and you get in trouble. And if I find a suitable monster for tonight, you should use your illusions there too. I''ll have you go alone so you can use that camouge you figured out."

    Brin nodded. The tone of this conversation was a scolding, but honestly he was excited to try out Hogg''s suggestions.

    "I noticed that Pio had some kind of shout Skill. What was that?"

    "[Voice of Command] is a [Beast Master] Skill. It does what it sounds like. He''s also got Skills to examine the condition of beasts and to slowly improve the animals that he tends."

    Brin scratched his hair, nervous, though he wasn''t sure why. "Oh. Then it''s a [Beast Master] thing. I thought the spiders might be weak to loud sounds."

    "No insects like loud sounds. Giant insects are no different. You should''ve used that sound bomb to disrupt their horde. Although I will admit you would''ve run the risk of making the big ones run away and rob you of their experience. Now enough about that. How''s Marksi?"

    Brin copsed the sphere of silence. "Come see."

    Marksi stilly where Brin had left him. He was still hot, but maybe a little cooler than he''d been before. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. It''s not like Brin had a thermometer. Actually thermometers weren''t terribly hard to make if you could get your hands on some mercury. Maybe they would have some he could buy in Oud''s Bog? Although if Marksi was still sick when they got there, he''d be looking for a cure, not a thermometer.

    Hogg''s face stayed impassive as he gently stroked Marksi''s back. The old adventurer probably had a lot of experience staying stoic in situations like this, because he didn''t let a trace of emotion show on his face. "You''ll be ok. Actually where''s Pio? He should be here? I''m going to go find that idiot."

    Pio rejoined the caravan a few minutester with a damp and tidy-looking Big Ron. He immediately checked on Marksi, but there wasn''t anything he could do that he hadn''t already done.

    Lunch was just a loaf of bread and water, delivered as they walked. Apparently, Zerif was getting impatient with all the monster breaks and didn''t want to stop again until nightfall.

    Throughout the day, Marksi''s fever slowly receded. By the time they stopped for the night, he was back to his usual self, running around like a puppy and acting confused but pleased when everyone kept trying to dote on him.

    When Hogg came back to check on him, Marksi jumped up and licked his face, drawing roaringughter from both Hogg and Pio. Hogg tried to do his best to hide how obviously relieved he was that Marksi was feeling better, and Brin swore he noticed him blink away a few tears.

    But when Marksi started begging him for something to eat, Hogg''s expression turned to granite. "Absolutely not. Nothing for the rest of the day."

    Pio crossed his arms against his bare chest and nodded. "He is right. No food until tomorrow. Your belly is still full."

    Marksi whined piteously, but he found no support, not even with Brin. "I told you not to eat so many spiders!"

    He turned his full puppy dog eyes on Hogg. Hogg stared back. And then, impossibly, the granite cracked. Hogg looked at Pio and said, "What about magic?"

    Pio''s eyes went wide with intense interest. "He truly eats magic? Can I watch?"

    Hogg nodded and held up a hand, but then hesitated. Brin wondered what the problem was. Marksi used to love eating Hogg''s illusions. Oh, that was it. Marksi had a lot of trouble eating Hogg''s hard light.

    Brin made a blob of inky darkness appear on Hogg''s hand, making it look like Hogg had summoned some kind of shadow magic. He still wasn''t the best at projecting illusions other than light, but he was ok with ck as long as it didn''t need to be too precise.

    Marksi tested the blob of shadow with his w, and upon seeing that it wasn''t solid, bit forwards and then slurped it up. Brin felt a brief, small disoriented feeling as a trace amount of magic was torn away from him.

    "Amazing," Pio whispered. "Yes. This is fine. He may eat magic. But no solid food! And he will not be going on any trips into the forest tonight."

    Apparently, Brin would be going into the forestpletely alone tonight. It wasn''t until after they stopped for dinner that Brin managed to get Hogg alone again to ask if he''d found a suitable monster for Brin to hunt.

    "Yep, and it''s the perfect thing. I''ll tell you now, you''ll never be able to beat this one if you don''t sneak up on it. Finding it will be easy, though. Just follow the road. It''s been following us."

 Book 3. Chapter 28

    Book 3. Chapter 28

    Brin decided to take it slow. If Hogg thought he needed to sneak up on this one, then he wouldn¡¯t leave anything to chance. He also didn¡¯t have a time limit on this, except that any time he spent hunting monsters was time he wouldn¡¯t spend sleeping. But after his months of exhaustion, six hours of sleep, or even four, felt like a luxury.

    So even before leaving camp, hey down on his bedroll and dove into his [Memories in ss] for his Invisible Eye. He still needed [Directed Meditation] to make it work, which is why he did this in the safety of the camp. Getting eaten by a monster or even a low-level animal because he was too focused on a spell would be a stupid way to die.

    The Invisible Eye blinked into existence, and the jarring moment of looking down at his own body from above nearly broke him out of the spell. Determination and [Directed Meditation] kept him in the spell, and he slowly moved it away from himself and then away from camp.

    The eye only has as good vision as he did, which meant that it was pretty good even in the dark. He knew that he should somehow be able to use his illusion magic to see other bands of light, even things like ultraviolet and x-ray. The fact that he kept his darkvision while in the invisible eye meant that the block might be entirely mental. For now, it was good enough.

    His confidence that the spell was going to hold grew the longer he maintained it, so he abandoned caution and let loose. He zoomed down the road behind the caravan, watching for any monsters. If he didn¡¯t find something in the first ten miles or so, he¡¯d circle back and look more closely.

    It took him by surprise when he found something soon after. Only two miles behind the caravan, a hunched creature stood in the center of the road. It was humanoid, but Brin could immediately tell that it wasn¡¯t human. It had the colorless, ashenplexion of an undead, and its spine bent at an unnaturally rigid angle as it hunched over something on the road.

    Actually, had he ever tried [Inspecting] something through an invisible eye? Trying to remember almost cost him the concentration he needed for the spell. He tried [Inspect]. Sess!

    Kukubaru [19] [Inspect] leveled up! 35 -> 36

    Brin wanted tough, and it took a few seconds of steady breathing to calm himself down enough to make sure the spell would stay intact. Kukubaru was a word he¡¯d only seen before as an insult.In Frenaria, it was cool to curse by invoking the gods, and the more you could invoke the specific god to match the particr situation, the better. But once in a while other things slipped out. A few times, on a hot day when someone identally sshed mud all over a man¡¯s clean clothes, he¡¯d respond by calling the other party a Kukubaru, which could generously be tranted as ¡°waste consumer¡±.

    Now that he was watching, the object the miserable creature was hunched over was a cow pie. Gross.

    At first when Hogg had told Brin this thing was following the caravan, he¡¯d expected it to be a threat of some kind. Now he realized it probably wasn¡¯t a danger to the caravan, but he wanted it dead even more.

    He watched the monster a little longer to see what else he could glean. Its brown-stained hands ended in short, thick ws. It had thin arms and legs, but if it really was undead it was probably stronger than it looked.

    A particrly loud bird called in the distant trees and the Kukubaru¡¯s head snapped up, staring towards the sound in wide-eyed panic. Its eyes were muchrger than a humans, and it had arger nose as well, though a surprisingly small mouth.

    It stared in the direction of the bird with panic written on its face for a full minute before finally settling down and returning to its meal.

    A breeze went through the trees, making a branch click against a tree trunk, and the Kukubaru bolted.

    It ran down the road frantically, almost faster than Brin¡¯s Invisible Eye could follow.

    It abruptly stopped and veered off the road to hide behind a tree, looking back to see if anything was chasing it. It sniffled loudly, testing the air for signs of any threat.

    This thing was skittish. Any tiny sound would set it off, and Brin didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to catch it on foot. He¡¯d have to sneak up on it, and he¡¯d only get one shot to take it down. If it was able to run, he¡¯d never catch it.

    The good news was that its level wasn¡¯t terribly high. If he did manage to get close enough to throw a spear, there¡¯s a good chance he could kill it in one shot.

    The Kukubaru watched the road carefully, and then started to creep back towards its meal.

    Brin dismissed Invisible Eye.

    He carefully stepped past the others who were sleeping on the ground, and nodded to the man keeping watch. Hogg must¡¯ve worked this out beforehand, because no one challenged Brin as he left the camp and walked down the road.

    The night was cool, and the forest was <em>loud</em>. He¡¯d gotten used to the forest near Hammon¡¯s Bog after the undead army had left, and he now realized it had been eerily silent. The wildlife had all fled the presence of the undead ande here, apparently. The birds sang a chorus, bats squeaked up above, and once he was a half mile away from camp, the cicadas and crickets lent their voices to the choir.

    It was actually a little unnerving. The loud birds and bugs would hide the sound of any actually dangerous creatures waiting to ambush him. It was no wonder the Kukubaru was so on edge.

    No, actually, he hadn¡¯t heard this much noise near the monster. Why? As he approached closer, he found his answer. The wildlife gradually quieted down again. That was a good indication that this thing really was an undead.

    How in the world did something like this even exist? It might have been some sadistic punishment by a [Witch] to someone she truly hated. He knew there were pre-undead sses, and lots of them could be earned by eating something you <em>really shouldn¡¯t eat</em>. Was it possible that someone took a pre-undead ss like the [Scarred One] had tempted him with, and then when that person¡¯s sanity was gone, evolved into a Kukubaru? From a certain perspective, it made sense to specialize your race <em>away</em> from human flesh and towards something much more easily essible and abundant¡­

    Or maybe they attacked solo travelers on the road, and <em>turned</em> them, the way vampires or zombies reproduced. There were enough Kukubarus in the world that they¡¯d turned into an insult, so there had to be a way they reproduced.

    Hopefully, he was wrong about it being undead and they were just ordinary monsters. He forced himself to stop thinking of all the disgusting things going through his head and focus on the mission. He was going to kill this thing. The world could thank himter.

    The closer he got to the area he¡¯d left the Kukubaru, the quieter it got. He moved to the side of the road near the trees and prepared his approach.

    First, he thought about preparing a spell tounch his spear, but honestly he didn¡¯t need it. He¡¯d pump a little bit of mana in to make it fly faster and help his aim, but nothing with the Language. He¡¯d kill the monster if he hit it, with or without spellwork. Stealth was key.

    He couldn¡¯t do much for smell. He knew the Kukubaru must have a strong sense of smell, but hopefully it wouldn¡¯t be able to tell which direction he wasing from even if it knew he was in the area.

    He could do something about the other senses, though. He used [Cast Light through ss] to cover himself in dark camouge, and then used his sound magic topletely silence himself. It alsopletely blocked out <em>his</em> hearing, but that was fine. Better to be safe.

    When he was ready, he started forward again. He moved slowly, spear in hand and kept his eyes open for the Kukubar.

    He didn¡¯t find it at the particr lump of cow dung where he¡¯d seen it again, but he was pretty sure it was still heading this way. He moved under a tree and crouched down, waiting.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the vition.

    One minute, then five, then ten. The Kukubaru didn¡¯t approach.

    Brin started moving again, cautiously.

    It was only by ident that he saw it. There, in the trees maybe five hundred feet away, far further into the forest than where he¡¯d been looking he saw the Kukubaru prone on the ground. Its head was forward and he could tell it was snuffling loudly by the way that its nostrils red. It could smell him, but it didn¡¯t know where he was.

    If he pumped a ton of mana into his spear, he could maybe throw it that far, but it was way too far to be urate.

    He moved so that a tree was blocking his line of sight with the Kukubaru and then started forward again. That was the trouble with hiding in the forest; it gave Brin lots of angles to sneak up on it from.

    He didn¡¯t make the mistake of thinking he was safe to move faster. He crept forward at a snail¡¯s pace, slow enough as to not draw the eye.

    He went so long with the tree blocking his bead on the monster that he started to wonder if it was even still there. He had to trust that it was; it wasn¡¯t worth checking. Eventually he got to the tree. The Kukubaru would only be thirty feet past this. Close enough.

    He moved to the side, and there it was, still prone and snuffling the air. Its eyes were wide and darting about. It knew he was close, and seemed to be frozen with indecision, not knowing which direction to run.

    Brin threw the spear.

    The Kukubaru¡¯s huge eyes flicked to him at thest moment, and it jumped. The spear grazed a leg instead of impaling it like Brin had hoped, and it ran.

    He¡¯d been ready for this possibility and summoned a sh of light in its path. The Kukubaru stumbled, but kept running. Brin summoned a loud <em>bang</em> right next to its ears, and it changed its direction, veering off to the side.

    Brin put a sh and bang together right in its path. Actually, was there a reason he¡¯d started separating those? This was his shbang spell.

    The shbang caused the Kukubaru to reverse its course entirely, driving it straight towards Brin.

    He yanked his backup spear out of his storage ring and threw it at the Kukubaru, scoring a solid hit in its side. It screeched and bolted the other direction again.

    Brin threw another shbang in front of it, but this time the monster wasn¡¯t distracted. It fled straight through the noise and sound in a mad dash.

    Brin pulled both of his spears back into his hands with [Shape ss] and gave chase. The all-ss spear he put back in his ring, and raised his other spear to throw, but the Kukubaru was already too far ahead.

    It ran wildly, careening off trees and trampling straight through shrubs in an effort to get away. Brin chased, but soon the Kukubaru was out of sight.

    Brin ran in the direction he¡¯d seen it go. He had the feeling it wouldn¡¯t change course again for anything.

    Following the monster was easier than he expected because it left a trail of blood. Every other step left a faint spray of its thick ck blood. He recognized that blood; it had a particr smell. This thing was definitely undead.

    He ran through the forest, following the trail. The monster seemed to have a limitless amount of blood in it. One mile turned to two, then two turned to five, and Brin still followed the droplets of stinking ck blood. Twice, he lost the trail and had to double back to find where the Kukubaru had changed direction, but he always found it again.

    Eventually, however, the trail dried up. After an hour of running, the bleeding had stopped. The trail was dry.

    Brin briefly thought about sitting down and using Invisible Eye to try to find the thing again, but then he realized: the forest was silent. No calling birds, no chirping crickets. The Kukubaru was nearby.

    It must¡¯ve realized it couldn¡¯t outrun him and stopped. For an ambush?

    He turned around in a slow circle.

    The Kukubaru suddenly burst out of hiding, from a bush directly in front of Brin. It must¡¯ve assumed he¡¯d spotted it.

    It jumped, ws out, and it was <em>fast</em>. But with ss magic coursing through it, Brin¡¯s spear was faster. He swiped, knocking its arms aside while cutting through its throat. He whirled his spear and stabbed, straight through the heart.

    You have defeated: Kukubaru [19]

    Level up! 32 -> 33 +5 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    [Call Light through ss] has leveled up! 34-> 35 [Call Sound through ss] has level up! 22 -> 24

    A level! It almost didn''t seem real after getting hisst one so recently. He wondered if he¡¯d been really close, or if it was all the illusion magic he¡¯d used that made the difference.

    Probably a bit of both. He needed to remember his illusion magic more often. He still thought of himself as a [sser] who could make illusions, rather than a [Illusionist] that could also use ss.

    Also, he might¡¯ve been underestimating how difficult the fight had been. During the entire hunt he¡¯d kept the upper hand and had never really been in danger, but a lot of that was because he was finally using all of his tools.

    He spared onest nce at the Kukubaru¡¯s corpse. No, there was nothing there he wanted. Where were all the convenient enemies who dropped piles of gold when you killed them? He concentrated his light magic with a few words ofnguage, and set the corpse ame. It burned easily and it had died in a patch of dry grass, which was enough to keep the fire going.

    As for the points, he normally put them into Magic, but wasn¡¯t too sure this time. Against the monsters in the forest so far, he¡¯d been able to kill pretty much anything he could hit. Mental Control was the limiting factor. If he had a better capacity to multitask, Invisible Eye would be easier to use, and it would be easier to keep up his camouge and silence while walking.

    He put both points into Mental Control.

    Everything finished, he headed back to the road.

    It wasn¡¯t quite as easy to find his way. He¡¯dpletely lost track of the surroundings during his mad dash following the Kukubaru. He eventually had to stop and summon an Invisible Eye again. He shot it straight up into the sky until he could see the light of the campfire in the distance.

    When he finally got back to camp, Pio met him with arms crossed and a furious re on his face. ¡°Sounds and shes of light woke us up! We thought we were attacked! This was you?¡±

    Brin had expected this, so he¡¯d had time to work on his look of contrition. He slumped, and cast his eyes to the ground. ¡°Sorry. I thought I was far enough away that you wouldn¡¯t notice.¡±

    ¡°Are we deaf and dumb to not notice loud sounds in the night? How did you do this thing?¡±

    Brin perked up. ¡°Oh, with these!¡± He opened the pouch where he kept the enchanted ss balls and pulled one out. ¡°This one makes a loud sound, while this other one does the sh of light. Want to see?¡±

    ¡°Not now!¡± Pio yelled. Then he winced and looked around at the people trying to sleep on the ground nearby. He continued in a lower voice. ¡°Not now. No longer will you use these things at night. Not unless you are near to death! We will speak about using them during the day. And I will speak to your Hogg about these <em>adventures</em>. Very stupid. Dangerous.¡±

    Brin looked at the ground again. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Pio waved Brin away. ¡°Bah.¡±

    And then it was really over, leaving Brin feeling like he¡¯d gotten off easy. He made his way to his bedroll, and couldn¡¯t fall asleep right away. He was too excited from his new level and the adrenaline of the fight to calm down. When he finally did sleep, his dreams were just as disgusted by the Kukubaru as he¡¯d been while he was awake.

 Book 3. Chapter 29

    Book 3. Chapter 29

    The next day was, predictably, more walking. Brin spent the morning off by himself with one ear surrounded by a silencing spell while he practiced his sound magic. He worked on trying to change the timbre of the magic away fromputer-sounding beeps and boops. With a little work, he managed to put a little bit of character into the beeps, making them sound a little more EDM and a little less MS-DOS. They still sounded heavily electronic, though, and no one would ever mistake it for a real musical instrument.

    He got some shrill sounds together with a basic boom-tss drumbeat and thought it sounded kinda cool, but it stretched the limit of his multi-tasking. It would be even better if he could y his half-lute along or even sing, but that would have to wait until he got [Split Focus].

    Even so, the System seemed to think it was worth the effort.

    [Call Sound through ss] has leveled up! 24 -> 25

    Hogg found Brin right before the normal time they¡¯d break for lunch. Rather than let Brin put up a sound barrier, Hogg did it himself. Brin could faintly feel the magic, and could tell that it was fairlyplex.

    ¡°Are you silencing us? I can still hear the outside world just fine,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°This spell blocks sound from going out but not sound froming in. I¡¯ll have to transcribe it for you some time; it¡¯s way tooplex for you to do with intuitive casting.¡±

    ¡°I always forget that you only lost your light magic, not your sound. Why haven¡¯t you been doing this the whole time?¡±

    ¡°Because you need the practice. Hey, so listen. We¡¯reing up on Sudd¡¯s Bog. You might want to spend some time exploring the north side of the vige. Some low level monsters might find you there, if you catch my drift.¡±¡°I¡¯m not sure I do,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see. Today might be a good time to use one of those sound bombs and get yelled at in front of everyone. Just make sure I¡¯m not nearby so no-one thinks I told you to do it. I¡¯m the responsible one, you know.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Brin agreed. ¡°Hey, what do the people in the caravan think about you, by the way? I know what people in Hammon¡¯s Bog think, but I¡¯m not sure what your persona is supposed to be in the wider world. Zerif treats you like a king.¡±

    ¡°In the wider world I keep a low profile and I have a few aliases. That¡¯s going to be tough now that I can¡¯t change my appearance as easily. As far as this caravan goes, they know everything that someone from Hammon¡¯s Bog could tell them. So they¡¯d have heard that I¡¯m a [Rogue] who¡¯s high level enough to beat the town¡¯s best [Warrior] in a fistfight. Maybe they¡¯ve heard about my shadow powers, but I¡¯d rather avoid using those in front of Zerif unless I absolutely have to.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Some [Rogues] really do advance their sses into something with shadow magic, but someone who actually knows their stuff won¡¯t be fooled by my Hard Light,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin scratched his chin. Was that stubble? No, not yet. ¡°Hold on. Why Zerif specifically? That¡¯s a good reason not to let anyone see your fake shadows outside of emergencies. But you mentioned Zerif specifically. Is there something going on with him?¡±

    Hogg grunted in irritation, and then bobbed his head side to side, thinking. ¡°Alright, fine. Zerif is a spy. My [Inspect] doesn¡¯t tell me who for, though, only that he gets paid to gather information. Signs point to Prinnash, since that¡¯s where he and Pio are from.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? You¡¯re like, the most paranoid person on the! Why are you traveling with a spy? You¡¯re sitting next to him in his wagon, for Solia¡¯s sake.¡±

    Hogg rubbed his eyes. ¡°See, this is why I wasn¡¯t going to mention it. Everyone is <em>something</em>, Brin. Everyone has something going on. Right after I advanced my [Inspect] for the final time, I thought I was cursed, because I kept running into the craziest people. I¡¯d buy tea from the leader of a cult, then bump into a serial killer on the street, pass three Evil ssers, one pre-Undead, one actual undead, and then walk into a pub where everyone but me was the member of a secret society bent on restoring Nhamanshal. At the time I thought it was just the city I was in, but then the next city was the same way.

    ¡°That¡¯s the thing. You probably think you¡¯re the weirdest person in the world, but that¡¯s only because when you pass someone on the street you just see an ordinary guy. You don¡¯t see all the crazy stuff that¡¯s happened to them.¡±

    ¡°But shouldn¡¯t we do something about it? If he¡¯s a spy, then don¡¯t we have a duty to report it or something?¡±

    Hogg shrugged. ¡°I never remember signing up for Frenarian counterintelligence. What do I care if Prinnash finds out that there was a Heath Worm out in the nowheresville Bonds? As long as he doesn¡¯t figure out <em>my</em> secrets, I could care less about Zerif¡¯s side-hustle. I mean, sure, at first I thought like you. In that first city it was a menace, because I thought it was my job to fix everything. Now I would take out the serial killer and maybe the undead, and then leave everyone else alone.¡±

    Brin thought about that for a minute, then asked. ¡°Are there any cool cults in the caravan? Ooh, I bet that [Dancer]dy is in one.¡±

    Hogg justughed and shook his head, clearly unwilling to spill any more of other people¡¯s secrets.

    ¡°Oh,e on. At least tell me about some of these secret societies. Like, what kind of stuff do they get up to?¡± Brin gasped in realization. ¡°Are <em>you</em> in one?¡±

    Hogg smiled. ¡°I¡¯m in <em>four</em> secret societies, and two cults. And no, I¡¯m not going to tell you about them.¡±

    ¡°You have to!¡± He knew it was probably trouble, but he suddenly <em>loved</em> the idea of joining a Stonecarvers-type secret group. He knew that in the real world they were mostly just ces for old men to drink with their friends, but there was a certain appeal to the codewords and handshakes and the discreet fraternity.

    Despite all his prodding, Hogg didn¡¯t reveal anything else. When they arrived in Sudd¡¯s Bog, Hogg walked away whistling.

    No one appeared to challenge them when the caravan approached the walls. They were in the same style as Hammon¡¯s Bog¡¯s old walls, just logs pushed upright and sharpened on top. There was only one watchtower, with no one inside, and he didn¡¯t see anyone through the open gate, either.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the vition.

    When they entered through the gates, they saw that the town was well and truly deserted. Whatever trouble they¡¯d had with monsters and bandits had proved too much. Anyone here who hadn¡¯t gone to Hammon¡¯s Bog had gone somewhere else.

    Zerif called a stop and set up the caravan in the middle of the town. ¡°We¡¯ll stay here as nned. It¡¯ll be nice to have a bit of a break, I think. Though, I wonder if some of you wouldn¡¯t mind checking the houses? Let¡¯s make sure nothing moved in after the people moved out, shall we?¡±

    ¡°You heard him! Move!¡± shouted Pio.

    Brin unholstered his spear, and immediately moved towards the north, followed by Davi.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t right,¡± said the bulky [Bard]. ¡°There were still plenty of people here when we left. There was one olddy who swore up and down that she was born here and that she died here.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s to say she didn¡¯t? Do you remember where she lived?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No. Why would I?¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t think it was totally unreasonable that he might; Sudd¡¯s Bog was tiny. Maybe thirty scattered single-room huts, and three or four actual houses with only one of them being more than one story. It was even smaller than Travin¡¯s Bog.

    They poked their heads into the homes, checking inside, but nothing was there. Unlike Travin¡¯s Bog where everyone had died or left in a panic, these people had time to prepare. The huts werepletely bare.

    Some of them were dirt floors, which was surprising. Didn¡¯t they have [Carpenters] and [Woodworkers] who could build a floor in an hour? But maybe they were lower-leveled here. He wiped the ground with his hand, and found that he couldn¡¯t actually move any of the dirt. It was packed hard, even scraping it with the butt of his spear didn¡¯t loosen any. They must¡¯ve preferred [Earthshaper] Skills to harden their floors. That ss was rarer than [Woodworker] and Brin thought it was cooler, but maybe that was just his Avatar influence.

    Davi checked the houses at random, but Brin kept them moving north at a steady pace.

    Suddenly, Davi pulled the quarterstaff from his back and got in a ready position. It only took Brin a second longer to feel it; his Monster Sense was going off. There was something nearby.

    Brin leveled his spear. Seeing that, Davi slinged his quarterstaff again, and pulled his lute around.

    ¡°Actually, plug your ears,¡± said Brin.

    Davi looked confused, but did so, leaving the lute to hang from its strap.

    They approached the house at the end of the street, the only house nearby that the monsters could be hiding inside.

    Brin kept the spear pointed forward with one hand and reached inside his pouch to grab a ss ball. He grabbed an ordinary one, since there was no need to use up one of his enchanted ones for this.

    When they were twenty feet away from the house, movement blurred in the doorway, and Brin fired off an [Inspect].

    Wolf Level 12

    The wolves, six of them, charged out of the house at the exact time that Brin threw his sphere. Itnded in front of them, and he channeled a st of deafening sound into the ss.

    The bang hit hard, punishing his ears. He cursed himself for not thinking of deafening himself. The effect on the wolves was even more pronounced.

    They yelped in pain and fled, stumbling away in terror. They were so low leveled that he didn¡¯t even regret losing the experience for them. Much better to have them help hide his illusions.

    As his ears started to clear and his hearing returned, he heard shouting and the frightened braying of animals. He heard high-pitched neighs of fear from the horses, the bellows of oxen, and shouts of men and women as they tried to get them under control.

    ¡°Pio is going to be mad,¡± said Davi.

    Brin nodded, but didn¡¯t lower his spear. Monster Sense was telling him that something was still nearby. He held his spear ready, waiting for something else toe out of the hut, but nothing did.

    He wondered if it knew he was there. It must. Maybe it was hoping he would assume all the monsters had fled and was waiting to ambush him when he checked inside? That would make the most sense.

    ¡°What¡¯s our y here?¡± Brin asked Davi.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Is there another one in the hut? I could draw it out, maybe.¡±

    ¡°I could too, maybe, with a sh sphere,¡± said Brin. ¡°Be ready to y something. If it¡¯s really hiding in that hut then it''s smarter than your average wolf.¡±

    Still nothing left the hut, so Brin felt in his pouch for another sphere. Davi was one of the few people who knew his real ss, so fooling him wasn¡¯t the point, but if anyone bothered to check they¡¯d expect to see two spheres on the ground.

    Behind him, he heard the heavy footsteps of Pio, as well as a string of curses. ¡°Twice-damned fools! You are as the lint in Magelin¡¯s toes! Those horses could have pulled a hamstring. You¡­¡± Pio trailed off when he saw the serious expression on Brin and Davi¡¯s faces.

    ¡°We think there¡¯s something in the hut up ahead,¡± said Brin.

    Pio narrowed his eyes at the hut and then nodded. ¡°Yes. You are right. I smell.¡±

    ¡°You really do,¡± said Brin. Pio didn¡¯t seem to get it, and Davi was clearly in no mood, which was probably for the best.

    ¡°Davi, y. You both stay back,¡± said Pio, then marched forward.

    Davi started a song about strength and determination, and Pio¡¯s muscles seemed to swell as he approached the hut.

    A dark shape sprang out from inside, this one farrger than the wolves. It ran on all fours, but had longer, sturdier limbs than a wolf should. Its paws wererger, long ws that dug into the ground with each step.

    Pio threw a wide haymaker and knocked the beast off its feet. He immediately stomped on its face on the ground, then picked it up and flung it at the hut where it crashed into the wall.

    Despite the brutal assault, the monster quickly regained its footing andunched itself at Pio again.

    Only to be smacked aside by another wide punch. The hairy creature howled in outrage and snapped at Pio with long yellow teeth.

    Pio moved around the beast and grabbed it by the neck. Then he pulled it up and strangled it against his chest, letting it wave its legs uselessly in the air.

    Brin ran forward and stabbed the beast in the middle. He stopped before running the beast all the way through so that he wouldn¡¯t hit Pio as well. When he pulled his spear back out, he could tell all the fight had gone out of the monster.

    Pio let it drop, then held it in ce with his boot while Brin stabbed it again.

    Alert! You have defeated: Vulkovek [31] Experience split between party members.

    Pio spit on the creature¡¯s corpse. ¡°Fine. Maybe it is good that you used the noise maker. I came quickly to kill the strong monster.¡±

    Brin sighed, wiping his bloody spear off on the creature¡¯s fur. ¡°What is this thing?¡±

    ¡°Man cursed to be wolf. But still beast so my ss has power over it. Nasty thing. No good fur, and the meat is no good. No monster core. We will burn this away from camp because the smell is no good either.¡±

    Brin sighed. He¡¯d find his epic loot some day.

    Pio frowned at him again. ¡°Now. We will speak of this loud sound you make.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I think I¡¯d be interested in seeing that as well,¡± said the [Caravan Leader], approaching with a group of his people.

    Brin was all too happy to show him. He convinced them to let him demonstrate a sh marble and then a bang marble, which most of the group found somewhat impressive, and a little amusing. Brin gifted a pair to several members of the caravan, including Davi and Myra.

    Pio gave instructions that no one was to use the marble unless they were cut off from the rest of the caravan for some reason and wanted everyone toe running. For threats while they were walking, he still wanted them to just knock on wood.

    That settled, Brin was pleased to get the notification he was looking for.

    Level up! Hide Status 11 -> 13

    Not a huge jump, but it was a step in the right direction.

    Only after the hubbub died down did Brin think to finally check inside the hut. It wasn¡¯t empty; there was a dresser with stinky women''s clothing, a cast iron pot in the firece, a few random tools, and a bed. Upon the bed, a few red bones, stripped clean by sharp teeth.

    When he dreamed that night, he reyed the fight in his mind, only this time he was the one who charged into the hut to kill the beast. When he woke, he felt distinct regret that he had called for help instead of fighting the monster himself. Illogical, since he knew that had been the right call, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel like he¡¯d given a present away that had been intended for him.

 Book 3. Chapter 30

    Book 3. Chapter 30

    Zerif had originally nned for the caravan to spend some time in Sudd¡¯s Bog, maybe another day, but that was when he¡¯d thought there might still be a town here. When he left his tent for breakfast, several members of the caravan mobbed him, demanding that they leave right away.

    The [Caravan Master] grinned in delight at them, making no attempt to hide how happy he was toply. ¡°Arrive in Oud¡¯s Bog a day early, you say? Ha, twist my arm a little, why don¡¯t you? If you say you want to leave in an hour, I¡¯ll say half an hour. If you say ten minutes, I¡¯ll say why not immediately?¡±

    Pio popped into ce at Zerif¡¯s side and started shouting, ¡°You heard him. Move out! Anything not secured in a wagon in five minutes will be left behind!¡±

    Most people started to hustle to gather their things and pack up camp, but one tall [Merchant] named Don stood his ground, though he removed his wide-brimmed hat out of nervousness. He gulped and said, ¡°That¡¯s good, a good decision. This ce. It¡¯s not right. There¡¯s something off about this town. An Omen of Noctis, people are saying. Not that I say it...¡±

    A few people who¡¯d started walking off to help pick up the camp suddenly started moving much slower, to hear how Zerif would respond.

    ¡°Then say no more,¡± said Zerif. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket, but the morning was cool enough that there was no sweat to wipe off, so he folded it again and put it back in his pocket. ¡°We¡¯ll strike this ce from our maps, never to return.¡±

    That seemed to satisfy everyone. Don nodded, and the rest of the caravaners rushed to pack up.

    ¡°Why never return?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Sure, there¡¯s no one here, but it¡¯s still a nice clear area with dry ground to set up camp. Plus, there''s the old magic on the Bogs that wards away¡­ monsters.¡±

    Zerif beamed. ¡°An excellent question! Very precocious. But I see by the dawningprehension on your face that you¡¯ve discovered your own answer. If monsters dare not approach the Bogs, then why did the Vlkovek with the wolves trespass here so easily? Now, don¡¯t mistake me. This thing about the Omen of Noctis? Superstitious nonsense. But still, this ce failed to be a safe haven for the people who live here. How can we trust it as mere travelers? No, better to find other routes.¡±Hogg stepped up next to Brin and nodded. ¡°It won¡¯t be a good ce to camp for much longer anyhow. Without anyone to maintain it, it¡¯ll turn back into a wet, soggy bog again in a couple years at most.¡±

    Zerif nodded several times. ¡°Excellent point. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me? I have preparations I must see to.¡±

    Brin¡¯s bag was already on the cargo wagon, so there was nothing he really needed to do. While he probably should be helping in some way, it was also starting to dawn on him that he didn¡¯t <em>need</em> to. Instead, he stood with Hogg and asked another question. ¡°So how did the Vlkovek get in?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not as much of a mystery as you¡¯re making it. Not much is known about the ancient magic of Bonds or the magical effect that protects the random circr Bogs where we make our towns. But we do know that it¡¯s not absolute. Determined monsters can still approach, and one thing about hunger is that it can make a being <em>awfully</em> determined. That¡¯s why we build walls in the first ce. The other thing is that the magic does nothing to protect you from monsters thate from <em>inside</em> the town.¡±

    ¡°So what do you think happened?¡±

    Hogg shrugged. ¡°Even a small town like this could tell a hundred stories. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll ever know the full story of Sudd¡¯s Bogg¡¯s final days. Not unless you could ask the bones you found in that hut.¡±

    The empty town suddenly had an ominous feel, and the caravan left in somber silence. It wasn¡¯t until the town was well and truly behind them that the mood of the people started to improve and the background noise of conversation started up again.

    They walked through the day, and no monsters attacked, marking it as their very first day without violence. By dinner time, the atmosphere was downright celebratory. Zerif brought out a cask of wine to share, and Jeffrey and Davi let loose with their best music, not holding back like they had before.

    The [Dancer] stood up first, moving slowly and precisely through an instrumental piece, almost like a ballerina, and the performance left Brin in awe, with his mouth feeling dry from being open so long. After that, Jeffrey switched to some real dancing tunes. The [Dancer¡¯s] movements changed, and now rather than wanting to watch her, everyone who saw her was suddenly ovee with the desire to join in. Where the dancing at Hammon¡¯s Bog was very formal and regimented, the caravan¡¯s dance was wild and free. The music seemed to make you forget about being self-conscious and just have fun, but even so Brin was pretty sure he was getting better. Nowhere near as quickly as Myra and her [Dancing] Skill.

    When most people started getting ready for bed, Hogg whistled Brin over. Marksi was sitting on Hogg¡¯s shoulder, and Hogg scratched his neck while he talked. ¡°I¡¯ll have you bring Myra and Davi again. Oh, and take Sion over there with you.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Who, me?¡± came another voice from behind him.

    Sion was a tall,nky boy. He didn¡¯t look like anything special at first nce; he wore ordinary brown traveling clothes, thick leather now that Brin was looking closely, instead of the colorful clothing the merchants wore in town and that Pio and Zerif wore all the time.

    He had a wide-brimmed hat over straight ck hair like Brin¡¯s own that marked him as Prinnashian. At least he held the spear like he knew how to use it.

    Brin used [Inspect].

    Name Sion Wogan Age 15 Race Human Level 27 ss Merchant Description Sion is a young merchant traveling with a caravan for the experience and levels. Skills

    Find the Deal [38]: Sion has the ability to find the people who most need his services. This Skill has been upgraded once.

    True Reckoning: Sion has a perfect ability to measure the size of nearby objects or the distance of objects within a hundred miles. Sion also has an improved ability to measure the veracity of ims made in his presence. This Skill has been upgraded twice.

    Value Sense: Sion can estimate how much something is worth.

    The first Brin thought of when he saw that was that [Hide Status] was doing a lot of heavy lifting there. All of his visible Skills seemed to be working together to present a certain image.

    [Find the Deal] was <em>crazy</em> high level, but seeing that just made potential customers think, ¡°If this guy is talking to me he must have something I need.¡± The [True Reckoning] Skill made you think, ¡°Boy, I better not lie to this guy,¡± and [Value Sense] made you think, ¡°No sense haggling since he knows the correct price of things.¡± All-in-all, Sion¡¯s ss was already starting the sales pitch even before he opened his mouth.

    Just as interesting was what it didn¡¯t show, because the idea that Sion didn¡¯t have any other leveling Skills didn¡¯t feel right. There was also the fact that [Value Sense] was a Skill that could be earned with Achievements, not a ss Skill even though he was making it look like one. [Merchant] might have another base Skill and Sion would¡¯ve earned five more Skills since then. Leaving the Skill advancements he could see, that was three or four Skills unounted for.

    That didn¡¯t exactly set off rm bells. Lots of people hid their best stuff. All it meant was that Sion was more than he first appeared.

    ¡°Which direction will we be going?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Marksi knows the way. Don¡¯t you, Marksi?¡± Hogg smiled indulgently at Marksi who puffed out his chest and chirped in the affirmative. Then he hopped down and climbed up to Brin¡¯s shoulders. The sudden weight nearly put him off bnce; Marksi was getting heavier.

    ¡°So we¡¯re doing the reticent old mentor who selectively hides important information for no reason again?¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m not <em>old</em>,¡± said Hogg.

    Sion tried again, ¡°I still don¡¯t see what I could offer¨C¡±

    Hogg cut him off. ¡°Nonsense. Tag along.¡±

    Davi put a hand on Sion¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s no use arguing. He¡¯s going to get his way.¡±

    Myra patted Sion¡¯s other shoulder in sympathy. ¡°If he¡¯s making you go there¡¯s a good reason.¡± She seemed a little too gung-ho about being asked along, considering how reluctant she¡¯d been the first time.

    Brin asked, ¡°Did you get another level from all that spider silk?¡±

    Myra¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°No, but I¡¯m going to, I can tell. Most of my practice [Weaving] up to this point has been with <em>trash</em>. Getting that much valuable thread all at once was a gold mine.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t see why I¡¯ming along,¡± said Sion.

    After he packed up a hiking backpack, checked with Pio and got ordered to go by him as well, and started off into the forest with the others, Sion repeated the same question. ¡°Ok, but why am I here?¡±

    ¡°That reminds me of the first time Myra came out here with us. You know, this is sort of nostalgic,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You¡¯re nostalgic for two days ago?¡± Davi asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s no minimum time period on nostalgia,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it was two whole days ago,¡± Myra said whimsically. ¡°It feels like only yesterday.¡±

    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Sion chuckled nervously. ¡°Oh, I see. You all are friends from beforehand.¡±

    Brin hadn¡¯t noticed it at first, but Sion had just a tiny bit of an ent. Or rather, he had thepleteck of an ent that only came from learning it as a secondnguage. Where native speakers took shortcuts and slurred words together, Sion spoke Frenarian with clipped precision.

    ¡°What about you? What made you choose the caravan life?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t choose the caravan life. Well, I suppose I did, but only for now. Zerif is a family friend, and I¡¯m heading to stay with my uncle in ckcliff. I¡¯ll help him run his store for a while. It should yield high experience to use my ss in a new way,¡± said Sion. ¡°Can I ask about the¡­ is that a dragonling?¡±

    ¡°Oh, Marksi? Yeah. I still think of him as a cute little snake but I guess he¡¯s more dragon than snake now. Still just a baby,¡± said Brin.

    The dragonling in question was leading the way, for a generous use of the term ¡®leading¡¯. He kept getting distracted by glowing bugs or trees that looked fun to climb, and didn¡¯t move in anything close to a straight line. Brin honestly wasn¡¯t sure if Marksi really even was leading them somewhere, or if Hogg had done this as some kind of borate joke.

    ¡°I won¡¯t offend you by asking if such a creature is for sale,¡± Sion said leadingly.

    ¡°Good. Because that would be a test for our burgeoning friendship,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You think we will be friends?¡± Sion asked. It didn¡¯te off as arrogant, more like he was surprised and a little ttered that the idea was even on the table.

    Brin just shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t see why not.¡±

    ¡°If you saw the rest of Brin¡¯s friends you wouldn¡¯t be so quick to want to join that group,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Hey!¡± said Davi.

    ¡°See? We¡¯ve got the main exhibit right here,¡± said Myra.

    Davi frowned, clenching his jaw. Brin had noticed that the big guy was perfectly capable ofughing along with a little gentle ribbing, as long as it came from anyone but Myra. Luckily, she noticed that too, and rushed to continue. ¡°But I was thinking about the evil shopkeeper or the nine-foot-tall automaton.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ aren¡¯t joking,¡± Sion said.

    ¡°She totally is. Ademsi 2000 is seven feet tall, <em>tops,</em>¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I was kind of wondering. About Marksi,¡± Davi said, changing the subject. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you afraid that [Beastmaster] won¡¯t try to lure Marksi away?¡±

    ¡°Because Hogg would tear Pio¡¯s arms off if he tried,¡± said Brin. Sionughed, but Myra and Davi nodded knowingly.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Sion yelled suddenly. At first Brin thought it was because he noticed that he wasn¡¯t at all kidding about Hogg, but Sion had stopped walking and was looking at the ground.

    Sion was staring at a white flower, about the size of a baseball, closed against the night like a tulip. ¡°You were really just going to walk past this?¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t know anything about nts, and knew less than nothing about the nts of this new world, but he did have value sense, and that was telling him that the flower was worth fifteen silver. Quite a sum for something you could just scoop off the ground.

    ¡°Well, perhaps this is the reason I¡¯m here.¡± Sion carefully dug around it, and then deposited it dirt and all, into a ss bottle, which he carefully stored in a backpack. ¡°We can split the earnings after I sell it. Or, if you wish, I could pay your parts¨C¡±

    ¡°What? No way. That¡¯s yours. You found it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But you took me here, and protected me,¡± Sion objected.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be daft. We all would¡¯ve walked straight past it. That¡¯s yours,¡± said Myra.

    Brin needed to be better at remembering to use value sense. He didn¡¯t have Lumina¡¯s [Herbalism], but maybe this could work as the next best thing? He wanted to know if his value sense would¡¯ve chimed in if Sion hadn¡¯t noticed it first.

    Brin returned to scanning the trees for threats, but he also let his mind use value sense on any flowers, mushrooms, or rocks that he noticed. Nothing showed up as valuable at all.

    ¡°Hey, is there some kind of baseline of knowledge that you need before [Value Sense] gives you a price?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s more about knowing where and when to look. I¡¯ve also studied the flora and fauna of different areas quite intensively. It¡¯s not enough to know something is valuable. A [Merchant] must also know what makes it valuable, who it''s valuable to, and how to preserve that value.¡± Sion spoke like he was reciting something. The way he was dressed pointed to someone who was used to the rugged traveler life, but Brin was starting to think most of his knowledge came from books.

    ¡°What¡¯s that flower?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. But I¡¯ll find out!¡±

    They walked through the forest, Marksi in the lead. If it was a little frustrating that the dragonling didn¡¯t seem to have any idea where he was going, it was also fun to watch. Marksi just yed like the whole world was designed for him, darting here and there, walking across every fallen log and sshing in every pond.

    Eventually, Sion stopped walking again. He shifted his backpack, maybe regretting taking the heavy thing on this hike. No one else had gone that far; Brin had only taken a small pack so that he¡¯d have an excuse if he needed to pull something out of his ring, and Davi and Myra hadn¡¯t even brought that much. ¡°Well, hold on. I think I know now why I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I think I know where we¡¯re going,¡± said Sion. ¡°I can tell that someone nearby needs what I have to sell. This way.¡±

    He marched off in the approximate direction Marksi had been traveling. Marksi nodded in satisfaction and then fell in to walk beside Brin, as if he¡¯d been waiting for this the entire time.

    The further they got, the more Sion slowed his walking pace, and the more that he seemed to be sure of where they were going.

    ¡°This seems really precise. Merchants would be terrific at tracking down missing people,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Only because there¡¯s no one else nearby,¡± said Sion in a whisper. ¡°We¡¯re getting closer. We should step lightly from here on out, or they¡¯ll hear us before we know if they¡¯re friend or foe.¡±

    Brin thought about that for a second, and then looked at Marksi. ¡°Do you know who it is?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail for <em>yes</em>.

    ¡°How are you finding her, by the way? Do dragons have a really good sense of smell or something?¡± Brink asked.

    Marksi just met his eyes without answering yes or no.

    ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± said Davi. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s who we¡¯re thinking about then there¡¯s no use trying to be quiet. She already heard using twenty minutes ago. Come on out, Zilly!¡±

    Brin held up a ss sphere and cast a soft light into it, illuminating the area.

    Right on cue, something stepped out of the forest and into the light.

    <em>It wasn¡¯t Zilly. It was ugly and covered in mud with dull, ratty¨C</em> Oh, no he was wrong. That was Zilly.

    She looked terrible. Her hair was tied back in dirty dreadlocks. Her clothes were ruined; one boot was missing and her pants were torn up to the knee. She hadn¡¯t worn full armor on the journey, but the leather cuirass she wore had huge rents across it. There was a noticeable sh on her shin that was healing with ck scabs, and a bloody bandage covered her shoulder where the cuirass had been torn away.

    Her backpack was gone, but the sword she carried waspletely pristine without a scratch.

    She held a hand forward, squinting in the light. ¡°Davi? Brin? What are you guys¨C¡±

    Myra got to her first. ¡°Sit down! No, over here by the stump. Let me take a look at you.¡±

    ¡°I will assist as well. I have [First Aid] as a General Skill,¡± said Sion, and stepped up next to. They worked on her shin first, cleaning it with improvised cloth from Myra and some sort of disinfectant that Sion had brought. Myra sewed the wound shut when they were done, and they moved onto her shoulder.

    Stepping forward, Brin saw that Zilly was in an even worse state than he¡¯d initially thought. Her skin was covered in red pox. Brin thought she¡¯d contracted some strange disease until he realized they were bug bites. Most of them looked like mosquito bites, but there were one or two that were surrounded by ck and blue skin that spoke of something venomous.

    Her lips were chapped and cracking from dryness. Well, he could help with that at least. He drew the bottle of water out of his ring, using his small pack to mask it.

    Zilly stared at them all sort of dull-eyed, but when she saw the water she lit up. ¡°Oh, thank Solia!¡±

    She grabbed it out of his hands and downed the thing in desperate, greedy gulps.

    Davi looked down in worry. ¡°How long has it been since you drank something? <em>Sezorate¡¯s Maze of Light</em>, Zilly, how did you get like this? It¡¯s only been a week!¡±

    Zilly choked on thest bit of water, then started coughing. ¡°R-really, guys, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°How are you fine?¡± Myra stabbed her needle into Zilly¡¯s shoulder with a little more force than was probably necessary.

    Zilly hissed. ¡°Thanks for this. I was about to try drinking from a stream.¡±

    ¡°That really would have killed you,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Huh? Why?¡± asked Brin.

    Zilly, Myra, Davi, and Sion all looked at him like he was insane.

    Davi rubbed his eyes. ¡°Tell me you haven¡¯t been drinking water you found on the ground. That¡¯s how gues start.¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± said Brin. He didn¡¯t think it was really that bad; they all went swimming once in a while and you couldn¡¯t stop <em>a little</em> water from getting in your mouth.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your stuff?¡± Myra asked Zilly.

    ¡°It turns out keeping a bag full of food just makes you a target out here. It was easy to keep ahead of everything for the first two days, but then I had to sleep. Can I keep this bottle?¡± Zilly kept her tone casual,pletely at odds with her grimy, chewed-on appearance.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Brin shook his head. ¡°If you¡¯re this close to the caravan then you easily could¡¯ve gotten to Sudd¡¯s Bog before us. Why not get water there? Their well is still intact.¡±

    ¡°It was that Vlkovek. A real one, like from the stories! He seemed to have a sixth sense for when I was entering his territory. I was still nning on how to take him down when you guys showed up.¡±

    ¡°Well, all that¡¯s over now. You¡¯reing back with us. There¡¯s no way the caravan will turn you away when you¨C¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Zilly.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? Of course they¡¯ll let you join us,¡± said Myra, exasperated.

    ¡°I mean I¡¯m noting. This isn¡¯t as bad as it looks. My [Survival] Skill is exploding right now, and I just <em>know</em> I¡¯m going to get an Achievement if I make it to Oud¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°Not if you die!¡± Myra put down her needle, and started fiddling with Zilly¡¯s clothes, regrowing the spots that were torn or shredded.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to die. I¡¯ve already made this far, and I¡¯m getting better. With this,¡± she shook the empty bottle Brin had given her, ¡°I can boil water, and that¡¯s thest thing I needed.¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re insane. Forget it. We¡¯re taking you back.¡±

    Zilly stood up, with a good deal more agility that Brin would¡¯ve guessed considering her state. ¡°Unless you mean to drag me back kicking and screaming, I¡¯m noting back. And since I¡¯m the fastest one here, good luck catching me.¡±

    Suddenly, all of Zilly¡¯s clothes pressed in against her tightly. Myra crooked an eyebrow. ¡°Really?¡±

    Zilly looked at Myra with watering eyes, and something unspoken seemed to pass between them. ¡°Please, Myra.¡±

    Myra sighed. ¡°Fine.¡± She stepped over and brushed Zilly¡¯s clothes. The fabric seemed to churn and the vast majority of dirt and grime separated off and ked away.

    Brin snickered. ¡°You know someone who keeps saying she¡¯s not a [Laundress], you¡¯re certainly good at¨C¡±

    Myra red at him. ¡°Don¡¯t even.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± said Davi. ¡°We¡¯re really just letting her go off alone again?¡±

    Myra sighed again, this time longer and in full exasperation. ¡°There¡¯s no changing her mind when she gets like this.¡±

    Zilly smiled in relief. ¡°Really this would actually be a lot of fun if it weren¡¯t for these <em>Noctis-spawned bugs!</em>¡±

    ¡°Oh. This must be why I¡¯m here,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°Right. Who¡¯s this guy?¡± asked Zilly.

    Sion gave Zilly an easy smile that instantly made Brin feel like he could trust him.<em> Whoa.</em> Did he have a Skill for that?

    ¡°My name is Sion, a humble [Merchant], and I have the strong feeling that you are in need of some of my wares. This tincture for bug bites, perhaps? And a perfume to ward them away in the future. I also have some travel rations,pletely scentless by my word¡­¡±

    Zilly ended up buying a backpack from Sion and supplies enough to fill it. If she¡¯de up short on money Brin would¡¯ve spotted her, but she eagerly handed Sion a handful of silver and copper from her own pocket. Sion probably made a small profit, but it was nowhere near as much as you could gouge someone who you found starving, dehydrated, and alone in a dangerous forest.

    The tincture made the red spots on her face recede, and after she drank an anti-venom potion, the ck spots from the more scary-looking bug bites started to fade as well.

    Zilly lookedpletely transformed from the ragged, wounded thing they¡¯d found, to the point that Brin started to feel like it wouldn¡¯t bepletely irresponsible to let her continue on with her mad adventure.

    Sion didn¡¯t stop there. He also took her around the nearby forest, and pointed out which of the nearby leaves, roots and bark could be eaten in a pinch.

    ¡°I did actually follow along with an [Gatherer] and a [Hunter] before I set off,¡± Zilly protested weakly.

    Sion shook a scolding finger at her. ¡°The bellies of [Hunters] and [Gatherers] are never empty. They search for tasty or high-value items. You should have asked them what can be eaten in emergencies.¡±

    Sion¡¯s lessons went on for a surprisingly long time, as he also went into detail on which fruits and berries she should look for, and how she should never by any means try to eat any mushrooms.

    When he was finished, Zilly said, ¡°Actually, there is one other thing you guys can help me with.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I think I found them. Or, I think I found out how to find them. The adventurers who destroyed Sudd¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°You must mean the bandits who destroyed that town,¡± said Sion.

    Zilly nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a blurry line. Anyway, what do you think Hogg would say about destroying a crew of cutthroat thieves and murderers?¡±

    Brin smiled. ¡°I think he would be all too eager.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 31

    Book 3. Chapter 31

    "How do you know it''s the same bandits? Are you sure you can find them?" asked Brin.

    Zilly nced at Sion, and Brin understood at once. She still wanted to be seen as a [Warrior] in the wider world, which meant that she didn''t want to give away her [Rogue] perception abilities. Davi had already fumbled that when he''d announced that Zilly had already heard theming and he had the feeling that Sion was too canny to have missed or forgotten that, but there was no reason to openly out her. He added, "Have you found their trail?"

    She nodded. "Yeah. I guess I don''t know for sure that it''s the same group. After all, they registered as adventurers in Oud''s Bog, so now that they''ve been outed as bandits they won''t be able to show their faces in any cities in this part of Frenaria. It would be smart to just move on, but for some reason my gut is telling me these are the same guys."

    Her gut, huh? She''d probably snuck up and verified it personally. He wondered if Sion''s [True Reckoning] was good enough to see through the lie.

    "Then this is all the more reason you shoulde back with us. You can exin all this to Hogg and Zerif personally. I''m sure they''ll want to send a team out, and you can guide them in person."

    She shook her head. "If anyone leaves the caravan I''ll find them and catch up. But if you want, I could show you. I haven''t dared to get too close just in case they have a [Rogue], but with all of us here I think it''d probably be ok."

    Looking around, Brin saw that no one had a problem with that, except for Sion.

    "Truly?" the young [Merchant] asked. "Should we not instead return and warn the caravan of the danger?"

    "Is that spear just for show?" Brin teased."Mostly, yes! Most beasts will leaverge groups of humans alone, doubly so after a poke teaches them that the humans have teeth."

    Davi furrowed his brow. "But if you let them get away, you don''t get the experience."

    "The System gives me experience for warding off threats to my property, just as it would give you experience for using your song to lure monsters away," said Sion.

    "Instead of goading them to attack you for no reason," said Myra. "Just to name an example."

    Zilly barked augh. "You did that? Maybe I''ll finally take your spot as their favorite person from Hammon''s Bog."

    "Nah, they me me for that. You can''t beat a [Bard] in a poprity contest," said Brin.

    "You''re all being awfully casual with the idea that there are bandits in this forest," Sion said. He looked at Brin. "You''re a [sser], correct? Am I missing something, or is that a ss for making ss?"

    "I am and it is. And I make fantastic ssware. Rx, we''re just having a look. We won''t get close enough for them to know we''re there. Right, Zilly?"

    "Absolutely," she said.

    Sion shook his head, but didn''t argue any further.

    They walked through the forest, with Zilly in the lead. Every once in a while she examined a broken twig, or bent down to touch the ground and pretend she was seeing tracks, pretending to actually be following the bandits'' trail. He wasn''t sure if Sion was actually fooled or if he was just ying along, but Brin would guess it was thetter.

    Marki quickly became impatient with the slow-moving two-legs and disappeared into the forest for long stretches of time, only to reappear suddenly and walk alongside Brin as if nothing had happened.

    Once, he had a somewhat smug look on his face, and Brin thought his belly looked a little more full.

    "Hey! Pio said you''re not supposed to eat any more solid food today! You better not have eaten any spiders."

    Marksi huffed in contempt and refused to pretend to feel guilty for eating whatever he wanted.

    After a while, Zilly stopped. "This is probably as far as we should go. Keep your voices down, just in case."

    Brin peered into the woods, but didn''t see a thing. "How are we going to¨C"

    "Like this." Zilly stepped up to the nearest tree, and now that Brin noticed it, he saw that it was unusually wide and tall.

    Unlike the tame national forests he''d been to in his old world, the trees of the Bonds had a startling amount of diversity. Pines and spruces would snuggle up next to oaks and birches without reason or pattern, giving the forest a strange and wild appearance. Of course, none of the exact species of tree from his old world existed here, but he found near equivalents for most of the tree-types he could name, which granted wasn''t very many.

    This one sort of looked like a fir, but with fewer and thicker branches that didn''t seem to have enough needles for the amount of wood they grew. He knew kids around here loved this kind of tree because they were easy and fun to climb, and because they grew up much higher than the trees around them.

    Aided by her high Dexterity, Zilly flew up the tree as easily as if it were adder. Brin shrugged and climbed up after her. The others waited at the bottom, since it would get sort of crowded at the top.

    He climbed up after her, and honestly it was kind of fun. The feeling of the rough bark on his hands and the scent of pine brought him back to his childhood back on earth. How long had it been since he''d done something like this? He''d had to go to the park to find any really good climbing trees, and it had always made his mom nervous, but he couldn''t be stopped. Kids were made to climb on things. If you never climbed a tree, how could you really even call yourself a human?

    As they got higher, the branches got thinner and the tree started to sway a bit with Brin''s movements. Luckily, the tree was tall enough that he didn''t have to go more than three-quarters of the way up to get above the other trees.

    He immediately saw what Zilly wanted to show him. Five lights in the distance, from five campfires all grouped together. The caravan never made more than one big bonfire each night, and that was mostly for cooking. The nights didn''t get cold enough to really need it for warmth, although Brin still enjoyed gazing into the mes. Did the fact that they made five fires mean this group was huge? Maybe it meant that there were five factions and they didn''t like eachother very much.

    He couldn''t quite make out the figures around the fires; it was too far away. He couldunch an Invisible Eye over there, but it would be hard to exin to the others why he wanted to sit on the ground staring at nothing for a half hour.

    Maybe there was something he could do with ss? But nothing he wanted to try while sitting in a tree. He climbed back down.

    When they got to the bottom, Zilly said, "There''s twenty of them. Five groups of four."

    "Why do they group up like that?" Brin asked.

    "I haven''t been able to figure that out."

    Myra and Davi wanted to look next. They came down a few minutester, not having gleaned anything that Brin couldn''t.

    Sion refused to take a turn. "I''ll trust you all. Can we please go now?"

    "Sure. I''ll guide you part of the way back to the caravan," said Zilly.

    Brin was thankful for that; he hadn''t really been keeping track of the direction.

    On the way back, he thought about seeing further with ss. Surely there was something he could do. He''d yed around with lenses and telescopes back in Hammon''s Bog, but hadn''t gone very far with it because he''d always known he''d have illusions for seeing far away.

    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    He decided to see what he could pull off now. He cast [Summon ss] to make something in an approximate lens shape, then cast [Shape ss] using words of Language here and there to guide it into what he wanted. He pumped mana in wastefully, making everything happen faster than it should, and got a nice lens in a matter of minutes. He did it again, this time to make a smaller lens, and created it even faster than the first. When he''d tried this back in the shop, he''d had the best sess with therger lens being convex, while the smaller lens was concave, but t on one side, so that''s what he did now.

    Then he made the tubes, a short one for the small lens and a much longer one for the bigger lens. This he could do quicker, since they didn''t need to be clear or pure; they were for blocking light rather than refracting it.

    He made the tubes just the right size so that they could slot into each other while still being able to slide, and then attached the lenses to his tubes. It was crude, and he''d used nearly a quarter of his mana to rush the job, but it was done. He''d made a telescope. Well, it was a little arrogant to call this a telescope. He''d made a spyss.

    [Shape ss] leveled up! 32 -> 33

    He gave it a try, and sure enough by pulling the longer tube in and out, he was able to focus the lenses and get a clear picture in the distance. It would be better if he could fit them together with threads so that you could carefully screw the telescope forwards and backwards for focus, but this worked good enough for what he needed it for, which was basically nothing now that the bandit camp was far behind them.

    He let the others y with his new toy. Zilly, Davi, and Myra found it a bit entertaining, but when Sion got his turn he gave it a try and then stared down at the spyss in awe.

    "You made this just now? This is incredible! I wonder if you would consider selling me the design."

    "If you like that, you can just keep it. I can make another," said Brin.

    "But with this, I could duplicate it and create more. Please, let me pay you for your idea."

    "I refuse to believe that spy sses haven''t already been invented by someone else." Brin scratched his neck in thought. "But if you''re really interested, then maybe when we get to town we could find a [sser] who''d let me rent their shop for an afternoon. Then I could work out the kinks and make real spyss instead of that piece of crap that I threw together to pass the time while we walked. I''m not interested in mass-producing it, but if you want to hire someone for that, what would you say about a 5% licensing fee?"

    "That would be very generous of you," said Sion.

    "No it wouldn''t. Five percent is the absolute baseline standard rate for things like this. Plus, you''d honestly be the one doing me a favor. You''d be doing all the work while I just sit back and get paid for nothing. Frenaria isn''t super diligent about enforcing copyright. Honestly, if you just took that spyss and did all this anyway with no royalties I wouldn''t me you."

    Sion looked at Brin for a long moment, then burst outughing. "Let me ask you something. Who taught you how to deal with the [Merchants] of Prinnash?"

    "What do you mean?"

    Sion shook his head. "Never mind. You will get your 5% licensing fee, my friend."

    It was another half hour walk back to the ce where Zilly would leave them and Brin was starting to feel it. He swore he''d neverin about sleep exhaustion again now that the nightmares had stopped, but even so doing this night after night was starting to wear on him a little bit. He was ready to get back to his bedroll.

    "Anything else we can do for you, Zilly? You sure you don''t want toe back to the caravan?"

    "I¡¯m ok. You¡¯ve already done a lot. Although¡­" she said.

    Brin thought about his bedroll waiting for him, and took a deep breath. "What is it?"

    "I feel bad that you didn¡¯t get to fight any monsters. That¡¯s what you came out here for, right? I¡¯d hate to make you leave empty-handed, and there''s a group of Vine Pumas nearby that have me on edge. They¡¯ve been ignoring me for now, but it¡¯s hard to sleep knowing they¡¯re around. I''d take care of them myself, but there''s three of them and they''re really good at not getting separated. I don''t think I could beat them alone, but with you guys here..."

    Brin yawned. "I''m down. You guys?"

    Myra and Davi agreed.

    Sion sighed. "If you say yes, then who am I to say no?"

    "Which way?" Brin asked, stifling another yawn.

    "Thank you! And don''t worry about that. I''ll lure them here!" Zilly dashed off into the night.

    "Whatbat Skills do you have?" Davi asked Sion. "It''ll be easier for me to direct you if I know what I''m working with."

    "I''ve trained with the spear since I was young. I won''t hold you back."

    "But what does your magic do?" asked Myra. "Ooh! I bet you can shoot money out like bullets!"

    "What? No! What use would a [Merchant] have for that? I buy and sell. I don''t put points in Magic."

    Myra looked surprised. "Whoa, for real? But Magic is like, the best stat?"

    "Really? For [Weavers] and [ssers]? I can see why a [Bard] would focus on Magic, but you two?" Sion asked.

    Brin and Myra had to chuckle at that, since Davi put all his points into Strength. Davi pulled out his oud and pretended to tune it to cover his embarrassment.

    "Hey, since she''s bringing the fight to us, we have some time to prepare the ground," said Brin.

    "Oh, good point," said Myra.

    They found a nice, wide clearing where therge cats wouldn''t be able to use the trees to their advantage and got to work.

    Brin began casting summoning projectiles, bullets and javelins. He could summon them on the spot, but having a bunch ready ahead of time could never hurt.

    Meanwhile, Myra unraveled the unbreakable thread she wore on her wrist and sent it through the grass, scything it down. She used the thread to gather and twist it, spinning it into more thread she could use, and spinning the thread into ropes that she leftying around the ground.

    For the next twenty minutes, Brin made ammunition while Myra spun her threads. He stopped when he''d created twenty javelins and several hundred bullets. If he couldn''t kill them with this then there was no number that would work. Myra kept going though, nketing the ground with grass thread.

    "Here! They''re right behind me!" Zilly called.

    She darted into the clearing, and the Pumas were right on her tail. They were big, the size of tigers. Their fur was a dark and sickly brown. Not green, like he''d expected with the name "Vine Puma", but then he noticed the tails. They were absurdly long, nearly ten feet, and dragged behind them like vines.

    By fleeing from them, Zilly had engaged their chase instinct and they were so focused on their prey that they didn''t notice the ambush until it was toote.

    Davi yed his song, pushing power, focus and direction onto the party. Myra screamed "" and all her threads erupted to entangle the cats, entangling all of them except the one closest to Zilly.

    "" Brin shot a volley of javelins into the leading Vine Puma. Zilly ducked to avoid the barrage, but she didn''t need to; Brin''s aim was true. The javelins stabbed into the Puma, opening jagged wounds all across its body. It was dead, but didn''t know it yet, and pounced at Zilly in primal fury.

    She dodged out of the way quick as thought with [Dash]. Marksi blinked in, running across the Pumas field of view and grabbing its attention for just a moment. That moment was enough for Zilly, who immediately flew back in and stabbed the creature in the neck, driving it to the ground.

    The other Pumas were struggling through the vines. Myra was giving it everything she had to keep them tied down, but she was losing ground and they were beginning to struggle free.

    Brin cast a volley of bullets into all three. They popped into the beasts, eliciting screams of anger and pain, but the wounds were superficial.

    Through the song, Brin felt Davi tell Myra to focus on keeping only one Vine Puma tied down and leave the others to Brin and Zilly.

    Brin cast onest volley of javelins towards the Pumas, scoring some deep wounds, and then Davi directed him forward.

    He grabbed his spear and charged, pushing mana into it as he ran.

    He and Zilly ran between the two cats, standing back to back and separating them.

    Brin stabbed, and the Puma dodged quick as a shadow. He pressed the attack, not wanting to give the Puma a chance to regroup, and went through a spear form. Thrust, swipe, swing from the left, then the right. Up, down, thrust, again and again. The Puma sidestepped every attack, but when it opened its mouth to rush forward with a bite, Brin was always ready with another attack, pushing it back again.

    He had no space to see how Zilly was faring against the other one, it was all he could do to keep this Puma on its toes.

    No, he couldn''t let this take so long, he needed to win now. He threw a sh of light into the Puma''s eyes, distracting it for long enough to get in a good stab. He pushed as much mana into the spear as he could grab and pushed.

    The spear thrust forwards with so much power that it leapt out of Brin''s hands and chased the Puma down as it tried to back away. The spear struck the monster in the heart, burying itself deep.

    It struggled weakly to stay standing, then copsed, dead.

    Brin turned around quickly to see how the others were faring. Zilly stood triumphantly on top of the corpse of her opponent, pulling her sword free.

    There had been one more. He saw the other one was dead as well. Still held down by Myra''s threads, Sion had been able to walk up and stab it to death.

    Congrattions! Your party has defeated four Vine Pumas, average level 24. Experience will be split between party members based on contribution.

    No one got a level from that, not even Sion, which was surprising. Or maybe not, since Myra had done most of the work on the one he''d killed. Brin was still satisfied, though. He hadn¡¯t expected a level here, but every monster he killed brought him another step closer to level 35 and hopefully [Split Focus].

    "Can Vine Pumas grow beast cores?" Brin asked.

    "They can, but not all of them have one," said Sion. "Perhaps we''ll get lucky? We should also collect their teeth, ws, and fur. Oh, and their tails! The tail of a Vine Puma is very highly prized."

    The kids got to work, at least until Sion realized that all of them were worthless at harvesting a kill and told them he''d do it himself.

    Zilly insisted on learning, and so Sion let her sit by his side as he worked and exined exactly what he was doing.

    They found only one beast core, and Brin didn''t let Marksi eat it. He didn''t think the little guy was ready for such rich food after his fever the day before. Besides, he wasn''t sure if he should let Marksi eat the cores of monsters he didn''t help kill. It seemed like cheating.

    By the time he stumbled back into camp, he was thoroughly spent. He murmured goodnight to the others, promising he''d tell Hogg about the bandits in the morning. He was sure Hogg would want to do something about it.

 Book 3. Chapter 32

    Book 3. Chapter 32

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t care about that at all,¡± Hogg said when Brin got back to camp. He was sitting on a camp chair next to the bonfire, which had dwindled down to coals.

    ¡°What? I thought that¡¯s why you sent me out there.¡± Brin paused, and when he felt the tingle of sound magic that meant Hogg was blocking their conversation, he continued. ¡°We know where the bandits are now, in a way that we can usibly exin without mentioning your Visible Eyes.¡±

    ¡°I sent you out there so that Sion could save Zilly from dying of exposure,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Go to bed.¡±

    Instead of doing that, Brin sat on an empty stool nearby. Marksi was asleep in his arms, so it was a relief to let him down on hisp. ¡°We¡¯re really just going to ignore them?¡±

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re going to do when you find them?¡± Hogg asked.

    ¡°Uh¡­ defeat them¡­ I guess. You know, you can be strangely pacifistic at times. I mean, they¡¯re <em>bandits.</em>¡±

    ¡°Sure, and bandits are bad. If they attacked us I¡¯d ughter them all with a clean conscience and sleep like a baby afterwards, no problem. But I don¡¯t have to go around hunting down everyone who does things I don¡¯t agree with. The only thing you get from living that life is a head full of bad memories.¡±

    Brin looked around for a stick to poke the coals with. Every good campfire should have a stick, but he didn¡¯t see one nearby. No, he wasn¡¯t going to use his spear. He sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is a little weird? Why¡¯d they stick around? When one of the women in Sudd¡¯s Bog saw one of the bandits'' faces, she was able to get the whole group ouwed¨C How¡¯s that work, by the way?¡±

    ¡°Huh. I guess you¡¯ve never met an [Artist] have you? Well, there are portrait Skills that can make a reliable image off another person¡¯s description. Cities big enough to have an organized Watch will usually have one or two on staff.¡±¡°Ok, so this entire adventurer¡¯s party has been identified as bandits. So why are they still hanging around? Why not head to the other side of Frenaria, or even cross into Prinnash?¡±

    Hogg hesitated, then said, ¡°I¡¯ll admit, that¡¯s got me a tad curious, too. Times like this I really miss my light magic. There¡¯s only so much snooping I can do with eyes that can¡¯t gopletely invisible. But we¡¯re not going after them tonight.¡±

    Nothing sounded better than a date with his bedroll right then, so Brin decided to take that as an answer. And maybe this was for the best. Despite all the violence and dangerous situations he¡¯d lived through, nothing stuck out in his mind more than stabbing Bianca and then Siphani to death. Killing people really was different. He wasn¡¯t sure he really wanted to put himself through that again.

    His unconscious mind disagreed, though, because as soon as he fell asleep he felt nothing but frustration and outrage at theirck of action.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] let him know he was in a nightmare almost the instant after he fell asleep. His mind filled in the gaps of Zilly¡¯s story about Sudd¡¯s Bog. Women had been kidnapped for ransom, but in this nightmare it was for something else. When it became clear that his mind was going to torture him with an image of a violent molestation, he started to wake himself up.

    The nightmare immediately pulled back, and untethered by [Know What¡¯s Real], Brin drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

    That morning, he woke to the sound of running feet. Members of the caravan were dashing around grabbing weapons, packing up the camp, and pushing the wagons into a defensive circle. Were they under attack? He didn¡¯t see any signs of fighting.

    Hogg appeared and nudged him in the side with his foot. ¡°Get up. We¡¯re going after them.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for Brin to scramble out of bed, adjust his clothes, and retrieve his spear. Marksi didn¡¯t seem to want to budge from his bedroll, apparently still tuckered out from histe nightst night.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, leave him. Half the camp is going to stay to protect the caravan, while the rest of us go find those bandits.¡±

    ¡°But I thought we had decided¨C¡±

    ¡°Things change,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin left it at that. It was one thing to mute a conversation when you were casually walking on a normal day or when you were talking near hundreds of sleeping peoplete at night, but having a silenced conversation now in the middle of an emergency would cause more attention than it was worth.

    Hogg must¡¯ve gotten some new information from his Visible Eyes about the bandits, which changed his mind about attacking the bandits. For now, that¡¯s all Brin needed to know.

    Some would need to leave the caravan to attack the bandits, and some would need to stay. The two groups organized themselves with startling efficiency, guided by Pio¡¯s shouts and nudges from Jeffrey¡¯s music. Hogg, Pio, and Jeffrey led the group to find the bandits, along with Brin, Myra, Sion, and a dozen guards. Zerif stayed behind because his [Caravan Master] Skills would work best to protect everyone if he stayed near the caravan. Davi stayed behind as well, so that both groups would have a [Bard] if they needed one.

    Jeffrey began to y in earnest, and Brin immediately felt the [Bard¡¯s] power enter his body. He felt lighter, more energetic, and clear headed. He suddenly wanted to run, and that desire was soon satisfied.

    They dashed into the forest. It felt nice to run freely, guided by the thrill of Jeffrey¡¯s song and buoyed by the energy it gave him. He also felt something else, something from him and not pushed into him from Jeffrey¡¯s song. Nostalgia, and a twinge of homesickness.

    He hadn¡¯t been much for cardio in his old life, but whenever he did hit a treadmill, it was always with headphones in his ears ying music. It was strange to be back there, just a bit, doing something so ordinary.

    Of course, this body was nothing like the bby body he¡¯d tried to tone up in his old life. He didn¡¯t feel any ounce of tiredness in his limbs, and wouldn¡¯t even if Jeffrey weren¡¯t ying his music. He hadn¡¯t even started to breathe heavily yet. In his old life, he¡¯d start breathing heavily walking up a single flight of stairs.

    The nostalgia faded. That old life was so different from this it was practically alien.

    Sion was having a harder time. ¡°How excellent, to be making this trip again so soon. Now I see why you Hammon¡¯s Boggers are so fit.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯tpare yourself to me and Myra. We¡¯re not normal for Hammon¡¯s Bog, we¡¯re the best of the best,¡± said Brin.

    Myra was barely having a better time than Sion. She cursed as she tore her dress out of a bramble for the seventh time. ¡°Don¡¯tpare me to battle maniacs like Brin, Davi, and Zilly. I¡¯m a normal person.¡±

    Sion nodded, and kept running, panting under the weight of his backpack.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°You know, you didn¡¯t have to bring all your luggage,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯m not worth anything without it,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°What are you talking about? You were pretty handy with that spearst night.¡±

    ¡°I stabbed animals bound and kept motionless by Myra¡¯s ropes. What did you see that you could call handy?¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Sometimes that¡¯s all you need. Hey, do you guys wonder what we¡¯re even doing here? Hogg could take care of this himself if he wanted here, whether there''s twenty bandits or a hundred.¡±

    Myra answered. ¡°But do they know that? Hogg likes to keep his status hidden. He¡¯d actually have to ughter them all. With all of us, there¡¯s a chance they¡¯ll surrender.¡±

    They ran on. Zilly met up with them soon after. She fell in beside Hogg and Jeffrey, and quickly started gesturing to show them where the bandit camp should be. Hogg handed her an apple, which she ate while running.

    Despite being out of breath, Sion kept pace and never asked for a break. Neither did any of the others, though none of them were as loaded down as him.

    After a while, Brin thought he started to recognize the part of the forest where Zilly had led him. He wondered if they were going to stop so they could make a n, or at the very least slow down and approach quietly. Jeffrey kept the pace fast, though, so the bandits must¡¯ve already moved away from their original camp.

    ¡°What? No, that¡¯s wrong!¡± Zilly shouted. Hogg asked her something, and she responded, though Brin couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying. Whatever she said, Hogg just nodded like he expected it.

    All at once, they burst into the bandit camp. He pulled out his spear, swinging it around while he spun, looking for his first enemies.

    A few campfires were still smoking. He saw a few nkets and tents, a pile of chicken bones and vegetable peelings and other detritus. As for the bandits¨Cthere were four.

    Four men sat on the ground, empty hands in the air. No, not men. They were all his age. Three fourteen-year-olds, and one seventeen-year-old. The oldest looked like their leader, and had a cocksure grin on his face. The other three looked frightened.

    How could they be bandits? They were kids. He should¡¯ve expected this, though. His modern world liked to talk about ¡°child soldiers¡± like they were something abnormal, but he¡¯d known different. He¡¯d read enough history to know that the vast majority of the wars of mankind were fought by mid-teenagers. But it was one thing to <em>know</em> that, and it was another thing to see it. Hollywood had given him the mental image of ¡°bandit¡± as an ugly, stupid, middle-aged white dude with lots of scars and missing teeth. The heroes of any story definitely never ughtered their way through a group of fresh-faced teenagers.

    He¡¯de here for a fight, but he was d they¡¯d surrendered.

    Hogg stomped over and grabbed the oldest by the cor, lifting him into the air. ¡°Where are the rest of them?¡±

    [Inspect] called this one Rye. His mocking smirk never left his face. ¡°We¡¯re all there are. This is the whole crew.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t screw with me, kid,¡± said Hogg. ¡°There are five campfires here.¡±

    ¡°We wanted one each. And a spare.¡±

    Hogg growled. ¡°Who tipped you off?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what you mean. As you can see, you took uspletely by surprise,¡± said Rye.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me who tipped you off. You¡¯re going to tell me where the others went,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°No,¡± said Rye.

    ¡°No,¡± agreed Jeffrey. ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me. Would you all mind giving me some space?¡±

    The suggestion was difficult to ignore, and Brin found himself turning away with the rest of the guards before he even realized that Jeffrey hadpelled him. His mental resistance was good enough that he could probably stand his ground, but decided not to. He didn¡¯t want to feel the aftershock of whatever magic Jeffrey was going to use on those kids.

    They walked far enough that they could only barely hear the music that Jeffrey yed. It was calming and sweet, like the feeling ofying on your back in the summer sun and watching the clouds go by.

    He looked around to Myra and Sion and the rest of the guards, and felt a sudden bond with all of them. They¡¯d all run together into the forest towards uncertain danger. In the end, they hadn¡¯t needed to fight, but that didn¡¯t matter. They¡¯d been willing to, and that was what mattered. There was a bond here now, a camaraderie. He could trust these people. He didn¡¯t know all their names, but that didn¡¯t stop the fellowship he felt.

    He knew it was the music making him feel this way, but he couldn¡¯t stop it. He didn¡¯t want to. Maybe if it had been ufortable emotions, he would¡¯ve blocked them out, but this didn¡¯t feel bad at all.

    The only thought that chilled him was when he realized that this was the side-effect of faintly heard music through the trees. How much stronger was the full effect up close?

    Hogg had stayed behind to hear the answer to Jeffrey¡¯s question. His mental resistance must be through the roof.

    Eventually the music faded. The guards nearby dried their tears.

    Finally, Jeffrey and Hogg returned through the forest, guiding along the four bandits. They looked dazed and stunned.

    ¡°Would you mind binding their wrists?¡± Jeffrey asked Myra. ¡°They won¡¯t try to flee, but I feel like certain appearances must be kept up. If they aren¡¯t bound, then how will everyone know they¡¯re captives?¡±

    Myra rushed to obey.

    Hogg turned to the rest of them. There was no sign on his face that Jeffrey¡¯s overwhelming music had bothered him in the least. ¡°The rest of you head back over there and take apart that camp. Look for anything buried, and take anything that can sell. It¡¯ll go into your bonus.¡±

    Brin rushed with the others to obey, grateful for the distraction. They found nkets and tents, but nothing else of value. The other bandits hadn¡¯t left behind so much as a copper cooking pot or flint for making a fire. If the caravan hadn¡¯t decided toe get these guys, he wondered how they would eat.

    The trip back was a lot less rushed. Most people trudged along numbly, still working through the powerful emotions that Jeffrey had made them feel. He didn¡¯t y music for the return trip, which made it a silent affair.

    Eventually, Zilly, Hogg and Jeffrey drifted a bit ahead of the rest of them, and when he saw them, Zilly tilted her head to indicate that he should join them.

    He trotted up ahead.

    ¡°There were more. There were twenty. I know there were. Brin saw it!¡± Zilly said.

    ¡°We know,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What did they tell you?¡± asked Brin.

    Jeffrey answered. ¡°Very little. The decision makers never told these four anything. Probably for this very scenario.¡±

    ¡°That Rye guy seems awfully smug about all this. Why¡¯s he acting like he won here? They¡¯re going to hang him in Oud¡¯s Bog,¡± said Brin. ¡°Oh. He thinks he¡¯s going to get rescued, doesn¡¯t he.¡±

    Hogg barked augh. It was strangely foreign sounding in the still morning air. ¡°No. Check their sses.¡±

    Brin did. Two [Farmers], a [Butcher], and Rye was a [Gatherer].

    ¡°Common sses,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yep. Common sses get extra leniency. They¡¯ll be trotted out to some little Bog town and ced under supervision.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s insane,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Is it? Common sses are too valuable to waste if there¡¯s any chance of reform. Most bandits have Rare sses. That¡¯s sort of the motivation, right? You can¡¯t get experience in town; you don¡¯t want to sign your life away with an army of mercenaries. So you fight monsters. Except monsters are dangerous. Humans are easier, and humans have money. That¡¯s an added bonus.¡±

    ¡°I would never do that!¡± said Zilly.

    Brin shook his head at her. ¡°No one was even looking at you, Zilly. Guilty conscience much?¡±

    Zilly stuck her tongue out at him, then looked at Hogg. ¡°So how are we going to find them?¡±

    Hogg shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll find them or we won¡¯t. If you spot them again,e running. Don¡¯t wait for one of us to find you,e running to the caravan. Otherwise, I¡¯m more interested in who tipped them off.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me!¡± said Zilly.

    Brin chuckled. ¡°Again, no one is even looking at you. Did you have something you wanted to tell us?¡±

    Zilly red at him. ¡°I <em>mean</em> I didn¡¯t tip them off even by ident. I was careful.¡±

    ¡°I believe she is correct,¡± said Jeffrey. ¡°These boys had no idea who was really leading the group, but they did have an inkling that it was someone from the outside. The ns changed too suddenly, with too little exnation or discussion for them to have been moving independently. They wouldn¡¯t have fled from one [Rog¨C ahem. [Warrior]. They must¡¯ve known you contacted the caravan.¡±

    ¡°Someone from inside the caravan tipped them off,¡± Hogg said. ¡°That¡¯s the part I¡¯m interested in. That¡¯s the part that makes this my business. Someone highly-ced in the caravan is working with the bandits.¡±

    Brin frowned. ¡°Who did you tell about themst night? After I told you?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell a soul,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Myra?¡±

    ¡°She went straight to bed, I saw.¡±

    Brin looked behind, and saw Sion watching. He tilted his head to indicate he should join them.

    Sion walked up, eyeing Jeffrey with a bit of nervousness.

    ¡°Hey, so after we got back, who did you tell about the bandits?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I told only Pio, and then went straight to bed. Honest,¡± said Sion. ¡°Pio promised to tell Zerif, and no-one else.

    Brin chuckled ruefully. So they were back to this, huh? These detective games of suspicion and intrigue were starting to feel way too familiar. Well, this was simpler than finding the [Witches] in Hammon¡¯s Bog. Rather than have to suspect an entire town for possible culprits, they¡¯d already narrowed it down.

    There was a traitor in the caravan. Zerif, Pio, or of course, his new friend Sion.

 Book 3. Chapter 33

    Book 3. Chapter 33

    Zilly left the group before they got back to the caravan, determined to go it alone until they got to Oud¡¯s Bog, which was only a couple days away at this point.

    When they returned with the captives, there was a small dy as everyone helped to transfer the guards¡¯ packs from the open-air cargo wagon to other ces. Then they used the cargo wagon to transport the three bound bandits. Rye smiled and bragged about getting to ride while everyone else walked until Pio threatened to gag him.

    Zerif called the caravan forward, and they started moving again.

    Those members of the caravan who hadn¡¯te along looked relieved to see the captives, and Brin got the feeling that everyone considered the matter settled. He moved his position in the line of wagons here and there, eavesdropping on what conversations he could, and found that most people assumed they¡¯d caught the entire group.

    That line of thought could only benefit the person who¡¯d tipped off the ones who escaped, but Brin never saw Zerif, Pio, or Sion talking to anyone about the bandits. Or talking to anyone at all, really.

    The day passed, and no monsters attacked. When night settled, Hogg approached Brin. ¡°Come one. It¡¯s you and me tonight.¡±

    He didn¡¯t pause to let Brin argue so Brin had to trot to catch up to him. Marksi scuttled alongside him, and then passed him to disappear into the forest.

    ¡°If we¡¯re both leaving, who¡¯s going to keep an eye on our prisoners?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still keeping an eye on them,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I can still monitor a few ces at once, even if my Visible Eyes aren¡¯t as useful as my invisible ones used to be. On that note, it¡¯s driving me crazy that I need to keep them at a distance where I can''t hear anything.""I can do an Invisible Eye now. I could pitch in on that front," Brin offered.

    "You can do one, and it takes your full concentration. Zerif¡¯s tent and wagon are both warded against eavesdropping, so what we really need is an eye on them at all times, hoping they''ll let something slip."

    He hadn''t really noticed it before, but the trees here were a bit sparser than the area around it. The forest had big breaks where there would be a quarter mile stretch of prairie grass and wildflowers. He had stopped watching his feet, adjusting to the fact that he didn''t need to worry about identally stepping into mud or a hidden puddle. They were nearing the edge of the Bonds.

    "We''re definitely suspecting Zerif, right? This caravan was near Sudd''s Bog when they attacked the first time, and you told me he''s a spy for Prinnash. I imagine there¡¯s a lot of uses a spy could have for a group of adventurers and bandits. Plus he''s high level, with a nonbat ss. It makes sense that he''d be able to send messages in some sneaky way right under your nose."

    Hogg nodded. "He''s the most likely suspect, but it could honestly be anyone. I doubt Sion was worried about who might be able to overhear him when he told Pio and Zerif. All this spection is useless without more information. We need to get you to level 35 as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, about that. We¡¯ve been talking about [Split Focus] being necessary for a Lightmind, but I also got the impression that I needed [Persistent Casting]. Which one am I hoping for, here?¡±

    Hogg answered. ¡°Either one would make up for not having the other, but eventually you¡¯ll want both. [Split Focus] is better overall, but I''m curious about what kind of ss magic you''ll be able to do with [Persistent Casting]."

    "So the n is just to get to level 35 and hope it''s one or the other?"

    "If you don''t get one of those at 35, then it''s time to find a priest because the gods are mocking you. Alright, this is far enough."

    Brin looked around. They''d chosen an area with only a few odd trees in a small run of prairie. The ground was covered in knee-high grass, and the ground was surprisingly treacherous with the number of mole holes that covered the ground.

    Brin looked around, but didn''t see anything. "Huh? What are we doing here? I figured you were bringing me to some kind of monster."

    "We''ll get to that, but first we should work on your sounds. Here." Hogg handed Brin a sheet of bark paper, with one short sentence in the Language. When he flipped it over, he saw an entire page of words. "The backside is the anti-eavesdropping spell I showed you yesterday. Memorize that on your own time. For now look at the short spell there. That''s Sound Amplification."

    Brin read the words out loud, and felt the magic take hold. First try. It didn''t seem to be doing anything so he said, "Hello." It came out "HELLO!" sounding exactly like when your seven-year-old nephew discovers a microphone for the first time.

    Brin smiled, but then frowned in anxiety. That was loud. Had they heard that back at camp?

    "Don''t worry. I''ll be blocking all sound from reaching the caravan. Now go ahead and get that spell memorized. I don''t think I have to tell you this, but you''ll need to be able to cast it on the fly without any words of Language, so concentrate on the way the Language is moving your power and see if you can reproduce it on your own. Oh wait, hold up." Hogg whistled and Marksi dashed in from the forest to hop up into his arms. "I''ll protect Marksi''s hearing, too. Go nuts."

    Brin cast the spell again, and this time didn''t hesitate to y with it. He shouted "HEY!" as loud as he could. The sonic st hit like a punch to his ears and left them ringing, but that quickly faded.

    The next time he cast the spell, he also spared a thought to also put a void of sound around his ears. It worked and he felt the magic take hold, but when he talked he couldn''t hear it to tell how well it was working.

    With a bit of practice, he figured out which words he could push mana into to make it even louder. He jammed in as much mana as he could until he hit the limit. This is where he saw the usefulness of this instead of the "bang" part of his shbang spell. The upper limit was muchrger, and he was getting more sound for less magic. He blocked his ears, and then let loose with another yell.

    The grass bent in waves and the leaves vibrated on the trees. With his ears silenced, he wasn''t exactly sure how loud it went, but he was pretty sure it would''ve punctured the eardrums of any human on earth. Hogg and Marksi didn''t react at all, of course.

    He noticed one other thing with this test. He could also control the direction of the sound somewhat. He put a moderate amount of mana into the spell, pointed it away from him, and let loose with another "Hey!" He barely heard the sound, more from it echoing against the trees than the initial noise.

    "How well is this going to work as a weapon?" asked Brin.

    "It''ll work really well as a distraction, and against certain specific people or creatures it can be devastating, but don''t count on it for everything. Hearing damage fixes itself pretty quick, and anyone with a high-levelbat ss will have some kind of resistance or counter for it."

    That didn''t feel right to Brin; in his world you could get permanent hearing loss from going to too many concerts. But his instincts were often wrong about the limits of a System-enhanced body, and now that he thought of it, the ringing in his ears had faded much too fast.

    Now that he had a little bit of a feel for it, Brin used [Directed Mediation] and started practicing. He cast the spell, cutting out a single word of Language at a time and practicing until he could get the same effect without it. Then he removed another word and kept going.

    The practice was painful and monotonous, but [Directed Meditation] helped him remove any stray thoughts or distractions and kept him moving forward, one piece at a time.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The minutes dripped by. Marksi got bored and shuffled around, and Hogg had a nk look on his face that meant he was focusing on something his Visible Eyes were seeing. Brin ignored them and kept working.

    Finally, he finished the spell without the Language, and with it stored in Memories of ss, he''d be able to do it again. It took him about five seconds to cast, but that wasn''t good enough. He kept working on making it faster. Three seconds. Two. Good enough.

    Through training you have increased the following attribute:

    Mental Control +1

    [Call Sound through ss] has leveled up! 25 -> 26

    Brin stood up and stretched. "Alright, I think I have it."

    "About time. Alright, I''ll fetch you some monsters." Hogg lifted an arm, and a flurry of ck, pping shapes burst into existence and flew into the air, spreading out into the night.

    Marksi perked up in interest, and Hogg lowered him to the ground. "You''ll get to help with this, too! There''s a breed of carnivorous moth that can be a danger to lone travelers at night. They mostly feed on bugs or bats, but they don''t stop growing until they die, and can reach preposterous sizes. Some of them are big enough to lift people into the air, and I saw one once that was big enough to eat a horse. Like their favorite prey, they hunt with echolocation, and they''re extremely sensitive to loud sounds. Here''s what I have in mind. Brin, you''re going to knock the things out of the air and Marksi will finish them off."

    Marksi danced in ce, swinging his tail in a circle in eager anticipation.

    Brin scanned the sky, feeling a bit worried. "Are you sure they aren''t dangerous?"

    Hogg snorted. "Of course they''re dangerous. Didn''t you hear me say some of them eat people? They''ve got poisonous stings and they can be nearpletely silent in the air, which is a problem because most people forget to look up. Don''t let them bite you, Marksi. Brin, help him out any way you can, but sound magic only. You aren''t allowed to fight directly."

    Brin nodded. "When will they get here?"

    "Look up."

    Brin did, and saw many flitting shadows in the sky above. Even with his darkvision, it wasn''t easy to differentiate Hogg''s bait-bats from the moths, but now that he was concentrating he saw the difference. It was the shape--they were rounder and their pping was softer. Most were smaller than the bats Hogg said they preyed on, but he saw a few big slow shadows with wingspans of five feet or more.

    How to approach this? He could shout at them from down here, but that wouldn''t be very efficient. He also didn''t want to make all the moths rain down on Marksi at once. Better to start small.

    He chose a single owl-sized moth, and cast his Bang spell together with Amplify Sound. He cast it from below the moth, aiming it straight up.

    The moth fell out of the sky.

    As soon as it hit the ground, Marksi was on it. He extended his ws, growing them out further than seemed natural, and sliced the moths tail off, removing the danger of its poisonous sting. Then he sliced it to pieces, tearing into it with animal ferocity.

    You have defeated: Stinging Moth (12) Due to level disparity, experience has been reduced.

    Marksi turned to Brin with a happy grin, eager for more. He had to admit, that had been cool. It was neat to see the dragonling use the minor shapeshifting power he''d gotten when he''d eaten that hexed stone. Marksi hadn''t used it much before; he''d just picked a size and shape that suited him and left it there.

    Brin was a little less careful this time, and exploded a sound bomb in arge cluster.

    The moths dropped out of the air. Marksi darted from one to the other, finishing them off before they could move.

    Brin shrugged, andid waste. He expanded the size and scope of his sound attack, trying to hit as many as he could. A huge crowd of moths fell to the ground, but he noticed that this time a few of therger ones fluttered a bit to slow their fall. On the ground, they twitched and started to rise.

    Marksi was already killing his way through the group, so Brin couldn''t sound bomb the entire group again.

    He used directed explosions of sound to stun a moth just as it crawled to its feet, knocking it down again. Marksi reached another moth who''d started to recover, but the dragonling was faster and wed it in half before it could sting him.

    Brin cast the spell again, as soon as he could make it, re-stunning the moths as fast as he could.

    Before long, they ally dead.

    Summarized Battle Notification You have defeated: Thirty-six Stinging Moths Due to level disparity, experience has been reduced.

    Brin saw a huge shadow in the air. Its wingspan was nearly nine feet across and even though Brin could only see it as a ck shape against the night sky, he felt like the creature had an ethereal quality. No feathery insect wings should be able to lift a body thatrge, and no creature thatrge should be so elegant. It flowed smoothly through the air, practically dancing, and acting for all the world as if gravity were only a suggestion.

    Brin grinned. "This is the big one!"

    He cast Amplify Sound with a Bang, hitting the monster square-on with as much magic as he could push into the spell. The effect was immediate. The giant Stinging Moth dropped.

    Too fast. It wasn''t falling; it was diving.

    "Dodge!" Brin called, but he needn''t have bothered. Marksi swerved away from the beast, quick as thought.

    The giant moth swerved faster than should be possible, darting after Marksi on a dime. It was closing on him.

    Brin cast another sound bomb. This one rocked the giant moth, stunning him for only a fraction of a second.

    That was enough. Marksi pivoted and jumped on the moth, shing ws through its wide but thin wings. The moth spun in ce and bit at him, but Marksi was already on the ground and running again.

    Marksi zig-zagged, trying to get away, but even with the injured wing the moth adjusted easily and chased him along the ground.

    Brin hit it with another sound bomb, but it dove at thest second and only got hit by a part of the effect. Itnded on the ground, and Brin couldn''t see Marksi. Had the monster caught him?

    Brin grabbed his spear and stepped forward, but something stopped him. He looked down to see one of Hogg''s shadows holding his spear firmly in ce.

    "Sound attacks only," said Hogg.

    Brin shouted, projecting his own voice with his spell. "STOP!" Not having to put any mana into Bang meant that he had more for Sound Amplification, and it crossed the distance between him and the moth like a vengeful storm. It hit the moth like a wave of psychic force, knocking it to its side.

    Was that enough to free Marksi? Was he still alive? Brin still couldn''t see him beneath the moth. He hit it with another shout, stunning it.

    The moth shrugged this one off a little faster, and began toboriously pull itself into the air. But where was Marksi?

    He regretted this entire thing. Everyone kept telling him to let Marksi grow by letting him get into danger, but this was too much. That thing was a man-eater, and Marksi was barely a snack. Had it already eaten him? It¡¯s mouth didn¡¯t look big enough to do that in one bite¡­

    The ground shifted, and a spout of earth popped up, followed by a shimmering rainbow lizard. Marksi had been underground. He must''ve fled into one of the many molehills everywhere. His ws were round and circr and his nose was pointy, like a mole. He''d transformed himself into a digger to get away.

    Even as Brin watched, Marksi''s ws and face started to morph into their normal shape. Heunched himself at the moth from its blind spot,nding on its back. He wed the moth viciously.

    For the first time, the moth lost all semnce of its ethereal elegance. It pped wildly in the air, twisting in circles to try to buck the attacker off, but Marksi couldn''t be stopped. He shed the wings at the base of its body, until they lost their strength and theynded on the ground.

    Then Marksi grew his fangs longer and bit the moth at the base of its head. He twisted side to side like a dog going for the kill, tearing the moth''s flesh. It kicked and twitched, fighting to thest.

    Finally, it died.

    You have defeated: Stinging Moth (31) [Call Sound through ss] has leveled up! 26 -> 28

    Brin cheered. Marksi hopped down from the moth, pleased as a plum, only to be scooped up again by Hogg who checked him over for injuries. Marksi was totally fine, but Hogg kept asking if he was hurt or tired or anything, clearly more worried than he''d let on during the fight.

    Soon Marksi started getting impatient and made his way back over to his kill to start to carve into its center.

    "Hold on, I''ll do it," said Hogg. He stepped up and neatly sliced a line through the moth''s thorax, opening it wide. Marksi dipped his head inside and pulled it out again with a thumb-sized gemstone in his teeth. He looked at Brin questioningly.

    "Go on. You earned it."

    Marksi popped it in his mouth with a nod of satisfaction. There was no doubt in Brin¡¯s mind that he would¡¯ve eaten it either way; he was just making sure that Brin knew the right answer.

    His scales froze in their rainbow shimmering and Marski burped. His eyelids started to droop. Brin picked him up. ¡°Come here. I¡¯ll carry you home.¡± To Hogg, he asked, ¡°How much do you think he¡¯ll change this time?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t expect a huge transformation every single time. Growing up takes time. So no level, huh?

    Brin shook his head.

    Hogg tsked. ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d get an easy one for hunting with sound for the first time. Well, no matter. There are always more monsters.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 34

    Book 3. Chapter 34

    Brin woke up suddenly in a cold sweat. The nightmare that had awakened him faded from his mind, but it hadn¡¯t really been about anything, just a sudden spike of fear and panic that pushed him out of slumber.

    The camp was quiet and dark; it was still a few hours before dawn and the bonfire that they made each night had sputtered out, but from what he could tell the night watch was still in ce. A guard visible past the ring of wagons scanned the forest, moving his head back and forth slowly the way they had been trained.

    He should probably go back to sleep. He''d stayed upte hunting monsters with Hogg and now it was way too early to be awake, but he didn''t know if sleep was an option. His heart was still racing.

    Before he had a chance to decide, the guard he could see stepped backwards to knock on the wood of the wagons. Some answering knocks came from around the circle of wagons.

    What would the guards do if they saw a monster at night? Would they wake someone up to go after it, or would they--

    "rm!" the guard shouted. "Wake up! We''re under attack!"

    Brin heard a squeal, as Big Ron was the first to react to the rm, and then suddenly everyone was shouting. Zerif stepped out of his tent, still wearing a plush nightgown. He pped his hands once and then said, "Organize a defense!"

    He didn''t speak in the Language, but it almost felt like he had. The words had the weight of a Skill behind them, and the effect was immediate.

    Peopleunched out of their bedrolls as if carried by psychic force. Brin found his weapon suddenly in his hand as if it had jumped there on its own, and he found himself moving to the outer ring of the camp, sure of where exactly he could best pitch in without really understanding why.Jeffrey''s lute sang out over the din, and Davi''s joined it. The song washed away thest remnants of haziness from his mind and reinforced the impression that Zerif''s Skill had given him. He knew exactly where to go, and felt overflowing with energy.

    He couldn''t see what had attacked, his view blocked by the running adults, until he reached the outer ring of the caravan and saw the enemy.

    Snakes, hundreds of them. They moved in a roiling mass, tumbling over each other like a green wave. They were all different sizes, but most of them were foot-long babies, no wider than his pinky. Only the numbers were a problem.

    He saw the guards to his left and right pale at the sight and take a step back. Both were just [Merchants], neither of them had anybat skills past the spears in their hands.

    Brin shouted, "Close your eyes and cover your ears!", using Sound Amplification to make himself heard. He blocked his own ears with sound magic and then flung two ss balls at the swarm and cast a shbang into each of them.

    Even through his eyes the sh was painfully bright, and when he opened them he saw the swarm scattering. They fled in every direction, including towards him, but at a manageable number now.

    He stepped forward and started stabbing and shing at the snakes. They were surprisingly hard to hit, and a few got passed and simply slithered under his feet.

    "Protect the goods!" he heard Zerif call, but it''s not like he wasn''t already trying. There were just so many!

    Once they had recovered from the shbang, the two caravan guards near him started stabbing and shing with their own weapons. They worked methodically, cutting through the snakes with surprisingly dexterity. One of them hissed and pulled a biting snake off his thigh to toss it into the swarm, but then he stoically kept fighting.

    Brin heard a high-pitched roar, and Marksi crept up to stand next to him. He was moving slowly, no doubt still digesting that beast core they''d given himst night. Brin was honestly surprised to see Marksi up and moving at all. From the corner of his eye he could tell that Marksi was barely staying on his legs, but the few times a snake got close enough to reach his feet, the little dragon snapped out and ended the things in one vicious bite.

    As the swarm died down, Brin started to realize that the shbangs hadn''tpletely scared away any of the snakes. The ones who''d run at first were slithering back around to attack from a different angle. He''d cleared his area, but at the expense of the rest of the camp. About when he made that realization, he felt a hand mp on his shoulder.

    It was Pio. "Bang balls. You have more? Give some to me!"

    Brin handed all of the sound-enchanted balls he had left, six of them. Pio threw all six to the far side of the caravan, where they exploded.

    By the time Brin released the silence spell around his ears, Pio was already shouting. "--to me! Come! Come all snakes and follow me! This way, yes,e!"

    Pio ran into the forest, and the swarm of little snakes followed him. He pulled them from all directions until it looked like a green stream following him through the woods, and ran out of sight though Brin could still hear him yelling.

    He noticed at once that not all of the snakes had followed Pio. Three much bigger ones must''ve had the mental fortitude to resist [Beast Master] Skills, because they held their spots, shifting around in the forest nearby. They watched Brin and hispanions, maybe hoping or waiting for an opening.

    Brin heard a soft growling sound, and looked down to see Marksi. His lips were peeled back in a snarl, and there was hate in his eyes.

    Did Marksi hate snakes? Brin had never heard Marksi growl at anything before, and he hadn''t even hated the undead this much.

    Since it didn''t look like the giant snakes were going to strike, Brin took the time to summon a pair of ss javelins. ""

    Both javelins speared the snake he was aiming at, killing it on the spot. The other two ducked to the ground and darted forward quickly, so Brin held his spear, ready.

    Marksi took a couple steps towards them, but then tripped on his own legs. He slunk back weakly, looking ill at trying to move too quickly on a full stomach.

    The guard to Brin''s left waved his spear, causing the snake on his side to slip back, so Brin joined the guard on his right to stab down at the other snake. It evaded Brin''s spear, but the guard stabbed straight through it, pinning it to the ground. With it held in ce, Brin pumped some mana into his spear and shed, cutting it in half.

    The three of them worked together to take out thest giant snake, cornering it and killing it quickly.

    That was it for the immediate danger. Should he join the fighting somewhere else? The music was telling him to stay in ce, but that was general orders for the entire caravan, so that no part of the perimeter was left uncovered. He should probably stay where he was, but he wanted to see what Pio was going to do with all those snakes following him.

    Brin picked up Marksi and put him on his shoulders, and then ran towards the head of the caravan.

    Zerif and Hogg stood over a carpet of dead and bleeding snakes, and past them there was an [Earthmover], probably the caravan''s only one, digging a hole. The man pulled on his magic while miming pulling the earth with his arms, casting intuitively without the Language. The hole was twelve feet deep, six feet wide, and growing every second.

    Pio arrived. The shirtless man was sprinting across the ground, chased by a writhing mass of slithering forms. "Big enough. Get ready to close it!"

    He leapt over the hole, clearing it with a foot to spare. He turned and threw both hands out wide. "Come in! Come inside!"

    Jeffrey and Davi''s music faded from Brin, leaving feeling oddly hollow, but the song didn''t stop. Instead, all of the power seemed to concentrate on Pio and only Pio.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "Go into the hole! Go inside there! Yes! Down, go down!"

    The mass of snakes dropped in, and by the time the stream of snakes ran its course, the hole was entirely filled and starting to overflow.

    "Now!" called Zerif.

    The [Earthmover] heaved, filling in the hole. It wasn''t fast enough, so directed by Jeffrey''s song, a group of ten caravaneers rushed forward to push the loose earth back into the hole, burying the snakes alive.

    A few squirmed their way free of the earth and fled, but they were so few now that no one even bothered hunting them down.

    They watched the hole, and after a half minute, no new snakes got free. They''d done it.

    Without warning, Hogg was suddenly in front of Brin. He hadn''t even seen him move. He grabbed Brin''s satchel and pulled out a handful of his sh balls, checking them all around. Brin got his arm up in time to save his vision, but even through an arm and closed eyes, the sh was painfully bright.

    "Close your eyes!" Hogg yelled. "Don''t open them! Keep your eyes closed no matter what!

    Brin blinked on reflex, but he couldn''t see much anyways.

    "Cl-close them!" Zerif gasped, repeating the message with words that were much harder to ignore. "Close your eyes."

    Then even Jeffrey''s song echoed the same sentiment. Don''t open your eyes. Don''t open them even if you get bitten.

    What was going on? Brin trusted Hogg, so he didn''t fight the mental maniption from both Zerif and Jeffrey, but that didn''t mean he wasn''t going to question it.

    He didn''t hear much, just the sound of heavy breathing, a few groans, and the soft sound of slithering. More snakes had arrived, or maybe returned.

    Not knowing what else to do, Brin used [Directed Meditation] and started to cast Invisible Eye.

    He felt something bite him. He bent down and pulled a snake off his ankle and dispatched it with his belt knife.

    That ruined his spell and pushed him out of meditation, so he started again. This time he cast the entire spell uninterrupted.

    While in [Directed Meditation], he couldn''t concentrate on anything outside his goal, but it didn''t matter because from what he could tell, nothing was going on. Outside of Jeffrey''s song, the heavy breathing, and the soft sound of snakes, he couldn''t hear anything else.

    When Invisible Eye opened up his field of view, he didn''t get much else. He''d sort of expected to see Hogg surrounded by his shadow clones; that would''ve been a good reason to tell everyone not to look, but it wasn''t the case.

    Hogg had both his shortswords drawn and he stood on top of the pile of earth that had buried the little snakes, but there was no sign of his hard light. He also had his eyes closed, but Brin had no doubt that there was a crowd of Visible Eyes up in the air somewhere.

    Brin took a questioning step forward, and it was harder than he expected. He wasn''t moving from the angle of his perspective, and his brain took exception to that, sending him a wave of dizziness. He moved the Invisible Eye down and stuck it right between his eyes. That was better. He took another step forward and nearly tripped. His vision went ck as his head passed through the Invisible Eye; he hadn''t moved it with the rest of his body. Luckily, he was spared a look at his own brain since it was pitch ck in there.

    This time he carefully pushed the Invisible Eye along with the motion of his head. The effort nearly made him drop the spell, and he wouldn''t be able to think about anything else, but with [Directed Meditation] it was possible.

    He could probably still fight like this. Fighting didn''t need much thinking. The hundreds of hours of training meant that his body knew what to do on its own.

    Hogg nced at him. "Yeah, fine, ok. I guess I wouldn''t get much experience from this. If anyone else is absolutely certain that you can fight with your eyes closed, go ahead and step forward too."

    "I can," said Pio, stepping forward to stand next to Hogg and Brin without hesitation.

    "And me!" shouted a female voice from the forest.

    Zily stepped out from where she''d apparently been hiding. She looked nearly as bad as yesterday; her bug bites had faded, but her skin was now covered with the double-dot pricks of snake bites, and was already growing red and puffy in ces.

    She sauntered forward and struck a triumphant pose, like she was a story-book charactering to rescue them all in the nick of time. It was totally lost on everyone except Brin and Hogg of course. At least the dumb girl had her eyes clenched tight.

    "Why?" murmured a caravan guard from behind. "What can''t we see?"

    "I''d rather not tell you until it''s dead," Hogg said. "No need to cause a panic. You''re all totally safe. Just keep your eyes closed until it''s over."

    Zilly stepped easily over the rough and blood-slicked terrain to stand with Hogg, Pio, and Brin. Her [Rogue]-senses would be pretty good for fighting blind, maybe better than anyone except Hogg.

    Hogg tapped Zilly on the shoulder, and pointed.

    She nodded, and took a throwing knife from his hand. She cocked back, and threw it hard.

    The knife struck something; a monster hiding in in sight with camouge like Marksi''s, good enough that Brin hadn''t seen it in the pre-dawn light.

    The camouge dropped to reveal a six-foot long snakelike monster. It had two limbs like chicken legs and what looked like the beginning of wings, either vestigial or undeveloped. Around its head was a ring of feathers like a lion''s mane. If the lion was the king of the jungle, then this was the king of snakes; probably literally, since he got the feeling it was directing the swarm.

    The Snake King shrieked and charged.

    Brin stepped forward and leveled his spear, hoping the beast would charge straight onto it, but Zilly charged past him, probably aiming to show off a bit. Did she not get that no one could see her?

    Jeffrey''s music hit them, boosting and encouraging, but it didn''t have the precise instructions that it usually carried. Apparently, even Jeffrey was closing his eyes.

    Zilly shed at the Snake King, but it dodged easily and swiped with its talons. She didn''t react in time and took a scratch across her arm before [Dashing] away.

    Brin stabbed the monster as it tried to press the advantage. It hissed in pain, which gave Pio a good idea where it was. He slugged it in the face, knocking it off bnce.

    Zilly [Dashed] back andnded a [Kick] square in the thing''s chest. It rebounded by wing at her again. She actually managed to parry one w with her sword, but the other shed her again.

    She [Dashed] away.

    Brin stabbed out with his spear, but the Snake King ducked under it and slithered back, satisfaction glowing in its slitted eyes. It thought it was winning.

    It slithered around to Pio''s right, and the [Beast Master] made no indication he noticed it. Brin called out a warning, but the monster was already attacking. Quick as lightning, Pio grabbed the snake around the neck, and held it pinned where it couldn''t bite or scratch him.

    "Now!"

    Zilly [Dashed] at them and Brin could feel the sudden pressure from her sword that meant she was using [Overload]. She cut straight through the monster''s throat, but she was being over-careful of not hitting Pio and didn''t go very deep. It thrashed in his grip, slipping away.

    Brin got there just in time, stabbing the Snake King as soon as it left Pio''s grip. Even then it thrashed and fought, but Brin''s spear kept it in ce long enough for Zilly to finish it off with another [Overload].

    You have defeated: Snake swarm. You have defeated: Basilisk (17)

    Level up! 33 -> 34 +5 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    [Call Sound through ss] has leveled up! 28 -> 29

    He''d leveled. He couldn''t believe he''d already leveled up again! He only had one level to go for 35 and some real [Illusionist] utility.

    Basilisks must be powerful, because even at only level 17, he hadn''t gotten a message telling him his experience was reduced. A high level one must be an absolute nightmare.

    The music stopped, and Zerif called out to tell everyone they could open their eyes again.

    Brin stepped towards the corpse, wanting to see it now that it was safe to look with his own eyes and without [Directed Meditation] keeping his thoughts focused.

    It didn''t look like much now that it was dead. Marksi hissed and spat at the creature, still furious at it even though it was dead.

    "You really don''t like other snakes, huh?" said Brin.

    Marksi twitched his tail for no, then huffed at Brin in annoyance. He pointedly walked back to Pio''s wagon, and climbed up on top to go back to sleep.

    "It''s possession," said Pio. "This caravan is his, yes? He doesn''t like others of dragonkind to contest his im."

    "Hm." Did Marksi think that Brin was his pet? Well, he supposed it didn''t really matter as long as he behaved. "So what would''ve happened if we looked at this thing? Do they really turn people to stone?"

    "Paralysis and death," said Hogg.

    "Not likely with this one. It''s a juvenile," said Pio.

    Zerif stepped forward, dabbing his brow with a handkerchief and looking down at the dead basilisk in rm. "I still call it an excellent precaution. Thank you, Hogg. Not a single member of my caravan lost their life today. You promised not to let anyone die, and you have kept that promise. Indeed, you have!"

    "It is good. It''s good that we killed it," said Pio, still looking at the basilisk.

    "Yeah," Brin agreed.

    "Even a juvenile is a danger. If not to us, then to others."

    "That''s true," said Brin, not quite getting what he was aiming at.

    "A basilisk is too dangerous for a [Beast Master] to tame. They are too dangerous to keep." Pio looked like he was trying to convince himself.

    Brin understood. He put a hand on Pio''s shoulder consolingly. "You did the right thing. But tell you what: Next dragonling we find, I promise we''ll try to take it alive so you can keep it as a pet."

    "Thank you," said Pio.

    Zilly stumbled over to the base of a tree and copsed, breathing heavy.

    ¡°Right!¡± said Zerif with a cheery smile. ¡°We should tend to our injuries. Starting with your vige girl, I think.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Hogg agreed.

    Zerif winced. ¡°I only wish we knew what was causing all these attacks. First the bandits, now this¡­¡±

    "Me too." Pio nodded.

    Hogg nodded.

    Zerif crooked an eyebrow, then sighed and shook his head.

    The three of them split apart, to go help the wounded.

 Book 3. Chapter 35

    Book 3. Chapter 35

    Zilly wasn''t the only one in bad shape; most members of the caravan had been bitten at least once. Several peopley on the ground on nkets, mostly those with low levels and therefore low Vitality. The [Dancer] was one of the few who hadn''t been touched, and she stepped nimbly between the rows of their makeshift triage, delivering poultices and anti-venom potions to those most affected.

    Brin himself felt a burn and a slight fever from the snake bite he''d taken, but one of the [Merchants] with a high-level [First-Aid] had told him it would pass on its own without trouble. Apparently, that was a prettymon General Skill to take in their line of work.

    He found Davi and Myra, and saw that the both of them had managed to avoid getting bitten as well. The snakes hadn''t even drawn close to the [Bards], and Myra had wisely taken shelter near them.

    Myra was nudging a dead snake with her foot. "Dead snakes don''t count as thread. For my Skills. I kind of think they should, don''t you?"

    "Maybe if we tied some of them together?" offered Davi. "I feel bad for them, though. Hate to see this many dead snakes. Don''t you think we should unbury the ones in that hole?"

    "I''m pretty sure that''s what Pio is arguing with Zerif about right now," said Myra.

    That gave Brin an idea, and without ever even saying hello, he left Myra and Davi to go over by himself. He sat at the base of a tree, ying up that he was resting from the slight fever the venom had given him, and called on his magic.

    Last night with Hogg he''d learned how to use Sound Amplification to send beams of sound in a directed, straight line. He''d only used it to project sound outward as a weapon, but there was no reason he couldn''t use it to direct sound the other direction.

    He spotted where Zerif and Pio were talking across the camp. This was the perfect opportunity. These two almost never had a conversation outside of their warded tents and wagons. He used Sound Amplification to direct their voices towards himself.He also made a tunnel of silence, to make it so the directed sound would only go towards him and no one else would get wise to what he was doing. It was aplicated affair since he had to figure it out on his own, and he needed to use the Language, but luckily no one was close enough to hear what he was muttering.

    "... a danger to this caravan," Zerif was saying.

    "No danger. Without their leader they are normal snakes, entirely in my power," said Pio.

    "Of course! Of course, sometimes I forget that you¡¯re a [Beast Master], with power to persuade and direct the animals and other creatures,¡± said Zerif.

    Pio folded his arms. ¡°You mean to say something? An usation? So say it then.¡±

    <em>Wait</em>. Did Zerif suspect Pio was behind the monster attacks? It would make sense with that ss, but Brin honestly couldn¡¯t see it. Pio didn¡¯t seem like the deceptive type, and his anger at the time Davi had lured a Heath Worm to attack the caravan had been real.

    Zerif patted Pio¡¯s shoulder, who glowered at the touch. ¡°No, nothing like that, my friend. You would never put this caravan in danger, would you? No, you wouldn¡¯t. So why not? Go ahead and rescue your creatures if you wish. I trust you to¨C¡±

    The tail end of that conversation was cut off as two women walked across his sound tunnel. An elderly [Camp Chef] was speaking to a [Wagoneer], ¡°...doesn¡¯t work on venom. That¡¯s more for when animal bites carry disease.¡±

    ¡°I think we could still use hot water to wash the wounds, then. How long would it take, honestly,¡± argued the [Wagoneer].

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Zerif¨C¡± and then they were out of his sound tunnel.

    Something about that conversation itched at Brin. Something about that was important. He lurched to his feet, but suddenly felt a dizzy spell. He made a few uneasy steps, then copsed to his hands and knees, panting. The feeling was like the slight uneasiness he¡¯d felt ever since the fight had gotten over; the most likely exnation was that the venom was affecting him more than he¡¯d thought at first.

    <em>That wasn¡¯t real</em>. [Filial Piety¡¯s] Mental Resistance and [Know What¡¯s Real] worked together to make it clear to him that this wasn¡¯t actuallying from his body. This was a mental attack.

    ¡°Hogg,¡± he gasped.

    The man appeared in seconds. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Mental attack. Who¡¯s watching me right now?¡±

    All at once the dizziness faded. Not quite trusting it, Brin scooted into a sitting position, still sweating and out of breath.

    ¡°Oh, damn. Lots of people are watching <em>me</em>, but only because I rushed over here so fast. You should¡¯ve said mental attack first, then I would¡¯ve snuck over.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t think straight. Because of, you know, the mental attack.¡±

    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t need an anti-venom?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± said Brin.

    After a minute or two sitting there to make sure, Brin found that he really was fine. ¡°Alright. What¡¯s the short list? Who are we thinking?¡±

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. You know. The bandits are taking orders from someone in the caravan, and now it¡¯s starting to look like the monsters are, too. I can¡¯t help but think this is about me. Somehow Arcaena¡¯s people still know about me.¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t assume everything is about you. It¡¯s way more likely that Zerif got caught out about being a spy for Prinnash, and someone is trying to take care of him discreetly. But fine, short list. Number one is Zerif. He has a few mental Skills he can use on people under hismand, which includes everyone in the caravan. Nothing powerful enough to exin what just happened to you, but he has connections and money. He could be using enchanted tools to do the things we¡¯ve seen happen.¡±

    ¡°Zerif makes the most sense to me. I was eavesdropping on them when whatever it was hit me. He was indirectly using Pio of being behind the attacks, and I doubt he¡¯d want someone overhearing that.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°That doesn¡¯t feel right. He already has really good anti-eavesdropping Skills on his tent and wagon.¡±

    ¡°So who else could it be?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Jeffrey, obviously, would have to make the list, but I don¡¯t suspect him. Pio is also rich enough to buy tools, and he could be directing the monsters. But why? I can¡¯t think of a motive. Were you looking at Mumeli when you got dizzy?¡±

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    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The [Dancer].¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then we can cross her off the list,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Are you sure it was all mental? It wasn¡¯t poison?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sure,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It still could¡¯ve been triggered by food. Let¡¯s keep Araunya on the list for now. She¡¯s a [Camp Chef], and pretty high level at 46. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s pretty wealthy as well.¡±

    ¡°Wait. The [Camp Chef]. I was listening to her, kind of on ident, right when the dizzy spell hit,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll move her up the list.¡± Hogg grinned, then put on a serious face and pointed at Brin. ¡°You do nothing for today. I¡¯ll watch her, discreetly, but you don¡¯t even look in her direction. If you want to do something, maybe try to pump Pio for clues. Despite everything, I still don¡¯t really suspect him, so we¡¯ll make it look like we do while we sneak up on Zerif and Araunya.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    He didn¡¯t get the opportunity to talk to Pio right away. Pio released all the snakes they¡¯d buried; to Brin¡¯s surprise the vast majority of them were still alive. Pio coaxed them out of the hole and then disappeared into the forest, no doubt to lead them far, far away from the rest of the caravan. Despite how most people in Frenaria seemed to think snakes were cute, he didn¡¯t think anyone in the caravan wanted to see another one anytime soon.

    So Brin helped organize and pack up the camp. The sun was only now starting to peek up over the horizon and normally they didn¡¯t start moving until an hour or so afterwards, but since everyone was up already Zerif decided to make an early start. Brin was given a cold breakfast of bread and two boiled eggs, and then they began their march.

    Those who were too tired, wounded, or poisoned to walk took the luggage wagon, which meant that their prisoners had to walk. Six caravan guards with spears and grim expressions surrounded the youths, all of them higher level than their charges.

    Zilly probably should¡¯ve been on the wagon with the wounded, but after they¡¯d bandaged her wounds and administered an anti-venom, she¡¯d insisted on staying behind. She was determined to walk to Oud¡¯s Bog on her own or die trying.

    Soon after they started moving, Sion wandered over to Brin.

    ¡°Ah, there you are. How did you fare with the snakes? I haven¡¯t been traveling long, but I¡¯ve heard stories from my father and uncle and I¡¯ve never even heard of the like.¡±

    It urred to Brin that if they were suspecting anyone with a lot of money, they needed to suspect the [Merchants]. Especially Sion, who was very high level for his age, and who Brin suspected was much richer and well-connected than he wanted to let on.

    ¡°It was terrifying,¡± Brin admitted.

    Sion barked augh. ¡°Thank you. Yes, it was horrible.¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I don¡¯t even like snakes. Marksi is, like, the one exception, and he has legs now. Seeing all of those snakes together will show up in my nightmares, I¡¯m sure, and let me tell you I already have <em>really</em> messed up nightmares.¡±

    Sion shuddered. ¡°Come. Let us speak of happier things. Have I told you of my home? Much better than here. The air is so much easier to breathe...¡±

    At first, Brin had thought that Sion hade to pump him for information or secrets about the attack, but as the conversation went on, it became clear that he just wanted to talk to someone to get his mind off of things. He spoke of his home in Prinnash, which apparently wasn¡¯t a secret at all, speaking warmly about the gently flowing hills, the wide fields, and theck of humidity that Frenaria had that made you feel like you were breathing through a wet, stinky sock.

    Brin talked about life in Hammon¡¯s Bog, and while he evaded the subject of where he actually grew up, Sion never pressed him on it.

    It was a nice morning, and Brin found that he¡¯d also needed to talk to someone. About normal things, not the doom and foreboding that seemed to be a constant presence in his life.

    As they walked thendscape started to clear a bit, with fewer trees and more prairie. They found their first farmstead an hour in. The forest opened uppletely into sixty acres of fat, golden grain. It had that lush, dry smell that told him it was nearly ready to harvest, and took him back to another world, with the fields of grain he¡¯d driven past while working in another city.

    After that, they passed a few more smaller farms, some with different crops, one with the disgusting purple vines of mato, and a few with only animals. Now when they passed prairies, they would always be full of grazing cows or sheep.

    The road improved, bit by bit. Fewer potholes, fewer wagon-tracks. Stones began to crop up here and there, old paving stones from a brick road that had worn away.

    The signs of civilization were met with visceral relief from his fellow caravaneers. He saw fists unclench, shoulders rx, as it began to dawn on everyone that there wouldn¡¯t be any more attacks on this trip. They¡¯d made it.

    The pace also increased, now that the roads were better, and for the first time on this trip, Brin started to feel a burning in his legs.

    It wasn¡¯t until they were half-way up it, that Brin realized that his legs were burning because they were moving up a hill. The rise had been so gradual and the slope was so long that he hadn¡¯t realized at first, but they were moving up a long, seven-mile-long hill.

    Sion wandered off to go find a wagon to sit in, and Brin didn¡¯t me him. He kept walking, grateful to have some healthy exercise that didn¡¯t involve fighting for his life.

    Was there something he could do to make this harder, and maybe get a point in [Athleticism]? He was near twenty, and when he¡¯d gotten 20 [Meditation] he¡¯d gotten an Achievement and the Skill had evolved. Of course, both [Hide Status] and [Inspect] were far above 20, and nothing had happened with those. He wondered what the difference was.

    He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t even hear Pio arrive until the man said, ¡°And this is the boring part. The farmers hunt all the interesting animals. Nothing to see. Nothing to do. Just walk.¡±

    ¡°I was just thinking about how nice it is to know we aren¡¯t going to get attacked again,¡± said Brin.

    Pio grunted in agreement. They walked in silence for a bit until Pio scratched his neck awkwardly and said, ¡°You don¡¯t like it? To be attacked?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Who likes being attacked by monsters?¡±

    Pio shrugged, trying and failing to look casual. ¡°Boys who go off into the woods to fight every night.¡±

    Oh. He saw what was happening. Pio suspected that he and Hogg were the ones luring monsters to attack the caravan, and now he was ¡®subtly¡¯ bringing it up to see if Brin would admit to anything.

    ¡°That¡¯s different. When I¡¯m hunting, I¡¯m in control. I go in with a n, and I¡¯m ready, and I get to pick my battles. That¡¯spletely different from these surprise attacks that no one seesing. They aren¡¯t fun at all.¡±

    Pio shrugged dramatically. ¡°Training does not need to be fun. Maybe your mentor thinks you need to learn to fight when it¡¯s a surprise.¡±

    Brin chuckled. ¡°Sure, and Hogg does do that sometimes. But when he does, it¡¯s just me. Why would he attack the caravan? Is he training the whole camp?¡±

    ¡°Who knows. These tricks of tricky men.¡± Pio spit on the ground. ¡°Not for me. Animals are simpler.¡±

    ¡°They definitely are. With people, you need all sorts of reasons to make them fight. With animals, you just say e fight me, and they do.¡¯ That must be a good way to get some levels, now that I think of it. You¡¯d be getting experience for luring them, and then more for killing them.¡±

    Pio¡¯s face took on a red cast. ¡°Not so simple as that. Not so simple. You think I can be animal-man who hates animals? No. There is no [Beast Master] who likes to see animals be hurt.¡±

    With nothing else to say, Pio moved on, walking to the oxen and horses one-by-one to pet them and give words of encouragement.

    Had he done a good enough job of deflecting Pio¡¯s suspicions? Honestly, the [Beast Master] had gotten in his head a little bit, because he¡¯d made a good point.

    Luring monsters to attack the caravan in order to give Brin some experience in a semi-safe environment was <em>absolutely</em> something Hogg would do. He just wouldn¡¯t do that and then lie about it.

    Eventually, the caravan crested the long, gentle incline. It didn¡¯t happen all at once like it would in a car. Instead, it just looked like the horizon was gradually sinking. With each step, the bright blue sky grewrger andrger, taking up a bigger portion of his field of view.

    The world seemed to be empty on the other side, just a big blue sky, until the horizon appeared. Nothing blocked it, no trees or mountains; Brin could see all the way to the curve of the earth. Then he passed the hilltop entirely, and the entire view wasid bare.

    It was nearly overwhelming. After years of being in a thick forest where the biggest open spaces were the short fields or the town square, suddenly being able to see forever was like seeing the sky for the first time. The world just went on and on.

    A city sprawled out below them, only twenty miles away. He could finally see it as a field of wooden rooftops painted blue, with chimneys belching ck smoke into the air, to make a murky haze above. Here and there he saw muchrger buildings, a few pces and estates, as well as one tower near the center of the city. Back home, this would barely be called a city, butparing it to Hammon¡¯s Bog it was enormous.

    They¡¯d arrived. This was the end of the Bonds. This was Oud¡¯s Bog.

 Book 3. Chapter 36

    Brin had to wonder why Oud¡¯s Bog was considered a Bog town at all. Maybe once upon a time it had been like the others, a small hamlet snuggled tight against itself, huddling behind wooden walls to ward against a looming forest. Here, the forest was far away. By the time they reached the bottom of the hill, there was no sign of the forest at all. Every tree that wasn¡¯t clearly decorational and owned by someone had been cut down to make way for farnd, suburbs, and then the city proper.

    The city wasn¡¯t huddled or crowded, either. Oud¡¯s Bog spread out wherever it pleased in all directions, seeming to take for granted that it was safe here. The town walls were a mere formality; no one manned the gates and there was no real difference between the homes inside or outside of them.

    The design of the houses were much the same as Hammon¡¯s Bog, wood homes favoring thick beams and carven designs on the windowsills and doors. The key difference was the spacing, instead of townhomes built together, they¡¯d often be single-family dwellings. If Brin hade here first, he probably would¡¯ve liked it, but after living in Hammon¡¯s Bog for so long, it felt ufortable, like a gap-toothed smile.

    He used [Inspect] as much as he could, firing it off on everyone he saw. There were all kinds of sses, but it surprised him how many people he saw who were still fairly low-level. Most people hung below level 25. You really did get better chances for levels out in the wild.

    [Inspect] leveled up! 36 -> 37

    Many people must''ve [Inspected] him right back.

    [Hide Status] leveled up! 13 -> 14

    The biggest difference, strange to say, was the road. They¡¯d left the dirt paths far behind, this was a proper road made of perfect brick in tessetion patterns, an understated yet strangelypelling mark of high civilization. No one else seemed to pay it much mind, but Brin kept finding his eyes drifting back down to the road.

    Davi and Myra, on the other hand, were bouncing on their heels. They both looked around excitedly, trying to look around the nearby houses and stepping forward too quickly before remembering they had to stay with the group and falling back again. Sion looked excited too, even though he¡¯d obviously spent a lot more time in cities than the yokels from Hammon¡¯s Bog.¡°What do you want to do first?¡± asked Myra. ¡°Shopping? We should take Brin to a real restaurant! Oh, and there are dancing halls.¡±

    ¡°I want to head over to the [Bard¡¯s] Terrace. Oh, but food sounds good! And the shops,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°I must go with the caravan to set up camp, but I would dly join you afterwards,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°We¡¯re still going to camp?¡± asked Brin. ¡°I figured we¡¯d stay in an inn.¡±

    Davi shook his head. ¡°You could stay in an inn, but these guys bring their homes around with them. They¡¯ll stay with their wagons just like they do when they visit us.¡±

    Brin noticed that Davi hadn¡¯t included himself in the inn group or the camp group. ¡°Where will you be staying?¡±

    Davi smiled ufortably. ¡°Jeffrey says inns are for losers. We¡¯ll stay in someone¡¯s house.¡±

    ¡°Whose?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know yet. I have to get someone to invite me. He makes me do this in every town. It¡¯s part of my, um, training¡­ I guess. His rule number one is ¡®a [Bard] never pays for anything.¡¯¡±

    Hogg had once told Brin that rule number one was ¡°get a ss doing something you like to do.¡± Brin wondered how Davi was doing, honestly. He loved music, but there were clearly a lot of other things about the [Bard] life that still bothered him.

    They got to an intersection, the first with some actual businesses. There was a public house on one corner and an inn on the other side. The caravan stopped.

    In the front of the caravan, Zerif turned to the rest of them, pping a few times to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°We¡¯ll split up here, I think. I¡¯ll be heading over to Baron Neves¡¯ estate to deliver our prisoners and call his attention to the troubles on the road. Pio will continue on to set up camp, and Mumeli will take the injured to seek healers. For any of you who are parting ways with us here, please remember to check in with Pio to collect your pay. I don¡¯t think there will be any who will forget, no?¡±

    That brought a round of chuckles, and the groups started to go their separate ways.

    ¡°They won¡¯t expect to see us until tonight. That means we are free to do as we wish until then,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°In that case, I think we should try the market first,¡± said Myra.

    Brin nodded, ¡°I really want to see what kind of¨C¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Hogg arrived and put a hand on Brin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯reing with me. Grab your bag. Come on, hurry. You too, Marksi.¡±

    ¡°But¨C¡±

    ¡°I mean <em>hurry!</em> You can y with your little friendster, but we really need to move.

    Confused, Brin grabbed his pack and followed Hogg, who broke into a run. Brin followed, and Marksi scampered along beside, still looking a bit tired.

    Hogg increased the pace, and Brin followed. It wasn¡¯t near the limit of his ability, but it was still a mad dash through town. He wondered what the rules were for things like this. In a world of sses and levels, there were bound to be people out there who could run faster than a horse. Was it really ok just to sprint through town like this? The roads weren¡¯t too crowded at this time. In Hammon¡¯s Bog he would say it was half past the first bell so most people would be working the first shift, but who knew how things worked here?

    People stopped to stare at them, but Brin didn¡¯t know if that was because they were running, or if it was because he had a cute rainbow dragonling by his side.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°How fast can you make an Invisible Eye?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Usually under a minute. Two, tops. Where are we going?¡±

    Hogg darted down a side street, maybe to avoid a crowded street up ahead.

    They ran down the alleyway, which twisted and turned like a maze, zigging left then zagging right. They followed what must be a perfect map of the area in Hogg¡¯s head, because he chose the direction each time without an ounce of hesitation. They got to a dead end, and Hogg climbed up the sheer brick wall with ease and dropped down the other side.

    Brin grit his teeth and charged forward, building a bit more speed. He wall-ran straight up, moving higher than he¡¯d expected, given the added weight from his pack. He got his fingertips onto the top of the wall, and pulled himself over. Again, it was much easier than he expected. With his high [Strength], the weight of his body plus the backpack was basically nothing.

    Dropping down the other side, he saw a nice row of flowers, a little fountain, and a few neatly trimmed bushes. They were in someone¡¯s private garden. He saw Hogg already going over the wall on the opposite side.

    Brin followed, and his nervousness about trespassing almost made him miss the handhold that got him over the other wall; he slipped and needed to grab again with his other hand. Somehow he managed, and thankfully the other side led back to a public street.

    This area was clearly much nicer, with finely clothed people and beautiful, elegant storefronts, but he didn¡¯t have time to gawk if he was going to keep up with Hogg, who was already darting through the crowd.

    Brin ran after him, down the street.

    After three more blocks, Hogg finally slowed down to a walk, giving Brin time to catch up.

    ¡°Catch your breath,¡± Hogg put on a pleasant expression, and seemed to saunter a little as he walked, as if he were on a pleasant stroll and he hadn¡¯t run halfway across town. Brin almost would¡¯ve called him a match for the upper-crust-looking people in this part of town except for the fact that he was in all ck leathers¡­ no, he wasn¡¯t. He was wearing a nice cream overcoat, a tophat, and held a cane.

    ¡°What? You can do that?¡±

    ¡°Nifty, huh?¡± Hogg tapped his hat with his cane. ¡°It even feels somewhat real now. We¡¯re here.¡±

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Brin looked at the storefront that Hogg had been in such a hurry to get to, and he couldn''t understand it. It was like a restaurant, but with little tables and big chairs. Some of them were reclining armchairs like Hogg had at home. The ce looked rich, that was for sure. There were nice vases on little tables, potted nts, and artwork on the walls. [Inspect] told him that <em>everything</em> was masterwork quality, from the rugs on the floor to the delicate crystal chandeliers. [Inspect] even told him that the nts were tended to by a high-level [Gardener], in fact, <em>everything</em> told him more than his [Inspect] usually got. It was like it wanted him to look.

    He finally read the sign on the door. ¡°Adolno¡¯s Tea Parlor¡±

    ¡°Tea? We raced across town for tea?¡±

    Hogg was already handing his hat and cane to a greeter at the door. ¡°My dear boy, it¡¯s time I finally introduce you to the finer things in life. You haven¡¯t <em>lived</em> until you¡¯ve tried Adolno¡¯s Corroco Crisp. Or perhaps the Summer Dream?¡± Hogg had put on a bit of a posh ent.

    Fine, he would y along, but Hogg had better exin himself soon. Brin had already used his regr ent, so he¡¯d be ying the part of the philistine. He looked at the greeter and shook his head ruefully. ¡°He¡¯s always like this, you know. This morning he tried to get me to wear a hat. What would I need a hat for? So do you, like, <em>only</em> sell tea, or¡­?¡±

    The greeter sneered at Brin in disgust and then turned back to Hogg. ¡°The Summer Dream is excellent, or could I perhaps interest you in our new Mint Pistachio? We also have some juice we can warm up for those without any taste or refinement.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like just the thing!¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°This way, please,¡± said the greeter. To Brin¡¯s surprise, even though he¡¯d obviously already taken offense to Brin¡¯s presence, he didn¡¯t seem to mind Marksi at all, barely giving him more than a nce. He led them to a table with a pair of nice armchairs. Hogg took the one facing the street, so Brin had to take the one facing inside, which was too bad since he¡¯d really have loved to watch the people walking by. Marksi climbed up into hisp.

    When they were alone, Hogg said, ¡°Alright. So the nice thing about these ces is that no one will mind if you linger a bit, or even if you fall asleep. Perfect ce to forget about your body while you¡¯re focusing on illusions. Now, in a couple of minutes, Zerif is going to walk right past this store. When he does, I want you to follow him with an Invisible Eye. My Visible Eyes aren¡¯t going to cut it, not inside the Baron¡¯s estate.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. That¡¯s why they¡¯d had to hurry. Hogg had wanted to give Brin as much time as possible to get the Invisible Eye spell ready before Zerif got here.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°You know, it would¡¯ve been easy to just tell me what we were doing,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Not for me.¡±

    ¡°So why can¡¯t¨C oh, are we safe to talk here?¡±

    Brin felt sound magic surrounding them. Hogg said, ¡°Now we are.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you make invisible eyes with hard light?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I can¡¯t seem to be able to make hard light on the spectrum of light that¡¯s invisible to the human eye. I might crack it in time, but even then it wouldn¡¯t be perfect. What your Invisible Eye does is bend light around itself, like for Self Invisibility. I can¡¯t use hard light like that. Now you should get started.¡±

    ¡°Not before my tea gets here!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It would be wasted on you. You have no taste.¡±

    Brin sighed and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes, and started pulling together the Invisible Eye, working off the memory he¡¯d stored in his ss ring.

    He got it on the first try, and then ced it over the street, waiting for Zerif.

    Inside [Directed Meditation], he couldn¡¯t do much except sit and wait for the minutes to tick by. On the edge of awareness, he noticed a waitere by with the tea, and a momentter he heard Marksi start to slurp it down.

    Finally, Zerif appeared on the street, and Brin sent his eye after him. He was trailed by the captured bandits and a few guards with spears in hand, and the people on the street gave him a wide berth.

    He walked directly, with purpose, but still too slowly for Brin¡¯s liking. Still, there was nothing to do but focus on keeping the spell running and following his target.

    Luckily, this ce wasn¡¯t too far away from the final destination. Down the street, across an absurdly long walkway to show off the Baron¡¯s extravagant gardens, and they arrived at the estate. It was a stately white house, surrounded by a spike fence made of a shining silver metal. The design looked opulent and frilly, but the way that it gave nothing away to his [Inspect] made Brin think that it would be really difficult to climb.

    [Guards], actual men with the ss, met Zerif outside and led away his prisoners. Zerif¡¯s guards, actually [Merchants], took their cue to leave. Zerif entered the mansion alone.

    They didn¡¯t go far inside. A [Footman] led Zerif to a sitting room very near the entrance, where he waited for the Baron to arrive. The sitting room was a lot like the tea parlor Brin was in. Everything was very beautiful and wellid out, and [Inspect] gave too much information, clear that the owner of this ce wanted you to look as well.

    A maid served Zerif tea while he waited, which made Brin lick his lips. He didn¡¯t really even like tea, but after a morning spent walking he was a little parched. And besides, was everyone going to get to drink tea today except for him?

    Eventually, the Baron entered the sitting room. He had unconventionally straight and reddish hair, and was arge, portly man. Portly for Frenaria, which meant overweight but not obese, and had a friendly, informal attitude. At least with Zerif. Maybe they were friends? Or maybe Baron Neves was always like this.

    Either way, heughed off Zerif¡¯s bow and pulled him into a hug, ordered rum instead of tea, and put his feet up on the tea table while they talked.

    ¡°So what¡¯s this about you bringing bandits into my home?¡±

    Zerif dabbed his suddenly damp forehead with a handkerchief. ¡°Your lordship, I can assure you that I would never¨C¡±

    ¡°Oh, I know, forgive me a bit of teasing.¡±

    ¡°Of course, good one my lord. As I was saying, we captured this entire group on the road from Sudd¡¯s Bog. We have reason to believe this was the very same group that attacked the hamlet previously this year.¡±

    ¡°Remind me, where was Sudd¡¯s Bog again?¡± asked Neves.

    ¡°It¡¯s nowhere, now, my lord.¡±

    Baron Neves grinned. ¡°So with this can I assume that this matter is closed?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, my lord, very astute. With these bandits captured, I believe we can call this an end to the entire ordeal. No more bandits will trouble your Bonds. The rapscallions have been brought to justice! As it were.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s your sister, by the way?¡±

    Zerif sighed dramatically, but seemed relieved at the change of conversation. ¡°The same as always, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±

    After that, the conversation drifted to safer topics. They talked about their families, the weather, the price of grain. Brin waited through the entire conversation, but didn¡¯t hear anything else noteworthy.

    When Zerif made his leave, Brin dismissed the Invisible Eye, and then told Hogg everything he¡¯d heard, who just grunted and didn¡¯t tell Brin what he thought about any of it.

    A waiter came by with another cup of tea, and this time Brin snatched it up before Marksi could get at it. He also noticed some crumbs that could¡¯ve been cookies.

    ¡°You could¡¯ve saved me at least one!¡±

    Marksi declined to look even a little bit sorry.

    Brin sipped his tea and decided he had no idea how to tell if tea was any good or not. It tasted fine. He added a few teaspoons of sugar, and that made it better, but he wasn¡¯t sure what he was supposed to be getting out of this experience.

    Hogg paid and they left.

    Despite wanting to meet up with his friends, Hogg said they might as well check in with the inn. He brought him to a rather fancy hotel, but after the tea parlor and the Baron¡¯s estate, Brin had already had his fill of being impressed by people¡¯s furniture, so he tapped his foot in the lobby while Hogg talked to the staff.

    It wasn¡¯t as simple as checking into the hotel in his old world. First, Hogg had to prove his identity. Then he had to arrange payment, then he had to listen to ten minutes of ttery as the owner of the establishment came to greet their very rich guest.

    When they were finally shown to their rooms, Brin wanted to drop off his bag and head straight back out, but the bellboy stopped him and practically insisted that he take a bath first. Brin had to admit that was a pretty good idea. It hadn¡¯t really bothered him on the road, but here in enclosed spaces he was bing painfully aware that he reeked.

    The hotel room actually had a bathroom, with a sink and working toilet. After weeks on the road, that seemed like the most luxurious thing about this ce, despite the fact that his bed looked like it was made for a princess. Eventually, though, he tore himself away from the beautiful, gloriousmode and entered the bath that had been started for him, somehow still the perfect temperature. He had a good, long soak, with lots of smelling salts and bubbles. Not something he¡¯d do for himself, but the stuff had already been in the water when he¡¯d arrived and he had to admit he liked it.

    When he was done, he had to wait in a bathrobe while his clothes wereundered. Since they were waiting anyway, Hogg had agreed to order some food up to the room. His clothes got back before the food did, so then they had to wait for that.

    When it finally arrived, he was delighted to find what he¡¯d describe as fried burritos, wrapped in paper. They were still piping hot, when he bit he tasted an explosion of vorful, juicy meat and spices. The best part was that this was something they could eat on the go, so he could <em>finally</em> leave the room and go explore the town.

    When they got out, the daylight had all but faded, leaving Brin wondering if they¡¯d be better off just going back to their rooms and trying again tomorrow, but Hogg told him that he had something he wanted to see.

    So once again, Brin followed Hogg through the city streets. Once again, Hogg refused to borate on where they were going or what they were doing. This time, Brin had the burrito to keep himself upied, so he didn¡¯t really care. <em>It was delicious</em>. He bet the person that made it had some kind of cooking ss.

    He was licking thest of the juices off his fingers when they arrived at some kind of town square. Nearby, a [Crier] shouted the news. ¡°The Ashelby and Cunha families announce their union in marriage! The Cunha orchards are now under Ashelby management from this day forward! That¡¯s it for business, and now for Crime! The string of cutpurses on purple street have been ended thanks to a timely arrest by our own [Police Chief] Emson! No murders were reportedst night, but one suicide! Thefts are down overall across the entire city fromst quarter! No monster sightings or attacks have been reported from the forest. And if you¡¯re just arriving, four bandits were captured in the Bonds! Three will be rehabilitated, and one was hanged!¡±

    Brin looked up to see a stockade in the center of the street, where a man had been hanged. No, a boy. Without a hood, his eyes bulged out and his tongue stuck out and had turned ck, but Brin still recognized him. It wasn¡¯t Nye, who¡¯d done all the talking. It was the one who¡¯d always looked so timid and afraid. A [Butcher].

    He wanted to be shocked or disgusted, but he felt a little too jaded for that. All he felt was clinical interest.

    ¡°I thought you said they wouldn¡¯t hang Common ssers,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t have a Common ss. He was hiding an evil ss behind the Common ss with the same name. A neat trick, but the only time I¡¯ve ever heard of it working like that is with [Butcher]. I was wondering if the Baron¡¯s [Interrogators] would pick up on it.¡±

    Brin thought about it for a second. If the Baron¡¯s [Interrogators] were that good, then they definitely would have picked up on the other thing that Zerif had lied about. The four they¡¯d captured hadn¡¯t been the entire bandit party; most had gotten away. Zerif had to have known he wouldn¡¯t get away with that.

    ¡°Zerif and the Baron are working together to protect the bandits?¡±

    Hogg licked his teeth. ¡°Seems that way.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 37

    Book 3. Chapter 37

    The night was well and truly upon them and it had been a long day, so they went back to their inn for the night.

    To his mild difort, Brin found that someone had gone through his bag while he was gone. All his clothes had been removed andundered, and were now neatly folded on top of a dresser. Not just that, but a pair of nice striped pajamas had been added to the lot, in his size. They must''ve noticed he hadn''t brought any and given them to him. Just how expensive was this inn? Knowing Hogg, it was likely the best in the city.

    He put them on and dropped into bed. It was the softest thing he''d ever touched. The silk sheets were so smooth as to be nearly frictionless and he wondered if he''d identally slip out of bed if he moved around too much. He sank into the mattress to the point that he felt he might drown in it.

    Marksi retracted his ws and then jumped on. He padded around in delight at the new experience, but when he actually tried to settle in he kept sinking in too far. Eventually, he ended up curling up on his own on the ground. Brin thought about joining him; he didn''t know if he''d actually be able to fall asleep like this. It felt like being eaten by a cloud.

    He closed his eyes and instantly passed out.

    That night, his dreams were weird. He felt like there was a foggy barrier between him and his thoughts, and he watched the dreams y out from a distance without really being involved. At first he dreamed of himself telling Sion that he was too high ss to really be friends with a simple [Merchant], but that he could ept him as a servant.

    But then the dream abruptly shifted, as if it noticed he wasn''t really paying attention and wanted to punish him. He dreamed of torture and death, of the battle for Hammon''s Bog, of seeing his friends die and turn undead... only foggily. The entire nightmare was at such a distance that he could barely remember the details of what it was trying to show him.

    All that was forgotten when he woke up to the smell of breakfast. In themon room, he saw Hogg and Marksi already at the table; a corner of the room was set up a lot like the tea parlor with bigfy chairs, but the table was a bitrger and it was full of food. A board with bread, butter, and seven different jams. A te of diced fruits, a vegetable tter, and pastries of every sort. They didn''t have the exact same breakfast customs here as they did on Earth, so Hogg must''ve ordered for him, because there was also a te of eggs and bacon.

    He quickly took a seat.Hogg looked up from a newspaper he was reading. A newspaper. Brin hadn''t seen one of those since he was a kid, but suddenly he had a hunger for it. To know what was current, what was going on. He wanted to hear it from a journalist and not filtered through rumors from seven different people.

    "How''d you sleep?"

    "Good, but weird. I think there''s something seriously wrong with my dreams. Is there a Mind Healer here in Oud''s Bog?"

    "You know, normally you need to do more than one session," said Hogg.

    "I know."

    "I''ll see if I can set something up." Hogg turned his attention back to the newspaper.

    Brin turned his attention to the food. He took a bit of everything and piled it on his te, and then bit into the eggs. Somehow, it was still warm, and it was heavenly. "This is so good. How do you even get eggs to taste like this? Do they have a [Chef] on staff?"

    "Don''t know the exact ss, but yeah. It''s the only reason Ie here," said Hogg.

    "Is that really the only reason? This ce is way too fancy," said Brin.

    "Look, adventuring isn''t the life I would suggest to anybody. But it has its benefits." Hogg flicked up the newspaper he was reading, cutting off any further questions.

    Brin satisfied himself with packing as much food into his body as possible. He expected Marski to be just as excited about the spread, but the little guy just nibbled on a single grape. He must''ve still been full from that monster core.

    Finally, Hogg was finished with the newspaper and Brin could read it.

    "The print quality is atrocious. New [Printer]," said Hogg.

    "It''s fine!" Brin had no idea what Hogg was talking about. It didn''t have any photos or anything, and it was printed on barkpaper instead of recycled paper, but aside from that it was exactly like he''d expect from a newspaper anywhere.

    The front page story was about Arcaena, but there wasn''t much new there. They''d offered a conditional surrender to Ond, but they were still working out the exact conditions with their diplomats at a neutral location in Prinnash. While virtually everyone was frustrated with theck of progress, the Ondish diplomats seemed optimistic.

    The next few pages stayed on theme of international politics. Prinnash and Frenaria were still adjusting to their ceasefire and still arguing over what the war had been over in the first ce. Despite the political tensions, trade had resumed and things were getting back to normal.

    In the local news, he found the city patting itself on its back about the low crime rate, especially important after a high-profile [Printer] had been murdered in a burryst year. Brin actually knew about that, since it was one of Hogg''s people. That [Printer] had been the one who was supposed to send out the warning about the undead army.

    In the entire newspaper, there was nothing about the undead army. Nothing about the war in Hammon''s Bog, nothing about the increased monster attacks. There was one small notice about the four bandits being captured, as well as the [Butcher] kid''s execution. That small story was right underneath a muchrger story about how another caravan had just arrived in town, which proved once and for all that the roads were safe to travel, despite what irresponsible rumors might suggest.

    Good to know that even in another world, the news always had an agenda.

    "What do they gain by making people think it''s safe out there?"

    "That''s a good question," said Hogg. "Remember how the Baron agreed to help hide the fact that we didn''t capture the entire bandit crew? We have to assume it''s something to do with that. I''ll sniff around; see what I can find out."

    Breakfast done, Brin went back to his room and changed out of his pajamas. "So what''s the n for today?"

    "I''ve got some business to take care of. We''ll head to the market first, I think."

    "Perfect."

    Brin had been hoping to see the market. He had money to spend, and for a long time now, no ce to spend it, except for at Perris''s ce. He''d given half of his savings over to fund a caravan, but then the town had been cut off by an undead army so he had no idea what hade of that. He had about four hundred gold left, having reced much of what he''d spent by selling ss.

    Brin grabbed Marksi, as well as the grape he was still nibbling on, letting the little dragon ride on his shoulder. Then they left the extravagant inn and went further into town.

    Hogg seemed to know the way, so Brin let him lead and just yed the tourist, gawking at all the sights. Oud''s Bog was much better developed than any ce he''d been to in this world. The stone roads weren''t just for the main thoroughfares, they were everywhere, and they could get clear across town without dirtying their shoes at all. There were even street-sweepers constantly moving around and clearing off any horse dung as soon as it arrived.

    They crossed bridges over quickly rushing canals, and the water was clean and didn''t stink. This city actually had a working sewer system, and people used it. There were a few people with Skills that made the open sewer situation in Hammon''s Bog bearable, but there was a freshness here that his hometown just couldn''t match.

    When they arrived at the market, it was a jumbled, chaotic mess. One part shopping mall and two parts flea market, it was a riot of noise and color. Tents, stalls, and carts were sprawled out everywhere, with only narrow paths leading around. In some cases, the shops were so close together that you had to go through one merchant''s tent to get to another''s. Then, in a ring around the outside, there were the bigger storefronts. The more established merchants were housed in actual buildings, and more than a few of them had a mean-looking [Warrior] or [Rogue] outside to keep out the riff-raff.

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    Hogg made his way right into the middle of the mess, where there was a small park. An armored city guard patrolled this area, making sure no merchants so much as put a nket down, giving the square at least a little bit of free space. Hogg found an open bench and sat down.

    "Don''t mind me. I think I''ll do some people watching."

    That probably meant that he wanted to use his Visible Eyes to spy on someone. Brin shrugged and walked back through the market.

    He took in the sights, sounds, and smells. There was the scent of cooking meat on the breeze, which wasn''t appetizing at all given how full he still was from breakfast. But there were also spices and perfumes, fresh fish, oils, flowers and ores, all of it mixing together and warring for attention, much like the [Merchants] themselves.

    Brin felt his Mental Resistance warding off the effect of many different Skills. Most were calling his attention. One [Merchant] selling amulets yelled, "Look here!" and Brin had to look, though then he firmly looked away.

    [Merchants] who had to rely on mental tricks to get people to buy from them were scammers in his opinion. If they were actually offering a valuable product or a good deal, they wouldn''t need that kind of thing.

    He wondered what Sion would say about it. He was realizing he waspletely unprepared for this side of the world. How did he know if any of this stuff was any good, when the people selling it might have entire sses built around deceiving customers?

    He saw a merchant with arge table full of potions, so he went over to have a look. After all, he loved a good potion. The potions were marked with their presumptive effects. Energy. Water-breathing. Ghost Vision. Bread in a Bottle--that one just looked like beer. There were several that tempted him, but he ended up walking away without buying anything. Maybe if he lived here, he could afford to try out a few different [Merchants] to see who was the real deal and then only do business with them, but since he was going to leave in a few days he wasn''t sure if that was worth it.

    He ended up on the outer ring, the established businesses.

    He passed a bookstore, a perfume parlor, a jewelry store whose guard murmured "Keep moving" as Brin passed. Finally he found it: a ssworks.

    The entire storefront was made of clouded ss, with "Cerqueira''s ss - Tableware and Curiosities" printed above the door.

    Inside, predictably, everything was ss. The walls were mirrors, making the ce look muchrger than it was. The tables were ss, as well as the items on the tables. A row of tables held wine sses, regr ss cups, and then even tes and bowls. One shelf held rows of eyesses, and there was even a magnifying ss. Towards the back, he saw a locked case. He had to know what was in there. What would a [sser] bother locking up?

    No one else was in the shop, and with the bright lightinging from enchantedmps and the mirrored wall, it made him feel like he was overexposed, somehow. Still, he was a customer and this was a shop; no one couldin about him walking around.

    Inside the ss case, he just saw ordinary wine sses, and a fewrger goblets. They were nice, but he didn''t see what set them apart from the others on the tables. What made them so special? He didn''t see a price tag, so he used Value Sense.

    Ten gold per ss.

    "Come to scout out thepetition?" He heard a voice behind him.

    He turned to find an older gentleman, finely dressed, and bald with a white goatee. Brin used [Inspect].

    Name Reynaldo Cerqueira ss sser Description Wee to Cerqueira''s ss - Tableware and Curiosities, home of the finest ss products in Frenaria. Please allow me to assist you with any questions you might have.

    "Well? Are you here to steal my ideas and undercut my prices?" asked Cerqueira.

    "Oh, no, sir. I was just¨C"

    A twinkle in Cerqueira''s eye told Brin that he was being teased. He smiled and said, "Maybe. I think I could do better. And for ten gold? Tsk."

    Cerqueira barked augh, "If you can match this, then you deserve to steal my business."

    "Honestly, I''m just passing through on my way to ckcliff. My hometown didn''t have a [sser], so I learned the trade from a [Crafter]. I guess I just wanted to see what a real, high level [sser] is capable of."

    Cerqueira spread his hands out wide. "Then you''vee to the right ce."

    "Do you mind if I just ask? What makes these cups so special? Are they much stronger than regr ss?"

    The old [sser] stared at the cups in the case with obvious pride. "A bit, I suppose, but that''s not really the point. ss is graded on luster, rity, color, and sheen. It''s difficult to see with the naked eye, but see how they sparkle more than the ss you''re used to?"

    Brin peered deeply. "I guess..."

    "It''s not easy to see as ayman, but those with specialized appraisal Skills can tell the difference. This is amon mistake people make. They expect high-level materials to take on magical or supernatural attributes. But higher quality ss bes... more like ss. We love ss for being ss, not for trying to be something else."

    "Hm. Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through for something that''s indistinguishable from regr ss unless you have a ss for it."

    Cerqueira shrugged. "For most people, yes. But if you''re willing to pay for the very best ss, this is where you get it. It''s also why I''m not worried about other [ssers]ing in and stealing my methods. It''s not about methods, it''s about quality."

    "It''s about levels," said Brin.

    "Inelegantly put, but yes. Though I must ask. Did you say that you made it all the way to level 34 as a [sser], at your age, without a master?"

    Well, a lot of that Cerqueira must''ve put together from [Inspecting] him, but he couldn''t exactlyin. He stood taller, feeling a bit of pride.

    "That''s right. I experimented with all kinds of things. Cups and dishes, sure, but also spears and swords." He didn''t know why he didn''t just say he''d gotten most of his levels from fighting. Maybe because he wanted to look like a fellow crafter.

    "Really. And people will buy those? ss weapons?"

    Brin shrugged. "I would."

    "I know you said you were passing through, but if you were considering an apprenticeship, I think¨C"

    Just then, the door opened again, and three teenagers walked in.

    "I told you he''d be here," said Davi.

    "You were correct," said Sion.

    "I thought for sure he''d be looking at swords," said Zilly. "They don''t sell weapons here."

    Brin looked back at the store owner. "Look, it''s a kind offer, but¨C"

    Cerqueira stepped back. "Say no more. Call me if you need a hand with anything."

    Zilly picked up a ss bowl, looking at it in disinterest. Her condition had greatly improved since yesterday. There were still double pricks on her face and hands, but she¡¯d obviously eaten something and had a good night¡¯s rest. She no longer looked like she was inches away from death, but still seemed a little shaky, like she couldn¡¯t quite believe she was finally safe. ¡°See, Brin? This is what a [sser] shop is supposed to look like. Not like that nightmare shop that¡¯s hot as the sun and has a giant scary puppet man.¡±

    She set the bowl down, but didn¡¯t look at what she was doing and put it on the edge of the table. It toppled.

    Brin reached out with his magic to grab it before it could hit the ground, but another power pushed him away and took control of the bowl, floating it up in the air to set it gently back in ce. That was interesting. He¡¯d never wrested for control of a ss object with another [sser] before. How had Cerqueira won? He didn¡¯t think it was a contest of magic power, or Brin¡¯s enormous well of power should¡¯ve won, unless this guy was also hiding another ss. Maybe it had to do with actual Skill with ss?

    Cerqueira said, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to break anything by ident, but please refrain from touching the merchandise with those grimy fingers, unless you intend to buy.¡±

    Zilly apologized, the three of them spread out, looking around and keeping their hands well away from the merchandise.

    He noticed that during their conversation, Marksi had found a hand mirror. He¡¯d propped it up with his tail and was currently shifting the color of his scales while admiring himself in delight. Cerqueira noticed too, but didn¡¯t say anything about the fact that Marksi was touching his merchandise, just watched fondly.

    It was interesting that Marksi was so enthralled, since they had mirrors at home. Value Sense said that mirror nearly cost a gold, so it was better than anything Brin could make. That shouldn¡¯t matter¨Ca mirror was a mirror, unless you had <em>crazy</em> good senses and could tell the minute differences. Marksi probably did, honestly.

    Brin nced back at the high-quality ss in the case, feeling a strange sort of longing. He hoped he could make ss like that someday. Not just stronger and more useful, but <em>better</em>.

    He looked around a little more, but couldn¡¯t see himself buying any ssware from someone else when he could make it himself. Eventually he realized that the others were just here to humor him, and decided to cut them a break. The four of them left the shop.

    ¡°So what else do you want to see?¡± asked Zilly. ¡°I¡¯ve been here before, so I can show you around.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t we going to the [Bards¡¯] Terrace?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°We can, but as soon as we go there, we¡¯ll be there all day,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°If there was anything you wished to purchase, I could help you negotiate a price,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°Oh, then what about some potions!¡± said Brin.

    They went back to the very same potion-seller that Brin had seen before, and now that he had Sion to vouch for the wares, he bought an assortment of things. Anti-venom, a potion to disguise his body heat against monsters that hunted by heat sense. The energy potion, and a few others.

    They went to a few ces Zilly wanted to see next, so she could drool at daggers and swords but not buy anything. Sion made a few purchases here and there, and Brin got the feeling it was when he spotted a deal rather than needing anything in particr.

    At one point, Davi stopped to drool in front of a stall selling instruments, all of them ouds.

    Brin stood next to him and whispered, ¡°What¡¯s this? Going to try to charm your way into another oud? You already have one of these, remember.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t even joke about that,¡± said Davi. ¡°Jeffrey¡¯s rule number one has one huge exception: [Bard¡¯s] <em>always</em> pay for instruments. Think about it. If people always ended up giving away their instruments for free, then they¡¯d stop making them in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°So are you going to buy one?¡± asked Zilly.

    Davi sighed. ¡°Maybe next time.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go already.¡±

    Davi bit his lip. ¡°Alright. But let me warn you. Being a [Bard] in the city is not at all like in Hammon¡¯s Bog.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 38

    Book 3. Chapter 38

    Before they couldpletely leave the marketce, a man started shouting. His voice cut through the air like a knife, making it clear that Skills were at work. This was a professional. Looking around for the source of the disturbance, Brin saw him up above.

    A neat little tform on top of a staircase rose above the market on the far side, and the shouting man looked very official. He wore a blue uniform with bits of stylized armor, a shining silver breastte, greaves and shinguards, and a winged helmet. [Inspect] called him a [Herald].

    Most people in the square turned to watch him, though a few determined people kept to their haggling. The quality of his voice itched against Brin¡¯s Mental Resistance and made it difficult to concentrate on anything else.

    Just to be stubborn, he pretended to ignore the [Herald] and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s that? Is [Herald] different from a [Crier]?¡±

    ¡°Way different,¡± said Davi. ¡°[Criers] work for the city, but they¡¯ll mostly say whatever anyone pays them to say. You can even hire them to run advertisements. [Heralds], though, only work for the king. That man up there is the same rank as a [Knight].¡±

    So it sounded like this was the equivalent of a national news outlet rather than a local one. Or maybe more like a propaganda bulletin.

    ¡°And he just gets to shout at us all and we have to take it?¡±

    Davi shrugged. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. You can ignore him if you <em>can</em> ignore him.¡±

    ¡°Hush, I¡¯m trying to listen!¡± said Zilly.¡°-pletely safe. In fact, a caravan arrived in town only yesterday, whichpleted a sessful circuit of the entirety of the bonds without a single death or injury. Even solo travelers have been seen entering the city! Monster sightings have be extremely scarce, and the crown is pleased to announce that all bandits in the area have been killed or captured. There has never been a better time for trade andmerce!¡±

    Davi snorted in amusement, and Sion actuallyughed.

    ¡°Whoa. What¡¯s this guy on?¡± asked Brin.

    Zilly snickered. ¡°<em>No injury?</em> Wow, awesome to learn I didn¡¯t get any injuries. Someone tell all these scabs to close up, because apparently they don¡¯t exist.¡±

    ¡°Technically you weren¡¯t part of the caravan,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yeah, but lots of other people in the caravan got injured. Plus, what¡¯s this garbage about solo travelers?¡±

    ¡°Technically you were a solo traveler,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s a bunch of rot is what it is.¡±

    The [Herald] continued. ¡°His excellency King Lancarote, High King of Frenaria, is pleased to announce victory over the Queendom of Arcaena. Their army in the Bonds was found and destroyed in its totality by a group of brave heroes, led by the [Archmage] Lumina! Arcaena¡¯s total surrender is currently being negotiated by our allies in Ond, but the crown expects nothing less than a world finally free of [Witches]!¡±

    These lies were a little less easy to snark away. He looked at Zilly, but she just shook her head in disgust.

    That was the story they were going with? Because that undead army was still out there. They¡¯d destroyed a significant amount of undead in Hammon¡¯s Bog, but that was only a fraction of what Arcaena could bring to bear since they¡¯d found a Burrow Kingdom. And he knew the King knew about that; he¡¯d told Lumina and she¡¯d sent messengers back to the capitol immediately. Why were they acting like it was all over? The fact that they had no idea where the bulk of Arcaena¡¯s army was should have everyone scurrying around looking for a trace. Instead they¡¯d chosen to hide their heads in the sand.

    And why was the [Herald] not mentioning Hammon¡¯s Bog? He was saying the undead weren¡¯t an issue, but Brin¡¯s hometown had fought an entire war against them. There was no way Frenaria had swept it under the rug. In fact, Brin knew they hadn¡¯t, because word of their war with the undead is what had convinced all those recent immigrants to join them. Most had been from other smaller Bog towns, but a few had been from here in Oud¡¯s Bog.

    The [Herald] did eventually speak about Hammon¡¯s Bog, but then Brin wished he hadn¡¯t.

    ¡°Never to say that we can lower our vignce. We must never let our total victory against the undead lead us tocency, as a small town called Harmon¡¯s Bog recently learned. Their casualness and rxitude led to a small outbreak of undead that left more than a dozen dead, and was only brought to a close by swift action by kingdom officials!¡±

    The words passed over the group like a dark cloud. Brin felt himself go cold, while Zilly grimaced in anger, her eyes wild. Davi clenched his hand around the neck of his Oud so tightly that Brin worried he would break it.

    Only Sion was unaffected, although he noticed the effect on the group. ¡°What¨C?¡±

    ¡°Not here,¡± said Davi, and turned, marching away.

    Brin followed, and they marched up the road, angrily stomping away from the kingdom¡¯s lies. A few people saw the expression on Davi¡¯s face and his quick pace and moved out of the way.

    ¡°I take it there were quite a few more casualties than twelve?¡± asked Sion.

    ¡°Add a zero to that number there, chief. And then double it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    "He didn''t even get our name right. He called us Harmon''s Bog," Zilly fumed.

    "There must be another town called Harmon''s Bog. Because that didn''t sound like us at all," Brin said.

    The walked in furious silence for another block until Sion asked, "What really happened?"

    Davi spoke. ¡°They cut us off, a silent embargo hiding in the forest. They never announced themselves, we just knew that anyone who went into the forest wouldn¡¯te back. It went on for months like that. When they finally came, they were ten thousand strong. Armored undead soldiers, archers, even giants. They hacked at our gates from the outside while their [Witch] infiltrators undermined our defenses from the inside. When Lumina arrived, our walls had fallen, our best fighters were cursed or dead, and we were huddled up together in the town square for onest stand. We thought the few we could fit in the temple for sanctuary were the only ones who would survive.¡±

    ¡°Whoa. You¡¯ve been practicing that,¡± said Brin.

    Davi snorted in amusement, though still clearly angry at the [Herald¡¯s] fake news. ¡°A little.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Sion. ¡°I had no idea it was that bad.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Part of this is our fault,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a reason that Jeffrey hasn¡¯t finished the epic of Hammon¡¯s Bog, and it¡¯s not writer¡¯s block or searching for a muse or any nonsense like that. He says he¡¯s waiting until the time is right.¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s stupid,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°I know!¡± Davi ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Then he thought better of it and tried to smooth his hair out again.

    Brin quickly summoned a cheap card-sized hand mirror and handed it to him, which he used to slightly better sess.

    ¡°What? Give me one!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°You can have this one,¡± said Davi, and handed it over.

    Zilly peered at it. ¡°Oh gross. I look like crap. They didn¡¯t have mirrors in the inn I stayed at.¡±

    They bothughed, which served to diffuse some of the bad air, though Brin couldn¡¯t quite get over itpletely. He kept thinking back to how he¡¯d stood alone, facing Siphani by himself to save the town trapped in her Wyrd array. That had meant something, hadn¡¯t it? He hadn¡¯t expected to be a celebrity or anything, but he¡¯d thought people would have at least <em>heard</em> of that battle.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t get why the King is so set on hushing all this up. The bandits and monsters, too,¡± Brinined.

    Sion shrugged, and neither Davi nor Zilly had an answer either.

    They walked across the city, with the brick walkways and bridges, and the stately homes and businesses. The city was organized and in its ce, and if you lived here, it would probably be hard to believe the madness and danger that waited in the forest only a few miles away.

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    When they got to the [Bards¡¯] Terrace, Brin¡¯s first impression was a huge garden the size of a football field. It was in a natural style, with little ponds and streams, as well as little hillocks and mounds. Stone walkways traced their way up and down the garden, traveling through several gonds and pavilions and over the streams in happy little arch bridges.

    Music was everywhere, gliding through the trees and around the bushes, yed from a dozen different [Bards] spread out through the area. Crowds of hundreds moved from [Bard] to [Bard] while others just strolled through the park. People had nopunction against traveling off the paths or setting up nkets for pics, which made Brin sure that some high level [Gardener], or maybe a team of [Gardeners] was tending the ce. The grass was lush and green everywhere, and showed no signs that the crowds traveling around were thinning it out or stressing it at all.

    ¡°So I was thinking we could wander around a bit to see what ourpetition is like, and then I could set up and get started,¡± said Davi.

    No one had any problems with that, other than Marksi. He clearly didn''t see the point in wandering around looking at humans making human sounds. Instead, he found himself a nice t rock in the sun and curled up for a nap.

    The rest of them made a round. The first group they traveled to was a pair of [Bards], both of them strumming ouds. They sang a song that sounded like what Brin would call medieval in his old world. It was only a step up from gregorian chant because of the ouds they both yed, and from the fact that their two parts seemed to have very little to do with each other. The man sang, ¡°<em>Sancta Solia whose goodness flows as a stream¡±</em> while the woman sang,<em> ¡°Nedramus illustratus, supports as the banks of a river.¡±</em> Each syble rose and fell through so many notes that by the time they wandered past the two of them were still working on those first two sentences.

    The next group was slightly more modern, in that it sounded like it came from three hundred years ago instead of five. Three [Bards], all with ouds, sang together in baroque polyphony. Their voices wandered up and down, more intent on showing off their technical skill than actually conveying a tune.

    After traveling a little further, he found that most of the [Bards] were like thatst group. Brin could appreciate it on a technical level, but after three or four groups like that, it started to wear on him. Zilly was noticeably tiring as well.

    ¡°All this music is giving me a headache,¡± she said.

    The few solo [Bards] mostly yed sos. Music where the music was only out of necessity, and all the focus was on the words. <em>¡°A thousand thousand years ago, a man discovered the first flower and Oh! He adored it. Oh! For love!¡±</em>

    Drivel.

    The overall atmosphere was nice though. When they were in between any specific groups the music sort of blended into each other and it was easier to notice the beautiful garden and the mild weather. It was a fairly pleasant day, after all.

    One thing Brin was sure about: this wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d expected at all.

    When theypleted their circuit and regrouped under the shade of a willow tree, Brin said, ¡°Man, Davi, you¡¯re going to wipe the floor with these jokers. Why are they all ying the same thing? To me, a [Bard] means epic bads, or tragedies, or love songs, or even dance music. None of these [Bards] grabbed me at all. You¡¯re going to y rings around these guys.¡±

    ¡°Well, no, that¡¯s the problem. I¡¯m not,¡± said Davi. ¡°Did you notice how nobody was really using their [Bard] magic to make you feel anything?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because their music sucks,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s because it¡¯s illegal. In big cities, [Bards] have restrictions about how much of their power they can pull out. If you want to hear music like we y when we¡¯re home, you have to book an indoor, private show.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. That was actually a relief, to be honest. He¡¯d always wondered why everyone was so s¨¦ about the kind of mental maniption a [Bard] could do. Turns out, they weren¡¯t at all. There werews against screwing with someone¡¯s emotion too much, it¡¯s just that thosews didn¡¯t extend to the boonies where Brin was from.

    ¡°How do they measure it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s stupid. <em>They can¡¯t.</em> How can you tell how much of what you¡¯re feeling when you listen to musices from the [Bard] and how much is from you? It¡¯s impossible. That¡¯s why in a public venue like this, [Bards] will try not to toe the line at all. If people start getting too invested in your music, someone will call the Watch.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡± asked Brin.

    Davi looked at them. ¡°Are you guys sure you want to stick around? You¡¯re looking a bit down, Zilly.¡±

    She pped her cheeks. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I want to help! What can we do? I bet I could snap a few oud strings without anyone noticing.¡±

    Daviughed. ¡°No, please don¡¯t do that. I really just need a seed audience. If you guys are here listening, it¡¯ll make other people feel less awkwarding up.¡±

    Zilly saluted. ¡°Perfect! Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    While most of the [Bards] found patches of shade to y in, Davi found a small hill to stand on top of, where he could be seen while also letting his audience stand in the shade. The day wasn¡¯t that hot, but even if it was, he doubted a little sunshine would¡¯ve deterred the son of a [Farmer].

    Sensing that something was going on, Marksi wandered over, but when he realized it was just more music, he curled up on a stone bench for another nap.

    Davi¡¯s first song was a so exactly like all the others that they¡¯d heard. Brin hated it. It felt <em>wrong</em>ing from Davi. This was the type of music for dainty little nobles in white carriages led by ponies, not for the rough and rugged people of Hammon¡¯s Bog. People like Davi. It felt like a lie. Still, he was here to support his friend. Brin tuned out the words and focused on keeping an interested smile on his face while they listened.

    At the end, they apuded too loudly, and Davi told them to keep it to short muffled ps. No one came by on the first song, but a few people stopped to listen to his second, although they seemed more interested in watching Marksi sleep than the music. Then no one came by for the third song.

    Sensing the absoluteck of interest that his audience of three had for hearing another so, Davi switched to a folk song from Hammon¡¯s Bog, and let just a bit of his power into the music to clear up their weariness and the overstimted feeling from having to hear so muchplicated music in one day.

    This song drew a crowd of ten, and when he yed another, the crowd grew by another ten. He yed a few more, until more than a hundred people stood around Davi.

    After that, he switched back to a so, and most of the group shuffled away.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that? They really liked you!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Maybe too much,¡± said Davi. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get in trouble with the watch. But this was good for a first day!¡±

    Looking in the donation bin that Davi had set out, he saw a good pile of copper and even a few silvers.

    ¡°Of course I mean to split that with you guys. You shouldn¡¯t underestimate how important a seed audience is,¡± said Davi.

    Brin wanted to argue with that, but one nce at Zilly told him that she probably actually needed it. And Davi probably didn¡¯t any more than Brin did.

    They sat in the same spot for a while as Davi took a break, listening to the music on the wind. It was kind of nice to faintly hear the music on the wind, and a refreshing breeze kicked up bringing the scent of trees and flowers.

    One [Bard] was just barely close enough to hear the words of his song. <em>¡°Oh how sweet these days of safety. The roads are clean and the forests are empty.¡± </em>

    The beginnings of Brin¡¯s good mood evaporated immediately. ¡°Even here? They¡¯re even spreading that lie here?¡±

    ¡°If it helps, I don¡¯t think that anyone truly believes this. They would not go through so much effort to try to convince the masses if everyone was already convinced,¡± said Sion.

    It did help, actually, but not enough. Brin wanted to stand up on that hill and shout at them, that they were all wrong, that the army was still out there.

    Actually, why not do just that? The beginnings of a n began to form in his mind. He probably shouldn¡¯t. But¡­ he¡¯d spent his entirest life always being normal and ying it safe. Why not do something different now?

    ¡°Hey, Davi. Can I borrow your oud?¡±

    ¡°No. But I brought you half-lute.¡± Davi swung the instrument case around from his back. He¡¯d thought it was for Davi¡¯s oud, but it wasn¡¯t empty. He¡¯d been carrying Brin¡¯s half-lute around the entire time, just in case Brin had volunteered to y with him. Damn, he really should have.

    Brin picked it up, and strummed it a couple times. C, G, A minor, F. Pretty much every pop song used that progression, so it was a good ce to start and not have to reinvent the wheel.

    The lyrics sprang to his mind as if by inspiration. The first verse like this¡­ ok, then the chorus¡­ perfect. He grinned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± said Davi. ¡°What are you nning?¡±

    ¡°Nothing! Just thought I¡¯d try my hand at some music. There¡¯s nothing that says <em>only</em> [Bards] can y, right?¡±

    ¡°Other thanmon sense?¡± asked Zilly.

    Brin marched up to the top of the hillock and stood facing the rest of the terrace. He made a few practicing strums, and then his nerves nearly made him move back down. <em>No. He was doing this</em>.

    He pulled out a ss sphere and set it on the ground in front of him. ¡°Sound amplification,¡± he exined. Which wasn¡¯t a lie, that really was what he¡¯d be using it for; he just wanted them to assume it was enchanted instead of using his own magic.

    ¡°No! That¡¯s super illegal! Stop!¡± said Davi, but it was toote.

    He pushed sound magic through the orb, and then began.

    <em>¡°They call me kukubaru,¡±</em> Brin sang. It came out halting and questioningly, like he wasn¡¯t sure if he actually was an undead poop-eater.

    The sound of his voice thundered through the terrace, and left silence in its wake.

    Brin yed. Everyone else today had plucked their strings, ying precisely while making sure not to make too much noise. Brin strummed, filling the entire arena with sound.

    <em>¡°OOOOOOH! They call me kukubaru ¡®cuz I eat the [Herald¡¯s] words. </em>

    <em>I¡¯ll even grab a paper if I¡¯m ready for desert! </em>

    <em>I know it¡¯s all disgusting, and it¡¯s really quite absurd,</em>

    <em>But they call me kukubaru ¡®cuz I eat the [Herald¡¯s] words! Hey!¡±</em>

    Zilly, Davi, and Sion stared at him white-faced and appalled. Every other [Bard] in the terrace had stopped ying, and everyone turned to face him. He smiled.

    ¡°<em>Now they say the forests empty and the monsters are all through,</em>

    <em>They say the that you can travel so I¡¯d try if I were you,</em>

    <em>I will go myself maybe today or might tomorroooooooooo,</em>

    <em>I eat all that stuff up, that¡¯s why they call me kukubaru!¡±</em>

    Zilly¡¯s hands were a half-inch away from Brin¡¯s lute, but she¡¯d paused. Not sure if she really should do it. At the same time, it seemed to be dawning on her exactly what he was saying and her dumbfounded expression began to morph to a grin. Davi just looked sick.

    <em>¡°The [Herald] says we¡¯re safe now and I think he must be right,</em>

    <em>And you can¡¯t take his words away from me unless you want a fight,</em>

    <em>I eat all of what¡¯s foulest and you can¡¯t take it awoooooooooo!</em>

    <em>I eat the [Herald¡¯s] words, that¡¯s why they call me kukubaru!</em>

    <em>Now lies, you know they taste like dung and smell about the same,</em>

    <em>And when they¡¯re going down you know you¡¯ll feel a lot of pain,</em>

    <em>But to me they¡¯re sweet and fragrant so that¡¯s why you know it¡¯s true!</em>

    <em>I eat the [Herald¡¯s] words (right up!) just like a kukubaru!¡± </em>

    Zilly had started tough, and Sion as well. Looking out, many of the people who¡¯de here for good music were smiling andughing, having finally found what they were looking for. Others were red-faced and upset, marching towards him with violence in their eyes. Philistines.

    He strummed out a zing solo, and then repeated the first verse.

    <em>¡°I SAID THEY¡­ WHAT? I said they call me kukubaru ¡®cuz I eat the [Herald¡¯s] words! Hey! </em>

    <em>I¡¯ll even grab a paper if I¡¯m ready for dessert! </em>

    <em>I know it¡¯s all disgusting, and it¡¯s really quite absurd,</em>

    <em>But they call me kukubaru ¡®cuz I eat the [Herald¡¯s] words!¡±</em>

    He wasn¡¯t sure how he was going to end the song, but he was spared that decision when Zilly grabbed his arm and yanked him off the hill.

    Brin noticed a whistle for the first time.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Watch! We gotta cheese it!¡±

    By now, Davi and Sion had begun tough as well, though Davi still looked like he was in shock.

    Laughing, the four of them plus Marksi dashed out of the [Bards¡¯] Terrace and down the street.

 Book 3. Chapter 39

    Book 3. Chapter 39

    The further they ran the harder theyughed, until Brin wasughing so hard he started thinking he would copse.

    A group of Watchmen arrived from a side street behind them, running towards them in full te armor and halberds in hand. ¡°Halt in the name of thew!¡±

    Brin and his friends looked at each other in horror, smiles draining from their faces. What were they going to do? Were they actually going to stop and take their just desserts, or were they going to try to escape?

    Brin had got them into this. He¡¯d be the only one to get in trouble if he¨C

    ¡°This way!¡± shouted Zilly, and pulled them down a side street. That was it. They were running.

    They ran past a long row of stylish townhouses, with little staircases up to the doors and matching shrubs and lollipop-shaped trees in front. No ce to turn or hide, the group focused on sprinting forward to make some ground.

    Zilly led the group, running faster, and faster and faster. Brin realized that on her own she could probably outpace them all easily, and she was slowly increasing the pace to see when they would start falling behind.

    As the speed increased, he actually started to feel the burn. His lungs started to burn, and he felt a wear in his legs; a rare feeling ever since he¡¯d started training [Athleticism].

    Sion was the first to falter with his heavy backpack, so they all slowed down to match his pace. Even so, they seemed to be making progress against their pursuers.For his part, Marksi wasn¡¯t having any trouble keeping up at all. The little dragon scampered alongside him, looking happy and excited.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided on what I will do with the General Skill point I¡¯ve been hanging onto. [Running]. It seems to be a theme with you lot,¡± panted Sion.

    ¡°Good choice,¡± Brin gasped back.

    Despite theining, they were doing it. They were gaining ground against the members of the Watch, but then when they reached a side street, they heard the rm whistleing from their left. Another group wasing to cut them off.

    Zilly led them down the other direction. This was a moremercial area, with tall shops and workhouses and tighter streets. She ran through backstreets and alleyways, doing her best to help them lose their pursuit.

    This area of town looked poorer. Not that the buildings were shorter; in fact, they were taller. Apartments. Unlike the careful blocks in the big cities back home, these seemed to wander in every direction. Often buildings would grow into their neighbors, or expand from brick into what looked like trash and driftwood and had Brin wondering why the whole thing didn¡¯te crashing down.

    They zigged and zagged through the chaotic streets and alleys. Brin thought for sure they¡¯d lose their pursuit here, but the Watch knew this area better than them. Every time they turned a corner, the whistles seemed to be just a bit closer.

    Then a group of the Watch dashed around the corner a block away. ¡°Halt!¡±

    More of the Watch were behind them, and the other direction was a dead end. They were trapped.

    Marksi scampered to the dead end and climbed up the side of the building, up four stories to the top. He looked down and nodded at them as if to say <em>Just do that</em>.

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Davi. He pulled out his oud and began to y.

    This time, he broke every single rule about how [Bards] were supposed to act in cities, and Brin felt a swell of power and confidence surge into him. That, and instructions.

    He pulled the backpack off of Sion and swung it up into the air as hard as he could. Zilly scampered up the side of the building as easily and quickly as Marksi had and caught the backpack up above. Then Brin and Sion scaled the side of the building. Brin moved a little more slowly than Zilly, but his Dexterity was more than high enough for the task. Instruction from the song made him reach down once without even looking to grab Sion¡¯s hand and prevent him from falling, but then they both made it to the top with little trouble.

    Davi threw his lute up towards them, and then climbed up himself with the casual ease of a gori.

    The Watch arrived at the base of the wall just as Davi crested the top, but their armor would give them at least a little trouble.

    They ran across the rooftop, and Davi started ying again as they ran, bolstering their confidence.

    Zilly turned suddenly and jumped off the roof, and without second-guessing, Brin turned and followed suit.

    Below them was a ten foot drop onto a steeply nted roof. Theynded and slid on their feet down the roof, then jumped off at thest minute across a small gap to yet another roof. It was impressive that Davi did this all without ever stopping his music, and guided by the song even Sion managed to pull it off.

    They crossed thest roof and then dropped down to the ground. Zilly guided them onwards, into a section of town that looked a bit more industrial.

    As they ran behind a tall red-bricked factory with tall smokestacks rising into the air, Sion took his backpack back from Zilly. He swung it around and pulled out a few shirts and hats, tossing them at the others. ¡°To change our appearance!¡±

    Brin shoved a red shirt on, and a blue cap. The party slowed to a walk, trying to conceal the fact that they were panting and flushed from running.

    ¡°Your pet will give us away,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°No he won¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    Sion looked around, probably noticing that Marksi was nowhere in sight. When they¡¯d all started changing their appearance, he¡¯d recognized camouge and activated his own. Even Brin had lost sight of him. He didn¡¯t know anyone who could find Marksi when he didn¡¯t want to be found.

    Exiting from the narrow alley behind the factory, they walked into rush hour traffic. Busy-looking workers walked every direction, probably on break between shifts. There were lots of small, dingy restaurants and bars, where the workers would have their lunch before returning to work.

    There was also a group of Watchmen, standing up on the crossroads ahead, scanning the crowds with looks of intense interest. Sion handed Davi his backpack and Davi handed his oud to Zilly. Brin pulled his hat down and put his hands in his pockets to hide what scars he could.

    They approached the crossroads with the Watch, and then walked straight by. No one called to stop them.

    A block after they passed the group of Watchmen, the four of them let out a huge sigh of relief all at once, followed by augh.

    They trudged along a little further, keeping their eyes open, but the rm seemed to have died down. They didn¡¯t hear any more rm whistles, and no more members of the Watch ran through the streets.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred tform and support their work!

    A couple blocks of walking in no direction in particr, they found an old gazebo, weatherworn with chipped paint. Maybe a remnant of a time that this had been the nice part of town, rather than what looked like an industrial district. Now it was the perfect ce to cool their heels.

    Brin stepped inside and took a chance on an old bench that creaked when he sat but held his weight. Zilly copsed onto her back in the grass just outside, drawing a wince from Davi who¡¯s lute she was still holding and Sion who¡¯s clothes she had borrowed.

    He¡¯d given her a hooded coat for a man five times her size. It was much too wide and hung down to her knees. Brin noticed for the first time that Davi had been given a yellow shirt two sizes too small. When Brin snickered at him, Davi struggled to pull it off and hand it back to Sion. Brin took off the red shirt and blue cap Sion had given him as well, though Zilly looked to be in no hurry to ever move again.

    Shey on the ground, panting, and he noticed she¡¯d grown dark rings under her eyes.

    ¡°You doing ok there?¡± Brin asked

    ¡°One night in a lousy hostel is not enough time to recover from two weeks in the wilderness,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°How did that go, by the way?¡± asked Brin. ¡°Did you get the Achievement you were looking for?¡±

    ¡°Yep! I got [Rough Traveler] with bonuses against heat, cold, and poison, and [Survival] evolved to [Survival Sense]. It helps me do stuff like find water and avoid monsters, ¡± said Zilly. ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys got all kinds of stuff from fighting monsters.¡±

    ¡°Nothing like that!¡± said Brin. ¡°Now I feel like I missed out. Maybe Hogg will let me solo the next leg of the trip.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. I just want to sleep for a week,¡± said Zilly.

    Marksi chose that moment toe out of hiding. He scampered over to Zilly and jumped onto her stomach. She squealed in delight and wrapped both arms around him, still holding Davi¡¯s oud.

    Davi stood, probably to walk over and take it from her, when they heard a shout.

    ¡°You there, with the lizard! Halt right there! We have some questions for you.¡±

    Zilly froze, then gently set Marksi aside and stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll lead them away.¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± said Brin. ¡°We¡¯ll go together.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point. They haven¡¯t seen you yet. And if Marksies with me, I¡¯ll have no trouble finding you guys again. Right Marksi?¡±

    Marksi nodded in determination.

    She was right; the other side of the gond was blocked from view by a warehouse. If the three of them ran that way, they¡¯d be out of sight before the Watch ever knew they were here.

    In his moment of hesitation, Zilly acted. She stood and put the hood over her head. Then she raised Davi¡¯s oud in the air and shouted ¡°I¡¯m a kukubaru!¡± and ran down the street.

    Brin found himself running the other direction with Sion and Davi. They didn¡¯t make it very far before an exhausted Sion needed to stop.

    ¡°I just took [Running] an hour ago and I already have seven levels in it. What a day!¡± said Sion.

    ¡°Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think we¡¯re done with running for today,¡± said Brin.

    The System seemed to agree with him, because it chose that moment to give him a notification.

    [Athleticism] leveled up! 19 -> 20

    Congrattions! You have earned an Achievement! Athletic (Rare) You have reached level 20 in the Athleticism Skill. +10 Vitality You may use 1 general Skill point to upgrade Athleticism to Athletic Training

    That was a no brainer. Brin spent the point.

    Congrattions! Your Skill has evolved. [Athleticism] -> [Athletic Training] +100% [Athletic Training] Skill growth +3% increase to physical attribute growth rate per level of [Athletic Training]

    Not seeing any reason to hide it, Brin read the Skill out to Davi and Sion.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a Skill giving a growth boost to itself. It¡¯s good, though. That¡¯s the perfect Skill for you,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Sion answered, ¡°General Skills will often evolve to make you better at what you¡¯re using them for. You mostly use [Athletics] to train your attributes, correct?¡±

    ¡°I guess¡­¡± If Brin had been able to choose, he would¡¯ve rather had it turn into something that would help inbat. Although he supposed the extra attributes he¡¯d be getting would help him fight. It might be better in the long run, honestly.

    He was already thinking about how he could work in a training regiment to his traveling days with the caravan. The System knew him too well.

    Then he remembered that Zilly was out there running for her life, to take the heat off of them for a crime that hemitted. He didn¡¯t get to feel bad about that for long, though, because another notification arrived for him.

    Alert! You have received a new Achievement! Celebrated (Common) You have authored and performed a song which has been sung by one hundred people. You wrote the hit song ¡°They call me Kukubaru.¡± You can make this Achievement visible to [Inspect] as proof that you¡¯re the original author. You can sign anything you create with messages visible to [Inspect] as proof that you were their creator.

    No way. People were singing his song? No wonder the Watch was so persistent.

    The three of them wandered around a city for a time. They passed several groups of the Watch, but they must not have had good descriptions, because without an oud or Marksi to give them away, no one gave them so much as a second nce.

    Eventually, they wandered into a part of town Brin recognized, and he was able to make his way to the street where his inn was. They¡¯d been walking for nearly an hour, and everyone was ready for a break.

    When the inn was in sight, Brin said, ¡°We can regroup and wait for Zilly here. Hopefully she¡¯ll be¨C¡±

    Another notification interrupted him.

    Alert! Your Achievement has advanced. Celebrated (Common) -> Celebrated (Rare) You have authored and performed a song which has been sung by over one thousand people. You wrote the hit song ¡°They call me Kukubaru.¡± You can make this Achievement visible to [Inspect] as proof that you¡¯re the original author.

    You can sign anything you create with messages visible to [Inspect] as proof that you were their creator.

    +20% to all attributes while creating, performing, or inventing. This bonus cannot be applied duringbat.

    Oh. He was in trouble, wasn¡¯t he? He couldn¡¯t help the smile that crept across his face.

    ¡°Brin? What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong. I just got an Achievement,¡± said Brin. He noticed that his smile had moved into ¡°Scarred One¡± territory and focused on making it more normal, not sure if he was seeding.

    They reached the inn, and a bellman opened the door for them, causing Sion¡¯s eyebrows to rise. ¡°This is a nice ce.¡±

    In the lobby, Zilly was already waiting for them. She was sunken into a couch, and drawing frowns from the staff at her shabby appearance.

    She jumped to her feet when she saw them arrive and struck a triumphant pose, hands on her hips. ¡°What did I say? Easy!¡±

    Still somewhat distracted by the Achievement, Brin gave her a quick hug. ¡°Thank you. But never do that again!¡±

    Zilly chuckled awkwardly, growing a bit red in the face. ¡°Oh. Um. You¡¯re wee.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Zilly. How¡¯s my oud?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°Not a scratch!¡±

    Brin felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to find a frowning Hogg.

    ¡°I could just about kill you right now.¡±

    Brin grinned. ¡°What? You didn¡¯t like the song? I figured you¡¯d think it was hrious.¡±

    Hogg¡¯s frown cracked slightly. ¡°I aboutughed my head off when I heard you sing that, I¡¯m not going to lie. But now the damn thing has been stuck in my head for the past two hours!¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°That¡¯s cuz I¡¯m a kukubaru!¡±

    ¡°Stop it!¡± Hogg¡¯s frown brokepletely into a smile. ¡°Your dumb song is everywhere. There¡¯s no stopping it now.¡±

    ¡°I know! I got an <em>insane</em> Achievement for it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to catch me up on itter.¡± Hogg looked at Sion, Davi, and Zilly. ¡°You kids mind waiting here for a minute? Brin and I have something we need to take care of.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±

    Hogg marched him up to their rooms, feeling a familiar sort of confusion and dread. Hogg really loved this sort of thing. They were probably heading towards their room so they could talk in private, and no doubt Hogg was going to drop some tidbit of information that would absolutely shatter his entire worldview.

    He opened the door towards themon area of their suite, and found that they wouldn¡¯t be alone after all. Arge, stout man with a bushy red beard and fine noble¡¯s clothing was sitting at their table with a mug of ale.

    Brin recognized him from earlier in the morning. This was Baron Neves, the ruler of Oud¡¯s Bog.

    Neves smiled widely when he entered, like a man whose fishing pole had just reeled up a big one.

    ¡°Kukubaru, I presume?¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 40

    Brin stared at Baron Neves in shock. It was him; he was really here and he knew about Brin¡¯swbreaking. He was screwed.

    [Inspect] didn¡¯t help much.

    The Right and Honorable Lord Gualberto Neves, who by the grace and sufferance of His Excellency King Lancarote, High King of Frenaria, has been granted for his stewardship a barony in Southern Frenaria, the Neves Barony, and upon whom rests the governorship of Oud¡¯s Bog and the surrounding townships, maintaining all rights and responsibilities therein for the good of the people under the direction of the crown, with all faithfulness to the gods.

    All that really told Brin was that this man¡¯s [Hide Status] was so advanced that [Inspect] had beenpletely rewritten.

    Hogg wore apletely nk expression, giving nothing away. Would he just stand here if the Baron decided to drag him away to the dungeon? He might, since Brin had actually done the crime he was in trouble for.

    Brin looked at the Baron and gulped. When he¡¯d spied on him with the Invisible Eye, Brin had noticed that the Baron was somewhat portly, but he hadn¡¯t really realized just how <em>huge</em> he was. He seemed to fill the entire room with amanding presence. Even seated at the table, seemingly rxed, Brin couldn¡¯t imagine a possible world where he¡¯d be a threat to this man. It was something like what he felt around Lumina or Hogg. Power. A gap in levels that couldn¡¯t be surmounted.

    Neves looked at Brin and frowned. His upper lip trembled, making his red mustache shiver. Then he took a deep breath and said, ¡°HA!¡±

    What followed was a hearty torrent ofughter that must¡¯ve been audible through the entire inn. Brin actually saw picture frames on the walls tilt out of ce. He smiled along uneasily until the Baron was done.

    ¡°Forgive me,¡± said Neves, wiping his eye with a pinky as if pushing away tears. ¡°But the look on your face! Well, you can rx. I have no intention of pping you in irons.¡±¡°First, Your Lordship, allow me to apologize for¨C¡±

    Neves held up a hand. ¡°No, no, I should apologize, springing myself upon you like this. I simply wished to see the one who made such a ruckus in my city. And now I see that you¡¯re as interesting as I¡¯d imagined. What an unusual assortment of scars! You¡¯ll forgive me for satisfying my curiosity.¡±

    ¡°Naturally. What¡¯s to forgive? I¡¯m the one who¨C¡±

    Neves held up a hand again. ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t apologize. Come, you¡¯ve had a long day and I¡¯m sure you wish for a rest. But you simply muste visit me before you leave town, I¡¯m sure my daughter would love to meet you. For dinner perhaps? Is tomorrow too early? Or even tonight.¡±

    ¡°Tonight would be most eptable, my lord,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll notify the staff to let you in. Drop by whenever you wish.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, my lord,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Good! Well then, I must be off.¡±

    The Baron rose, and Hogg and Brin held a courteous half-bow until the man was out the room. He seemed to take the pressure in the room with him, and Brin let out a sigh of relief.

    Hogg¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°He says e whenever¡¯ but he means exactly six in the afternoon.¡±

    ¡°I know. I was paying attention to Lumina¡¯s lessons.¡± Brin sighed again and sat in the Baron¡¯s chair. ¡°What I don¡¯t get is why he wasn¡¯t speaking High Frenarian. Lumina was insistent that nobles always speak High Frenarian.¡±

    ¡°For your sake, I¡¯d wager. I¡¯ve never had any nobles trying to suck up to <em>me</em>, that¡¯s for sure,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be right. Wait, hold on.¡± Brin used [Memories in ss] to call up the memory of the Baron when Brin had entered the room. It didn¡¯t take long to find since it was so recent.

    He hadn¡¯t mistaken the tense pressure he¡¯d felt when he¡¯d entered the room, the Baron had looked positively frosty at first nce. But then Brin noticed something he¡¯d missed the first time around. Neves¡¯ eyes flicked down to Brin¡¯s ring. Not the ss ring he used to store all his memories, the one that Lumina had given him. The one that identified him as her son.

    ¡°Oh. This is about sucking up to Lumina.¡±

    ¡°Most likely. He came himself because since we¡¯re staying here, he knew that we¡¯re rich. Rich people can be squeezed. But then he changed his posture real quick when he got a nce at that ring on your finger.¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯s going to try to pressure us to get some kind of favor from Lumina,¡± Brin said, feeling ufortable. If it were just him in danger, he¡¯d bear with it, but making this into Lumina¡¯s problem suddenly felt a step too far. Better to leave town than to let some small-town baron manipte his new family.

    ¡°Nothing so crass. Most likely he just wants to butter you up so that you¡¯ll remember him fondly when you¡¯re a powerful person someday. Remember that when you¡¯re going in there. He¡¯ll probably act like he¡¯s doing you a really big favor by letting you off scott free, but honestly all he¡¯s saving you from is a few hours in the stockade, maybe a whipping. Or a fine, now that he knows you¡¯re rich.¡±

    ¡°If I had gotten arrested, would they have verified my ss with an [Interrogator]?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Yeah. In that case you might¡¯ve been in a bit of trouble. But he doesn¡¯t know that.¡±

    They spent the next hour finding the right clothes. For some reason, Hogg got to keep his normal ck leathers, iming ¡°It¡¯s my brand¡± but still insisted on finding something else for Brin to wear. Apparently, what counted as fine clothing in Hammon¡¯s Bog just looked like a folk costume here and Brin needed something a bit more subtle.

    Luckily, they found a high-leveled [Tailor] in the neighborhood who could whip something up in a rush. He dressed Brin in a maroon silk shirt, with an elegant jacket and loose cks that tucked into tight stockings at the middle of his shins, and delicate slippers that looked like they¡¯d fall apart if he stepped onto a rough stone. Solia help him, it was designed to show off his calves.

    He also forced Brin to wear a hat, but vastly reduced the size of the feather when heined. When the [Tailor] overheard Brin mention how he wished he¡¯d brought Marksi¡¯s top hat, he¡¯d insisted on whipping up a nice velvet cap and a matching vest for the dragonling.

    Marksi coudn¡¯t be torn away from the [Tailor¡¯s] mirror, so Brin summoned him a little Marksi-sized mirror, and the dragonling spent the rest of the outing admiring himself.

    ¡°Are we bringing Marksi?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Have you ever met a single person that doesn¡¯t like Marksi? Of course he¡¯sing,¡± Hogg answered.

    Appropriately dressed, Hogg summoned a carriage and they were off. Brin wasn¡¯t sure why they needed a carriage; it wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t walk just as quickly since the carriage barely moved faster than the pace of traffic so as not to run anyone over.

    He appreciated the air conditioning, though. Even though he had enough resistance that the muggy heat couldn¡¯t really make him ufortable, it was still nice to bask in a convenience that he remembered from home.

    A footman opened the door and reached out a hand to help Brin out of the wagon, which Brin epted because he knew it was expected, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling it strange to be treated like an invalid.

    Another nce at the footman revealed that this was actually a [Steward], and <em>level 45</em>, though [Inspect] didn¡¯t give his name for some reason. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, despite the fact that [Stewards] were the highest ranking servants in a household, he had an almost casual air. He shrugged off Brin¡¯s stare with an easy smile.

    ¡°Wow, six o¡¯clock <em>exactly</em>. Somebody got the memo,¡± said the [Steward], and Brin chuckled despite himself. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the kukubaru guy, right?¡±

    ¡°Uh, do I want to be the kukubaru guy?¡±

    ¡°It could be worse! They could be calling you¡­ um¡­ ok, maybe it couldn¡¯t be worse.¡±

    Brinughed out loud at that, some of the nervousness from the uing meeting bleeding away.

    The [Steward] leaned over and lowered his voice conspiratorially. ¡°So listen, just rx, alright? Baron Neves thinks this whole thing is more funny than anything. And don¡¯t worry too much about putting a toe out of line or using the wrong fork or whatever. We don¡¯t stand too much on formality around here.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No problem. And¡­ oh wow! Who¡¯s this?¡± The [Steward¡¯s] face lit up in delight when Marksi scampered out of the carriage in his fine vest and matching hat. Marksi quickly decided that he was good people and immediately hopped up into the [Steward¡¯s] arms to receive a stick of jerky that he¡¯d <em>just happened</em> to have on hand.

    This guy was good.

    Still gushing about Marksi, the [Steward] turned and walked towards the house, and Brin followed with Hogg by his side.

    This [Steward] was the exact pr opposite of the strict, demanding butlers that Brin had imagined. He seemed like the kind of guy you could get a beer with, and that if Brin pointed out that this was possibly the second most powerful man in the city he¡¯d shrug and say it was just a job.

    The entire effect might be artificial. This attitude might be entirely designed to put him at ease. Even knowing that, it was working.

    The mansion was exactly as he remembered with the fine gardens and the stately white exterior, although now that Brin didn''t have to concentrate so hard on keeping up an Invisible Eye, he had the presence of mind to look around and [Inspect] everything. A flower bush showed him "Grown and maintained by the [Gardener] Vasilon. I also do weddings and parties! Inquire at the Guild of Commerce and Industry to check for avability."

    The mansion itself simrly advertised the architect. He was getting the feeling a lot of high level crafters had signature Skills simr to what he''d just gotten with [Celebrated]. He didn''t know if he liked it. He wanted information on the product itself, not just an advertisement for its creator.

    When he [Inspected] the metal fence around the property, it shrugged off his Skillpletely.

    Inside, the [Steward] ushered them straight past the receiving room where Zerif had met with the Baron, into a lounge that looked much more lived-in. It was full ofrge, Bavarian-style furniture that had obviously been built to the scale of the master of the house.

    Neves waited for them there, reclining on a sofa with his feet on a coffee table, a mug in his hand. He rose. "Excellent! I''m told dinner is very nearly ready. If you''ll follow me... oh, but first you should meet I. I! Come here, sweetheart!"

    A girl maybe a year or two older than Brin swept into the room. She had the usual Frenarian brown curls and wore a green dress that Value Sense told Brin was more expensive than anything he''d ever seen even [Weaver] Tawna wear. It was in and almost simple, but suited her perfectly.

    "Oh, and you must be Brin the Mistaken. I thought that must be a pseudonym, but [Inspect] is saying that''s your real name! How interesting. It suits you." Her eyes flicked briefly to the scars on his face and hands, lingering for a moment on the ring-lines around the fingers that had been severed and reattached. [Scarred, but Healing] counted scars that had been reduced to thin white lines as "healed", and they didn''t seem to fade any more after that, a fact which Brin honestly loved.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    He grinned, "That''s me. And you must be I? A pleasure, and thank you for weing us into your home, especially given the circumstances."

    "Oh, no, what circumstances could those be? After you made such a ssh in our little town, I dearly wished to meet you, for real." She seemed sincere, but there was also something strange about the way she spoke that he couldn''t quite put a finger on.

    "I''m no one special. This is Hogg, by the way," said Brin.

    "A man of few words, I know the type. Don''t worry, I''m not one to pry," said Neves.

    "Pry into what? I''m only a simple [Warrior], my lord," said Hogg.

    "Of course."

    Brin looked around for Marksi to introduce him, but noticed he wasn''t around. The [Steward] had carried him away when he''d left.

    "You''re probably all famished. Come, taken mete with us." I blushed. "I mean, supper is ready."

    Oh, so that was it. Brin should''ve realized this, but the fact that they were speakingmon Frenarian with him wasn''t because they knew they could let their guard down and act casual since he was a Commoner. They had deliberately chosen to talk and act this way to put him at ease and get on his good side.

    Lumina had told him this, but it hadn''t really sunken in until now: High Frenarian was the nobility''s firstnguage. It''s what they grew up speaking, and it was what they were mostfortable with. They only learned regr Frenarian so that they could understand their lessers.

    Should he switch to High Frenarian? No, that would only draw attention to I''spse and embarrass her. Best to y along.

    He let her guide him and Hogg into arge dining room, and to his relief there was a minimal amount of tes and silverware on the table. No food had been set down yet, which must mean the servants would bring it in after they''d sat.

    They''d spoken to Brin first, which meant he was the primary guest, so he crossed the room to pull out the chair for I and see her seated before crossing back to his side. I seemed pleased that he''d understood that portion of etiquette, and seemed to rx a little now that she could see he wasn''t an absolute barbarian.

    A row of footmen and maids entered from the other room, holding tters of food and drink. A footman carved a steak from his tray and ced it on Brin''s te, while a maid on the other side set down a portion of vegetables, all while yet another servant filled his cup. Somehow, none of them pressed into him or felt like they were in the way at all; he had the uncanny feeling that if he stood up suddenly or swung his arms around he wouldn''t touch anyone at all.

    I promptly invited them to eat and took the first bite, and Brin dug in.

    The steak was fantastic, easily the best thing he''d ever tasted in this world. He even [Inspected] it just to make sure, but it was really cow meat. That left him wondering about whatbination of high level [Rancher] or [Cattle Farmer]bined with [Chef] hade together to create something like this. A masterpiece.

    He was so intent on the meal that it wasn''t until the steak was gone and the vegetables were half finished that he realized he''d been vacuuming up his dinner and he''dpletely forgotten the time and ce. Thinking back, he didn''t think he''d abandoned his manners, but he''dpletely forgotten about his hosts. Or actually not? It was Neves'' responsibility to start a conversation. Brin wouldn''t be seen as rude for being silent while Neves was the same.

    Still, Brin decided to get things moving. "This is delicious. Almost a shame to eat it, it''s so good. I wish I could put a frame around it and hang it in a museum."

    "Awesome to hear it pleases you," said I. "Our man does his best."

    "He''s an artist," said Brin.

    "He''s as good as can be found in a backwater like this," said Neves. "Try the beer, though, I''ll call that good no matter where I go."

    Brin did, and found it so dark and bitter that it probably should''ve been teaching Potions at Hogwarts.

    Hogg was already into his third cup. "I didn''t think you could get something this good outside of Ond. How did you tempt a [Brygger] toe all the way down here?"

    Neves raised his cup. "A man of culture, I see. I don''t know if I can take full credit; I just snapped up an opportunity."

    Hogg raised his cup in toast.

    "And what do you think of it, I?" asked Neves.

    I looked at her cup cautiously. "It''s grand, I''m sure."

    "Well, you haven''t taken so much as a sip! You won''t want to offend our guests!"

    Brin started "I''m not--"

    "Nonsense!" the Baron cut in. "Go on, give it a try."

    I slowly brought the cup to her lips, and visibly restrained a wince at the strong vor. Neves burst out in heartyughter.

    "I apologize. It''s too fun to tease her!" he said, not looking sorry at all.

    Brin had to admit though, the way she pouted was at least a little bit cute. She had a smooth, almost supernatural elegance to her that was either the result of a Skill or from high Dexterity matched with a lifetime of training. It made him want to see what he could do to make her lose her perfect poise.

    There were a few small breaks. During dinner she kept putting her fork down as if to switch to another one, only to realize they¡¯d only set her ce with one fork and pick the same one up again.

    "Brin, how did youe to learn to y the half-lute, if my asking doesn''t bug you too much? It''s not amon pastime for a [sser]," I asked.

    Level up! Hide Status 14 -> 15

    "It''s not, but the story isn''t a long one. I like music, so I asked the town''s [Bard] to teach me and he did."

    "It urs to me that may have been <em>super </em>generous of him," said I.

    "It was. Back then I was just a weird, scary orphan, but he didn''t mind at all."

    "Back then? So you aren''t a weird, scary orphan now?" she said with a cheeky grin.

    "Now I''m a weird, scary, <em>rich </em>orphan. Totally different," said Brin, which got him a chuckle. "And I suppose I have some amount of legitimacy through adoption, but it''s really nothing to brag about."

    Was that too on the nose? He figured the number one question they had, and the biggest reason they''d invited him, was to figure out his rtionship to Lumina. He had no reason not to tell them. <em>No, I''m not a bastard. Yes, I''m officially adopted.</em>

    "I see. I dabble a bit myself. In music," said I.

    [Inspect] called her a [Rider], level 40, which was impressive for her age. So she really was like him, ying music on the side. "Oh, what do you y?"

    "This and that. I tenden to¨CI mean, I like the harpsichord."

    Brin pretended to choke on his beer. "What?"

    Her smile froze, "What''s wrong with the harpsichord?"

    "Nothing!" he assured her. "Nothing. It''s just an odd choice is all, when the piano forte exists. If your family can''t afford one I''ll have someone send one overter; it''llpletely change your world."

    I gave a soft smile that said she realized she was being teased and was game for it. "We might have one. I think I must''ve heard a servant plinking away with one, down in the dungeon perhaps."

    "You have a dungeon? The acoustics there must be amazing," said Brin.

    "I wouldn''t know."

    "The harpsichord. I heard someone describe the sound it makes as two skeletons fornicating on a tin roof. But I can say for a fact that it''s not true," said Brin.

    Hogg and Neves barked out inughter, while I said, "How so?"

    "Well, you know, we had the undead crawling up and down our town in Hammon''s Bog.¡± He decided to shift the tone away from theical for the moment and steal Davi¡¯s description of the undead. After all, this was one of the main things he wanted from this meeting, to let them know that the battle for Hammon''s Bog was much worse than their [Criers] were saying. He paused, and then lowered his voice before continuing. ¡°They cut us off, a silent embargo hiding in the forest. They never announced themselves, we just knew that anyone who went into the forest wouldn¡¯te back. It went on for months like that. When they finally came, they were ten thousand strong. Armored undead soldiers, archers, even giants. They hacked at our gates from the outside while their [Witch] infiltrators undermined our defenses from the inside. When Lumina arrived, our walls had fallen, our best fighters were cursed or dead, and we were huddled up together in the town square for onest stand. We thought the few we could fit in the temple for sanctuary were the only ones who would survive."

    Neves said, "I must be careful how I phrase this. On the local scale, it would break my heart to tell someone that they are safe, when they are in fact in some amount of danger. The King has other priorities. On the national scale, projecting strength to ward off any chance of invasion is vital to our nation''s very existence. In all matters, I must defer to the judgment of the King."

    "I figured it was something like that," said Brin. It was good to have confirmation, and it had neatly finished setting up his joke. "So anyways, the undead were everywhere. Inside the walls. The skeletons made a tter as they stepped across cobblestones, around fences, over tin rooftops..."

    Brin waited dramatically, building up the tension.

    "He''s going to say that the skeletons on the tin roofs sound better than a harpsichord," said Hogg.

    At the same time, Brin said, "Compared with a harpsichord, the skeletons actually sounded¨C dammit Hogg!"

    I let out a hearty guffaw and then pped her hands over her mouth at the outburst, which just set the rest of the table toughing. I eventually joined in with a more restrained, practicedugh, and he even heard some hushed giggling from the servants clearing away their tes.

    "Youpletely murdered my punchline," Brinined.

    "It wasn''t going tond. You spent way too long on the setup," Hogg said.

    "It was going to be hrious."

    "I was about to fall asleep," Hogg replied, deadpan.

    Brin pointed at him. "That doesn''t mean anything. You literally slept through a zombie invasion!"

    I watched the back and forth with delight, and said, "It was a swell joke, Brin."

    "You''re just saying that." He sighed. "There''s nothing wrong with the harpsichord. It''s nice you have something you''re passionate about."

    "Shaltow¨C that is, you shoulde y with me. It would be a delight to y with another hobbyist. I get so anxious practicing with [Bards]."

    "Right?" Brin agreed. "They act like they have a monopoly on music."

    "Perhaps... and mind me I am most reluctant to cut in here, but perhaps there''s another matter we should discuss first," said Neves.

    Brin leaned back in his chair and put his hands in hisp, then remembered that wasn''t allowed and held them together on the table. "Right."

    It was time to discuss his punishment.

 Book 3. Chapter 41

    Book 3. Chapter 41

    He waited for Neves to bring up the Kukubaru song, but the big man didn''t start right away. He held up his cup and swirled the liquid around for a moment, looking somber.

    Finally he said, "You have been too polite toment on it, but you can''t have helped but noticed that I am a baron, and not a count."

    Brin honestly hadn''t thought twice about that, so he just nodded.

    "I was given governorship of this town as an assignment due to my aplishments, and not by right of blood. That means I had to do more than simply dwell here, I had to make something of Oud''s Bog, and by extension, myself. We aren''t a trade hub between two countries and we aren''t on the sea. No onees here unless they mean to, so I had to find a way to draw people in. After a few false starts, I decided to try to turn Oud¡¯s Bog into the City of Music. I lured away a few notable [Composers] with the promise of a hefty sry, and I hired manymoners to take up the instruments that would give them something to work with. You simply must take in a concert before you leave town, by the way, but I digress. I also nted a garden, and gave leave to [Bards] to perform there, with the strong suggestion that they practice an air of grace and refinement, so that even those who cannot afford a concert ticket can enjoy the sound of real music. This is where youe in."

    "I kukubaru''d all over your garden," said Brin.

    A passing maid chirped augh, and then coughed to try to cover it up and hustled away.

    "Quite. Even now, I have heard that the [Bards] inspired by your antics have condescended to copying you, and that the [Bards''] Terrace rings with the sound of farces and frivolities. There is little sign that it won''t continue on to tomorrow."

    Brin shrugged. "Sorry about that. Maybe give them one day a week to be stupid. What is it, Tuesday? Tawdry Tuesday."

    "It could work, father," said I.He rubbed his chin. "It could, but it rather misses the point. When you were set upon by the guard, the whole matter would''ve been handled with an hour in the stockade, or perhaps in your case, a fine. If you had been caught. When you ran, they honestly should have just let you go. But they didn''t, and you led them on a merry chase across the entire city, making a dramatic spectacle of yourselves. Everyone in the city must¡¯ve heard of this by now. People will want to know what happened, and I think it prudent to make an announcement. And despite what a recent popr song insinuates, I really don''t like to order my [Criers] to tell lies."

    "Hm." Brin rubbed his chin in thought.

    The Baron looked away. "Of course, if I told them that you are an heir of Lumina herself, I would need say no more..."

    "I''d really rather you didn''t," said Brin. It wasn''t exactly a secret, but that was a level of fame he didn''t quite want yet. He looked at Hogg, who just crooked an eyebrow and looked back. He was just going to let Brin handle this whole thing, huh? Fine then. "Ok. What if you tell them that you have the offending party in custody. And... that he''s an extremely troubled young man, and that he''s agreed to see a [Mind Healer]."

    Hogg grunted in surprise, looking impressed.

    Neves widened his eyes. "That could work. No, it could. I like it. I wouldn''t be punishing you, so it¡¯ll look like I¡¯m subtly endorsing the song that¡¯s telling the truth I can¡¯t tell. At the same time, no one would say I let you off easy. I¡¯ll keep your name anonymous throughout all of this, of course. No need to add public humiliation to the matter. But would you actually agree to see a [Mind Healer]? I shouldn''t like to lie about that part."

    Brin shrugged. "I don''t see why not."

    "No hesitation! Good man. Very mature outlook," said Neves.

    "It really doesn''t bother you?" asked I.

    "Frankly, I saw a lot of things at Hammon''s Bog, things that it¡¯ll take a long time to get over. If anyone needs a [Mind Healer] it¡¯s me. Maybe this is for the best."

    After dinner, I led him to a music room with a beautiful skylight showing off the early evening sky and a wide array of musical instruments set up in every corner. The [Steward] met them there with a happy Marksi who had great fun tearing around the room and knocking trumpets off their cases and making cymbals crash when he jumped on them, to the [Steward''s] good-humoredughter. Marksi looked to have a full belly and seemed content, so Brin figured there hadn''t been arger scheme involved in his abduction and that the Baron just didn''t want pets at his dinner table, which was fair enough. Despite what Hogg said, not everyone had to like Marksi. As long as they were still nice to him.

    The [Steward] stayed in the room as I made her way over to an old, ornate harpsichord. No doubt he would act as the chaperone, since Hogg and Neves hadn''t followed them.

    I opened and closed her hands a couple times before touching the keys, looking suddenly nervous. She yed a couple warm up lines first, and then started in on a song. It was quick and sounded a bitplicated, but Brin knew this one. As long as you''d spent a lot of time practicing the scales, and Brin had, it wasn''t difficult.

    He hadn''t brought his half-lute, but he was pleased to find they had one. He picked it up, and yed along.

    They finished the song, and I moved into the next one. This was definitely a solo piece, so he stayed quiet while she yed and apuded when she was done. The next piece he was able to join her in duet, and for the fourth song the [Steward] joined them with a french horn.

    They yed for at least an hour, going from song to song. Most of them were songs Brin didn''t know, but he could join in on them by at least matching the key and ying on the rhythm.

    Her music was mostly baroque-style, which was nails on chalkboard when Davi yed it, but he didn''t mind it here. The problem with Davi, and so many other [Bards], was that they were trying to be something they weren''t. But I was earnest. She wasn''t putting on airs. This was her home, these were her people, and this was her music.

    He even yed a few of his own songs, including the upbeat adventure music he was calling "Davi''s Theme." He didn''t know if she enjoyed it or not, but he could tell she found it all fascinating.

    Eventually, the night had to end. The Baron called them back to the dining room for ice cream and cake, and gave Hogg a referral for a [Mind Healer], and then wished them on their way.

    They didn''t bother with a carriage on the way back.

    Walking home, Hogg put hands behind his head and looked up into the stars. "I gotta say. If I had that kind of charisma when I was your age, things would''ve been a lot different for me."

    "Are you kidding right now? I can''t tell if you''re kidding."

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    "Not at all."

    "You must be. The entire time I had my foot so far in my mouth they should call me Foot-baru. I spent ten minutes insulting her favorite instrument and then told them I need a [Mind Healer] for being so crazy."

    "That''s not what I saw. That poor girl has it for you bad." Hogg mimed holding someone''s head close to his and kissing them. "Oh I, I love you. Mwa, mwa, mwa! Let''s make sweet music together!"

    "That''s not how it happened, and <em>Sancta Solia</em>, Hogg! Is that what you think flirting looks like? You''re hopeless."

    "You think she''s cute, though, right?"

    "We''ve been over this. Not until--"

    "Not until twenty, I know," said Hogg. He sighed. "He won''t spread your name around, but he told me he''s going to make a formal proposal to Lumina of marriage between you and I."

    Brin stopped in his tracks. "No."

    "Rx, you won''t be forced into anything. Just thought you should know."

    Brin shook his head, and started walking again. "I doubt she''d ever go for it."

    "It was probably her idea."

    Brin sighed. ¡°Did I do something wrong back there? I don¡¯t want to go around toying with people. I thought I was just being friendly.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°One date is not going to wreck her life. She¡¯s not going to be pining away after you forever, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about.¡±

    ¡°It was a date, though?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably as close as she¡¯ll evere to one.¡±

    For how busy it was during the day, the city was surprisingly peaceful at night. He could see the brightness of thenterns of the Watch illuminating the taller buildings as they crossed by in their patrols. There were enough of them that you could tell they were around, but not so much as to feel oppressive. Just enough to remember that they were out of the forest. This was civilization, and they were safe.

    Brin found himself reluctant to head back to their inn.

    "You think I should see the [Mind Healer] tonight, or wait for tomorrow?"

    "There¡¯s no reason it couldn¡¯t wait until tomorrow."

    There really wasn¡¯t, except for an odd feeling in Brin¡¯s heart. Despite having a fun evening, with ice cream and music and the absolution from his crimes, he felt strange. Cold. It was a warm night, but he still felt a chill.

    It was a familiar feeling. It reminded him of the night he¡¯d met Cadwyst year, his zombie father. At the time, he¡¯d called it a tugging sensation from the threads of fate. He¡¯d known that something would happen that night, something irreversible.

    "It''s probably toote. There¡¯s no reason the guy Neves referred me to would even be up," Brin said.

    "I didn¡¯t say that. Odd ducks keep odd hours. He''ll be up," Hogg answered.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go now,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg shrugged, probably confused, but didn¡¯t argue. They changed direction, moving towards the address.

    The walk felt strangely quick, like with every step he was gathering momentum. If Oud¡¯s Bog had ever been a real bog, then at one point it had been a t, empty marsh. The t part was still true; there were no hills to be found anywhere, but it still felt like Brin was running downhill. Every step had him moving faster and made it more impossible to stop or slow down.

    Hogg didn¡¯t even point out when the unmarked house was their destination, somehow Brin just knew. He knocked on the door.

    A bald man in thick woolen clothes and half-moon spectacles opened the door, yawning.

    The yawn snapped Brin out of his daydream. ¡°Oh, shoot, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯ste. I cane back tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s quite alright. I¡¯m always up at this hour. I just¡­¡± he yawned again. ¡°I stood up too quickly, I think. Come in, please.¡±

    [Inspect] called the man Harkin Bowers, a level thirty-five [Mind Healer]. Interesting that so many people seemed to be stuck on multiples of five with their sses. He guessed that the experience difficulty went up with every 5 levels, which meant that that¡¯s where people stuck in their routine would eventually stop leveling.

    Brin stepped inside. The front room looked like the waiting room at a hospital, with a desk for a receptionist and a few couches,plete with a coffee table piled with a stack of newspapers.

    ¡°You must be Brin. I received a runner from the Baron only an hour ago. Your guardian can wait here, unless you¡¯d rather hee with you for the first session?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good. Then I am Bowers. Pleased to meet you Brin. I can already tell this session will be a memorable one.¡±

    He led Brin into the next room, a smallish office. There was a desk, facing a ck leather armchair on the other side. The type that was smooth and cool when you sat down, but grew increasingly ufortable over time.

    Every part of the walls except the doors were covered with bookshelves, full of heavy leather tomes. Brin felt a sudden urge to stand up and rifle his way through some of them just topare Bogworld psychology to what they taught in his old world, but resisted the urge.

    The only other piece of furniture was what looked like a coffee maker, but it must be for tea based on the pungent odor in the room. Value Sense told Brin it was quite an expensive piece of work, but if you didn¡¯t indulge in luxuries then why even have money?

    Bowers gestured for Brin to sit in the ck armchair, and then moved to the tea maker to pour two mugs. He ced one in Brin¡¯s hands and then moved around to take a sip.

    There wasn¡¯t really a ce to put his mug, so Brin simply held it in his hands, feeling the warmth seep through into his fingers. He took a sip, and it was fine. Maybe it was fantastic; he didn¡¯t know. He appreciated the pick-me-up, though.

    Bowers yawned again, and took a deep gulp from his own mug. He must have [Heat Resistance], too, because it was pretty hot. He blinked twice. ¡°I can¡¯t seem to wake up tonight. No matter. Tell me what brings you in.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been having strange dreams.¡±

    All trace of sleepiness faded from Bowers face as he abruptly jolted upright, staring at Brin. He spilled his tea on the desk, but didn¡¯t seem to notice.

    He wiped his eyes with his palm, then stared at Brin again, growing more rmed that whatever he was looking at didn¡¯t seem to change.

    Brin shifted ufortably. ¡°Is it the scars, or¡­?¡±

    ¡°My apologies.¡± Bowers blinked as if trying to change what he was seeing. ¡°Let me start from the beginning. Few people that walk through those doors need actual healing for mental damage. I¡¯ve often asserted that for the most part, one doesn¡¯t need a particr ss to do what I do. Through directed questions, I try to hold up a mental mirror for my patients, to help them understand themselves. I listen and guide the conversation, but I never contaminate this process with my own opinions. I especially never like to bring up the possibility of outside influence, such as ghosts, or parasites, or the work of enemy Skills upon the mind. Can you guess why?¡±

    ¡°Aside from that being terrifying? Do mind-altering parasites actually exist?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not get distracted.¡±

    ¡°Because you don¡¯t want people to assume all their problemse from some external force? If they think that, they¡¯ll never be able to address what they¡¯re doing wrong.¡±

    Bowers nodded deeply. So deeply that he sank to nearly touching the desk with his forehead. Brin cleared his throat and he bolted upright.

    ¡°Sorry. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s gotten into me,¡± he said, rubbing his forehead. ¡°But yes, that¡¯s exactly it. So you need to understand that I would never tell anyone what I¡¯m about to tell you unless I was absolutely sure. I have Skills for diagnosing conditions and there is nothing wrong with your dreams. You are not crazy. You are not sick. <em>You are under attack</em>.¡±

    The room suddenly seemed a lot smaller, like everything was shrinking in on him. ¡°What? By who?¡± Brin asked, though the pieces immediately started falling into ce.

    ¡°Is it possible you¡¯ve run afoul of [Witches]?¡±

    ¡°No. I have a Wyrd-detection Skill.¡±

    Bowers nodded while pping his cheeks. ¡°I can safely rule out ghosts and parasites with my diagnostic Skill.¡±

    ¡°Thank Solia,¡± Brin breathed.

    ¡°Do undead or beasts have ess to where you sleep?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then assume enemy Skill. We can¡­ there are wards¡­¡±

    Bowers stood, but looked like he was about to copse again. He really wasn¡¯t looking well. He mumbled, ¡°Not to say you couldn¡¯t benefit from regr therapy. You look to be a troubled young man¡­ but in this instance¡­ interference. Attack¡­¡±

    Brin watched the old therapist mumble to himself, growing more annoyed by the second. He just talked to himself,pletely ignoring Brin and the conversation they were just having, a conversation that Brin had felt was pretty important.

    It wasn¡¯t until Bowers stopped talking and apparentlypletely forgot there was anyone else in the room that Brin realized what was going on. ¡°Hey, listen. One thing I remember about psychiatrists is an old stereotype. Like, they can dish it out but they can¡¯t take it. You know what I mean? They know how to fix you, but they¡¯re really bad at diagnosing themselves.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± the [Mind Healer] said distractedly.

    Brin stood and physically turned the man¡¯s head to face him, though his eyes still wandered. ¡°Bowers! Listen to me! Are <em>you</em> under attack as well?¡±

    His eyes finally found Brin and he nodded, seeming oddly pleased. ¡°Oh. Yes I am.¡± Then his eyes rolled back into his head and he copsed to the ground.

    Brin dropped to his knees to check on him and started shouting, but by the time Hogg helped roll him over and check his pulse, it was already toote.

    Bowers was dead.

    The End of Part 2

 Book 3 - Lurilan Interlude

    Book 3 - Lurn Interlude

    Lurn the [Hunter] savored the first breath of fresh air after stepping out of the Gilly [Hunter''s] Lodge. It had be a ritual ever since the day he''d left home for good. He''d noticed at the time that free air tasted a great deal better than regr air, so he''d made it a habit every time he left a city or town to take a moment to savor it.

    Not that he was totally out of civilization. He missed the old days when it was just the twelve of them starting out and Gilly had just been a dusty old keep from a forgotten era, so vast that he could go entire days without seeing any of the other [Hunters] who lived there. Now more than three-hundred people lived in the keep itself, and there were several outbuildings. They were even talking about putting up walls. He had mixed feelings about that. As soon as you put up walls, it was a town. There was no going back from that.

    Behind him came the gruff voice of young Rhun Charlik, his partner for the day. "And so are we to stand here? If we don''t start moving we''ll be at this all day. Move!"

    ¡°Make no mistake, my young friend. We will be at this all day.¡±

    Lurn basked in the sunlight and fresh air for a moment longer, and stretched his arms before stepping forward to let Rhun through the doorway. The thing to remember about [Warriors] was that you must never do as they say right away, even when they were in the right, or else you''d never have the end of them ordering you about.

    He stepped forward and started on the path towards their quarry.

    ¡°I understand the eagerness. Being cooped up indoors for too long always gives me an itch. It¡¯s nice to be outdoors again,¡± said Lurn.

    Rhun stared at him incredulously. ¡°Too long? One night in a bed and we¡¯re already out into the dirty, stinking forest again. What is our quarry this time?¡±

    Forests were stinky? Lurn just couldn¡¯t understand city people. How could they say that cities smelled better than forests? It didn¡¯t make any sense. Any time he was in a ce where humans lived permanently, the miasmatic stench of body odor, waste, and refuse threatened to choke the life out of him, removing his appetite and making it hard to concentrate on anything else. He knew that [Hunter] gave him stronger senses than most people, but regr people had to be able to smell that, too. Were they just used to it?He wouldn''t argue about the dirt thing, but only because he knew that was a lost cause. It wasmon knowledge that [Hunters] were dirty, even if thatmon knowledge waspletely wrong. He hated being dirty. He couldn¡¯t abide even the slightest speck of dirt upon his clothing; a result of his upbringing that had never gone away, and he¡¯d always found it easier to stay clean outdoors. In a city, or even in Gilly now, someone was always moving, or throwing something, or knocking something over or generally acting in a chaotic or unpredictable way. Out in the wild, Lurn could always tell what was about to happen.

    ¡°Well? Where are we going?¡±

    Lurn looked back at his [Warrior] escort. That was another annoying thing about non-[Hunters]: they were all so impatient. A [Hunter] might ask a question and then happily wait an hour or two for his partner to think before answering it. But with these people it was just talk, talk, talk all the time.

    Lurn decided to humor him. He picked a folded piece of bark paper out of his pocket and handed it to thed.

    ¡°What¡¯s this? A pawprint?¡±

    ¡°A footprint. Bipedal creatures have footprints. A [Scout] saw itst night and copied it down, and the guildmaster identified it. It belongs to a Mooneye.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯re going to where they found this footprint? So that you can follow its trail?¡±

    ¡°Something like that,¡± said Lurn.

    In actuality, he already knew exactly where the beast was. [Inerrant Tracking] gave him a perfect line to its location. His reward for rescuing Brin had been an advancement to a Skill, and while the others had probably expected him to upgrade [Power Shot] or some other offensive Skill, Lurn had known better. He¡¯d upgraded [Tracking], and it was the best decision he¡¯d ever made. He¡¯d even received a Title, [Inescapable]. Now he could find anything as long as he had a ce to start, and a roughly scrawled footprint on a piece of bark paper was more than good enough.

    With the frenzy of monster activity in thest year, he¡¯d been assigned to take care of the sneakiest and most cunning monsters, the ones that no one else could catch. If there was a trick to evading his [Inerrant Tracking], he hadn¡¯t found it yet. He¡¯d defeated them all, and his levels had shot up. He was on track to catch up to the guildmaster soon, maybe only a month or two away.

    As long as the thing with Brin didn¡¯t take too long. Lumina had sent him a letter requesting that he meet Brin in ckcliff, something about hunting some kind of exotic monster, but she¡¯d been vague on the details.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be d when this is over. No more boring hikes through empty forests.¡±

    Lurn peered around at the stunningly gorgeous forestndscape. This was boring? But rather than let that thought guide him into an hour of introspection, he decided to humor the boy. ¡°This is boring? I see six varieties of trees near us, to say nothing of the grasses and fungus. See how the dogwood fights a slow and ancient war against the maple. They¡¯ve been contending for this spot in a battle that hassted for centuries. And what is that aspen doing here? You never see just one aspen. I wonder what its story is, and why it hasn¡¯t spread. Also have you noticed that faintly pressurized quality of airing in with the breeze? It seems there must be an area of lower elevation nearby, but¨C¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s boring,¡± asserted Rhun. ¡°But soon I¡¯ll be done with this. My family has provided me with a contract and real work, guarding a rich son of Prinnash in ckcliff.¡±

    Lurn bit back his annoyance at being interrupted. Why did Rhun bait him into a conversation if he didn¡¯t want to hear what he had to say? He said neutrally, ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m heading that way myself soon. Perhaps I¡¯ll see you there.¡±

    ¡°Since he is of Prinnash, he will know the way of things. Such as how to treat his betters,¡± said Rhun.

    ¡°Oh.¡± So that was what he was getting at. Prinnash had a very martial culture, and everyone who got the [Warrior] ss was automatically made nobility, whether their family ownednd or not. Lurn smiled. ¡°I see. I wasn¡¯t aware you were one to stand on formality. You may call me ¡®My Lord Lurn¡¯ if you wish. No, in fact, I insist on it. And I will call you Sir Rhun. It is Sir Rhun, isn¡¯t it? You aren¡¯t real¨C excuse me, you aren¡¯t high nobility, are you?¡±

    Rhun huffed. ¡°Forget it.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, my lord,¡± Lurn corrected. The family he hadn¡¯t seen in over a decade would probablyugh him to scorn if they saw him leaning on his title now, but he did technically have the right.

    ¡°And when we find this beast, this Mooneye, what will we do? Will you face it, a [Hunter]? Will you kill it with your bow?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and yes,¡± Lurn said with a shrug. ¡°Actually killing the beast has never been the difficult part for me. The benefits of shooting it full of arrows from a distance.

    ¡°The weapon of a coward!¡± Rhun spat. ¡°Real men fight with steel.¡±

    Lurn examined his bow. ¡°This is steel. It¡¯s been hard to keep a bow with the right draw weight since I¡¯ve been shooting up in Strength so much recently. Enchanted wood would be better, but I¡¯m saving that for my next teau.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point. If we face real danger, then you¡¯ll rely on a real man to protect you. You should show some respect,¡± said Rhun.

    Lurn would be tempted to think that all teenagers were like this, he¡¯d probably been worse at this age, except that he knew Brin was a calm, sweet, and rational child.

    No, he knew Rhun was doing. [Warriors] gained levels by picking fights with everyone, and Rhun probably didn¡¯t have a high enough [Inspect] to know by just how much Lurn outshadowed him. It was an annoying behavior, but it was a behavior that the System rewarded, and Lurn would just as soon grow offended by songbirds chirping a warning song at him or by a chipmunk chewing him out for walking too close to its tree.

    Still, he didn¡¯t have to sit here and listen to it. ¡°You were correct before. We shouldn¡¯t waste time. Keep up, if you can. If not, I¡¯ll pick you up on the way back so you don¡¯t get lost.¡±

    Lurn began a light jog into the forest, the pace he¡¯d set so that he¡¯d be able to go all day and not be tired or sweaty at any point.

    It was a light jog for him, but for Rhun it must¡¯ve been a grueling pace. He was panting heavily by the first fifteen minutes. Lurn thought that was awfully quick to get tired. He knew the boy was only level 16, but even so his Vitality should¡¯ve been higher than that, unless he really wasn¡¯t training at all.

    They ran over hills and through thickets, crossed streams. Here and there the path met up with a game trail, only to depart it again a mile or twoter. He had to say, the trip was much more enjoyable when he only had to listen to Rhun¡¯s heavy breathing rather than his awkward attempts to get a rise out of him.

    Thirty minutes into their run, Lurn spotted a level thirty leopard, though he didn¡¯t give it any indication that he knew it was there. The skin of a beast that high level would fetch a nice price, and he knew Rhun could use the levels from fighting it. If the young man had been less of a pill, Lurn would¡¯ve agitated the leopard into attacking. Since it was Rhun, he didn¡¯t feel the need. Annoying people might never know the opportunities they lost.

    They ran on. To his credit, Rhun stayed with him for the first hour, and then for the second. After the full two and a half hour run, Lurn finally slowed to a stop. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped off his palms, which had a faint amount of perspiration. Not really an issue, but he liked his palms to be dry when he used his bow. He stepped over to a fallen trunk and sat down.

    Rhun stumbled thest few steps and then copsed in the dirt. Lurn scooted a few feet further on the trunk to avoid the cloud of dust that Rhun¡¯s motion created.

    The boy was heaving in air on his back, sweat staining his shirt where it was visible through the leather breastte and arm guards. Now that sweat was going to seep into the dirt and create mud. Couldn¡¯t he have copsed a bit further, into the grass?

    In the [Illusionist] movies, whenever they depicted [Hunters] they always smeared dirt all over their faces. Lurn thought that was unfair. That¡¯s how everyone else looked when they left their cities and towns. [Hunters] had more sense.

    ¡°We¡¯ll rest here until noon,¡± said Lurn.

    Rhun raised a hand in acknowledgement, too winded to speak.

    This book''s true home is on another tform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Lurn watched the clouds go by in the sky, listening to the music of leaves rustling in the breeze. He also kept a firm hold on his [Inerrant Tracking] Skill. Their prey was about four thousand yards away through the forest, and a little bit down. It had probably found a recess or alcove in the earth, where it was sleeping away the light of the day. Mooneyes weren¡¯t undead, but they were strongest at night when the moon was full, which is why Lurn would be hunting this one at exactly noon. That was still more than an hour away since they¡¯d rushed over here.

    Lurn had an arrow prepared for this, a beautiful enchanted piece that would transform into pure sunlight. He was confident that he¡¯d be able to kill it in one blow, even going through a few feet of earth if it was hiding in an alcove like he thought. He would kill it, and then they would return. A waste of a day for Rhun? Perhaps, but that was no one¡¯s fault but his own.

    Suddenly, [Inerrant Tracking] shifted, and he felt his quarry move. It was going down. Deeper underground.

    ¡°Damn it! It¡¯s found a cave! We¡¯re going now!¡±

    Lurn dashed forwards, not waiting to see if Rhun would follow, but sure enough he heard the [Warrior¡¯s] footsteps behind him in short order. He ran ahead, moving through the trees on instincts borne of years of practice, whipping through bushes and branches, though still not dirtying his clothes.

    He quickly found the cave, and felt that his prey was still going down. It smelled of death and damp and moved in much too straight a line. It was a steep incline, and went back and forth almost like a tower staircase for as far as he could sense.

    ¡°Mooneyes attack with paralysis in the dark and finish you off with ws. Don¡¯t let it see you first. We¡¯re going down,¡± said Lurn.

    Rhun was out of breath again, but nodded firmly and drew his sword.

    Lurn started down the cave. He hated caves.

    Earlier in his career the [Hunters] who had trained him would just turn around and leave if their quarry ran into a cave. It wasn¡¯t worth it to follow a monster into its den where it could eliminate the advantage of range. There were always more monsters, but you only had one life after all. Better to leave, or wait outside.

    Lurn didn¡¯t have that option today. He pulled the arrow of sunlight out of his quiver and set it to his bow. Even if they were ambushed, he¡¯d still get one shot off before he was forced to draw his dagger.

    He sniffed the air still in the entranceway. Damp, and it stank, but he didn¡¯t get the sense that the air was poisoned. It would have to do.

    There was nothing much in the first stretch of passageways, nothing but damp dirt walls. Lurn watched the walls carefully as he could, making sure he¡¯d spot any traps or ambush holes, but also to make sure he wouldn¡¯t brush the muddy walls with his sleeves in his rush.

    He had to move faster than the prey, but not so fast as to be incautious. There was also Rhun to think of. Leaving him behind in the forest was one thing, but they shouldn¡¯t split up in a cave when the monster was close.

    ¡°Wait!¡± he heard Rhun say, and he did. Rhun shuffled with his pack, and then drew out a torch. He lit it with an enchanted lighter, and the cavern filled with light.

    Lurn felt his lips curl in disgust. Torches were good for making a very bright light for about twenty minutes, but then when it went out they¡¯d be even worse off, not to mention the possibility of warning your prey off with the smell. Was the kid¡¯s darkvision really not sufficient for the tunnel this near to the surface? Actually, Rhun might not have any kind of darkvision at all.

    He chose to ignore the torch and keep moving.

    They moved down, until the dirt and mud turned to sandstone¨Cstill wet, though. Lurn felt his prey move through the tunnels. They stopped being so perfectly uniform, and turned to something a bit more natural feeling. Something had dug its way down here, he was sure of it, but the tunnels here were probably following an old underground stream.

    The tunnel was round and loopy like a river, and there were ces where he could see it made circles the way that rivers made oxbowkes. It curved wide and around, and he felt his prey circle back towards him as it followed the natural winding path until¡­

    ¡°Turn around! Go!¡± Lurn shouted.

    To his credit, Rhun didn¡¯t hesitate. He turned and rushed the other direction, with Lurn following him.

    ¡°Yes! Here! We¡¯re in luck,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Rhun.

    ¡°The cave winds back this way on the other side. The stone here is less than a foot thick, and the Mooneye is headed this way.¡±

    Rhun¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I have a pickaxe¨C¡±

    ¡°No need. Shield your eyes, if you please.¡±

    The second he put the arrow of sunlight to string it began to glow. Rhun shielded his eyes with both hands, dropping the torch, but Lurn didn¡¯t have that luxury and the bright glow seared his eyes.

    Still he waited for the right moment. Just as he felt the Mooneye grow nearest, he pulled as far as he dared without breaking the bow, and loosed.

    The arrow roared in fury as it erupted from the string, and sted its way into the wall, closer to the floor.

    Lurn turned and shielded Rhun with his body, though there was little shrapnel; the arrow was a precise strike, not a clumsy explosion. He felt the heat as it sted through the wall to hit whatever was on the other side.

    You have defeated: Mooneye [30]

    Due to level disparity, experience has been reduced.

    Ears ringing, Lurn turned to see a hole surrounded by glowing stone, heated and melted by his arrow.

    Through the hole, he saw the remains of the mooneye. It had been sted into two parts, but he could still see the face with one big eye, and the arms with long ck ws.

    ¡°Is it dead?¡± Rhun asked, blinking and stepping forward.

    ¡°It is.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s it? We go back?¡±

    ¡°Not quite, I¡¯m afraid,¡± said Lurn. ¡°There¡¯s something off about this cave. We¡¯ll need to investigate. Keep your sword ready.¡±

    The hole his arrow made through the stone wasn¡¯t big enough to walk through, so they followed the original path of the cave, wrapping around until they got to the Mooneye from the other side. Lurn stepped over it, and Rhun gave it a kick as they went by.

    Further on, the cave changed from the twisting river back to something looking artificial again, going down in a straight line away from the sandstone and down into solid bedrock.

    ¡°There¡¯s something you should know about these tunnels,¡± Lurn said. ¡°This is what we¡¯re truly doing here in Gilly. Did you ever think it strange that we were spending so much effort to eradicate monsters in the middle of nowhere? When monsters have been running wild across the entire kingdom, why are we wasting even a single [Hunter] here? Even the Bonds are more popted than this forest.¡±

    ¡°Weakness,¡± Rhun spat. ¡°In Prinnash, we hunted all monsters to extinction long ago.¡±

    ¡°Cut it out. I¡¯ve been to Prinnish, you know, and I hunted some truly terrific beasts there. No, it¡¯s for these tunnels. We think they¡¯re Arcaena¡¯s doing. I can smell undead, but I haven¡¯t seen tracks yet. We¡¯ll need to confirm it.¡±

    That shut Rhun up, and if anything, Lurn was underselling the matter. Lumina herself had asked Lurn toe here. She knew about his [Inerrant Tracking]. She knew that he could find anything, the most dangerous beasts, escaped criminals, pirates and brigands. She¡¯d asked him to spend the past year here.

    The tunnel opened up into a cave. The ceiling was still fairly low, but it was wide and long and split off into several different directions. He squinted against the torch, trying to see if the shadows it cast were more tunnels or just shadows, but it was useless. The light was killing his darkvision. He was surprised it was still burning though, it had been forty minutes with no sign of stopping.

    Lurn stepped forward into the middle of the cave. ¡°Get ready. This is where we¡¯ll be ambushed.¡±

    ¡°Ambushed?¡± Rhun asked, his eyes wild and eager. ¡°By what?¡±

    Lurn didn¡¯t have to answer. The sound of running feet answered for him. Some footsteps with shoes, others bare, a few armored. They approached, nearer, until all at once they burst into view from the tunnel ahead.

    Undead, their eyes t and uncaring, with gray ragged flesh and ck clothing, holding weapons of rough cksteel. They charged silently, weapons shing.

    Rhun¡¯s torch chose that moment to go out.

    Lurn cursed. The entire cave was thrown into darkness, and it would take a minute for his darkvision to adjust.

    He loosed his arrow, and heard it crash through several of the undead. He drew another arrow and pulled, but in his panic he pulled too hard and his bow snapped. His hands stung, and the string sliced his cheek.

    He dropped the bow and pulled his dagger, stepping forward. He was no [Rogue] but his hearing and smell were good enough to get a rough location of the undead.

    He charged into them, checking the nearest with his shoulder and driving it to the floor. Then on the ground, he rolled away and heard a satisfying crunch as a mace missed him and smashed the undead on the ground. Since he knew where the mace was now, he darted towards its wielder and shed through the monster''s chest, cutting through lungs and heart.

    You have defeated: Undead Soldier [19]

    Due to level disparity, experience has been reduced.

    Then he jumped back on instinct and felt the whoosh of air as several weapons passed through where he¡¯d just been.

    He was starting to get his darkvision back. Good, now that he could see them¨C

    A bright light blinded him again. Rhun had found another torch.

    The half second it took to blink away the light nearly ended him, and he brought up his dagger to parry a shing greataxe, only surviving because of the huge difference in levels. He rolled with the blow and turned to stab the undead multiple times in the forehead, then the heart.

    A younger Lurn would¡¯ve chosen that moment to jump back and avoid the grimy blood squirting from the undead, but Gn had drilled that little idiosyncrasy out of him. ¡°Tidiness is a virtue, but not on a battlefield,¡± the [Knight] would say.

    Lurn stepped forward, pressing the attack. While the light casting dark shadows wasn¡¯t as good as his darkvision, it gave him enough to work with, and he darted into the crowd of undead. He took a sword out of the hands of one, and went to work with it, cutting down the filthy monsters left and right, uncaring at the spray of ck and muddy blood.

    He received a slew of notifications, but dismissed them all. The undead soldiers weren¡¯t high level enough to be of note.

    When thest was down, he turned to see Rhun still locked inbat. A dextrous undead with a rapier hopped forward and back, testing Rhun with neat and precise strikes. Rhun responded with perfect form, the hallmark of a [Warrior], striking at the undead with a longsword while holding the torch in his offhand. His motions were smooth and elegant. Every strike was perfectly calibrated to be exactly where it should be. But perfection was also predictable, and their duel raged back and forth, neither gaining ground.

    The undead cut towards Rhun¡¯s feet, and the [Warrior] stepped back to avoid it, and now the undead was vulnerable from above. Lurn saw the feint for what it was, but Rhun was too inexperienced, too used to relying on his ss. He swung high and smacked the top of the cave with his sword.

    The undead grinned and stabbed forward. A panicked Rhun swung wildly with his torch, managing to both parry the stab and catch the undead¡¯s sleeve on fire. It screeched and jumped back, but that was more than enough of an opening for Rhun, who cut its leg off at the knee and then finished it off on the ground.

    ¡°Yes! I am triumphant! Two levels!¡± Rhun cheered, ringing his sword against the roof again as he threw his hands up in the air. ¡°And we¡¯ve confirmed it. The undead are moving through here. What will they do when we return with word of this?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll send a team of sappers here to copse the tunnel and make sure nothing can use this to get to the surface,¡± said Lurn.

    Rhun scoffed. ¡°In Prinnash, we woulde with armies and destroy the undead to thest.¡±

    Lurn shook his head. ¡°Prinnash would be too worried about Ond and Frenaria if they suddenly moved an army away from the border and underground. They would copse the tunnel with sappers.¡±

    ¡°No. Not in Prinnash,¡± said Rhun. Then he shifted his expression to look a little less cocky. ¡°But perhaps¡­ we could have this conversation up above?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go a little deeper,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Just a hunch.¡±

    Deeper they went. The tunnel quickly met up with a main thoroughfare. The stone floor probably looked like nothing to a [Warrior], but to a [Hunter] it opened up a whole world. He saw traces of great giant undead, down on hands and knees to fit under the low ceilings. He saw the cking feet of armor, the partial feet of undead rotting with each step, the cloth shoes of regr undead soldiers. He saw undead beasts, followed by undead humans holding the chains.

    And¡­ something else. Something he couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on.

    There was a sound in the distance, a rumbling sound of running feet. A lot of them wereing this way. That was their loss. This thoroughfare went in a straight line for nearly five hundred feet. With his bow, he could¡­

    He¡¯d snapped his bow. He couldn¡¯t fight that many. He needed to be out of here before they came.

    ¡°Bring the torch over!¡± Lurn ordered.

    Rhun rushed toply, moving away from the side tunnel to raise it above the tracks Lurn was looking at. ¡°Is this how they¨C¡±

    ¡°Hush.¡± He scanned the ground, looking for clues. What had he missed? He¡¯d seen passages like this before, but never with that same feeling like there was a clue here that he¡¯d noticed but not understood. He ran his eyes up and down the tunnel floor, willing himself to see, to understand.

    Big undead and little undead. Armored undead and rotting undead. Smelly, stinky, worthless, body odor undead. Big undead and little undead. He was thinking in circles.

    Little undead. There was a small, muddy footprint there, so obvious that even Rhun could probably see it. The mud was¡­ oh.

    He got it. The mud. Lurn didn¡¯t like mud, but he understood it. When your senses were far beyond the natural, you started to see the tiny differences in things. Like how mud dried differently when it was cool, rather than if it had been slightly warmed by a living body.

    That small shoe print had been made by something alive. It had been made by a child.

    All at once the rest of the weirdness snapped into ce. Undead hade this way, but also people. Lots of people.

    Arcaena was using these tunnels to move arge poption of humans. But why? The good part was that he wasn¡¯t the one in charge of figuring that out. All he needed to do was get this information to Lumina.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen what I need to. Get ready. We¡¯re fighting our way to the surface.¡±

    He tilted his head to the side on instinct, and felt the air as an arrow flew past his cheek.

    ¡°Scratch that. I have onest thing I want to do.¡±

    Lurn smiled. An arrow meant a bow. He wanted that bow. Then they would fight their way to the surface.

 Book 3. Chapter 42

    Book 3. Chapter 42

    As soon as he realized that he wouldn''t be able to help the dead Bowers, Hogg dashed out of the house, throwing up a blizzard of visible eyes into the air. Once they were high enough in the air and out of sight, he started yelling. "Attack! Vampire attack in the city! Call the Watch!"

    Brin followed him out, tugging on Hogg''s coat. "I don''t think it was a vampire."

    "Shut up!" Hogg hissed.

    ¡°I really think¨C¡±

    ¡°I know what you think! But we have to consider that the most likely answer is the correct one. Maybe there really is some kind of monster following you around. If there is, then vampire is the most likely, so that¡¯s what we¡¯re going with. Now quiet, we don¡¯t know who might be listening.¡± Hogg continued shouting about a vampire attack, and Brin kept his mouth shut.

    Lights came on in windows across the street, and Brin saw the movement of the Watch''s light against the buildings suddenly move faster. Very fast, like a speeding car.

    He saw a team of the Watch turn the corner and dash down the street with Skill-enhanced speed. If they''d been this fast while chasing Brin and his friends they would''ve caught them easily. Either the [Watch] didn''t want to use that Skill on a crowded street for fear of trampling people, or they hadn''t thought it was worth it to catch a few teenagers involved in minor mischief.

    Whatever the case, they seemed like an entirely different sort of group now. A heavily armored man strode up to Hogg, unphased by his rapid dash here. "Speak!"

    Another held up a rod, some sort of artifact that didn''t respond to [Inspect]."While we were talking, [Mind Healer] Bowers suddenly grew tired and then copsed, dead as soon as he hit the floor. Neither me nor my ward had anything to do with the attack and no reason to believe it wasing," said Hogg.

    "Truth," said the Watchman with the artifact.

    "Stay here," said the leader, and then ordered his men to spread out and search the area. Brin had no hope that they were going to find anything. The real answer to this search was going toe the next time he found himself a bed, and he was more than ready for that. This day had been full of ups and downs and now all he wanted was toy down and go to sleep.

    He noticed the telltale feeling of sound magic as Hogg put a silencing spell around them. "You do one, too. Find it," Hogg said without moving his lips.

    Brin shook his head. "There''s nothing to find. I think--"

    "Not now. Just do it."

    Brin started his spell for Invisible Eye. He was interrupted halfway through when he heard the Watch shouting that they''d found something in the sky. One look at Hogg''s clenched jaw told Brin that they''d found one of his Visible Eyes, meaning he''d have to dismiss them so that they wouldn''t keep looking in the wrong direction.

    That was enough to break Brin out of his Invisible Eye, so he started over, chanting the words in his mind along with the stored memory from his ring. When he finished it, he didn''t have any great idea of where to look, or even what he was looking for. He started in the room with the body and then made a spiral moving around and around in an ever expanding loop. Hepletely ignored things like walls and doors and simply moved in his pattern, looking for any sign of monsters. He found many people sleeping in their beds, and the Watch moving through the streets, but nothing resembling any kind of monster.

    He had to dismiss the Invisible eye when the Watch ordered the both of them toe back to the station. Lumina''s ring proved its worth again, because the Watch captain brought them to an office instead of a cell and questioned them both together.

    Brin felt numb and disconnected during the interrogation, preferring to let Hogg spoke whenever possible. A man had died right in front of him and he was¡­ fine. Maybe it was because of the way Bowers had died; it hadn¡¯t been violent and there wasn¡¯t any blood. Maybe his lizard brain still thought that the man had justid down and went to sleep. Or maybe Brin was just numb. He¡¯d seen a lot of people die during the Battle of Hammon¡¯s Bog, people he¡¯d known and liked. Maybe he didn¡¯t have it in him to feel bad about one random guy he hardly knew. Guiltily, he realized that he honestly felt a little relieved that he¡¯d gotten his answer without <em>actually </em>having to do therapy.

    This wasn¡¯t a Scarred One thing. The Scarred One raged and ranted against every minor slight. This was the sser¡¯s dark side, and he didn¡¯t like it. Sure, the Scarred One had been psychotic, but at least he¡¯d cared. If the alternative was to be someone this callous, he¡¯d rather have the Scarred One back. The thought made him sick to his stomach.

    If the Watch Captain noticed Brin¡¯s inner turmoil, he didn¡¯t mention it. He kept his questions direct and on point, and didn''t press when Hogg refused to talk about his ss or his business in the town. He kept to the details of the case, going over the conversation with Bowers, writing down every detail that Brin remembered, and trying to jog his memory for any small details he might have overlooked.

    After an hour of questioning with the Watch captain and an [Interrogator], an aide burst into the office where Brin and Hogg were being held. "We found it!"

    "Wait, really?" Brin asked.

    "Show me," said Hogg.

    The Watch marched them back, towards the same neighborhood where the [Mind Healer] had been killed, only a few blocks away. There was arge crowd of Watch members as well as a few [Hunters] that had probably been hired onter. They parted for the captain, giving Brin a good look.

    On the ground was a strange batlike creature. It was about four feet long,pletely furless, with a long, pointy nose. An arrow still pierced it straight through.

    "[Hunter] Tomil here snagged it out of the air. We wouldn''t have seen it if we hadn''t already been searching the sky," said one of the Watch.

    Brin used [Inspect].

    Sleeper Dustling. Level 21. Deceased.

    "Can these things make people fall asleep?" Brin asked.

    "The two of you are free to go," said the Watch captain. "We''ll fill you in when we have more information."

    Eager to take the chance for freedom, Brin and Hogg walked away without another word.

    As they walked down the city streets, Brin felt stunned. There had actually been a monster? He''d sort of thought... Well, he hadn''t known what to think, but he''d never have guessed that the simplest exnation was the right one. It was too neat. It wrapped everything up too nicely.

    "Could that monster have actually killed him?"

    "It''s got ''Sleeper'' right there in the name," said Hogg. "It''s a little low-level to be able to both put someone to sleep and kill them, but Bowers wasn''t exactly a high-level individual. Maybe he had some other kind of condition that made him weak to this type of thing."

    "Something about this isn''t right. If the Sleeper Dustling even was the culprit, I think it''s more likely that something was empowering it somehow," said Brin.

    "I agree," said Hogg. "We have to examine the possibility that Pio is working against you."

    "Pio? It''s hard to believe. He seems like the kind of guy who would use his fists if he has a problem with someone," said Brin.

    "That''s my impression, too. But too many things are adding up against him at this point. If we just assume that he''s a really good actor, then everything slides into ce. He and Zerif are only pretending to be at odds, when in reality they''re both doing the same thing. Causing chaos to weaken Frenaria. All the monster attacks, and then this one. Its purpose had to have been to stop you from figuring out how they''re getting to you. Maybe I was wrong about Zerif being a spy for Prinnash. Maybe he''s a spy for Arcaena."

    That thought gave Brin a chill. "Before he died, Bowers said that I''m under attack." said Brin.

    "That all but confirms it," said Hogg.

    "Do you think the Baron is in on it, too?" asked Brin.

    "I think he''s what he seems. He decided to look the other way with Zerif''s antics because he knew the kingdom wouldn''t like the way it would look if he hired a small army to hunt them down." Hogg frowned. "But if I was wrong about Pio I could be wrong about anyone. Whatever the case, I don''t think he''ll move against us."

    "So what are we going to do now? Should we find a different caravan to take them to Steamshield?"

    Hogg smiled. "Why? If they really are spies, then thest thing they''ll want is us toe along and keep killing all their monsters and ruining all their ns. Nah, let''s make them sweat a little. n is the same as always."

    Brinughed. "I think I must be tired because that didn''t sound as stupid as it should. I think we both must be tired."

    Back at their inn, they found Zilly outside, curled up on the front step fast asleep. She leapt to her feet when he touched her shoulder to wake her. "Huh? Wha--?" Her eyes focused on Brin. "Are we in trouble? You were gone so long, and then the Watch started going crazy running around! I thought you might''ve been trying to bust loose!"

    Right, thest they''d seen her was before they''d gone to meet the Baron. "No, no it''s fine. Neves was pretty cool about it and we talked it out." He wasn¡¯t ready to talk about Bowers yet.

    "Really? That''s great but... oh wow, it''s almost morning. He must have been quite a talker."

    "What were you doing on the front step?" asked Brin.

    "They wouldn''t let me wait inside."

    "Well,e on in. You can crash on our couch for tonight."

    Hogg moved between Zilly and Brin, grabbing them both by the shoulder. "No, I have a better idea. Brin is going to sleep, and you''re going to stay up. I could use your [Rogue] senses. We''re trying to catch the monster that''s been giving Brin nightmares. Something snuck up and killed Brin¡¯s [Mind Healer] while they were talking, with me sitting right outside. We need someone to keep an eye out."

    ¡°What will you be doing?" Zilly asked Hogg. She still thought he was a [Rogue], so his senses should''ve been better than hers.

    "Same thing, but from outside." More likely, he¡¯d be sending a cloud of Visible Eyes out to scour the area.

    Zilly shrugged. "That''s fine. Whatever you need."

    She yawned, which gave Brin a spike of panic, but he shot it down. He couldn''t spend his entire life thinking that people were under attack from a sleep monster every time they got tired.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    They went inside. Zilly marveled at the luxurious rooms, but Brin was too tired to really engage. He quickly slipped into pajamas and went to bed.

    He was asleep in seconds. And ten hours of dreamless sleepter, he woke up again.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t work,¡± he said. Why? He was so sure that whatever had been tormenting his dreams the past few months would show up again, but nothing had happened.

    His months of nightmares weren¡¯t so far in the past that he could say he was over it. Every time he got a full night¡¯s rest, it still felt luxurious, like he was reclining on one of those old <em>chaise longue</em> chairs while one servant fed him grapes and another fanned him with a palm frond. Needlessly indulgent.

    It was also somewhat disappointing. He¡¯d been ready for a fight, and nothing had happened.

    He padded his way into themon room and sat down at the table. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why didn¡¯t that work?¡±

    Hogg wasn¡¯t around, and Zilly was passed out on the couch, but Marksi was up and excited to see him moving around, so Brin talked to him. ¡°I think they must have enchantments on the bed to help you sleep. Maybe it¡¯s also blocking whatever has been messing with my dreams?¡±

    Marksi nodded to say that must be it.

    ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s a general Skill that I could use to let me sniff out magic. I can¡¯t sense it very well unless it¡¯s using light, sound, or ss,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi looked down at him condescendingly.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Your magic sense is pretty good. Can you tell if the bed is enchanted?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail for <em>yes</em>.

    Brin walked back to his room and used [Inspect] on the bed.

    Here at Fortune and Bent¡¯s House for Distinguished Travelers, we pride ourselves on offering the very best service money can buy. Our beds are made of only the finest materials and use patented and first-rate enchantments to provide afortable, restful, and private sleeping experience.

    Did everyone have custom messages now? He was living in the world of high-level crafters, and he wasn¡¯t sure he liked it. It was true that the average level here in Oud¡¯s Bog was much lower than the average in Hammon¡¯s Bog, but the upper limit was much higher.

    The bed was definitely enchanted, though. He¡¯d have to sleep somewhere else if he wanted to figure out what was going on with his dreams.

    Soon after, Zilly woke up and stumbled her way to the restroom. When she came out she went straight back to the sofa andid down again and closed her eyes. ¡°This ce is insane! I could get used to running water, I think.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a game-changer,¡± Brin agreed.

    ¡°Oh, hey, looks like Myra¡¯s here. Which is good, because it¡¯s been like two days. I was just about to start looking for her. The boys, too.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± asked Brin. ¡°And where¡¯s Hogg?¡±

    ¡°I can hear them.¡± She put a pillow on her face and hugged it. ¡°Sleeping sucks as a [Rogue]. I can hear every burp and fart in a three block radius.¡±

    ¡°Ouch.¡±

    ¡°Go get them already! If I leave the room I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll let me back in,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin walked down to the lobby, and sure enough, found his friends and brought them back to his suite.

    Myra strode through into the room with a huge grin on her face. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy! You¡¯re never going to guess what I¡¯ve been up to.¡±

    Davi made himself at home and sat next to Brin at the table, biting into an apple from a fruit bowl. Sion stood in the doorway awkwardly, as if unsure what the etiquette was here.

    Zilly tossed her pillow and sat up with a groan, rubbing her temples. ¡°We¡¯ve been up to some crazy stuff, too.¡±

    ¡°Well, I bet my story is better,¡± said Myra.

    Zilly snorted. ¡°Doubt it. But you go first.¡±

    ¡°I finished all that spidersilk and then Sion here helped me sell it,¡± Myra said proudly.

    ¡°For a very profitable percentage,¡± Sion added.

    ¡°For a tiny percentage. I don¡¯t think one percent was enough,¡± Myra said.

    ¡°Any is too much, when you should be able to expect the [Merchants] to give you a fair price in the first ce,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°Get this. I got eighty-six gold for it.¡±

    Zilly whistled.

    Brin looked at Sion. ¡°You¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°<em>I¡¯m</em> good,¡± said Myra. ¡°I¡¯m rich! You know Hogg offered to lend me money to get a business started, but I don¡¯t even need it anymore. I could start up anywhere. Ok, now you guys go. What have you been up to?¡±

    Brin made eye-contact with Davi, Sion, and Zilly, and none of them were eager to speak up first. He wanted to let Myra bask in her victory a little longer. It really was a remarkable achievement. He also didn¡¯t quite know how to start with all the craziness.

    ¡°Brin made up a new song,¡± Davi started slowly.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes, <em>They Call Me Kukubaru</em>,¡± said Sion.

    Myra¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°I heard that one! That was you?¡±

    ¡°But he yed it too loud so we got chased across town by the Watch,¡± said Zilly. ¡°We got away though.¡±

    ¡°Until the Baron was waiting for me back in my room,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Right, so then Brin went to dinner with the Baron,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Nope! And the Baron said he was crazy and he needed to see a [Mind Healer],¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°That tracks,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°And I may have gotten proposed to, a little bit. He tried to set me up with his daughter,¡± said Brin.

    Myra froze, eyes wide in shocks.

    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t tell me that part!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°I said no.¡± Brin said, to which all four sighed in relief. He rushed to continue. ¡°Then I went to the [Mind Healer] and he said there was nothing wrong with me and then fell over dead. That about cover it?¡±

    Davi and Sion gasped in shock, not having heard that part of the story yet. Myra crossed the room and sat down on the couch next to Zilly. She leaned forward and put her head to her knees and groaned. ¡°I left you guys alone for two days! Not even two whole days!¡±

    The group told Myra the story again, this time in more detail. After that Brin got the chance to congratte her on her recent sale. Eventually the conversation dwindled, and Davi started making noises about going back to the [Bards¡¯] Terrace to see what kind of music was ying there now. No one had any objections, so they set off.

    On their way out the door, Sion pulled Brin aside. ¡°And how are you doing?¡± the older boy asked, a look of real concern in his eyes.

    ¡°Fine?¡± Brin asked, a little confused.

    ¡°You saw a man die. That couldn¡¯t have been easy.¡±

    Brin smiled weakly. ¡°I think it¡¯s going to take some time for my emotions to catch up. Right now it still doesn¡¯t feel real.¡± If only he could pretend it wasn¡¯t. [Know What¡¯s Real] was merciless.

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°I think what I need right now it to get out of here. Get my mind on something else.¡±

    Sion smiled. ¡°I see. Then let us be off! Adventure awaits!¡±

    Only, Brin didn¡¯t get very far. Ten steps out of his hotel he was stopped by a member of the Watch.

    ¡°Excuse me, sir. I was wondering if you might decide to stay close at hand, at your inn perhaps, for the contingency that in the course of our ongoing investigation we find the need to ask you for assistance.¡±

    Brin looked at the Watchman. The man had an excellent blond mustache, and his helmet didn¡¯t have an eyeguard, which meant that Brin could see the way that he wasn¡¯t quite meeting his eyes when he spoke.

    ¡°Are you saying I can¡¯t leave?¡±

    ¡°You are by no means under arrest. I was ordered to pass along this request from the captain of the Watch.¡±

    ¡°So I can go?¡±

    ¡°It would be better if you decided to stay. At present you are by no means under arrest.¡± The man still didn¡¯t meet his eyes.

    ¡°Will I be under arrest if I try to leave?¡±

    ¡°It is impossible for me to specte at the present moment.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s be clear then. Am I a suspect in Mr. Bowers¡¯ death?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not at present, no,¡± said the Watchman.

    Brin looked at his friends. He <em>probably </em>wouldn¡¯t get arrested if he just walked away, no matter what this guy was trying to imply. But he¡¯d been pushing his luck quite a bit in this town, and decided that maybe it was time to reign it in.

    ¡°You guys go on without me.¡±

    He stayed cooped up in the inn for the rest of the day, reading the newspapers, and then a few novels that the staff brought in for him. The next day wasn¡¯t any different, and he spent the entire time cooped up inside.

    He lost patience for reading and turned to training instead. He wasn¡¯t in the mood for pushup and didn¡¯t want to sour the fabulous hotel rooms with the stench of sweat, so he turned to illusions. [Directed Meditation] gave him sor for his useless, wandering thoughts and he put all his energy into perfecting his spells. Mirror Image was especially under-utilized. There was nothing wrong with the spell, but he needed more practice with it if he was ever going to use it for more than a brief distraction.

    Eventually he even got sick of that and had to stop, despite [Directed Meditation] helping him stay focused. Hogg told him that he¡¯d help Brin sneak off if he really had to, but the reluctance in his voice told Brin that the situation outside was still sticky. They¡¯d found a monster who could¡¯ve killed Bowers, but the Watch obviously didn¡¯t think that was all there was to the story any more than Brin and Hogg did. They didn¡¯t want Brin moving around until they ruled him out.

    He spent three days like that, stuck inside, going out of his mind in boredom. His friends came by a few times to regale him with stories of what they got up to without him, but it was all normal stuff. Shopping, listening to music, hanging out in bars, and seeing the sights. No run-ins with the Watch and no monsters when Brin wasn¡¯t around. He was starting to wonder if <em>he</em> was the problem.

    Hogg came and went as he pleased. He snuck out any time of day or night, leaving behind a Mirror Image to keep the Watch and the inn¡¯s staff fooled.

    The Watch came by a few times to ask follow-up questions about the monster, but Brin honestly couldn¡¯t tell them any more than he already had. They seemed content to let the mattery how it was. On hisst day in town, Brin saw an article about it, on the fourth page of the newspaper. There was a short story about a random monster that snuck into town and killed an elderly man, only to be eliminated immediately by the Watch.

    He didn¡¯t hear from the Baron again, or from I. Brin got the feeling that if he¡¯d reached out, the Baron would¡¯ve been more than happy to make the entire thing go away, but then he really would have owed the man a favor.

    That night, Hogg told him to sleep on the floor in themon room.

    ¡°Only the bedrooms are warded for privacy. If you really have something attacking your dreams, there shouldn¡¯t be any barriers preventing them from getting to you on the floor there. If we¡¯re really going to test this out, then we should do it now before we start traveling with the caravan again.¡±

    ¡°Are you ready with your Visible Eyes?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got this area locked down as well as I can, and I hired a few associates to keep an eye on the outside. If there¡¯s a monster in the area, we¡¯ll know.¡±

    ¡°Right. Then I guess it¡¯s now or never.¡±

    For whatever reason, Brin couldn¡¯t fall asleep right away. It could be because he was dealing with cabin fever from a week stuck in his rooms, but it could also be the knowledge that he might be fighting some unknown threat in his dreams.

    Whatever the case, he stared at the ceiling for an entire hour, waiting for sleep that didn¡¯te. It was hard to even close his eyes.

    Tired of waiting, he asked Hogg for a sleeping potion, but he refused. ¡°What happens if you do get attacked by a nightmare monster? You¡¯ll need to be able to wake yourself up.¡±

    So Brin turned around and did push-ups. If the reason he couldn¡¯t sleep was because he wasn¡¯t tired, then that was a fixable problem. Of course, push-ups did nothing to wear him out now, but that was a fixable problem, too.

    Hogg pushed down on him with heavy bars of hard light, canceling out his high Strength and letting him feel the burn. At ny push-ups that way, he felt like he couldn¡¯t keep going, but he pushed himself before knocking out thest ten, up to an even hundred.

    This time when hey down on his back on the hard floor, it felt a lot more wee. After his breathing regted and his pulse went down, it wasn¡¯t so hard to keep his eyes closed.

    Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

    The dream was strange. He knew he was dreaming immediately, but there was nothing there. No sound or images, just an awareness that he was asleep and that he was dreaming.

    It wasn¡¯t a darkness, or a in white room; it was nothing. Theck of any image at all, but there was something else. A feeling. The dream felt¡­ hesitant. Nervous?

    He pictured himself back in his room at the inn, and the dream filled in the details. His bed, dresser, closet, the door. And now he could feel it. There was something behind the door.

    Well, he¡¯d had his suspicions¡­ No, not even that. Just a gut instinct.

    ¡°Aberfa?¡± he called. ¡°Is that you?¡±

    The door opened, and a woman stepped out. She wore a purple button-down shirt tucked into trousers with a silver belt. Her hair was long and ck, like Tawna and Myra¡¯s, and her face was familiar. He knew it, even though he¡¯d never seen it before.

    ¡°You¡¯re Aberfa, right? You¡¯re the one who¡¯s been in my dreams all this time.¡± This was the one who had been <em>torturing </em>his dreams all this time. His mouth was dry with fear and horrid expectation, but his voice was strong and even. ¡°It¡¯s always been you. Aberfa.¡±

    ¡°No. Not for you. Never for you.¡± She crossed the room in an instant, pulling him into a warm hug. She was gentle, and surprisingly soft, and she was the answer to a longing that his soul had never known but his body hadn¡¯t quite forgotten. ¡°My boy. My poor, sweet Aberthol. I am never Aberfa to you. You must call me mother.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 43

    Book 3. Chapter 43

    Brin''s pulse pounded in his ears. Despite the fact that [Know What''s Real] made Brin absolutely certain that this was a dream, he''d never felt more strongly connected with his body. His pulse thrummed with heated anger, and disgust. This was her, the one who''d spent all those months torturing him. The one who''d ruined his lessons with Lumina, making him so tired during her lessons that he''d barely been able to stay awake. The one who''d made him relive every single painful memory from his darkest days over and over, trying to break him.

    Now she''d waltzed back into his mind and hugged him. To make it worse, part of him felt better. He''d needed a hug like this. How touch-starved was he if a hug from his psychopathic torturer actually sort of helped?

    He pushed her away, violently, or tried to, but his body made a simple separation. Right, he wasn''t in full control here. He wasn''t in control at all. Every dream he''d had until now had been guided by herpletely. He hadn''t been able to control his body or even his emotions, only his mind had been left to him, and that was only because of [Know What''s Real]. Should he just wake up now? No. He needed answers.

    Brin looked down at his fist. He unclenched his hand and clenched it again. So he did have some control over his body. He tried to swing a punch into her jaw, but his arm didn''t even twitch.

    She smirked at him. "Look at you! How big you''ve grown!"

    It might''ve been the toxic, burning anger messing with his head but Brin couldn''t stand it. He made a decision. "No. Aberthol is dead."

    "Hm, no, that isn''t true. Aberthol is standing before me now, in a manner of speaking."

    Brin shook his head. "You don''t get it. Your son, Aberthol, he died. The gods put my soul in his body, but he''s gone. Moved on. He got a choice and he decided to move on, rather than to keep living in a world with you in it."

    She kept smiling. She didn''t get it yet, but she would. He''d make her see, and couldn''t help but grin as he imagined that confidence turned to shock and then despair once she realized that the Mother''s Knot, her death, and her work all this time had been for nothing.Aberfa put a hand to her mouth and giggled. "I have to say, you''ve changed a bit sincest we were together and not altogether for the worse."

    "You''re not getting it," said Brin. "We''ve never met before! Aberthol is dead."

    Aberfa rolled her eyes. "Am I the one misunderstanding something? Come now. I''ve been here in your head all this time. You think I don''t know about your... rearrangement? No. I knew. I knew right away, of course I did. I''m your mother."

    "If you knew, then you know you''re not my mother! You''re..." Brin was at a loss for words. This wasn''t going at all like he''d expected.

    She grabbed his hand in both or hers, and he yanked it away. She said, "It''s not about souls. It''s about bodies."

    The dream changed and they were kneeling on the floor in a plush andfortable room, small and circr with stone walls, but covered with pillows and stacks of books scattered randomly.

    She took his hand again, and he was powerless to pull it away.

    "Stop it!" he growled.

    "No. Now, you seem to be confused about something, so let me exin. I never imed to be the mother of your soul. Witches, you''ll understand, are the most pious of women, because out of all people, we''re the ones who are most careful to never take something we don''t deserve. If there is such a thing as a soul, some primal essence that existed before you were born and continues after you die, then I had nothing to do with it. That belongs to the gods and them alone. No, I birthed your body. I bore you for nine months and delivered you in terrible pain, and suckled you to my breast. I suppose you are correct about one thing. This is the first time we are meeting, after a manner of speaking. Hello Aberthol. I am your mother."

    Brin stood and paced, though there wasn''t much space for it amid the pillows and stacks of books. He''d call it a cozy space, if he''d been in the mood for that. Right now he just wanted to move, and he didn''t seem to be able to attack her, so that meant pacing. "And you think that gives you the right to show up here as if nothing is wrong? You tortured me for months with nightmares!"

    "A valuable learning experience, which you squandered."

    "You sent monsters to try to kill me!" Brin yelled.

    "You love fighting monsters, don''t lie."

    "You killed Bowers."

    "Don''t pretend you care about that."

    He wanted to explode. The way she calmly sat there, not rising to his anger at all and giving her insane answers as if they were perfectly reasonable made him want to break something. "Why? Why won''t you leave me alone?"

    Aberfa sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. "This pure, passionate emotion. Intoxicating."

    Brin bit back a yelled reply. Was she doing something to his emotions? They were really his, he could tell, but she might be amplifying them. Increasing his anger while suppressing his natural instinct to stay calm and think things through.

    He needed to be more careful here. He needed information, and as long as she was willing to talk, he should take advantage of that.

    Brin glowered at her. "How are you even here? Cadwy told me you were on your way to torture and death. Don''t tell me Arcaena forgave you?"

    Aberfa''s expression froze. "She did not." Then she softened again. "Shepelled me to craft my own prison. But we can discuss that moreter."

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    "What do you want?"

    "What any mother wants. I want to be here. I want to be part of your life. To witness your triumphs and failures, yourughter and tears. To guide you on the right path. I want to help you. I can teach you. Weren''t you wondering why that sser was able to wrest that bowl away from you? I''ll show you. Your new Skill, [Know What''s Wyrd], you''re using it a as a [Witch]-detector, but it could be so much more! I will teach you. Aren''t you curious about what secrets a highdy of Arcaena might divulge? Secrets that might aid your new home kingdom? I will give them to you."

    Brin didn''t want to spend even a second longer with this woman than he had to, but at the same time... secrets. He couldn''t deny that he wouldn''t mind picking her brain if she was willing to talk. "What would you want in return?"

    "Why are we talking of bargains? I will do this because I want to! That''s what I''m trying to tell you. I want to help you, Aberthol.

    "It''s Brin now."

    "No. It''s Aberthol. Which reminds me. If this is going to work, I must set certain expectations. I will be treated with the respect with which I am owed. You will show proper deference while we are together. If this is impossible for you, then we will go back to doing what we were doing before."

    Brin stood. "You--!"

    Aberfa held up a hand. "Take some time to think it over. As much time as you need."

    The floor fell out beneath him, and he dropped into hell.

    Monsters made of shadow and bone reached out at him as he fell, grabbing at him with hooked ws that tore away gouges of skin. It was blisteringly hot and the air was acidic and stung his new wounds. His emotions in this dream so far had tended towards the Scarred One, but he had none of the pain resistance from that ss, so he felt everything. Worse was the dread, the painful stinging fear of knowing that he was still falling; he was headed down and when he got to the bottom it would be worse.

    [Know What¡¯s Real] was a faint protection. He briefly considered trying to tough it out and get at least an hour or two of sleep.

    No. <em>Screw this.</em>

    He woke up.

    He gasped and sat up at the sudden release of pain. He¡¯d call it a relief, but the pain hadn¡¯t been real and the fear lingered, the way it did when you woke up from a nightmare. He took a moment to clear his head.

    Marksi scampered out of his bedroom and rocketed into Brin¡¯s arms. He stroked his ridges, thankful for the contact.

    ¡°Tell me,¡± said Hogg.

    So Brin did. He recited the entire conversation, using Memories in ss to make sure that he recited everything word for word in the parts where he was unsure.

    By the end, Hogg was pacing and fuming, amusingly simr to how Brin had been acting in the dream. ¡°Unbelievable, thisdy. Who does she think she is? We¡¯ll get her, Brin. Don¡¯t you worry about that. I¡¯m going to kill this witch.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a monster, she¡¯s got to be. Somehow she found a way to turn into a monster but keep her sanity. That¡¯s how she¡¯s doing all this without setting off your [Know What¡¯s Wyrd]. The simpler exnation really was correct; we¡¯ve got to find a monster. She probably specializes in stealth, which is how she¡¯s been working under our noses this whole time.¡±

    ¡°S she¡¯s been hanging out nearby, with you and Lumina in the house? I just don¡¯t buy that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not as good at sniffing out spies as I used to be, and I don¡¯t know if Lumina even bothers,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But you¡¯re right. It is a little far-fetched. Maybe her range increases if she knows her target? She crafted her own prison, she said. Sounds like Arcaena forced her to be a monster, but left her free to choose what kind, and what kind of powers she would have. Looks like she wanted the power to contact you.¡±

    ¡°Why, though?¡±

    ¡°What mother wouldn¡¯t¨C¡±

    ¡°Do not call her my mother,¡± Brin cut in.

    Hogg held up a hand in apology. ¡°Sorry. You¡¯re right. But that¡¯s probably the reason. She wants things to go back to the way it was between her and Aberthol. Which isn¡¯t you, just to be clear.¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m tired. And it looks like I¡¯m going to be tired for a long time,¡± said Brin. He leaned his head back against the wall. It was too soon for despair, but <em>man</em> he was tired, and this was just getting started.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Because¡­ oh, she can¡¯t get to me in that enchanted bed. But that¡¯s just for tonight. After this, we have to move on,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯ll interrogate the staff and see if I can get a copy of whatever enchantment they¡¯re using. If not¡­ I don¡¯t know. We can steal the bed. Or buy it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We¡¯ve already found the solution.¡± Brin felt his shoulders unknot themselves in relief. ¡°I don¡¯t have to endure her nightmares anymore. But don¡¯t you think I should learn from her? She knows stuff about Arcaena. Don¡¯t I have a duty to the country or something?¡±

    ¡°Burn duty!¡± Hogg said. ¡°This is an opportunity! Think about it. This psycho had an educationparable to Lumina¡¯s. She¡¯s like an anti-Lumina with no morals who¡¯s willing to teach you the really <em>messed up</em> stuff. I¡¯m not going to tell you what to do, but if I were in your shoes I¡¯d be on that offer faster than a Kukubaru on a fresh baked brown snake.¡±

    Brinughed, but it came out a little bitter. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. You haven¡¯t been through these nightmares. She¡¯s vicious.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying you endure the nightmares, just the opposite. Never let her drop you into one of those ever again. If she starts in with that, then you wake up immediately.¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°She¡¯ll never teach me if I don¡¯t y her game.¡±

    ¡°Yes, she will. Let me tell you something about abusers, Brin. They can be charming when they need to be. You give her the cold shoulder for a week or two, and she¡¯ll be eating out of your hand when you go back. It¡¯s only when they think they have you that the maskes off.¡±

    Brin¡¯s eyes were starting to droop, and he still needed to test out this bed in the inn. It could still be possible that Aberfa hadn¡¯t messed with him in here because she was showing restraint and not because she had been unable. The sooner he got that settled, the sooner he could make ns.

    Once he actually climbed into bed again, however, his eyes didn¡¯t seem to want to stay shut. That was the way of things, wasn¡¯t it? You were always tired until you went to bed, but then you couldn¡¯t sleep. He¡¯d experienced that a lot more as Mark than as Brin, though. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he¡¯d been cooped up in this room for so long. Well, that would change tomorrow. The caravan was scheduled to leave in the morning, headed towards ckcliff.

    Eventually, sleep did sneak up on him, and when he woke up in the morning he feltpletely refreshed. Even searching through his memories didn¡¯t yield much, just a vague feeling of frustration. It had worked.

    Throughout the morning, he didn¡¯t have much time to think about anything. Hogg spent the early hour before dawn shouting at the poor staff to give him answers about the enchantments, and got three answers. There was an unenchanted jar full of ash, rosemary, and incense hidden under the bed, which was said to help ease into good sleep. There was an idol carved into the back of the headboard, an image of Anshar as the rising sun. There was also a heavily enchanted nket made by a high-level [Weaver] that had been crafted to ward against a wide variety of ill effects. Thatst one was probably what actually did it, but Hogg made sure to get Brin a copy of all three.

    After that, they met up with the caravan again. Pio, the [Beast Master] who might¡¯ve sent Brin the Dream Dustling, greeted them with a respectful nod to Hogg and a gruff warning to remember the caravan¡¯s rules to Brin.

    Zerif, the spy from Prinnash who alsomanded a group of bandits towards mysterious ends, greeting them with a bow, cringing obsequious mannerisms, and a heavily sweating brow that he constantly dabbed with a handkerchief.

    The rest of the caravan greeted him with cheer and apuse and demands to y their new favorite song. The cheering only increased when he proudly changed his status to disy for all to see that he really was the author of Oud¡¯s Bog¡¯s number one hit single. He yed the song from atop a wagon as the caravan started to move.

    It was a cheerful, suspicious, happy, and grim caravan that started on the road towards ckcliff.

 Book 3. Chapter 44

    Book 3. Chapter 44

    It wasn¡¯t quite the same caravan that set off from Oud¡¯s Bog. For one thing, many of the merchants had stayed in the city and just as many more had joined up again, so there were a lot of new faces.

    Thendscape was an evenrger change. The deep, dark forests of the Bonds were far behind and the world ahead of them looked to be made of nothing but rolling prairies interspersed with cultivated fields. Theck of ominous forest made the tone of the journey feelpletely different than it had before. The world felt safer, more domesticated, and people acted as if the danger they¡¯d faced in the Bonds was going to stay there.

    The biggest new adjustment was by far the children. Three of the new wagons were families with children, and there were a few that had been left behind before. Apparently the [Dancer] had a ten-year-old son that she¡¯d left behind in Oud¡¯s Bog during their circuit through the Bonds, and the [Camp Chef] now had three grandchildren who¡¯d be traveling with them.

    They mostly stayed on the wagons as they moved, but seeing them tear around the camp during lunchtime,ughing and shrieking, was something that would take some getting used to.

    ¡°They¡¯re just kids, Brin. They aren¡¯t going to bite you,¡± Zilly said, sitting next to him with a bowl of stew. During the evenings the campsite would be set up with tables and copsible benches, but since this was just lunch he, Davi, Myra, and Sion had made do with a spot of soft grass.

    Brin realized that he¡¯d been ring at the new children and schooled his face. ¡°I don¡¯t mind kids. I¡¯m just surprised, I guess. After all the trouble we ran into on the way to Oud¡¯s Bog, I didn¡¯t think anyone would trust their kids out here.¡±

    Sion took a bite of stew, then winced at the heat and put it back down, blowing on it. ¡°You cannot leave your family behind all the time. Most of these caravans are more like traveling viges than adult workces. I think the only reason we were so lonely in thest leg was because of a..."

    Myra started making the "cut" motion across her neck at Sion, and he stared at her confused before finishing. "...a [Weaver¡¯s] predictions.¡±

    Myra winced, and Brinughed. "It''s fine. I don''t hate every [Weaver]. You guys can go have your future told all you want; I honestly don''t care."¡°In that case, there¡¯s a high-level [Weaver] in Oud¡¯s Bog. She predicted the danger from thest circuit, but now she says the journey from here to ckcliff will be safe,¡± Myra said.

    ¡°Really?¡± Brin asked. It was hard to believe anything was safe when a [Witch]-turned-monster mother was in your dreams.

    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s higher level than my mom. I don¡¯t even know if she has time for actual weaving anymore because loads and loads of people go to her before they set off on long journeys or make big decisions,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Did you?¡± Brin asked.

    Myra took a huge bite of stew, and then pointed at her mouth apologetically. Then she looked away. She kept chewing until the stew was long gone and Brin became aware that she was going to avoid the question.

    "So how are you going to stay busy now that you won''t be fighting monsters every day?" asked Zilly. "I''m sure you and Davi already cooked up some kind of insane training regimen."

    "I honestly hadn''t thought about it. I miss our weight set, but it was too heavy for the wagons. I guess I assumed we''d keep hunting monsters," said Brin

    Zilly shook her head. "There won''t be very many around, not until we get closer to ckcliff. We''re on a main highway now."

    "Well, I thought of something," said Davi.

    Davi decided to show them his great idea rather than simply tell them, so after they finished lunch, they followed him to one of the rear wagons where he unhitched the ox that had been pulling it and yoked himself in its ce.

    "You''re kidding," said Brin.

    "Nope," said Davi. "I can pull it. Just watch."

    Myra told him he was insane, and Zilly justughed while Sion just looked afraid that someone would ask him to do the same.

    A whistle came from the front of the caravan, signaling the start. Davi grit his teeth, took one firm step forward, and then another. "See?" he huffed. "I... told you."

    Brin would''ve guessed that Davi would run out of steam immediately, but the big guy kept pushing onwards, and carried the wagon the entire four hours until Zerif called for a stop.

    It probably was pretty good training, but it also looked kind of embarrassing and Brin had no desire to mimic that.

    At least until at the end of the day a weary Davi set down his burden, only for his tired frown to transform into an excited grin.

    "You got an Achievement for that, didn''t you?"

    "Maybe," Davi said, drawing out the word.

    "What was it?" Brin demanded.

    "Earn it yourself and see," said Davi.

    "Don''t give me that! I get more than enough of that type of thing from Hogg!"

    Davi folded his arms, which were still shaking from the strain, and frowned.

    "Give me a hint?"

    Davi shook his head. "Come on, Brin. I don''t want to be the only one doing this. It''s embarrassing."

    Brin sighed. "Fine."

    That night, he put all of the anti-nightmare wards in and around his sleeping roll. Hey under the enchanted nket despite the warm night, curled up around the jar full of ash, and put the board with the carven image of Anshar under his pillow. He needed to test this out the first night away, because if they somehow failed to protect him they''d still be able to turn around and get back to Oud''s Bog before he went insane.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    He was almost too nervous to fall asleep, but when he finally did the entire night passed dreamlessly.

    The next morning, he didn''t find Davi strapping himself to a wagon. Brin walked the entire length of the caravan until he found him near the front, and Davi confessed that he was so sore from the day before that he didn''t think he''d be able to try again today.

    That left Brin''s morning fairly free, but it wasn''t too long before Pio "casually" moved over to walk next to him.

    They walked along in silence for an awkward two minutes before the [Beast Master] nodded to the children sitting a few wagons ahead. "They brought their families. I hope we will have no monster attacks on this trip."

    "Me too," Brin agreed.

    Pio nodded, a little too vigorously. "Good. Yes. Putting the caravan in danger when we are all grown warriors, prepared and ready, that is perhaps forgivable. No one was hurt, so it''s in the past. But now is different. There are little ones here now. Nothing must disturb our peace."

    "I agree," Brin said slowly, thinking it through. Pio was acting like he thought Brin was somehow the one luring monsters to attack them. Brin thought it was Aberfa doing it, but Hogg still suspected Pio. And now Pio suspected him, making everything go around in circles. Maybe Pio was pretending, to deflect any suspicion, but Brin really didn''t think he was the type. He just couldn''t picture the shirtless, forthright [Beast Master] capable of any kind of scheming.

    "Do you think that they will stop? It would be strange if we were attacked here on the main road. It would draw attention," said Pio.

    Brin thought for a second. "Let me just go out and say it. I asked Hogg if he was luring monsters to the caravan in order to give mebat experience, and he said he''s not. But just in case, I''ll tell him to stop."

    "Good enough," said Pio, and he marched away.

    After lunch, Davi announced that he''d recovered enough, so Brin reluctantly hitched himself to a wagon, right behind Davi. The harness itself wasn''t overlyplicated, just arge bar across the top and a smooth leather strap to keep the bar from sliding around on the ox''s back. They relied on Pio''s Skills rather than machinery to keep the animals in ce and doing their jobs.

    The ox that he reced snorted at him and gave him an amused look, and sidled off to walk in ce alongside him.

    Brin grit his teeth, and took a step. He grunted when the load was heavier than he expected, but he still managed to pull it forward a step, and then another. It got a bit easier to pull as the wagon gained momentum, but every time the wagon hit even a tiny bump, the harness dug painfully into his shoulders and he had to strain to keep it rolling forward.

    It took his entire concentration to keep going, and he couldn''t even use [Directed Meditation] to ignore his body and think about illusions or something. He had to keep his focus on the here and now if he didn''t want to lose his step, and tripping now would probably get him run over by the wagon he was pulling.

    "What a wonderful... exercise routine... you''vee up with!" he gritted out.

    "Isn''t it great?" Davi called back with false cheer.

    The minutes crawled by slowly, making Brin feel each and every one of them with his entire body. At one point the [Dancer''s] two children came by and climbed up on his wagon,ughing and cheering as he pulled their slight added weight. When one of them threw a pebble at him, their mother scolded them and dragged them back forward to their own wagon.

    More than a few times, Brin stepped into a kukubaru snack from one of the beasts of burden in front of them. "Why are we so far back?" Brin yelled at Davi.

    "Zerif said we had to! Otherwise we''d stop the whole caravan if we slipped."

    When three hours had gone by and there was still an hour left, Brin was certain he wouldn''t be able to take another step. He knew he wouldn''t make it the full time, so he focused on just getting a little further. Just a few more steps before he copsed. He would get to that rock, no that tree, no that patch of grass, and then he would stop.

    Before he knew it, he heard a whistle. He was so exhausted that it didn''t register immediately what it was for so he kept plodding along. Just a few more steps. Davi''s wagon stopped in front of him, forcing him to stop as well. What was Davi doing? Now that they''d stopped, he didn''t think he''d be able to start again. Oh. The whistle. They were done for the day.

    Brin numbly tried to pull the harness off himself. It took three tries. Then he stumbled to the side, and copsed into the tall yellow grass on the side of the road.

    Through training you have received the following attribute: Vitality +2

    Two in one day was good, though he still wasn''t sure it was worth it. He never got two points for training in one day any more. That might be [Athletic Training]ing in; he''d have topare it to what Davi had earned. The System wasn''t done.

    Congrattions! Your Achievement has evolved. Workhorse (Rare) now gives +10 Vitality. You work like a horse. Literally.

    Brin couldn''t help but smile at that. Ok, maybe this had been worth doing after all. He hadn''t even known [Workhorse] could still evolve. He''d thought that it had been finished when he''d hit System Day.

    That night, he went to sleep without any of his protections, but he still didn''t have nightmares. He didn''t remember any dreams when he woke up, and after he reviewed the night through [Memories in ss], he didn''t find anything strange. He''d had vague impressions of his dinner with the Baron, a short, mildly ufortable memory of Bowers'' death, and a few random thoughts and images. Normal dreams, as far as he could tell, but he still couldn''t quite tell the difference between the dreams Aberfa sent and his natural imagination. [Know What''s Real] just told him they were dreams, it didn''t tell him the source.

    The next day he was as sore as he''d ever been in this world, and tly refused to try to pull a wagon again. Davi was d to join him in taking a break after he promised he''d try again tomorrow, but Zilly insisted on trying. She didn''t make it five minutes, though; she just didn''t have the raw attributes for it. Davi and Brinpromised by going on a long run with her after they stopped for the night, and they dragged Sion along to practice the new Running Skill he¡¯d taken.

    When Brin went to sleep the third night, again deliberately without his protections, Aberfa was there.

    They were back in the stone room with all the pillows he''d dreamt of before, and she knelt in front of him, smiling as if nothing were wrong at all in the world.

    "I''m surprised I didn''t see you yesterday."

    "I wanted toe, but I can''t have you taking this for granted. I put in a lot of work to see you again, you know. I think granting the barest level of respect is the least you could do."

    Brin felt a white-hot sh of fury, but bit back his reflective response. Trying to keep his voice measured, he said, "It''s hard for me to pretend everything is ok, after what you''ve done."

    "No!" Aberfa said in dismay. "I will never ask you to deny your emotions! If you hate me, then hate me passionately. No, let''s start smaller. I am not Aberfa to you. Call me mother, or ma''am, or mistress. Can you do that much? Give me that small honor and I''ll do whatever you wish."

    Brin had a thousand things he wanted to call her that weren''t those three words. His anger was a lot harder to tamp down in this ce. Had she eroded his natural inhibitions, or was this anger something she was nting in him? It felt like his, but he couldn''t be certain of anything in here.

    One thing was true; he was curious about what she could teach him. "Yes ma''am."

    "Excellent!" She pped her hands in delight. "Now, what-- oh, no I just remembered one other thing. You won''t be marrying that I girl. I won''t mind you taking lovers here and there, but she''s no good for you. You need a firm hand to keep you in rein, not some air-headed musical ninny."

    "I never nned on marrying her," said Brin. "But that''s not because you told me not to."

    "Oh, so you saw reason without me having to say anything? Not to worry, I''m not so unfair as to be disappointed by that. Now that that''s taken care of, we can begin. What would you like to learn?"

    "Let''s start with [Know What''s Wyrd]. What can you teach me about that?"

 Book 3. Chapter 45

    Book 3. Chapter 45

    Aberfa reclined into the pile of pillows,ying on her side. ¡°What did that sallow jade, that false mother, teach you about the Wyrd?¡±

    ¡°That [Archmage], you mean?¡± asked Brin.

    Aberfa clicked her tongue in annoyance.

    ¡°Not much. I didn¡¯t think to ask her about it, and it was a touchy subject with that curse on her arm,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfaughed in delight. ¡°Oh my! The curse! I¡¯d quite forgotten about that! Did she find it very painful?¡±

    Brin frowned. ¡°Lumina focused on teaching me regr magic. Why would she teach me about the Wyrd? Only [Witches] can use it, right?¡±

    Aberfa stopped smiling. ¡°Is that what you think? That the Wyrd is an alternate branch of magic? I see we must start from the <em>very</em> beginning.¡± She rolled onto her back and tossed a pillow into the air, catching it again. ¡°Tell me, what is the ss that evolves into [Witch]?¡±

    ¡°There are a lot of those. Too many to count,¡± said Brin.

    She crooked an eyebrow. ¡°[sser] is one.¡±¡°How interesting.¡±

    ¡°Did you ever think about why that is?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Aberfa started counting with her fingers. ¡°[Seamstress], [Laundress], and [Enchantress], as well as [Tinker], [Tailor], and [Candlestick Maker]. Common sses and Rare. As you said, too many to count. Why can they all advance to [Witch]? What do they all have inmon?¡±

    ¡°They can all be held by powerless, spiteful people with no self-control?¡±

    Aberfa threw a pillow at him, and he didn¡¯t react as it bounced off his face. It didn¡¯t help, of course, but he felt a spike of fear and anxiety when itnded. He was a little worried that he might¡¯ve crossed the line and that she wouldn¡¯t teach him any more.

    ¡°Try again,¡± she said.

    ¡°The Wyrd. You¡¯re saying that they can all use the Wyrd somehow?¡±

    ¡°Very good,¡± she smiled, and he felt his worry reced by a relief, and a faint amount of tion that he¡¯d gotten the answer right. It wasn¡¯t a strong emotion, not even enough to be distracting, but it was there.

    The worst part was that he wasn¡¯t totally sure if what he was feeling was foreign, or if some small part of him actually did want her approval. He was 90% sure she was messing with his emotions, but thatst 10% was still going to eat at him.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be right. How can all of them use the Wyrd?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking of the Wyrd as some alternate source of power. Maybe you¡¯re imagining us siphoning off energy from demons or great spirits or unknown creatures from the void. No, the Wyrd is not that. The Wyrd is not foreign to you. The Wyrd, simply put, is the soul of magic.¡±

    ¡°Oh is that all? How very helpful,¡± Brin said, and felt another spike of worry and anxiety. Better this than the good feelings. He didn¡¯t want to get addicted to pleasing her.

    ¡°I forgot who I was talking to,¡± Aberfa said tly. ¡°You¡¯re just like your father when you get like this. Let me try for a more male-coded definition. The Wyrd is the set of forces and authorities rting to the naturalws regarding precedence, inheritance, dominance, and ownership. Does that make more sense to you?¡±

    ¡°A lot more,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But it¡¯s not quite as precise as the first definition. It doesn¡¯t encapste the whole. No, you must learn that the Wyrd is the soul of magic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m seriously lost here.¡±

    ¡°Poor thing. Are you just realizing that now?¡± she asked condescendingly. ¡°Perhaps a practical demonstration is in order.

    She stood and pped her hands, and the room changed. Now they were back in the Cerqueira ss shop. Everything was just how it had been, except frozen in time. Zilly was just saying something to him while distractedly setting down a ss bowl, partially missing the table. It was starting to fall, and he and Cerqueira both noticed at the same time. The high level [sser¡¯s] hand was outstretched to catch his valuable piece of inventory, but of course he was too far away. He¡¯d need to use his ss magic.

    Aberfa stepped through the frozen scene, gazing down at each of Brin¡¯s friends in turn before considering the bowl. ¡°So here you are in a [sser¡¯s] shop. Let¡¯s examine the obvious elements of the Wyrd at y. First, this ce belongs to him; it even has his name on the door. He made this ce and the things inside belong to him. He has a strong im of ownership to this entire store. But what is your im?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a im. It¡¯s obviously his store. I¡¯m a guest.¡±

    ¡°You <em>always</em> have a im. This is a prominent business on a busy street. The door was unlocked and a wee sign was hung; you had every right to step inside. More, this ce is full of ss, and you¡¯re a [sser]. How could anyone refuse your right toe and examine it? I need you to ce this thought firmly in your mind: You have every right to be here and to do what you are doing.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that helps, but ok,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It helps because it helps. We can <em>maybe </em>ept that you¡¯re also something of a guest. Yes, we can work with that. Now, I¡¯ve exined his im and your im. Who has the best im to the right to catch the bowl?¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s really how it works? That¡¯s so weird.¡±

    Aberfa folded her arms. ¡°I¡¯m not going to make the obvious pun, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re after.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re talking aboutws and ims¡­¡± Brin gasped in mock surprise. ¡°[Witch] is a <emwyer</em> ss!¡±

    He felt the ringing p across his face before he saw iting. It hurt like a lightning strike and made his vision ck out for a few seconds. He blinked, feeling heat and a throbbing pain radiate from the left side of his face, but when his vision cleared he saw Aberfa giggling.

    ¡°I have to admit that was a little bit funny. But dear? Do not call us that. [Lawyers] are illegal in Arcaena.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t needwyers because they have [Witches],¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t test me.¡±

    Brin shut his mouth, and felt warm satisfaction that he¡¯d made the right choice. He frowned harder.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to try this again. I¡¯ll y the part of the [sser], using his power to catch the falling bowl. You will rebuff him and attempt to catch it yourself. Begin.¡±

    Brin almost didn¡¯t react when time started moving again and the bowl toppled towards the ground. By the time he reached towards the bowl with his magic, Cerqueira¡¯s hold was firmly in ce and it pushed him away. He¡¯d responded even slower than he had in real life.

    ¡°Again,¡± said Aberfa.

    This time he was quicker and felt his magic connect with the bowl¡¯s first. Then Cerqueira¡¯s magic pulled his away and grabbed the bowl in his ce.

    ¡°Again.¡±

    They tried a dozen more times, and Brin failed in twelve different ways. He tried to push more mana into the bowl, tried to reinforce his will with violent intent, tried to leap forward to get closer. Each time, Cerqueira¡¯s magic plucked his away the way that an adult plucks a kitchen knife away from a toddler.

    ¡°Think about your right! You must negotiate the Wyrd,¡± said Aberfa, unhelpfully.

    Brin tried and failed a few more times, before she said. ¡°Intent. Focus your intent! Imbue in your magic your argument that it is better that <em>you</em> catch the bowl instead of him. Think for, say, twenty minutes, and we¡¯ll try again.¡±

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the vition.

    Just like that, the lights went out, leaving Brin swimming in an endless void.

    He couldn¡¯t see, feel, or touch anything in any direction. The only sensation was the unsettling feeling that he was falling, somehow. That and a lurching sense of fear at what might happen if the thirty minutes were up and he didn¡¯t have an answer.

    So he thought, and despite Aberfa¡¯s aversion to the idea, he thought about it the way that awyer would. <em>Your honor, my client has every right to catch that bowl. It¡¯s a public business with open hours and he has every right toe and go as he pleases. Moreover, it¡¯s a ss shop, something my client has a high degree of expertise with. In fact, his advanced knowledge from another gives him more authority on the matter than anyone alive. It would be safer for everyone involved if he were the one to catch the bowl.</em>

    Would that work? He couldn¡¯t help but imagine the opposingwyer¡¯s argument. <em>This is highly irregr, your honor. My client owns the store and created that bowl with his own hands¨Cor magic, such as the case may be. He has the right to dictate everything that happens in his store and that bowl is currently in his possession until it has beenwfully purchased and paid for. It¡¯s absolutely his and only his right to catch the bowl.</em>

    This was the problem Brin couldn¡¯t think of a foolproof argument for that. He really did think Cerqueira was a little more right here.

    <em>My client is a guest in this shop, and that entitles him to a certain amount of consideration. It was his friend who knocked the bowl off the table, so he is entitled, nay, required to be the one to make it right. By disallowing him that privilege, your client is forcing him into a position where he¡¯ll be indebted. This is an inconsiderate way to treat a guest.</em>

    He thought that was a solid argument, but he still wasn¡¯t sure if it was enough. His gut feeling was that Cerqueira was still more correct here. im against im, the senior [sser] would win. Well, he couldn¡¯t think of anything else. He¡¯d just have to hope it was enough.

    For the rest of Brin¡¯s thirty minute time-out, he used [Directed Meditation] to focus on the other side of the issue. He now had his argument, but how was he going to use it? He couldn¡¯t just shout it out loud.

    No, she¡¯d told him to focus on his intent. Was it enough to just focus on his argument really hard while casting? He¡¯d gotten an introduction to the way that intent could focus magic while practicing the Language. Using the correct words, while deepening his connection and understanding of those words made his magic a lot more effective. Could he do the same thing while casting without the Language? After all, the Language wasn¡¯t actually empowering his magic, more like it was focusing and refining it.

    When his time-out was finished, Aberfa wasted no time resetting the scenario, and the bowl started to fall the instant that the lights came back on. He pulled with his magic, trying to imbue his argument into his intent as much as possible.

    For the first time, he felt his magic take hold. He felt his argument sh against Cerqueira¡¯s, and knew at once that Cerqueira still had the greater im. And yet, it was enough. He pushed his mana in and felt it rebuff the other [sser].

    The act of catching the bowl drained more mana than he¡¯d expect for such a simple task, but he did it. It was <em>his</em> magic that caught the bowl and set it carefully back on the table. Cerqueira stared at him in wide-eyed surprise, and then disappeared, to be reced with Aberfa.

    ¡°Well done,¡± she said. She daintily extended one finger and pushed the bowl off the table, and smiled in delight when it shattered on the floor. The real bowl wouldn¡¯t have shattered; it probably wouldn¡¯t even have been scuffed. A good reminder that she was controlling the dream.

    Brin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know why that worked. His im was still stronger. I could feel it.¡±

    ¡°Could you really? That would be very impressive for your first time. I¡¯m sure you were imagining it. But you¡¯re right that his im was stronger.¡±

    ¡°Why did I catch the bowl, then?¡±

    ¡°Your greater strength bridged the gap,¡± said Aberfa.

    So the judge could be bribed, to extend his metaphor from before. It was only that it cost more depending on how flimsy his case was.

    ¡°How often am I going to use this?¡± asked Brin. ¡°This is literally the first time I ever remember the rules of Wyrd working against me like that.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s all you remember, then you are a fool. We will continue.¡±

    The dream blurred again, back to the mini-tournament that Lumina had set up between him, Rodrige, Gill, and Myra right before she¡¯d left town. Aberfa forced him to do the fights all over again, only this time he wasn¡¯t allowed to speak a single word of Language.

    As before, he squared off against Gill first, with the whole town watching. Aberfa called for them to begin.

    Gill¡¯s hands shot up, and a small forest of saplings erupted from the ground around him. ¡°¡±

    The crowd gasped at the incredible amount of summoned wood.

    Brin followed his strategy fromst time and summoned a trio of ss spears, only his spellwork was so slow without the Language that he didn¡¯t have time tounch them before Gill moved into his next attack.

    ¡°¡± shouted Gill. His wooden saplings thickened out, writhing like snakes. ¡°¡±

    Gill¡¯s branches grew forward, streaking towards Brin at breakneck speed. He pushed his spears at them, imbuing them with as much intent as he could think of. He wanted to win. Lumina was watching.

    The spears hit the wood and bounced off. Unarmed, the wooden branches mmed into him, ending the match.

    Aberfa patiently reset the scenario and made him fight again. He lost again.

    Instead of resetting the scenario, they discussed the Wyrd. She pointed out that this was hisst lesson with his mother before she¡¯d be leaving on a journey, though in this dream she filled Lumina¡¯s ce as ¡°the mother¡±. She walked through the situation, about how she¡¯d been training him all this time so he <em>had</em> to win to prove he was worth it. How he needed to impress her, to show her he was a worthy sessor, to justify the time she¡¯d spent on him. He also <em>deserved</em> to win, based on the sheer amount of time and effort he¡¯d been putting into training his magic.

    Then they examined Gill¡¯s im. His parents were also watching. He was talented, too; a genius. Tied with Rodrige as the best of his generation in wood craft in a town that prized that more than anything. He¡¯d worked hard, too, and his magic was better suited to a short duel like this.

    They fought again, and this time when Brin¡¯s spears hit the growing wood, Brin felt the distinct impression that his im was stronger. Like the original match, he dodged and ran until he got an opening and let the bullets fly. Without the Language, they weren¡¯t fast enough, and Gill dodged in turn.

    Brin ran until Gill ran out of mana, and they decided to call it a draw.

    Aberfa reset the dream without a word.

    Brin fought the same battle again and again, improving each time. Using the Wyrd wasn¡¯t a matter of simply switching out batteries. He needed to change his tactics. Close, direct pressure worked better than ranged attacks, because they were better at pitting will against will. The Wyrd favored wrestling matches, not fencing duels.

    Every time he tried and failed, Aberfa grew more disappointed. Irritation turned to fury, and the end of each bout was punctuated by a st of undirected pain through his whole body, as well as a surge of panic and fear. He found that you couldn¡¯t get tired in dreams, but a sort of mental fatigue set in where he couldn¡¯t think about anything else except how he would do better next time.

    In thest duel, he summoned a shield first, and pressing it directly against Gill¡¯s onught. His intent gave him better Mana efficiency than Gills. Hepletely drained the [Woodworker] boy¡¯s Mana without moving his feet, and when he started to summon a ss spear, Aberfa relented and called it his win.

    By that time it was morning, and Aberfa gave him a hug and a peck on the forehead. He was so mentally exhausted that he didn¡¯t resist it and tookfort in the much-needed warmth.

    Then he woke up.

    Through training, you have increased the following attribute: Will +2

    In the light of the new day and the presence of his real, unadulterated emotions, Brin felt dirty. The entire night she¡¯d been screwing with his emotions; he was certain of it now. Pain when he displeased her, and a tiny hint of pleasure when he did something right. She was <em>training</em> him.

    He¡¯d gained a lot of insight into magic, if anything she said could be believed, but was it worth it?

    He and Hogg skipped breakfast so that they could move away from the caravan for a private conversation. Without trees to get lost in, everyone could see the two of them twenty yards away talking in the middle of a fallow field.

    ¡°Tell me everything!¡± said Hogg.

    Brin did. Any tiny detail could be important, and he wanted Hogg¡¯s opinion on whether he should keep doing the lessons.

    The way Hogg¡¯s eyes lit up from the very beginning told Brin what his answer would be. ¡°Wait, wait, repeat that. The set of forces and authorities rting to the naturalws regarding precedence¡­ On second thought, can you do something for me? Use you [Memories in ss] and write it all down. Every tiny detail, everything. <em>No one</em> knows what they teach at Arcaena¡¯s [Witch] school, Brin. Most people don¡¯t even know it exists, and credit where it¡¯s due, she¡¯s the world¡¯s leading authority on the Wyrd. I don¡¯t think we can even estimate how valuable this is. You should write a book.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Brin said with a shrug.

    ¡°But not now. Tell me what¡¯s next. You were saying the Wyrd is the set of forces and authorities¡­¡±

    Brin told Hogg the rest of the dream in excruciating detail. It took long enough that the caravan finished breakfast, packed up, and started walking before his story was done. Brin and Hogg kept pace, but kept their distance, preferring to leave some space so no one would notice that Hogg¡¯s magic was blocking their sound.

    When the story was finally over, Brin asked his question. ¡°Should I go back, do you think?¡±

    Hogg scratched his chin in thought before replying. ¡°If it was anyone else, I would say no. Just because you¡¯re technically an adult at fourteen doesn¡¯t mean we just leave our kids pping in the wind. Any other apprentice in the world tells me that his master is pping and shaming him, and I¡¯d tell him to leave. Doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s the best master in the world if they¡¯re treating you like that.¡±

    ¡°But if it was you, you would do it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Of course I would!¡± Hogg clenched both fists in irritation. ¡°But I¡¯d also want someone to be there for me to tell me not to do it. Actually, yep, that¡¯s my answer. Don¡¯t go back. Not worth it. She¡¯s not actually helping, is she? She¡¯s only giving you an alternate path to using the Language that Lumina taught you. Even if she seeds you¡¯ll only be as powerful as you are now, just in a different way.¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°What a dumb answer. Thanks, though, that actually makes me feel a little better. Man, I miss Perris all of a sudden.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re so weird.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to do it. I¡¯m going to learn. Just promise me that if she actually starts to get to me, you¡¯ll take her down. I don¡¯t want to be whatever she¡¯s trying to turn me into,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I promise.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 46

    Book 3. Chapter 46

    The next night passed quickly without a visit from Aberfa, or so Brin thought at first. He double-checked by going through his stored memories of dreams, but they were regr dreams. Odd shapes and impressions, and remembered voices and images from his day, starting with his conversation with Hogg. They''d discussed everything Brin had learned, and he''d agreed to write it all down, and had even started. Pio had lent him a seat on his wagon and Brin had recorded everything and... <em>there</em>.

    He never would''ve caught it if he hadn''t been watching closely, but at one moment of his dream he''d felt a strong sense of irritation, and it hadn''te from him. Aberfa had been upset to learn that he was going to write everything down.

    Was this how she was doing it? He''d sort of assumed that since she could invade his dreams that she could read his mind, but no, she was reading his dreams. She was guiding his dreams towards reliving his memories, and using that to check up on him.

    Those months of nightmares had been her way of catching up. In a way, he was lucky she wasn''t interested in his time as Mark. Or maybe she couldn''t be interested. If the Wyrd worked like he thought it did, then it let her mess with him due to her role as his body''s mother, but that had nothing to do with Mark. Could he use that somehow? He didn''t know.

    When he told his thoughts to Hogg, the older man said, "This is good news. We¡¯re starting to find the limits of her power. You know what this means, though, right?"

    "It means you have to cut me out of the loop. Anything you tell me goes straight to her. At least until I figure out how to control my dreams enough to stop her from snooping," said Brin.

    "That only bes an issue if I learn something you don''t know. So far, you''re our only link to her.¡±

    He joined Davi in pulling a wagon again for half the day, but the System didn''t see fit to give him another point in Vitality for it.

    That night, in his dreams, Aberfa was ready and waiting for him.They were back in Hammon''s Bog, with Gill down it was his turn to duel Rodrige. The town surrounded them to cheer and heckle, and while in real life it had been a scattering of people showing polite interest, now it was a roaring crowd of dirty, sweaty farmers. Whether Aberfa was intentionally turning up the temperature of his dream, or if that''s how she actually saw Common sses, he didn''t know.

    "Can I ask you something before we start?" Brin asked. "Does the Wyrd also affect monsters?"

    Aberfa tsked in irritation. "What a ridiculous question. It''s as if you''ve forgotten everything we discussed the other day."

    Her disapproval manifested itself as an ice-cold spike in his guts. He ignored it and said, "No, I''ve spent a lot of time thinking about everything you said. I even wrote it down so that I could study it better. That''s what made me ask."

    "Is that what you were doing?" Aberfa tapped her lips, and the pain faded. "Well, if you really were paying attention then you''d know that asking if the Wyrd affects monsters is like asking if oxygen affects nts. Monsters are Wyrd, because the Wyrd is thew that governs the natural world. Thews of the Wyrd permeate and engross them, and they in turn act out and enforce it."

    "I''m not sure I understand. How does that help me beat them?"

    Aberfa sighed. "Typical <em>man</em>. Why is the answer always violence? Come, look at this."

    The dream changed to the woods outside of Hammon''s Bog. He recognized this ce immediately as what the [Hunter''s] map had called the "Spinewolf Den". Brin still didn''t know what a Spinewolf looked like; this was where he''d fought a Facaldagart.

    It was there in front of him, looking how it had right after he''d stumbled upon it. A huge horse-sized lizard with a scorpion tale. Time was frozen, and Aberfa stepped over to the monster and stroked its back.

    "Take this thing as an example. Look at the dull eyes, theck of spark. This was never a dragon. It''s a simple base lizard, with a primitive mind devoid of subtlety. Perhaps one of its ancestors was the pet of a [Witch] or a Commoner with a breeding or training ss; therge size and unusual tail seems to suggest that. But for our purposes it''s an animal, and it will follow thews of animals. So why did it attack you? You came to kill it, but it attacked you first."

    "Maybe it was hungry."

    "When animals kill for food they are usually much more cautious. They like to take you by surprise, pounce from hiding, wound you, and then wait for you to bleed and weaken before feasting."

    Brin looked at the Facaldagart for a moment before answering. "It''s alone. Solo predators are usually like that because they''re insanely territorial."

    "All animals are territorial, but you have the right of it. Only, notice the fish in the water. The birds in the trees. There''s a snake over there. He doesn''t kill everything that enters his territory."

    Now that she mentioned them, Brin could see straight through the murky water to see the fish below, and the birds in the trees were now visible through the leaves. He didn''t think the animals had been part of his original memory. She was adding them to illustrate a point.

    "I''m bigger. He sees me as a threat," said Brin.

    "When a bear enters his territory he lets it pass without struggle, and flees from it if it approaches. That''s yourst clue. I''m resuming the memory now."

    The Facaldagart stepped forward just as it had in his memory, casually without hurry.

    Brin realized all at once that he had no magic to call on; he would face this monster exactly as he had back then. At the time, Brin had spent hours psyching himself up for the fight of his life, but this time he was feeling desperately unprepared.

    All at once it snapped forward with its jaws. Brin dodged and struck back with his sword, then tried to parry the tail, but it bowled through his defense with sheer power and struck him in the chest, knocking him onto his back, sending his sword spinning from his grasp.

    He noticed that his sword dug much deeper than he''d expected it to. Right, this was the "ss cannon" sword. If he''d swung instead of parried, he probably would''ve taken the tail clean off. Now it was toote.

    The Facaldagart lept onto him, pinning him to the ground and biting at him. It couldn''t get through his leather armor right away, andtched onto him and spun its head like a dog, but the extra time gave Brin nothing but pain. He couldn''t get out from under the enormous weight. He could do nothing but scream impotently as the monster gave up on chewing him and batted him again and again with its head, breaking ribs through the armor and pulverizing him.

    When Brin started to wake himself up to escape the pain, Aberfa finally relented and reset the memory. The monster was in front of him again, staring at him with dull eyes.

    "I''ll give you a clue. He is very stupid. Try again," said Aberfa.

    Brin dropped his sword and backed up. The Facaldagart paused in confusion, and Brin retreated backwards, hands outstretched. The monster watched him go, not pursuing him until he was out of sight.

    Aberfa froze the memory again. "Correct, it was the sword. For whatever reason, that was enough to peg you as a rival."

    "Usually animals have some sort of dominance disy, but he''s giving nothing away," said Brin.

    "He''s shing ultraviolet light from his throat. It''s quite the sight, for those with eyes to see it," said Aberfa. She smiled and crooked an eyebrow. "Actually, I still have friends who might be persuaded to correct that little defect. People see the modifications of [Witches] as something unnatural and scary when all they can think of are ws, bat-wings, or horns sprouting from their foreheads. But I think you''d be surprised to learn how many people you pass on the street have been altered in subtler ways. I myself had the procedure done. You can''t imagine how beautiful the world can be when you finally see all the colors."

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "I''ll... keep that in mind." Brin didn''t want to admit it, but that was actually kind of tempting. But what would this "friend" want in return, and how could he make sure they didn''t do more than he asked for?

    "You know, an [Illusionist] who can''t see all the ultra-violet--"

    "I said I''ll think about it," said Brin.

    Aberfa smiled wickedly, as if she''d seeded in something. "Very well, back to the lesson then. Animals flee from threats, eat prey, and fight with rivals, all to satisfy their primals instincts around survival and reproduction. Humans are no different, and though we like to hide our nature throughyers of obfuscation, the end result is the same. Before we move on, would you like to fight him again?"

    "Actually, yeah," said Brin.

    "I knew you would. I called him stupid, but you''re stupid, too. For whatever reason, you''ve also pegged him as a rival."

    He hated to admit it, but she was absolutely right. He''d won this fight the first time around. If he left it here, it would be the same as admitting that he wasn''t as good as the scrappy little fighter he''d been a year ago. His rival wasn''t the Facaldagart, though, it was himself.

    Time started and Brin wasn''t caught off guard the second time. Instead of waiting for the Facaldagart to approach, he charged forward, sword out. If the Facaldagart saw his weapon as somethingparable to its own stinger, he knew it wouldn''t wait around to let itnd. He was right, the thing dodged with its entire enormous weight, heaving itself awkwardly to the side.

    It stabbed forward with its own stinger, but it aimed at Brin''s sword, trying to sh des the way that bucks would sh horns. Brin stretched his arm all the way to the side, only bringing it in at thest second, and the Facaldagart''s strike hit only air.

    Brin might not have his ss and levels, but he still had his hundreds of hours of training. He whipped himself out of the beast''s way, stepped forward, and swung the sword. The ss cannon sword sliced straight through the creature''s neck and through its spine. The monster spun, smashing into him with its enormous bulk, and he rolled with it, gaining distance. The Facaldagart charged at him again, but it was already over. By the third step, it started tog, and at five steps copsed to the ground, bleeding out. Less than a minute after that, it was dead.

    "Do you feel better now?" Aberfa asked.

    "A little, yeah," said Brin.

    She shook her head. "Boys."

    "Can I ask what the point of this is? We¡¯re not even talking about the Wyrd, we¡¯re talking about the behavior of animals. I learned a little about that, I guess, but it''s nothing a [Hunter] or [Beast Master] couldn''t tell me," said Brin.

    "Don¡¯t you see? This <em>is</em> the Wyrd. This is what it¡¯s about, where it starts. Of course [Hunters] and [Beast Masters] could tell you much; they also must act within the framework of the [Wyrd], as well as every other ss. [Witches] are not apart from the Common sses. We are theirpletion. Tell me, though. Did you pit your argument against his when you battled with him, sword against w?"

    "Not really, no," said Brin.

    "Wrong. You did. Your arguments were evenly matched. He had a right to defend his territory just as you had a right to invade it. This is all so natural that it''s difficult to even notice it," said Aberfa.

    "Then what was the point?"

    Aberfa red at him, sending hot spikes of pain into his eyes. "Fix your attitude or our lesson ends here."

    "I''m sorry, ma''am," said Brin through gritted teeth. "I apologize for my slow uptake. Please help me to understand the purpose of this exercise."

    She smiled and the pain fled. "Of course. It was to give you a counterpoint for the next example. Now, you haven''t faced many real monsters that weren''t undead, but I still found the perfect specimen. Here."

    The dream shifted into a nightmare. The smell of rotting meat hit first, making him gag, and then he got a vision of molding, rotting meat on dirty disy counters, buzzing with flies and dripping with the juices of dposition. Mad Bianca stood before him, holding a cleaver, and behind him was her familiar. As bad as the rotting meat looked, he didn¡¯t want to turn around and face her familiar.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a good memory for me,¡± Brin said evenly.

    ¡°Why not? This is the scene of one of your greatest triumphs! Now, I don¡¯t think we can do things in quite the same way as it really happened. If memory serves, you wisely saw Bianca here as the greater threat and left her familiar to distract itself by feasting upon the weak Commoners outside until you were ready to face it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not how it happened,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°This time, you¡¯ll leave Bianca alone and fight the familiar first. We¡¯ll remove her knife, but not the gue, I don¡¯t think, so you¡¯ll need to hurry. Now, what is her argument here?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll say I vited hospitality here, so she has power over me. I don¡¯t remember what I did because she messed with my memories, but I¡¯m sure she tricked me into it. She¡¯ll say that this is her home and her store so she has the right to do what she wants here, and since I ate her food I¡¯ve submitted to her.¡±

    Aberfa smiled. ¡°<em>Very</em> good. You have a knack for this. Now what¡¯s your argument?¡±

    Now that he was concentrating on it, he could feel the force of her argument as something nearly tangible. <em>This was her right. He¡¯d vited her hospitality here, in her home. This home was hers. The food was hers. He was hers.</em>

    Even frozen in time, he saw the ck boils on his skin growing in size as the curse she¡¯d put on him worsened. The ck lumps seemed to whisper with her power. <em>You deserve this.</em>

    ¡°No,¡± Brin said, not bothering to hide the hatred in his voice. ¡°No. You had no right. You tricked me into viting hospitality in order to gain power over me. You had <em>no right</em> to treat a guest that way. And look at this ce! Disgusting! The town trusts you to feed them good food, and you give them rot. You disguised the store to look clean, but this ce is crawling with disease. That familiar <em>should not exist</em>. It¡¯s horrible; it can¡¯t live here. I have the right to destroy this evil. I have the duty.¡±

    The boils on his skin retracted, shrinking down into small red pock-marks. Bianca in front of him was still frozen in time, but seemed to wilt in fear.

    ¡°Go,¡± whispered Aberfa.

    Brin whirled, calling on his magic. It didn¡¯t respond with the same power; he¡¯d been much lower level than now, but between the Language and all his practice, he was still much faster than he¡¯d been. ¡°¡±

    The knife was still growing in his hand as he charged the abomination. The random limbs of a dozen different animals flinched in surprise, and awful mouths screamed in surprise and shock. The monster drew back, and he bore down on it.

    The knife only finished summoning as he was ready to stab, and he pushed all the mana he could muster into it. He felt it press against the [Witch¡¯s] Wyrd and rebuff it. He had the greater im here; victory was his.

    His knife clove through a goat leg, into the writhing mass of the creature''s body. He scraped and tore, digging into the struggling creature, carving it to pieces. A horse-leg kicked him, taking the wind out of him and possibly doing a lot of internal damage to his stomach, but it didn¡¯t take him off his feet so it didn¡¯t matter. He kept stabbing and cutting until the monster was in pieces, just another pile of meat in the dirty store.

    Still full of rage, he turned back around and threw his knife, pumping every bit of mana he had left into it. It shot like it had been propelled from a cannon and hit Bianca right above the heart, blowing a hole into her chest.

    She¡¯d die from that wound, he was sure, but he could still make it quicker. He stepped forward, and then copsed to his knees. The kick to his stomach had been worse than he thought and¨C

    The dream stopped, and the pain disappeared.

    ¡°That¡¯s the danger.¡± Aberfa stepped out of the shadow, eyes twinkling in obvious pleasure at Brin¡¯s pain. ¡°You got so wrapped up in your own argument that you forgot everything else. You don¡¯t fight like that normally, do you? Not since you left the [Scarred One]. You usually try to get some space, assess the situation,e up with a strategy. Don¡¯t get so wrapped up in your own righteousness that you forget practicality. More than one [Witch] has met her end that way. Bianca here is an example.¡±

    Brin opened his mouth to respond, but felt a wave of nausea. He thought this was his own, too, and not Aberfa messing with him, because it came with a wave of guilt. This was the first time he¡¯d killed a person. He knew it was self-defense and that he was more than justified, but in the silent hours of the night he couldn¡¯t always convince himself of that. He still killed a person, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there¡¯d been another way.

    Now he¡¯d gotten another chance, after a manner of speaking, and he hadn¡¯t even <em>considered</em> sparing her. A stupid thing to worry about, but he couldn¡¯t convince his brain of that.

    He shook his head, trying to think of something else. If Aberfa got wind of how he was feeling, she¡¯d just find a way to use it against him.

    ¡°I learned something else, too. I used the Language and the Wyrd together. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to summon the knife that quickly without the Language, and I also put some words into it to make it sharper. The knife was still super sharp when I was empowering it with Wyrd as well.¡±

    Aberfa shook her head. ¡°You still hang onto that [Mage] nonsense, despite all reason. Don¡¯t you see? You could have used intent to summon the knife more quickly, you could¡¯ve used intent to make it sharper, and to kill the beast. Your argument was very strong, so why not use it?¡±

    ¡°Because the Language does what I tell it to every time. I don¡¯t need my emotions to be in the right ce.¡±

    ¡°Then learn to control your emotions! Your nutty wordy is only slowing you down. No, in fact, I forbid it. You are not to use the Language during our lessons again. You¡¯ll do magic through natural casting or not at all.¡±

    Brin shrugged. He¡¯d already learned what he needed to from that. ¡°Very well, ma¡¯am.¡±

    Aberfa frowned. ¡°That¡¯s all for tonight. Go¡­ write everything down again, if you must. Integrate what you¡¯ve learned. You¡¯ve faced two enemies tonight, one wild and one Wyrd, but I borrowed from your memories and in neither of those memories did you have your lovely little Skill, [Know What¡¯s Wyrd]. Tomorrow we¡¯ll correct that. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll find out what it can <em>really</em> do.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 47

    Book 3. Chapter 47

    The next night''s dream brought Brin in front of Siphani and Effa Peck, in the moment that he''d first earned his [Know What''s Wyrd] Skill. Any second now, Siphani would reveal herself by erupting out of the shell of her zombified familiar mother. For now, the dream was frozen in time, and Aberfa looked around the Pecks¡¯ home with disgust. Trash was strewn everywhere, exactly how he remembered it.

    "It takes a firm will and healthy mind to swim these waters without sinking below. [Witches] need a coven, and this is why," said Aberfa.

    "Really? From what I''ve seen, this is typical," said Brin.

    "No it isn''t. This is the result of a sad, scared little girl growing up alone without the proper guidance. She could''ve been something great if she''d been allowed to be herself. If she hadn''t been reviled and exiled, hunted down like an animal."

    Brin practically growled, "They gave her every chance, and she¨C"

    Aberfa pinched her fingers together and forced Brin''s mouth shut. "I''m not here to debate the past. We''re here to test out your Skill. This is where you received [Know What''s Wyrd], and it should be telling you some very interesting things. Things you missed the first time around, in your haste. What do you feel?"

    Brin red at her.

    "Ah, you''re right." She made an opening gesture with her hand, and his mouth started working again.

    "The description of the Skill is ''<em>You can sense the Wyrd. Increased resistance to the Wyrd and Wyrd-rted abilities.</em>'' From how you describe it, the Wyrd is basically everything, but I''ve only ever been able to feel anything from it when a [Witch] is directly using her magic.""And the only time that you managed to do even that much was when you noticed the absurdly obvious formation that Siphani left all over the town. To me, that''s a clue that you haven''t been using your Skill correctly and that you''re missing something important." Sheughed humorlessly. "Oh, but no, I''m sure you''re right. I''m sure that you know more about the Wyrd than me. After all, what do I know? Yes, your original assumption is correct, the Wyrd is just the word for magic that [Witches] do and there''s nothing else here to learn. This is all just a waste of time."

    Brin sighed. She could be such a child sometimes. "That''s not what I meant."

    "Of course, I misunderstood again. How could I ever understand the subtle words of such a wizened master. You should be teaching me! Come! Teach me the vast knowledge you''ve umted over your fourteen years of life."

    Fourteen years? Did she not know he was twenty seven in his past life? He was pretty sure he¡¯d straight out told her that. Come to think of it, she hadn''t once used the word "Mark" or sent him nightmares involving his previous world. That could be pride. No, more than pride, it could be Wyrd. Admitting that he''d had a past life would undermine her own im to being his mother and might sever her connection to him.

    It worried him that this sort of thing was starting to make sense.

    "I apologize," Brin said.

    "Why apologize? You seem to have it all figured out."

    "I shouldn''t have insinuated that you don''t know what you''re talking about. If what you''re saying is true¨C"

    She red at him, and he felt the distinct pain of razor des cutting the space between his toes.

    "<em>Since</em> what you''re saying is <em>certainly </em>true, it seems like my Skill should do more than it does."

    She nodded. "If you can detect the Wyrd, then you should be able to detect nearly everything. All magic. The hunger of monsters, the fear of people, and the urges of animals. You should be able to tangibly sense the bonds between people, the agitation of domination and submission in rtionships."

    "So why can''t I?"

    "That''s what we''re here to find out. Do you think I enjoy standing in this filthy rat warren? Stop wasting my time and tell me what you feel!"

    Brin nodded and concentrated on his Skill. Normally, he''d be able to forget it was even there because it rarely told him anything, but now he felt it ring like an rm siren. The Skill wasn¡¯t like [Know What¡¯s Real] in that it wasn¡¯t intuited information. It felt like another sense. Seeing, hearing, smelling and now¡­ <em>wyrding.</em> And his Wyrd-ears were ringing.

    Wyrd was everywhere. The entire house was infected with it. He''d always thought the home looked like it was aging faster than the rest of the town, and there might have been something to that; Siphani had cast some sort of enchantment on it.

    In the distance, he could feel the power of Siphani''s formation, but only because he was now looking for it. It was no wonder that he''d missed it the first time around until he''d practically tripped over it. The impression was very blurry from any kind of distance. His Wyrd-vision was near-sighted.

    He also felt the bands of Wyrd attaching him to the good [Witches]. Even now, he felt them sluicing away the curse that Siphani was trying to put on him.

    Effa was a zing torch of Wyrd, and now that he was focused on it, he could tell that she was nothing more than a thin wrapping for the [Witch] underneath.

    Siphani was a surprisingly nk space.

    Brin said, "Strange, but I can''t really detect the [Witch] like this. I thought for sure I''d be able to since she obviously modified her own body."

    Aberfa tapped her cheek in thought. "Then you can only detect active ongoing effects. For transformations, once they arepleted no further power is necessary. Interesting. Are you sure you can''t sense her at all?"

    Brin strained his Wyrd-sight, but it was still a new sensation for him. "I''m sure. Maybe. Everything else here is so bright, it might be drowning her out. Actually, that''s gotten me thinking. Why can''t I sense Ademsi and Evita? You know about them, right?"

    Aberfa''s eyes lit up. "Oh, those two! Oh yes, I do."

    The dream changed, and now they were back in Ademir''s workshop. Ademsi and Evita hung in the air, still and expressionless, and d only in their wooden skin. Aberfa reached up and traced a finger down Ademsi''s pectoral. "Beautiful. Simply beautiful. I could praise Frenaria''s hands-off approach to governing the Bonds if it led to the creation of such a masterpiece in such a nothing little town. Your Ademir was a true genius."

    Brin reached out with his Skill, but didn''t feel any connection to the two automatons at all. When they were still like this, it was hard to see them as more than puppets. Pretty wooden statues.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything. I don¡¯t sense any Wyrd in them at all,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Strange. Your ability to sense magic through [Know What¡¯s Wyrd] seems to be limited to that which is actively empowered by living [Witches]. How troublesome. And anything else? Can you sense the workings of your rtionship to these two?¡±

    ¡°No. Nothing,¡± said Brin.

    "Hm. Are you sure? Touch them. Stroke the female upon the breast."

    Brin didn''t want to. From what he knew of Evita, she wouldn''t be bothered, but Ademsi really wouldn''t like that.

    The resistance to the idea felt like more than his normal reticence though, it almost felt external. Was this his Wyrd Sense picking up on the im that Ademsi had, or thought he had, on the only other member of his species? Or was Brin just imagining it? It was hard to tell.

    Aberfaughed at his hesitation. "Such a prude. This is a dream! You''re allowed to do as you wish in your dreams."

    Brin looked away. "If I was alone in here that would be one thing..."

    Aberfa covered her mouth with her hand. "Ah yes, I see. Boys your age are so... Well, nevermind. Are you getting anything?"

    "I''m not sure," said Brin.

    There were other ways to vite a person''s domain. He walked over to the work table where Ademsi rolled out the ss that he used for windows. Brin never needed these tools, since it was much easier for him to shape ss with his Skills now. The tools here had be Ademsi''s private space. His territory.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Brin pushed the entire table over, letting the machinery crack and the tools tter. He could clearly picture the hurt and betrayal that Ademsi would feel if he saw this, the vition of trust. But was that Wyrd-sense, or just ordinary empathy?

    He shrugged and turned back to Aberfa and the pair of automatons. "I still can''t tell. But since we''re here, is there anything you can tell me about their problem? Ademsi doesn''t think he''splete, somehow. Like he''s not a real person yet."

    "He''s not. If he were a person, he would have the System. The only people who don''t have the System are simpletons," said Aberfa.

    "Really? So they just, what, stay in the [Child] ss forever?"

    "Of course not. They progress through the levels unconsciously, the way monsters do, by acting out their role in the world, and by doing those things they are still capable of doing."

    "So Ademsi is going to progress like a monster? Can we call it the Monster System?"

    Aberfa backed into Ademsi and pulled his arm around her stomach. "As good a name as any. To grow, Ademsi must act out the measure of his creation."

    "He was created as a familiar by a [Witch], and he would tell you his purpose was to serve and defend his master."

    ¡°Is that right? Is that your purpose?¡± Aberfa asked a silent Ademsi, stroking his chin with her fingertips. She hummed and closed her eyes, basking in the automatons cold arms. "He will require a new master, or he will require a new creation."

    "Tell me about the second one," said Brin.

    "He has a core that draws life-energy directly from the Wyrd. This animates him and gives him power, but it is also keeping him static. Rece it with another source of life, a powerful beast core perhaps, and he will be reborn."

    "You make it sound so easy," said Brin.

    "It''s not. He will require a living core, a beast core that remains alive in its own magic even after the flesh body is dead. Not any old living core will do, and this is to say nothing of the enchantments that will be required for its preparation. I could bore you with the list of requirements, or I could skip to the end. Ademsi is better off finding a broken golem of ancient Nhamanshal and taking its core for himself. Such things are incredibly rare, but they do exist."

    "Do you have a clue about where I could start looking?" Brin asked.

    Aberfa didn''t answer. She kept her eyes shut and folded herself tighter in Ademsi''s arms.

    Evita blinked her eyes open. Suddenly alive again, she stepped down to the ground and walked delicately up to him, then cupped his chin softly with one hand. "No, Brin. This is his journey. When you rob a man of his challenges, you also rob him of his victory. You don''t need to walk his path, you only need to show him the first step."

    Brin blinked. That was surprisingly insightfuling from Aberfa.

    He asked, "Is this you saying that, or is Evita talking to me somehow?"

    "This is your dream. She''s saying what you think she would say." Aberfa had turned herself around and was now in a princess-carry so that she could continue to stroke Ademsi¡¯s chest.

    "Will you stop that!" Brin shouted.

    Aberfa smirked at him. "You''re no fun." But then she sighed and let herself down. She took onest long, lingering look at Ademsi, made a point of brushing off her dress and plucking at it here and there to put it in order and then waved her hand.

    The dream changed. They were back at the Pecks¡¯.

    ¡°Better?¡± she asked.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you fight them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d really rather not.¡±

    Aberfa looked down at him with disgust in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯d rather not be here at all, but such is life. You seem to have a hard time understanding anything that hasn¡¯t stuck a knife into you, so we¡¯ll do this the stupid way. You will fight them, and afterwards, you better have a new insight into your Skill to tell me. Now go!¡±

    The dream started to move again. Siphani started to stand, pulling at the Effa-suit covering her and the undead covering started to bleed as she was ripped away.

    Suddenly, there was a brownish blur and Brin felt an explosion of pain in the left side of his head, then nothing.

    The scenario reset, and Siphani was frozen again.

    Aberfa said, ¡°I forgot to mention. I¡¯m running this dream as if you¡¯d never given the potion to Micah, and you were personally in the room instead of as an illusion. You¡¯ll need to defeat all of them.¡±

    That brown blur had been Micah? Siphani¡¯s father had been an [Earthmover] in life, and still retained that power as a zombie familiar. That would make this tricky.

    ¡°I would¡¯ve brought a spear in that case,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Fine,¡± said Aberfa, and he felt the familiar weight of his nice spear with the Bog Standard haft and a ss spearhead. Not his new one, but the one he¡¯d had at the time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lose this time,¡± said Aberfa.

    The instant the dream started moving again, Brin stabbed with his spear, pushing with all his muscle as well as all the power his magic could give him. He felt strong resistance to his magic; Siphani¡¯s im was strong. He didn¡¯t have time to parse exactly what her argument was or make a counter for it, but he didn¡¯t need to. There was nothing tangible for her to use to leverage her im with, so he brushed it aside.

    The spear ran her through, straight through Effa and Siphani alike, and two voices screamed in pain.

    Micah¡¯s projectile broke through the wall, but hit only air behind him. Then there was a crash as a fist of earth demolished the entire back wall of the house.

    Outside, Micah had already covered himself with earthen armor. He stepped forward, seeming sturdy enough to carry the entire world on his back.

    Brin started summoning a shield of ss. He¡¯d never survive pinned inside here, but the only way out was past Micah.

    He ran, and dodged the expected swing when he passed Micah, but then the zombie stomped the ground and a spear of earth erupted under Brin¡¯s feet to stab at him. Brin hopped and got his half-formed shield under him just in time. The spear shattered his shield, and knocked Brin further into the air. Hended on his shoulder, but turned it into a roll. He got to his feet and kept running.

    Now that he had some space between them he finally had some time to think. Micah flung projectiles of earth at him, but with the distance Brin had plenty of space to dodge, while calling on magic of his own.

    He summoned a barrage of ss javelins. The zombie stopped them all with armored arms crossed in front of him, leaving no scratch. But the attack served his purpose. Now that Brin¡¯s magic shed against Micah¡¯s, they were open to negotiation in the Wyrd.

    Micah was a familiar and an undead. Wyrd was coursing through his veins. It made his condition perfectly visible to the eyes of those to see it, and Brin could see it. His argument was simple: He was a familiar. He existed to defend and protect his mistress. Nothing else existed for him. Except it wasn¡¯t so simple. Familiars were more than mindless killers. They were another mind, a personality. Someone to spin ideas off of, or warn against foolish ns, or just to talk to when everyone had abandoned you. Micah had been a poor choice for a familiar, because every part of him that was still conscious and still remembered who he was <em>hated</em> Siphani. He hated what had been done to him, and he resisted it with everyst bit of freedom he had left.

    It made him weak.

    Brin summoned his next spear with that thought in mind. He pushed into it Micah¡¯s own desire for an end to his suffering and for revenge at what had been done to him.

    Brin threw the spear, and it blew straight through Micah¡¯s defenses, straight through his body, to stick into the ground right next to a wounded Siphani as she finally stumbled out of the wreckage of her house.

    Siphani clutched her chest, red blood pouring through her long white fingers. Her eyes were clouded with pain, but then seemed to clear as she saw Micah¡¯s body slump to the ground. ¡°You. You killed my father? How could you?¡±

    Her voice was loud, and her form was unnatural and terrifying. Tall and white as marble, she¡¯d distorted herself into an insane vision of beauty. She still had brackish blood on her skin from her zombie mother, and now he could see Effa crawling along after her like a living carpet.

    Seeing it the first time, Brin had nearly passed out from terror, but this time the effect was¡­ reduced. Was this really all she was? This night was enough to give him cold sweats just from remembering it, but now he couldn¡¯t help but feel that she seemed smallpared to the Siphani of his nightmares. Which was ironic since this literally was the Siphani of his nightmares.

    He didn¡¯t even have to think hard for his argument. He¡¯d been running over this in his mind for months now.

    She¡¯de into this town as an orphan and they¡¯d taken her in. They¡¯d loved her, treated her with respect, they¡¯d evene to idolize her. And how did she repay them? His mind shed back to the sight of the funeral, to the pyre so enormous and hot that no one had been able to approach it. He remembered the sight of dry tear-tracks on the faces of children and parents, dried from a ze that had been needfullyrge enough to burn hundreds of bodies at once. He remembered the bodies, too. He remembered them in life, then seeing them die, then the sight of the bodies in the pyre.

    His spear flicked from the wreckage of Siphani¡¯s house and into his hand with barely a thought. This time his anger was so hot that it made it hard to breathe, and his argument was so heavy he thought the entire world might tremble at its passing.

    <em>Unfair. It was unfair what you did, Siphani</em>.

    He ran to close the distance, needing to settle this up close. His spearhead thrummed with power, but undeterred Siphaniunched forward to meet him. Despite all of this, she still thought she was in the right.

    He cut the wed hand off that swiped at his face. In the same motion, he circled down to slice clean through a noodly leg, and then back up to take her neck. It didn¡¯t quite get all the way through and her head tilted to the side as burbling blood exploded from her lips. He cocked back, and swung again, this time removing the headpletely

    He thought it was over, but the dream didn¡¯t stop. He heard Siphani¡¯s head and body hit the ground, and he looked around for the next threat. Was it Effa? Was he going to have to kill that thing?

    The living pile of skin that was Effa Peck writhed on the ground, seemingly stunned or confused by the death of her mistress.

    ¡°Why? I did nothing to you, and you kill me!¡± Siphani¡¯s decapitated head was speaking from the ground. ¡°I curse you!¡±

    The formation under the town activated, and all of itnded squarely on Brin.

    With no warning, Ademir wasn¡¯t able to do whatever he¡¯d done to deflect the entire weight of the hex to himself, and Brin felt the lives of his protector [Witches] be snuffed out one after another. Then the curse turned on him.

    Red lightning tortured every cell in his body as it coursed through him, tearing him to pieces inch by inch.

    The pain ended, reced by emptiness.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what would¡¯ve happened. I would¡¯ve died, and saved a lot of people." He felt oddly at peace with this oue. He couldn''t go back, and didn''t know what he''d choose if he could. It didn''t matter. Now that he knew, he could close this chapter of his life.

    But the dream didn¡¯t end. He rose up as a ghost, and viewed the rest of the battle from above. It seemed to happen all in fast forward. Lumina arrived, killed Awnadil, the undead, and then finding Brin dead, turned her fury to the rest of the town.

    ¡°...and then your [Archmage] kills everyone. How fitting,¡± said Aberfa, narrating the ending.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what she would¡¯ve done,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa shrugged. ¡°This is <em>your</em> dream.¡±

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t kill innocent people.¡±

    ¡°Tell yourself that.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t say anything, and watched the spreading fire consume the town. Aberfa kept saying this was his dream, but she obviously controlled as much or as little of it as she liked. Despite what she imed, this wasn¡¯t what Brin thought would happen. He still believed in Lumina.

    ¡°That was useless. A failure,¡± Aberfa said after a while.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean you didn¡¯t learn anything. I think we¡¯ll have to change strategies. Tell Hogg something for me, if you would. I have a proposition for him.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 48

    Book 3. Chapter 48

    Even though he¡¯d only been learning from Aberfa for a few days, it felt like forever and a certain chill was starting to set in. Moving from his dreams into the waking world was a journey from night to day, and not just literally. The cold, empty dreams gave way to warmth, energy, and the noise of a caravan going through their duties. The few children that had joined were up, screaming andughing as soon as the sun rose, and the normal hustle and bustle of the merchants and guards, oxes and horses gave the real world a quality that Aberfa¡¯s projections could never live up to.

    Chatting with his friends over breakfast waspletely different than any conversation with Aberfa. Davi could say the wrong thing, and no one would capitalize on it to make him feel dumb. Zilly could tell an off-color joke and everyone would justugh instead of growing angry. Sion could misunderstand something, and no one would try to make him feel like an idiot. When Brin was a little quiet, Myra would ask him what¡¯s wrong, and not just to get more ammunition to use against himter.

    He¡¯d started to forget that people could be this way. It bothered him how quickly he was already starting to fear Aberfa¡¯s moods. How long could he go on like this? At the same time, he didn¡¯t want it to end. Not yet. He was learning so much.

    Brin spent a while just basking in the association with non-psychotic people, letting it restore his bnce, and made no move to pull away. Davi had to join Jeffrey for music practice right after breakfast, but Zilly, and Myra walked alongside him and Sion while the [Merchant] boy told them stories of his most unusual purchases. It wasn¡¯t until two hours after the caravan started walking that he found a good time to move away for a private discussion with Hogg.

    ¡°What¡¯s up? What did you learn this time?¡± Hogg asked when he pulled him to the side for a private conversation.

    ¡°Aberfa wants to make a deal. With you.¡±

    ¡°Tell her no.¡±

    Brin grinned and said, ¡°Just hear me out.¡±

    Hogg curled his lip in disgust. ¡°If I hear you out I¡¯m going to say yes, I just know it. She¡¯spletely nuts but she¡¯s good at what she does; I have to give her that much.¡±¡°So¡­ do you not want me to tell you what she¨C¡±

    ¡°Of course I want to hear it! What did she say?¡±

    Brinughed, then stifled it to something appropriately grim for the subject matter. ¡°She¡¯s willing to give us the location of an Arcaenean safehouse here in Frenaria, one close by that¡¯s not too far off the road towards ckcliff. We can steal all the intel and artifacts, and kill or capture the [Witch] running it. She even hinted that we might even find out what the undead are doing with all those tunnels.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡±

    ¡°The catch is that she wants me to face the [Witch¡¯s] familiar. I have to fight it alone.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°I knew this would happen. Alright, tell her I agree.¡±

    Brin paused. ¡°What? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t expect me to agree?¡±

    ¡°No, I did, but I thought you¡¯d put up a token argument first. Usually you¡¯d say something about how we don¡¯t need to bother with things that don''t concern us. We¡¯re not Frenarian counter-spies.¡±

    Hogg stared into the horizon, as if trying to root out hidden [Witches] then and there. ¡°If there really is a [Witch] on the road from here to ckcliff, then we¡¯re going to pass by her either way, whether we know she¡¯s there or not. There¡¯s also the fact that we have no guarantee that Aberfa isn¡¯t also talking to the [Witch] in question. If we tell her no, she might just go to the [Witch] and have her set up an ambush. Then we¡¯d be fighting her anyway, but on much worse terms.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she can talk to anyone other than me. If she could, why doesn¡¯t she? She could¡¯ve been pumping you and Lumina for information this whole time, before we ever realized she was there,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You''re probably right, but we can¡¯t assume anything. Her power must have some kind of limits, but we don''t know what those are yet. She can control other monsters, we know that much,¡± said Hogg. He cleared his throat and then looked to the side. ¡°So, listen. Has she ever given you any clue about where she is? Or what?¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°No. She¡¯s pretending that she¡¯s still a [Witch], and I haven¡¯t called her out on it yet. I¡¯m waiting for the right moment.¡±

    He felt mildly sick at that admission. He had a piece of information that he knew would hurt her feelings when he brought it up, so he was waiting for exactly the right time to do the most damage. Sure, she definitely deserved it, but this was Aberfa-style thinking.

    ¡°Look, anything you can find out, no matter how small, could be important. It would only take the tiniest little clue to get us on the right trail.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    For the rest of the day, Brin drifted in and out of conversations with his friends, but spent most of his time fiddling with his half-lute and thinking. He pushed his fingers across the frets, practicing scales and trying to remember a few of his favorite songs from Earth.

    He needed to find out where Aberfa¡¯s real-world body was. He still didn¡¯t even know <em>what</em> it was. For all he knew, she was a group of microbes that was already living inside his brain.

    But he couldn¡¯t just ask her. He needed to trick her into revealing the information somehow. But how? She was a professional about this, and Brin wasn¡¯t. He needed a foolproof strategy.

    He yed his half-lute, and plotted.

    When night came, the nightmare started off in a forest. Not a Bond forest, but something closer to the environment they were in now. The ground was dry and bare, and the trunks of tall pines were devoid of branches except for at the very top where they allpeted for every inch of sunlight.

    ¡°He agreed,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I knew he would,¡± said Aberfa. She waved, and a map of the general area appeared in the air. She poked at a spot above the road, right before the part where the road they were on branched north to ckcliff. ¡°This is where she is. You¡¯ll find a grove ofrge ck oaks. Look for a cave exactly seven hundred and seventy-seven feet north of the northmost ck oak.¡±

    Brin¡¯s [Memories in ss] wouldn¡¯t let him forget it. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you didn¡¯t ask for an Oath. Are you sure he won¡¯t pretend to agree until we find the [Witch] and then kill her and the familiar himself?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well, yes. Oaths don¡¯t really stick when made to my kind. And there¡¯s nothing an [Illusionist] loves more than a good secret. He¡¯s already wondering what I might give him <em>next</em> time if he ys along this time,¡± said Aberfa.

    Brin wanted to speak up in Hogg¡¯s defense, but there was nothing to argue with there. She¡¯d really encapsted him so well.

    ¡°So what are we doing tonight?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Bears,¡± said Aberfa.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Aberfa was already gone, and in her ce, a monster was charging at him from her ce. He dodged a w, rolled to the side, and booked it. He ran through the forest, and the monster pursued but he quickly gained ground on it. Whatever this thing was, it seemed to be slower than him; it must be lower level.

    At first, his mind didn¡¯t register ¡°bear¡±. He saw what he thought looked like a half-dog half-gori bearing down on him, but then realized that was because so much of its fur was missing. Its face was almostpletely hairless, and what little fur it had remaining on its body was patchy on saggy gray skin.

    It roared as it ran, a rare experience from the monsters he¡¯d fought, and right away he got the impression that this animal was sick and insane.

    The cause was clear. There were horrid growths all over its body, the size and color of cherries. They stuck out of the skin so far that they bounced with the bear¡¯s movement, and clusters of close-together ones were connected with sickly red veins.

    Brin forced the horror of its appearance out of his mind and concentrated on one thing: it was an enemy.

    With no weapon in sight, he was forced to summon one, and was grateful to find his magic ready and responsive. This wasn¡¯t him from the past, this was his capability now, which would make this easier.

    He summoned a spear, pushing in mana from what felt like a limitless supply, and turned back to meet the enemy. The bear wasn¡¯t as fast as him, but he couldn¡¯t assume that he was stronger. He needed to keep out of wrestling range.

    He stayed light on his feet and tested the bear with quick jabs, always moving so that it couldn¡¯t pin him down. He pushed magic into his spear jabbed at the bear, pushing the spear harder and making it move quicker. Scores of bloody gouges appeared across the bear''s body, but it didn¡¯t seem to make a difference. It fought with berserker fury, uncaring of any injury.

    He felt something from [Know What¡¯s Wyrd] as he fought; this animal had no real im or argument at all. It didn¡¯t care about territory or hunger, and didn¡¯t see him as a threat or as prey. It fought because it was mad. Brin¡¯s half-formed im of wanting to stay alive was so much stronger it was a mountain against an anthill, but that didn¡¯t seem to matter. The mismatch didn¡¯t weaken the bear or strengthen him. Because the bear wasn¡¯t fighting with magic, from what he understood. Still, the fact that there was no sh of wills at all felt strange.

    Stolen from its rightful ce, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    On a hunch, he stopped trying to hurt the bear, and instead started aiming for the cherry growth. He popped the first one, which sent a spray of mist into the air.

    Immediately he felt the Wyrd of the disease, and it was <em>strong</em>.

    <em>Survive. Grow. Consume. Spread. Reproduce.</em>

    Every instinct a living creature could have was distilled to its primal essence and charged with full force. The disease had to do all those things at once, to the maximum degree all the time, or it couldn¡¯t do any of them. More, he felt <em>real</em> Wyrd from the disease. It had been created by a [Witch] and her magic still empowered it.

    Even a sniff of the molecules in the air was enough to give the disease an attack vector, and he felt its im begin to sap his will and weaken his magic. He needed a im of his own, and fast.

    He sent back an argument that was close to the <em>Survive. Resist. Defend.</em> Simple arguments had a simple rebuttal. The disease had the right to spread because that¡¯s all it could do. Brin had the right to resist and defend himself, because that¡¯s all he could do.

    The scales bnced, but the brief distraction had almost been enough to undo him. A paw swatted the spear from his hand, and the bear bit at him, but its wild, uncoordinated force had the creature butting him with its head before even opening its mouth.

    Brin rolled with the blow and came up with a newly summoned dagger in his hand. A crude thing, and he had to knap a jagged edge onto it as he swung. The dagger sharpened just in time for Brin to drive it into the bear¡¯s neck.

    He ran again, giving himself some space to summon more des, then used his magic tounch them at the bear from a distance. It was slow, and not the most shy finish, but fighting a bear at melee range was stupid if you could outrun it.

    After a few minutes, he put enough jagged ss into the bear that not even the [Witch]-made disease could keep it moving, and it fell to the ground, dead.

    Brin expected it to be over, and for Aberfa to appear so she could tell him he¡¯d done everything wrong. She didn¡¯t show. Instead, he heard three more roars.

    <em>Right.</em> She hadn¡¯t said, ¡°bear.¡± She¡¯d said, ¡°bears.¡±

    Brin ran. This time, he didn¡¯t bother summoning a spear, and kept running away while pelting them with projectiles. It was slow going, and even then wasn¡¯t foolproof. Aberfa kept cheating by teleporting the bears right behind him any time he got enough distance to start feeling safe.

    When he finally put thest of them down, he was tired, sweaty, and covered with more than a few bloody gouges. In real life he¡¯d be worried about the blood loss, but here he was mostly only worried about the disease. He¡¯d breathed in a lot of it from the air, and each of his wounds had carried another payload of pathogens straight into his bloodstream.

    Now that it was in his body, its argument had changed. <em>This is our home. You can¡¯t evict us from our home</em>. It took every ounce of will Brin had to make it clear that no, this body was his. Even so, he was losing ground. He didn¡¯t want to know what would happen if he waspletely consumed.

    ¡°So you see?¡± said Aberfa, finally arriving back in the dream with a calmly interested look on her face as she eyed his wounds. ¡°Your argument has greatly reduced the spread of the pathogen.¡±

    ¡°This is the reduced effect?¡± asked Brin through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Oh yes. The one who made it is long since dead, but she¡¯s <em>legendary</em> in Arcaena. She had the honor of being in by the Queen herself, an acknowledgment that she¡¯d be a true threat.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t care about some dead old [Witch]. ¡°Can I use this against themon cold? Am I immune to all diseases now?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± said Aberfa. Then she smiled wickedly. ¡°And yes.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°This method is much harder to use against natural illnesses, but now that you have a feel for it I think you¡¯ll be able to manage. And most of the time you¡¯ll only be able to slow it down, not purge itpletely. Not with this method. There¡¯s another method. Do you not remember?¡±

    It was so, so hard to think when the disease was poisoning his body but that just made it more important. He thought back to when he¡¯d first learned about cherry bears, and how that same night he¡¯d dreamed about a cure to their disease. ¡°You told me in a dream, before I realized that you were you, that this can be cured with boiling water.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± she said.

    ¡°Could you hurry and get rid of this disease? It¡¯s ufortable.¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask.¡± Aberfa stepped to the side. Behind her, a giant cauldron full of water was set up over a roaring fire. She nodded her head to it. ¡°Get in.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± said Brin. It looked like a stereotypical witch cauldron, big and ck.

    ¡°You want the cure, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need the cure! This is just a dream. I could wake myself up any time and the disease would be gone,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa pursed her lips in annoyance, but for once there was no extra punishment of pain or bad emotions. Brin almost missed it. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to experience the cure for the first time here where you¡¯re safe, or out in the world? Stop whining. It¡¯s not even very hot.¡±

    Brin grumbled, but she was right. It really wasn¡¯t more than lukewarm, even if he didn¡¯t have [Heat Resistance]. He got into the water, and found the temperature wasn¡¯t ufortable in the least.

    What <em>did</em> make Brin ufortable was the fact that it wasn¡¯t just water. The liquid was foamy and greenish now that he was looking at it closely. He felt something brush his leg, and pulled it out to find it was a chicken foot. Soon after, a small eyeball bobbed to the surface.

    ¡°Oh gross, what is this?¡±

    Aberfa shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±

    Brin glowered at her, and she stared back with a nk expression. Slowly, the water got warmer.

    ¡°So tell me,¡± said Aberfa. ¡°How does [Heat Resistance] work? Does it shield you from heat, or does it change the amount of heat your body can ept before being damaged?¡±

    ¡°It shields me from heat,¡± Brin said, before pausing to realize that he didn¡¯t actually know. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°The <em>correct</em> answer,¡± said Aberfa, ¡°is that it does both.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. That was an important distinction. He didn¡¯t want to feel grateful to Aberfa, but he did and for once he didn¡¯t think it was because she was injecting him with artificial emotions.

    ¡°[Heat Resistance] will increase the degree to which your internal temperature can rise before you are harmed. It is your best and most important [sser] Skill. By far!¡± All at once, she was at the edge of the cauldron, grabbing the Brin with both hands to bring herself nearly nose-to-nose with Brin, a look of absolute fury on her face. ¡°You had a chance to upgrade it and you took [Shape ss] instead! <em>Foolish!</em> You have been <em>ruined!</em> I spent <em>years</em> preparing you and all that effort was wasted by the advice of dunces and idiots!¡±

    She stepped back, massaging her forehead. ¡°Foolish. So foolish.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t bother arguing. The water was starting to get hot enough that he could feel it. Tiny bubbles were forming on the edges of the surface. ¡°The body fights off diseases by increasing its own temperature to the point that the disease can¡¯t survive. If I can survive higher temperatures, I can fight off worse diseases. That¡¯s what this is. You''re raising my body temperature artificially in order to kill the cherry bear pathogen before it drives me crazy and kills me.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Aberfa. ¡°You¡¯ll want to pay attention to the exact moment the disease departs your body. There¡¯s a thin line between removing germs and boiling yourself alive.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it, though. Are fevers and flus really that big of a deal? With high Vitality they shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I don¡¯t remember seeing much sickness in Hammon¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°You were spoiled in that town you grew up in. That''s Bruna''s work, I think.¡± Aberfa practically spat the name of Davi¡¯s mom, a non-evil [Witch].

    ¡°Is it worse in other ces?¡±

    ¡°Even in a ce like the Bonds where monsters roam free, I still suspect that illness was the most prevalent cause of death in children. Outside of Hammon¡¯s Bog of course. There, I assume, it¡¯s undead raids?¡±

    She said thatst with a little smirk.

    Brin wanted to stand and call her out. He didn¡¯t let anyone mock the dead of Hammon¡¯s Bog, not even her. But the water was boiling now, and he was too lethargic to move. This was¡­ this was too hot. Much too hot. Now that he was looking for it, he noticed through the Wyrd that the disease had already departed.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Speak up, dear,¡± said Aberfa, leaning her ear closely. When Brin couldn¡¯t do more than mumble, she shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t understand you.¡±

    She bent down, and picked up a huge wooden spoon as tall as she was. She dunked it into Brin¡¯s bath and started to stir.

    Stirring¡­ In a panic, he realized that this wasn¡¯t a bath. <em>It was a stew.</em> A [Witch¡¯s] brew. She was boiling him alive.

    That thought was enough to force his lethargic body into motion, and he managed to stand and topple himself over the edge.

    Sweet, blessed cool air touched his skin, giving him energy and making him feel the pain that he¡¯d been numb to moments before.

    Aberfaughed and kicked the cauldron over. Itnded on him, burning his skin from the outside parts that¡¯d been above the water level, and as it rolled over him it sshed the entire contents all over him again. She keptughing.

    ¡°Oh, oh, oh dear that¡¯s! That¡¯s! You look exactly like you when I did this the first time!¡±

    She stoppedughing abruptly with a hup. ¡°The first time that I¡­ Aberthol¡­¡±

    She suddenly grew silent, and the energy of the dream seemed to fade. His body became less substantial, taking the pain and tiredness with it.

    His anger rose in its ce. Meanwhile, Aberfa withdrew into herself. She sat on the ground, hugging her knees and suddenly looking very small.

    He smiled a Scarred One smile. She was starting to realize, wasn¡¯t she? He wasn¡¯t her son, not her real son. As much as she wanted to im she was the mother of his body only, she was starting to notice that it wasn¡¯t the same.

    He could end it here. He could tell her that he wasn¡¯t her real son. The bond between them would break, and it would be over. She would be out of his dreams and out of his life.

    That¡¯s what his anger wanted him to do. Those were the words that would hurt her the most, so they were the words he wanted to say. It was also his anger that held him back. As much as it would hurt her, it wouldn¡¯t even be close to what she deserved.

    If he was free of her, then she would also be free of him. Is that what he wanted?

    For once, rather than give in to instinct, he activated [Directed Meditation]. In a ce apart from emotion. He calmly thought it through.

    He could be done with her. Every minute that he spent with her was a danger. She¡¯d killed Bowers, probably by putting him to sleep with that monster and then killing him in his dreams. He had to assume that she had the ability to kill him at any moment, and that the only reason she abstained is out of hope that he could still be her son.

    The practical thing to do here would be to break their bond now, and then spend the rest of his life keeping the sleep charms near every time he slept. He didn¡¯t care about this woman. This was Aberthol¡¯s problem, and Aberthol had chosen to leave rather than deal with it. Why had the gods even given him [Filial Piety]? They had to know that he didn¡¯t see Cadwy and Aberfa as his parents.

    On the other hand, she¡¯d just casually dropped a cure to nearly all diseases right onto hisp tonight. Every minute he spent with her was a leap ahead in knowledge and power. Power for him, and also power to help the world against Arcaena. He wasn¡¯t exactly patriotic for Frenaria, but he had a hundred reasons to hate Arcaena.

    This was valuable to him, as long as he didn¡¯t die for it, and he honestly didn¡¯t think that¡¯s what she wanted for him.

    There was also the fact that ignoring Aberfa wouldn¡¯t make her go away. He had no way to find her at present, so if he tried to run away now he¡¯d be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life. Keeping things as they were now wouldn¡¯t work, either. She was too guarded, too clever to identally drop a clue that would let him find her body and kill her for good.

    He needed to change the dynamic. He needed to gain her trust.

    He shuddered when he dropped [Directed Meditation] and it dawned on him exactly what he was considering. But it was the only way.

    The only way out was through.

    He stepped up to Aberfa and put a hand gently on her shoulder. ¡°Can you tell me about it?¡±

    She looked at him, fear and spite in her eyes, but also sorrow.

    He steeled himself, but tried to make his face look softer. ¡°I hate that I don¡¯t have any memories of you¡­ and dad. Can you show me what our life was like? Can you give me my memories back¡­ mother?¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 49

    Book 3. Chapter 49

    ¡°What did you just say?¡± Aberfa blinked a couple times, as if waking up from a dream. They were still in a dream of course, though it was hard to say whose dream it was.

    Brin didn¡¯t want to be too obvious about calling her mother after he had made such a point of resisting it, so he only repeated the question. ¡°I asked if you could show me what my life was like from before I lost my memories.¡±

    Brin felt something shift in the Wyrd. Some key bnce point in their rtionship had moved in her direction.

    Aberfa nodded slowly, then again more firmly. She smiled brightly and kept nodding. ¡°Yes. Yes! I¡¯d like that. Come. Come and see! I¡¯ll take this memory from my mind. Here.¡±

    Everything shifted, and they were walking down a busy city street. The sky was sunny and full of those big fluffy white clouds that were usually seen after a big rainstorm.

    Aberfa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Alhaendra. The capital of Arcaena. I missed this ce."

    Brin looked around again with renewed interest. It didn''t look like the dark and destend of misery that he''de to expect. The homes he could see were square and extremely symmetrical with round doors and windows. The walls were all white ster or sto, and blended into each other to give it a very idyllic feeling. The sea was visible in the distance, with the sun sending glittering sparkles across the water where tall ships mixed with small fishing sailboats darted here and there across the water.

    At least the castle looked like it should. In the other direction, on top of a hill, a ck castle dominated the sky. It looked windowless, like a piece of sheer te, and four towers rose from the main building like sharp knives.

    They walked, and they seemed to move through the city at a pace outside of regr time. The people moved past them in a blur, walking past them at a hundred miles an hour while never really seeing them. He''d always pictured the Commoners of Arcaena as hunched over, miserable peasants, but these people walked with straight backs and chatted in the markets and basically acted like regr people, if a little oddly dressed.They tended towards bright colors, with shorts and skirts interchangeable for both genders. It was alsomon to see them wearing tank tops with bare midriffs. He got the feeling that this was one of those unfair ces like San Francisco or the south of France where the weather was perfect all year around.

    There was more evidence of that when they drifted through a poorer district near the shore where the homes were little more than wooden lean-to''s to keep off the rain.

    "It''s nothing like I expected," Brin said, finally breaking the silence.

    "Of course not. If the kingdoms of men admitted that we are prosperous, it would undermine their entire rule. Arcaena is not our queen for nothing. She uses her tremendous power for the good of her people."

    Brin looked closer to try to find a w in her utopia, and didn''t have to search far. He was able to [Inspect] the people as they shed by, and he found their average level was extremely low. Most people were in their early twenties. He saw one man who despite looking middle-aged was only a level 15 [Skinner].

    "Why is everyone so low-level?"

    Aberfa pursed her lips. "Ease breedscency. They squander the gifts we have given them. But what else can we do? Providing for thefort of the little people is the first duty of the noble ss. And wepensate for theirck in other ways."

    The dream started to shift faster. First, Brin saw a lumber mill where a horde of undead servants run to and fro carrying burdens and orplete simple tasks under the direction of a few human leaders. Then in a mine, where tireless undead dug deep into the bedrock. Next, undead in a dark room turning a wheel, moving forever without stopping to power a water pump for a fountain high up above.

    He saw a vision of a farm, where the field was ripe with grain and ready to harvest. A cloaked figure with a ceramic mask raised both hands into the air and started chanting.

    Brin [Inspected] the figure, suspecting it was a [Witch] and the message just returned "Mediator".

    The cloaked figure finished speaking and dropped both hands, unleashing an overwhelming flood of Wyrd. It seemed toe from the entire nation all at once, empowering every inch of the field. The stalks of grain bent down on their own ord to release their fruit, and then they wriggled and writhed on the ground, pushing the grain into flowing streams leading torge piles. Workmen cheered, pping and wildly waving their arms in the air while others knelt on the ground and bowed their heads. The hooded figure raised a hand in eptance and then the workmen rushed into action pouring the grain into sacks.

    "No undead farmers?" asked Brin.

    "Of course not. Don''t be disgusting," answered Aberfa.

    "So who''s the person with the mask?" asked Brin.

    "A [Witch]," Aberfa said simply. "While wearing the robes of the Mediator, they are beloved and venerated."

    The workmen treated the Mediator with obvious respect, but it seemed a little performative to Brin. That didn''t necessarily mean it wasn''t sincere, though.

    "So I guess it''s true that Arcaena openly employs other [Witches]. Hogg originally thought that she killed all her rivals and he''s not usually wrong about that kind of thing."

    Aberfa shrugged. "That''s the official story here, too, though I don''t know how many people actually believe it. ording to thew, taking the [Witch] ss is punishable by death. It¡¯s a necessary fiction in order to facilitate [Witches] of real quality rather than pretenders. Please understand, an effective [Witch] needs to be ready to rebel against anything and everything. Her family, her friends, thew, the natural order, even the gods themselves if necessary. In this way, the government of Arcaena is no true government at all, rather an ongoing rebellion against disorder and injustice."

    "Spare me the propaganda. What''s Arcaena''s excuse for how the so-called Mediator is doing all that stuff if she won''t admit it''s a [Witch]."

    "Answering that question would require me to tell you the propaganda, would it not?" Aberfa tilted her head to the side with a quizzical expression. She looked innocent enough, but Brin could see a dangerous glint in her eye.

    There was only so much rudeness she would tolerate from him, and he was toeing the line. He was in the capital city of an enemy nation, receiving vital intelligence, but that all depended on her believing that he''d epted his role as her son. He needed to y this carefully.

    He nodded his head and said, "I''m sorry, mother."

    She blushed. "N-not at all. To answer your question, ording to thew, a Mediator is a randomly selected citizen, chosen for a day to enact her will and wield her authority. Thatst part is the honest truth. The [Witch] will not use her own magic to perform these miracles; rather she will draw on Arcaena''s authority to move the world with the power the Queen has instituted for this purpose."

    Brin watched the workers moving in tandem with the writhing stalks of wheat to collect the harvest. It seemed like the entire world was working together. He raised his eyebrows. "How powerful is Arcaena that she can do this without even being present. No, how insanely confident is she that she can let someone borrow this much power?"

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    "There is a reason that we serve her. Arcaena has such power to do everything, everywhere at once. It does not please her to be everywhere at once, so by ritual and investiture, she grants authority to her servants to wield her power on her behalf."

    Brin had to wonder if it was the robes. If he got his hands on a set, would he be able to use Arcaena¡¯s power against her? It was all so strange. Every [Witch] of Arcaena he''d met had been power hungry to a fault. What did it say about Arcaena that she gave her power so freely? Brin wondered if she got experience for the things her Mediators did. She must. That would exin everything. Arcaena the country was a nation-wide experience farm for Arcaena the [Witch]. Her level must be tremendous.

    The dream shifted again, and this time they were in a domed room where a man and a woman sat across from each other, a stone altar between them. A Mediator stood in front of the altar, and there were a few dozen observers in the pews. At first Brin thought he might''ve been taken to a wedding ceremony despite the clear hatred the man and woman bore for each other on their faces, but then the Mediator held an open palm out to the woman and sheunched into a story about how the man across from her had vandalized the flower box on her porch.

    This was a trial. Or maybe a civil dispute? Looking at the stone dome above them, he saw a mural of a masked Mediator. She held bnce scales, but unlike the pictures ofdy Justice from his old world, she wasn''t blindfolded. Or maybe she was behind the mask. In either case, her third eye was open, visible over her mask and sending out beams of sunlight in every direction.

    When the woman had ranted for about five minutes, the Mediator looked at the man and said, "You will pay substitution of the amount of one silver and ten pennies."

    The man winced, but then the Mediator held her open palm to him, and heunched into his story. He listed off a long string of minor abuses, everything from cutting in front of him at the bakery, to spreading rumors about him, and then the cruel things she said in the argument that led to his vandalism.

    The Mediator looked at the woman next. "Your inability to resolve conflicts is a burden upon Arcaena. You will apologize for cutting in line. You will negate these false rumors. You will seek the guidance of your mother and your aunt in learning how to discuss simple matters without engendering bad feelings."

    The woman visibly winced, while the man looked a little smug even though he¡¯d technically lost, which Brin thought was slightly pathetic. The Mediator departed, and the rest of the group filed out soon after.

    "I guess that''s why they''re called Mediators," said Brin.

    "They resolve conflicts with the Wyrd. By essing the truth of the world itself, they are able to perfectly diagnose and resolve all offenses. The Mediator will not dismiss a case until all scales are perfectly bnced," said Aberfa.

    "I''ve seen how fair the Wyrd is," said Brin. "[Witches] stretch their ims to let them do whatever they want."

    "Is that what you think? Then I have failed as a teacher. [Witches] follow the Wyrd, not the other way around."

    Brin knew he was on thin ice, but he couldn''t help but shake his head. "I''ve felt it for myself. The Wyrdpletely changes directions once I''ve convinced myself that I''m right."

    "Some rights are strengthened when they are vocalized. Some offenses don''t exist until they are noticed. [Witch] magic harnesses the Wyrd itself, it is true, but these people are not [Witches], and the Mediator is impartial. They receive a perfect justice unheard of in othernds."

    Brin had doubts as to thatst part. Nothing he''d seen about [Witches] made him think they could be impartial about anything. On the other hand, they seemed to have so much disdain for the regr people that he could believe that they''d never bother to care about one over another.

    "I assume criminal trials are the same?" asked Brin.

    "Criminal and civil are words without definition. There are only people. Those offended, those indebted, and those with rival ims to property, resources, and antecedence. However, I will admit that there is a much heavier weight to trials where the one offended is Arcaena herself."

    "Who runs those trials?"

    "A Mediator, of course, as a representative of Her Majesty. This is the purpose of the robes. Well, one purpose. The other purpose is so that at the end of the day, the bearer can remove them. She can go home and in anonymity she might still have a normal life."

    That was a change of conversation that Brin had been waiting for. "Is that what you did?"

    She smiled. "It is."

    She waved her hand, and the dream shifted yet again. This time they were standing in front of a pretty white ster house with a nice, wide garden covered in blooming flowers.

    "Is this... was this where we lived?" asked Brin.

    "Sometimes. This is only one of my properties, and we often dwelled in the pce, and sometimes we traveled," said Aberfa.

    She approached the front door, humming like she was a princess and expected the flowers and random animals to start singing alone. The door opened on its own, and she swept inside. He followed her, bracing himself for the horrors that he knew would dwell within.

    The first one was Cadwy, waiting near the doorway for Aberfa toe home. Brin flinched in shock at the sight of him; he''d never seen this man in life but enough of his features had remained that Brin instantly recognized him. He''d seen this face as a zombie that time, and then a hundred times again afterwards in his nightmares.

    Cadwy didn''t speak. His face was expressionless as he took Aberfa''s hat that she hadn''t been wearing until just now, and quietly stepped away further into the house.

    Aberfa, still humming, walked into a great room with decadent furniture and arge roaring firece, stylized like a great dragon with the me sitting in its open mouth.

    Brin stopped being able to concentrate on the furniture and decor when he noticed the other figure in the room. He was there, little Brin as a child, looking young, six or seven. No, that wasn''t him. That was Aberthol.

    Brin''s mouth went dry. He should''ve expected this, but for some reason he''d never imagined meeting the previous owner of his body. Aberthol didn''t seem to notice him at all. His entire attention was focused on his mother.

    Like Cadwy, his face waspletely expressionless. Aberfa bent down to hug him and kiss both cheeks. He smiled in a way that didn''t touch his eyes and said, "Hello, mother." The sound of his voice hit Brin like a psychic shock. That... that was his voice. Aberthol''s smile dropped instantly and he went back to his toys. He''d been ying with a stack of blocks.

    Aberfa strode back and forth through the room. She picked up an old book and flipped a few pages before setting it down, examined herself in a hand mirror, wiped an invisible smudge off a vase, and overall enjoyed the experience of being back in her old house again.

    The entire time, Aberthol watched her warily, nk-faced but intense in concentration, the way you might watch a wild tiger. Any time she moved out of his sightline he shifted so that she''d remain in view and not be able to sneak up on him. Other than that, he stacked six or seven blocks, and then knocked them over again, endlessly repeating. It looked like ying from the corner of the eye, maybe, but since Brin was really looking at him he saw nothing but active camouge.

    Aberfa sat down, and Cadwy immediately arrived to give her a cup of tea and a te with a few small cakes, then left again without a word. She took a sip, and then leaned back and sighed in satisfaction.

    "Everything was just perfect back then."

    Brin swallowed the rising bile. He''d never seen a child act like that in his old life, or his new one for that matter. Even Davi''s little brother hadn''t had eyes like that after being tortured by Basil Bunny for weeks. Aberthol''s eyes were like a caged animal. One of those abused elephants maybe, right before they snapped and went on a rampage.

    He couldn''t help Aberthol now, but he might be able to avenge him. That required ying along. For now. Brin swallowed again and said, "It''s nice. We had such a happy home. What happened to us?"

    "Time," said Aberfa, suddenly looking much older. "Time and... mistakes. But we can have this back! We can have it all back."

    "How? I don''t even know where you are."

    Aberfa eyed him cautiously, looking almost vulnerable. "And you will. In time. Once I''m sure that... Once I''m sure. Once you¡¯re ready."

    Brin wasn¡¯t quite sure what to say here. He had the distinct impression that if he pushed too hard here she¡¯d grow suspicious and it would all be a waste. At the same time, this was an opportunity he might not get again.

    ¡°Is¨C?¡±

    His question was interrupted as something hairy and redunched into the room, some kind of short-armed monkey. It bounded around the room in a fric dance, knocking over chairs and pulling cushions off the couch, hooting madly. ¡°Mistress home. Mistress home!¡±

    Aberthol backed up and curled into a ball, holding his head with his hands and trying to look as small as possible, but he never took his wary eyes off Aberfa, which meant that whatever this was, it wasn¡¯t aplete unknown to him.

    ¡°Ekved! Ekved shoo! Go. Get out!¡± Aberfa said,unching to her feet and pointing. The creature, Ekved apparently, flung himself at Aberfa, wrapped her in a hug which she didn¡¯t appreciate, and then finally slumped and left the room with slumped shoulders.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Nothing that concerns you,¡± said Aberfa, brushing off her dress angrily.

    For the first time, Aberthol¡¯s eyes left his mother. He stared directly at Brin, holding his gaze with cold and bright blue eyes. ¡°That¡¯s her familiar.¡±

    Aberfa marched towards Aberthol, who flinched away from her on instinct. She raised her hand to p him, but then hesitated and looked back to Brin. She winced.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough for tonight,¡± she said, and Brin woke up.

 Book 3. Chapter 50

    Book 3. Chapter 50

    ¡°No, it was a bit longer than that,¡± said Brin. ¡°And the nose is still wrong. It¡¯s not a monkey nose, it¡¯s like a really long human nose.¡±

    For thest half-hour Hogg had been painting an image of Aberfa¡¯s familiar in the air with hard light under Brin¡¯s instruction. He had to admit that Hogg had an incredible amount of talent at this. He would¡¯ve been the weak point running of his own regr memories, but luckily [Memories in ss] preserved the sight of the creature perfectly, and now it was really starting to take shape. He stared at it more closely, trying to find a w.

    They were walking far enough ahead of the caravan to be out of sight. The hills had be more steep and regr and the road was constantly winding around them rather than forcing travelers to go up and over. It was kind of annoying to be doubling the distance they needed to walk and he dreamed of the interstate from back home that would just plow through any random hills or mountains in their way. It was working in their favor, though, by giving Brin and Hogg a bit of privacy without needing to do moreplicated illusions.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s it,¡± said Brin. ¡°That¡¯s the familiar.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? Look at the toes again,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°The toes are fine. Three on each foot, like I said.¡±

    Hogg poked at his conjuration of hard light and added another two more toes to each foot anyway. ¡°It¡¯s weird. Those are definitely five fingers on the hands. So why three toes?¡±

    ¡°Why are we so hung up on the toes?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s just weird, is all,¡± said Hogg. He shook his head. ¡°Maybe it''s deformed.¡±¡°So what is it?¡±

    ¡°Some kind of goblin?¡± Hogg guessed. ¡°Maybe one of those like they have in Prinnash. Can¡¯t say more than that.¡±

    Brin looked at the monster and bit his lip. ¡°I really hoped that this would be a lead. Do you know anyone we could ask?¡±

    Hogg stared off into space for a minute, then finally said, ¡°Best not.¡±

    ¡°Because we don¡¯t want her to know we have the answer. At this point, she could be in anyone¡¯s dreams,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. She <em>isn¡¯t</em> in everyone¡¯s heads, so we have to assume she <em>can¡¯t</em> be. I think she¡¯s the type that would start screwing with your friends if she could, at the very least. No, there¡¯s got to be some activation method.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure she can reach me because I¡¯m in her son¡¯s body,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg didn¡¯t answer for a minute, staring off into space again.

    The hills here were nice; some were tall enough to practically be big enough to call mountains, but they were all green grass-covered domes, top to bottom. The mountains or even hills Brin had experienced in his old life would be mostly sheer rock and gravel, with a few stubborn trees clinging on here and there.

    ¡°We¡¯re giving up on this for now. No arguments,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What? That¡¯s¨C¡±

    Hogg looked him in the eyes. ¡°For once, just trust me on this. It¡¯s over. Don¡¯t even think about it, if you can avoid it.¡±

    Brin did trust Hogg. He would activate [Directed Meditation] and force himself to not think about this. That would prevent him from drawing the obvious conclusion that Hogg <em>did</em> know something about the goblin, something he wasn¡¯t saying because it would give a clue about Aberfa¡¯s location or maybe even her power¨C

    ¡°Aw, dammit! Sorry Hogg. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from thinking about it in time. You recognized that monster didn¡¯t you? You know what it is.¡±

    Hogg sighed and rubbed his eyes. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Well, what is it?¡±

    ¡°You sure you want to know? If I tell you she¡¯ll read you in your dreams again and then she¡¯ll know you know.¡±

    ¡°She already knows you know, and that¡¯s just as bad,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s a Howler Goblin. They¡¯ve got a paralyzing screech, a confusion effect to stun and disorient. The effect is wholly magical, too. Ittches on your mind and pulls you into a dream,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°<em>Sancta Solia</em>,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°<em>Sancta Solia</em> is right. Alone this wouldn''t mean much, but the fact that she was so defensive about this means it''s a weak spot. She probably copied whatever ability she has to enter dreams from this fe. I think it''s safe to say that her regr activation method is the same as her old familiar''s. You need to hear her scream before she can invade your dreams.¡±

    ¡°How dangerous is this ability against someone who can use sound magic?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°If she catches me off guard? A little. If she doesn¡¯t? Not dangerous at all,¡± said Hogg with a grin.

    ¡°At least we got that going for us. Now how are we going to keep her from learning that we know all this?¡±

    ¡°I have some ideas about that,¡± said Hogg. ¡°You talk in your sleep, when she¡¯s teaching you, did you know that? But when it¡¯s the kind of dream where she¡¯s going through your memories to read your mind, youy still as a stone. Tonight I¡¯ll keep an eye on you. If you don¡¯t start talking in your sleep after a few minutes, I¡¯ll poke you awake and you can put your enchantments up.¡±

    With a n in ce they stood by and let the caravan catch up. Brin spent the day doing more normal things, chatting with his friends in the morning and then pulling a wagon for the second half of the day. When night fell, they tried Hogg¡¯s n. Sure enough, Aberfa tried to weasel into his memories immediately. Hogg woke him up, and Brin used the enchanted nket and the other wards and drifted off to sleep again. It was the first real, restful sleep he¡¯d had in what felt like ages.

    The next night Aberfa tried again, and they shut her down again. The night after was more of the same, and again the night after that. Finally, after five nights, Aberfa pulled him into a dream again.

    Her aspect was cold and distant and she brought him back to Hammon¡¯s Bog without prelude. ¡°Defeat Rodrige. I expect after all this time you¡¯ll be able to win without trouble.¡±

    He didn¡¯t win without trouble. Without being able to use the Language to empower his spells, Rodrige was able to send a chisel straight through his flimsy ss shield on the first attempt.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Aberfa raged at his defeat. ¡°How dare you waste my tutge! I, Aberfa of Arcaena, have deemed to instruct you <em>personally</em>, and this is all you can muster? You worm!¡±

    He felt his skin erupt into itching blisters, and a ming whip appeared in Aberfa¡¯s hand. She struck hard, shedding skin and burning the muscle tissue underneath.

    He pulled on the dream to wake himself up, but she immediately stopped. She went cold again and ttened her features. ¡°Try again.¡±

    Try again he did, and again and again, but he didn¡¯t defeat Rodrige that night. The next night he tried again, though this time Aberfa didn¡¯t look quite so defensive or cold. The third night she was chatting normally with him again, instructing him in the Wyrd, refining the emotions and intent he should be wielding.

    The trouble with Rodrige, paradoxically, was that he <em>didn¡¯t</em> have a strong argument. To him, this was just a fun afternoon. He didn¡¯t care too much about winning or losing, he didn¡¯t think anyone would think less of him if he lost, didn¡¯t have any personal stakes on the oue, wanted a fair contest, and trusted that Brin felt the same. That was honestly impossible to argue with, and gave Brin nothing totch onto. That meant the Wyrd would be at a stalemate and the contest was magic against magic. Without the Language, Brin was at a severe disadvantage.

    When he won a weekter, it was through sheer perseverance rather than any keen insight into the Wyrd.

    Next up was Myra. Aberfa let the dream move forward, taking Lumina¡¯s ce and calling Myra forward. Then she froze the dream and stepped up to examine the girl.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the vition.

    She plucked at her dress, and walked around her in a circle eyeing her up and down. Atst, she nodded in satisfaction.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hate this one.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t say that! That¡¯s the worst thing you could possibly say!¡± Brin moaned.

    ¡°What? Can¡¯t I like someone? She¡¯s smart and determined, has a respectable ss. Just a smidge of fate, a dollop of Wyrd, but nothing pretentious. Yes, this could do.¡±

    ¡°Stop! You approving of her is shutting that door forever,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°And you would rather keep it open? Interesting,¡± she crooked an eyebrow, clearly having fun.

    ¡°We¡¯re just friends,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Of course,¡± she said condescendingly. ¡°Very well, then. Fight her. And if you take it too far¡­? Well, I might look the other way.¡±

    Brin swallowed the anger and disgust. Despite what she said, he wasn¡¯t going to let her affect his love life one way or another. If he decided to hate everyone she liked, then that was still letting her make the decision.

    He concentrated on the fight, and on the Wyrd.

    As soon as time started moving again, he sent a probing dagger of ss at her face which she flicked away with a look of shock. He might¡¯ve moved a bit quicker than he ever had, and she was probably surprised at such a vicious strike right off the bat.

    Through the Wyrd, he felt a lot more, and Aberfa generously paused the fight to let him process it.

    He felt much of he had with Gill and Rodrige. Myra wanted to show her power and prove that Lumina hadn¡¯t wasted her time teaching her. But she also wanted Brin to win. She understood that this was hisst day with his mother and she wanted him to look strong and brave for her so that he wouldn¡¯t have any regrets. She¡¯d fight well enough to make it a good show and paint him in the best possible light and then lose.

    That didn¡¯t mean she wanted to throw the fight. She didn¡¯t and she wouldn¡¯t. She wanted Brin to actually win and win fairly. But she did want him to win, and to the Wyrd that was everything.

    His ss seemed toe to his fingertips at barely a thought, and heunched his projectiles with power that felt like it could never run dry. The fight was epic and bombastic; she grew forests of threads and he cut them down with mechanical precision. She was quick and ruthless, and used every trick she knew, including some he hadn¡¯t even seen the first time around, but fate would not be denied.

    The fight ended with Myra¡¯s surrender and smiles all around. Even Aberfa was pleased.

    "Very nice! I wonder what she''d be capable of if she really meant to kill you. Perhaps I could arrange it? No, probably not."

    "Please don''t," Brin said with a shiver.

    "I notice she''s doing all this with [Manipte Thread], and not [Thread Mastery]. Her training was interrupted, I think. Will she go to Snathain, do you think?"

    "What? What are you talking about?"

    Aberfa looked to the side with a devious smile as if she were part of a prank. "Never you mind. It''s not for me to say."

    Despite everything Brin tried, he couldn''t get her to say more than that, though he made a note to ask Myra about it.

    The lessons went on. Day by day, week by week, and then month by month. The caravan didn¡¯t move in a hurry and there was no press for time. They moved from vige to vige, often spending a day or three in each one. The [Merchants] would sell, the [Bards] would sing, and the rest of them would take the day off, or train like Davi and Brin.

    He had all the time in the world for Aberfa¡¯s lessons. He had all the time in the world to wear her down and find out where, or even what, she was.

    She didn¡¯t give so much as a sniff. Aberfa carefully avoided any more questions about her life or Arcaena, but she spoke eagerly about nearly any other subject. They fought against a wide range of monsters from undead to Giant Spiders, and even another kukubaru, and every time she had a wealth of knowledge about their wants and desires and how such things could be manipted.

    She knew the names of monsters that weren¡¯t in any of the bestiaries he¡¯d ever seen, and about a hundred different kinds of undead. Vampires, wights, and liches, including their strengths and weaknesses and their method of growth and advancement in the pseudo-System that monsters got.

    It dawned on him over the course of weeks of lessons, that in a strange way Aberfa and he were on the same path. They¡¯d both started over fresh, starting from level one with an adult mind in a new body. Unlike him, she was advancing as a monster after spending her entire life studying them. She knew the tricks and shortcuts, the optimal path to power, and he had no doubt she was using it for herself. He wished he knew what kind of monster she was, but no matter how many times he carefully prodded, she never gave so much as a hint.

    They did more normal lessons as well. She spoke aboutw and rhetoric. She spent a night going over philosophy and another night for religion where she spent most of the time teaching about the Fundamentals, Inanu, Babaus, and Nocta, rather than the lesser gods like Solia that everyone else seemed to focus on.

    She practiced the Prinnashian with him, and gave him an introduction to thenguage or Arcaena. When she asked about the chanting that he¡¯d heard [Witches] use sometimes, she admitted that it was archaic Arcaenean, and that anynguage could be used since its purpose was just to vocalize the [Witch¡¯s] argument and intent.

    She taught him herbcraft, how to diagnose and cure the nastiest [Witch]-diseases, as well as the uses for all of the best monster cores.

    Last, she taught him about sses. She gave him the names and methods for unlocking a dozen different strange and terrible sses. [Blood Mage]. [Shadow Heart]. [Void Starer]. She wasn¡¯t shy about giving her advice on his friends'' advancement either.

    She immediately decided that [Marauder] was the best ss for Zilly. ¡°I swear, it doesn¡¯t eliminate any of the paths for gaining experience that [Rogue] has, and even adds a few. It¡¯s an evolution from [Rogue] that favors meleebat and disfavors stealth and stealing. What could be wrong with that?¡±

    What could be wrong with it was the unlocking method. Zilly had to break into someone¡¯s home, kill everyone inside, and steal everything she wanted.

    Normally he¡¯d deny the possibility in a heartbeat, but¡­ weren¡¯t they already nning on doing something like that to the [Witch] in the safehouse Aberfa had told him about? It was a moral dilemma he didn¡¯t know how to tackle, so he said nothing to Zilly about it. She would either earn the ss or she wouldn¡¯t, but he didn¡¯t want to put ideas into her head.

    For Davi, Aberfa was adamant that the best option was [Skald]. ¡°A [Bard] with an emphasis on preserving history and culture, recording precise and urate ounts of the things they¡¯ve seen, recounting battles, and motivating troops on the battlefield. It epasses him perfectly.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± said Brin, skipping a rock from the sea shore during one of their lessons. They often came here for the rxing atmosphere. Arcaena had sandy beaches, too, but Aberfa liked the smooth rocks. ¡°I¡¯m just surprised you didn¡¯t say something crazy like [Bard of Blood] or [Deathsinger] or [Lamenter].¡±

    ¡°One of those isn¡¯t even a real ss,¡± Aberfa answered.

    When Brin brought up the choice to Davi that day, the [Bard] had confessed that he was already aiming at it. Apparently, he needed to tell the tale of Hammon¡¯s Bog to earn the ss, and Jeffrey was having him hold off for some reason.

    Aberfa refused to give any advice on Sion, iming that the dealings of [Merchants] was beneath her. She also didn¡¯t give Brin any clues as to what he could do with [Illusionist].

    ¡°I already know what ss is for you. Trust me, you¡¯ll thank me when the timees. I swear this by the Wyrd.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t an idle oath. The earth shook and the sea churned at her words, and he felt the Wyrd close the gap between them just a little bit more.

    Hogg listened to each of his lessons with rapt interest, pouring over the notes that Brin wrote and often asking questions.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to y the motherhood angle again. Thest time she let something slip is when you epted her role as your mother. If I¡¯m understanding the rules of the Wyrd right, the mother-son rtionship constrains her just as much as it does you. You¡¯ll feelpelled to obey her, but she¡¯ll find it harder to keep her secrets. If you could just find¡­ anything. A ce she¡¯s been other than Travin¡¯s Bog. A doorknob that she¡¯s touched, a rock that she¡¯s kicked, <em>anything</em>, then we would have a lead.¡±

    He did his best, but every step closer to Aberfa was a step away from himself. He felt the Wyrd pulling him towards her day by day, binding their destinies. Maybe even their fates? Myra said it was possible, but she imed she didn¡¯t have any fate-rted Skills yet so she couldn¡¯t know.

    The only thing that kept him sane was the fact that he woke up every morning with the caravans.They didn¡¯t run into more bandits or monsters, but that didn¡¯t mean his days were empty. Marksi woke him nearly every morning by licking his face and biting his shirt with those t teeth to pull him to breakfast. Zilly and he sparred, and while she could never seem to keep from taking things too far, they both managed to avoid major injuries. Heughed and joked with Myra and Sion, and thetter could always be goaded into telling long and funny stories that never seemed to go anywhere.

    He practiced his Language with Myra. There were plenty of words that Myra hadprehended to a deeper level than he had, where she could guide him along the insights that she¡¯d had. He could do the same for her on the words heprehended better, and he could also use [Memories in ss] to remember words that otherwise both he and Myra would¡¯ve forgotten.

    When the caravan visited towns he¡¯d follow Davi around while he entertained the people, or Sion as he sold his wares. More often, he followed Zilly around so he could bail her out as she picked fights with the town¡¯s teenagers or got up to some other kind of ridiculous mischief.

    Most of his physical training was pulling the wagons, but he got some weight-lifting in when they stopped at towns, and his Will shot up like a rocket during his time with Aberfa.

    Strength +7 Dexterity +1 Vitality +16 Magic +2 Mental Control +1 Will +21

    On days where he didn¡¯t feel like pulling a wagon, he mostly spent practicing music, usually with Davi. He figured out how to y songs from home, and learned new songs from his new home. He experimented with [Call Sound through ss] by making his half-lute sound like different instruments, something which Davi was happy to cover for. He didn¡¯t have a lot of privacy to practice his visual illusions, but here and there he found the time to practice going through the spells Hogg had given him.

    Call Sound through ss 35 -> 37 Call Light through ss 29 -> 34

    He¡¯d neglected his sswork. He made enough hand mirrors and bottles to sell to keep a steady ie, but hadn¡¯t really challenged himself. He didn¡¯t think a single ss Skill went up. His training Skill, on the other hand, had seen quite a bit of action.

    Athletic Training 20 -> 33

    Two and a half months had passed since the caravan had left Oud¡¯s Bog, and Brin was no closer to finding Aberfa. But ckcliff was near, and Arcaena¡¯s safehouse was even closer. One way or another, his time with Aberfa would soon be done.

 Book 3. Chapter 51

    Book 3. Chapter 51

    Brin woke up early. So early it was probably stillte for some people. The middle of the night. Whatever the case, the fact was that he was awake and he couldn¡¯t get back to sleep, not now. Not with what they nned to do today.

    He got up, nodded to the guards keeping watch, and went over to sit near the bonfire, which only had a few smoking coals left.

    For once, the anxiety burning a hole in his stomach didn''t have anything to do with Aberfa. Well, it was only indirectly rted to Aberfa. No, it was about the [Witch]. No matter how confident Hogg acted, taking down a [Witch] was never a simple matter, and Brin was expected to kill her familiar. Without any idea of what it was, he couldn''t prepare. Hogg hadn''t dared to send his Visible Eyes close, and when Brin had tried to send an Invisible Eye in the cave, he''d tripped some kind of anti-illusion defense and his spell had disappeared. He hadn''t dared try again after that, lest the [Witch] in question be aware that she''d been found. Hopefully it wasn''t already toote.

    There had to be something he could do to prepare. He felt like it was the morning of an exam he hadn''t studied for. Hard to believe he used to get stressed out about that sort of thing. No one would''ve died if Mark had failed a ss and had to repeat a year, but it sure had felt like it, and that''s what it felt like now.

    He decided to run through his Self-Invisibility spell again. These past months he''d spent a lot of time going over his spells and paring down the amount of words of Language he needed to cast them. Lots of words could bebined or omitted by imbuing the words around them with moreplexity of understanding and intent. Then it was just a matter of re-recording the faster version.

    Self-Invisibility was still his slowest spell. It took him more than two minutes to cast it, which would never work in abat scenario. He ran through the spell, not using the stored memory, but actually reading it out. He also didn''t use [Directed Meditation].

    In retrospect, [Directed Meditation] was probably his favorite Skill. If he had to return to his old life with only one Skill it would be difficult to take anything else.

    Old Mark had been gued with distractability andck of focus. Some days if the problem was fun or interesting enough, he could sit for twelve hours and never nce away, but more often it was endless procrastination and avoidance. He''d go entire days staring at hisputer screen, wanting to get started but not being able to force himself to do it. [Directed Meditation] changed all that. It gave himplete focus, every time. But there were downsides. The inability to notice anything else, even if he was on fire, was a big one. Another thing he noticed was that it made it easier to focus, but it also prevented all the odd random thoughts that led to innovation and creativity. He¡¯d execute the task he¡¯d set out for, but nothing else.

    So rather than use his favorite Skill, Brin cast his spell the hard way. When it was done, he felt the spelle together, but didn''t activate it. He didn''t want one of the guards to see him disappear out of the corner of their eye. He let it dissipate.He thought he could see one or two ces that might be improved, but what was the point? Shaving one or two seconds off its speed wouldn''t change the oue today. He didn''t know what time it was; three hours after midnight, maybe. Four more hours and the day would start. Was there anything he could do with that amount of time that would make a difference?

    Logic and reason said no, but logic and reason hadn''t gotten Mark through his Computer Science degree. Cramming at thest second before the deadline had. There was something he could do. There had to be.

    It was strange, though. He didn''t think about his old life that oftentely. One reason was because it had been so different. He''d had a different skill set for a different set of problems. The other reason was because of Aberfa, because he was calling himself her son. When you told a lie often enough, you naturally started to think it was true. He needed to remember the truth. He was Brin, he was also still Mark, and he would never be Aberthol. In his own mind, he needed to remember that.

    How would Mark solve this? Well, he would do the same thing that Brin was doing and wait until he got [Split Focus]. From Hogg''s description of the Skill, it would give him the equivalent of additional processors that would let him do some real multitasking. [Persistent Casting] would do much the same thing. He would cast a spell the way he did now, but then [Persistent Casting] would take over and keep it running with very little Mana cost and virtually no concentration. Two roads to the same destination.

    He wondered idly if his practice with multithreading woulde in handy when he had that. Multithreading had been a hurdle in Brin''s first job, because it was something that hadn''t been covered very well in his degree, but it was all about how to run different tasks at the same time by sending them off to different processors.

    Well, no, now that he thought of it, it was also about assigning work with just one processor. Theputer would only seem like it was thinking of seventy things at once because it was switching between seventy different threads at lightning speed.

    The problem here was context switching. If someone ever interrupted him at work he¡¯d need at least ten minutes to remember what he was doing and get back on track. The human brain couldn''t instantly switch back and forth between different tasks like that.

    Could it? It urred to him that he''d never actually tried. He¡¯d remembered limits from his old life and never wondered if they even still applied. Brin''s body was already capable of feats of Strength that would be impossible on Earth and Strength wasn''t his highest attribute. Mental Control was.

    Something like this would be impossible withoutplete focus, but he already had a solution for that.

    One step at a time. First he wanted to see if what he was thinking of was even possible. He cast Invisible Eye by tracing it from his stored memories. Once it was ready, he activated [Directed Meditation] with a new set of instructions for himself.

    He stopped concentrating on holding the spell together long enough to count to five as quickly as he could, and then snapped back to focus on the spell again. The spell was a bit wobbly, forck of a better word, but he was able to stabilize it again and keep it going.

    He deactivated [Directed Meditation] just long enough to smile and make a silent cheer. There was something here. There was something he could do with this. He looked at the sky, trying to estimate how much time he had before anyone else woke up. Not long enough.

    He needed to figure out his limits. With [Directed Meditation] again, he alternated the amount of time he spent apart from his spell, starting at a second and moving up. He could get up to three seconds, but if he waited that long the spell would be almostpletely broken and it would take another twenty seconds to get it back together again. Two seconds was the sweet spot. When he switched back to the spell it would only take a quick burst of effort to wrap it all up again.

    Next, he focused on how long he needed to stay with the spell each time he switched back, and found that a quarter of a second worked best. Longer was a waste of time, and shorter wouldn''t fully stabilize the spell.

    Even that much took Brin nearly an hour to figure out, because every time he let the spell fall apart he had to cast the entire thing again from scratch. By the end of the hour, though, he had a pretty good rhythm going. In just one hour, he now only needed one-ninth of his attention to keep Invisible Eye going.

    Last minute cramming was really something else.

    Now what could he actually do with it? His first test was with the Invisible Eye itself. He''d taken to using Invisible Eye without [Directed Meditation] so that he''d be able to actually think about what he was looking at. It was harder that way, but he''d thought it was the only way. Could he back out of [Directed Meditation] during his two seconds of free time? There was no way; when he''d first learned to meditate from Hogg he''d taken a half hour to get into the right headspace. But once again, he was cing limits on himself without actually testing it.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    When he tried it, he found it simple to switch back and forth between his regr thoughts and his directed ones. It was tricky to time the two seconds, but once he got the hang of it, it wasn¡¯t too bad.

    Now he could actually think about the things he was seeing. He''d been able to do that before when he''d spied on the Baron, but that had given him a huge migraine. This was practically effortless.

    The sky was starting to show signs of morning. He was almost out of time. Quick, what else could he do?

    He kept the Invisible Eye up, and then slowly started walking around. The first couple cycles went well, but then while [Directed Meditation] was focused on sustaining his spell, his foot hit a rock and he fell. The noise drew some stares from upset caravaneers who were still trying to sleep. Brin winced in sympathy and went back to his rock.

    It was possible. He could do simple tasks while keeping one of his spells active. Mirror Image should be even easier, while Self-Invisibility would be much harder, but at this point it would just be a matter of how much time he had to split between the two activities.

    Could he do two spells at once? He opted for two Invisible Eyes, just to make sure no one would see it even if he activated one on ident.

    With [Directed Meditation], he quickly summoned the first Invisible Eye. Then he started cycling back and forth with another stream of thought and started another¡­ and failed.

    The second he pulled away from the newly forming spell to stabilize the first one, they both fell apart. He tried again, and got the same result. Well, this is what [Directed Meditation] was for. He could skip the part where he felt discouraged and just keep trying.

    An hour or twoter, someone bumped him and broke him out of concentration. Morning had arrived and the day was already bright. People were moving around, and he could spell breakfast. Honestly, it was a wonder it had taken this long for someone to break him out of it. He must¡¯ve been doing [Directed Meditation] a lottely, because nobody looked twice at the random teenager holding still as a statue and staring at nothing for hours at a time.

    He blinked, looking around in minor disorientation. He hadn¡¯t realized that much time had passed. Despite that, he was no closer to getting two Invisible Eyes working. Casting two spells at once was not something he¡¯d be able to use this new technique for.

    [Directed Meditation] has leveled up! 24 ¡ú 27

    After breakfast, the caravan didn¡¯t start walking. Even though he¡¯d been prepared for this, Brin felt like he was waking up from a dream. For the past two and a half months it had always been the same routine; wake up, eat breakfast, start walking. The only exception was when they stayed in the towns for a few days, but on the road they always kept moving. Today was different.

    They weren¡¯t near a town, but Brin also had a hard time calling this a wilderness. There were lots of trees around, but he didn¡¯t like calling it a forest. It was so different in kind from the Bonds forest that he wanted to ssify it as an entirely different species. The trees were short and weak, not for disease and rot but because they didn¡¯t feel the need topete for the clear water and abundant sunlight. There were no areas with deep, dark shadows and no monsters to lurk in them. Well, scratch that. There was at least one.

    ¡°We¡¯ll stay here for the day,¡± Zerif announced. His face looked rxed and his tone was cheerful, but he dabbed with his handkerchief a bit harder than usual at a forehead that was a lot sweatier than usual. ¡°We¡¯ve been working hard and we¡¯re ahead of schedule. I think we could all use a break, so that¡¯s what we¡¯ll have. Yes, that¡¯s just the thing! A free day.¡±

    The children cheered in delight and a few adults smiled, but Brin saw more than a few people cast nervous nces at each other. He hadn¡¯t exactly telegraphed that today was the day they¡¯d be raiding a [Witch] hideout, but it was a close-knit group and word got around.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk,¡± said Hogg, and Brin followed him out of the caravan. He brought his stout ss-headed spear, holding it casually and pretending to use it as a walking staff, but it drew more than a few eyes as he left the circle of wagons.

    Hogg absently plucked a tall piece of grass and chewed on the end as they walked. Once they were far enough out, he spit and said, ¡°We¡¯ll leave now. I¡¯ve been through this kind of operation, so I¡¯ll tell you how it¡¯s going to be. You can either agree to all of it or we can walk back to camp now and forget the entire thing. There¡¯s no shame in that option, by the way. No one will say a single word about it if that¡¯s what you choose. But if we¡¯re going to do this, we¡¯re going to do it right.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± That was all Brin could think to say.

    Hogg nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve probably been thinking about this ever since Aberfa first mentioned it, so you¡¯re probably expecting some big epic battle, but trust me, that¡¯s the absolutest thing we want. We¡¯re going to strike hard, and strike fast, and we aren¡¯t going to y fair and we aren¡¯t going to give them a chance to hit back.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    Hogg looked a little surprised and met Brin¡¯s eyes for a long moment with a heavy stare. ¡°Good. Alright, then. We¡¯re already at a disadvantage because I don¡¯t dare get close. I can feel some sort of illusion magic going on in that cave, so even sending in your Invisible Eye might tip them off that we¡¯reing. We aren¡¯t going to give them any time to prepare. I want them all dead before they even realize we¡¯re there.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg continued, ¡°I asked a few people to join us. Pio, Jeffrey, and Araunya. I also talked to your friends and rmended they don¡¯t tag along but agreed to let them if they insisted. Zilly and Myra will be there, but not Davi. I¡¯d appreciate it if you didn¡¯t confront him about why; it¡¯s his choice.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Good. If things go as we n, I¡¯ll take out the [Witch] while you kill the familiar. No one else should even need to do anything at all, but everyone will be ready to step in if we see you struggling. Don¡¯t let it get to that point. Hit the familiar with your strongest attack right from the start.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t say anything, but bit his lip in worry.

    ¡°What?¡± demanded Hogg.

    ¡°You said I can¡¯t argue with any part of this¡­¡±

    ¡°Just say it,¡± Hogg groaned.

    ¡°My strongest attack would be using the spear I have hidden in Lumina¡¯s ring. If I spend some time charging it with all the ss magic it can fit, and then propel it with my best words of Language it¡¯ll destroy almost anything. The first problem with that is that I don¡¯t know if the spear will survive, but more importantly, that¡¯s not what Aberfa wants.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I care what she wants. No, I am sure: I don¡¯t care what she wants,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°In that case, you should just go off and take care of everything yourself. The point of this whole exercise is to gain her trust until she lets something slip, and to do that we¡¯ve got to y things her way. She doesn¡¯t just want me to beat the familiar, she¡¯s going to want me to beat it in a certain way. She¡¯ll want me to get a feel for it and then undo it with the Wyrd. That¡¯ll take a minute. It may even look like I¡¯m struggling.¡±

    Hogg chewed on that for a minute, considering it. ¡°Fine. Do it your way. But if you take too long, someone else will step in. I¡¯m not going to change what I told everyone else.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg led him through the trees a distance until they reached a clearing with the others.

    To his surprise, he saw Davi there, looking grim and stone faced with the others. Araunya the [Camp Chef], Jeffrey the [Bard], and Pio the [Beast Master] stood chatting softly. The giant boar, Big Ron,y in the grass taking a nap. Myra stood with folded arms looking nervous. Only Zilly seemed in a good mood, and she bounced on her heels in excitement. When Brin arrived, Marksi jumped down from Zilly''s shoulders and leapt into Brin''s arms.

    "You sure?" Hogg asked Davi. Davi nodded in reply.

    Brin wasn''t sure what had made Davi initially say no, and he couldn''t guess why his friend had changed his mind. The only thing he could think of was that Davi really did know that his mom was a [Witch] after all. He had to know, right? If not, then Brin would feel terrible for keeping it from him. His study of the Wyrd had made it clear to him that he owed a lot more to Davi than he did to Bruna.

    "This way," said Hogg, and the group left with him.

    The walk was pleasant, if a little awkward. Everyone seemed to be in their own heads, preparing for battle. The old [Camp Chef] didn¡¯t carry any kind of weapons, but had a backpack on her back. Brin honestly didn¡¯t know what her role would be, but didn¡¯t want to pierce the silence and ask. Better to leave everyone to their reflection.

    Despite the somber mood, the weather was beautiful. The day was nice and cool and the morning air was fresh and clean. The sun was shining, the grass was green, but no birds chirped in the trees. There were no buzzing insects. They¡¯d be facing undead, then.

    All too soon Hogg called a halt to the party.

    ¡°There. You can just see it through the trees.¡± He spoke in a low whisper, barely perceptible over the sound of the breeze, and if Brin knew Hogg at all then he knew he was masking all sound to anyone outside their group.

    Brin peered through the trees and saw something. Maybe at night it would be otherworldly and bright but now it was nothing more than a faint glimmer, barely perceptible in the full daylight. A lightbulb with no bulb, almost a mirage.

    [Inspect] called it a Wisp, and gave no further information.

    ¡°And the cave entrance is over there,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I think it¡¯s trying to lead us away. We¡¯ll split into two groups and¡­ Ah! <em>Sezorat¡¯s blood-drenched mirrors!</em>¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Brin looked around for the source of Hogg¡¯s distress.

    ¡°It¡¯s Zilly. She¡¯s gone.¡±

    Brin counted the group again, and Hogg was right. The whole group was there, minus one.

    Myra and Davi met his eyes, all three of them sharing the same emotion: equal parts irritation and worry. Jeffrey out of all of them, Jeffrey seemed the most affected. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t see her slip away!¡±

    Pio growled, and his giant boar perked up at the sound and started to look serious. Pio said, ¡°Idiot girl. I will not wait to see how she means to screw this up. We have the n. Two groups. We go now, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Brin, take down the familiar. The rest of youe with me.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 52

    Book 3. Chapter 52

    It was just like Zilly to run ahead and try to get all the glory for herself. Except was it? Even she should be smart enough to not pull something like this with a [Witch]. She knew what they were capable of.

    As he scanned the trees for some sign of her, he noticed a change in the Wisp. [Know What¡¯s Real] was telling him that the faint glow of light, barely visible in the daytime, wasn¡¯t real any longer. An illusion. He should¡¯ve guessed, but Wisps were illusion beasts. This just kept getting better.

    It would be nice to have an Evdis right now. For whatever reason, he¡¯d never once thought of buying one for his own use. He was too focused on thinking of the anti-illusion potion as the enemy.

    ¡°Does anyone have strong senses that don¡¯t rely on sight or hearing?¡± Brin asked the group.

    ¡°She¡¯s not nearby,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And we don¡¯t have time to look for her. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Alone?¡± Jeffrey asked. ¡°He should take at least one other.¡±

    Brin realized that Hogg was trying to get the group away from him so that he¡¯d have an advantage. This would be much easier if he didn¡¯t have to hide his illusion powers.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I have Marksi with me.¡± Thinking fast, Brin selected the one other member of the group that knew about his illusions. ¡°And Davi could stay with me. Two [Bard¡¯s] are barely better than one.¡±

    ¡°Fine. Davi stays. Now let¡¯s move; no more arguing,¡± said Hogg.Jeffrey shrugged and dutifully followed the others to move away from the Wisp. They left silently, which wasn¡¯t a surprise for such high-level people, but it was a bit of a shock to see Big Ron move as quietly as the rest.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Brin said to Davi.

    Davi looked a bit conflicted for a moment, then his face firmed and he said, ¡°No. It¡¯s fine. Better this way. I don¡¯t know if I was really ready for¡­ that.¡± He turned away to look at the illusionary Wisp. ¡°So what¡¯s our n for this thing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to try an illusion first.¡±

    Brin pictured shooting a beam of light from his spearhead, but found the magic didn¡¯te naturally. He really needed to spend some time putting his ideas for makingsers into practice. For now, he made an illusion of a ss knife, and it sprang into being with barely a thought. With a few more tries, he found that tes, sses and bottles all sprang to life easily as well. He¡¯d be able to make illusions of things that he understood on a fundamental level, which for now was anything ss. That was fine.

    Heunched the illusion knife at the illusion Wisp. Since it wasn¡¯t real, there was no extra Mana cost for making it go faster, so he chose very, very fast.

    The knife blew into the Wisp, and he was struck by an onught of the Wyrd. When his magic hit the Wisps, it put their arguments into conflict. He¡¯d barely made any argument other than ¡°let¡¯s see what happens.¡± The Wisp¡¯s argument, on the other hand, was <em>strong</em>.

    In the past few months, Aberfa and he had nailed down exactly what [Know What¡¯s Wyrd] could do, and what it couldn¡¯t do. It couldn¡¯t let him sense every creature or magic in the area, only magic cast by [Witches]. But when his magic came into conflict with other simr magic, it did let him read the caster¡¯s Wyrd. It had taken Aberfa a while to admit that it was really happening; in her mind this was too much power for him.

    He saw the Wisp in the Wyrd. He saw its connection to its master¨Cthat was unhelpful. Moving mountains would be easier than breaking that bond, but there was also more useful information.

    The Wisp was a creature of trickery and mischief. It had been created to entangle the senses and lead people astray, and it was fulfilling that role. Unlike Brin, who merely used illusions, the Wisp was literally a being of living light. It <em>was</em> an illusion.

    Also Brin was invading its home. He was the aggressor. Also, this was a peaceful Wisp. Where its natural inclinations would normally have it leading people to traps or try to drown them inkes, it wasn¡¯t doing that. Its [Witch] didn¡¯t want any people going missing and drawing attention, so the Wisp simply guided them around its home and left them alone. Brin, on the other hand, was here to kill someone he¡¯d never met and who had never done him wrong. The reasons didn¡¯t matter. The Wisp was acting more peacefully than its nature, and Brin was acting much more violently. That gave the Wisp the stronger im.

    Brin¡¯s knife disappeared, while the Wisp illusion remained in ce. He figured that normally both illusions should¡¯ve winked out. After all, before the Evdis, the only real counter to an [Illusionist] was another [Illusionist]. But in this case, the Wisp was so much stronger in the Wyrd that it was overriding him.

    The illusion of the Wisp disappeared on its own, but more illusions appeared. The day got a bit darker. Clouds blocked out the sun, and the trees started to click ominously in a breeze that wasn¡¯t actually there. Ravens called out and bats pped in the sky. The mood was being set; the Wisp was probably trying to build up tension and fear so that they¡¯d jolt as soon as some kind of sudden movement happened.

    A ck owl suddenly flew from the trees, pping wings as loud as thunder and screeching a hunting cry. It was fake, of course, and Marksi pounced and caught it in the sky. He took a bite out of its wing and the entire bird dissipated into motes of light which quickly faded.

    He¡¯d forgotten. Marksi had been eating illusion magic since he was a baby. It was practically his mother¡¯s milk.

    ¡°Nice!¡± Brin said. ¡°Get as many of those as you can.¡±

    Marksi nodded into the trees, like he was pointing at something.

    ¡°Is the main body that direction?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail for <em>yes</em>, then indicated the same direction again with a determined look on his face.

    ¡°You think you could take this thing out on your own?¡±

    <em>Yes</em>.

    Brin chewed on that for a minute. His initial reaction was to say no because this was <em>his</em> fight, but did that make sense? Aberfa had to know that he and Brin were a package deal.

    ¡°Ok. If you get the chance, take it, but I don¡¯t want you running off alone. Not until we know what else is out here,¡± said Brin.

    He looked at Davi, and noticed the big guy was a lot more affected by the growing illusions around him than he¡¯d thought. ¡°You doing ok, there?¡±

    Davi startled, then looked a bit sheepish. ¡°Fine. How can you stand this? There¡¯s no way to know what¡¯s real. How do I even know that you¡¯re real?¡±

    Brin poked Davi in the shoulder, and he startled again.

    ¡°Sorry. But that¡¯s one way. It can¡¯t fool your sense of touch. So can you give me some support here? Its illusions are stronger than mine.¡±

    ¡°Illusions¡­¡± Davi shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s so weird to hear you talk about it openly. You¡¯re usually so cagey about it. What kind of stuff can you do?¡±

    ¡°This and that, but nothing reallyplex without holding still and having some time to prepare. So about that song?¡±

    ¡°Oh. Sure.¡± Davi started ying, and just as Brin had hoped, he immediately felt the adjustment in the Wyrd. Davi¡¯s song wasn¡¯t action music or a heroic bad, it was about a famous teacher. A truth teller. A light bringer.

    Brin threw another illusion-knife at a passing crow and this time he felt himself borrow the truth-telling power from the song. He would reveal the truth of the world, and dispel illusions. The knife hit the bird and both exploded into motes of chaotic light. <em>Good enough</em>.

    The environment was still changing. Heavy mists started to cover the ground and the surrounding forest grew even darker. Grass grew high to obscure what was around them and trees grew extra branches to wall them in. The walls were quite literally closing in on him.

    He held up a ss sphere and shone bright white light through it, pouring in strength and pure intention from Davi¡¯s song. <em>Reveal the truth</em>.

    The darkness around them retreated, and a wide circle turned back into day, made even brighter by his bright light.

    His death sense went off.

    Brin dropped his sphere and leapt to the side, barely avoiding a bar of jagged me that mmed into the ground beside him. It barely missed him, but he felt the stinging pelts of hot dirt and burning grass.

    Not just an illusion beast. This thing had real power. It wouldn¡¯t need to rely on leading him to quicksand or something; it could kill all on its own.

    ¡°Marksi, stay with Davi!¡± Brin yelled. The little dragon had keen senses; he¡¯d be able to help Davi dodge any attacks aimed at him.

    He looked to see if they¡¯d heard him, and found them nowhere in sight. Stupid illusions. The darkness has spread, enshrouding everything around him and hiding his friends from view. [Know What¡¯s Real] helpfully told him that <em>everything</em> was fake, in every direction.

    Brin held up another sphere and pushed light into it. The me attack had actually undermined the Wisp¡¯s argument quite a bit. It was no longer the pacifistic trickster it had represented itself as. By gaining a me attack from its master [Witch], it had undermined its own Wisp-ness. Its purpose wasn¡¯t pure any more, it was muddled.

    Brin was no longer an invader, he was here to fight for his life and protect his friends. The Wisp fought back with new arguments of its own. Purity of purpose was still maintained because its only purpose was to serve its [Witch].

    Brin¡¯s light fought the shadowy illusion, pushing it back in a wide ring around him, but Davi was still nowhere in sight. He pushed harder, and the illusion strained against him, maintaining a perimeter about twenty feet around him.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    No new bolts of me came at him, The Wisp must be focusing on Davi.

    Brin red his light in one bright pulse, but the darkness didn¡¯t recede any further. Time to try something else.

    He dropped the light and sent out a flurry of illusionary ss bullets. With no need to worry about mana cost, he could send as many as he wanted, and chose to send hundreds in every direction. He felt them press against the illusion¡­ and then pass through, damaging little. The darkness stayed intact.

    He tried real bullets next, using the Language to summon a couple dozen bullets andunch them, but not so fast as to actually hurt anything. He just wanted to feel if they hit anything. Many of them hit something, but he couldn¡¯t tell what.

    What else could he use? Invisible Eye? Worth a shot. He used [Directed Meditation] to summon it quicker, thinking that if he were attacked again his death sense would be enough to snap him out of it.

    With the Invisible Eye summoned, he sent it out into the darkness. It hit a passing band of mist and he felt it press against the Wisps magic and pass through. It was too dispersed to destroy an illusion that had his full attention.

    He waited for the Wisp to try something else, to send a stronger illusion to disperse his. The wind picked up in the area around his Invisible Eye, but it was in the broad area. Hitting its magic hadn¡¯t given it a perfect bead on his location; just the general direction. Interesting.

    Soon after, a passing leaf blowing in the wind struck Brin¡¯s Invisible Eye. Again, the Invisible Eye won and the leaf passed through, but this seemed to give the Wisp its exact location.

    A raven shot like a bullet from a gun and hit Brin¡¯s Invisible Eye dead-on, dissipating itpletely.

    Brin smiled and summoned another one. This time, he cast it high into the sky immediately.

    He burst up and through the illusion and mentally squinted at the bright daylight above. In the usual manner of things, his problems looked a lot smaller when viewed from above. Instead of turning the entire world dark, there were three distinct bubbles of darkness. One for him, one for Davi, and one for Zilly.

    Somehow the thing had led her away from the rest of them without anyone noticing. It must¡¯ve been supremely skilled to pull that off, but then again, that was its entire life¡¯s purpose.

    Davi looked fine. He sat in the dirt and furiously worked at his oud, probably trying to make his music dispel the illusion on its own instead of needing Brin¡¯s light to act as a focus. There was a burned divot on the ground nearby, so the Wisp had tried at least once to take Davi out. Marksi was perched on Davi¡¯s shoulders, happily chomping at any pieces of illusion that came too close.

    Zilly was fighting for her life. Against him. Or more precisely, <em>hims</em>. Ten mirror images of Brin stood around her in a ring holding ss spears, mocking expressions on their faces, beckoning her to attack them. One charged her and stabbed, and she dodged on instinct by jumping to the side. A beam of fire exploded at her, and somehow she twisted around in the air to avoid the worst of it, butnded on her side on the ground with a line burned through her pant leg, blistering burns underneath. She had two more such trails, one on her back and another on her left hand. At least ten burned divots on the ground.

    ¡°Come on, is that the best you got?¡± a false Brin taunted.

    ¡°You¡¯ll never catch up to me at this rate!¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just stay with the caravan where it''s safe?¡±

    ¡°Useless. Unnecessary. All those crimes to gain power and you¡¯ve still never managed to help anyone.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never respect you. I don¡¯t even like you.¡±

    Zilly stood on shaky feet, but then blinked forward with [Dash] to slice at an illusionary Brin who easily stepped out of the way. Not hard to do when you didn¡¯t have any weight.

    ¡°So slow,¡± the illusion taunted.

    ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re not him!¡± Zilly yelled.

    ¡°But how do you know?¡±

    Zilly chuckled darkly. ¡°The real Brin¡­ would never tell the truth like that.¡±

    Brin winced, but all the illusionary hims stilled for a minute, maybe unsure what to say. Zilly had stumbled onto the surefire defense against taunts. It was hard to insult someone with no self-esteem who just epted everything you said as true.

    She grinned. ¡°Gotcha.¡±

    She used [Dash] again tounch herself at seemingly nothing¨Cshe must¡¯ve seen something there that he couldn¡¯t.

    The Wisp answered with a bolt of me which she narrowly dodged, and by the time she got to her feet again, the illusions were all moving and yelling at her again.

    She might win this, given enough time. Or maybe not. He had to do something.

    He stood and started walking. He used the trick he¡¯d learned to keep the Invisible Eye up so that he could use it as apass to find Zilly. With it so high in the air, there was no chance of the Wisp finding it.

    The illusion moved to block him. First in obvious ways by cing trees directly in his face to try to make him go around. He walked right through them. Then the illusion became more subtle. It ced rocks and bumps on the road, just in the right ce to make him want to ce his foot a little to the side. He stepped right on them. Then the ground under his feet kept shifting slightly to the left. If he didn¡¯t have his Invisible Eye to follow, he instinctually would¡¯ve adjusted to the right.

    He wasn¡¯t fooled, but it was nice of the Wisp to show him all these tricks. He¡¯d have to remember that one.

    Step by step, he walked towards Zilly. Up above, he saw his bubble intersect with Zilly¡¯s, and then he saw her with his actual eyes.

    ¡°Hey!¡± he shouted at her, but felt sound illusions block his voice. He looked down at himself, and saw that the Wisp had made him invisible.

    ¡°...if I can¡¯t see you, I¡¯ll have to use my other senses,¡± Zilly was saying. Her eyes were shut and she turned in a slow circle. Then they snapped open and she was staring directly at Brin. ¡°There!¡±

    ¡°Oh crap.¡± Brin braced his spear, hoping that its Bog Standard haft would hold up against her [Overload] because he just <em>knew</em> she was going to go all-out with her strongest Skill.

    She [Dashed] to close the distance, and he felt her sword hit his haft, but it wasn¡¯t [Overload]. The sword snaked around and sliced into his arm. He dropped the spear and jumped back, barely keeping her from taking the arm offpletely.

    She pressed the attack, and he summoned a ss shield to deflect her next attack, which shattered it. Then he did what he should¡¯ve done to start and pushed light through a ss ball that he summoned on the spot.

    She stopped, noticing the blood, but eyes widening on the shattered ss. ¡°Brin? Is that the real you?¡±

    He tried to grab her with his left hand, but it wasn¡¯t moving too well. She¡¯d cut straight to the bone of his forearm. He dropped his light ball to grab her wrist with his right hand. ¡°I¡¯m real.¡±

    Zilly shook her head. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t¨C¡±

    She grabbed him and pulled him away just in time to miss a bar of me from the Wisp, striking where Zilly had just been standing. Death sense hadn¡¯t warned him, but it would only warn him of strikes that could kill him, not those that would merely wound him.

    Brin pumped more mana into his ball of light, pressing the darkness back. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be happening! I have a Skill against mental maniption.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not mental. This is illusion magic; it¡¯s all light and sound,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°But it¡­ it knows things about me.¡±

    ¡°No it doesn¡¯t. It only knows what it saw by watching us walk in. And you¡¯ve been using [Rogue] Skills all over the ce, so I¡¯m guessing it just extrapted from there. For Nocta¡¯s Sake, Zilly, you would know all this if you weren¡¯t such a useless idiot.¡± Brin didn¡¯t actually say thatst part. His light was only blocking light magic, and the Wisp had stolen his voice.

    He rolled his eyes and pointed to his mouth while shaking his head. Zilly looked shocked and hurt, but quickly smiled in relief and nodded in understanding. She put a finger to her lips and Brin nodded.

    Alright, now he had Zilly. He still wasn¡¯t closer to a solution. Their best bet was to get everyone together, then he could think of a n. During the excitement, he¡¯d lost his Invisible Eye. He needed that back if he was going to get to Davi.

    He held up his arm, and Zilly winced. With [Scarred, but Healing] it would be fine, but it gave him an excuse to stall. Zilly pulled a bandage from a pouch at her side and started wrapping him up. By the time she was done, he had another Invisible Eye ready, and he started leading her towards Davi.

    At first she seemed confused that he was walking so slow, but he had to walk slow. His quick-switching trick meant that he had to be extremely careful with every step. With all the distractions around, this was much harder than it had been in the dark camp, but he couldn¡¯t fail, so he didn¡¯t.

    A few times, Zilly tried to correct his course when the illusion made it look like they were turning to the side, but Brin was insistent and she relented each time, though he could tell she was getting more and more irritated.

    While they walked, both of their voices joined together to taunt them. Sometimes basic taunts about their ugliness or bad personalities, sometimes screams of pain or rm. Once, he heard Zilly¡¯s voice telling him that the Zilly he was holding was fake and that she was the real one and that she was hurt. He knew it was fake, of course, but the pain in her voice made his stomach lurch and he still felt himself wanting to go rescue her.

    ¡°I have a huge crush on you, you know. I always have.¡±

    Brin looked at Zilly, who blushed and waved both her hands in negation.

    Thankfully, the Wisp didn¡¯tunch another bar of me at them. It must¡¯ve had a cooldown, or limited uses, and it was waiting for its chance.

    From above, their bubble joined together with Davi¡¯s and he saw the [Bard] and Marksi again with his own eyes. There were a few more burning divots in the ground, but neither he nor Marksi looked injured. Davi was still bent over his oud, though Brin couldn¡¯t hear the music. He looked up at them suspiciously as they moved towards him.

    Brin put his hand in his pouch to discreetly summon another ss orb, and then filled it with light and threw it in between Davi and them. The orb pressed the illusion back in a ring, giving them daylight and a relief from ambiguity.

    ¡°Careful!¡± Zilly called. ¡°It can still change our voices.¡±

    ¡°Oh. I can help with that much,¡± said Davi. He yed the same song as before, the one about light and truth. Brin didn¡¯t hear anything change, but hopefully Davi was right.

    Brin put his hand back in the pouch where he¡¯d kept the enchanted ss balls. All of those were spent, but Zilly didn¡¯t know that. She still thought he was a [sser], and even though it might be a little selfish, he didn¡¯t want her to know the truth quite yet.

    How many could he reasonably still have in here? Ten? He summoned ten.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll only get one chance at this. These will disrupt its illusions long enough to get one good hit. Davi, you know what to do?¡±

    Davi nodded.

    ¡°Zilly, ready? Marksi?¡±

    Marksi and Zilly nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Brin threw the ss balls all around them. Still more were scattered around from when he¡¯d sprayed them earlier. He pumped as much magic as he could into each and every one of them, his argument bolstered by Davi¡¯s song.

    The world lit up into day. His eyes watered as he refused to squint against the bright light. He needed to find the Wisp.

    There, a faint blur in the air, no more than a mirage. Zilly saw it too, and [Dashed] forward, sword gleaming. A bar of me shot forth to answer her, and she dodged just in time.

    Cursing himself for not thinking of this earlier, Brin summoned a shield, using thenguage to make it faster. ¡°¡±

    With the word he gave the shield a mirror finish. It was obvious; the Wisps me attack must still have some element of light to it, and mirrors were a cheat code against light magic.

    ¡°Zilly!¡± He threw it and she caught it in the air, and then charged the Wisp again. It fired off another bar of me, but when it hit the shield the entire thing dispersed into harmless rainbow beams.

    She ran through, and the Wisp retreated.

    Marksi pounded. He caught the Wisp in the air and drove it to the ground, biting and wing. It didn¡¯t take long.

    You have defeated: Wisp [33] Experience split between members of your party.

    Level up! 34 -> 35 +5 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    Brin put both his hands in the air and cheered. Zilly let her sword and shield fall, looking disappointed, and Davi yed through the rest of the song, but with a much more triumphant tone. How had he been hunting monsters all this time without victory music? It was an important part of the experience.

    Marksi kept eating the downed Wisp. The little dragon looked determined to eat everyst bite of the monster that Brin still couldn''t totally see clearly.

    The System sent another notification, the one he¡¯d been waiting for. His next Skill. He almost didn¡¯t want to look at it, because this was the big one. He needed [Split Focus] or [Persistent Casting]. If it were one of those, it would do so many things for him. If not, it would be months before he got another chance. Maybe years. Most people never got to forty.

    He skipped over the possible upgrades to [Call Light through ss] and [Mana Well]. Thest Skill wasn¡¯t one that he¡¯d hoped for, but he didn¡¯t despair. It was a Skill he¡¯d never heard of before, but he thought it still might be what he wanted.

    Multithreading - Unique Skill.

 Book 3. Chapter 53

    Book 3. Chapter 53

    Brin knew exactly which Skill he was going to take and for once he didn¡¯t need to talk to Hogg about it. The old guy never shut up about how [Split Focus] was the most important Skill for an [Illusionist], and from first nce it looked like [Multithreading] was simr. But of course the System never made his decisions easy, so he still had a choice to make.

    Multithreading You can break mental processes into multiple threads in order to run them concurrently. As this is a Unique Skill, more System information is avable.

    Mark, I have a little bit of leeway here to describe this Skill however I wish. For regr Skills, the System doesn¡¯t give much information because we want you to seek out someone who already has it and learn from them, but with Unique Skills you''re the only one who has it so I can customize this description to your special needs. I can even maybe slip in a little note about how if I had known she was going to do this to you I never would¡¯ve given you those [Filial Piety] missions. Mark, I¡¯m so sorry. No one should have to go through that. You¡¯re almost through the tunnel. Trust yourself, and trust your n. And hey, maybe pray to Solia now and again like you promised?

    Back to the Skill. At this point, the Skill will act more like a single processor and let you switch between multiple threads of thought at near infinite speeds. The switching will be at near-infinite speed, that is, not your thoughts. Phew! I¡¯m freeballing this, so feel free to ask questions as we go along. I¡¯ll try to be as precise as I can.

    When the Skill description had first shown up, Brin had seen the text popte slowly, as if it were being typed in real time by someone not particrly good at typing. He had no doubt that a godling like Tenerer, since that¡¯s probably who this was, would have no problem typing at the speed of light, so the slowdown was probably for his benefit.

    He¡¯d asked, ¡°Am I doing the right thing? Will the gods be upset if I don¡¯t kill her?¡±

    The message had backspaced a few words, and then continued.

    All I can tell you is to trust yourself. You¡¯ve already put the right threads into ce, and now all that¡¯s left is to pull them tight and watch the knote together.

    Speaking of knots, this Skill protects you from certain causes of insanity or mental damage. There¡¯s one or two things about this Skill I can¡¯t tell you, because you know someone who can. Ask Hogg about how Split Focus works.What I can say is that this Skill is built on top of Split Focus. It can do everything the base Skill does, and gives you some nice efficiency bonuses on top of that. The trade-off is that it¡¯s more difficult to use. You won¡¯t get as much out of it on day one.

    Ok, what else? Oh, right, I can give you another bonus, but it¡¯ll require a sacrifice. You can merge [Directed Meditation] with this Skill. That¡¯ll allow you to designate ¡°directed threads¡±. These will be logic-focused thought processes that will be very good at doing things by rote, but will struggle with taking initiative or being creative. The trade-off is that they¡¯ll be extremely efficient. Would you like to sacrifice [Directed Meditation]? This will remove the Skill and all its levels will be lost.

    You must be free to decide. I cannot tell you which answer is correct.

    Brin thought about it for a second. Wouldn¡¯t he still be able to use threads with [Directed Meditation] even if he didn¡¯t take the Skill merge? It sounded like all merging the Skill would do would be to prevent him from using [Directed Meditation] for anything <em>other</em> than a [Multithreading]-induced rote logic machine. Right now, it could do plenty of things, not the least of which was make him totally focused duringbat. He was struggling to see the upside here.

    I cannot tell you which answer is correct, but that doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t a correct answer. Maybe ask for advice?

    ¡°Hm,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone take this long to read his Skill choices. I assume you leveled up?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin. He looked around, realizing that he¡¯d sort of lost track of his surroundings while he was reading his Skill. That wouldn¡¯t be a problem once he had [Multithreading].

    Marksi was still chowing down on the barely-visible lump of Wisp flesh, but Zilly was nowhere in sight. Brin asked Davi where she was.

    ¡°She ran to catch up with the others,¡± said Davi. ¡°So what¡¯d you get?¡±

    ¡°Something like [Split Focus], but it¡¯s letting me merge it with a General Skill if I want. But¨C¡±

    ¡°Do it,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Really? I¡¯ll lose all the levels. And I¡¯ve upgraded this General Skill. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get those points back.¡±

    Davi shrugged. ¡°Then don¡¯t. But Jeffrey says that if you ever get the chance, you should take it. The lower levels of General Skills are really easy to get, and for most people there are only one or two that are really perfect for your ss. I have [Performing], and if I could take it again, I would.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Brin said, suddenly getting excited. ¡°[Meditation] is an amazing Skill for a magic-user. I think Lumina was a little disappointed that I already upgraded it to [Directed Meditation], because I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what she did with it. I¡¯m going to merge it.¡±

    Davi held up his hands, suddenly panicked. ¡°Don¡¯t go off my say-so! Ask Hogg about it, too!¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t need to. The godling might not be able to tell him the correct answer, but that hadn¡¯t stopped him from hinting at it in a rather obvious way. He was going to take the merge. But was there anything else he wanted to ask the godling before the Skill description ended?

    Skill descriptionplete.

    That was a little abrupt. Had he offended Tenerer? He decided to pause and take the other piece of advice that he¡¯d been given. He knelt on the ground, and recited the rote prayer to Solia that he¡¯d memorized back in Hammon¡¯s Bog. He cleared his mind, with his own willpower and not with [Directed Meditation], and focused on nothing except respect and penitence. By the end of his third recitation, he got a message.

    Skill description continued. Calm down, I¡¯m not mad. I really can¡¯t think of anything else you might need to know.

    Since Tenerer could clearly read his mind, he thought his next question. <em>It sounds like all this does is give me the illusion of multitasking. Is there a way to achieve actual concurrency?</em>

    Ask Hogg about how Split Focus works.

    <em>Why was I granted this Unique Skill?</em>

    Loss is something only mortals can experience. In the eternal perspective, everything has a way ofing back to you.

    Cryptic. After a while where Brin couldn¡¯t think of any more questions, he received onest notification.

    Skill descriptionplete.

    He selected [Multithreading] and opted to sacrifice [Directed Meditation], then braced himself for the change.

    When he¡¯d lost [Scarred One], the experience had been excruciating as all his power had drained from his body to be reced by pain. This time, he felt like he was trying to reach out and touch something with an arm that was no longer there¡­ because a bigger, stronger, much more powerful arm was in its ce.

    He created his first thread with no particr goal in mind, just to give himself a feel for it, and immediately felt a change. He gave the thread seventy-five percent of his mind, just to get a feel for what really leaning on the Skill would do.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The world sped up. He got to his feet, and the process happened in the blink of an eye. It didn¡¯t feel unnatural, though. His body was still working in normal time, and whatever part of his brain took over the unconscious steps of movement was still working at regr speed. He walked around a little bit, and thrilled at how quickly the terrain passed under his feet.

    ¡°Does that mean we¡¯re going?¡± Davi asked. ¡°Because I don¡¯t think Marksi is done yet.¡±

    Davi¡¯s speech gave him something to measure, and he figured it was about double speed. Since Brin had put three-fourths of his time into the thread, it meant that Mental Control was giving him a bit of time for free. That could be useful. He wondered if that meant there was an amount of time he could put on a thread so that it didn¡¯t cost anything at all.

    It might take some practice to get used to conversations at quicker speeds, but so far he loved it. No more would he have to suffer by forcing himself to stay engaged in a long-winded conversation in Frenarian where everyone spoke slowly and took forever to get to the point. He could listen at double-time, the way he used to for podcasts. He could literally fast-forward the boring parts of his life. He hadn¡¯t even tried a directed thread yet, and he already loved this Skill.

    The time it took to think all that was now too long, and Davi was looking at him strangely. He would need to get used to not being as quick on his feet as normal.

    Brin shook his head. ¡°Just testing out my new Skill. We should probably get going, though.¡±

    Marksi picked his head up from his feast just long enough to hiss at him.

    ¡°We¡¯ll pack it up to go,¡± said Brin. ¡°It¡¯s not like you have to eat all of that right now, is it?¡±

    Marksi considered that a moment and then twitched his tail in agreement. It took a minute to figure out how to carry it, since Brin hadn¡¯t brought his backpack and Davi didn¡¯t want to sacrifice his. Brin ended up picking up the slimy, near-transparent mess on the end of a stick, though Marksi chirped in displeasure every time a drop of clear and greasy blood hit the ground.

    He might¡¯ve figured out a better solution, but with time going at double speed it was all he could do to keep up. It ended up working out, because Marksi soon decided to follow along and snatch any dripping monster bits out of the air with his tongue, which both Davi and Brin found fun to watch.

    They didn¡¯t have a clear idea of where the cave was, just the direction they¡¯d seen Zilly take off in, but Brin didn¡¯t think it would be a long walk. Even so, he found he was quickly adjusting to the new speed the world was moving at. Birds were supposed to sh by at that speed; the leaves fluttering in the gentle breeze were supposed to flicker back and forth like they were in a wind tunnel.

    The one worry he had was that he had no idea what the other part of his mind was up to right now. He supposed he wouldn¡¯t know until the thread finished whatever it was doing and rejoined the rest of him. Honestly, that fact alone made the luster of his shiny new Skill start to fade. He already didn¡¯t think he could use this inbat, and now he wasn¡¯t sure if he could control his threads at all.

    He hoped the thread would wrap up soon. He hadn¡¯t given that thread clear instructions, but it had to know that it wasn¡¯t allowed to capitalize half of his mind forever. With sudden dread, he imagined the other half of his mind growing sentient and deciding that rejoining his mind would be akin to death and try to take over the whole body.

    ¡°What are you doing over there?¡± he whispered to himself.

    Then the thread was back. It felt like when he fell asleep on his arm during the night and then grabbed his hand to make sure it was still there. It was, it was part of him, and it had never <em>not</em> been part of him. He¡¯d just lost track of it for a second.

    The memories of what he¡¯d been doing with the other half of his mind slipped in naturally, kind of like the sleeping arm waking up. That strange pins and needles feeling, except in his brain. It didn¡¯tst long, and then his entire consciousness was back.

    The world slowed down again, and he knew what he¡¯d been doing with the other thread.

    Not much. He hadn¡¯t been able to control his body, and he had decided not to try to call on his magic. It had been sort of soothing and rxing to be so detached and he¡¯d mostly let his mind wander, enjoying the experience. He¡¯d only decided to stop when he felt the pang of worry and heard him talk to himself. A strange experience; it¡¯d felt so alien to hear another mind direct his voice. But now that the threads were back together it didn¡¯t feel like one of them had died.

    Relieved that this wasn¡¯t going to be an existential crisis, he spun off another thread. This time, he forced it to quit before it returned on its own. The thread returned and the world¡¯s speed went back to normal, but he didn¡¯t get the influx of memories. They were lost, just¡­ gone. Even though it¡¯d only been a few seconds, he felt a void, like part of him actually had died. He¡¯d need to figure out a way to make sure that didn¡¯t happen too often. He couldn¡¯t imagine losing a thread that¡¯d run for days or weeks.

    Marksi squawked to get his attention, and then pointed forward with his nose.

    ¡°Oh, I see it, too now,¡± said Davi. ¡°That¡¯s the cave where the [Witch] is supposed to be.¡±

    Brin set the stick with the Wisp down. ¡°Ok. Let¡¯s go check it out. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re already done, but we need to be ready for anything, just in case.¡±

    Marksi jumped on the Wisp as soon as it touched the ground, making it clear he intended to stay behind and finish his lunch.

    ¡°Marksi, you really shouldn¡¯t be alone out here,¡± Brin said, but Marksi ignored him.

    Brin decided to try out a directed thread. He created it with the instructions to use [Memories in ss] to copy his Invisible Eye spell and cast it to watch Marksi. If anything went wrong, it should end the thread.

    This time, the change in his thought speed was insignificant; he couldn¡¯t tell any noticeable change in the world¡¯s time. He almost didn¡¯t believe it¡¯d worked until he felt the drain on his Mana telling him that he was casting a spell.

    Unlike before, where it had been a real strain to keep switching back and forth between maintaining his spell and doing other things, this happened literally without a thought. The method he¡¯d figured out earlier in the day had moved this process from mind-breakingly strenuous to merely difficult, and now it was easier than breathing.

    There was a major problem, though. He had no idea what the thread was up to. He didn¡¯t have an insight into what the Invisible Eye was seeing, either. That was a crippling limitation, and he¡¯d need to fix that if [Multithreading] was going to be a viable tool. He wanted to be able to do what Hogg did and monitor a dozen different illusions all at the same time, but if he couldn¡¯t get feedback on the thread until it ended then this skill was useless.

    There had to be a workaround. That was fine; Tenerer had warned him that this Skill would be harder to use. He didn¡¯t expect to have everything working perfectly the first time he tried. He would figure it out. That¡¯s what he told himself, at least, to try to ward off the growing sense of disappointment. Hopefully the directed thread would at least be smart enough to warn him if Marksi got into trouble.

    Together, he and Davi walked into the cave. It was low enough that he had to crouch a bit to get inside, and he wasn¡¯t the tallest guy around. That was Davi, who had to crouch down quite a bit.

    The stench of rot and undead blood hit them immediately, and when Brin pulled out a sphere to make light he saw the source ten feet ahead of them. A destroyed undead soldiery on the ground, where they couldn¡¯t avoid stepping over him to get further into the tunnel. There were already several bloody footprints heading past it.

    Brin gingerly stepped over the corpse and they moved on.

    The tunnel eventually opened up a bit to an area that could fit two men side-by-side, and a cluster of destroyed undead littered the floor. They were torn into so many pieces Brin couldn¡¯t even tell how many there had been; clearly Hogg hadn¡¯t wanted to waste the time it would take to do this delicately.

    A big wooden door stood slightly ajar at the end of the tunnel, and when they opened it, Brin and Davi found the rest of the team.

    There was arge underground cavern, lit withmps that cast an even light that spoke of enchantment rather than me. A cozy-looking log cabin was built into the far corner, and in front of them was the bloody corpse of some kind of big, hairy brown beast. It was sprawled out across twenty feet of ground, which meant that it must¡¯ve been terrifying when it was still alive. Zilly had a touch of blood on her sword, which meant that she¡¯d arrived in time to get a piece of it.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the [Witch]? Have you checked the house?¡±

    Hogg sighed in irritation. ¡°See for yourself.¡±

    Brin walked past the dead monster and pushed the door to the log cabin open. He found Araunya the [Camp Chef] inside, crouched over the body of a young woman. The [Witch], probably.

    The rest of the cabin was sort of cozy, with a few hanging nts and a tapestry of bucolic bliss, with some rosy-cheeked shepherd children ying withmbs. There were lots of clean squares on the ground, looking like some kind of furniture or box had been sitting there for a while and recently moved.

    Now that he was looking closely, the ce looked too empty. It¡¯d been cleaned out.

    He noticed the woman on the ground was breathing. ¡°She¡¯s alive?¡±

    ¡°Out cold,¡± Araunya nodded. ¡°My perpetual sleeping stew will make sure she stays that way until we¡¯re ready for her to be awake.¡±

    Brin [Inspected] her.

    Margald Hought Level: 28 Age: 16 ss: Perfumist

    She was much younger than he¡¯d assumed. That was a pretty high level for someone that age. It was an incredibly high level for someone that age in Arcaena.

    Back out of the cabin and into the cave, Brin found Hogg again, now sharing his irritation. ¡°That¡¯s not [Hide Status], is it? We missed the [Witch].¡±

    ¡°Your¡­ informant probably warned her we wereing. She left this one behind to direct the defenders. A servant, maybe an apprentice, but no. Not a [Witch].¡±

    Brin saw a simr look of disappointment on Pio¡¯s face. Jeffrey looked to be taking it stoically, while Zilly just seemed happy to be here. She was already regaling Davi with the tale of their battle.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the n?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll take whatever we can get and split it with the team. The beast core for this thing will be worth a pretty penny, and they left some gold behind. Then when we get to ckcliff we¡¯ll report this to the kingdom. They¡¯ll want to send a team over to copse the tunnels. See that there?¡± Hogg pointed at a shadowed corner that Brin now realized was a tunnel moving further down. ¡°That connects to thework of caves and underground roads that Arcaena has been using to move her army.¡±

    ¡°Any chance that we can track down the [Witch] that lived here?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I know a pretty good tracker that could do the job, but if she¡¯s smart then she ran down that tunnel to join the army underground. And in that case, I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be worth it. How¡¯d your fight with the familiar go?¡±

    As if he didn¡¯t know. Brin would bet his left eye that Hogg had a Visible Eye up in the sky that showed him the entire thing. He still smiled and said, ¡°It went amazingly! I leveled up and I got an <em>awesome</em> Skill.¡±

    Hogg gave him a forced smile, trying to match his enthusiasm. ¡°Good! Then we got what we came here for.¡± He lowered his voice. ¡°But I think I¡¯m about done ying games with your informant. She screwed us, and I have some ideas on how to make her regret it.¡±

 Book 3. Chapter 54

    Book 3. Chapter 54

    ¡°You¡¯re spending too much time on [Illusionist] Skills. I¡¯ve already told you that those are unnecessary. You have no future in illusions. Focus on my lessons instead,¡± Aberfa said.

    They were again walking by the seashore near Alhaedra, their steps making the smooth stones of the beach rattle. She loved it here and wore an expression ofplete serenity on her face, even after Brin told her he was cutting her off.

    ¡°Did you hear me? Hogg says this is ourst lesson. We¡¯re cutting you off for two weeks. Today is ourst lesson for a while,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°This is how you repay me for betraying my nation on your behalf? I led you to that safehouse,¡± said Aberfa.

    ¡°You warned the [Witch] ahead of time. Now I have a new enemy in the world, and I have no idea where she is or even who,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa¡¯s eyebrow twitched, but otherwise her face was expressionless. From his time with her, he¡¯d learned to understand that she was intensely furious and taking great pains not to let it show.

    That¡­ didn¡¯t feel right. He decided to press a little.

    ¡°Look, it was fair y and Hogg knows that. You never specifically said you <em>wouldn¡¯t </em>warn her. He¡¯s just mad that you fooled him. He thinks he¡¯s too smart for that,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, and suddenly Brin understood. There was a power in submission, and ever since he¡¯d started epting her as his mother, he¡¯d gotten an insight into what she was thinking, even when she didn¡¯t want him to.Normally she would be gloating right now. She was upset because she <em>couldn¡¯t</em> actually gloat. Because she hadn¡¯t actually been the one to tip off the [Witch]. Someone else had.

    ¡°This game of back and forth messages grows tiresome. Tell your Hogg this: that in our next lesson I will reveal one of Arcaena¡¯s most closely guarded secrets. This secret is a matter of national security to Arcaena and of great personal value to you. I will <em>only</em> reveal this secret tomorrow night, however. If you use those enchantments for even one night, for even one <em>hour</em>, then I will take this knowledge to my grave.¡±

    ¡°Why not tonight?¡± asked Brin.

    Aberfa flicked his ear. ¡°Because tonight we must speak of other things. Tell me of your battle with the Wisp.¡±

    Brin recited the tale, going over the fight, and speaking in detail about what he¡¯d learned about the Wisp through the Wyrd and what his own arguments had been.

    ¡°Good. You have no doubt spent some time thinking about your own arguments and formting better ones,¡± he heard in her voice that she didn¡¯t actually think that was the case, and she¡¯d be right.

    She was trailing behind him as they walked along the shore, and he didn¡¯t turn around to see if she was watching them.

    He liked it here. He enjoyed the feeling of the smooth stones on his feet and the asional touch of the gentlepping waves. As soon as he¡¯d thought it would be better without shoes, his shoes had disappeared. He could change the dream in minor ways, but it was easier when he wasn¡¯t trying to do it.

    ¡°There are two kinds of monsters. Those who fell from something greater, and those whose very creation was an act of rebellion against the world,¡± said Aberfa.

    ¡°Seems like there would be a lot of ovep between those two,¡± said Brin.

    He immediately stepped on a rusty nail that hadn¡¯t been there before. It went straight through his foot to burst out the top. He yelped and tripped into the water, covering himself with mud.

    ¡°Don¡¯t y rhetorical games with me. I¡¯m not interested.¡± She waved her hand, and the wound and nail disappeared. He was still soaking wet and covered with mud, though, and now a cold breeze was blowing. ¡°Stand up.¡±

    Brin stood and started walking quickly to burn off his anger, though since this was a dream she wouldn¡¯t have to adjust her own pace to keep up.

    He heard sshing now and again from behind him as she leaned down to toy with the water. A reminder that she could keep up even if she was walking slower than him. She could keep up even when she wasn¡¯t walking at all.

    ¡°As I was saying. The Wisp is a rebellion. Many creatures are created by [Witches] for good and ill, but the ones thatst, that reproduce and grow, are the ones who are the most rebellious. Wisps are such a case. They can grow quite powerful, and they¡¯re so old that we don¡¯t even remember the [Witch] who first made them. They are a rebellion against light. Against the metaphorical concept of light. We speak of light as illumination, as enlightenment. Light clears things up, reveals the truth, removes fear, purifies and uplifts. The Wisp uses light to confuse and manipte, to deceive, and eventually, to kill. If you face one again, keep present in your mind that light is meant to¨C¡±

    The dream lurched, and he felt a sudden instinctual panic surging up from the entire world at once. He turned to see Aberfa dash away from the water, chest heaving.

    For the first time, he saw fear in her eyes.

    ¡°Did you¡­ Don¡¯t lie to me, Aberthol. Did¨C? Do you know why I¡¯m upset?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± said Brin.

    The dream ended, and he sunk intoplete unconsciousness. It ended, but not for very long. When he came back into Aberfa¡¯s dream, they were in a graveyard.

    There was an expression of intense relief on her face. ¡°Nevermind. Let¡¯s move on.¡±

    Brin nodded. ¡°Fine.¡±

    Of course, on the inside his mind was buzzing. She¡¯d copsed the dream to put him in a deeper sleep, the kind of sleep that she used to read his memories. Hogg would wake him up if he noticed her doing that, but she¡¯d only done it for a few seconds, too short a time for Hogg to notice. Actually, she might¡¯ve been doing that this whole time and he wouldn¡¯t have known. That was the bad news.

    The good news was that something had happened, somehow she had revealed a weakness. Some secret that she didn¡¯t want him to see. He¡¯d been turned the other direction, so he hadn¡¯t seen whatever it was that she¡¯d identally let slip into the dream. She¡¯d read his mind, and seen that he hadn¡¯t seen.

    He¡¯d figure it out. But not now. He couldn¡¯t let her know he was on her trail. He needed to stop thinking about it.

    The good thing about Mental Control was that it actually let him control himself mentally. If he didn¡¯t want to think about something, he wouldn¡¯t. He¡¯d slipped up with Hogg and the familiar once, but he wouldn¡¯t mess up again.

    He focused on Aberfa as she spoke, ¡°The other kind of monsters are the fallen. They are less than they were before. Often the reason they are allowed to continue in petty evil is in remembrance of the great good they did before their fall. Think of a great king who reaches senility. Now he beats his maids and demeans his soldiers andys in a bed all day which stinks of incontinence. No one will intervene, remembering thends he conquered and the justice he upheld.

    ¡°The mostmon example of the fallen monster is the undead. Zombies, wights, and vampires, to name a few.¡±

    A crowd of zombies appeared around them, shambling forward in the moonlit graveyard, though neither Brin nor Aberfa showed any fear. They stumbled to a stop at an appropriately respectful distance.

    ¡°The people are dead. The only thing useful about them is the authority that remains upon their bodies that gives ess to the power granted by the System. Everything else must be imbued by the necromancer who raises them. Instinct, purpose, even lotion.¡±

    She waved her hands and stripped away the skin of the zombie nearest them. The exposed organs stayed in ce, and Brin could see stitch marks rising up and down the lungs and heart. The intestines had been cleared away.

    ¡°A skilled necromancer will seek to repurpose whatever organs remain. A living body no longer, but still a biological machine. Doing this will allow the undead to keep more of its original strength, needing less power from the necromancer at the time of its awakening. This is why some undead still bleed, and why they often show so little sign of dposition.¡±

    ¡°Those look like the undead Siphani used. But not all of them are like that?¡± Brin asked. Aberfa rarely gave such straightforward lessons. Clearly she was trying to distract him from what had happened earlier, and he was happy to be distracted. This was something he¡¯d been wondering for a while.

    ¡°No. You¡¯ve seen this.¡± She flicked her wrist and two more undead appeared. From the left, a disgusting rotting corpse, oozing dposing fluids and smelling like actual death. It was a lot like Awnadil¡¯s undead had been. From the other side, a walking skeleton, some disconnected bones simply floating in the air.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen undead like the one on the left. Never the skeleton on the right,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°The concept is the same. Some [Witches] prefer the shock value of undead, and despise the weakness of relying on biological processes. A greater investment of power at the beginning yields a servant with fewer weaknesses. But these are fallen even further than the first undead, do you see? Fallen doesn¡¯t mean weaker. It means lesser. They are less than human.¡±

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the vition.

    ¡°Some undead have souls, the souls of their original bodies. Do all of them?¡± asked Brin. He thought he kind of knew the answer to this, but wanted to know what she¡¯d say.

    ¡°No,¡± said Aberfa. ¡°The soul remains with the dead body for a time and rests before moving on. If the body can be captured and reanimated quickly enough the process will be much easier and the undead will be much stronger and capable of an autonomy that other undeadck. Still, any body can be useful. Ancient Nhamanshal used [Necromancers] to remove the souls of the deceased, helping them move on into the afterlife, and then warded the bodies against further tampering. They supposed that this would render the corpses safe, but Arcaena has devised a method to reanimate even these, and soon all the world will tremble at her might.¡±

    She hopped on top of a gravestone to gaze down at him imperiously.

    ¡°For someone who betrayed Arcaena, you¡¯re more than happy to hold the bag for her,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t remind me,¡± said Aberfa, looking downcast.

    Brin decided to move this back to safer territory. ¡°Vampires would probably tell you that they¡¯re exalted. They¡¯re stronger than humans; even Hogg says so. He told me that I should never face a vampire that¡¯s not at least ten levels lower than myself, and I have a record of punching above my weight ss.¡±

    As if summoned by his words, the ground in front of a tombstone erupted and a creature with pale white skin climbed from the ground.

    Brin had heard that vampires favored fine and elegant clothing, but this man still wore the ragged remains of the clothes he¡¯d died in. Even so, there was an unmistakable nobility about him. He stood with regal yet predatory grace, and met Brin¡¯s eyes withplete confidence. His mouth was closed so his fangs weren¡¯t visible, but there was still an otherworldly quality about him that couldn¡¯t be missed. This thing wasn¡¯t human.

    Aberfa stepped to the vampire, stroking his toned stomach, letting her hand linger. ¡°Many of his organs retain their original purpose. His blood is red and clean. To some, it might be difficult to find the difference between him and a living person. He didn¡¯t die first, then reanimate. He was transformed directly from living flesh to undeath. He fell less far than others, but he still fell. His body is only yacting its old functions. He still remembers his instinctual urges towards warmth, food, water, and reproduction, but he needs none of it so nothing can satisfy. Only the desire for blood is real. It is a tortured existence.

    ¡°If vampires are the strongest undead, then it is because they are the gentlest undead. They have no need to kill their victims for sustenance, so they can remain for many years without being discovered if they are careful.¡±

    ¡°In that case, kukubarus are even gentler,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa snickered, then when she looked and saw he was serious she burst outughing. It wasn¡¯t derisive, but full of joy and amusement. She wiped a tear away from her eye and said, ¡°I needed that.¡±

    Brin had another question, one he wasn''t sure if he should ask. He wasn''t sure if he wanted an answer, or if the lies that Aberfa would inevitably mix in would be worse than not knowing anything at all. But she was in a generous mood, and he might not get this chance again.

    He asked, "I''ve been thinking about what you said about Wisps. How they''re evil because¨C"

    "I never called them evil," she interjected.

    "What I mean is that Wisps are a lot like [Illusionists]. Is [Illusionist] an evil ss? Are all rare sses evil?"

    "Close. No sses are evil. Some are irregr. Some are antisocial. But all of them fill a need, and all of them are a test."

    "How does [Illusionist] change my personality?" asked Brin.

    She shook her head. "I keep telling you, [Illusionist] is not your future."

    "But it''s my present, and I need to know. Please?"

    She met his eyes, and her features softened. "You will obscure things for no reason. You will love lies more than truth."

    "What? But Hogg doesn''t¨C"

    "Hogg had decades to ovee his ss. And when you found him he had few friends and no family."

    Brin blinked in surprise, but before he could ask a follow-up she continued.

    "[ssbound] grounds you somewhat. Keep hold of ss. It will protect you from the worst kind of lies."

    Brin stood in silence for a moment, watching the vampire who''d stood watching this entire affair, cold and impassive. "The worst kind of lies are the ones you tell yourself."

    "This is so."

    Neither of them spoke after that.

    The dream ended and Brin fell further into sleep until Hogg shook him awake. Brin groaned and grabbed the warded nket from beside him intending to go back to sleep with his anti-Aberfa protections in ce, but then remembered what had happened and sat up.

    "So what''d she say?" asked Hogg.

    "I think we have a breakthrough," said Brin.

    "Why? What is it?" asked Hogg.

    "I''m not sure. I need a minute to look through my memories." Brin looked around at the sleeping camp and winced at the fact that yet again he''d forgotten to keep his voice down when everyone was sleeping.

    He whispered, "Have you just been staying up all night watching me sleep? When do you sleep?"

    "You want to talk about this now? I''m getting plenty of sleep," said Hogg. "Now what did you figure out?"

    "One second."

    He dived into his [Memories in ss], seeking out the most recent dream with Aberfa, for that moment where she''d made some kind of mistake and she''d been terrified that he''d seen.

    He hadn''t seen, but it had happened in his dream, which meant that it had happened in his head. There should be some way for him to know what had happened. In dreams, you didn''t miss important details just because you were looking the other way.

    He reyed the scene, and it happened just as he remembered. He tried to twist his head around in the memory to look, but it was just a recording of what he''d experienced. He couldn''t change anything.

    There had to be a way.

    "Give me one hour," said Brin.

    Hogg grimaced, and then nodded.

    Brin created five threads of thought, effectively splitting his brain into six. He immediately picked up a pebble off the ground and watched it fall. If he had to guess, time was moving maybe four times its regr speed. Maybe five? So of his six threads of thought, he was getting one and a half for free. That was nice. He really needed to figure out a way to precisely measure rtive speed, but now wasn''t the time for that. The clock was ticking. About four and a half ticks per second.

    He dived back into the memory, looking around for clues, and he expected that the other five threads were doing the same thing. By splitting up, he increased his chances of thinking of something that would help.

    He would worry that he would run into the old programming race condition problem, which arose when multiple threads tried to ess the same resource at a time. It wouldn''t be a problem with looking at memories, but if the other threads tried recording memories into the same ss at the same time¡­

    Wait. Why not do that?

    He realized he''d just solved hismunication problem. Multiple threads could draw on his magic at the same time. That meant they could record their memories into ss at the same time. If they kept a recording of everything they were thinking, he''d be able to check up on them before they finished.

    He felt a tug on his magic, summoning a ss ring onto his finger, which told him that at least one other thread had thought of the exact same thing.

    The ring that appeared into ce had six distinct sections, connected together with ball and socket joints but physically separate. Now each of the threads could take one. It was excellent thinking. He''d have to thank himself when he got back.

    He created a directed thread, and told it to read the six sections, switching around through all of them, and then notify him by writing a log on the ground with faint light if anyone had a good idea. No, scratch that. He canceled the directed thread, then pulled a piece of empty bark paper out of his pocket. He made a new directed thread and told it to check on the ring, and make words appear like ink on the paper with illusion magic. It quickly filled out the paper.

    <strong>Thread 1 - No progress.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 2 - No progress.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 3 - No progress.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 4 - No progress.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 5 - No progress.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 6 - No progress.</strong>

    With that in ce, he focused on the real problem. Two minutes had gone by, which was almost ten minutes in real time. He needed to do his part and work on this, otherwise he''d waste the entire hour.

    Despite his best efforts, he couldn''t make any headway. He yed and reyed the memory in his head, trying every angle he could think of. The memory was fixed. It refused to show him anything he hadn''t noticed before.

    Five minutes passed, and just like that thirty minutes of real time was gone. He was getting nowhere. He''d have been better off thinking with just his own mind. All six threads were probably chasing the same false starts.

    He looked back at the paper, and to his surprise, much of it had changed.

    <strong>Thread 1 - No progress.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 2 - No progress, shutting down early.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 3 - No progress, shutting down early.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 4 - No progress, shutting down early.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 5 - Has an idea. Requesting additional resources.</strong>

    <strong>Thread 6 - No progress, shutting down early.</strong>

    Threads 2, 3, 4, 6 all shut down, returning Brin to almost normal time. His mind filled with four more memories simr to his own. They''d scoured the memory and found nothing. Then they¡¯d noticed that thread 5 had made progress and decided to return the processing power to his original mind.

    He canceled the directed thread as well, making the illusory ink on his paper disappear, and then put another message on the paper.

    <strong>Return. We''ll figure this out together.</strong>

    He stared at the paper, hoping the other thread would notice. It didn''t. He looked at the six-piece ring and emptied it of all memories. Since they were back in his head now they weren''t worth anything. Thread 5 kept recording, not noticing.

    "Oh. Duh." Brin removed the ring with the memory of the dream that thread 5 was looking at, and dropped it on the ground.

    The thread finally returned.

    Brin felt the strange pins and needles as the memories integrated with his mind. In thread 5 he''d quickly realized that reying the memory wouldn''t give him any clues, but then noticed the reflection of the moon against the water which had given him an idea. These dreams were startlingly real, including fine details in high-resolution. There were veins on the leaves, dust on the stones, hairs on the backs of flies, everything you would see in the real world. Aberfa must have some ability to recreate scenes in their entirety, because it sure wasn''t his mind doing that.

    With a thought, he''d zoomed in, and realized that the pictures painted in his memories were urate to some absurdly tiny details. She would have to be capable of this, he realized. The monster she¡¯d turned herself into relied on trapping people in dreams, and there were people with much better perception than him. Her worlds needed to be perfect, and now that was working against her.

    He¡¯d wanted to use some directed threads to scan every inch of the dream for reflections, but wasn''t sure if he was allowed. Instead, he''d started looking through the memories stored in the other threads to see if anyone else had any ideas whose work he might be interrupting when the original Brin had dropped the ring.

    And now he was here. He summoned six directed threads, and ordered them to look at every drop of mist, every shiny rock, and every inch of seawater for a reflection of Aberfa. They were to store any reflections they saw as memories in his six piece ring.

    Five minutester, the six pieces were filled.

    In the first piece, a directed thread had examined the reflection in the sea water. Aberfa leaned down and dreamily stroked the water while talking to Brin. He''d surmised as much from what he''d heard. Then she saw something in the water that shocked her, and she''d stood up. Nothing new there.

    Next thread, an impression in the mist. The light cast by the moon made a shadow in the mist that Brin briefly nced out of the corner of his eye. Nothing helpful.

    The third memory was a reflection on a miniscule drop of water, an errant raindrop or perhaps a bit of water from the sshing. In it he saw Aberfa, touching the water with the tip of her finger, but the bit of finger that was underneath the water was changed. It was bluish gray, and had no nail.

    He felt his pulse rise. This was it.

    The next thread had stored another drop, and this time Aberfa''s hand was sunk to the wrist. Under the water, her hand hadpletely transformed into long, spindly tentacles.

    Tentacles. Aberfa had identally tasted the water with her real limbs.

    Brin dismissed his magic and looked at Hogg. "That''s it. I know what she is. She''s a sea monster."

 Book 3. Chapter 39.5

    Book 3. Chapter 39.5

    <strong>Information</strong>

    Name: Brin isu Yambul

    Age: 14

    Race: Human

    ss: ssbound Illusionist

    Level: 34

    <strong>Attributes</strong>

    Strength 187

    Dexterity 150Vitality 146

    Magic 187

    Mental Control 209

    Will 113

    Unassigned points 2

    <strong>Titles</strong>

    <strong>Survivor of Travin''s Bog</strong>

    You survived the massacre at Travin¡¯s Bog that ended your family. You have survived a fatal wound that stopped your heart.

    +50% resistance to heat, cold and poison. Instinctual awareness of attacks that will cause you death or fatal injury.

    <strong>Traveler</strong>

    You have journeyed to a strange and foreignnd where you now live.

    +30% movement speed when out ofbat

    You have argely increased ability to learnnguages.

    <strong>Otherworlder</strong>

    You have traversed the stars and arrived at an entirely new world.

    +50% experience while your ss is below level 30. Strengthened immune system. Strengthened magic resistance.

    <strong>Scarred, but Healing (3)</strong>

    You have been scarred, but you¡¯re healing. You have upgraded this title twice. Your scars are regenerative.

    Healing rate increases based on upgrades and the amount of fully healed scars.

    Your wounds heal 240% faster.

    <strong>ssbound</strong>

    <em>Like a shattered mirror, you are strong and sharp yet oddly fragile.</em>

    Feel the presence and rtive location of ss. Drastically increased mana efficiency when working with ss. -50% experience from all sources.

    <strong>Savior of Hammon¡¯s Bog</strong>

    You have saved Hammon¡¯s Bog from the dread Witch Siphani.

    Gain +20% power from all attributes while in Hammon¡¯s Bog.

    <strong>Achievements</strong>

    <strong>Warbound (Legendary)</strong>

    <em>Warfare was his birthright</em><em>, he</em><em> craved the sh of steel,</em>

    <em>He sang a song of bloodshed that the dead could hear and feel,</em>

    <em>The terror of the battlefield, a cursed </em><em>child was</em><em> found.</em>

    <em>Warbound</em>.

    +20% to all attributes. Additional +10% to Mental Control. +100% experience from meleebat. +100% Resistance to physical damage. Battle Fury and Battle Sense skills added.

    <strong>Monster Hunter II (Common)</strong>

    You have defeated more than 13 monsters.

    +10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

    <strong>Filial Piety (Epic)</strong>

    You performed a noble act of service to your father at great risk to yourself, freeing his captive soul from those who bound him in servitude.

    Extra resistance against mental maniption, soul maniption, and Mana pool maniption.

    +100% Magic attribute growth.

    This achievement is iplete.

    <strong>Blessing of the Hidden Guardian (Rare)</strong>

    You have been seen and epted by the one whoys beneath.

    You gain further insight into yourpanion¡¯s abilities.

    <strong>Meditative (Rare)</strong>

    You have reached level 20 in the Meditation Skill

    +10 Mental Control

    <strong>Athletic (Rare)</strong>

    You have reached level 20 in the Athleticism Skill.

    +10 Vitality

    <strong>Strong V (Rare)</strong>

    You have reached 169 Strength.

    +50% speed with Strength-intensive activities. +50% Strength attribute growth.

    <strong>Dextrous IV (Common)</strong>

    You have reached 104 Dexterity.

    +10% Dexterity (Transferred from Thief). +40% speed with Dexterity-intensive activities. +40% Dexterity attribute growth.

    <strong>Lively IV (Common)</strong>

    You have reached 104 Vitality.

    +40% recovery from wounds. +40% stamina. +40% Vitality attribute growth.

    <strong>Magical V (Rare)</strong>

    You have reached 169 Magic.

    +50% spell power. +50% mana regeneration. +50% Magic attribute growth

    <strong>Controlled V (Rare)</strong>

    You have reached 169 Mental Control.

    +50% focus and concentration +50% Mental Control attribute growth

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    <strong>Disciplined IV (Common)</strong>

    You have reached 104 Will

    +40% spell power. +40% skill power. +40% Will attribute growth.

    <strong>Workhorse (Rare)</strong>

    You work like a horse. You earned many attribute achievements before unlocking your System.

    +2 Strength per level, +1 Dexterity per level, +2 Vitality per level, +1 Will per level, +1 Mental Control per level

    <strong>Celebrated (Rare)</strong>

    You have authored and performed a song which has been sung by over one thousand people.

    You wrote the hit song ¡°They call me Kukubaru.¡±

    You can make this Achievement visible to [Inspect] as proof that you¡¯re the original author.

    You can sign anything you create with messages visible to [Inspect] as proof that you were their creator.

    +20% to all attributes while creating, performing, or inventing. This bonus cannot be applied duringbat.

    <strong>General Skills</strong>

    <strong>Know What¡¯s Real</strong>

    You have the ability to understand when something you experience or remember is real, and when it is an illusion or dream. Hearing increased. Vision in darkness increased. You can now approximate the value of things.

    <strong>Know What¡¯s Wyrd</strong>

    You can sense the Wyrd. Increased resistance to the Wyrd and Wyrd-rted abilities.

    <strong>Monster Sense</strong>

    You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

    <strong>Inspect (37)</strong>

    Active Skill - Receive information on the target.

    Upgradeable.

    <strong>Hide Status (14)</strong>

    Your ss and other System details are hidden from Inspect and other observation skills. Note: Your information may still be vulnerable due to high level disparities and powerful inspection skills.

    Upgradeable.

    <strong>Directed Meditation (21)</strong>

    Train your focus and concentration, as well as to actively achieve a clear mind and peaceful mental state.

    Upgradeable.

    <strong>Athletic Training (20)</strong>

    Train your body¡¯s strength, fitness and agility through concentrated and directed effort.

    +100% [Athletic Training] Skill growth

    +3% increase to physical attribute growth rate per level of [Athletic Training]

    Upgradeable.

    <strong>Battle Fury (Epic)</strong>

    Your fury in battle lends you greater power.

    +5% increase to the effects of your Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality with each wound you take and with each wound you give. +50% increase with each enemy you y.

    These increases are capped at +100%

    These increases expire thirty minutes after you leavebat.

    <strong>Battle Sense</strong>

    You have an innate sense about the position of your allies and enemies in conflict. You have an innate sense of how to direct your allies to greatest effectiveness during conflict.

    <strong>ss Skills</strong>

    <strong>Shape ss (33)</strong>

    You have the ability to transform ss. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with ss.

    This Skill has been upgraded twice.

    <strong>Summon ss (27)</strong>

    You can use your magic to call ss into being. This Skill grows with your understanding and experience working with ss.

    <strong>Heat Resistance</strong>

    You have greatly increased resistance to heat and burns.

    <strong>Memories in ss</strong>

    You can perfectly recall anything you¡¯ve seen or learned about ss.

    In addition, this Skill allows you to store your memories in ss, to be retrieved and reviewed at your convenience. Stored memories do not need to involve ss.

    <strong>Call Light through ss (35)</strong>

    Summon illusory light through ss.

    This Skill has been upgraded once.

    <strong>Call Sound through ss (29)</strong>

    Summon illusory sound through ss.

    <strong>Mana Well</strong>

    +50% to the amount of mana you generate and hold.

    <strong>Oaths</strong>

    <strong>Oath of the Quest Survivor</strong>

    You have sworn never to speak of how you became the beneficiary of a Quest

 Book 3. Chapter 56

    Book 3. Chapter 56

    The dream began in Alheadra, but not in the city below. Aberfa stood in front of enormous ck gates rising incredibly high into the air, but still only the small basement floor of Arcaena¡¯s massive citadel. He could see now that it was deceptivelyrge; everything was in suchrge proportions that he hadn¡¯t quite understood the size of it when he viewed it from far away.

    His body¡¯s mother was different tonight. She was pitch ck, a walking, breathing void of light. She smiled. ¡°You made the right decision. Nowe and I will reveal all.¡±

    ¡°No tricks. I want the secret first. I¡¯m not doing anything else until you give me what you promised.¡±

    Her grin grew wider. ¡°Yes of course! That is my desire as well.¡±

    She turned and opened the massive gates as easily as flicking open her own front door and the dream shifted.

    The world looked like it had all been scrawled by a pencil on paper, like they were living in the sketch that might soon be a children¡¯s story book. The dark shape of Aberfa waved and a flower-covered in grew up from the worn yellow page, reaching towards a fairy-tale castle in the distance. ¡°Once upon a time, before there was a nation called Arcaena there was a nation named Edelor. The nation was peaceful and just and its champions were righteous. Wisest and strongest of all these champions was a man named Bouwen. He was fair of face, strong of arm, as well as kind and good. He did good wherever he went and struck down tyrant and monster alike.¡±

    The world shifted quickly like the sudden pping of pages, and Brin was treated to several scenes of a knight in shining armor striving against perilous foes, and just as many pages of him being celebrated wherever he went.

    ¡°I once told you that there was no such thing as evil sses. Did you believe me when I told you that?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Brin answered.Aberfa sang out a string of tinklingughter. ¡°Fair enough. But I will implore you to believe me when I say this: there <em>are</em> such things as good sses. Bouwen had such a ss. A Legendary ss. He was a [Pdin].¡±

    Brin sucked in a mouthful of air. He had barely heard anything of Legendary sses. As far as he knew, even [Archmage of the Mystical Elements] was only an Epic ss.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange to hear you praise a man like this,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa shook out her hair. ¡°How could I not? If all men were such as he, there would be no such thing as [Witches]. But now I fear I must tell you of Bouwen¡¯s folly and fall. After ridding all evil in his own kingdom, he ventured forth to cleanse the world. He traveled high and low and eventually made his way to a powerful coven of [Witches]. One of those very [Witches] was she who was not yet called Arcaena.¡±

    The picture book they were living inside never showed Arcaena¡¯s face, careful to shift around to her back in every scene she was in, and ck robes and a hat obscured the figure. He could tell it was her, somehow, even though she was always surrounded by a dozen other [Witches].

    ¡°They did battle. Their war was fierce and rearranged thendscape and caused natural cmities. For years afterwards, the nearbynds were gued with floods on one hand, and droughts on the other. Then it was over. At great cost, Bouwen was in,¡± said Aberfa.

    A lone [Witch] stood over the armored figure of Bouwen, still regal even in death.

    ¡°Much was lost, but she gained even more. She gained her name and power, and what¡¯s more, she had the greatest warrior in the world. Possibly the greatest in a thousand years or longer. She had¡­ his corpse, anyway.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like where this is going,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°And why would you?¡± asked Aberfa.

    He waited for her to continue, but she didn¡¯t, and kept smiling a hospitable little smile. Aberfa never smiled this much unless she was holding a dagger behind her back.

    ¡°She made him into an undead, didn¡¯t she?¡±

    She shook her head, looking pleased that he had drawn the obvious and incorrect conclusion. ¡°No. His ss was too good. Any necromantic powerid upon his body would¡¯ve been burned away by the authority that still rested upon him. No, nothing would do for this champion except an honorable burial.¡±

    Brin sneered. ¡°She just buried him? That¡¯s it? You really want me to believe that she didn¡¯t have a use for him?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. She had a use for him.¡±

    The storybook vision faded away, and then they were back inside the fortress at Alhaedra, though Aberfa was still ck like a living blotch of ink. Brin could see the massive gates behind him; they were in a great hall. A painting of the starry sky covered the ceiling with the constetions charted out. Tall braziers glowing with a violet me dotted the space, and a gigantic mural of a dark-d [Witch] with a bandage-wrapped face covered the floor. Probably Arcaena herself.

    ¡°What use did she have for his corpse?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°First, understand that our bargain isplete. I have already told you information that would shake Frenaria, Ond, and Prinnash to their foundations if they knew. I will tell you the rest, as well. Before we get to that, did you ever wonder what ss I have picked out for you?¡±

    Brin mulled over whether or not he would object to the change in subject. The Wyrd was telling him that she was right; she really had told him enough to consider her promise kept. He didn¡¯t have grounds to object.

    ¡°What were you going to do to me?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Guess.¡±

    ¡°Something to do with Bouwen. You never told me how she killed him. I bet that¡¯s a clue. You were going to turn me into a ss that can kill [Pdins].¡±

    Aberfa raised her eyes in surprise. ¡°What? No! Well, I suppose I can¡¯t really say no, can I? But no. Try again. What would you have guessed before we came in here?¡±

    ¡°[Pet],¡± Brin decided. ¡°You¡¯ve been training me. Punishing me harshly for mistakes and rewarding good behavior. You want an obedient dog.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Aberfa. ¡°I¡¯m not against having [Pets], to be fair.¡±

    A pathetic excuse for a human appeared on the floor in front of them. He was middle aged and balding, but every indication showed he had the mental age of a child. He crawled and cavorted happily around them both, his eyes vacant and dull.

    ¡°Have I shown you how to grant that ss? It isn¡¯t just obedience training. You have to convince them, truly make them believe with all their heart, that they cannot survive without you. This is most easily done with the removal of the arms or legs.¡±

    The man shifted into a young child and Aberfa stepped towards him with an angrily spinning buzz-saw.

    ¡°Stop! I don¡¯t want to see this!¡±

    ¡°Why not? Some day you may find it necessary.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯m certain I won¡¯t,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa¡¯s inky face looked at him in contempt, her smile slipping for the first time. ¡°Some day you¡¯ll have children and you¡¯ll understand. You¡¯ll understand the need to turn your heart into steel to protect them, to give them the future they need, the future they <em>deserve</em>.¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re sick.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m what I had to be to give you happiness. I¡¯m the only creature in the world capable of giving you the right kind of life. No, Aberthol. I have uses for [Pets] but a son is not a pet.¡±

    ¡°Happiness? Torturing me for all those years was supposed to make me happy? If you wanted me to be happy, you could¡¯ve let me stay home and be a [sser].¡±

    Her ck on ck eyes flicked with red. ¡°You never could¡¯ve been a [sser]. You were made for greater things! You didn¡¯t want to be normal. You knew you would be <em>great!</em>¡±

    Brin sighed. ¡°You never had any idea what I wanted. You never cared.¡±

    ¡°Wrong. I am your mother. I saw you take your first steps and I heard your first words. I heard your first <em>breath</em> and from that first breath I knew. I knew that you could never be like the other children. You were made for something more.¡±

    ¡°I never wanted to be some Arcaenean dark ss abomination,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No. You¡¯re right. You think I wanted you to be a [Scarred One]? It all would¡¯ve been much simpler if that¡¯s all I had in mind for you. But you didn¡¯t want to be angry, unfeeling and cruel. You wanted to be good and kind.¡±

    Brin shook his head, confused. This wasn¡¯t where he thought this conversation was going.

    The dark-colored Aberfa continued. ¡°[Illusionist] was wrong, too. You¡¯re not a deceiver. When you were young, you hated deception of any sort. You were <em>good</em>. Don¡¯t you understand? You were kind and you defended the weak, even if it led to you getting hurt. Even if you suffered or were punished or mocked. You never lied to me, not until I taught you to. You were good, and Arcaena is not the ce for good men.¡±

    Brin was confused. All of this was wrong. ¡°What are you saying?¡±

    ¡°You''ll see. Let¡¯s look at some more sses. [Scab Eater], you know that one. [Blood Harvester], now this is interesting.¡±

    Another boy, looking to be near his System Day, appeared on the mural of Arcaena, right below her corbone. The boy was so covered in scars that Brin might¡¯ve called him a [Scarred One] and he had tubes like catheters that carried his blood into bottles.

    Aberfa grinned, showing ck teeth. ¡°Not the hardest ss to earn. The choice will appear when the subject starts to n his day around the idea that his blood is meant for the nutrition of others. He will think about the best diet to provide the right vitamins, and n his sleep schedule around it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. Stop it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s [Voice Hearer].¡± A girl appeared next to the boy, with spindly thin arms and legs and sunken eyes. ¡°We produced her with a mix of sleep deprivation, istion, and never-ceasing bright lights, andplete and utter silence. It didn¡¯t take as long as you probably think. She is an excellent tool for surveince.¡±

    ¡°Stop showing me this,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°[Broken Doll],¡± said the dark Aberfa. Another boy appeared on the ground in a nightdress,ying on his back unmoving. Aberfa picked him up and danced him around, a macabre imitation of a child ying with a toy. ¡°These show up in the citizenry where you least expect it, but they¡¯re very difficult to create intentionally. Torture, of course, but it can never be so bad as to drive them mad. Their suffering must be carefully curated over the course of years so as topletely rob them of all hope and will. They must especially lose their will to live.¡±

    Brin closed his eyes and plugged his ears. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t want to hear¨Cwait. That¡¯s the one, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s what you were going to do with me.¡±

    He opened his eyes, and Aberfa was grinning at him.

    He groaned in disbelief. ¡°Why? What¡¯s all that talk about me being happy if¡­ if <em>that¡¯s</em> what you wanted me to be?¡±

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    Aberfa gestured at the boy, now limp where she¡¯d dropped him. ¡°These are the things I love the most. An empty doll, waiting for someone to snatch him up and breathe new purpose into him. He would do anything I wish, <em>be</em> anything I wish, and I would wish for him to be <em>glorious</em>.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what you said about Ademsi¡­¡± Brin said. ¡°Why¨C?¡±

    ¡°Come,¡± Aberfa whirled and started to walk across the hall. She didn¡¯t head towards the stairs that Brin instinctually felt must lead higher into the citadel and towards Arcaena¡¯s throne. She took a side door instead.

    The environment blurred by, around corridors through doors, down stairs, down more and more stairs to a dungeon underneath.

    They stopped in a dark and musty room, covered with cobwebs through the walls were of polished obsidian. The room was well lit with magical torches, but it was still dark because the walls, the furniture, and Aberfa herself were ck. The only color and light at all were Brin himself and the [Broken Doll]ying on an altar.

    No, there was something else, another penny-sized spot of grayish flesh on another altar.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± answered Aberfa. ¡°A piece of him. Houwen¡¯s ss remains with his flesh. In a costly and difficult ritual, Arcaena can suffuse the dead flesh into the broken doll, giving both a new life. This child, now empty and broken, is healed and made new. And made <em>better</em>.¡±

    The lights went out, and when they returned, the [Broken Doll] was sitting up. He looked flush and healthy, though a little confused, holding his head and thinking hard. Brin [Inspected] him.

    <strong>Pdin</strong>

    ¡°Imagine! Starting out with a Legendary ss! It would give you more than most people can gain in their entire lives! A hundred years might go in a nation with no one earning a Legendary ss, and you¡¯ll <em>start </em>with it!¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin. This was all too wrong, because that actually sounded like a good deal. He could practically hear the [Scarred One] saying in his mind <em>Just hear me out.</em>

    ¡°It would be fake. I¡¯d be your ve,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°[Pdin] cannot be faked. I wouldn¡¯t do all this just to make you into a puppet. You would forget everything, your name, your past, all the suffering you went through, any rtion to Arcaena. You would be free! You would go out into the world and grow andugh and right wrongs and do all the things you were always meant to do!¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°No. I don¡¯t believe it. Why would Arcaena do this if she sees no benefit?¡±

    Aberfa tapped her cheek. ¡°She will retain the power to¡­ switch you back. Once in a while, maybe only once a year or so, someone will find you and ask a few questions to the [Broken Doll]. Only to gather vital intelligence that will aid her in maintaining peace in the world. But you would not remember this, and you¡¯ll continue afterwards as if it never happened. She would have no other power over you at all, this I swear.¡±

    A spy. This was all an borate scheme to turn him into the perfect spy, one that didn¡¯t even know he was a spy. But there was more, he could feel it. The Wyrd had brought them so close together that Brin could feel an omission like a thorn in his boot, and Aberfa was omitting something big.

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have any other power over me, maybe. But you would. You said [Broken Dolls] aren¡¯t exactly impossible to find. If you just wanted a spy, you could use any old [Broken Doll]. No, it needs to be a child of a [Witch], doesn¡¯t it? This would only work if it¡¯s a child of a [Witch] loyal to Arcaena.¡±

    Aberfa winced, and sat down on the altar next to the newly formed [Pdin], putting an arm around his shoulders. He stared off into nothing, still looking dazed and confused. She said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing as insidious as you¡¯re thinking. A [Pdin] truly must be free. Perhaps I will be able to slip a suggestion into your thoughts, now and again, urging you to focus on one target over another. You would still bebating evil. Many of Arcaena¡¯s enemies are worse than she is.¡±

    ¡°Well, obviously this isn¡¯t happening,¡± said Brin. ¡°Your game is done. The only question I have left is, how could you do this? How could you torture your own son to the breaking point?¡±

    The shadow Aberfa red at him. ¡°It was all for you. You will never understand the determination required to be a parent.¡±

    ¡°No, no, he¡¯s right,¡± came Aberfa¡¯s voice, now from behind him as well. She hugged him from behind and kissed his hair. From the arms wrapped around his stomach he could see that this Aberfa was in full color. This was¡­ the real Aberfa? As real as anything got in here. [Know What¡¯s Real] just told him this was all a dream and refused to get more specific than that.

    ¡°Get off me,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa hugged him tighter. ¡°I could never have done this. I could never hurt you. My boy. My precious Aberthol. That¡¯s why I made her. All the cruelty, it wasn¡¯t me. It was my shadow.¡±

    The shadow Aberfa in front of him grinned triumphantly.

    ¡°You¡¯re sick.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Doing this to you has made my heart sick, but it was all for love. When I chose my monster form, I thought I could make it easier on you. I meant to break your spirit in your dreams, without ever touching a hair on your head. But [Know What¡¯s Real] never let you fully believe the dream you were in. Now, we will need to do this in the waking world where it will work to your detriment. Most people under extreme pain will detach from reality. They convince themselves that the pain isn¡¯t real. You will not be able to.¡±

    Brin looked around the ckened chamber, at the shadow Aberfa and the [Pdin]. ¡°So that¡¯s really all this was for. You¡¯ve been teaching me all this time knowing I¡¯d forget every word, just to bond us more tightly together in the Wyrd.¡±

    The real Aberfa spoke from behind him, not releasing her hold. ¡°You will keep the knowledge but lose the memories. And is it so wrong that I wanted to have this time together? If we are to be apart, I needed this. I needed to memorize the sound of yourugh and the lines of your frown. I have treasured this time we had together. It pains me that you will forget it, but I will remember it forever. I will take sce in knowing that my sacrifice was worth it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you see? We can have everything. When I bring you to Arcaena she will return my humanity and my ss and you will be one of humanity¡¯s greatest heroes. We can have it all! Do you think I could leave you as you are, remembering all the bad times, the pain and loneliness, the things I put you through? No, I could only bear to do this knowing that you would forget it all. For you, it will be as if it never happened. Your suffering will be brief, and then we will have everything. Please. I beg you to consider it.¡±

    He did consider it; he couldn¡¯t help it. A Legendary ss, the kind of ss he dreamed about after meeting Gn. A lifepletely different from Mark¡¯s, and different than he was leading now.

    The most attractive feature was knowing that he¡¯d never regret it. Right now, knowing how much work he¡¯d put into earning [ssbound Illusionist] meant that it would kill him to give it up, but in Aberfa¡¯s n he¡¯d never know what he¡¯d lost. He wouldn¡¯t be tormented by his memories of the things he¡¯d lost from Mark¡¯s life or the horrors of the undead siege. He¡¯d start fresh, a true new start.

    Sure, the part about torture breaking his mind was a drawback, but he wouldn¡¯t remember that.

    Once, he¡¯d talked to a dentist about painkillers, and the dentist had gone into great detail about all the drawbacks of anesthesia. How it was addictive, imprecise, about the danger of giving too much or too little. He¡¯d asked why they don¡¯t just put the patients unconscious, and the dentist had exined that it wasn¡¯t that easy. The difference between knocking someone out with drugs and outright killing them was a thinner line than most people thought.

    Then the dentist had proposed something else. One drug to paralyze the patient, and another drug to block their brain¡¯s ability to form new memories. The patient would feel all the pain of the surgery, trapped in their own body and unable to move, but when it was done they wouldn¡¯t remember a thing and would imagine they¡¯d been asleep the whole time.

    Mark had said that he would never go to a dentist that did that, and the dentist had replied that he would never know if he had.

    Now he was being asked to tackle that same moral quandary. Would it really be so bad to just give in? This was [Pdin] they were talking about. He¡¯d lose his friends, but he¡¯d never know it. Frankly, he¡¯d been leading Myra, Zilly and Davi into all kinds of insane situations. They might be better off without him.

    There. He¡¯d considered the option in full, and thepulsion that the Wyrd had pressed into him faded.

    Brin sighed and delicately removed Aberfa¡¯s hands from around him, then turned to face her.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve considered it and the answer is no,¡± said Brin.

    Aberfa¡¯s face fell. She cast her eyes to the ground and muttered, ¡°Well, this is why we have parents. To make sure we do what¡¯s best for us, even if we have to be dragged kicking and screaming.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here,¡± said the shadow Aberfa, and the full-colored one faded away.

    The altars and torches disappeared and the walls fell away, revealing an army of monsters, a mass of teeth and fur and ws as far as the eye could see. Shadow Aberfa floated above them like a malevolent spirit.

    ¡°I know this is a dream. It¡¯s not going to work,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Not now. But it will work to soften you up,¡± said Aberfa. ¡°And don¡¯t try to wake up. The time for allowing you to think that is a possibility is done. I¡¯ve taken off the kid gloves.¡±

    The monsters charged forwards, intent on ripping and tearing him to pieces.

    ¡°Then so will I,¡± said Brin.

    He reached with his mind into a secret pocket bead of ss, and pulled out the memories he¡¯d stored there. Inside, he found his best arguments.

    He¡¯d known the effect that calling Aberfa ¡°mother¡± would have on him, so before he¡¯d ever done it, he¡¯d made sure to store every single argument against her that he could think of in a memory, to be used when he was ready to break free. Then he¡¯d used every point of Mental Control he had to force himself to never think of it again until it was time.

    He¡¯d worried when he¡¯d made these arguments that they wouldn¡¯t still apply when the time came, but as he reviewed them, he found they were better than ever.

    ¡°Monster. You are not my mother,¡± said Brin.

    Shadow Aberfa froze in the air, and the army of monsters recoiled.

    ¡°My name is Brin isu Yambul. Aberthol Beynon was a sad, pathetic little boy and he died. He¡¯s gone and will never return. You are not the mother of my spirit. You are also not the mother of my body. The mother of my body was a living human woman named Aberfa. You are not that woman. You do not possess that body. You¡¯re nothing but a monster.¡±

    He felt the Wyrd shift, breaking down the oppressive structure that they¡¯d been building these past months, undermining her authority over him.

    ¡°Silence!¡± Aberfa screamed. She urged her beasts onwards.

    Brin summoned ss to form a wall of des around himself. He didn¡¯t use his magic, for once. Instead, he bent the dream to make the defenses appear. The first line of monsters impaled themselves on them.

    ¡°How?¡± Aberfa roared.

    Brin held up a ss bottle, a replication of the one Sion had given him. ¡°Potion of Lucid Dreams.¡±

    ¡°You think that can overpower me? I am a master of nightmares.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t need to overpower you. I just needed something for my arguments to grab hold of. Speaking of which, let me reiterate: You are not my mother. Even if you were, I would have no duty to listen to you. You are sadistic and cruel. You tortured Aberthol into such despair that he chose to end his own life rather than continue on. Any ims you had on him or me ended that day.¡±

    Aberfa urged her monsters to greater fury, and they began to break down the defenses he built. ¡°I am your mother. Everything I¡¯ve done, I¡¯ve done for you. I am the one who nursed you, who taught you, who prepared you for life.¡±

    A shing w, from a beast that looked like a giant praying mantis cut Brin through the stomach. He fixed it with a thought. ¡°You are not. I already have a mother. Her name is Lumina.¡±

    She appeared in a pir of light, as if calling her name also created her namesake. The beasts in a ten foot circle burned to ash as a red-robed woman descended from heaven to lightly touch down on the earth so softly it was almost as if the very earth itself were rising up to kiss her feet instead.

    Lumina peered around curiously from under her wide-brimmed red hat. ¡°Well look at this! How curious! What a treat.¡±

    ¡°A useless gesture. She¡¯s not real,¡± said Aberfa.

    ¡°And why should that matter?¡± asked Lumina. She flicked her wrist, a testing spell that shot forth a band of frost that carved a wide swath through the endless horde of monsters. ¡°Oh! Very interesting. Brin, might I assume that we¡¯re in your nightmares right now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Brin said. ¡°Can you help with this?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Lumina raised her staff and began to go to work. She didn¡¯t speak in the Language this time; Brin¡¯s mind wasn¡¯trge enough to replicate the power she could bring to bear with her words. Her presence here was more metaphorical, and because even in his dreams, neither he nor Aberfa could imagine her losing to anything.

    A shattering wind dashed whole fields of monsters to pieces. Others were engulfed in a city-sized tsunami while others were buried in the fire of a falling sun. Lumina brought an apocalypse to bear in every direction of the dream.

    He felt the dream start to copse as Aberfa tried to shove him back awake. Lumina threw her staff, and it transformed into four gigantic chains, moving in directions that didn¡¯t exist in three-dimensional reality. The chains had hooks on the end, and in a way that he could see butprehend, theytched onto the ends of the dream and held it into ce.

    ¡°How?¡± Aberfa gasped.

    Luminaughed. ¡°What ever could you mean? My dearest beast, I am an [Archmage].¡±

    ¡°Wait. Lumina, are you really here?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Aplex question. Suffice it to say that an [Archmage] must always be wherever she is,¡± said Lumina.

    Aberfa fled, and Lumina followed.

    Aberfa summoned back Alhaedra with its impregnable fortress, and Lumina smashed it to rubble.

    Aberfa turned into a rainbow to flee at the speed of light, and Lumina arrived at her destination before she did. She smacked Aberfa with her staff, causing her to shriek in pain. All the while Brin followed along in the air, scarcely more than a ghost.

    ¡°Flee from me, beast. Run!¡± Lumina cheered.

    Aberfa tried to bury herself in the earth, tounch herself into space or hide herself in the clouds. Lumina met her in each ce, burning her with fire or scouring her with lightning.

    Aberfa screamed in panic and lost her womanly form. Tentacles sprouted from her arms, and her body started to grow, her clothes melting into a monstrous form.

    ¡°No! Don¡¯t look at me!¡± She cast herself into the sea, and Brin felt her trying to tear the dream to pieces, shredding it so that even Lumina¡¯s chains couldn¡¯t keep it together.

    Brin found himself feeling real again, holding his spear on a beach. There were ck obelisks dotting the water, but the fog meant he couldn¡¯t see very far.

    ¡°No! Don¡¯t look at it!¡± Aberfa screamed.

    More monsters surged up from the surf, vicious-looking sea monsters. Lumina dispatched them with smaller, more concentrated strings of fire, and one even got close enough that Brin had to push it back with his spear.

    ¡°Almost there,¡± said Lumina. ¡°Eyes open.¡±

    She cast a bright explosion of fire into the sky, so bright it burned his eyes, but he forced them to stay open.

    The mist retreated, and Brin saw more of those ck obelisks¡­ no, they were a rock formation. The foothills of gigantic rock walls. There was a city up above in the distance. He knew where this was. These were the famous ck cliffs of ckcliff.

    ¡°Do you have what you need?¡± Lumina asked.

    The dream was copsing all around them. It would be over in seconds, but it didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°I do. Thank you,¡± said Brin.

    She gave him a half-hug, still holding the staff in her other hand. ¡°See you soon. In the real world, next time, hm?¡±

    Then it was over. He woke up and drew a deep breath into his nose, which was mostly blocked by his nket.

    ¡°I have it! I know where Aberfa is!¡± Brin shouted. Or rather, he tried to. There was something in his mouth.

    He¡¯d been gagged. His hands were tied. There was a wagon on fire in his narrow field of view, under the blindfold over his eyes.

    Bandits. The caravan was under attack, and he¡¯d already been captured.

 Book 3. Chapter 57

    Book 3. Chapter 57

    He was tied up, bound and gagged, and being carried. He felt the cool night air against his skin; his shirt had been removed and there was something wet on his back.

    So far he hadn¡¯t been injured, but he couldn¡¯t depend on it staying that way. He needed to do something. He needed a n. He felt groggy; it was hard to think. His Mental Resistance was telling him that there was some kind of magic trying to keep him asleep, and only actively deciding to wake up with the effects of the potion of Lucid Dreams still in his system had ovee it.

    He prepared to summon ss to cut the ropes off his arms and legs as well as stab the man carrying him all at the same time. He didn¡¯t want to speak and alert his kidnapper that he was awake, so he couldn¡¯t use the Language. It would be wasteful, but he would cast this the normal way, by forming his intentions in his mind. Once he had an appropriate image, he pushed mana into the spell.

    It didn¡¯t activate.

    The mana was winnowed away, into symbols drawn on the skin of his back. That¡¯s what the wetness he¡¯d felt was, someone had drawn enchantments onto his and the paint was still wet. No ss magic, but could he do light?

    He decided to try sound instead, just make a cricket chirp off in the distance somewhere to let him know if it was working. He formed the idea, then¡­ he didn¡¯t even get to the step where he could try pushing mana into the spell. There was nowhere to put it.

    There was no ss nearby. He¡¯dpletely forgotten about the [ssbound] limitation because he was so used to casting out of whatever ss happened to be nearest that he didn¡¯t even think about it any more.

    His ss rings, the ones he used to store memories, were all missing. The pouch where he kept the ss shbang balls was missing as well. Whoever was kidnapping him knew that he was a [sser] and had removed all ss from him as a precaution. He still didn¡¯t know if the spell written on his skin would prevent his light magic, and he wouldn¡¯t get to know. They¡¯d cut him off by ident.

    There had to be ss <em>somewhere</em>. His pockets might have some tiny sliver, even that would be enough. He couldn¡¯t reach them. A splinter in his fingers? He rubbed his hands together, trying not to move too much, and noticed Lumina¡¯s ring.They¡¯d left his ring. These people had decided to capture Brin, but even they weren¡¯t stupid enough to offend an [Archmage]. Or maybe they wanted it to remain on his finger to prove his identity? He couldn¡¯t guess their intentions now; he needed to escape. With the ring, he had a way. The secret dimensional storage had a water bottle, a couple potions, but most importantly, his most powerful spear.

    With [Multithreading], he split off four directed threads. He ordered two of them to make Invisible Eyes. One would give him an idea of his whereabouts and situations and then return as soon as possible. The other would search for his belongings and then return.

    Another thread was assigned to make the Self-Invisibility spell. He didn¡¯t even know if he could do these spells without [Memories in ss]. Self-Invisibility was especially hard, and he¡¯d barely practiced it, but he hoped that his high Mental Control had given him a better memory than he gave himself credit for. Thest he assigned to a Mirror Image. He was pretty sure he could do that one, even if the other one failed.

    All four threads could start forming the spells now, and then cast them as soon as he had ess to ss.

    He also noticed that he still had the wristband Hogg had given him. It would only give him a few seconds of invisibility, but that would be enough if his directed thread failed.

    With all four threads split off, the rhythm of his kidnappers shoulder digging into his ribs increased in tempo, but not by too much. Directed threads really were remarkably efficient.

    He waited, giving his threads enough time to do their magic. It was nerve-wracking to do nothing, and it might¡¯ve been foolish. The first rule of getting kidnapped was to get away <em>immediately</em>. You were never as strong or as close to freedom as the moment they first grabbed you, and every moment after that put you further into their control.

    He was patient. He heard voices shouting, but didn¡¯t think he heard any fighting. It was hard to tell. In movies, fighting was the loud sound of steel against steel, as people paired off for long, drawn out duels. In this experience, fights were brutal and short. There was a lot of shouting; that was all he could tell.

    A thread returned. Self-Invisibility had failed about a quarter of the way through the spell. He could try again, but it would be useless. He needed his ss back. With the [Memories in ss] of tracing the spell through Hogg¡¯s written instructions, he could guarantee a sessful spell every time. Without it, it was a roll of the dice.

    He waited, praying that his other two spells would seed. When a minute went by with no feedback, he assumed that they had been able to formte the spell and now they were waiting. It was time.

    The person holding him slowed down, jogging to a stop. ¡°I have him. Let¡¯s get out of here. Where¡¯s the captain?¡±

    A bunch of voices answered him at once.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not leaving until the [Caravan Master] opens up his wagon.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s your team?¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t told about any of that. This is a disaster!¡±

    Not good. Brin should¡¯ve tried to get away as soon as he¡¯d woken up. Now he was surrounded. Maybe this was a good thing? As the man carrying him tried to coordinate his orders with the group, he was distracted.

    Brin bucked, putting all his over-100 points of Strength into kicking himself off the man¡¯s shoulder. Heunched into the air, felt a panicked hand trying to grab him and miss.

    He hit the ground, and summoned his ss spear from the ring while activating his armband at the same time, going invisible.

    Just as he¡¯d hoped, he felt the pull of magic casting through the ss of his spear as the three remaining threads finished their spells.

    ¡°Catch him!¡± came a shout.

    The first thread returned, giving him an image of the surroundings. There were four men nearby. A [Cutter], a [Warrior], and two [Lumberjacks]. They were in the low thirties in level, except the [Warrior] who was level 25.

    Brin¡¯s mirror image was currently running away, and all four men were focused on it, giving Brin time and a direction. The mirror image looked a bit wonky; it had even copied the ropes around his wrists and ankles and they looked a bit strange, all stretched out so that the mirror image could run. It was the best his directed thread could do, and it was fooling them for now.

    He pushed off with both feet, crawling across the ground like a demented earthworm. He pushed from his back so that he¡¯d be able to still hold the spear with his bound hands and also in the hope that he¡¯d be able to scratch off the enchantment from his back. He also rubbed the back of his head against the ground, trying to move the blindfold. He pushed it away from one eye, letting him see what was going on, and the roadrash scraped his back raw.

    He tried pushing some mana through his spear. Nothing; it all got siphoned away to the enchantment on his back.

    ¡°It¡¯s an illusion! Find the real one!¡± yelled a man. The [Cutter] had caught up and run a knife through the Mirror Image. The directed thread returned. He sent it out again, telling it to make another Mirror Image, but he was out of time. The armband¡¯s spell faded, making him visible again.

    He made four more directed threads, one for each limb. <em>Hot light, as hot as you can make it. Burn the ropes!</em>

    He instantly felt the draw on his mana and the pain of fire where they burned, but it wasn¡¯t quick enough. The ropes singed and smoked, but it would take more time to break through. Time he didn¡¯t have.

    The [Warrior] was already starting back over towards him. He approached warily, even though Brin was still bound. ¡°Jace. Go get Ronnil. We need an Evdis over here.¡±

    One of the [Lumberjacks] split and ran into the woods.

    Brin tried to wrap himself around to get his ss spear to cut the ropes on his feet at least, but knew he wouldn¡¯t get it done in time.

    Suddenly he felt a tugging on his arms. <em>Marksi!</em> The little dragon bit ineffectually against the ropes, but then he opened his mouth wide and reformed his teeth into sharp daggers. His next bite went straight through them.

    With his arms free, Brin barely got the spear up in time to deflect the charging [Warrior¡¯s] blow; he¡¯d lost all caution when he saw Brin getting loose.

    Brin swung the spear awkwardly from the ground, just barely managing to parry the [Warrior¡¯s] shes. Wasting no time, Marksi snipped the ropes on Brin¡¯s legs. He rolled back and got to his feet, deflecting another thrust from the [Warrior].

    Newly free, he tried to rally and turn the [Warrior] back, but the man rebuffed every attack and shed at Brin with a few quick swings that were a hair away from taking his arm off at the elbow.

    This guy was good. No, he was perfect. That was the [Warrior] ss, making sure every blow was optimal. It also made him predictable, though. He felt like he was fighting someone who¡¯d been practicing the sword forms that Hogg had taught him for twenty years, but never branched out beyond that. He thought he could use that to win, but then he noticed the other two banditsing from behind. There¡¯s no way he could win one vs three.

    He turned and fled. The Mirror Image thread returned, having failed. Brin cursed and made three more with instructions to cast as soon as theypleted.

    Marksi yelped in rm, so Brin dodged to the side, and saw a man bowl straight through the path he¡¯d been running at top speed. It looked to be some kind of [Dash] equivalent, though he didn¡¯t have Zilly¡¯s control and had overshot by a dozen yards when Brin dodged.

    He turned, and now Brin had three bandits behind him, and one [Bandit] in front. This one actually had the [Bandit] ss.

    Brin leveled his spear and charged him. He didn¡¯t need to beat this guy, he just needed to get through.

    ¡°My back, Marksi! Get the spell off my back!¡±

    He felt Marksi licking his skin, then nibbling softly, trying to draw out the magic.

    Then he was at the [Bandit].

    The man blinked away from him, making Brin lose track of his whereabouts while also leaving a pair of shallow cuts on his arms and stomach. If this had been Zilly, she would go for his back next, so Brin turned around and swung, deflecting a vicious sh at the back of his legs.

    One of the threads making a Mirror Image returned, having failed.

    Hearing the others running up from behind him, he turned to run the other direction but the [Bandit] used his movement Skill again to cut Brin off. Brinid into him with a wild flurry of blows that seemed to surprise the [Bandit] with their intensity. He scored a couple scratches and forced the [Bandit] to back up.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Confusingly, Brin took some injuries as well. It seemed like every time his weapon hit his opponents, a new scrape would open up on his body somewhere, probably due to some [Bandit] Skill he¡¯d never heard of.

    It was working in his favor, though. The injuries all counted for [Battle Fury] and that quick exchange maxed it out, effectively doubling his stats. Rather than weakening and slowing down, he felt stronger than ever.

    There was a pinch on his back, and Marksi whined in frustration.

    ¡°Do whatever you have to do, Marksi. Just get it off me,¡± said Brin.

    Death Sense warned Brin, so he jumped to the side, avoiding a flying ax. The motion flung Marksi off his back, but then the dragonling leapt back on and then bit hard into Brin¡¯s flesh. He winced but forced himself to not make a sound. This would be hard enough on Marksi as it was.

    The energy pouring in from [Battle Fury] was intoxicating, but he knew he shouldn¡¯t let it get to his head; he was still severely outnumbered. He ran, and zig-zagged as the [Bandit] kept using his movement Skill to get in front of him. The changes in direction slowed him down enough for the other men to catch up. He focused on evading every blow, running, and dodging.

    Hisst two Mirror Images both finished, sending two Brins running in different directions. The ouws were only fooled for a few seconds, but those few seconds gave Brin precious time to get some distance.

    Marksi bit into his skin, gnawing away every trace of the enchantment. The pain would catch up to himter, but right now he hardly felt it, so focused on staying alive. Marksi whimpered as he worked, and Brin heard him spitting the skin and blood onto the ground rather than swallow it.

    Then, finally, he felt it. His magic returned.

    ¡°¡± He shouted in thenguage, sending a spray of ss bullets in all directions, and finally giving himself some space to work.

    The bandits drew back, hiding behind trees, but one of the [Lumberjacks] with a wooden shield charged threw them bravely. That was a mistake.

    ¡°¡± Brinunched his spear at the man, blowing through his shield and stabbing into his chest.

    ¡°Idiot! Stay in a group and ring him in!¡± shouted the [Warrior].

    Brin¡¯sst thread returned, the Invisible Eye he¡¯d sent to search for his belongings. There were a bunch of horses tied up to the west of him, and one hitched with an expensive-looking wagon that appeared to have been designed for speed. Brin¡¯s possessions were there; he just had to get close enough.

    Three more ouws chose that moment to arrive. He sent a spray of bullets at them, but no one charged in alone this time. Instead, they spread out around him while the [Bandit] with the movement Skill stayed in front of him.

    He didn¡¯t think he could fight his way out of this one. Should he surrender? He was pretty sure they wanted him alive.

    Marksi jumped down and stood between Brin and the enemies, chest puffed out.

    ¡°No, Marksi, just run away!¡±

    <em>No.</em>

    Just when he thought things couldn¡¯t get any worse, he heard a sound from the forest, like a coughing growl, but loud. There was a huge wolf in the trees, and as he watched two more stepped up behind him.

    [Inspect] called them Spinewolves. He was screwed.

    Then to his surprise, the wolves quivered and leaned forwards,unching a volley of spines like porcupine quills at the ouws.

    The wolves were on his side? He could figure this outter.

    With the ouws distracted by the new threat, Brin turned and ran. The [Bandit] with the movement Skill appeared in front of him, but he was ready. He pumped as much Mana into his spear as he could and stabbed.

    The [Bandit] probably thought he could dodge easily, but due to [Battle Fury] and his returned ss magic, Brin was much faster and stronger than in theirst exchange. He barely managed to avoid Brin¡¯s swing, but got a nasty surprise when the spear left Brin¡¯s hands, curving in the air to follow him. It gave him a nasty gouge in the shoulder, and he retreated, leaving Brin clear.

    Brin ran, fetching his spear back with a thought. He headed towards the wagon with his things, and thankfully Marksi ran with him. He heard more growls and roars now as if the entire forest wereing alive. Men were shouting, and this time he really did hear the sound of fighting from all directions. He ignored it all, and ran.

    He neared the bandit¡¯s wagon and saw that it was heavily guarded. He¡¯d hoped to get close enough to the wagon to be able to pull on his rings with ss magic, but one of the bandits he spotted in the distance was a [Rogue]. There was no chance that guy didn¡¯t already know Brin was here; he was just waiting for him to get closer.

    <em>Burn it!</em>

    He had an idea. He made a sphere of silence and said, ¡°Marksi, can you sneak past Zilly?¡±

    Marksi twitched his tail for <em>yes</em> and made a condescending expression.

    ¡°That guy has a ss like Zilly. He¡¯ll be hard to fool, but I need you to sneak past him and grab my ss rings from that wagon.¡±

    Marksi nodded and then used his camouge to make himself invisible to Brin¡¯s eyes, slipping into the night.

    Brin waited. Now that things were slowing down, he felt all the cuts the [Bandit] had given him and <em>Sacta Solia</em> his back! It stung so badly it made his eyes water. What had Marksi done to him? Besides save his life, but it was hard to feel grateful for that now.

    He stayed in the shadow of a tree and watched. The [Rogue] in the distance watched back, no doubt hoping that Brin would try toe a little closer. When Brin didn¡¯t move, he turned and walked over to talk to some of the other [Bandits], pointing at Brin.

    A bear charged out of the forest, attacking the bandits. It was just a normal bear, not a cherry bear, but it roared and charged with no thought to its own safety.

    Brin felt his ss; Marksi was close enough that he could ess it. He¡¯d done it. Without even waiting to see the dragonling arrive, Brin spun up some directed threads. One for Self-Invisibility, one for Mirror Image, and another for an Invisible Eye.

    Before any of them finished, he heard a trampling sound from nearby. The first group of ouws had caught up with him again. None of them had been killed by the Spinewolves, though some of them still had quills sticking out of them, and the [Bandit] that Brin had stabbed was bleeding freely.

    Brin made another thread, a normal one since directed threads wouldn¡¯t work for this, and gave it 10% of his attention. <em>Make me look scary.</em>

    The thread must¡¯ve been experiencing time at almost ten times normal speed, but it kicked in right away, using his mana freely to deepen the shadows on him and make his eyes glow red.

    ¡°You guys don¡¯t know when to quit,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I could say the same for you,¡± said the [Bandit]. ¡°Why don¡¯t you drop that spear and we¡¯ll forget any of this happened, yeah?¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ve made yourst mistake.¡± The thread making came through to alter his voice right at thest second, deepening it and making it boom out. ¡°<strong>Now die for it.</strong>¡±

    ¡°<em>Nocta¡¯s shade! </em>We weren¡¯t told about fighting no [Illusionists]!¡± shouted one of the bandits.

    ¡°A weak one,¡± said the [Warrior]. ¡°Stick to the n.¡±

    Brin¡¯s threads finished. He turned invisible, and then a mirror image appeared a momentter, charging the [Bandit] who¡¯d been giving him so much trouble.

    The Mirror Image went left and Brin went right. The [Bandit] guessed correctly and sliced through the Mirror Image with a sneer, but that left him open. Brin stabbed through his side, straight into his heart.

    <strong>You have defeated: Bandit [31]</strong>

    ¡°Here!¡± A [Rogue] arrived, and snapped open the lid to a bottle, throwing it on the ground. A pure, white light filled the forest, instantly dispelling all illusion. Brin¡¯s threads all returned, telling him that the illusions they¡¯d been tasked to create had failed.

    The Invisible Eye had figured out where the caravan was before it was dispelled, so Brin ran that direction.

    He created caltrops out of ss, throwing them behind him without even looking. Marksi squeaked, running along beside him but out of sight, and Brin jumped to avoid a flying dagger that would have hit his leg.

    His wounds burned, his legs burned, and he was out of breath, but this was the point of all that training he¡¯d been doing. His body still had plenty to give, and Brin sprinted for all he was worth.

    Suddenly, he reached a clearing, and he saw everything at once. There were dead bandits, dead animals, and even a few dead caravaneers. The remaining people of the caravan were circled up, spears out, and Pio was in front of them shouting at the bandits. Big Ron the giant boar stood beside him, covered in superficial cuts and looking angry and fierce.

    On the other side, the bandits had captured a [Merchant] woman. Their leader had a knife to her throat, and was shouting back at Pio.

    Both turned to look at Brin as he dashed out of the trees.

    ¡°Hold there or she gets it!¡± shouted the bandit leader. ¡°I have a spare back here!¡±

    He was right; one of his men held another struggling woman by the arms. Brin slowed, then stopped. He winced in pain and exhaustion. After all that, he was still going to get captured. Then he noticed something, and smiled.

    A ck coating seemed to crawl over the leader¡¯s de, the one he held to the woman¡¯s throat.

    The bandit leader noticed it, and tried to pull it into his captive¡¯s neck, but it didn¡¯t budge. Then he tried to pull away, but he was fixed in ce.

    ¡°You¡¯re out of time,¡± Brin said with a smile.

    ¡°Wha¨C?¡±

    The man exploded as a pure ck spear mmed down on him from above.

    More arrows, spears, and pure missiles of hard light flew into the bandits, decimating their forces.

    A [Rogue] shot out at Brin from behind, using [Dash] to move in a blur, but a stray arrow mmed into him, reversing his momentum and impaling him into a tree.

    It was a normal arrow, not from hard light. That wasn¡¯t something Hogg could do. Confused, he noticed that more arrows were flying amid Hogg¡¯s onught, taking out the quickest and sneakiest bandits.

    The two women who were captured stayed frozen in fear as all the bandits around them were cut down. It was only when Pio shouted them over did they snap out of it and flee towards the rest of the caravan.

    Silence fell. Brin turned to look for the next threat, but all the enemies were dead or gone.

    Two men walked around the bend. One was Hogg, and he was in thepany of a taller man in green, who looked oddly familiar. Hogg looked tired and sweaty, and his ck leathers were covered with a greasy-looking film. The other man looked like he¡¯d just stepped out of a high-ss salon in Oud¡¯s Bog. He was impably dressed without even a single speck of dust, and Brin grew increasingly sure he recognized him from somewhere.

    It wasn¡¯t until the man idly pulled his bow and shot at something Brin couldn¡¯t see that he put it together.

    ¡°Lurn!¡±

    The [Hunter] smiled at Brin and nodded. ¡°There he is. See? Safe and sound. Though, perhaps not sound. Those injuries look quite severe.¡±

    Brin looked down at himself. Luckily he hadn¡¯t been wearing a shirt or it would¡¯ve been ruined, but he hardly had any cuts on his legs. ¡°This is nothing. It¡¯ll be gone by tomorrow. Though¡­¡± he hissed when he remembered the wounds on his back. ¡°It stings a little.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But wait until you meet Marksi! Come here, boy!¡±

    Marksi squeaked in delight and ran to Hogg who scooped him up off the ground with augh.

    ¡°Charmed,¡± said Lurn with a wry smile. ¡°But don¡¯t we still have things to do?¡±

    For the next few hours, everyone was busy with the aftermath. Brin was relieved to find that Zilly, Myra, Davi and Sion were alright. The caravaneers had busied themselves by picking up the pieces, sorting through the burned wagons, and preparing the dead for cremation. Brin was relieved to see that the children had all endured the raid untouched by hiding in one of the wagons.

    After making sure the area was safe, Pio set off for ckcliff to get help. Hogg and Lurn headed off towards where Brin had seen the bandit¡¯s wagon to finish them off and take a few prisoners to interrogate.

    Brin stood in line with the injured, waiting his turn for someone with some kind of healing Skill to patch him up. He insisted that everyone with anything more than a paper-cut go in front of him, since [Scarred, but Healing] would do most of the work for him anyway. When [Battle Fury] expired he suddenly felt very woozy and needed to sit down, but luckily Myra was freed up from herst patient at about the same time. Her arms were red up to the elbows and she looked wan, but she quickly sewed him up. She couldn¡¯t do anything for the gouges on his back, but another [Merchant] with [First Aid] applied some bandages.

    With nothing else to do, Brin went back to his bedroll to see if any of his things had survived. His pack and bags were gone, but Hogg and Lurn would probably bring them back when they found the wagon. Only his bedroll remained, and that had been torn to shreds.

    <em>Wait</em>. Not just the bedroll. His enchanted nket had been torn to ribbons. The wooden idol had been shattered to splinters, and the jar of ashes had been broken and scattered.

    Someone had deliberately destroyed all his dream protections. This attack had all been for him.

    He also noticed that the jail wagon had been broken in half. The [Perfumist] was nowhere in sight.

    Oddly, there was no sign of Zerif. That couldn¡¯t be right.

    He asked Sion, who confirmed it. ¡°He never left his wagon. I saw Pio go in before he left, so he must be in there.¡± Sion lowered his voice, looking around furtively. ¡°In my opinion, the sooner Hogg returns, the better. People are starting to wonder if some of these deaths might have been prevented if the caravan¡¯s strongest fighter had been around to help protect us. It may be best to have a¡­ stabilizing presence around for when <em>our dear leader</em> finally shows his face.¡±

    Hogg and Lurn returned about an hourter. A ck ox made of hard light, looking like living shadow, pulled the bandits¡¯ wagon, filled to the brim with the caravan¡¯s most valuable goods.

    Hogg looked even more tired than before, but Marksi seemed happy. He gazed up at Lurn in keen interest while the [Hunter] exined something.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We didn¡¯t find her,¡± Hogg told Brin.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I think I know where she is,¡± said Brin. ¡°How long has Lurn been here?¡±

    ¡°About three days. Sorry, I couldn¡¯t let her know. But we should talk about this in private,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. There¡¯s something else you should take care of first,¡± said Brin.

    By now, almost the entire caravan had formed an angry circle around Zerif¡¯s wagon, and were calling for him toe out.

    ¡°Are we even sure he¡¯s in there?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°One way to find out,¡± said Hogg. He tried the door, but it was locked with something magical. He formed what looked like ck gloves around his hands; hard light, but he was still pretending to have shadow powers.

    Hogg grabbed the door with both hands and pulled it off its hinges. There was a loud <em>pop</em> and the door smoked, smelling like burnt sugar. He stepped inside.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¨C!¡± Hogg tried to hold anyone back from following him, but he was toote to stop Brin from seeing inside.

    Zerif¡¯s wagon was incredibly luxurious. A nice carpet, beautiful furniture, and everything trimmed in gold.

    The [Caravan Master] himself was standing against the far wall, quite dead. His arms and legs had been broken and wooden stakes had been driven through each of his lungs, pinning him to the wall. The sight was gruesome, even for Brin who¡¯d seen a lot of death.

    Hogg looked back at Brin and sighed. ¡°He didn¡¯t go easy. With his Vitality, stakes through the lungs are fatal but not fast. He probably threw away his ss and levels to end his misery. If he hadn¡¯t, we might have been able to save him.¡±

    ¡°Vicious. This was personal,¡± Brin said. It didn¡¯t take a lot of thinking to figure out who¡¯d done it. Everyone knew who¡¯d been thest person toe in here. The same person who was halfway to ckcliff by now, if that was really where he was headed at all.

    ¡°This was Pio.¡±

 Book Announcement: Bog Standard Isekai Book 2: Illusionist is now Available on Amazon!

    Book Announcement: Bog Standard Isekai Book 2: Illusionist is now Avable on Amazon!

    Pretty much what the title says. Book 2 has been stubbed here on Royalroad, and it''s live on Amazon for print and kindle. If those of you who have read it would hop over and give it a rating or review, I would be extremely grateful. The algo''s care about that sort of thing, so every review helps me continue to be able to keep writing.

    Looking back, it''s crazy that I''vee this far. My writing speed in the past waspleting a book in a year, at about 120k words. The three Bog Standard books have taken about six months each, which is quite a big jump since they''re around 180k words each. When Book 1, I was writing at a feverish (for me) pace, but Book 2 is the time where I took a look at my schedule and realized that I was going to burn out at 3-per-week and slowed things down to two updates a week. I think that really helped me deliver a better quality book, and it''s a schedule that I can do without pushing myself too hard or stressing myself out. For those worried about burn-out, I picked this schedule so I could avoid that and I''m going strong!

    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    That being said, after book 3 is fully posted on here, I will be taking a month-long break. This is mostly due to the fact that it matches up perfectly with a rather long family vacation that we''ve had nned for a while now. I hope toe back from that with a full outline of Book 4, an editing pass of book 3, and hopefully a few chapters head start, but to be honest most of the time I hope to just rx and hang out. For now, you can look forward to another two weeks of regr updates before that happens.

    Thank you all for making this happen. The amount of enthusiasm I see for Bog Standard Isekai still blows me away and I couldn''t do this without you.

    Please give me a review on Amazon if you can, just a reminder to that part! /amazon/B0D5ZBRQSR

 Book 3. Chapter 58

    Book 3. Chapter 58

    Hogg ignored Zerif¡¯s corpsepletely, and went to his writing desk. He pulled an odd piece of equipment out of his pocket, something that looked like a stethoscope and put it in his ears.

    Brin moved to open the wardrobe, but Hogg said, ¡°Wait! A guy like him will put traps on his documents to destroy them rather than let someone else see them. I have to do this carefully.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Brin, withdrawing his hand.

    ¡°So, you know¡­ get out of here,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    As he was leaving, Hogg turned back to the desk moving the device across it carefully but confidently, like he¡¯d done this a hundred times.

    Outside, he supposed that he would have to be the one to appease the crowd.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is he really dead?¡± someone asked.

    Brin thought quickly, trying to think of what he could say to get everyone to leave it alone while also not revealing what had happened. But did he even need to? This might just be his [Illusionist] instincts at work.He decided to go with the truth. ¡°Right now it looks like Zerif was working with the bandits and he directed the attack. We think Pio killed him in retaliation. We¡¯ll know more when Hogg gets done going over his documents, but it¡¯s a very tricky process to get them out without destroying them, so everyone else needs to stay out.¡±

    It probably shouldn¡¯t have surprised him, but even with how upset everyone was that Zerif hadn¡¯t participated in the fight, not everyone was ready to believe he was a traitor.

    It was Duelna, the [Merchant] he¡¯d met the first day on the caravan, who defended him the loudest. ¡°I¡¯ve been working with Zerif for years! He would never!¡± Several more people echoed her in support.

    Brin raised his hands. ¡°We don¡¯t know anything for sure, and any evidence we find will be shared with everyone.¡±

    Mumeli the [Dancer] stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯m third after Pio. No one is doing <em>anything</em> without me. Step aside.¡±

    Brin did. ¡°Like you said, I¡¯m not the boss. I¡¯m just telling you what Hogg told me.¡±

    Mumelis seemed a little surprised at Brin¡¯sck of resistance, but really he was more than happy to let Hogg deal with her. She hesitated at the door frame when she got a first glimpse of Zerif¡¯s corpse, but then firmed herself and stepped inside.

    Thinking quick, Brin said, ¡°Zilly, why don¡¯t you go see if he needs a hand, too?¡±

    Watching Hogg carefully break into Zerif¡¯s possessions would probably give her some good ss experience. Hogg would be annoyed, but if he had a problem with it he could toss them out himself.

    Zilly quickly darted inside the wagon before anyone could stop her.

    Brin wearily walked over to the wagon Lurn and Hogg had retrieved, and searched for his things. He threw on a shirt, decided that the blood and holes weren¡¯t enough to make him want to change his pants in the middle of the day in front of everyone.

    He decided to put on his leather armor, though. He didn¡¯t know exactly how his day was going to go, but he¡¯d be willing to bet it would be a long one.

    Annoyingly, his armor didn¡¯t fit very well. It was too small now. He had a hard time remembering that he was still growing, especially since Davi was still so much bigger. The armor was still better than nothing, so he put it on, pulling out the drawstrings everywhere to leave big gaps in ces.

    He found his spear with the wooden haft, but decided against recing the ss one he¡¯d used to fight the bandits. Everyone had seen it now, and they might believe he¡¯d summoned it, but it would draw questions if it disappeared again.

    All prepared, he made his way to Lurn, who was waiting a small distance away from the others.

    ¡°Did Hogg catch you up?¡±

    Lurn nodded. ¡°He filled me in on the details, yes. I arrived a few days ago and busied myself with hunting down any odd or exotic beasts in the area. Hogg thought, and I agreed, that the cause of your nighttime troubles¨C¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that. It sounds like I¡¯m wetting the bed,¡± said Brin.

    Lurn gave a sympathy chuckle. ¡°We thought the monster might be nearby. Then, when you revealed that she was a monster of the sea, we dashed ahead towards the shore. I dare to say we destroyed every sea creaturerger than a dolphin within ten miles of ckcliff. I got some nice levels out of it, and I dare say Hogg did as well.¡±

    Brin slumped. ¡°Oh. Then my lead is worthless. I thought I found her; I got an image of a location of where I was certain she would be in my dream, but it was really close to ckcliff.¡±

    Lurn shrugged. ¡°It might be worth a look. Tracking creatures underwater isn¡¯t my specialty. We might also try following that man¡¯s trail. Pio, I believe?¡±

    ¡°Hogg has suspected Pio from the beginning. We know Aberfa was behind some of the monster attacks earlier in the journey, but we never figured out her method. If she is controlling Pio then it would all make sense. If she can just reach out halfway across the world and start controlling any and all monsters, then why not people too? But if it¡¯s Pio, then she only needed to get one person working for her. That¡¯s a lot easier to buy.

    ¡°Yesterday, I asked him if he¡¯s ever been to the ocean and he said some of the dumbest things I¡¯ve ever heard. Pio is a <em>terrible </em>liar. But then today the bandits tried to capture me and Pio fought against them.¡±

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t assume that all of this is connected. Hogg told me that the bandits worked for Zerif, who is secretly an agent of Prinnash. You¡¯re a son of Lumina; that alone would give them motive.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but we know that Zerif had information that only could¡¯vee from Aberfa, and not Pio.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    Brin smiled at getting the chance to y Sherlock. ¡°Elementary, my dear Lurn. The bandits destroyed the sleep protections I had against Aberfa.¡±

    Rather than be impressed, Lurn frowned. ¡°Show me.¡±

    Brin did, although someone had moved them. In an attempt to restore order, someone had swept away anything broken or ruined, heaping it all into a pile at the edge of camp. Someone had actually folded them and ced them to the side; even torn in half, it was nice fabric. Maybe they knew he¡¯d retrieve the pieces, or maybe they were hoping he wouldn¡¯t.

    He held it up.

    Lun¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Bandits didn¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± It looked like a very even cut to Brin.

    ¡°This is quite literally what I do. I¡¯m sure. A beast bit it there, see the hole? Pressed the other side to the ground with a hoof and tore it in half.¡±

    Brin dropped it, stunned. ¡°Then¡­¡±

    ¡°Was there anything else?¡±

    He found the shattered jar first, with his affinity to ss.

    ¡°Picked up and dropped. I see traces of saliva, so probably with a mouth.¡±

    The broken idol was under some burnt nks.

    ¡°Smashed with a tusk. A beast did this.¡±

    Brin felt sick. ¡°A giant boar did this.¡±

    Lurn turned and dashed towards Zerif¡¯s Wagon. ¡°Hogg. We should away!¡±

    There wasn¡¯t an answer right away, so Lurn pounded on the door. ¡°We should go now!¡±

    Hogg opened it, looking peeved. ¡°This¨C¡±

    ¡°We have an answer,¡± said Lurn. ¡°Time is wasting.¡±

    Hogg winced. ¡°There are some sensitive things in here.¡± He nced around at the curious caravaneers.

    Oops. There were probably state secrets in there. Brin probably shouldn¡¯t have promised everyone that they could see what Hogg found.

    ¡°Perhaps I could assist.¡± Jeffrey stepped through the crowd, lute in hand. He turned and leaned against the wagon, strumming his instrument. ¡°I think that if we all thought about it, we¡¯d realize that we aren¡¯t really interested in the contents of this wagon. Whatever Zerif schemes entailed, it won¡¯t bring back the dead or repair broken trust.¡±

    The effect was immediate. Shafe-faced, the crowd retreated, back to the work of repairing their lives.

    Brin still didn¡¯t know if it was impossible to argue with Jeffrey, or if it was impossible to <em>want</em> to argue with Jeffrey. He thought his Mental Resistance was strong enough that he could do it, except that Jeffrey was definitely doing him a favor right now. Or was that just what he wanted him to think.

    Hogg winced, looking at Jeffrey with a pained expression. ¡°I hate to ask this¡­¡±

    Jeffrey nodded calmly. ¡°I will guard the wagon until your return. No one will even remember it is here.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Jeffrey nodded again. ¡°My apprentice will see to your [Bardic] needs in the meantime.¡±

    Hogg winced again, for a different reason.

    Jeffrey raised an eyebrow.

    Hogg sighed. ¡°He cane.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ming, too!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°And m¨C¡± started Myra.

    ¡°No way! Just no. This isn¡¯t some System preparation children¡¯s ss. We¡¯re going into realbat here.¡±

    Brin thought he¡¯d get a little pushback, but Zilly and Myra nodded silently and walked to the edge of the camp. Zilly deposited her pack with a [Merchant] after a few words, then he noticed Sion do the same, holding only his spear and a small satchel.

    Sion and Zilly started stretching and limbering up while Myra started cutting down the grass in the area, weaving it into rope. Brin honestly wasn¡¯t sure what Myra¡¯s n was, but it looked like Sion and Zilly really thought they were going to get toe along.

    Hogg red at them. ¡°What are you idiots doing?¡±

    ¡°Getting ready for a run,¡± said Sion. ¡°I will of course being as well.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°I thought you at least were better than this. There¡¯s no way you can keep up with us.¡±

    ¡°I can keep up with Brin,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Can you keep up with this?¡± Hogg turned and rubbed his hands together in excitement. Then he raised both hands and spoke. ¡°¡±

    A pool of ck ink appeared on the road and bubbled up and out like an oil spill. The puddle bulged and grew, expanding into a huge, elephant-sized mass. Then legs came down, bending unnaturally and around until there were three of them and two huge pincers. A tail separated itself out of the mass, growing up and around.

    In moments, a giant scorpion made of hard light had arisen from the ground.

    Brin whistled. ¡°Impressive. I thought you didn¡¯t like using the Language, though.¡±

    Hogg grinned. ¡°It would be a waste to spend all that time around Lumina and not learn anything. Besides, things change. You aren¡¯t looking at a [Shadow Conjurer] any more. I¡¯m a [Shadow Mage].¡±

    He wasn¡¯t either, probably a [Mage of Hard Light], but Brin wasn¡¯t going to ruin the moment. He pped Hogg on the back. ¡°What? That¡¯s amazing! Congrattions! We need to celebrate.¡±

    Hogg smiled like a toddler on Christmas morning. ¡°I know. I gotta say, Epic sses are a whole new world. It was all those fish monsters we ughtered. The ocean is <em>full</em> of nasty things, even close to shore. Just wait until I tell you about¨C¡±

    Lurn cleared his throat. ¡°Perhaps now is not the time?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Hop up!¡± said Hogg. He lifted his arms to the side, and ck wings sprang from his back to lift him up and on top of the head of the giant scorpion. It was a bit of an impressive disy, at least until Marksi jumped up after him and Hogg picked him up and pulled his jacket around the little dragon to shield him from the wing.

    Brin and Davi awkwardly climbed up the legs, while Lurn sprang to the top of the scorpion with a single casual hop, unflustered as if he did this sort of thing every day.

    The scorpion wasted no time in skittering forward as soon as Brin got on top. He grabbed a hold of the edge of a piece of chitin, and when he did the monster elerated even faster. The hard light wasn¡¯tpletely frictionless, it could be grasped, but it was still very slick, like soapy ss.

    The scorpion dashed forward. Every time Brin thought he was getting a hang of the ck creature¡¯s top speed, it sped up even faster. The trees whipped by to either side, and when the road grew too narrow, the scorpion''s tail streaked forward, quick as lightning, to bend the trees out of the way.

    There were other travelers on the road, lots of them as they neared ckcliff, but the scorpion zipped past them,pletely ignoring their cries of rm and shrugging off the arrows or rocks from the few people who reacted quickly enough.

    The one problem was the wind. He had to hold on tight, just to make sure he wouldn¡¯t go flying off, and he saw from Davi¡¯s white-knuckled grip that he had the exact same issue. Hogg totally could¡¯ve made a vehicle of some kind, with a windshield even, but he¡¯d chosen to make a giant shadow scorpion. And people thought Brin was the child.

    He tried to yell at Hogg to let him know how silly this was, but the wind carried his words away.

    He felt the faint tingle that told him Hogg was calling on his sound magic, and then he heard Hogg¡¯s voice. ¡°Just speak normally. We can all hear you.¡±

    Brin did. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you make a shield for this air, or some proper seats.¡±

    ¡°I could, but¡­ but that would look stupid!¡±

    Brin sniffed. ¡°And I¡¯ll grant that this thing moves a lot faster than I expected, but I bet a ne would be even faster.¡±

    ¡°A what?¡±

    ¡°A flying machine,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get it to work. In the air at least. I cooked up something for traveling underwater that works wonders.¡±

    ¡°I can attest to that,¡± said Lurn.

    Brin watched the surroundings blur by for a while. It was a strange fact of moving fast that no matter how fast you were going, eventually you got used to it and started to wish that you were going even faster. Sure, the road and the nearby trees were moving by so fast it was hard to see, but the horizon didn¡¯t seem to change at all, and neither did the clouds in the sky.

    Lurn broke the silence next. ¡°You could have brought them, you know.¡±

    ¡°What? The kids? You¡¯re kidding. You¡¯re thest person I¡¯d expect to want to bring along a bunch of fool teenagers,¡± said Hogg.

    Lurn shrugged. ¡°The way that foolish teenagers grow to be wise adults is through conflict. The best way is to face minor peril under the supervision ofpetent adults.¡±

    ¡°Minor peril?¡± asked Brin. ¡°You seem awfully confident that we can beat Aberfa.¡±

    Lurn shrugged again. ¡°Actually killing the monster I¡¯m hunting was never the hard part for me.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the hard part?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Let me tell you something that my trainer told me. <em>Anyone</em> can kill <em>any monster</em>. I mean that. Levels, sses, whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter. Levels can be gained, sses can be earned, equipment can be purchased. If you are willing to do what it takes, to put in the time it takes, you can do it. The pride of mankind isn¡¯t our strong arms or our swords or even our bows. The glory of mankind is intelligence. With time, preparation, the right equipment, and careful nning, the lowest [Washerwoman] can kill even dragons.¡±

    Marksi made a squeaky harrumph. <em>Other dragons, maybe. He was too clever.</em>

    ¡°The hard part,¡± Lurn continued, ¡°has never been killing the monster that I was hunting. The hard partes in surviving the monsters that I didn¡¯t expect. The ones that are hunting me.¡±

    Brin gave that some thought, and Davi repeated the words, singing them to himself under his breath. ¡°...levels can be gained.¡± He looked like he forgot that Hogg¡¯s spell was sending everyone his words as he repeated Lurn¡¯s entire speech. When he noticed them all staring at him, he scratched his head, looking suddenly embarrassed.

    ¡°Sorry, I just wanted to remember what you said. I never forget anything that counts as music, so I sing it.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± said Lurn. He turned to Hogg. ¡°Do you really mean to leave them there? At this point they¡¯ll be worn out before we arrive.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask them to tag along,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Brin asked.

    Neither seemed keen on answering him, so he activated a directed thread to scout around with an invisible eye. He also cast a sheet of ss for himself to use as a viewscreen. If that short spell Hogg had given him earlier worked, he should be able to project an image onto it.

    The directed thread returned soonter with a failure; it hadn¡¯t been able to figure out how tobine the spells. He should¡¯ve expected that; directed threads were only good at doing things by rote. He made a regr thread, giving it 10% of his brain space, and let it know it was allowed to use additional resources if it needed them.

    A minute or twoter, he felt the drain on his magic, and saw something appear on the screen. Davi scooted over to watch beside him.

    The view was insane. As crazy as it was to be on a giant ck scorpion, watching it tear down the road from a little bit away was absolutely mind boggling. Hogg wasn¡¯t being subtle here.

    Had he decided to be more open with his powers? More likely, this was for Brin. Because there was no way to be subtle at the speeds they needed to travel, so he¡¯d sacrificed his anonymity for the sake of Brin¡¯s mission. No, he probably didn¡¯t care about that. He¡¯d done this for the sake of Brin¡¯s closure.

    He was so caught up in thought that he missed it, but luckily his thread wasn¡¯t caught up in introspection. The image on his ss zoomed in. There was something hanging off the back of the scorpion.

    Thick green ropes were tied to the back of the scorpion''s tail, holding three irresponsible teenagers. Myra was sweating and pale with mental strain as she fought to keep them together. Sion was hanging on for dear life, his eyes shut and teeth in a grimace. Zilly was trying to hold on to the ropes while also keeping Myra and Sion from falling, three things to grab with only two hands.

    As he watched, ck saws cut the ropes, and then grasping ck tentacles shot out from the back of the scorpion to wrap around all three of them. Zilly fought for a moment, but they grabbed her hand and pinned her back against the wall. When she figured out that they were helping her keep from falling rather than something unseemly, she slumped in relief. Myra dropped her ropes, gasping and crying a little in relief, while Sion kept his eyes shut though his mouth started moving, a prayer from the looks of it.

    Well, they¡¯d probably learned their lesson, whatever that was.

    ¡°You actually let theme?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t stop them. There¡¯s a difference.¡±

    They could see ckcliff off in the distance. The city was dark; maybe early in the night there would be a gxy of twinklingmps, but right now it was an hour before dawn and the city was asleep. Ity in repose upon a steep hill, rising steadily towards the shore, as if no one had thought to tell them that the sea was in that direction.

    The hill cut off abruptly, into the shape of breathtaking ck cliffs, the namesake of the city. They were ominous and otherworldly, and startlingly beautiful in the darkness. Maybe in his old life he would¡¯ve rather seen them in the day, but with his darkvision this was the perfect time. Every detail was visible in the starlight, but no ssh of color tried to make the cliffs look anything but ck.

    The cliffs faced the ocean, and ck islets jutted out of the water near the shore like towers, stark and somber.

    Brin¡¯s thread returned, but he sent it out again. This time, he sent his thread to look for the ce he found in his dream. Hogg was already starting to turn to curve around the city. Soon, he¡¯d need directions.

    The ss lit up with a new image as the new invisible eye was cast. Brin watched in a trance, wind rushing by his ears. He saw thendscape leap past as the Invisible Eye surged forward, passing houses and trees, farms and fields, people who were already turning the other way to look at the ck scorpion.

    The image passed walls, buildings, and then suddenly everything was gone and it was soaring out into space over the ocean.

    It halted, turned the other way, and now it was flying along a path he recognized. He¡¯d seen this path in his dreams. He followed the trail, the direction that he and Lumina had gone, hunting Aberfa in his dreams. He found it. Columns of ck cliff, shallow water near the shore. Here. This was the ce.

    ¡°Hogg¨C¡±

    ¡°I see it,¡± said Hogg.

    Then Brin followed the path for a third time as Hogg carried them along it. Time seemed to blur by, because before he knew it, they¡¯d stopped and Brin was setting down on the rocky shore of the ce he¡¯d seen in his dreams.

    He heard Myra, Sion and Zilly being let down from the scorpion; one of them retched. He heard Davi saying something to them, but he could scarcely listen to them. His attention was fixed on the water in front of him.

    It was utterly surreal being in a ce that he¡¯d first seen in his dreams. Deja Vu in the worst possible way.

    Hogg put a hand on his shoulder, but even that didn¡¯t fully snap him out of the eerie feeling. ¡°We searched here. We searched everywhere.¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s down there.¡±

    Hogg opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again.

    Something broke the surface of the water; a head gasping for air. It was Pio.

    ¡°No. No!¡± Pio gasped.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe on out of there and tell us what¡¯s going on,¡± Hogg called.

    ¡°No! Not when I¡¯m so close!¡±

    ¡°Did you kill Zerif?¡± Brin asked. ¡°Pio, why?¡±

    ¡°He betrayed us! He¡­¡± Pio panted, out of breath. ¡°He called those bandits on us. He directed those bandits! We all came to Frenaria for a new life, a new start, but he still keeps one foot in Prinnash. That alone would be enough. If he were discovered it would lead us all to ruin. But then he goes and attacks his own caravan? He kills good men of Prinnash? I could not bear it.¡±

    ¡°You made all those monsters attack the caravan. Isn¡¯t that the exact same thing?¡± Hogg asked.

    Pio tread water, eyes frantically searching the water for something. ¡°It¡¯s different. You were never in any real danger.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem that different to me,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You¡¯ll understand. Soon you¡¯ll understand why. It will all be worth it. You¡¯ll see. I just need to¨C¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen enough,¡± said Hogg.

    ck bullets flew through the air, but Pio dove underneath the water again before they hit him.

    Brin expected to see red in the water, or maybe he expected to see Pio being dragged back out and up.

    Instead, the water started to boil. Just like in his dream, when Lumina boiled the ocean. Had she actually done that, or just said that she could? Either way, it seemed like Pio could, because the ocean started to churn and froth white and bubbling, in a huge circle for a hundred feet in each direction.

    But Pio didn¡¯t have water powers. He could control beasts; and that¡¯s just what this was. As Brin watched, an army of sea monsters rose up from the depths below.

 Book 3. Chapter 59

    A huge bulking form distorted the surface of the water, but Brin didn¡¯t even get to see what it was before a wave of ck spears from Hogg stabbed it back down.

    The roiling waters calmed for a moment, but no one was fool enough to think that the fight was over. Brin could still faintly see the dark shadows of creatures beneath the waves.

    He looked between Hogg and Lurn and his mind was called to one of his Skills that he often forgot about. Not because it wasn¡¯t good, but because it worked so seamlessly that he often didn¡¯t realize he was using it. [Battle Sense]. And what his Skill was telling him was that neither Lurn nor Hogg were all that worried. The optimal path to victory would be for both of them to charge into the waves, or better yet shoot arrows and projectiles of hard light into the water.

    Instead, they were going to wait for the monsters to surface. Either they aimed at letting the teens get some practice in, or they didn¡¯t want to reveal their full power until they had a better idea of what they were up against. Whatever the case, the fact remained that the two heavy hitters weren¡¯t going to take care of everything. Things were going to get exciting really soon.

    In thest few seconds of quiet, he sent out a directed thread to make an Invisible Eye, find out where Pio was and what he was doing, and then report back.

    The water started to froth again.

    ¡°Davi, y my song,¡± said Brin. He hoped his [Bardic] friend remembered the Doom music.

    ¡°No,¡± said Davi. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to y <em>my</em> song.¡±

    Brin wasn¡¯t sure what song that was. Did he mean the Natsu theme Brin had done that one time?Davi saw the confusion on his face and grinned. ¡°It¡¯s time to let you in on a little secret about Jeffrey. That guy really doesn¡¯t care about anything other than music. He doesn¡¯t worry about the political situation in Frenaria or anything. The only reason he didn¡¯t start singing the Epic of Hammon¡¯s Bog right away was¡­ because he wanted me to make it.¡±

    A humanoid fish monster with huge ck eyes and a mouth full of shark teeth sprang from the ocean, and immediately took an arrow to the head.

    ¡°It¡¯s still a work in progress, so don¡¯t judge but¡­ it¡¯s time.¡±

    The ocean erupted in a frothy spray as dozens of insectile creatures burst from the water. They ran across the surface of the water, unheeding those that fell to Lurn¡¯s arrows. When they reached the shore, Zilly and Brin ran forward to meet them, and Davi¡¯s song followed them.

    It started out with a solo, sounding almost like heraldic trumpets. The actual tone was electric and triumphant and full of energy. Brin wouldn¡¯t have guessed that Davi would start a song this way, straight into the action with no build-up, but then again it was practical. If he was going to use this song to boost his friends in a fight, then it needed to start off with a bang.

    It definitely banged. Brin felt the energy thrum in his body, and his spear effortlessly tore through the monsters as they approached. He flowed smoothly and naturally, instinctually weaving around and through the horde, dealing wounds with every stroke.

    He wasn¡¯t sure which monster gave him his first death notification; it was difficult to separate them, but he took note that the System called them Giant Water Skeeters.

    Zilly moved at his side, shing through the horde with wild abandoned. He saw her use an [Overload] to dice a Skeeter in two, then kick both pieces at oing opponents. In the brief instant it took them to push the obstacles out of their way, she¡¯d already [Dashed] away to stab yet another Skeeter into the ground.

    Sion stayed by Davi, keeping his spear at full length to ward them away.

    The huge thing Hogg had pushed down with spears of hard light groaned deep and so loud it was audible from underwater, and then lifted itself up. Hogg sent his giant ck scorpion forward. Itshed out with its stinger, and an enormous hand with webbed fingers rose up from the water to catch it mid-strike.

    The giant underwater monster rose. A huge toad-like face appeared from the water, then its massive body. Still holding the scorpion¡¯s tail, it mmed into the scorpion with a massive fist, breaking a ck leg off at the pace. The scorpion pressed forward with both pincers, locking the giant sea monster in a wrestling match.

    Davi wrapped up the solo and began to sing.

    <em>¡°Upon the day the Scarred One came,</em>

    <em>An orphaned child without a name,</em>

    <em>We saw in him a premonition,</em>

    <em>And cast upon him dark suspicion.</em>

    <em>From that day forth, a curse was cast,</em>

    <em>For of those who left, none came back.</em>

    <em>Into the forest, dark and deep,</em>

    <em>They vanished all, in shadows steep.</em>

    <em>Arise ye bond men, go to!</em>

    <em>I press ahead withrades true.</em>

    <em>I shall not dodge nor shift mine stance,</em>

    <em>With friends beside me I advance.</em>

    <em>To left or right I will not stray</em>

    <em>For trust and honor cannot sway.</em>

    <em>No stepping back and no retreat,</em>

    <em>For courage in our hearts must beat.</em>

    <em>A warrior knows but one true course,</em>

    <em>Forward bound with steadfast force,</em>

    <em>Attack, ye men of Hammon¡¯s Bog,</em>

    <em>Towards death and victory through the fog!¡±</em>

    As Davi wrapped up the first verse, a Skeeter slipped past Sion, aiming at him with ws like scythes. Davi stopped it with a rib-crunching kick and then stomped down to go straight into another solo without missing a beat.

    Brin and Zilly wore down the Skeeters¡¯ numbers until they switched from trying to swarm to hit and run tactics. Brin stopped being able to catch any of them, and when he started throwing projectiles of ss at them with Language-empowered spells, they dodged those as well. Myra held them down with her threads, and together she and Brin started to take down the stragglers one after another.

    Only Zilly was quick enough to catch them alone, but they led her into an ambush, trading the life of one of their number for a couple of deep gouges on her sword arm. Another Skeeter went for her neck, and Marksi appeared just in time to bite down on the arm and pull it off target.

    She [Dashed] back to Myra who immediately started to sew her wound shut. Brin and Sion moved side by side to defend them while she worked.

    Meanwhile, Lurn had joined Hogg in taking down the giant. He sent arrows into the monster''s joints, locking its ability to move while the scorpion steadily tore chunks out of its flesh.

    <em>¡°Then at night the army came</em>

    <em>With ranks of dead and ck of name</em>

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    <em>Beset our gates by fearsome might</em>

    <em>And we repaired them through the night.</em>

    <em>Yet tireless was the foe we faced,</em>

    <em>And fought relentless for our gates.</em>

    <em>Brave Prefit Elmon, bold and true,</em>

    <em>Led forth a charge, our spirits grew.</em>

    <em>And this is what he said: </em>

    <em>Arise ye bond men, go to!</em>

    <em>I press ahead withrades true.</em>

    <em>I shall not dodge nor shift mine stance,</em>

    <em>With friends beside me I advance.</em>

    <em>To left or right I will not stray</em>

    <em>For trust and honor cannot sway.</em>

    <em>No stepping back and no retreat,</em>

    <em>For courage in our hearts must beat.</em>

    <em>A warrior knows but one true course,</em>

    <em>Forward bound with steadfast force,</em>

    <em>Attack, ye men of Hammon¡¯s Bog,</em>

    <em>Towards death and victory through the fog!¡±</em>

    The ocean roiled again as a group of six giant crabs the size of sedans skittered from the surf. At the same time, Brin saw a flicker of movement behind him. Two undead, each about seven feet tall, charged towards them silently with unnerving speed.

    They had huge eyes, lean bodies, and long ws at the end of each brown-stained finger. He recognized these things, but [Inspected] them just to make sure.

    Name Elder Kukubaru Level 40 Race Undead Description This variant is known for tearing its favorite snack from the contents of its living victim¡¯s bowels.

    Brin thought he could maybe take one of these things, and Myra and Zilly could work together to fight the other, but he had no n for the crabs. He needed Hogg and Lurn¡¯s help. What were they even doing?

    Sion saw the problem, too, and nodded with resolve in his eyes. ¡°Time to break out the expensive stuff. What is money for, if not this?¡±

    He pulled a golden bottle out of his small satchel and drank it. He immediately puked, and the vomit erupted into me at his feet.

    Then his breath ignited, and me covered his whole body and his spear. It didn¡¯t consume him, somehow, or even singe his clothes. He smiled, and that seemed to heighten the intensity of the fire, making Brin draw back.

    Sion turned and charged the crabs. They all froze when they felt the heat, and when Sion leapt on top of one it shrieked in pain. He drove his spear straight through its shell, and the crab sizzled and died. The other five scattered, and the remaining Skeeters fled back into the ocean. Sion turned to the others, grinning.

    Brin summoned a pair of javelins. ¡°¡±

    The Kukubaru he was aiming at sidestepped both, deforming his own shape to dodge as if it were made of water. Zilly met the other in the air, knocking it back as it pounced. She fought with her off-hand, her right arm dangling uselessly.

    <em>¡°Our walls came down, our city burned,</em>

    <em>Our bravest warriors dead and turned,</em>

    <em>We huddled few, the scant remains,</em>

    <em>With weeping wounds and plenty pains,</em>

    <em>Were set upon by endless hordes,</em>

    <em>And their mocking, wicked, witchy lords.</em>

    <em>Til scared the Scarred One liftedrge,</em>

    <em>And hefted de and led the charge.</em>

    <em>And this is what he said:¡±</em>

    The Kukubaru fought with a ferocity like nothing he¡¯d ever faced. Itpletely ignored the shallow wounds he managed to make in its body and charged forward. While he tried to back up, dodge, and deflect, it swung in quick, unpredictable swipes that seemed toe from every direction at once. Hepletely gave up attempting to cast any ss magic and focused on staying alive; even so, those first few seconds might have ended him if not for Myra tripping it up with threads.

    ¡°Help Zilly! I can handle this!¡± Brin shouted.

    He pushed as much ss magic as he could through his body to summon and shoot a barrage of ss bullets at the undead beast. It probably could¡¯ve run straight through them but it didn¡¯t know that so it backed up and tried to dodge, and took a few superficial wounds.

    Brin used the brief reprieve to think about this. This was an undead. Why was it here? Pio didn¡¯t have that power. There must be a [Witch] nearby. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he felt it. There was Wyrd everywhere, controlling the Kukubarus andying curses to disease the flesh of his friends even as they fought.

    Brin created a thread of regr thought, and gave it twenty percent of his mind. <em>Find her.</em>

    Time was moving faster for him now, however, and when the Kukubaru charged at him, they both took wounds. That was fine. Brin¡¯s injuries just made him stronger, while the Kukubaru was starting to wear out.

    With onest burst of effort, he pushed as much ss magic he could into the bullets lodged into the Kukubaru¡¯s body.

    ¡°¡±

    He heard a faint <em>whumph</em> and then Kukubaru copsed.

    You have defeated: Elder Kukubaru [40] Shape ss leveled up! 33 -> 34

    He risked a nce to his friends. Myra had tied down the feet of other Elder Kukubaru, but Zilly was still having a hard time finishing it off. Sion had killed four of the giant crabs and the other two were keeping their distance. His me was starting to putter out.

    Hogg and Lurn were pressing the giant sea monster back into the waves. It was all but dead, only a matter of time now. They were doing it.

    He heard a call from the forest, an angry squeal from a giant hog. Big Ron was crashing through the trees, and an army was at its back. Cherry bears, spinewolves, and a host of other forest creatures were bearing down on them, and he got the feeling that this time it wasn¡¯t to save them.

    ¡°<em>Arise ye bond men, go to!</em>

    <em>I press ahead withrades true.</em>

    <em>I shall not dodge nor shift mine stance,</em>

    <em>With friends beside me I advance.</em>

    <em>To left or right I will not stray</em>

    <em>For trust and honor cannot sway.</em>

    <em>No stepping back and no retreat,</em>

    <em>For courage in our hearts must beat.</em>

    <em>A warrior knows but one true course,</em>

    <em>Forward bound with steadfast force,</em>

    <em>Attack, ye men of Hammon¡¯s Bog,</em>

    <em>Towards death and victory through the fog!¡±</em>

    Hogg¡¯s giant scorpion cracked, shuddered, and then broke apart to disappear in the air. The giant sea monster he¡¯d been fighting was dead. Hogg turned to send a volley of ck arrows into the oing monster horde. For Big Ron, he sent a pair of shackles to bind him and hold him in ce, and the giant boar thrashed and fought, tearing himself free despite Hogg¡¯s considerable magical might.

    Out of nowhere, Brin¡¯s thread returned, along with a slew of memories. He¡¯d found the trace of Wyrd connecting the Kukubarus to the [Witch] controlling them and then used a directed thread to make an Invisible Eye and follow the Wyrd to the source. He¡¯d connected the image from the Invisible Eye to a pane of ss that he¡¯d summoned at his feet.

    Looking down, Brin saw it was there. He picked it up, and saw that the image was focusing on the top of one of the ck spires; a line of sheer ck rock jutting up from the ocean with nothing on top of it. The image wasn¡¯t moving, the directed thread clearly thought that this was where the [Witch] was.

    She could be hiding. She¡¯d had one illusion-aspect familiar under hermand, what¡¯s to say she didn¡¯t have another?

    He ran to Lurn who was quickly but calmly sending arrow after arrow into the oing monster horde.

    ¡°Can you hit this?¡± he asked, shoving the ss into the [Hunter¡¯s] face.

    Lurn considered for a moment, and then nodded.

    He turned around, pulled a very expensive-looking arrow from his quiver, aimed, pulled, and loosed.

    The arrow streaked through the air, and Brin wondered if it was really going to hit. The target had to have been at least half a mile away. If Lurn could really kill an invisible enemy at this distance¡­ maybe Brin should¡¯ve given more consideration to the [Hunter] ss.

    The arrow disappeared to Brin¡¯s eyes before it struck, but when it did it exploded, destroying ten feet of solid rock on the tip of the spire.

    This much power in a Common ss? Lurn¡¯s ss had to have evolved to Rare by now. He would askter.

    ¡°Got her,¡± said Lurn. ¡°There was a [Witch] up there! Good eye. I didn¡¯t even see her.¡±

    Brin didn''t see a death notification for her, but he got something else.

    Call Light through ss leveled up! 37 -> 38

    ¡°You can be a little scary sometimes,¡± Brin said tly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you would say such a thing,¡± Lurn. Without looking, he loosed three arrows, finishing off the two giant crabs that Sion had been struggling with.

    Brin just shook his head.

    Hisst thread took that moment to return. This was the directed thread he¡¯d sent to watch Pio, so now he had the memory of watching the [Beast Master] under water.

    Pio had swam desperately back and forth across the bottom of the sea floor, picking up rocks and setting them down, desperately searching for something. All the time Brin and his friends had been fighting above, Pio had been down here. Brin¡¯s Invisible Eye had also noticed a ck ball in the water, one of Hogg¡¯s Visible Eyes. Hogg had been watching this, too.

    Pio had finally moved one boulder out of ce to find a pure white pearl, and once he faintly touched it with his finger it disappeared into a plume of mud that spread out and filled the water around him.

    Brin¡¯s directed thread hadn¡¯t really understood anything it was seeing; it wasn¡¯t much for any thought at all and the memories had been oddly detached from thought or opinion. Brin wasn¡¯t sure what he¡¯d seen and the directed thread hadn¡¯t cared. Its assignment had been to follow Pio, and now Pio was gone. It went into the muddy cloud and found that a tunnel had been opened up in the ground below. It followed the tunnel going down, deep into the earth, before leveling off and going up again.

    His Invisible Eye sensed that it hade into some kind of cave, but he couldn¡¯t see anything even with his darkvision. The thread knew it would need to make light to continue hunting Pio, but wasn¡¯t sure if that was aloud. It had opted to return.

    ¡°We need to follow him!¡± Brin shouted to Hogg, but more for the benefit of the others.

    Hogg¡¯s storm of ck arrows had mostly halted the advance of the monster horde, but he hadn¡¯t killed them all. Now they were creeping around from behind cover and looking for ways to get close without being seen, and more were arriving every second.

    Lurn loosed an arrow struck a cherry bear right through a poison sac and into its heart, sending it to the ground. ¡°Go. We¡¯ll hold here.¡±

    Hogg shoved a white pill in Brin¡¯s hand, for water breathing ording to his [Inspect]. He washed it down with hisst potion of anti-sleep from Calisto.

    ¡°Come on,¡± said Hogg, and grasped Brin by the arm. Together, they dove down into the deep.

 Book 3. Chapter 60

    Book 3. Chapter 60

    The tunnel below was totally ck, even to Brin''s darkvision, and he hardly had any time to get used to breathing underwater. He really was breathing the water, and it was an intense experience. He could feel the cold liquid moving down his trachea, the way it filled his lungs making him feel heavy, how it didn''t push in and out as easily as air. His body panicked; he choked and tried to cough but couldn''t. He would be hyperventting if he could, but the weight of the water forced his lungs to move slower.

    He thrashed uselessly in the dark, until he felt a tform under his feet. It started to press him forwards, deeper into the water.

    "Calm down, that''s me. I''ll carry us both along, no sweat. How are you doing there?" Hogg asked, projecting sound straight into Brin''s skull. "I gave you Water Breathing because it''s a lot easier to get used to than Unbreathing if it''s your first time, but if you can''t handle it just nod and we''ll turn around and have you take the other one."

    Couldn''t handle it? Brin could handle anything. He forced his mind to calm, forced his arms to stop thrashing and took a deep, slow breath of a-- of water. Brin shook his head.

    "Good. This tunnel is strange. There''s no telling when we''ll be there. Keep your eyes open."

    Brin hoped he meant metaphorically, because he''d long since shut his eyes against the rushing water.

    He tried to think of something that could help. There wasn''t much he could do except make light, and he was hesitant to do that. Hogg must''ve had some way that he was scouting ahead. He probably just had better darkvision from some Achievement. He might not actually have the [Rogue] ss, but it was obvious that he had more than a passing familiarity with that kind of life.

    Since there wasn''t anything else he could do, he decided to prepare his arguments. He made a thread with half his brain power, and directed it toe up with the best possible words in Language for propelling the enchanted ss spear at his target. Then his main mind would prepare his arguments in the Wyrd. He''d use everything he had against Aberfa right from the start and try to kill her with his strongest attack the moment she showed her scaly face.

    Time must''ve sped up, but it was hard to tell with no sight or sound. He only had touch left, so the only way to measure time was by the water running past his skin and the rhythm of his slow breaths in his chest. Now that he had gotten used to it, breathing water was oddly...fortable. There always seemed to be enough oxygen, probably due to the potion, so in a way it felt more natural than breathing air. It almost felt like he wasing home.That reminded him that he was supposed to be preparing an argument. It wasn''t hard. Aberfa wasn''t his mother. His real mother was in hisst life, his adoptive mother was Lumina, and his birth mother had been the human that Aberfa used to be. The monster he called Aberfa was nothing to him. He had a duty to mankind to remove a threat. He had a duty to Aberthol to avenge him. He had a duty to himself to eliminate the danger to his life and sanity. He could feel it, his righteousness and anger. His body practically thrummed with the Wyrd.

    The other thread returned not too long after, and he had his Language as well. Even if Aberfa won in the Wyrd, which she wouldn''t, adding the Language would give him another level of power. Nothing fancy. One throw, one kill. Otherwise, Hogg would probably finish her off before he got the chance.

    He was ready well before they arrived at their destination, so he fixed the solution in his mind so as not to lose any details of his argument.

    Then there was nothing left to do but wait in dread and anticipation. He would be sweating nervously, except the cold water wicked all of that away. The deeper they went, the more the pressure of the water bore down on him until there was an acute pain in his ears. He wondered how much his Vitality protected him against water pressure. He''d never dived deep enough to find out.

    They popped out of the water, taking him by surprise. One moment he was calmly breathing out a lungful of smooth liquid, and the next minute he was gasping and choking on the new air. Breathing water or air was fine, but the mix of both sent him choking and heaving onto the floor. He stumbled forward as the hard light tform disappeared, and blinking the water out of his eyes, he realized he was in arge stone chamber.

    It stank badly of rotting fish and he immediately saw the bones and remains of several aquatic species. There were signs of exotic nt life here and there, strange mushrooms and flowery vines hung from the ceiling. More than half the floor of the room was water, which swirled and roiled strangely.

    As for light, he could see, but didn''t know for sure where the source of light wasing from. It was just barely bright enough for his darkvision to make out the main details.

    Pio was there. The [Beast Master] stood facing one group of the flowery vines. He shot a hand out at Brin and Hogg when he saw them arrive to warn them back. "Wait! I''m almost finished and then all will be clear!"

    Brin wasn''t in any condition to speak, as he was still hacking the water out of his lungs, but if he could he would''ve told Pio that things were already pretty clear. He hoped he was wrong about what Pio was doing, but he was pretty sure he wasn''t.

    "Please. Please! Now is the time. I have done all that was required. Now submit to me. Your power is mine tomand. You are mine!"

    Brin wanted to sigh. Instead he struggled to his feet and hefted his spear. In a coughing, shaky voice he muttered. "So Grendle said to Eli. You have done all I asked and so from this day forward I am yours. I am your Master."

    Hogg didn''t speak, but nodded to show he also remembered the [Puppeteer¡¯s] story.

    "No. NO!" Pio took a step back, then fell backwards as denial changed to despair. "No..."

    Brin [Inspected] him, and the notification flickered as if it were unsure.

    Name Pio Melo Age 34 Level 45 ss Beast Master

    Brin tried again. The notification responded more slowly this time.

    Beast Master

    He canceled the Skill and then activated it onest time. The popup appeared immediately.

    Beast ve

    Hogg threw a bolt of hard light at Pio, and an ear-piercing shriek sted it to pieces. A ck curtain of hard light filled the space between the two of them and the rest of the cavern, cutting off Brin''s view of what was happening. Another scream came, crumbling the edges of the wall, breaking it down bit by bit.

    Hogg chanted, ""

    All sound ceased. Brin felt Hogg¡¯s sound magic create a powerful wall, rebuffing all sound-based attacks. It wasyered; the outside opposed all sound while the inside reproduced a vacuum where sound couldn''t pass. He must''ve chanted it out loud for Brin''s benefit. Brin immediately started a directed thread on reproducing that spell to protect himself.

    Everything was silent, but that didn''t mean nothing was happening. Hogg¡¯s ck wall crumbled and then broke apart, and Brin could feel the sound barrier giving way as well, all under the power of a violent, unceasing scream.

    Hogg sent a volley of spears to strike at Pio, then a giant hammer, then a thousand little bullets. All of them were dashed to nothingness before they reached him.

    Pio clearly wasn''t the source of the scream, but Hogg must''ve been focusing on him due to his ss. As a [Beast Master], he had Skills to directly empower the monsters under his control. Brin would be willing to bet that a [Beast ve] empowered the monster controlling him.

    He didn''t need to look for her long; she''d been there the entire time. The flowery vines detached themselves from the walls, and a huge ugly mass of limbs climbed down from the ceiling. Those weren''t flowers at all, but growths like sea anemones that dotted the tentacles in ce of suckers.

    To be honest, he''d expected a mermaid-like creature, but this wasn''t humanoid at all. Beautiful, in its way, but also strange and somewhat tragic. There was no face. If she had eyes, he couldn''t see them. No ears, but a loud voice to yell orders and a hundred limbs to put a finger in every pie.

    Monster Matriarch (50) This is the matriarch of the race "Aberfan Siren". She hunts using shockwaves that stun or kill fish in the water. Additionally, any creature that hears her scream is subject to her invasion of their dreams, allowing her to huntnd animals by luring them to the water.

    Her scream was unceasing, seeming to not need to take a breath, and getting louder by the second. The terrible sound scoured the stone and dashed Hogg''s constructs into nothingness. He kept summoning missiles to send against her, but they broke apart before they could get close.

    He packed ss magic into his spear, and it drank freely, seeming to be able to take in endless amounts of mana. This is what he had made it for, but it still shocked him how greedy it could be. In the moment it took him to chant his spell, it drained half of his mana pool. "¡±

    The spear shivered in anticipation. Brin took onest moment to firm up his argument, reinforcing his hatred now that he could add Pio to the list of victims.

    He hated the fear, the never knowing what would happen when he fell asleep. He hated thete nights, the early mornings, and working with half his brain because of the exhaustion. He hated the torture. He hated what she''d done to Cadwy and Aberthol. He hated how small she made him feel. He hated her.

    "" he shouted.

    Time seemed to slow down as the spear hurtled towards Aberfa. He saw Hogg try to clear the path with a quick ck shield that hit the shockwave in front of the spear before breaking apart. He saw Pio try to stand and shield Aberfa with his body, only some part of him was resisting and his jerky movements were too slow. He saw Aberfa recoil, trying to move, toote.

    He saw his spear, gliding forward, cutting through the sound, glistening in the faint light.

    He saw his spear crack... and break.

    For a millisecond outside of time everyone froze in shock, but Aberfa recovered first and yelled with a wave of sound that flung the broken pieces of the spear in every direction.

    She pinned the full force of her power on Hogg, pushing him against the wall and dragging him up and down in a furious attempt to end him. He bled from his eyes and ears but didn''t falter in bringing his magic against her in a vain attempt to push her back. With terrible effort he brought one hand to his back where he pulled out one of his ck shortswords.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Swiping downward, he somehow cut through Aberfa''s magic, and then in a sh there were three Hoggs. One real one, and two Mirror Images made of hard light. Brin knew which was the correct one right away, but Aberfa didn''t.

    She focused the full force of her scream into the one in the middle, destroying it instantly, but she''d chosen wrong.

    The real Hogg was running to the right, flinging bottles and firing wands, burning through his consumables.

    Still stunned by the failure of his spear, Brin forced himself to start thinking again. Hogg was fighting to the right, which meant that Brin had a clear path to Pio on the left. The thread that Brin had created with instructions to copy Hogg''s sound shield returned with clear instructions on how to reproduce it. That gave Brin an idea.

    He sent out another directed thread to make the shield, but telling it to make a bubble around him and Pio, then he ran towards the still-prone [Beast ve].

    As he ran towards Pio, he summoned a small ss dagger in his hand.

    When he arrived next to him, the sight of Brin with the dagger seemed to shock Pio out of his stupor.

    "Ha. You really think you could?"

    Brin shrugged. "Not really. I''ve seen you fight. But I have to try, don''t I?"

    Their voices were oddly muted as any sound that hit Brin''s bubble was instantly snuffed out. Only the wail of Aberfa could be heard, at almost bearable levels. But Brin could hear well enough.

    "Doesn''t matter. I can help you. The problem is levels, yes? Then let me help." Pio took a deep breath, hesitating, then let it out. "Kukubaru, kukubaru, kukubaru."

    Brin knew it had worked when he saw the pain in Pio''s eyes. That was a very particr type of pain, and you couldn''t understand it unless it had happened to you.

    He used [Inspect].

    Name Pio Melo Age 34 Level 0 ss Forced ss selection in progress.

    "Give her one from me, yes?" Pio wheezed.

    "I will. Thank you."

    The effect on Aberfa was immediate. The overpowering shout dwindled in power now that her [Monster ve] wasn''t funneling his power into her anymore. Hogg''s sound shield now held against her, and some of his weapons of hard light took nicks out of her flesh. She twisted and fought,shing out at him with her twisted limbs, but meleebat was Hogg''s specialty and he punished every attempt.

    She began to withdraw, fighting backwards towards the water at the back of the cavern.

    Brin honestly wasn''t sure if she''d make it or not. Hogg was gaining a lot of ground, giving her wounds and trying to cut her off, but she was still a level 50 Monster Matriarch. She might escape, and if she did, he was certain he''d never get another chance at this.

    Why had his spear failed? Nothing else he tried would work unless he knew why he''d failed. If his spear broke it should''ve exploded, releasing all the pent-up energy. Why had it just... fallen down?

    He knew the answer in the Wyrd. Because that was his mother over there. Not his real mother, maybe. Not his only mother, definitely. But he''d used that word with her and he''d meant it, and that undermined every other argument.

    A man like Brin could not kill his mother with hatred in his heart.

    Seeing his hesitation, Pio picked something off the ground, and handed it to Brin. It was a piece of his spear, two feet of haft with a jagged, broken end. All his power was still in there, waiting to be released.

    Brin took the spear with a grateful nod.

    He dismissed his threads; he needed his full mind for this argument if he was going to pull it off.

    The argument had failed because that wasn''t who he was. It was stupid, he knew, but if he had ended things like that, some part of him would have regretted it for the rest of his life. It wasn¡¯t that the argument was false; he¡¯d agreed with every part of it with his whole heart. The problem was that it was¡­ dark. So much hatred and revulsion. Was there no ce in that argument for the fact that there were a few things about Aberfa he also liked? That was the problem. It wasn¡¯t wrong, but it was iplete.

    He didn¡¯t just hate Aberfa, there was more, as much as it shamed him to admit it. He¡¯dughed at her jokes, he¡¯d listened to her opinions, he¡¯d studied at her feet. He understood her, too. She¡¯d be exactly what her society had told her was best and it had ruined her. He pitied her.

    That was the key. He knew what his argument had to be.

    He spoke, pushing his voice towards Aberfa with sound magic, so that their Wyrd would sh and his words would be carried to her.

    "Aberfa. I understand now. One cannotplete a mission of Filial Piety without paying due respect to his parents. But now my parents are fighting, so I will take a cue from your nation and act as Mediator. Never fear, I will not weigh my father¡¯s desires against yours. I will mediate for you alone. I will do what''s best for you."

    Aberfa turned her full attention on him, sting him with her shout. Hogg could''ve taken the opening and finished her, but instead he moved his hard light and shields of sound to protect Brin.

    Brin stepped forward.

    "At first nce, I might think that the best thing I can do for you here is to aid your escape. But no one wants that. You don¡¯t even want that. You don''t want to be a monster for the rest of your life, and whatever happens here you''ve lost your chance to capture me. Arcaena will never forgive you. You will never be a [Witch] again."

    He kept moving forward, closer. The conflicting magics rent the stones on the floor, but Brin didn''t trip.

    "It''s true, I could turn myself in. I could let you torture me and ept your n. You im that you hurt me because you are doing what you think is best for me. But that''s not what''s best for <em>you</em>. I would forget everything, but you, you would remember. You would always remember that your husband never loved you back. You would always remember the things that you did to your son. Your son that you loved! You would always know what you are. You can pretend that you''ve separated yourself from your dark side; you haven''t. You can pretend that you don''t care, that it doesn''t bother you; you do. It does. You are in torment."

    Aberfa struggled and fought, drawing closer to the water. She was shaking herself out of Hogg¡¯s control and nearly free. Brin walked at a slow, but inevitable pace, building the Wyrd.

    "Don¡¯t you see? I¡¯m doing this for your own good. It wouldn¡¯t be right for you to have to live an entire life remembering what you¡¯ve suffered, what you¡¯ve lost, and what you¡¯ve done. Aberfa, I forgive you for everything and wish for you only the best. I¡¯m giving the only thing I have to give you. I¡¯m giving you mercy.¡±

    Aberfa¡¯s front limbs reached the water. She started to pull herself underneath, and the ck chains of hard light that Hogg used to hold her back began to crack.

    It was now or never.

    Brin didn¡¯t shout, almost regretting the words of Language he needed to say. ¡°¡±

    He threw. The spear released from his fingers as if fired from a cannon, finally free of any kind of doubt.

    Onest scream from Aberfa struck him at the same time that his spear flew through her body. This one was different, instead of trying to break him down or push him into sleep, it was a messy, fric mashup of shapes, voices and images. He¡¯d stored this entire fight in ss, though, so he could look at itter.

    For now, the only thing he could think about was the System message in front of his eyes. It was over.

    You have in: Monster Matriarch (50)

    Extra experience is rewarded for defeating a monster above your level. Experience split between party members.

    An Achievement has been upgraded. Monster Hunter II -> Monster Hunter IV You have defeated more than 65 monsters and have in the Matriarch of a monster species.

    +10% growth to all attributes -> +20% growth to all attributes.

    Improved resistance to sound-based attacks. Improved travel speed under water. Improved Monster Sense - You may now sense monster intentions through the Wyrd, even when no sh of magic is present.

    You have earned a new Achievement! Dreamguard You have defended your dreams against a powerful monster.

    Dramatically improved resistance against mental and soul maniption while sleeping. You need less sleep for full restfulness. You can control your dreams.

    Level up! 35 -> 36 +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    Level up! 36 -> 37 +5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

    You have 3 free General Skill points. Assign them now?

    Before he could celebrate, there was something he needed to do. He fell to his knees, careful not to fall all the way to his face. He was exhausted, but he had enough left in the tank for this at least.

    He began with the rote prayer that Elion the priest had given him. ¡°Sancta Solia, Sancta Maxima Solia, you guard the river and stand at the gate. Nourisher of fields and protector of the mothers of children. Praise be to your love and praise be to your peace.

    ¡°Guide this woman, Aberfa, on her journey, great Solia. She has done many wrongs and suffered terribly for them. Let all guilt pass from her as her life passes from this world. Send her somewhere else, somewhere new. Somece where she won¡¯t have to be Aberfa anymore. Amen.¡±

    He didn¡¯t know if Solia would listen to her prayer. He had no clue what happened in the afterlife, except that some people got isekai¡¯d. He also didn¡¯t much care. If Solia wanted to punish Aberfa then it wouldn¡¯t be on his ount. He was done with her.

    He stood, feeling a little silly, but that¡¯s how he always felt praying when people were listening. Well, who cared what they thought? Anyone who had never killed the mother of the dead child whose body they¡¯d been reincarnated into, couldn¡¯t understand.

    There was one more notification he was expecting. It didn¡¯te.

    Silence descended on the cavern, though his ears were ringing. Everything was still, except for the water. That was still roiling in the odd, unnatural way.

    Brin created a ball of light and hung it in the air and heard a chorus of screams. Tiny little wails, like Aberfa¡¯s, but with none of the power behind it.

    The pool behind Aberfa was full of little creatures all made of tentacles.

    He [Inspected] one.

    Aberfan Siren (juvenile)

    ¡°Oh, <em>Nedramus¡¯ Beard!</em>¡± shouted Hogg, figuring it out at the same time. He cast a flurry of ck spikes into the water, but it was toote, the herd of little creatures were already fleeing. Hogg could kill all the ones here, but no one could tell how many had already escaped into the ocean. No one but the gods.

    Alert! Optional hidden mission failed. Mission 3.5: Prevent a new evil from entering the world by destroying your monstrous half-siblings.

    That was¡­ a little unfair, wasn¡¯t it? Well, whatever. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to be rebellious after his attempt at an earnest prayer, so he let this one go. In all honesty, he probably would¡¯ve gotten the optional Mission if he¡¯d treated this whole thing with a bit more urgency. He¡¯d puttered along for two months, stringing Aberfa along and stretching things out, although he wasn¡¯t quite clear on what he could¡¯ve done differently. Something to think about another day; the messages weren¡¯t over.

    Mission Seeded. Mission 3: Free your mother from her abominable fate. Reward granted: Filial Piety upgraded. You receive Mental Fortitude to always know what must be done. +100% Mental Control attribute growth.

    He remembered the first time [Filial Piety] had given him the choice of three options. Looks like he would eventually get all three. The next one was Strength, and all he had to do was let his half-siblings know how Cadwy died. A letter would probably do, but he didn¡¯t think it would be appropriate. He¡¯d visit them in person.

    Hogg stepped up to him. ¡°Come on. We should head back up before your pill of Water Breathing wears out. You can read your notificationster.¡±

    Brin remembered the horrible feeling of the water filling his lungs and shuddered. ¡°Do I have to?¡±

    ¡°I guess not. You could live down here if you want.¡± Hogg tossed Brin the head of his broken spear, still thrumming with power. Brin wasn¡¯t sure what to do with it, but decided to bring it back anyway.

    He took one second look back, and noticed Pio. The man looked utterly defeated, and his lower stats from being level one again didn¡¯t do much to protect him from the cold or heal his injuries. He was pale, bleeding in several ces, and his lips were blue and chattering.

    ¡°What about him?¡±

    ¡°Take me up to prison or leave me here to die. It makes no difference,¡± said Pio.

    ¡°Well,e on then,¡± said Hogg, and pulled another Water Breathing pill from his pocket. ¡°Better take one of these.¡±

    Brin helped him to the water, and together the three of them made their ascent.

 Book 3. Chapter 61

    Book 3. Chapter 61

    Expelling all the water from his lungs wasn¡¯t any easier the second time. He didn¡¯t puke because there was nothing in his stomach, but the sensation was the same, as well as a panicked feeling like he was drowning, suffocating, sneezing, and hupping all at the same time.

    He tried to see what was going on, but couldn¡¯t force his eyes open until thest of the water was coughed out his lungs. He¡¯d be sure to ask Hogg to practice using Unbreathing pills. He never wanted to go through this again.

    When he finally stood, breathing wet but normal breaths, he saw that the ckcliff Watch had arrived. That was no surprise¨Cthis was right outside the city. What was a surprise was that they weren¡¯t shouting, giving orders or arresting anyone.

    ¡°Give them some space, please. They are friends. We¡¯ll all have time to answer your questions, but you must give us a moment to collect ourselves,¡± said Sion, and to Brin¡¯s shock, the Watch obeyed. They nodded and took a step away from Hogg and Brin, and busied themselves by surveying the damage and counting the dead monsters everywhere.

    The whole area was a wrecked battlefield. Monster corpses littered the ground and floated in the water. Lurn walked from corpse to corpse, retrieving his arrows. He waspletely pristine from head to toe, no sign of dirt and not a drop of sweat.

    Brin¡¯s other friends looked wrecked, but dly all still ounted for. Sion had taken a few new scratches since Brin had seen himst, but looked energetic and somewhat excited. Zilly was covered with wounds andy on her back, while Myra and Davi looked tired but hadn¡¯t taken injuries that he could see.

    ¡°Sion. Why can you give orders to the ckcliff Watch?¡± Brin asked.

    One of the Watch raised his gauntleted head so fast that it made his helmet clink and he gave Brin a hard stare, but still didn¡¯t say anything.

    Sion raised his hands in conciliation. ¡°No one is giving orders! My apologies Captain; my friend haspletely failed to understand. I¡¯m only making polite suggestions, that¡¯s all, as an interested party. I have no desire to interfere with this investigation. Not at all! And the Watch has no desire to offend the Wogan Mercantile Group. There¡¯s no reason we can¡¯t all get what we want, is there?¡±¡°Should I have heard of the Wogan Mercantile Group?¡± Brin asked Davi.

    Davi shook his head in disbelief. ¡°<em>Sancta Solia,</em> Brin!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to find out this way,¡± said Sion.

    A sob interrupted their conversation. Pio, who¡¯d been staring stunned at the carnage now fell to his hands and knees on the ground, tears streaming from his face.

    He wept openly, uninhibited as a child, and Brin stood next to him awkwardly. What could he say? All these dead animals really were his fault.

    The guards all turned suddenly, their hands going to their weapons, and Brin turned to see what they were afraid of. Big Ron stood a distance away in the trees, and he¡¯d begun moving forwards. He was much smaller now, pony-sized rather than the giant he¡¯d been before, and he was covered with loose ropes that had been driven into the ground with arrows.

    Brin put together that rather than kill him, Lurn and his friends had tied the giant boar down, restraining him. Then when Pio had reset his ss, the boar had shrunk and now the ropes were so loose he could simply step out of them.

    Big Ron walked over to Pio and pressed his snout against his face, sniffing.

    Pioughed. ¡°Ah ha! We are still friends? I have no power to give you strength.¡±

    Big Ron oinked. That seemed to give Pio the power to stand, and he did so, wiping his eyes.

    ¡°It is well. [Beast Master] is a stupid ss. It is a sick ss in a sick System. When you really love animals, when you understand them and are good with them, then people will give you the job of killing the animals.¡±

    Pio began to walk away.

    The Watch looked at Sion with questions in their eyes as to whether they should go after him and arrest him. Brin was also curious.

    Sion lowered his trademark smile for only an instant and said under his breath, ¡°Zerif got what he deserved.¡±

    Brin nodded, and that was that.

    He gave onest nce at Pio, using [Inspect] to see what ss the System had given him.

    Name Pio Melo Age 34 Level 1 ss Druid (Epic)

    Pio was never one to wear a shirt, and now he kicked the boots off his feet. He walked, side by side with his best friend, away into the forest.

    That reminded Brin that he still hadn¡¯t checked on his own best friend. He started to dart around, looking frantically, until Davi noticed the worry in his eyes and pointed.

    Marksi was sprawled out on a rock, belly distended and fast asleep. The remains of some horrible ocean thing that looked like a cat crossed with a toad and was covered with bright venomous-looking spikesy beside him. It looked like Marksi had eaten half his body weight of strange monster fish and then passed out. Pretty normal dragon stuff.

    The Watch had questions for all of them, and Brin followed Hogg¡¯s lead in answering or evading them, such as the case may be. He wanted nothing more than to copse in the sand and have a nap, but had to deal with the aftermath.

    After a while, the Watch turned more of their questions to the ¡°real¡± adults, namely Hogg and Lurn, giving the rest of them a chance to sneak away. Zilly slipped away first, without anyone noticing. Myra politely asked if she could step away, and when the captain impatiently nodded, Brin walked away as well. Sion managed to slip away shortly after that.

    Soon, the five of them walked down the shore. After they got past the dead monsters, it was quite scenic, and a beautiful morning.

    ¡°I¡¯m d I decided to see this to the end, though the transportation method left something to be desired. Hanging from the tail end of a giant scorpion. No one will believe me when I tell this tale!¡± said Sion.

    ¡°Why did you decide toe?¡± Zilly asked. ¡°You¡¯re not really a fighting type ss. You could¡¯ve given that potion to me or Brin and helped just as much.¡±

    Sion nodded. ¡°This is true. You know, when I left home I hoped that I would find an adventure. I took every precaution to ensure a quick and short journey; my parents would ept nothing less, but I still hoped. But then a real adventure dropped straight into myp. How could I not see it to the end? Even if I did not always know what it was about.¡±

    Stolen from its rightful ce, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I suppose I owe you an exnation,¡± said Brin. He really didn¡¯t want to exin anything. He <em>really</em> didn¡¯t want to. But was that just his ss talking? They deserved to know.

    ¡°I think we pieced together most of it,¡± said Zilly. ¡°First, Hogg told us there was a monster attacking you in your sleep. We figure it was a familiar of another [Witch] from Arcaena who wanted revenge for you killing Siphani. Then we fought that [Witch] with the Wisp familiar. That was the monster''s master, right?¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°No, that was something else. The monster attacking my dreams used to be a [Witch], but she changed herself too much and lost her ss.¡±

    ¡°Hey, is it true your name used to be Aberthol?¡± asked Zilly.

    ¡°Who told you that?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°So it is true!¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°I think Aberthol is a very nice name,¡± said Myra. ¡°Much nicer than Brin.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not my name, though. Aberthol is dead.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, I know! I wasn¡¯t saying¡­ It¡¯s a nice name, is all!¡± Myra said, looking flustered.

    Brin decided he could say a bit more, just to fight against the pressure his ss was putting on his personality. ¡°There¡¯s one key detail you guys are missing, though. The monster who used to be a [Witch] also used to be m¨C Aberthol¡¯s mother.¡±

    That drew a round of gasps, and the crew all stared at him in shock, wide-eyed. Then Zilly narrowed her eyes and slugged Brin in the shoulder. ¡°Oh please! Shut up. She was not.¡±

    The tension released as all four of them burst intoughter.

    ¡°You really had me going!¡± said Sion.

    ¡°Unbelievable, Brin. Inappropriate!¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Cheesy storyline straight out of one of Gustaff¡¯s movies,¡± Zilly said with finality.

    Only Davi said nothing.

    Brin smiled and shrugged. Some day he¡¯d tell them all the full story. Baby steps.

    ¡°What I want to know is what lies in ckcliff?¡± asked Sion.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°You faced monsters, bandits, and danger of every sort. You withstood deprivation and stayed steadfast, nothing swaying, all in service to your quest to get to ckcliff. What I want to know is what¡¯s so important that you would risk anything to get there?¡±

    Brin, Zilly, Myra, and Davi all looked at eachother, waiting for the others to respond.

    Davi went first. ¡°Nothing in particr. Another city is another stage. That¡¯s the life of a [Bard].¡±

    A quick [Inspect] told Brin that Davi had misspoken. The big guy wasn¡¯t a [Bard] anymore.

    Name Davi Pimental Age 14 Level 35 ss Skald

    ¡°Nothing for me. I¡¯ll probably just find another caravan from here,¡± said Myra.

    Zilly answered, ¡°I¡¯m just here because you guys are here.¡±

    ¡°Hogg has some business here, but it¡¯s the first of many,¡± said Brin.

    Sion deted. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be in town for a few weeks at least,¡± Brin added, trying to reassure him. ¡°And then it¡¯s probably Prinnash for me. I need to tell some people what happened to their father to finish one of my Achievements.¡±

    Davi and Myra traded nces at that. Davi firmed his expression and looked back to Brin. ¡°Right. We¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I can¡¯t go to Prinnash.¡±

    Brin felt his stomach sink a little. Of course he knew that his friends weren¡¯t going to follow him around forever. There would be times where their lives took them in different directions. But did it have to be now?

    ¡°Why not?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Because my home is in Hammon¡¯s Bog! Even if I did want to take off for another country, I have to go where Jeffrey goes. I still have a lot to learn.¡± said Davi.

    ¡°We all do,¡± said Myra as she fiddled with the unbreakable thread that she¡¯d woven back into a bracelet on her wrist. ¡°We¡¯re gaining levels like crazy, but that¡¯s going to stop now that we¡¯re all past thirty. The people that really go the distance are the ones who have a strong foundation. We need teachers, and we need to know all the little things that can¡¯t pick up from simply following your Skills. We need an education, the kind you must have gotten in Arcaena. Weaving is something I can sort of learn by doing, but fate¡­ is not the same.¡±

    Brin couldn¡¯t argue with that. His ss¡¯s utility was going to explode in the next few weeks now that he had [Multithreading], mostly because now he could utilize all the things he learned in his past life.

    But what sort of education did [Weavers] get? He tried to think of the thing Aberfa had said way back when. She¡¯d talked about some secret of [Weavers], about why Myra should have [Thread Mastery] instead of [Thread Maniption]. What was that word again? ¡°Snathain.¡±

    Myra¡¯s head snapped up. ¡°How do you know about that?¡±

    ¡°I just heard the word once.¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t know about that.¡±

    ¡°What is it? A secret school for [Weavers]?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Well if it was, then it would have to be a secret, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± said Myra.

    ¡°I could tag along to Prinnash,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°And I would be delighted to act as your guide in my homnd,¡± said Sion. ¡°Assuming our schedules cooperate. I¡¯ll have to bow to the will of my family, now that I¡¯ve been so brazen about utilizing our name and reputation.¡±

    The young [Merchant]unched into a long exnation of the duties he would be expected to assume now that he was done with his rtively anonymous adventure. Writing reports, counting stock, filing paperwork, attending dinners and parties with nobility, reading inventory lists. Half of it sounded like chores and half of it sounded like humble bragging, and the rest of them teased him andmiserated in equal measure. Brin was relieved that no-one made a huge deal out of the fact that Sion was apparently very rich, but then again, no one had made a big deal out of the fact that Brin was rich, either. He should¡¯ve expected it; these were good Hammon¡¯s Bog people, not dirty, envious city folk.

    It was a nice day, and all the more valuable for the fact that moments like this would soon be gone.

    Sooner than he would¡¯ve liked, they went their separate directions. Sion went straight to ckcliff, apparently he had an uncle there, and the rest of them began the slow walk back to the caravan. Hogg declined to provide them with a giant ck scorpion to ride on, so it was doubtful that they would even arrive before nightfall. They still needed to go, though. Their things were there, and they still needed to look through Zerif¡¯s wagon. Brin needed to know for sure on whose behalf Zerif had tried to kidnap him.

    The walk back was mostly silent. Zilly and Davi looked as tired as he felt. Only Lurn seemed to have any kind of energy, but he also seemed to prefer silence to chatter. Marksi woke up once in Brin¡¯s arms just to make a happy squeak, pat his still-full belly, and go back to sleep.

    With nothing else to do, Brin went back over thatst [Memory in ss]. The mass of shapes, sounds and images that Aberfa had pushed into his mind as she was dying. Just as he thought, it was a long message in fast-forward.

    He slowed it down and then let it y in his mind as he walked.

    Aberfa stood before him in a nk white room. No particr light source was visible, but she still cast a ck shadow on the ground behind her.

    ¡°I curse you.¡±

    Brin sniffed in derision. Of course she did. This was just a recording, so she couldn¡¯t see how absolutely <em>not</em> shocked he was that she¡¯d chosen to be petty and mean with herst words.

    He paused for a moment to wait for a notification or some sign of Wyrd, but there was none. Even in herst moments, it seemed that Aberfa forgot she wasn¡¯t a [Witch] anymore.

    ¡°I am your mother and you y me. For that, you receive my curse. I suppose I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. You were always ungrateful. I hope you know¡­ I hope you know that we could¡¯ve had everything. The worst part is the pity. You pity me? You? Disgusting.

    ¡°But I am a forgiving woman, so I will bless you as well. Let me give you onest warning. You cannot stop Arcaena. There was a moment when perhaps her ns could¡¯ve been undone, if the right warning had reached the right ears in time. That time was two years ago when I rebelled. Now it¡¯s toote. Your best chance to live a long life is to ept her rule. But I know you won¡¯t do that, so I¡¯ll tell you what you must fear.

    ¡°Fear my sister Thesa. She is no great one, but when she learns of what you have done to me, she will hate you.

    Fear the [Great Witch] Arnarra, for she seeded where I failed,

    and the [Witch Mage] Sana, for she fears no [Archmage].

    Fear the [Dread Witch] Namys, greatest in Arcaena¡¯s court.

    Fear Jhaartael the [Mage Hunter Commander], if not for yourself, then for those you love.

    Fear Zaff the Wight, first risen of Arcaena.

    Fear Tarasynora the Vampire who walks in the sun.

    Fear the Nine [Witches] of the gray cavern, who share one eye between them.

    Fear Keetes the [Ringleader] and his cadre of [Illusionists].

    Fear Maggart the Giant, who was good in life but now is great in death.

    Fear Sable the Living Shadow who treads on lower ground.

    Above all, fear her. Fear Arcaena. She is mightier than you know.¡±

    With that, Aberfa¡¯sst words were over. Brin obeyed herst wishes, and feared.

 Book 3 - Epilogue

    Book 3 - Epilogue

    Gn groaned and leaned back in the armchair in his office, stretching out his hand. It had begun to cramp from so much writing, which was preposterous.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m above the fifth threshold in Dexterity, Vitality, and Strength. My hand shouldn¡¯t cramp up even if I were to write for a week without ceasing.¡±

    His adjunct, Lyssa, mmed down her own pen with a grunt, likely frustrated by the interruption. Of course she would¡¯ve given voice to her vexation; she was always very careful to disy the maximum eptable amount of attitude, but no more. She leaned back in her chair and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s probably psychological.¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡± Gn immediately stopped stretching his hand. She was probably right, she usually was. He checked her work often, and still had never found a mistake or a contravention of his intentions. In the short time they¡¯d worked together, he¡¯d had no reason to criticize her, except in her sometimes inappropriate attitude.

    He could forgive her that much, because eight months ago he¡¯d killed her brother.

    Sometimes when she met his eyes, he saw the eyes of Emul Lethonen who he could remember in startling detail, though he¡¯d only ever met him the once.

    He had in Emul in openbat on the field near Aberquay, in a harrying action to split Prinnash¡¯s focus and keep them from war with Frenaria. He had sent the [Knight¡¯s] body and armor home with a noteuding the fallen¡¯s bravery.

    Two weekster his sister Lyssa, a [Secretary], had approached his camp and asked to join his retinue. He¡¯d never asked why.

    ¡°You know, I would be more than pleased if you were to leave this all to me,¡± said Lyssa.¡°I cannot. I have recently be the Lord Commander of this Company of [Knights], second in the Order of the Long Sleep only to the Grand Marshall, who remained in Ond. I say this not to brag, but to demonstrate the weight of responsibility I bear. Every decision made here rests on me, even the ones I delegate.¡±

    ¡°Most men in your position still ride out seeking levels,¡± Lyssa pointed out. ¡°If you¡¯re doing this, then you¡¯re not gaining power as a [Knight]. You¡¯re stayingcent while your enemies grow stronger. Some might call that a moral quandary.¡±

    Gn nodded. ¡°Some might, but not I. When you follow the path of duty, moral quandaries tend to slip away. It¡¯s simple: this is my responsibility, so honor dictates that I fulfill it. I need not distract myself with second guessing¡­ or wishful thinking.¡±

    Lyssa smirked and then turned back to her desk. ¡°Then are you done for now? Because if so¨C¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you could take down a letter, before I leave you to work in peace.¡±

    She sighed, but had a new paper and pen ready before he¡¯d even finished speaking.

    ¡°Have I ever told you about the boy we rescued in Travin¡¯s Bog?¡± Gn mused.

    ¡°Very little.¡±

    He winced. That was by design, of course. He was a candid man by nature, so to prevent himself from identally giving away too many details and betraying his Oath, he had spoken as little as possible about Brin and Travin¡¯s Bog.

    To the Grand Marshall, he had spoken nothing at all. He had simply removed [Hide Status] for a moment in private, to show that he had upgraded his ss. His best Skill, the hallmark of their order [Inexhaustible] had changed to [Inextinguishable].

    His ss had changed as a result. [Untiring Knight] had be [Deathless Knight].

    To Lyssa, he said, ¡°I worry about his upbringing. The [Illusionist] we traveled with agreed to take him in, but what sort of role model is that? He¡¯s no doubt learning all kinds of unseemly habits. Although it isn¡¯t all bad. Last I heard, he¡¯d be a [sser] and was hoping to evolve it into a melee-focused fighting ss of some sort.¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Lyssa shrugged. ¡°Not exactly a natural progression, but stranger things have happened. Is all this going in the letter, or..?¡±

    Gn rubbed his chin. ¡°Perhaps if we could have left him with my great friend Lurn, I would rest easier. Despite fighting with a bow, he¡¯s one of the most forthright and honest men I¡¯ve ever met. He taught me much about how guile is not always the enemy of honor. In fact, at one time he¨C¡±

    ¡°Is that how you want the letter to start? <em>Perhaps if we could have left him with my great friend Lurn¡­¡± </em>She mimicked writing that down, but of course did not. A joke of some sort?

    Gn did not often appreciate humor, but he grinned nheless because it was expected and cost him nothing. ¡°No. Write this:

    <em>My dear friend Brin the Mistaken,</em>

    <em>Or shall I call you Aberthol Beynon? Lumina has informed me that this may in fact be your true name. She has also said much about your resilience, work ethic, and determination. For this reason, I see fit now to extend to you an offer.</em>

    <em>I once promised that should you desire it, you would have a ce with me in the Order of the Long Sleep. I renew this promise. My Order has recently joined a confederation in Prinnash to contain possible outbreaks from Arcaena, in the event that negotiations break down. A new unit of young [Knights] and appropriate support sses is formed every month, and I would have you join one of these groups.</em>

    <em>This would give you experience with military discipline, an opportunity to increase your vigor with heavy conditioning of the body, and possibly evenbat experience.</em>

    <em>I remember well that you voiced a desire to earn the [Knight] ss. I do not guarantee that [Knight] can be earned in such a way, but I do mark it as a distinct possibility.</em>

    <em>On a personal note, there is a man here I want you to meet. I¡¯ve recently made the acquaintance of [Knight] after the Order of the Golden Ivory who seems to have much inmon with you. He also woke up near his System Day with no memories, also alone and surrounded by undead. Perhaps by working together you might uncover the truth of your histories.</em>

    <em>Please consider my offer quickly and travel here with all possible speed.</em>

    <em>Your true friend and humble servant,</em>

    <em>Gn</em>

    Lyssa finished taking down the note. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it that a [Messenger] takes it. I assume haste is desirable?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    She folded it and set it to the side with other correspondences forter delivery. ¡°Are you really going to let him join a Lance? This is a [sser] we¡¯re talking about. These will be real [Knights], not [Squires]. Young [Knights], but [Knights] all the same. They won¡¯t be eager to have a member who can¡¯t pull his weight. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re doing him a kindness here.¡±

    ¡°Kindness has little to do with it. Duty does, and I made a promise. I can¡¯t guarantee he¡¯ll be able to keep up, but I can give him a chance to climb or fall under his own power.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Can I help you with anything else,mander?¡± Her words were correct, but there was something in her tone that was less than desirable. She also didn¡¯t wait for his answer before she turned back to her work. Was he meant to upbraid her here?

    ¡°No. As you were, adjunct,¡± said Gn.

    He thought for a moment about returning to his paperwork, and then had to stifle a yawn. He knew for a fact that was psychological; he¡¯d slept twice this month already, and could go another six months without sleep if necessary.

    He left the office, and walked down the crumbling corridors of the old keep that Prinnash had given temporarily for his Order¡¯s use. Everything was clean and tidy, but no effort had been made to make repairs. The ancient granite floors had long cracks running through them, but were otherwise polished to a mirror sheen. Here and there, vines of ivy crawled through holes in the stone walls. He rather liked it. Living in a ruin made him feel like a man out of time, like someone sent from a better, more honorable age.

    The further he went from the section of the keep where he made his office, the more of a ruin it became. The [Squires] and men-at-arms lived in areas with walls but no roof. The servants and staff had pitched tents in areas where only trails of old stone on the floor told that there had been separate rooms there.

    Beyond that, he could overlook the field below the hill where the keep sat, and he saw a sight that always made his heart swell.

    Thousands of men in armor drilled their formation. Towering siege engines were under construction, covered with workers who climbed over them like busy ants. Kennels for war beasts, stables for the [Knights], and tforms for arcane conjurings and summonings.

    An army was mustering here, and he wanted Brin to be a part of it. A Lance of new [Knights] would always remain behind the front lines, but it would be a good experience.

    He regretted that he could not have told all in his letter, but this was a delicate subject. Officially, his native Ond was still negotiating Arcaena¡¯s surrender. In reality, the terms Arcaena had suggested had been so one-sided that it may as well have been Ond surrendering to Arcaena.

    The diplomats from Ond were the ones stalling for time while they built up this invasion force. They¡¯d told everyone that they would have a final peace deal by the end of the year.

    In truth, by the end of the year, four nations would march their armies together for the first time in two hundred years. The war against Arcaena was soon at hand.

    The End of Book 3

 Book 4. Chapter 1

    Book 4. Chapter 1

    Brin heard a loud rap on the door to his workshop. Bad timing, hopefully they would go away. He was making ss.

    He waved his hand inside the ss oven to get a feel for the temperature before shutting the door. He still couldn''t touch the molten ss without getting burned, but [Heat Resistance] was more than enough for protecting him against the heat of the oven in brief doses. The oven still wasn''t quite hot enough. Sure, he could pour a ridiculous amount of mana into the ss in the oven to heat it that way, but he wanted the furnace to be able to do it. That was the whole point of the furnace. Ademir and then Ademsi had never had any trouble getting the furnace hot enough. What was he missing? He would try spying on the other [ssers] in town, but they all had Skills for this. Aplete waste, in his mind.

    The knocking on his door came again, louder and more insistent. It was a bit of a surprise, because shouldn''t his Invisible Eyes have warned him someone was nearby? With a mental p to his forehead, he realized his Invisible Eyes probably had warned him. He''d turned off his notifications while he''d been concentrating on ssmaking.

    In the five weeks they¡¯d been in ckcliff, he¡¯d progressed in his ss by leaps and bounds. He hadn''t actually leveled up, but he''d done very well on his Skills and attributes. His biggest leap had been Mental Control now that he had a boost for training it, but there were some other notable advancements.

    <strong>Strength: 214 -> 216</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity: 155 -> 156</strong>

    <strong>Vitality: 187 -> 189</strong>

    <strong>Magic: 196 -> 202</strong>

    <strong>Mental Control: 224 -> 236</strong><strong>Will: 144 -> 147</strong>

    <strong>Inspect: 37 -> 40</strong>

    <strong>Hide Status: 15 -> 21</strong>

    <strong>Athletic Training: 33 -> 35</strong>

    <strong>Shape ss: 34 -> 39</strong>

    <strong>Summon ss: 27 -> 28</strong>

    <strong>Call Light through ss: 38 -> 45</strong>

    <strong>Call Sound through ss: 34 -> 38</strong>

    With [Multithreading] the number of things he could actually do with his illusion powers had increased exponentially, and that in turn had helped him gain levels in his Skills. He didn¡¯t have a Lightmind yet, but he was well on his way to creating one himself.

    He now always had several threads of thought working in the background, doing things like keeping watch with Invisible Eyes and logging everything in a shared storage created with [Memories in ss]. But that only helped if he remembered to check the log now and again.

    He pulled up his active log¡ªa self-generated notification screen only visible to him now that Hogg had found the spell for it.

    <strong>...</strong>

    <strong>DT1: Two men approach the workshop on foot.</strong>

    <strong>DT1: Two men arrive at the door of the workshop.</strong>

    <strong>DT1: Two men have a conversation on the doorstep of the workshop. Conversation has been logged to ¡°Log DT1 - Local¡±. Directed thread is unable to summarize conversation. Activate conscious thread?</strong>

    <strong>DT1: Resource limit has not been reached. Activating conscious thread.</strong>

    <strong>CT2: Oh, ok, this is Sion and a [Warrior] I don''t recognize. The image is up on Screen 1 if you want to take a look, but it''s probably safe to just open the door. Returning.</strong>

    [Multithreading] could make two kinds of threads. Normal threads were just his regr mind, but there were also directed threads. DT1 thread was an example of those. Directed threads could run with extreme efficiency, but the trade-off was that they weren''t able to do anything except a single focused task. If they ran into anything that actually required decision making or creativity, they¡¯d fall apart unless a different thread could work out the issue for them.

    Directed threads had been born of merging [Directed Meditation] into [Multithreading], but they didn¡¯t work exactly like his mind had while using [Directed Meditation]. They were much more limited with creativity, but more flexible with the kind of instructions he could give them. He could tell them things like ¡°Once per second, check the logs to see if there are any new instructions for you¡± and they¡¯d be able to do it without losing much efficiency, while during [Directed Meditation] he¡¯d never have been able to switch his focus back and forth like that.

    DT1 hadn''t been able to understand whatever Sion and the other guy behind the door were talking about, so it had created the other kind of thread. This one had his full intelligence, but it used up a lot more of his brain power. When one of those was running, it felt like time was speeding up, though the truth was a lot moreplicated.

    Now that CT2 had returned, he had the memories of spying on Sion and the [Warrior] as they argued. Sion wanted to try the door, but the other guy had insisted this must be the wrong address. Sion had gotten his way, and the other guy was knocking.

    Brin caught his reflection in a mirror; there were lots of them around, and noted the ck scorch marks on his face. He left it. He didn''t want to dirty another rag.

    He opened the door, and found that yes, this was aplete stranger. Of Prinnashian descent by the look of him, his straight ck hair was cut short and he wore a smart uniform. Or maybe dress clothes designed to look like a uniform; there didn''t seem to be any rank insignia.

    "Good day. If I may introduce myself, I am Sir Rhun Charlik," the man said formally, and then when he took in Brin''s shabby appearance and maybe used [Inspect] to find out his ss was Common [sser], his voice began to take on a sneering tone. "Step aside. I have business inside."

    Brin shook his head, trying to shake away the lingering thoughts of ssmaking and focus on the oddity in front of him. "Sorry. Who are you?"

    "I''m Sir Rhun Charlik, a [Warrior] of Prinnash and a true man. I must enter this workshop. Step aside."

    Rhun tried to force the issue by walking through Brin, but Brin stood his ground. Rhun bounced off him like he''d hit a brick wall. Brin really hadn''t skipped Strength training, but it looked like Rhun had. Was this guy really a [Warrior]? A quick [Inspect] revealed that Rhun was telling the truth.

    <strong>Name: Rhun Charlik</strong>

    <strong>Age: 16</strong>

    <strong>ss: Warrior</strong>

    <strong>Level: 23</strong>

    Imagine having that much attitude at level 23. He was about to teach the idiot a lesson when he saw Sion the [Merchant] wincing at him apologetically from behind.

    "Sion, what are you doing back there? Who is this clown?"

    "Are you deaf?" Rhun asked.

    Brin met his eyes, said nothing, and then looked back at Sion.

    Sion winced again, and said, "This is my bodyguard."

    Brin shrugged and stepped aside. "In that case, be my guest."

    "If you would be so good, sir," said Sion.

    Rhun scoffed, but stepped inside. "You may enter as well," he said to Sion, and Brin didn''t like his tone.

    "Thank you, sir," Sion said deferentially, and Brin definitely didn''t like his tone, either.

    As Sion entered, Brin sped his wrist and pulled him into a hug. Then he remembered he was covered with soot and apologized.

    This book''s true home is on another tform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "No, no, my friend. It is I who impose on you. In all honesty, I had wondered if this was truly the correct ce. Men of my... um, our standing do not usually patronize this part of town." Sion peered around Brin''s workshop. "It''s certainly... different."

    The hesitance in Sion¡¯s eyes and the sheer disgust on Rhun¡¯s face told him how it must look to them, but to Brin this was his own personal paradise. Everything here was custom made with the express goal of plumbing the depths of his ss. For once, no one was hunting him, no [Witches] were killing people, and he¡¯d had nothing but pleasant dreams. He finally had some time to devote towards long-term projects instead of constantly just trying to stay alive.

    It had started as an empty warehouse, and it was still notpletely clear of the chalk dust from the business that used to be here. He had a table for his experiments with lenses, one for mirrors andsers if he ever got one working, and a nicefortable parlor chair with a side table covered with ss rings¨Cthat one was for his practice with [Memories in ss] and [Multithreading]. On the far end was the furnace for melting ss. Summoned ss was fine most of the time, but for high-quality equipment made tost, he couldn''t summon anything as good as the ss he made the old fashioned way.

    "It''s perfect," said Brin. "Don''t worry, the living spaces are much tidier. That old hotel in the upper city was too... busy. Here, there isn''t someone underfoot at all hours of the day and night listening to my conversations and spreading rumors about all the [Witches] we killed. And the servants actually listen when I tell them not to clean my work spaces. Some of these things are very fragile and--don''t touch that!"

    Rhun had picked up one of his mirrors, messing up the alignment and probably smudging it with his fingers. Brin had done a lot of experimentation with light and ss, mostly messing with prisms and redoing a lot of experiments he remembered from high school physics. He hadn''t reallye up with anything practical for it, but the System had been extremely impressed. That alone had been responsible for five of the seven levels he¡¯d gained in [Call Light through ss].

    That mirror had been ced perfectly to test out hisser, assuming he ever got it working. Realigning it would be a chore. He felt his eyebrow twitch. "Sion, who is this man?"

    "I have said I am Rhun Charlik. Are you simple?"

    Brin waited for Sion to answer. "This is Rhun."

    Turning to Rhun, he addressed the [Warrior] for the first time. "Rhun. Can I ask you a question? Are you sure it''s Sir Charlik? It''s not My Lord Charlik?"

    "Sir is the correct form of address," Sion said quickly.

    "In that case, I''m curious. How dare you speak to me?"

    Rhun sneered. "Tch. The arrogance. This is what''s wrong with Frenaria. The Commoners have no--"

    "That wasn''t a rhetorical question. I really don''t get it. You think because Sion is my friend, that somehow gives you the right to barge in here? Sion and I have fought and bled together. He''s proven himself. But you? You''re no one to me. I¡¯m not going to be disrespected by some street tough with no name and no levels."

    "[Warriors] gain levels from acts of courage. Not from puttering around with trinkets." Rhun finally put down the mirror, dismissively dropping it on its face.

    "Get out of my workshop."

    Sion hurried to stand between them and said to Rhun, "My apologies sir, but perhaps it would be best?"

    To Brin''s surprise, Rhun actually left after giving Brin onest surly re.

    After the door closed, Sion looked concerned. "My friend, are you quite alright?"

    Brin ran his fingers through his hair and copsed into his parlor chair. "I''m sorry! I don''t know what came over me. I didn''t think I was the arrogant young noble type, but it happened so fast! ''Do you know who I am?'' I can''t believe I actually said that!" He shot to his feet. "Oh, but where are my manners. Tea? I found someone that can make passable cookies; you''ve got to try this."

    "Nothing for me, thanks," said Sion.

    When Brin visited Sion at his uncle''s ce, Sion never took no for an answer so Brin fetched his tea pot, quickly bringing it to a boil by using his magic to heat a ss insert. He poured a couple sses and set them on the worktable, fetched the cookies, and took a seat on a stool since there was only one parlor chair.

    Sion sat next to him and hesitantly picked up a cookie. Brin picked one up as well and took a bite. It was perfect; crispy on the inside and just a bit gooey on the inside. He still hadn''t found anything like chocte, but there were chips of a frosting that tasted like white chocte and he''d found an equivalent for Macadenia nuts. A nice little taste of home.

    Sion obviously hated it. "It''s quite good."

    Brinughed. "Aren''t we past this?"

    "No, my friend, don''t misunderstand me. These are wonderful!"

    It was delicate work to be friends with someone from Prinnash, he was learning. They were too enthusiastic by far. If Brin identallyplimented Sion''s shirt he would pull it off his back and give it to him. But Brin had figured out a few tricks to dealing with him. "Come on. Do you think Davi would be afraid to tell me if he didn''t like something? Or Zilly?"

    Sion grimaced. "You''re right. But please don''t misunderstand! I don''t like anything. No tart, no sweet, no cake or pie exists that will tempt me. I hate it all."

    "You''re kidding," said Brin.

    "It is the life I have lived that has poisoned them to me. When I work with my family I have twelve meetings a day where I must either disy or receive hospitality. My entire life, I am ravenous for something substantial, but my stomach is too full of sweets to eat at all. When I visit among family or with others who know how it is, I am offered vegetables and fruit, but even that grows tiresome. If I truly lived the way I wished, it would be how things were on the road with the caravan. Two or three small and simple meals a day, with nothing in between."

    Brin snatched the cookie out of Sion''s fingers and took a bite. "I still like sweets, though."

    "I know. And make no mistake, I will still make every effort to press them upon you."

    "Can I make a confession, though? I still don''t understand tea."

    "You don''t like tea?" Sion asked, surprised.

    "No, it''s... fine. I mean, I don''t really get it. Hogg can talk about tea for hours, but I don''t see what he sees. When I''m alone I just drink water."

    "Truly?"

    One of the biggest culture shocksing to this world from earth was the way that people viewed water. They saw drinking in water as risky or slovenly behavior, only for those who were too poor for beer and toozy to boil it for tea. He kind of got that, since drinking the water here was a good way to give yourself a parasite, but he still missed it.

    Brin stood and moved to his cooler and pulled out a pitcher of water. He poured two sses and used tongs to drop in a few cubes of ice. One of the perks of living in the city was that there was always ice; he paid a [Waterer] a few coppers per week to keep his cooler stocked with clean ice and purified water.

    He finished the drinks with wedges of a citrus fruit called gluon and straws. The straws were paper, but Skills meant that they actually worked as straws unlike the trash they use in California.

    Sion took a sip and gazed at it thoughtfully. "This is most wee, I must admit. A ss of water dressed up like a cocktail; I certainly never would have thought of this. I fear that if I served this to a guest of mine, they would spend the entire hour trying to suss out exactly what message I was trying to send them."

    "The hidden meaning is that there''s no hidden meaning. Ok, now tell me what the deal is with that Rhun guy?"

    Sion set his ss down and sighed. "You understand the way of things in Prinnash, yes?"

    "I''ve heard that you have a very martial culture. Combat sses are respected the most, to the point that [Warriors] are automatically considered part of the lower nobility, kind of like if amoner bes a [Knight] here in Frenaria."

    "Yes, but it''s more than that." Sion nced at his hands. "In Prinnash, the work of [Merchants] is seen as dishonest. After all, we create nothing ourselves, so all our wealth must have been stolen off the tes of honest men. A true man takes what he wants through conquest, not trickery. For this reason, [Merchants] are illegal and trade is ouwed."

    "What? No it''s not."

    "It is! With some exceptions, of course," Sion said with a wry smile. "If you are a [Warrior] then you are a true man, and so you have the right to do as you please. A true man could never indulge in trade himself, of course, but if he has wealth then it is natural that he obtains the service of someone to manage his affairs. He could hire a [Merchant] to do those things that are beneath his dignity, like buying and selling. Trade."

    ¡°Hm,¡± said Brin. He idly toyed with a spyss on a table nearby while he processed that.

    ¡°That''s a nice one,¡± said Sion.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°It''s a failure. I can''t get the threading right.¡±

    ¡°I don''t think people like the screw type anyway. The copsible spy sses are much more popr; I''ve sold out all that you made for me. You have a nice stipending for that, by the way. May I?¡± Sion pointed at another of the spy sses on the table.

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Brin, gesturing at the whole table. He didn''t like random [Warrior] thugs touching his things, or even [Maids], but Sion was different. A [Merchant] would break his own fingers before damaging the merchandise. "So how does that [Warriors]-only rule work with a huge group like the Wogan Merchant Group? You''d need a patsy of some sort. A figurehead, maybe?"

    Sion looked at him through the spyss, making his eye appear extrarge. "Yes, exactly. Technically, the Wogan Merchant Group is headed by High Lord Damisco."

    "Hm, Damisco is a Frenarian name," mused Brin.

    "It is."

    "And the only thing I''ve heard about High Lords is that they''re worse than low Lords."

    "They are those who are granted a title due to an extraordinary service to the crown or an exemry act of bravery. They are high ced in the social hierarchy, but generally own nond and the title is not inheritable. A low lord with extra steps," Sion exined. He put the spyss down, then looked around as if trying to find something else.

    "The perfect person to be your useless figurehead. You don''t have to worry about him trying to grant yourpany to his heirs."

    "Exactly. Damisco works for my grandfather though officially it''s the other way around. And in order to prevent any one noble house from wresting thepany away from us, we make it a habit for each of us to attach ourselves to a different lord."

    "Oh. So Rhun...?"

    "Is a bodyguard," Sion finished. "Perhaps we maye to an understanding, but for now he''s simply that. Though even as a bodyguard he''s my superior and I must defer to him socially."

    "That sucks."

    Sion shrugged. "It''s the way of Prinnash."

    "Did I make trouble for you just now?"

    "Think nothing of it. Rhun will act as a fool, but he does as he is told.

    "Zilly is going to love him."

    Sion barked augh, then nced at the door guiltily. "I can hardly wait. Oh, but you''ve distracted me. I came for a different reason. Your letter arrived.¡±

    Sion pulled a paper envelope from his pocket, sealed with Lumina''s crest. The paper of the envelope was heavy and stiff, and heavily enchanted. He could only feel the light and sound parts of the enchantment, but it was so disconnected and confusing that he knew there must be several other branches of magic involved.

    He broke the seal and opened it, excited for word from his adoptive mother. Instead, there was just a single piece of paper covered front and back with writing in the Language. It was a spell for an [Illusionist]. He had no idea what it was at first nce. As much as he wanted to see what it did, he''d wait for Hogg before he cast it.

    He put it back in the envelope and tucked it into his pocket.

    ¡°Thanks for doing this. Using your family''s [Messengers] helps me fly under the radar a little, and I''m not sure what my political situation is right now. Lumina''s letters have been vague. I was hoping this one would be more clear, but...¡±

    ¡°Say no more, I am most pleased to do it!¡± Sion said. He cast his eyes around the workshop, looking for something. ¡°May I ask? Where is your most charismaticpanion? I had hoped to see Marksi here.¡±

    Maybe the best thing about [Multithreading] was that now he always had an answer to that question. He checked the screen that was keeping an eye on the little guy and grinned. ¡°He''s out hunting.¡±

 Book 4. Chapter 2

    Brin felt his consciousness split off, and knew at once that he was the copy. He knew that wasn''t really how it worked since every thread was the real him, but he couldn''t help feel that he was a clone. He would do a job and then he would end. He knew he was the copy, because he couldn''t control his body¡ªthat was left to the main thread. This was by design, he didn''t want his other threads identally flinching or tripping because of something they saw through an Invisible Eye. It had actually been quite tricky to make it happen, and would¡¯ve been impossible if he hadn¡¯t taken up [Meditation] again.

    When Brin had asked Hogg for help getting the most out of his [Multithreading] Skill, he''d been given a long list of meditation exercises to go through. He''d taken [Meditation] as a General Skill again, and it was already up to level 11.

    If he kept up his meditation training, soon he would be able to split off separate threads without speeding up his perception of time, though he wasn''t sure exactly how that was going to work. For now, he was stuck doing mostly preparatory exercises.

    The thread of Brin knew what he was supposed to be doing, so he dutifully went to work. First, he went to the controller, a log run by a directed thread that was in charge of telling all the other threads where to go. It assigned a section of ss where live recordings were stored, so he could use that to watch Marksi with an Invisible Eye.

    Actually, what was his name? He was Brin, sure, but which one? He wouldn''t know until he said something in the master log. He was supposed to do that anyway.

    <strong>CT1: Online.</strong>

    <strong>CT1: Found the feed being recorded by DT3. Observing Marksi.</strong>

    So his name was CT1, huh? He really should get better at naming his variables. Except he was literally the only person that would ever read this, and he always knew what he meant, so did it really matter? Besides, thread or not, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking of himself as Brin.

    He turned his attention to the feed and saw Lurn.After helping Brin again with his sea monster problem here in ckcliff, Lurn the [Hunter] had hung around ckcliff for a while even though he hated cities and there wasn''t much good hunting around here.

    Lurn had offered to take the little dragon hunting, and Brin had immediately agreed and started packing a backpack. Then Lurn had told Brin that he meant only Marksi, and Brin had agreed with a little more hesitation. In the end, he knew it was a good idea. Marksi kept getting overshadowed by Brin''s growth. He needed to learn to do some things on his own.

    Right now, they were mostly walking along in silence. Marksi had grown again, now so big that he looked extremely awkward on Lurn''s shoulders. He''d gained some mass in his arms and legs and had definitely grown more like a lizard and less like a snake, though he was neither. Despite having scales that shimmered in alternating rainbow patterns, Marksi was somehow a mammal.

    Together they sliced across thendscape. Lurn must''ve had several movement Skills working, because he almost looked like he was on one of those airport moving sidewalks. Every step he took seemed to move him three steps worth of distance.

    They''d need to move quickly to get far enough into the forest to do some actual hunting, and it looked like Lurn was doing just that.

    Brin decided to speed things up. He was already only taking up 10% of his total consciousness, and because of the training and his high Mental Control, time was already going at only 6 times the regr speed, but no reason he couldn''t give some of those resources back until he needed them. He checked the log and saw... nothing from the main thread. Typical. He always forgot to log what he was doing. A quick nce through his regr eyes and he saw himself working in his ss workshop.

    <strong>CT1: Marksi and Lurn are walking. Reducing investment from 10% to 1%.</strong>

    That was probably the biggest breakthrough he''d made, realizing that he could reduce how much processing power his own thread was taking up. He couldn''t do it to other threads, but he could always ask them in the log to use less if he wanted more for himself.

    Time zipped by. Lurn and Marksi walked, now appearing to his eyes as if they were careening across the countryside in a racecar. They topped hills and waded through patches of forest, zooming across the earth.

    He kept an idle eye on them, and watched the time tick by. It was a minute every one and a half seconds.

    He¡¯d finally figured out how to get an urate number for how fast time was moving for him. The key had been to do time tests with his directed threads. Since a directed thread was a version of his that waspletely focused and without thought or distraction, when he told it to do something, it always did it with utterly perfect efficiency. For example, a directed thread using 50% of his processing power could count to twenty in 0.89 seconds, and it would always take exactly that long every time. If he told it to count by shing an image of the numbers in his head instead of mentally ''saying'' the numbers, that time went down to 0.02 seconds. His brain was a fastputer.

    Since it took the same amount of time every time, he could take that and use math to figure out the rate at which he was experiencing time.

    Oops, something was happening. Lurn had said something, and Marksi had hopped down, but now they were walking again. Rather than put his time back to 10%, he spun up another directed thread to write out everything Lurn was saying to a new log for him.

    <strong>Lurn: I think we''re far enough out now that you may start seeing some game. Why don''t you hop down. No, don''t look at me like that, I will not tell you what my tracking Skills see. The point of this is for you to hunt something. First, why don''t you show me what you can do? I''d like to see what your regr habit is before I start to give suggestions.</strong>

    Marksi seemed to forget he was hunting after that. He acted the way he usually did when they went out into the forest. He yed and danced and ran around, giddy at the freedom and the adventure. He climbed trees and jumped in every puddle.

    Lurn spoke here and there, but he spent enough time in silence that CT1 could read everything in the log even if it was too fast to make out audibly.

    <strong>Lurn: That bird you scared away is called a Blue-chin. So named for the tuft of blue hair below the beak. Yes, you heard me right, hair. It''s one of only four birds in Frenaria that grow hair, and one of only two that grows both hair and feathers.</strong>

    <strong>Lurn: There are many burrowing squirrels here. They tend to stay underground, you''ll only see one for every hundred that are present. Don''t kill one if you see it, please. They aren''t dangerous, but they''re very territorial and quite annoying when offended.</strong>

    But of course, Marksi was Marksi.

    <strong>Lurn: See why I told you not to kill one? Oh, you thought that they''d all swarm you and you''d have an exciting gauntlet of enemies to fight? Well, I hope you learned your lesson. They won''t stop that annoying chirping for hours. Come, let''s get out of here.</strong>

    Marksi and Lurn spent a lot of time running out of the burrowing squirrels¡¯ territory. CT1 noticed in the master log that Sion visited the shop, mostly a warning to not suddenly jump up the resource usage. Then Sion left, and the main Brin got back to work trying to figure out why his oven wasn''t hot enough. CT1 would probably be allowed to slow his time down if he needed to. Did he need to, though?

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    <strong>Lurn: Hungry? Well, we''re hunting, aren''t we? Fetch some lunch.</strong>

    <strong>Lurn: Nice kill. That snake never knew you were there. And that''ll do for a meal for us both I think. No, don''t give me that look. If you kill something you must eat it; that''s the hunter''s code. We do not kill indiscriminately. We¡¯d be eating that squirrel if you¡¯d managed to keep hold of it.</strong>

    Lurn got a fire going, and quickly removed the scales and bones and fried the meat on a frying pan. CT1 couldn''t be sure because of how fast time was moving, but it seemed like Marksi chomped down his portion before letting it cool at all.

    Clean-up happened at lightning speed, and then they were off again.

    <strong>Lurn: How would you hunt arger animal? For fetching lunch for yourself this is fine, but if you really want to be a help to Brin you''ll need to be able to huntrger prey. Something like that.</strong>

    Lurn pointed with his bow at a deer that had just bounded into view. Brin decided there was no way that it was a coincidence it was there. Lurn must''ve been tracking it for a while. The deer startled when it saw them both, and bounded away. Marksi zipped after it.

    Brin checked [Inspect].

    <strong>Race: Deer</strong>

    <strong>Age: 4</strong>

    <strong>Level: 16</strong>

    He hurried and left a message in the master log.

    <strong>CT1: Ok to increase investment? Watching Marksi hunt a deer.</strong>

    <strong>Main: Granted</strong>

    <strong>CT1: Increasing investment 1% to 35%</strong>

    Time suddenly slowed down. At thirty-five percent of his brain power plus the bonuses that Mental Control gave him, he was now experiencing time at just around twice its normal rate. Things slowed down, but everything was still happening fast.

    Marksi was in hot pursuit of a fairlyrge deer, closer to the size of a reindeer. It still hopped more than ran, bounding through the forest in great leaps. The dragonling was pretty fast on his own, but couldn''t match the pace of the deer. He only stayed within sight of his prey because it kept changing direction to try to throw him off. But every time Marksi looked like he was about to reach the deer, it leapt away from him again faster than he could follow.

    Dragons were not persistence predators; Marksi was going to tire soon. In fact, Brin was surprised he hadn''t given up already. He usually needed a nap right after he ate anything. The fact that he hadn''t insisted on it after eating that snake here with Lurn was a testament to how serious he was taking this.

    Marksi had been extremely impressed with Lurn from their first meeting. He''d seen the way that Lurn had fought on the beach, casually bringing down waves of monsters without letting a single drop of blood or dirt touch his clothes. Now, he looked like he wanted to show Lurn that he was a hunter, too. He wouldn''t get the chance unless he could find a way to catch that deer.

    Suddenly, Marksi went invisible. He was a natural at changing his glittery rainbow scales into the colors around him as camouge, andbined with his quickness and sneakiness he was impossible to keep track of. The directed thread guiding the Invisible Eye lost track of him, and Brin worried that it would return if not given further instructions.

    He dashed out a message.

    <strong>CT1: Follow the deer!</strong>

    <strong>DT3: Understood. Following the deer.</strong>

    The picture shifted, now focused entirely on the deer. It bounded through the forest at top speed, much faster than Marksi would ever be able to keep up with.

    Suddenly, it startled at a loud sound, and turned to run to the left,unching itself even faster across the forest. Again, a loud sound startled it. It nearly tripped this time, and changed direction again. Brin would be willing to bet that Lurn was doing that somehow. Maybe by using some kind of Skill, but more likely he was just throwing rocks at trees.

    Then, before Brin even realized Marksi was there, the little dragon was leaping onto the deer''s back. Hended ws out, and his ws grew longer totch deeply into the deer''s flesh, using the Wyrd power that he''d gotten by eating Siphani''s enchantment focus back when.

    Despite Marksi''s best efforts to hold on, the deer flung him away and fled, bleeding freely and leaving a trail that even Brin would''ve been able to follow.

    <strong>CT1: Follow Marksi!</strong>

    <strong>DT3: Understood. Following Marksi.</strong>

    The image swerved back around to Marksi, who stood up on shaky legs. There was a look of extreme frustration on his face. He was spent. He''d never be able to catch up to that deer again.

    Lurn stepped into view. ¡°Well done, friend. Let''s go finish it off, shall we?¡±

    Everything Lurn was saying was still being repeated in the log, but time was slow enough that Brin could understand it in real time, so he ignored the log.

    Marksi chirped in glee and jumped towards Lurn to get back on his shoulders, but the [Hunter] caught him mid-air. He delicately used a handkerchief to remove all dirt and blood from Marksi''s legs and ws before gently setting him on his shoulders again.

    He took off in a light jog, and thendscape blurred. In moments, he''d caught up with the struggling deer. It wasgging now, starting to weaken from blood loss.

    ¡°Now, if I was a more fair-minded teacher, I''d make you wait until it weakened and copsed on its own, and I''d make you follow it on your own by its blood trail. But I''m frankly too impatient for that, and I hate to see it suffer. Go ahead and finish it off, won''t you?¡± Lurn heaved Marksi by his middle and flung him towards the deer.

    Hended on the deer''s hind legs and bit into them, attacking with new energy now that his prey was near again. He drove the deer to the ground, then swerved around to go for the neck.

    It was neither messy nor clean. Neither was it quick. Marksi''s ws were only as sharp as regr animal ws, and he just didn''t have the muscle power to do more than shallow wounds. He had to dig through the tough fur and skin of the deer scratch by scratch. Finally, he hit something that sent out a spray of arterial blood, and the poor deer was put out of its suffering.

    ¡°Well that could have gone better. But could have gone worse. Hey, wake up!¡± Lurn grinned as Marksi yawned and slumped on top of his kill, eyes already drooping for a nap. ¡°You wouldn''t want some beast of the forest to steal this out from under you, would you?¡±

    Marksi suddenly perked up, staring out around him at the trees in fierce suspicion. It honestly surprised Brin that that had worked. He thought Marksi needed a nap after eating, the way that snakes needed time to digest their food. Maybe that was his mistake; he still thought of Marksi as a little snake, no matter how many times he was reminded that he was much, much more than that.

    ¡°Help me dress this. It''s something you''ll need to be able to do if you want to be a hunter,¡± said Lurn, and Marksi shifted his attention to him. Lurn immediately began stripping the skin to bare the muscle underneath. It was grisly work, but also fascinating in a way, the way that a [Hunter] could turn an animal into materials and resources.

    ¡°Shall we talk about the hunt as we work? Usually a creature such as you would be an ambush predator. You would wait in hiding until something tasty walks by and then leap out and kill it with a single bite. However, you also have a marvelous ability to keep your camouge activated even as you run at top speed.¡±

    Marksi puffed up in pride.

    ¡°Where you''recking is in the takedown. You do well against creatures smaller than you, but you struggle againstrger opponents. The best you can do is act as a distraction to give Brin an opening.¡±

    Brin didn''t think that was quite fair. There was nothing that could beat a good distraction, and Marksi''s ¡°distractions¡± tended to be things like wing out a monster''s eye.

    Lurn continued, ¡°If you had strong jaws like a crocodile, or if you could squeeze like a constrictor snake, or sharper ws and stronger legs like a lion, or maybe a venomous bite, you could reliably kill monsters your size orrger.¡±

    Marksi scuttled around in a circle atop the dead deer, looking down at it and perhaps imagining the monster core that he would need to improve his killing ability. Strong monsters or animals often dropped a beast core that he could use to evolve and grow, but he refused to eat the core of any beast that he didn''t have arge role in defeating.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Lurn said quietly, almost to himself. ¡°All that would be nothing if you had endurance. I only needed to step in here because you couldn''t keep running. You would have killed it without aid if you had been able to keep up.¡±

    Marksi snapped his jaws at Lurn, as if to say, ¡°I am a dragon. Dragons do not run.¡±

    Brin wasn''t sure why that particr snap of his jaws meant that, but he was getting pretty good at deciphering Marksi-ese.

    Lurn pointed the short-ded knife that he was using to dress the deer at Marksi, pointing at him with a serious expression on his face. ¡°I know what you are. Do you? Brin will never have sharp ws or scales, and I will never have wings that fly, but neither of us is a dragon. You have no limits, none except the ones you ce on yourself.¡±

    Marksi drew back, confused.

    Lurn turned back to the deer. He finished his work, then wrapped everything up carefully with twine and paper, and then stored it in his back. When he was done, the only thing he needed to wash was his hands, which he aplished in a small stream nearby. Marksi watched him in silence, thinking. Every time the dragonlings eyes started to droop down, he pinched himself with his ws and perked up again.

    When Lurn was done, he stood. ¡°If you want to be able to run, then run.¡± He started to jog off into the forest, back towards ckcliff. To Brin''s surprise, Marksi dashed after him.

    He noticed movement in the master log.

    <strong>Main: Can I have some time back? I want to talk to Hogg.</strong>

    <strong>CT1: Sure thing. Marksi took down the deer. They''re on their way back.</strong>

    Brin adjusted his investment from 35% back down to 1% and the time zoomed by again.

    Marksi ran, following Lurn through the forest. He panted and his legs shook. His face was bent towards the ground and his tail dragged behind him, but still he ran on.

    By Brin''s estimate, Marksi made it three and a half miles before he copsed. Lurn turned back and scooped him off the dragonling off the ground, carrying him home.

    <strong>CT1: Returning.</strong>

 Book 4. Chapter 3

    Brin sighed in relief as hisst conscious thread returned and he had his full mind back. Well, most of his mind. Two or three directed threads running Invisible Eyes didn''t make a noticeable impact on his perception of time.

    ¡°Ok, I''m ready. What''s up?¡± Brin asked.

    Hogg had poured himself an iced tea and now sat down on his favorite reclining chair. He hadn''t actually brought all his furniture from Hammon''s Bog, but he''d bought a lot of the same things here in ckcliff, though nothing as expensive as he''d like.

    "So today--" Hogg started.

    "Actually hold that thought. We got something from Lumina! But I don''t really understand it." Brin showed Hogg the paper Lumina had sent.

    Hogg stepped over to snatch it out of his hands, and then paced back and forth in the living room reading it. He frowned, looking back and forth between Brin and the paper a few times.

    Finally he said, "Incredible. So it really exists. A bit ironic that I find this when I can''t use it anymore. You know what this is, right?"

    Brin shook his head. "Maybe if I had a couple hours to go over it, but my knowledge of the Language isn''t even close to the point where I can understand a spell at a nce."

    He did have more tools for that kind of thing than he used to, though. He immediately created a Directed Thread with the instruction to start reading through the words so that when the time came to cast it, he''d be able to. Then just to speed things up, he cast three more, to start in different sections of the spell."This," Hogg said while holding up the paper reverently, "is one of Frenaria''s most closely guarded secrets. This is the spell for long rangemunication. I bet it uses those radio waves you keep talking about. How long do you think it''ll take you to learn this?"

    Brin took the paper back, unnecessary since he could just review it perfectly from his [Memories in ss], but if he was going to think with his regr brain then he wanted to look with his regr eyes.

    He skimmed the paper, not trying to really read it yet. Instead, he looked through trying to spot any parts that would be especially difficult.

    "A long time," he decided. "I don''t know this word, or this one, and I''mpletely lost in this section."

    Hogg walked around to look at the paper from behind him. "Maybe we can break this up. Hard Light should be capable of let''s see... most of this, honestly. I think we''ll only need you for this section here, and then maybe this bit towards the end."

    The sections Hogg indicated only made up about a fifth of the total spell. There were still a couple words that Brin didn''t know, but it avoided the mostplicated sections. He could still infer a word''s name and meaning after seeing it written, it was just a lot harder to learn that way rather than having someone teach him.

    "It should be doable."

    "Then let''s get to work. If Lumina is sending us this, then she probably wants us to use it right away. I''ll push my appointments back; this takes precedence." Hogg made no move to leave the room or do anything else to push his appointments back. He''d use his Mirror Images for that. Being made of hard light meant they didn''t have the range that Brin''s illusory ones did, but they were capable of a whole lot more.

    Brin sent a message in the master log.

    <strong>Main: DT1, please continue to monitor Marksi. All other threads return.</strong>

    Instantly, all his threads snapped back into his consciousness, returning with the memories of what he''d been up to. The ones watching the house didn''t give him much except a very intimate knowledge of what the street just outside looked like, but the threads he''d started working on the spell had already begun toprehend portions of it. He sent out two more directed threads to begin parsing his two assigned sections. Then he spent a moment finding every word he didn''t know. There were four of them. He assigned a conscious thread to each of them to figure out their meanings. He gave each of the conscious threads twenty percent of his mind, which meant that there was barely anything left for him.

    He made onest thread a directed thread that he called the Mouth Manager. When figuring out new words of Language, it was essential to try to pronounce them. The purpose of the Mouth Manager was to give all his threads a turn using his mouth, and to avoid all the issues that mighte from several different minds trying to use it at the same time.

    "Testing one," he said. Then his mouth seemed to move on its own, directed from another source. "Testing two. Testing three. Testing four. Testing five."

    It was an unnerving experience. Even though he knew it was his mind working those threads, it still felt like he was being possessed by some external power. He tried to repeat "Testing one", but his mouth refused to move until all the other threads had their say. Only then did he feel himself say "Testing one" again.

    Good. His Mouth Manager was working. Soon after his mouth started babbling. ¡°Nosstu. Nosstu? Impagio. i. Noss¡­ atu. i! a? ai¡­. Impagio!¡±

    The minutes sped by at double time, and before long he got a message.

    DT2: Unrecognized word. Cannot continue. Returning.

    He got the memories of a read-through of the first part of the spell, and now ncing at it he could see what the words meant and kind of tell what it was doing. He sent a new directed thread out to start reading after the word that had halted it, and then started reading the first part of the spell again on his own.

    <strong>DT3: Unrecognized word. Cannot continue. Returning.</strong>

    <strong>DT4: Unrecognized word. Cannot continue. Returning.</strong>

    Each time it happened, he skipped the word and had them start again. Come to think of it, his main thread wasn¡¯t doing much other than making new threads when one failed. He spun up a few more directed threads, to work on everything he could simultaneously.

    Now time seemed to zip forward, and it was all he could do to keep creating directed threads every time one failed.

    In what seemed like no time at all, but was probably hours, he finally got one of the messages he was hoping for.

    <strong>CT1: Got it. Nostu. It means ¡°to capture¡± but in the context of¡­ you know what, it¡¯s hard to exin. You¡¯ll see. Returning.</strong>

    At first, seeing the sess message gave him a huge thrill; it felt like he was getting magic for free. Then he was hit by the memory of spending what felt like an hour doing nothing but staring at a word of the Language and trying to understand it. It was boring, monotonous, head-ache inducing work. He hated it when he made himself do something like that. Working through problems as a thread was much worse than doing it when he had control of his body. With his body he could sigh, or stretch, or get up and walk around a little to take a break, but as a thread he could do none of that. <em>Nothing</em> had been free; doing it like this was a hundred times worse than using his main consciousness.

    Still, it was done now, and with the memory of mind-bending work also came the knowledge.

    Soon after, the other threads returned and time slowed back down to its regr pace. He made onest read through, integrating all the knowledge he¡¯d gained from his various threads, and the purpose of the spell he was working on started to reveal itself.

    It was just what Hogg had said, a spell for long-rangemunication. His was all about receiving and decoding beams of radio wavelength light. His portion of the spell wouldn¡¯t actually do anything with the information it retrieved, though.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m ready,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Hold on, I think part of my spell needs to be done outside,¡± said Hogg.

    They stepped outside, and Hogg cast a portion of the spell. It summoned a huge satellite dish of hard light, pointed up towards the sky. It was a little shocking to see something that looked so simr to technology from earth, but it made sense in a way. If this spell was made for catching radio waves from the upper atmosphere, then that shape was the only thing that made sense.

    Like everything Hogg made, it was jet ck, so that he could im he was a [Rogue] with shadow powers. There wasn¡¯t anyone out on the street nearby, but Brin was sure half the neighborhood would see it before an hour went by.

    ¡°I think if you¡¯d done it with light, this part would¡¯ve been invisible,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You really can¡¯t make invisible hard light? It seems like you should be able to,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg gestured, and the color of the radio dish drained away until it was clear. It wasn¡¯t invisible though, it looked like a giant ss sculpture. ¡°I figure this is even more liable to draw attention. It looks like I¡¯m trying to hide something.¡±

    ¡°Ok, let me see what I can do,¡± said Brin.

    He sent out a directed thread, instructing it to cover the entire thing in a huge circle of self-invisibility. Normally, something this big would be well beyond his capabilities, but since it was up in the air he¡¯d be able to wrap it in a giant sphere, which reduced theplexity a little.

    After a few moments, he got a notice in his log.

    <strong>DT2: Object toorge. Permission to create another thread? Resource limit has not been reached. Creating another directed thread.</strong>

    They stared at the huge ck radio dish in silence while Brin waited for his threads to finish. He felt the slight drain to his Mana before noticing the update to his log.

    <strong>DT2: Invisibilitypleted. Lower half of the object has been covered.</strong>

    <strong>DT3: Invisibilitypleted. Upper half of the object has been covered.</strong>

    The radio dish faded from view.

    This was the real power of [Multithreading]. Normally, while casting an invisibility spell, he¡¯d have to focus on it so much that he could barely walk. Now all it did was slightly speed up his perception of time.

    ¡°Wait,¡± said Brin. ¡°Is this going to work? Invisibility works by redirecting all the light around an object. If no light can get in then it won¡¯t be able to receive radio signals.¡±

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    Hogg walked back and forth a bit, peering up and making sure Brin had the whole thing covered. ¡°If that¡¯s the way it worked, you¡¯d be blind inside the spell. It¡¯s more like aplex filter that lets all light in but blocks or redirects some light on the way back out. If you ever needed to make invisibility with a much reduced mana cost, you could make it simply block and redirect the light, though.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Mana barely factors in when ites to illusions. This is draining less than my natural regeneration.¡±

    Back inside, Hogg took the paper in his hand and pointed at the beginning part of Brin¡¯s portion of the spell. ¡°I think this needs to attach to my construct out there.¡± He indicated the second section. ¡°Then shoot this part towards me. My Lightmind should pick it up and then I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±

    Brin created two directed threads to cast his sections of the spell. Nothing happened right away. That was to be expected, but it was still a bit nerve-wracking. Hogg wasn¡¯t going to screw up his portion of the spell, but Brin might and if he did they¡¯d miss out on talking to Lumina.

    Directed threads were fast, but this was his first time casting. The spell didn¡¯t seed at first, but after ten minutes of trial and error, Brin finally found the ce to make his portions and Hogg¡¯se together.

    It was a short, beautiful moment, reminding him of programming in his old life. He¡¯d break his brain spending hours on some stupid problem that never should¡¯ve happened in the first ce, but then, when it finally worked, all was forgotten.

    They almost didn¡¯t even realize it was working until a strange yellow ball of hard light appeared in the air. The ball vibrated a bit, and a masculine voice came from it. ¡°Stand by.¡±

    They waited. Ten minutester, the ball vibrated again. It was a woman¡¯s voice. Lumina¡¯s voice. ¡°Hello? Can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Lumina!¡± Brin shouted. ¡°Is that really you?¡±

    ¡°Hello? Are you there?¡± she asked.

    ¡°One second,¡± said Hogg. He tinkered with his hard light, and the sphere winked out, appeared again, and then suddenly expanded. It grewrger, lost its shape, changed into a series of separate colors, and then finally resolved into a perfect copy of Lumina.

    The [Archmage] who¡¯d sort of adopted him was there, with her long golden hair and trademark red hat. She looked at them with a quizzical expression. ¡°I can hear you. Can you hear me?¡±

    ¡°We can hear and see you,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Oh, fantastic! I¨C¡±

    Brin stepped forward and wrapped Lumina in a hug. Since she was made of hard light it felt like hugging a ss statue, but it was the thought that counted. ¡°Lumina! I missed you. What¡¯s this spell?¡±

    ¡°What? You¡¯re touching my projection. How are you doing that?¡± Lumina asked.

    ¡°Your projection on our side is made of hard light. You can touch anything you see here,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Hogg did most of the spell, I only helped,¡± Brin admitted.

    ¡°Ah, that makes sense. This spell is highly advanced. I feared that it would be several days or even weeks before you would be able to cast this.¡±

    She walked to an end table and awkwardly lifted up a vase before setting it down, ignoring Hogg¡¯s pained wince. ¡°How interesting! Perhaps I could replicate the same thing on my end¡­ with a little¡­ and¡­ there. Let me try.¡± She lifted the vase again, and seemed more satisfied by the experience. She turned and hugged Brin back. It wasn¡¯t a warm orfortable hug, again it felt like now a ss statue was wrapping its arms around him, but it was still something. She let go, and Brin stepped back. ¡°I missed you as well, my dear boy. You must know how dearly I treasure this chance to see you again. But unfortunately it isn¡¯t for sentimentality¡¯s sake that I sent you this spell. There isn¡¯t much time and we have much to discuss.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°First, this spell. You must both swear to me that you will never reveal it to anyone, inside Frenaria or outside. You must not even speak of its existence. In fact, is this location warded against¨C?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s safe,¡± said Hogg. ¡°And I swear; we won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    ¡°I promise,¡± said Brin. ¡°Do you want an Oath?¡±

    Lumina looked to the side, acting a bit nervous. ¡°Um. No. I think not.¡±

    Hogg grinned. ¡°Ha! You weren¡¯t supposed to give us this, were you?¡±

    ¡°Well, I wasn''t told <em>not</em> to do it,¡± said Lumina. ¡°And I had good reason. As embarrassing as it would be to have this spell fall into the enemy hands, that¡¯s nothingpared to how dangerous it would be to leak the information you sent me in your letter. Let me be clear: You must never again risk this information by writing it down. You must also never speak a word of what you told me in that letter. Not to each other, not to your friends, not even to the King himself.¡±

    Brin had taken precautions with the letter he¡¯d sent Lumina, of course. As soon as they¡¯d gotten a safe ce in ckcliff, he¡¯d told everything that he¡¯d learned from Aberfa. Then he¡¯d paid nearly seventy-five gold to cover it in enchantments against every form of spying, as well as a self-destruct spell should anyone but Lumina tamper with it. Then he¡¯d had Sion¡¯s family put it in a locked safe to deliver it with their caravan under heavy guard. He¡¯d <em>also</em> had an Invisible Eye follow it for the first fifty miles of the journey, making sure no one opened the safe. But now, seeing the seriousness in Lumina¡¯s eyes, he wished he¡¯d been able to do more.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t told anyone else,¡± he said.

    ¡°Then the three of us are all that know,¡± said Lumina.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t told your Master? Or the King?¡± asked Hogg.

    Lumina sped her hands together. ¡°Please understand. By carefully feeding the right information to her spy, I can manipte events in such a way as to finally bring us victory. But every individual we bring into this is another point of failure. Keep in mind that Arcaena does not need one of us to turn traitor in order to discover that her secret is out. She may divine this information in our fates, or deduce it from slight inconsistencies in our actions. The three of us may slip by undetected if we are careful, but there is no one that Arcaena watches more closely than the King and his Master of Magic.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also no one better protected against that sort of thing than the King and your Master. That¡¯s a longshot, even for her,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I have other reasons. You know what a [Witch]-hunt can do to a town or city. Imagine what it could do to an entire nation! True, I fully believe that Arcaena chose a [Pdin] as her spy. This spell represents an enormous investment on her part, and she wouldn¡¯t waste it on something less. It would be just like her to seek to corrupt a ss which is by definition incorruptible. But it isn¡¯t a certainty, and she has in more than only that [Pdin]. She has in [Knights] and [Messengers]. [Assassins]. [Mages] and [Archmages]. Even a [Prince]! No one would be above suspicion. This knowledge would tear the country apart.¡±

    ¡°Unless only a few were told who could carefully snoop around, looking for those who have the warning signs,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not saying you should tell everyone¨C¡±

    ¡°And what warning signs are those?¡± snapped Lumina. She answered her own question, ¡°We¡¯re searching for anyone who doesn¡¯t remember his own childhood. And besides the man I have in mind, I can think of only <em>one other</em> who fits.¡±

    ¡°Me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Hogg nodded and folded his arms. ¡°Then we tell no one.¡±

    Brin looked between his two adoptive parents in exasperation. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have to keep saying this, but <em>please</em> don¡¯t endanger the entire world on my ount. If telling the King about the spy will help us win the war, then we should tell him!¡±

    ¡°I could never do that to you. Your situation here at court is already¡­ somewhat fraught. I did pass on the list of names of Arcaena¡¯s greatest servants that you provided, and the King received it very gratefully. So grateful was he that I was unable to obscure your existence. There are rumors about and schemes afoot.¡± Lumina paced a bit as she talked, then looked down at Hogg¡¯s sofa, considering, before finally giving in and taking a seat.

    ¡°By all means, make yourself at home,¡± Hogg said sarcastically and then moved to his own favorite chair. ¡°So what do you want us to do?¡±

    ¡°By now I had hoped to invite you toe to Steamshield, but I don¡¯t think the Tower is quite safe for you at present. I¡¯ve been investigating this [Caravan Master] Zerif you wrote me about, and as of this morning I¡¯m beginning to believe he wasn¡¯t working on behalf of Prinnash at all. It¡¯s bing more and more likely that he was working for one of my rivals here in Frenaria. There¡¯s a Duke Xander of House Cobol that¡¯s a particr danger. Stay away from his agents and subordinate houses if you are able. I also can¡¯t have you return to Hammon¡¯s Bog. They will know to look for you there. Hm. Remain in ckcliff, I think, for the time being. We¡¯ll meet again in two weeks, at noon with the same method. I hope I will have more for you then. In the meantime, finish up any business you may have; when the timees to leave it may be with some urgency.¡± Lumina looked up suddenly at something that Brin and Hogg couldn¡¯t see. ¡°I must go!¡±

    Her image disappeared.

    Brin cursed. Hopefully Lumina wasn¡¯t in some kind of trouble. How many rules had she broken by sending him this spell? She might be getting arrested right now, and he would have no idea until their appointment next week. Not to mention the fact that he still had a ton of questions for her. It wasn¡¯t as important as the fate of the kingdom, but she¡¯d promised to look into figuring out what happened to that caravan he¡¯d subsidized almost two years ago.

    ¡°Got it,¡± Hogg said to the empty air. ¡°I¡¯m about done in this town anyway.¡±

    Brin looked back at Hogg, still worried about whatever had interrupted Lumina so suddenly. It took him a second to think of what Hogg was talking about. ¡°Then you mean¨C?¡±

    ¡°Yep. I¡¯m as prepared as I¡¯ll ever be. That¡¯s what I was going to tell you before; I¡¯m finally ready to take my money back.¡±

 Book 4. Chapter 4

    Lumina couldn¡¯t stay long after delivering her message, so Brin and Hogg pulled the spell down again. Brin immediately spun up some new threads to startprehending the spell in full in case he ever needed to do the entire thing himself. One directed thread to start reading through the portions Hogg had done, another directed thread to monitor the first one and create new threads any time they failed. Then he made a conscious thread to start figuring out the words he still didn¡¯t know. Thatst one returned pretty quickly.

    <strong>CT1: I don¡¯t really feel like doing this right now. Returning.</strong>

    Ridiculous! But then he got the short length of memories from that thread, and it was true. After everything he¡¯d learned from Lumina just now, he found it hard to think about something else. He put a directed thread on the case, though he doubted that it would be able to aplish much.

    ¡°I think I''ve finally gotten everything I need to start taking back my holdings here in ckcliff,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin shook off the thoughts of threads. Right, he¡¯d been waiting for this. ¡°Lumina already sent you the writ from the King and the First Bank of Frenaria. What else did you need?¡±

    ¡°Information. Never go to battle with a [Merchant] without knowing everything there is to know about everything. They¡¯ve got a hundred and one Skills to screw you over and the only counter is information. Today, we¡¯ll be talking to [Merchant] Fernand Riposto about my physical property here in ckcliff and Glyn Wogan about my shipping andmodities. Obviously I¡¯m more worried about the second one."

    ¡°Really? Sion told me he put in a good word for you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m worried. I mean, what should I wear? How should I act?¡±

    ¡°I guess wear what you always wear and act how you always act? I¡¯m confused. You¡¯ve done this a hundred times before. What are you worried about? Sion is a friend, and his uncle Glyn is really nice.¡±¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about. You¡¯ll see,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Anyways, Fernand is up first. Let¡¯s head over.¡±

    Brin went to his room to change his clothes. Different clothes for working out or experimenting in the workshop weren¡¯t really a thing here; clothes were status and everyone wanted to look the best they could at all times, but Brin kept tomon sense and had something else made for working in his shop. His work clothes weren¡¯t ugly by any means, but they¡¯d been enchanted against fire and explosions. His day clothes were exactly as fine and borate as would be expected for a young rich non-noble, and no more. To match with Hogg, he chose to dress all in a professional-looking suit, all ck except for a white shirt and the rainbow-colored dragon across the back of his overcoat.

    The enchantments were more focused on protection from piercing damage as well as a little boost to his [Hide Status]. He showed the world the face of a moderately high-leveled [sser].

    When he was done, he returned to the main room and predictably found that Hogg was just going to wear his ck leathers like always, however a new person was in the room.

    A six and a half foot tall man with severe and serious features stood waiting near the door. His skin was pearly white, his hair jet ck, and his eyes were pits of jet ck like the pits of hell. He wore white and ck, in the style of a servant. A footman, specifically, the kind of guy who hung around nobles to do all the random little tasks that came up and generally made their bosses look important.

    Most importantly, [Know What¡¯s Real] was telling Brin that this guy was a fake. He [Inspected] him.

    <strong>Name: Jeeves</strong>

    <strong>Age: 1</strong>

    <strong>Race: Shadow Elemental</strong>

    <strong>ss: Shadebound</strong>

    <strong>Level: 45</strong>

    It was definitely hard light and not a Shadow Elemental. Were those even real? It was pretty intimidating, though.

    Brin snickered. ¡°Jeeves, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the famous [Steward] from your world. I thought it was appropriately foreign and ominous sounding,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°He¡¯s a butler, and I think his name is Reginald Jeeves in the books.¡±

    ¡°Even better.¡±

    <strong>Name: Reginald Jeeves</strong>

    ¡°How are you changing the system message like this? Can I do that?¡±

    ¡°Have I really not taught you this? [Illusion] magic would be pretty useless if you couldn¡¯t fool [Inspect]. We¡¯ll go over it when we get back. For now, we need to get moving. Lumina taught you how to treat servants, right?¡± asked Hogg.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Brin. It was simple really; he was supposed to act like they weren¡¯t there. To his American sensibilities that felt wrong. His upbringing told him that he should always acknowledge the staff and make sure to treat them like people. Ignoring them felt like he was acting like he was better than them, but the people here didn¡¯t see it that way.

    Servants were just people with jobs, and it made their jobs easier if they weren''t forced to suck up to their customers all the time. There was probably a fine line between being overbearing and treating the servants like they were less than human, but he didn¡¯t have a chance to find it today. Jeeves here really wasn¡¯t human, just something Hogg had summoned.

    Brin walked to the door, and when Jeeves opened it for him he gave as much notice as he would¡¯ve the automatic door as the grocery store.

    Outside in the street, there stood a pitch ck carriage. It was fine and ornamented in all the ways an upper-crust carriage should, but again it was fake. A construct of hard light. The two horses leading it, on the other hand, were extremely real.

    ¡°Why a fake carriage and real horses?¡±

    ¡°I got a good deal on the horses,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°You¡¯re really going all-out on this [Shadow Summoner] persona. Why not at least put up a token effort to pretend to still be a [Rogue]?¡±

    ¡°Well for one thing, half the city saw me riding around on a giant ck scorpion,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Fair point.¡±

    ¡°And also because of how getting my assets frozen worked out. I have to use my real identity, verified by this writ from the King, to get my stuff back. That means from now I have to do all my business as myself. I¡¯ve thought long and hard about the face I want to show off to the world, and I think this is the way to go. If I prove that I really am a powerful shadow summoner, I might be able to hide my other abilities.¡±

    Jeeves helped them both into the carriage, then went around to take the driver¡¯s position. The carriage itself was notfortable at all. He couldn¡¯t escape the fact that the seat and floor were made of the same hard, smooth non-material, and he constantly had to sit up to keep from sliding around. The road wasn¡¯t even and he felt every single bump and pothole as they traveled through town. The trip would¡¯ve been much easier if they¡¯d just walked, but obviously Hogg cared more about making an impression.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you put struts and shocks on this thing?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°Why would I bother? You think I¡¯m going to make a habit of this?¡± Hogg groused.

    Despite that, Hogg did something to make the ride a lot smoother after that, but it was too little toote. By the time they got there, Brin¡¯s stomach was churning from motion sickness and he was eager to burst out of the wagon and get to solid ground. That wouldn¡¯t have helped the image Hogg was trying to project so he dutifully waited until Jeeves walked around and opened the door for him.

    Hogg stepped out first, and Brin came out next to stand beside him. In front of them was arge Frenarian manor house. The gardens and trees were trimmed to perfect, unnatural uniformity and the house and outbuildings were perfectly square and symmetrical. No servants were outside to greet them, which could be taken as an insult if the two of them weren¡¯t already more than an hourte.

    ¡°Do they know to expect us?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°I sent a runner. Fernand probably thinks that showing upte was a power move on my part, so he¡¯s doing the same thing by pretending to forget we wereing,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°So what do we do?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg cracked his neck side to side, considering. "Let''s go see if anyone is home."

    They walked across the empty courtyard in silence, and Brin used that time to create a few directed threads. The first two he created were assigned to snoop around the house. His normal way of doing this was to have a whole HUD with all his logs and screens visible at once, but people could tell when he was looking at something only he could see. They always assumed he was reading System messages, so instead of having the threads put the images up on screens, Brin let them record their findings in ss where he could "remember" them without moving his eyes.

    A quick zip through the house revealed that only the first few rooms were furnished at all. After that, the house was very utilitarian, with rooms for storage and a few workrooms for packaging and an office for clerical work. Many of the workers were hurriedly trading their work clothes for servant garments, and with [Inspect] Brin saw them using [Hide Status] to change their apparent sses. Neither he nor Hogg would be fooled by any of this, or course. Actually, Hogg might not know the whole of it, he might not risk his Visible Eyes here.

    Brin spun up another thread, this one with a spell that could create sound audible only to Hogg, his intended target. Since he didn''t want to be seen moving his lips, the spell used the Language to turn text into speech. His voice came out tinny and robotic. "He''s having the whole house change clothes and pretend to be servants."

    When Hogg''s voice came back using a simr spell, it soundedpletely real and natural. "Typical. He''s going to want to make himself look richer than he really is. Make no mistake, though, this guy is pretty rich. He could afford to live the way he pretends to. That''s my take, anyway. Oh, by the way, keep your eyes out of the basement. He''ll have wards against illusions down there, and if you set one off it won''t be a hard leap to guess that one of us is an [Illusionist]."

    Brin gulped. He''d almost just given away a secret that Hogg had managed to keep his whole life, and the only thing that saved him was his own ipetence--he hadn''t even noticed the secret basement.

    They reached the house and Jeeves stepped forward to knock on the heavy front doors. Secondster, the doors opened. Inside was a finely furnished hall with a chandelier and arge portrait on the far wall annotated to show that this was Fernand himself. Below that, a row of ten servants stood at attention, in addition to the two footmen.

    The servants mostly tried to keep eyes forward, but Brin saw more than one pair of eyes widen as they looked at Jeeves, no doubt [Inspecting] him and realizing he wasn''t something human.

    Jeeves stepped to the side so that Brin and Hogg could enter. Brin carefully schooled his features, remembering to keep his eyes forward and using his Invisible Eyes to look at people. He was very aware of how he must look to these people, face firm and slightly bored, not yielding the smile that he''d practiced in the mirror to make himself look friendly and unthreatening.

    A [Steward] stepped forward to greet them. "If you''ll wait one moment, sirs, my master will be with you soon."

    One of the women in the line discreetly stepped to a side door, no doubt to summon her master. It was all for show, Brin could see him just on the other side of the door, but he waited a half minute beforeing through.

    Fernand was a serious-looking man with beady eyes that barely peeked through low-hanging ck eyebrows. He stepped with the quick pace of the kind of man who always had somewhere to be.

    He frowned at Hogg, sinking those eyebrows even lower. "Is there any reason for this? We''re all Commoners here." Turning around to his assembled staff, he said, "Go find something to do. Go on!"

    The [Steward], an older gentleman, tutted. "It isn''t generally done, to--"

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "I don''t care," Fernand snapped. "You two, my office. Come."

    He turned on his heel and hiked towards a door towards the back.

    "Perhaps we could offer some refreshment--" the [Steward] started again.

    "Why? If they''re hungry they should''ve eaten before they came. They''re here for business." He seemed to hesitate at the door and turned back, looking a bit uncertain. "Are you hungry?"

    "No," Hogg said.

    "See?" he asked the [Steward]. Then he pointed at Hogg. "I''ll give you the Riposto promise. You don''t waste my time and I won''t waste yours."

    "I appreciate that," said Hogg.

    "I thought you would." Fernand entered his office and clicked the door shut behind him. With a weary sigh, the [Steward] opened it again and gestured them inside.

    Brin entered to find Fernand already seated behind his desk. The office was appropriately plush, but a few details stood out to show the man¡¯s business focus. Arge document cab shed a bit with the other decorations, and the surface of the desk had rubbed thecquer off with constant use.

    There was only one chair on the other side of the desk, which Hogg took so Brin stood behind him near the door. Jeeves stayed outside.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t bring your big spooky thug in. How¡¯s he going to intimidate me from out there?¡± asked Fernand.

    Hogg sighed. ¡°I thought you said we were going to skip this part. Or maybe you actually want me to think that all those servants out there were standing around for no reason.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Fernand opened a folder on his desk. He drew out a piece of paper and put it between them. ¡°Is this yours?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Hogg.

    Fernand frowned down at it, and Brin felt a sudden out-of-ce, guilty feeling. His Mental Resistance was good enough to tell that it was foreign, that Fernand was using a Skill on him and Hogg. The Skill was trying to make him feel like he¡¯d done something wrong and that he was going to get caught. It made him want to squirm in his seat and confess that he was a liar and a trickster.

    He resisted it, of course, but he was a little surprised that Fernand was starting off with such a grant misuse of his ss¡¯s powers. Most people would storm out immediately if they thought a [Merchant] was using something like this on them, and Fernand wasn¡¯t bothering to hide it.

    ¡°This document is an attempt to im ownership of a significant number of shares of Free ckstone¡¯s Consortium for Goods and Immovables, namely those shares owned by one Rhaal Stonew,¡± said Fernand. As he spoke, the power of his Skill seemed to magnify in intensity.

    Brin <em>knew</em> he was being screwed with, but he still wanted to confess that he was a fraud and a fake and then leave as soon as possible. He clenched his jaw against it. All those mental wars with Aberfa hadn¡¯t been for nothing; he was impervious to this level of mental force. Still, he was d that it wasn¡¯t his ce to say anything.

    ¡°There must be some mistake,¡± said Hogg.

    Fernand began to tuck the document back in the folder. ¡°I thought as much.¡±

    ¡°The shares in yourpany are only a small part of my im. I also left a significant amount of inventory in your warehouses,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Significant inventory carries significant storage fees, particrly when the client in question disappears for two years without a word. That¡¯s something that I would expect Mr. Stonew, an Ondish gentleman with whom I¡¯ve had a nearly decade-long partnership with, to understand.¡±

    Hoggughed. ¡°If you really held onto it for this long then you¡¯re not the same Fernand Riposto I¡¯ve been working with all this time. But if that¡¯s the case, then sure, hand it all over and I¡¯ll pay the fee.¡±

    ¡°Mr. ckw will have to contend with that, when he returns,¡± Fernand said stubbornly.

    Hogg leaned back in his seat. ¡°You have everything you need to verify my identity.¡±

    ¡°Documents,¡± Fernand said, waving as if he smelled a stink. ¡°You don¡¯t even look like Mr. Stonew. How am I supposed to believe you¡¯re really the man I¡¯ve been corresponding with all these years? It would be much easier to believe that documents can be forged.¡±

    Hogg stood up. ¡°Fine. Then follow your original instructions from the king. Liquidate all my assets, buy out the shares of thepany, and send the cash to the bank in Steamshield. I¡¯ll rely on the Royal Auditors to make sure you gave me a fair price.¡±

    Fernand stood as well, to catch Hogg¡¯s jacket and keep him from leaving. ¡°Let¡¯s not be so hasty.¡±

    ¡°How about let¡¯s not waste each-other¡¯s time? Am I your associate who operated in the past under the pseudonym Rhaal Stonew, or am I an imposter? Decide now.¡±

    Fernand winced. ¡°I¡¯ll need to retain the services of a [Solicitor] to¨C¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve had time to hire a [Solicitor] if you wanted. A decision, please.¡±

    ¡°As for the cost of a [Solicitor]...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not paying. Decide.¡±

    Fernand copsed back into his chair. He sighed. ¡°Wee back, Mr. Stonew. Only, how shall I address you this time?¡±

    ¡°Hogg.¡± He sat as well, smoothing the folds of his leather coat.

    ¡°Just Hogg?¡± asked Fernand.

    If Brin hoped that another piece of dad lore would drop and he¡¯d finally get to hear Hogg¡¯sst name, he was disappointed. Hogg furrowed his brows and said nothing more.

    The pressure of the [Merchant¡¯s] mind-altering Skills lessened, and Brin expected that the bulk of the negotiations had finished, but again he was disappointed. Fernand then tried to get Hogg to agree to pay the costs of storing all his inventory this entire time. When Hogg forced him to reveal that he hadn¡¯t actually kept any of the inventory and it had all been traded away, he tried to retroactively haggle away the price of every single item. For some of the items, Fernand was able to produce the records of exactly what he¡¯d sold it for, but for many others he imed that he didn¡¯t remember where it had gone or that he¡¯d had an untalented subordinate sell it at a loss.

    ¡°Now the salt, that was a bit difficult to find a buyer. There are sses who can make salt from <em>sand,</em> you know, not to mention those who can draw it out of the sea. I had to let it go for¨C¡±

    ¡°Four copper pence per pound,¡± Hogg stated.

    ¡°Four pence! Perhaps you¡¯ve seen the street price, but small amounts can be sold for a mark-up. In bulk, salt is practically useless. I had to let it go for¨C¡±

    ¡°Two copper pence and three bits,¡± said Hogg.

    Fernand licked his lip. ¡°One copper, seven bits.¡±

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m haggling? Who would haggle with a [Merchant]? I¡¯m telling you the price. Two copper pence and three bits.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s the price now, but a year and a half ago when I offloaded it¨C¡±

    ¡°Is not my problem. If you¡¯ve been selling low and buying high then you aren¡¯t the man I want to be in business with.¡±

    ¡°Two copper pence and three bits,¡± Fernand conceded. ¡°Now as for the tableware theye it¨C¡±

    Fernand brought up all kinds of random things, too. Silverware, and spices. Metals and magic tools. Leather and lettuce. For every single item, Hogg revealed the depth of his preparation. He knew the exact price of everything on the list and refused to budge an inch, no matter what Fernand tried. Perhaps if he¡¯d been drawn in to haggling, Fernand¡¯s Skills would¡¯ve activated and Hogg could¡¯ve been worn down, but his strategy of knowing the correct price and sticking to it no matter what seemed to be the hard counter to Fernand¡¯s ss.

    That only worked when both Fernand and Hogg knew he was right, though. Brin thought there might be Wyrd rules working there; if Hogg was ever mistaken as to the going rate or if he tried to bluff or lie, then he would be drawn into Fernand¡¯s power.

    Once during the negotiations, Hogg spoke to Brin using the silent voice they¡¯d been using earlier. ¡°We¡¯reing up on ss. When he names a price,ugh.¡±

    ¡°...no less than one silver and eight pence for the fine wine sses. Can you believe he paid that much?¡±

    Brin shook as if restraining augh, then barked out a loud ¡°Ha!¡± before pping his hands to his mouth. ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    Fernand red up at him. ¡°Tell me, Hogg. Is there a reason for the presence of this¡­ strange lost child?¡±

    ¡°Brin is my heir. Why shouldn¡¯t he be here? He¡¯ll need to take over some day. So what¡¯s the story, Brin? How much for a wine ss?¡±

    ¡°Unless it¡¯s so cloudy you can¡¯t see the wine, it should sell for two silvers a piece.¡±

    ¡°And how much can I reduce the price for bulk? Let¡¯s say for an order of forty?¡± Fernand asked with a smirk.

    ¡°Reduce? If you want forty wine sses that all match, then you expect a markup! There aren¡¯t many [ssers] that can be that consistent. I¡¯d round it off to a nice hundred silver,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Ny-eight point six!¡± Hogg said urgently in the Silent Voice. ¡°[Merchants] never round anything!¡±

    ¡°Or ny-eight point six if we¡¯re being exact,¡± Brin finished.

    Fernand frowned, and didn¡¯t put up even a token resistance. ¡°Moving on¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Hogg said to Brin in the Silent Voice again. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think I screwed up with the apples. The variety he¡¯s listed is different from the one I remember. I need you to find them for me. They¡¯re called Blouthe¡¯s Pearls.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try, but does it really matter that much? We¡¯ve already got everything else.¡±

    ¡°If I start haggling with him, I¡¯ll be under the power of his Skills. There¡¯s no telling what he¡¯ll be able to get me to agree to. Just find it!¡±

    Brin immediately spun up a directed thread to send out an Invisible Eye. He thought about creating a conscious thread to monitor it, but then decided to do that himself. He wasn¡¯t doing anything other than standing here listening.

    The Invisible Eye careened down the street, moving faster than Hogg¡¯s Visible Eye would¡¯ve been able to, and quickly found the market. He ignored the stalls and tables in the open air market, and zipped straight over to the one grocer who had a physical storefront. ¡°Mard¡¯s Grocery.¡±

    Mard¡¯s was much different from an Earth grocery store. Instead of tables and shelves where people could browse at their own convenience, all the inventory was behind a wall, and you had to tell the workers behind the counter what you wanted so they could fetch it for you. It prevented theft, and also stopped grannies from squeezing the melons. The inconvenience of it should''ve made it fail, but the [Porters] and [Sellers] that worked the counter had Skills that helped them fetch it so fast it was in your bag faster than you could say what you wanted.

    It meant that the line was never very long, but there <em>was</em> always a line at Mard¡¯s. How was he supposed to do this? He¡¯d imagined that he could have a Mirror Image ask for the price, but he really didn¡¯t want to wait for a line.

    He sent off a directed thread to create a Mirror Image and then wait in line with it in case everything else failed, but in the meantime he could try something else.

    ¡°Do you have Blouthe¡¯s Pearls?¡± Brin asked with his robotic text-to-speech voice.

    ¡°Pearls? We don¡¯t sell pearls,¡± responded the [Seller], a young man.

    The customer in line was a distracted-looking older woman, who said, ¡°Hm? I said nothing of pearls.¡±

    ¡°Blouthe¡¯s Pearl Apples!¡± Brin said.

    ¡°Who¡¯s talking?¡± asked the [Seller], peering around the woman, who herself was now looking around trying to figure it out.

    ¡°We have them, but you¡¯ll have to wait in line. Um. Sir?¡± said the [Seller].

    ¡°How much?¡± Brin demanded.

    ¡°Um, whoever you are, you¡¯ll need to wait your turn please!¡± the [Seller] responded.

    Brin sent the Invisible Eye into the back. Rows of every kind of fruit, vegetable and bread were all stored in neat rows, and luckily everything wasbeled. He zipped over to the fruit section and quickly found the exact apple he was looking for.

    It was a bit pinker than most apples, with a dull smooth skin devoid of wax. Great, now he knew what it looked like, but he was no closer to the price. Value Sense would tell him what they were worth, but he''d learned that there was a big difference between something''s value and what a [Merchant] would actually sell it for. He made a new directed thread, and started it on the Copy Light spell.

    Maybe he could¨C oh crap, back in the [Merchant¡¯s] house, Fernand was already asking about the apples.

    ¡°...quite an unpopr variety, you know,¡± Fernand was saying.

    ¡°Unpopr?¡± Brin asked, faking offense. ¡°Are you sure we¡¯re talking about the same apple?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt, child. I¡¯ve tolerated your presence, but I won¡¯t tolerate tantrums,¡± said Fernand.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s right,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Westfield Apples aren¡¯t exactly unpopr.¡±

    Fernand looked down at his list. ¡°You¡¯re in error. These were Blouthe¡¯s Pearls.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? Hold on. Let me make one,¡± said Brin.

    Brin activated the Copy Light spell, except instead of projecting the copy with light, he activated that portion of the spell with his ss magic. First he summoned a ss ball of the approximate size and shape of an apple with [Summon ss]. Then he activated the second part of the Copy Light spell with [Shape ss]. That would give him a better result since it was the more powerful Skill. Over the span of half a minute, Brin summoned a perfect replica of a Blouthe¡¯s Pearl Apple.

    For the first time, Brin¡¯s magic shed with Fernand¡¯s, and it gave him the space to feel the argument through the Wyrd. Fernand started with the upper hand since his magic was actually suited towards this kind of conflict, but Brin¡¯s argument was solid. They were in the right here. This was Hogg¡¯s property, and he deserved to get an honest ounting of what had been done with it.

    Brin stepped over and ced the ss apple on Fernand¡¯s desk. ¡°Here, a gift.¡±

    Fernand grimaced. ¡°Yes, yes, that¡¯s the one. As I was saying¨C¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the one! What are you trying to pull?¡± Hogg said. He stood, knocking his chair to the ground. ¡°You¡¯ve broken your promise, Fernand. You¡¯re wasting my time. I¡¯m taking this to¨C¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Fernandmanded, and there was the weight of a powerful Skill behind it.

    Hogg stood waiting, with his arms crossed.

    Just then, Fernand¡¯s [Steward] opened the door. ¡°I heard a tter. Is everything alright in here? Oh good heavens! Have you been standing there this whole time, young man?¡± He pped. ¡°Fetch a chair, for Eridu¡¯s sake!¡±

    A servant brought in a chair immediately, which meant he¡¯d been standing behind the [Steward] with it. The servant set it next to Hogg¡¯s chair, and Brin sat before he remembered that Hogg was still standing.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Fernand repeated. ¡°This is my mistake, of course. But I¡¯ll tell you what. I¡¯ll give you the price as if they really had been Blouthe¡¯s Pearls. You¡¯ll concede that they were a much cheaper brand, yes?¡±

    Hogg grunted.

    Just in time, Brin¡¯s thread that was still searching the grocer found a chart with the prices.

    ¡°Mard¡¯s is selling them for six bits each,¡± said Brin. It was absolutely true, but he also knew it was unfair. Physical stores had to mark up the prices in order to pay the staff¡¯s wages and other costs. The regr price for apples should be two for a bit, and even this expensive brand wouldn¡¯t cost more than two bits each.

    ¡°Of course, six bits each,¡± said Fernand.

    It was a startling reversal, and Brin tried to feel if there was some trap, but the bnce of the Wyrd remained the same.

    "Why would he try to change the variety to something more expensive?" Brin asked Hogg with the Silent Voice.

    "If we hadn''t caught him, he would''ve realized his ''mistake'' right before signing and then imed we were trying to con him. He would''ve used that as leverage to redo the entire conversation again from the beginning." Hogg sat back down beside Brin.

    Again, Brin thought they were nearly done, and again he was disappointed. Now they had a number for what Hogg was owed, all together more than three thousand gold, but Fernand didn¡¯t have that much cash on hand so Hogg needed to select that amount of value out of his existing inventory.

    For the next half hour, they bickered and bartered over every inch of the products that Hogg would take ownership of. Most of what Hogg bought was weapons and armor, no doubt due to some of the information Lumina had shared in her letters. Of course, Fernand immediately smelled a scheme, so instead of just giving Hogg the equipment he was owed, made sure to weasel his way into making it a partnership.

    The negotiations were no less intense than before, but much of the tension had left the room. The [Steward] ended up bringing in tea and hard, vorless cookies that maybe vegans or elderly Europeans might¡¯ve liked, and Fernand no longer treated Brin like a skunk that had snuck inside. In fact, he had a sixth sense for picking up on when Brin didn¡¯t understand something and always paused the negotiations to get him up to speed.

    When all was said and done, Fernand and Hogg shook hands, signed a contract, and then Fernand brought out a bottle of whiskey. He and Hogg had a ss while discussing milder topics. The weather, and Fernand¡¯s children, of which he apparently had six.

    When the sses were empty, Fernand inspected his with a distant expression, and asked, ¡°Who do you have for shipping?¡±

    ¡°Wogan,¡± Hogg replied.

    Fernand paled. He set down the ss, groaned, and put his head down on his desk. ¡°That¡¯s it. We¡¯re screwed.¡±

    ¡°What? No, we¡¯re not! Wogan is a friend!¡± Brin objected. Uncle of a friend, really, but close enough.

    Fernand peered up from behind his bushy eyebrows. ¡°You don¡¯t get it. Nobody gets the advantage of a Prinnashian [Merchant]. They grew up in hell and flourished by being more cruel than all the demons. They¡¯re not human. They¡¯re <em>brutal!</em>¡±

    Hogg sniffed. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m a bit nervous.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. You haven¡¯t met them. I have, and I¡¯m telling you they are cupcakes,¡± said Brin.

    Fernand ignored him. He leaned back into his chair and sighed. ¡°You know, it wasn¡¯t for your sake that I¡­ circumvented the crown¡¯s order to liquidate your assets. It would¡¯ve ruined me to sell all our stock at once. But now, hearing this? I wish I had just given everything I had to the bank rather than see it in the hands of those¡­ those monsters!¡±

    Brin looked back and forth between the two men in disbelief. ¡°Come on. It can¡¯t be that bad, can it?¡±

 Book 4. Chapter 5

    "First, you should change," Hogg said as they re-entered the ck carriage.

    ¡°Do we have time for that?¡±

    ¡°I already sent a runner to tell the Wogans that we¡¯ll bete. And we made up some time with Riposto. It went a lot quicker than I expected.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Brin didn¡¯t feel like it had been quick at all; it had been two hours of grueling negotiation, and they weren¡¯t even done. The contract had been signed, but there were still going to be dozens of meetings over the next few weeks to make sure it all went smoothly.

    ¡°I figured I¡¯d have to make a big show of walking away once or twice but the second I mentioned the royal auditors he folded and it was fairly straightforward after that. Which is good, it gives you time to get changed. I don''t think both of us wearing all ck is going to send the right message."

    "Why not? What''s going on with the Wogans that''s got you so worried?"

    Jeeves clicked his tongue at the horses from the driver''s seat, and the ck carriage began to move down the road.

    "Prinnashian [Merchants] have a reputation for being absolutely cutthroat. But if that''s all it was, I would deal with them the same way I dealt with Fernand. No, the problem here is that Sion is your friend, and his uncle is probably going to want to extend that to me and him as well. This is supposed to be a friendly negotiation. I''m going to have to be... nice."

    Brinughed, but at the same time he understood that this was going to be an actual problem. "We''re screwed.""So first, we''ll head back so you can change."

    Brin could probably use illusion magic to change the color of his pants, but he didn''t know the exact spell for it right now, and also wasn''t sure if he wanted to keep a directed thread running just for that during the entire length of the negotiations. Each one was only a small load, but they added up.

    "Fine."

    The carriage took them home, and Brin changed into dark purple pants and a red shirt, not really because he knew if they matched or not, but because the tailor paired them when he''d purchased the set. He kept the ck overcoat with the rainbow Marksi on the back.

    That reminded him to check on actual Marksi and found him sitting next to a campfire with Lurn, still miles away from ckcliff. They wouldn''t be back in time tonight, which was too bad. Marksi was an effective diplomat all on his own.

    Hogg, of course, met him outside wearing his usual ck leathers. To his surprise, he announced that they were going on foot.

    "Oh, thank Solia," said Brin. "I think I''ll miss Jeeves, though. It was nice having you, Reginald. Don''t be a stranger now."

    "You know he''s a construct of hard light, right? Like one of your Mirror Images?"

    "Geez, say that out loud here in public, why don''t you?" Brin griped, but he noticed that Hogg had at least silenced the area against eavesdroppers.

    Rather than simply disappearing, Jeeves clutched his heart, and then spoke in a deeply resonant voice. "Ah, I see my purpose is fulfilled and that I am at an end. Woe is me!"

    "Um. Bye now," Brin said.

    "I think I''ll miss you most of all, Master the Mistaken. Oh no. NO! It''s happening. Death is upon me!" Jeeves¡¯ skin and flesh exploded from his ck bones in a spray of shadow that sttered all around the ground in every direction. His coal-ck bones stepped forward, mouth open in agony, before finally copsing to the ground, melting into the pool of shadow on the ground. Eventually that too disappeared, seeping into the cracks of the cobblestone.

    Brin shook his head. "A little morbid, don''t you think?"

    Hogg grinned ghoulishly. "Face it, despite the fact that you know he''s a fake, you felt a little bad for him just then, didn''t you? You''re going to be a little worried about this until you see him again, aren''t you? Admit it, you are!"

    "No!" Brin said, though Hogg obviously wasn''t fooled. "Ok, wait, no, we need to talk about this. Why are you sofortable with people knowing that you can make walking, talking clones? Your enemies are going to be expecting them now."

    Hogg tapped his nose. "And they''ll think the giveaway is thepleteck of color. They''ll look for people wearing ck. By revealing a little, I conceal a lot."

    Brin folded his arms. "No, I''m not buying it. You''ve given away a key advantage with the Jeeves disy."

    "You''re not seeing this the right way. I''m doing exactly what I''ve always done." Hogg shoved his hands in his coat pockets and stalked down the street. Brin followed.

    With his [Traveler] Achievement, his movement speed was increased when out ofbat, but it worked so smoothly and seamlessly that he hardly noticed it unless he was looking for it. The city just seemed to sail by a bit faster, each step covered more ground.

    Hogg must''ve had Achievements like that as well, because Brin had to hurry to keep up with him.

    Halfway to the Wogans'' estate, Hogg said out of the blue, "I think I like the idea of people knowing what I can do."

    "What do you mean?" asked Brin.

    "Just what I said. Shoot. To think I could be this old and still have the System mess with my thinking. If the pitfall for [Illusionists] is defensiveness and being overly secretive, the danger of [Mages] is megalomania. I liked the way that those servants looked at us when we walked in with Jeeves by our side."

    Brin didn''t admit it out loud, but he''d kind of enjoyed that too.

    Hogg shrugged. "Well, the cat¡¯s out of the bag with shadow people. I''ll try not to reveal any more power, though."

    "Especially when they''re tied to my secrets as well," said Brin.

    "Nah. Why would I care about that?"

    Brin red at him and Hoggughed. The old guy was definitely nervous if he wasughing this much.

    When they arrived at the Wogan estate, it was the total opposite of what they¡¯d seen at the Riposto ce. Instead of carefully trimmed shrubs and symmetrical nning, the Wogan gardens were made in such a way as to appear natural, as if they¡¯d just sprung up from the ground like that. And instead of coldness and intimidation, Glyn was standing at the gate himself with Sion by his side.

    Standing together, it was hard for Brin to see the family resemnce. Sion was lean and fit, while Glyn wore rolls of fat like a badge of honor. Also, Glyn waspletely bald. Actually, Pio was bald too, wasn''t he? Was that a Prinnashian thing? Did Brin have to worry about that? He''d already been prematurely balding in his old life; it would be too cruel to have to deal with that in apletely new body.

    When he saw them arrive, Glyn held his arms out wide. "Ah here they are! Wee! Truly, what an honor it is to finally meet."

    "I apologize for our tardiness," said Hogg. "I hope you weren''t waiting long."

    "Nonsense! Are you not even earlier than you told us you''d be? Only, I was so excited to see you that I could not help but wait at the gate. Come! Come inside and see my home. Only I hope you start to see it as yours! Brin and Sion have be such good friends. Like brothers! I hope that you and I will be great friends as well."

    "I''d like that very much, sir," Hogg said awkwardly.

    Glyn dropped his outraised arms and put forward a hand to shake. When Hogg sped it, Glyn pulled him back into a hug.

    "Now,e and be wee to my humble dwelling." With one arm still over Hogg''s shoulder, Glyn turned towards the mansion, and they began their walk across the gardens.

    "The grounds are beautiful. Those trees are a particrly nice touch. Not often you see multi-stemmed shrubs grown to the size of oaks. Your [Gardener] must be a rare talent," said Hogg.

    "Ah, this? It''s the best I could do with the limited resources we have out here in this humble outpost. If only you could see my home in Prinnash!" said Glyn.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Hogg nodded. From the surface he looked perfectly amiable, but Brin knew him well enough that he wanted nothing more than to throw off Glyn''s arm and start growling at everyone. "That''s right, the Wogans are centered outside of Aberquay, if I''m not mistaken."

    Glyn grinned in delight. "You are truly well-informed. Yes, indeed!"

    "I think I might have walked past your outer buildings once or twice. Do I remember a special red flower that grew on all the walls there? Heart Flower? Heart something."

    "Yes, yes!" Glyn said eagerly. "The Spice of Heart! You truly have been there if you remember that! If you see the rose bushes there, and then there. Those have been ced to be reminiscent of the flowers from my home. You Frenarians love your roses, do you not? I thought to keep the effect of my home while adapting to local sensibilities."

    Despite how Glyn acted like he had to point out the roses or Hogg andpany might miss them, they grew in enormous, luscious hillocks that stood twice as tall as Brin.

    "They''re nice," agreed Hogg.

    "Aw, dear me. You hate them!" groaned Glyn.

    "Not at all! I only thought it would be nice to see the Spice of Heart again," said Hogg.

    "Say no more, my friend. If you do not like the roses, then they are gone." Glyn pped his hands two times, and a veritable army of [Gardeners] sprung from the house and discreetly ced maintenance sheds to descend on the hills of roses. They descended upon them, chopping them down and tearing them out by the root.

    The work went absurdly quickly, and Brin saw a level 50 [Gardener] among the others, wearing the same standard work uniform. He was starting to understand now why Hogg was so nervous. How high leveled must Wogan be, if he could have a [Gardener] like that on staff? And he wasn''t even the leader of the family, just the head of a branch.

    "Oh, you don''t have to do that!" said Hogg.

    "My friend, how could I do anything else?" replied Wogan.

    The roses were removed and carted away, and then the [Gardeners] returned with wheelbarrows full of nters. The nters were filled with short stalks of green covered in very distinct red flowers, tipped with gold on the edge of the leaves. By the time that Brin and the others reached the house, the plot where the rosebushes had stood were nearly entirely covered with the new flowers.

    Brin nced at Sion, who looked back with a pained smile. On the surface, it was an over-the-top disy of the trademark Prinnashian friendliness, but really it was a tremendous show of strength. Glyn was doing exactly what Fernand had done. He was projecting strength to give himself the advantage for the uing negotiations; he was just a lot better at it than Fernand had been.

    Glyn wasn''t only saying "I am powerful." He was saying "I am effortlessly powerful, and you better choose your words carefully." Brin wondered if they really should have left Jeeves at home.

    Inside the house, they found a great hall not too different from Fernand''s, except that Glyn skipped the disy of having all the servants line up for them. The mansion was actually built long rather than wide, so that when you walked through it, it was much bigger than it appeared from the inside. After the great hall, they went through a long, wide hallway with checkerboard floors and masterpiece paintings lining the walls.

    Hogg was careful topliment everything as they went along. Brin got the feeling that thepliments were less about sucking up to his host, and more to disy his knowledge. Like the Spice of Heart flower, Hogg seemed to know a bit of everything about who the Wogans were and where they came from.

    "That bench in the corner is Melting Cherry Wood, isn''t it? Glorious!"

    "Indeed it is, my friend. There isn''t a morefortable wood for sitting."

    "This window isn''t ss. Can that be a solid sheet of diamond?"

    "Yes indeed. Good eye!" Glyn responded. Brin felt a little embarrassed that he hadn''t noticed it first; his magic wasn''t detecting that window at all.

    "That vase! No, not a vase. That can''t be a ritual urn from Theranor. It can''t be smuggled, so it must have been awarded by the Hierophant himself."

    "Yes, it was, though that happened in my grandfather''s time." The vase in question looked like a granite stone with a hole drilled into it, though Value Sense told Brin it was priceless.

    "The man on the horse in that painting. Do I detect a family resemnce!"

    "You tterer! But you are correct. That is my grandfather''s grandfather. We were not always a house of [Merchants], you know."

    The painting depicted a fierce battle, with men in armor on both sides. Glyn''s great-great grandfather led a charge atop a white horse. The image was picture-quality perfect, but still had all the ir of creativity that came from a real [Artist].

    Glyn epted everypliment with grace, before finally pausing outside a door. Brin''s Invisible Eye told him there was an office on the other side.

    "You seem to me to be a man of refinement and impable taste," said Glyn.

    "No, no, that''s not¨C" Hogg began.

    Brin jumped in. "You''re right. He tries to hide it, but he is."

    "I have a tea from Polissia, a special import, and I''ve been waiting for the right moment to try it. I fear to try it myself without someone on hand who can help me to appropriately appreciate it. I fear the master of the tea houses here in ckcliff have not quite managed to impress me."

    Hogg licked his lips, no doubt sensing a trap but being unable to turn away. "You''re right about the tea houses here. Overpriced for barely adequate tea. Hardly better than tearing the leaves off trees as you walk along and boiling that."

    "My thoughts exactly! Perhaps you could... Oh, but I forget myself. That''s not why you''re here. Come, we should discuss our arrangement."

    Glyn opened the door to a in, tidy office with a since sheet of paper on an otherwise empty desk.

    The four of them filed in, with Hogg and Glyn facing each other across the desk, and Sion and Brin sitting together on the side.

    "We should discuss our terms. Only what is there to discuss? You need ships. I have ships! I will take your cargo where you wish it to go and sell it for you anywhere in the world. You can depend on me, my friend. Your profits will be quite tidy, I guarantee it!"

    "I don''t doubt that at all; no, in fact I feel a little bad. We''re talking about barely more than three thousand gold here. Is this even worth your time?"

    "This sum is nothing to be embarrassed about! And do not worry! We Wogans care for the future, not for a one-and-done sale. I see this as the beginning of a long and fruitful rtionship."

    "I see. Good, that''s really good to hear." Hogg was floundering, but Brin couldn''t see a way to help. From the surface, everything looked perfectly cordial.

    "I went to the liberty to draw up a contract. All very standard stuff. You can read it if you''d like¨Cno, you should read it." The expression on Glyn''s face made it very clear that he didn''t actually expect Hogg to read it. Brin felt the pressure to sign quickly and get this over with, but it was subtle. He couldn¡¯t tell if it was pushing against his Mental Resistance, or if that was actually how he really felt.

    ¡°Uncle, they should certainly read it, don¡¯t you think?¡± said Sion.

    ¡°Of course! Did I not say they should?¡± said Glyn.

    ¡°Perhaps we might have a conversation about certain uses¡­¡± Sion tried again.

    ¡°Surely such details are beneath their notice. Why bother these fine gentlemen with such triviality?¡± said Glyn.

    Hogg looked torn, and Brin could see the problem. He''d been a fair match for Fernand with time, wealth, and extreme preparation, but there was no way he''d be able to win a contest of negotiation with someone like Glyn. He had to depend on the Wogan¡¯s good will. Refusing to sign would undoubtedly and turning this into an unfriendly negotiation would give them a worse oue overall.

    "I don''t think that will be necessary," said Hogg. "Let me just find a pen..."

    Glyn''s eyes glinted. He held up a pen. "There''s one here."

    Brin couldn¡¯t sit by and let this happen. "Can I read it?"

    "It''s really nothing out of the ordinary," said Glyn.

    "That''s why I want to read it. This is nothing new for you or Hogg, but eventually I''ll need to be able to understand this stuff," said Brin.

    "Well, if you wish, I don''t see why not..." said Glyn.

    "I''m sure Master Wogan here has better things to do than sit here and help aplete novice understand a basic contract," said Hogg. He scrunched his face up in displeasure, but there was gratitude in his eyes.

    "No, who is this Master Wogan? Are we not friends? Please, Brin, take all the time you need. I have nothing else nned for tonight. Indeed, I always have time to instruct the next generation."

    He took Hogg¡¯s seat facing across from Glyn and looked down at the paper. He made his eyes move across it, but didn''t bother reading. With his Silent Voice, he asked Hogg, "Ok, run me through it. What am I looking at here?"

    "It''s a disaster," Hogg responded. "It''spletely one-sided. With that, Wogan could take everything we have and give us nothing in return. Not to say he would actually do that. He''ll be generous and probably give us more than we deserve, but it''ll be an act of charity on his part; he won''t have to give us a thin nickel. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth, but I think I''ve got to sign."

    This was why Hogg had been so nervous about this meeting. As an [Illusionist], Hogg had always been able to act on his own terms and do business with whoever he wanted. He¡¯d probably chosen Fernand because that¡¯s how he liked to operate; a no holds barred slugging match where each side boldly stated their own case. A ¡°friendly¡± negotiation like this waspletely out of hisfort zone.

    Brin winced and pushed the contract back towards the [Merchant]. ¡°Are you doing ok, Glyn?¡±

    Glyn sat up straight looking offended. ¡°How could I be doing anything other than most excellently?¡±

    ¡°Sorry. That came out wrong. What I meant to ask was, do you maybe need some money?¡±

    From the corner of his eye, he saw Hogg and Sion¡¯s eyes bulge out, and Glyn¡¯s jaw actually dropped.

    Brin rushed to continue. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong! I¡¯m not saying this to embarrass you. You¡¯re among friends here! There¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. Even the best [Merchants] can fall on hard times once in a while and with the war against Arcaena and the conflict between Prinnash and Frenaria all sorts of things could¡¯ve happened! All I¡¯m saying is that maybe instead of a partnership, we can do something else to get you on your feet. Hogg and I will liquidate his inventory here in ckcliff for a loss, and hopefully that will give you some breathing room until I can arrange for some real help. I know what I¡¯ll do! I¡¯ll write to Lumina. Would 50,000 pieces of gold be enough, do you think? You know what, I¡¯ll ask for 100,000 and see what she says.¡±

    Glyn tried to speak a couple times, making choking sounds and growing red in the face. ¡°The¡­ I don¡¯t¡­ the Wogan Mercantile Group does not require a bailout! I assure you, our finances are quite sound. I will throw open our records if you cannot believe my word!¡±

    Brin flinched when Glyn pped the table to emphasize hisst point. He stood up at some point and now was looming over Brin. He sighed and visibly attempted to calm himself, pushed out his coattails as he sat back down.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No, no, the fault is mine,¡± said Glyn, though he clearly wanted Brin to keep apologizing.

    ¡°I said that I don¡¯t really understand this stuff; clearly I waspletely wrong. I¡¯ve offended you.¡±

    ¡°Not so!¡± said Glyn. He tried his best at making a kindly smile. ¡°Is there some part of the contract that you take issue with?¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just not what I was expecting, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Show me the offending paragraph, and we shall strike it away!¡± promised Glyn.

    ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll write something up along the lines of what I was expecting, and you can correct it for me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Would you like me to bring in a [Solicitor] or [Scribe] to assist you?¡± asked Glyn.

    ¡°No need,¡± said Brin. ¡°This won¡¯t take long.¡±

    Using Silent Voice, Hogg said to Brin, ¡°No matter how good a contract you write up, he¡¯ll find some way to get the upper hand. He might not be showing it, but he¡¯s actually still kind of upset.¡±

    Responding the same way, Brin said, ¡°Give me the most one-sided, punitive contract you can think of. Trust me.¡±

 Book 4. Chapter 6

    Hogg started talking, and Brin used a couple Directed Threads to jot it down. For paper, he flipped the original contract around and started writing with the pen Glyn had given Hogg.

    It was a little strange at first to feel his arm moving without his direct control, but when he looked up and met Glyn¡¯s eyes it was easy to ignore it.

    <strong>DT2: Error. Please return vision to the target.</strong>

    Brin looked back down so that the directed threads could see what they were doing. While he wrote, he said, ¡°I¡¯m so dumb. I don¡¯t know why I could ever think you guys are hurting for money. This ce is fantastic! A real paradise, and I know Sion is a practical person. There¡¯s no way you would live so well unless you could really afford it.¡±

    Glyn smiled, looking a little more at home with the direction this conversation was going. ¡°Ah, you tter me. It¡¯s nothing much. Barely adequate, really, but well within our means.¡±

    ¡°So your problem must be something else.¡±

    Glyn¡¯s smile turned exasperated again. ¡°What problem? It is true that it is sometimes a trial to live so far from my dear family, but with Sion now here with me, life has never been better!¡±

    Brin shook his finger at Glyn, still writing with the other hand. ¡°You¡¯re trying not to burden me with it. I respect that, but I¡¯ll have it out of you! It must be a political problem. Did you run into trouble with a guild or a noble family?¡±

    ¡°Nothing of the sort! How can I make you believe me?¡±Brin used his free hand to pull the ring Lumina had given him out of the ne he kept under his shirt, and set the pen down for a brief moment to put it on his finger.

    <strong>DT2: Error. Return pen to hand.</strong>

    Brin started writing again, Lumina¡¯s si ring firmly on his finger. Sure, Sion had told Glyn that Brin was an [Archmage¡¯s] son, but he¡¯d never actually shown him the ring. It was one thing to hear a rumor, and it was another thing to see proof.

    ¡°Hogg and I are terrific at dealing with problems like that. Just today we thumbed the eye of the Hackman¡¯s Guild by bringing our own guy to drive the carriage. We¡¯re kind of hoping that they¡¯ll get offended and do something stupid so we can crush them. They probably won¡¯t, though. I bet they¡¯ll just roll over and take it.¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t know how much power the Hackman¡¯s Guild actually had, honestly, or if they would be offended by what Hogg had done. He was just trying to say things that an arrogant young noble would say.

    ¡°But why? Have they offended you?¡± asked Glyn.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°No reason. Just bored, I guess. But I don¡¯t think a guild could stifle the Wogan Mercantile Group. I respect you guys more than that.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Glyn.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t done <em>any</em> research. We looked you up, and you¡¯re a big deal. You¡¯re nearly as untouchable in Prinnash as I am here in Frenaria.¡±

    ¡°Quite kind, but I would never go so far as that,¡± Glyn said with a little more uncertainty.

    ¡°It¡¯s a noble house, isn¡¯t it? Tell me the name and I¡¯ll take care of it. Lumina won¡¯t get upset if I crush one little noble house here in ckcliff. I bet she¡¯d even let me seize the title if I wanted. I¡¯ve never really wanted a title, but maybe you could use one? It would be easier to do business in Frenaria if you hadnds and a protectorate.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not necessary,¡± said Glyn.

    ¡°It¡¯s really fine. Frenaria doesn¡¯t sweat the little things when ites to the family of an [Archmage].¡±

    ¡°That is veryforting to hear,¡± said Glyn. ¡°However, my own country might see it as disloyal.¡±

    Brin had an idea. He created a conscious thread, with the idea that it should use his illusion magic to make himself look a little more frightening.

    <strong>Main: Make sure to be subtle, I don¡¯t want to give away that I¡¯m an [Illusionist].</strong>

    <strong>CT1: Yeah, I got that. I was literally a part of you when you had this idea, remember?</strong>

    He looked down, pretending to busy himself with the contract he was writing. Time sped up, and his brain seemed to be moving double time. He could still hear Hogg telling him what he should write, but he tuned it out; his directed thread was dealing with that. Glyn pretended not to be reading it as Brin wrote, but he could see the growing concern and the offense in the man¡¯s features.

    His hand stopped. Hogg was done. He picked the paper up and skimmed over it while stalling for time. Hogg had really gone all out, just from the first parts Brin could see, it dictated that Wogan turn over the shipping portion of his business to Brin, pay him for the privilege, and guarantee to cover any losses should the venture not be as profitable as they hoped.

    Finally, his thread put a message in the master log.

    <strong>CT1: Alright, I made your eyes lose all their color and the pupils arerger and cker; they should look like pits into the void now. I also made your skin turn grayish and your clothes darker. I darkened it all gradually over the course of a few minutes, so he shouldn¡¯t have even noticed it happened. I also pitched your voice down a little. I¡¯m going to go into low power mode until this is done so you don¡¯t get distracted by the influx of new memories. DT4 is maintaining the illusion.</strong>

    Perfect. He felt time go back to close to normal, and then looked up to meet Glyn¡¯s eyes and spoke slowly. ¡°Why do you look so nervous? Don¡¯t worry about a thing. You don''t have anything to fear. There¡¯s no one who can touch you at all if I¡¯m on your side, Glyn. There¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t do; no, there¡¯s nothing I <em>won¡¯t</em> do for the people I care about.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I quite understand,¡± said Glyn.

    Brin put the paper down and slid it towards Glyn. Glyn picked it up, pretending that he hadn¡¯t already read every word.

    ¡°So what do you think? Like I said, it¡¯s my first time writing a contract. Did I do a good job?¡± He put on just the hint of a mocking smile.

    ¡°Yes. Excellent. This is very¡­ thorough,¡± said Glyn.

    <strong>Main: To DT4, please fade out your illusions over the next thirty seconds.</strong>

    <strong>DT1: Understood.</strong>

    ¡°What? No!¡± said Brin. ¡°I was just writing random stuff down. I had hoped you could look it over and see what I did wrong.¡±

    ¡°I see no mistake,¡± Glyn said grimly. ¡°I¡¯ll sign immediately. Where is my pen?¡±

    Brin offered Glyn his pen back, but Glyn refused. ¡°You keep that one. I¡¯ll find another.¡±

    He took a second pen from apartment under the desk.

    ¡°No.¡± Brin shook his head slowly. ¡°No. I¡¯m not sure why, but I get the feeling that you¡¯re only signing this to make me happy. I don¡¯t think this is a very good deal for you.¡±

    ¡°That could not be further from the case!¡± said Glyn. He signed his name on the bottom with a flourish. ¡°See? It¡¯s done. My friends, let us celebrate! I look forward to a long and fruitful rtionship!¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.

    Something was wrong. It wasn¡¯t the fact that Glyn had signed; he¡¯d been expecting that.

    No, what was weird was that he hadn¡¯t even the hint of a Skill trying to mess with his emotions. Not when Glyn had made a big ostentatious disy of power, not when he¡¯d pressured them to sign quickly, and not now.

    Glyn didn¡¯t have any of the [Merchant] mind Skills. Or he wasn¡¯t using them.

    ¡°No. I can¡¯t agree to this,¡± said Brin. He picked up the contract and tore it in half, then tore the pieces in half again and again.

    <strong>DT4: Illusions fully faded out. Returning.</strong>

    <strong>CT1: Returning.</strong>

    ¡°I refuse to win if that means that you lose. We need to figure out something where we both win, or we shouldn¡¯t do business at all. I¡¯m not going to sacrifice our friendship just so I can scoot sharp pieces of metal around in a boat,¡± said Brin.

    Glyn scowled, but Brin couldn¡¯t help but feel that he looked a little happy. ¡°But young my friend, there was nothing at all the matter with the contract you drew up!¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°What are you talking about? We gain ownership of your vessels? I can¡¯t believe I thought that would be a good idea. We should do what your contract said! You take ownership of the goods the moment they go onboard. You can pay us what you think is fair after the goods have been sold and after all your expenses.¡±

    ¡°Madness!¡± Glyn said. ¡°What I think is fair may not be what you think is fair! You''ll have all the profits after expenses. These are <em>your</em> items, are they not? Although, I will admit, there was a reason I asked forplete ownership in the original contract. I have Skills that improve the quality of goods while they are in my care. This isn¡¯t a simple trick of Value Sense, either, but an actual increase in quality. Your armor will be stronger, and enchantments will see increased potency.¡±

    Brin was about to use Silent Voice to ask Hogg to step in, because he was quickly getting out of his depth here, but the old guy didn¡¯t need prodding. He said, ¡°Well hold on now, I can¡¯t let you give us a hundred percent of profits. You have to at least take what House Carav would ask for.¡±

    ¡°I could never!¡± Glyn said, aghast. ¡°What do you take me for? House Carav is nothing but [Thieves] and [Rogues]! They¡¯d ask for seventy percent. No! No my friend, you must let me give <em>you</em> the seventy percent.¡±

    ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Hogg said with a snort. ¡°Try again.¡±

    ¡°Sixty?¡± Glyn tried.

    ¡°Thirty-five,¡± said Hogg.

    Glyn held his heart as if he¡¯d been stabbed. ¡°How could you wound me with such a suggestion?¡±

    Hogg seemed to find his feet after that. He quickly started to understand that he could be as mean and nasty as he always was, only this time he spent that energy arguing for the opposite side. Gradually, they both phased Brin out of the conversation, and neither seemed to notice when he vacated the chair and went back over to sit next to Sion.

    ¡°Excellently done, my friend,¡± Sion whispered.

    ¡°I feel a little bad. Did I go overboard just now?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°No, no! If anything you could have gone much further!"

    For the rest of negotiations, Brin was content to sit and listen. Much of the conversation was above his ability to contribute, if not exactly above his head. Actually, this was where he wasfortable. He¡¯d sat in on a few meetings like this in his old life, but it was always as a technical expert, never really as the prime stakeholder.

    He started to paint a picture of what kind of Skills Glyn had by the things he didn''t budge on. At no point could Hogg and Brin im any kind of ownership, not as partners or even as investors. This was because Glyn''s Skills only worked for himself. His products would find their way to the hands of people who needed them. His potatoes would multiply in quantity as he stored them, his workers would find more money in their pockets than he had given them, and the cargo holds of his ships would be free of rats or mold¨Cbut only if they were his.

    Throughout the conversation, a steady stream of servants came in and out offering treats. Sion, Hogg, and Glyn ignored thempletely, while Brin nibbled at a few cookies to be polite.

    The negotiation concluded with aplex scheme where Glyn would give Hogg a partial payment immediately for the products he''d be shipping, and the remainder would be paid with a line of credit whose value was tied to the eventual sale price. Hogg wanted to keep investment in the venture even though he couldn''t keep ownership, and this seemed to be the best he could get while also keeping Glyn''s Skills working at their best.

    After the majority of the details had been worked out with the back and forth infighting, the two of them had then worked together to figure out how to keep the bulk of the profits for themselves and cut out Fernand.

    When the two men finally stood and shook hands, there was obvious relief on Hogg''s face, while Glyn seemed excited and stimted the confrontation.

    "And now, did I not promise you the finest tea in ckcliff? Come,e and see how the Wogan family makes good on their boasts!"

    "Uncle, my friend Brin has no taste for such things. We would not bore you with our presence," said Sion.

    Glyn leaned to the side towards Hogg and said conspiratorially, "By that he means that he is bored of me. Run along, then, you scallywag! No need to listen to this old man drone on any longer."

    "Uncle! How could you say this? You know that I would never call you old," said Sion.

    "Ha! You see what I put up with?" Glyn asked Hogg, and the two of them left down the hall.

    Sion led Brin to the portion of the mansion that he was starting to realize was his personal space. Up some stairs and to the side, there was avish sitting room and a nice balcony looking down over one of ckcliff''s famous ck cliffs to the city below.

    They sat on the balcony, and a [Maid] followed them to stand near the door, clearly waiting for something.

    "My friend, what can I offer you? And I know you would rather spare us both the usual song and dance, so answer me truthfully."

    That was a rather abrupt departure from the scripting from Sion, so Brin smiled to show he appreciated it and answered. "Bread, maybe? Nothing sweet. I ate too many cookies in the room, and I don''t think my stomach can handle any more. Honestly, I was so nervous I thought I was going to was going to throw up."

    Sion gave one nce to the [Maid], who nodded and left without a word, then shook his head at Brin. "You were nervous? Then think of my poor uncle! Did you see the look on his face when you told him in your direct Brinny way that you could kill anyone you wished and get away with it? I''ve never seen his face turn that particr shade of green, and I tell you this most truthfully."

    "Green? I remember red. I thought he was going to snap my head clean off."

    "That was not anger, but embarrassment. That was when he realized that you had just done exactly what he had tried to do to you. He lured you in and then brazenly delivered a show of strength under the guise of friendship, and then tossed a ludicrously one-sided contract in your face. I must apologize most humbly, I never would have invited you here if I knew he would behave himself in such a fashion."

    Brin shrugged. "The contract we ended up with was pretty simr to the one he showed us in the first ce. There was a reason it looked like that; it''ll benefit us both in the end."

    "In my uncle¡¯s defense, the Frenarian¡¯s we have worked with have asserted themselves most aggressively, and I fear he may have picked up some poor habits. But that¡¯s no excuse! He should have exined it all honestly from the start, rather than hint that you need not even read it," said Sion. "However..."

    He let the word hang in the air, looking reluctant.

    "Go on."

    "Despite how it looks, I must tell you that my uncle would never call someone friend and then take advantage of them," said Sion.

    "I believe you.¡±

    ¡°If my uncle was upset by how you acted, it was only because you removed his ability to prove his sincerity by overdelivering on every promise.¡±

    Brin stretched out his neck, surprised at the tension there. Give him a horde of zombies to fight any day; tense conversations were the worst. ¡°Honestly if it had only been me, I probably would¡¯ve let it happen. But it would¡¯ve driven Hogg crazy. He¡¯s the type of guy who needs to be respected rather than liked.¡±

    The [Maid] returned, setting a tray of food down on an end table near their patio before leaving again. There was bread like Brin had asked for, in three varieties with butter and several different options for jam. She¡¯d also brought a charcuterie board spread of meat and cheeses, as well as a hearty and spicy-smelling stew. Orange juice, beer, milk and wine stood in pitchers. As well as one clear ss pitcher of ice water.

    Brin raised his eyebrow at the water. ¡°Nice.¡±

    Sion chuckled and poured himself a ss. Brin took the bowl of stew, and quickly found that it was exactly what he needed. Warm, filling, and bursting with vor.

    ¡°Can I ask you something? And seriously no pressure if this is too personal, but why didn¡¯t I feel any sort of mental maniption while we were talking to Glyn?¡±

    Sion choked on his water. He coughed, then said, ¡°Did we also fail to strike you across the face six times? Did no one throw offal at your clothes? Has no one spit upon you? Honestly, Brin, how could you ask such a thing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think maybe a Frenarian [Merchant] would put up a token effort to test my mental resistance, just to show that he¡¯s taking me seriously.¡±

    ¡°Frenarian madness! If you ever get the urge to ce a knife in my stomach in order to prove to me that you take me seriously, I beg you to please refrain!¡±

    Brin held up his hand in apology. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not saying he should have. I¡¯m d he didn¡¯t. I guess what I¡¯m getting at is¡­ See how I¡¯m a [sser], so everything is about [Shape ss]. Every time I get the choice, I¡¯ll upgrade [Shape ss], unless some other Skill will improve that ability even more. Like, I took [Memories of ss], but that¡¯s only because it would make [Shape ss] better faster than a direct upgrade. Do [Merchants] have a base Skill like that?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see what you¡¯re saying. No, this is no secret. The Skill you are looking for is [Bargain]. And we the humble grifters of Prinnash neglect it badly. After all, why bother advancing a Skill if you could be executed on the spot for ever using it?¡±

    ¡°Is it really that bad?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Worse, I imagine. But this weakness is to our gain. We cannot trick people into doing a deal, so we make them <em>need</em> to do business with us. We spend all our Skill on things that directly increase our wealth. Trades that would be losses for others are profitable for us. Other [Merchants] make their gold on the negotiating table. When a Wogan finally gets to the negotiating table, everything has already been decided.¡±

    Brin grinned at the obvious pride in Sion¡¯s voice. He finished the soup, and turned to the bread. Time to shake the world with an unparalleled invention from Earth. He took two pieces of bread, put meat and cheese between them, and made a sandwich. Sion barely noticed.

    ¡°It¡¯s convenient that all your Skills only work if you have ownership. How is a [Warrior] or [Knight] supposed to abduct you in the middle of the night and force you to work for his household if all your Skills turn useless the minute you¡¯re not in business for yourself?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes, it is a truly terrible coincidence,¡± Sion said. ¡°But you are mistaken in one thing; they would not bother to wait until the middle of the night.¡±

 Book 4. Chapter 7

    The next day, Brin woke with a kind of manic energy, a pressure to make progress in all the little things he¡¯d been working on. Things were changing, people were moving, and one way or another, these slow peaceful days wereing to an end. He¡¯d been through this in the past, but unlike before, this time he actually had a deadline. In two weeks Lumina would tell him what she had nned for him; he would either join her in the tower or go into hiding somewhere else. Two weeks to finish everything.

    He wanted to start right away. Theser he was working on was close, he knew it, but he hadn¡¯t quite cracked it yet. But as soon as he entered the workshop, Davi knocked on his door for their usual workouts. Davi was only able to make it about once every three mornings, so Brin couldn¡¯t blow him off in favor of a project he could do any time.

    When Brin opened the door, he noticed that Davi¡¯s status still read [Bard]. That made sense, he supposed, since [Bards] were beloved and not everyone knew what a [Skald] was.

    Davi was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He grunted a good morning, and then indicated the road with his shoulder. Brin nodded, and together they set off. It was too early for words. For Davi at least. Brin had woken up positively wired, but he understood the feeling.

    They never got around tomissioning another set of weights. Jeffrey had told Davi that lugging around heavy weights or buying a new set in every city wasn¡¯t a sustainable lifestyle for a [Bard] and insisted that he think of something else. After some thought, Davi had found a lumberyard that would let him lug some of their heavy logs around in the mornings. People basically let [Bards] do whatever they wanted.

    They jogged to the lumberyard in question, and Brin enjoyed the cool morning air. None of the [Carpenters] or [Woodworkers] had arrived yet, but a few preteens who hadn¡¯t been through System Day yet were already there and sweeping the shop.

    Davi started right off by heaving a tree trunk ten feet long and a foot wide over his shoulders, and then starting in on squats. That couldn¡¯t be right. If you only got the chance to work out two times a week, it didn¡¯t seem fair that either of those days should be <em>leg day</em>.

    Brin sighed and hefted a slightly smaller trunk over his shoulders and got to work beside his friend.

    For most of the hour or so that they exercised, Brin was breathing too hard to want to make conversation, but he did manage to ask, ¡°What have you been up totely?¡±¡°[Bard] life. Singing songs, telling tales. Actually, ckcliff isn¡¯t a bad spot for me. As long as we keep to the taverns and public houses near the docks, ckcliff isn¡¯t as restrictive on [Bard] magic as Oud¡¯s Bog was, so I can get some real practice in. Mostly I¡¯ve been working on the Epic of Hammon¡¯s Bog.¡±

    ¡°Really? I thought that was done,¡± said Brin. ¡°You yed it while we killed all those sea monsters.¡±

    ¡°No, that was just a small portion of it. The Fight Song of Hammon¡¯s Bog, maybe. An epic needs to be at least ten minutes long. Twenty is better. Also, I¡¯ve been redoing parts of it. Ever since I became a [Skald] I¡¯ve had tons of new ideas about how the music should go.¡±

    Brin got one notification for his efforts.

    <strong>Through training you have received the following attribute:</strong>

    <strong>Vitality +1</strong>

    "What''s your n for today?" Davi asked as they were wrapping up. "I was going to meet up with Myra and Sionter. Zilly will probably show up."

    "Hogg came into some money, and I think he means to do some shopping." Then Brin remembered what it would mean to have Sion and Zilly together in the same room. "Oh, but I want toe with you instead. Let''s go back and wash up, and then we can head out together. You can use my shower."

    Davi looked down at himself, seeing a shirt soaked in sweat. "Why? I''m not dirty."

    "Just trust me."

    The run home was almost too much for Brin after a leg-focused workout, but he managed to get the entire way home without tripping or otherwise embarrassing himself.

    He showered first, and then convinced Davi to take one as well. He didn''t have anything in Davi''s size for him to change into, but it was better than nothing. Originally, he''d invited Myra, Zilly and Davi to stay with him and Hogg, but they''d all turned him down for different reasons.

    Myra had opted to stay with the caravan; she''d be traveling on with them when they left ckcliff. With their leader dead and so many othersing on or leaving, it was apletely different group now, and she wanted to get to know everyone before they left. Davi had been forbidden by Jeffrey. Part of his [Bard] training meant that he needed to mooch off of people, apparently, and Brin was too easy. Davi had to find a new home to give up one of their beds each night, and he wasn''t to eat anything that wasn''t provided for free.

    By the time Davi was done, Hogg was starting to stir, so Brin made the three of them breakfast, though Davi made him promise he wouldn''t tell Jeffrey.

    When Hogg entered the room and sat down at the table, Brin had the food ready and he set down a te of fried mato, bacon, and eggs. Mato wasn¡¯t actually amon food here in ckcliff, and Brin honestly didn¡¯t like it at all, but somehow it had ended up in his pantry and Davi liked it. He put together tes for himself and Davi, and identally left off the mato from his own te.

    Hogg moved slowly, looking a little worn out. He gazed at nothing and by the time he had taken three bites, Davi was nearly done.

    ¡°I did some shopping,¡± Hogg announced out of nowhere.

    ¡°When? We got home prettytest night. Everything was closed.¡±

    Clearly, money could open closed doors. Hogg was such a kid. Now that he was rich again, he had stayed up all night shopping while Brin was asleep.

    Instead of answering, Hogg reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a slim paper package. He tossed it on the table.

    Brin opened it. Inside was a red cylinder-shaped ruby.

    ¡°Is this¡­ how did you find this?¡± Brin had gone to several different [Jewelers] and other crafting sses, and no one had been able or willing to make something like this for a reasonable fee. They all wanted to start with a really big ruby and whittle it down, and none of them seemed to have the Skills to magically reshape any old ruby into the right configuration. It was frustrating, because he was fairly certain Toros from Hammon¡¯s Bog could¡¯ve done that easily.

    Hogg didn¡¯t answer, and Brin didn¡¯t particrly care. He left the rest of his breakfast and ran through the door, down the hall, and into his workshop. Davi followed him, still chewing after hastily downing the rest of his breakfast.

    ¡°So what¡¯s that for?¡± Davi asked.

    Brin¡¯s first instinct was to evade the question, but there was no reason. Davi was one of the few people who knew he was an [Illusionist]. And honestly, he thought it was time to bring the rest of his friends into the loop as well. After all they¡¯d been through, he thought he should tell Myra, Zilly, and Sion about his ss, if only because they were probably going to find out on their own eventually anyway. That was a thought for another time.

    ¡°This device here is aser.¡± He decided to use the Earth word for it, since he still hadn¡¯t found anyone here that had heard of them. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to make a special kind of light beam. It¡¯s different from regr light because it¡¯s more concentrated so it¡¯ll be stronger, and it¡¯s synchronized so it won¡¯t spread out or dissipate as easily over long distances.¡±

    This whole project had been significantly more difficult that he¡¯d assumed at first. He had always assumed that aser used a series of lenses to focus the light into a beam. But then he¡¯d found a diagram of the first rubyser, and realized that waspletely wrong. Apparently it was more like a shlight, with two parallel mirrors that synchronized the light by bouncing it back and forth through a medium in the middle.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.

    It seemed simple when he just saw a picture, but that was until he had to figure out how to make the medium, or what it meant when it said that one of the mirrors was ¡°partially reflecting.¡± Also annoying was the fact that the particr memory he¡¯d retrieved the diagram from had his roommates ying Call of Duty in the background. That at least had been easily solved when he realized that he could just have a directed thread copy it down for him.

    ¡°So what¡¯s it for?¡± asked Davi.

    Brin scratched his head. He doubted he¡¯d be usingsers for optical storage ormunication any time soon, not unless he found a lot of information in his memories that he¡¯d somehow overlooked. ¡°Maybe I could use it to burn things? Hard to say. I mostly wanted to make it because I had the diagram in my memories. And becausesers are cool! Here, let me turn it on.¡±

    He didn¡¯t actually turn on anything. The one advantage he had against people on earth was because he didn¡¯t need to break up the perfect mirrors inside the shell by putting a light source or battery inside. He was the light source. He pumped theser full of clean, white light.

    A beam of light shed out of a circle in the front of the tube, and bounced off two mirrors until it reached the ce where the mirror that Rhun had been messing with should be.

    Brin picked it up and put it back, and then carefully adjusted it until the light hit the next mirror just right to bounce through the other three he¡¯d set up. It ended by making a pale white dot on the wall.

    Davi put his hand down to interrupt the beam in a few ces, looking at how it was the same dot and the same size no matter where in the setup he was.

    ¡°Is that it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as cool during the day, but at night¨C¡±

    Davi shook his head. ¡°I mean, is that aser? If it¡¯s already working, why do you need that gemstone?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°Kind of an expensive thing to get if you¡¯re not sure why you need it,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°No, I mean I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s already working. It needs a medium, and I made one out of ss, but I honestly can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s working or if that¡¯s just regr light. It <em>seems</em> to be aser, but I can¡¯t tell.¡±

    What he really meant was that the System hadn¡¯t given him any awards, and he thought it should if he actually invented a realser. Even thoughser beams had been theorized by Einstein in 1917, no one had actually seeded in making one until the sixties.

    Brin decided that was enough of a demonstration, and cut the light. He bent over and started pulling off the top of the cylinder with [Shape ss]. He¡¯d actually made this the regr way, by creating actual ss in his oven and stretching it out with tools. It made better ss if he did it by hand for some reason, so the only magic he¡¯d used was to heat the oven and to harden and strengthen the ss as it was cooling.

    With the lid undone, he withdrew the old ss medium and put the ruby in its ce. It didn¡¯t quite fit, so Brin had to resize the cylinder. It took a surprising amount of Mana to widen the hardened ss, and there was always a chance it wouldpromise the quality, but he was too impatient to make another one right now.

    Once he had the ruby secure, he ced the top back on and used [Shape ss] to reseal it.

    Before he even turned on his light magic, the System had something to say.

    <strong>Congrattions! Through your act of creativity, you have increased the following Skills!</strong>

    <strong>Shape ss: 39 -> 41</strong>

    <strong>Summon ss: 28 -> 29</strong>

    <strong>Call Light through ss: 45 -> 46</strong>

    <strong>Level up! 37 -> 38</strong>

    <strong>+5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.</strong>

    <strong>Alert! You have received a new Achievement!</strong>

    <strong>Inventor (Common)</strong>

    <strong>Without aid, you recreated aplex invention based on a technical diagram.</strong>

    <strong>You can now hide details about your creations from Inspect. This ability improves with Hide Status.</strong>

    <strong>Would you like to merge this Achievement with Celebrated? No abilities or benefits will be lost. ( Y / N )</strong>

    Brinughed out loud. He¡¯d been hoping that he¡¯d get some benefit from this, but he¡¯d never expected it would be this much. A new level! Most people never got to level 38 in their entire lives, and at this rate he¡¯d be at 40 before he turned 16.

    As for the Achievement, he figured he had nothing to lose and let the merge happen. The Achievement turned into [Celebrated Creativity], and like it had said he didn¡¯t lose anything, but he didn¡¯t gain anything either. It onlybined them to save space on his status screen.

    ¡°Did you just get a level?¡± asked Davi with a grin.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Brin cheered. ¡°And an Achievement!¡±

    Davi widened his eyes in surprise. ¡°Then this is really going to be something cool, huh? Turn it on!¡±

    Brin didn¡¯t need any encouragement. He pushed a huge amount of light into theser, so bright it would be nearly blinding. A red beam appeared, maybe invisible to someone without an [Illusionist¡¯s] affinities, but the red dot it created on the wall was inly visible.

    ¡°Is that it?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°Shut up! This is amazing!¡±

    Davi was shamefaced. ¡°No, I meant, is that what you were going for? Obviously it¡¯s really cool. It¡¯s such a straight line and¨C¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°You¡¯re fine; I¡¯m aware that it¡¯s not much to look at. Yes, this is what I was going for. You¡¯re going to have to trust me when I say that this is huge.¡±

    The way that theser felt to his senses was entirely unique. He¡¯d known for a while now that his ss magic let him sense the nearby ss, but he¡¯d never really made the connection that he could sense light and sound in the same way. After all, he had eyes and ears for that, and they generally did a better job. But now theser felt different from anything he¡¯d ever experienced before. It was like the first time he¡¯d tried curry; strange and foreign, but delicious.

    ¡°Unbelievable,¡± said Hogg, making Brin jump.

    The old guy must¡¯ve snuck in behind them, Brin hadn¡¯t even realized he was there.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like that,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I¡¯d be surprised if you had,¡± said Brin.

    Davi put his finger in front of the beam. ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡±

    Brin tried, and found it was true. Not enough to hurt him with his [Heat Resistance], but enough to set paper on fire, maybe, if he held the beam on it long enough.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what I was missing. The ruby isn¡¯t just synchronizing the light, it¡¯s also magnifying it.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you find this <em>after</em> I give up my light magic. I can¡¯t even see what you¡¯re doing there,¡± Hogg said with his arms folded. Brin noticed that he was speaking in the Silent Voice and his mouth wasn¡¯t moving, so he didn¡¯t respond.

    Brin picked up theser and started pointing it around, then handed it to Davi when he begged for a turn.

    ¡°Marksi is going to love this!¡± Brin said.

    ¡°Where is the little guy?¡± asked Davi.

    Brin checked the screen his directed thread had running. Marksi was near enough to ckstone that he could see the city walls. ¡°Out with Lurn. He¡¯ll be back in an hour.¡±

    Davi shrugged. ¡°Well, we should probably start heading over if we¡¯re going to meet the girls.¡± He tried to hand theser to Hogg, but he refused. Brin took it back.

    Hogg bit his lip, frowning at the device. ¡°Do me a favor. Figure out how to make one of these in thenguage.¡±

    Brin met his eyes and nodded. What would aser of hard light even look like? It would either be a superweapon, or it wouldn¡¯t work at all.

    Brin and Davi headed out, and Brin left his newser at home, but that didn¡¯t mean he had to stop working on it. He kept a directed thread with an Invisible Eye in the workshop so that any time he wanted to turn it on again he could just create a Conscious Thread back there.

    As they walked they chatted easily about all the ways that city living was inferior to good old Hammon¡¯s Bog, and Brin didn¡¯t need his full brainpower for that. He created a conscious thread with the instruction that it should try to create aser entirely out of illusion magic.

    It seeded surprisingly quickly. Only five or six city blocks down the road, he felt a tug on his mana and then saw a pale red dot on a white cobblestone in front of him, too.

    <strong>Level up! Call Light through ss: 46 -> 50</strong>

    Davi noticed it as well. ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡±

    Brin nodded.

    Davi punched his shoulder. ¡°Nice!¡±

    Brin smiled and did a fist pump, and the pale dot faded away.

    He waited. Nothing happened. He went to his log.

    <strong>Main: Hey, what are you doing? Return already! I want to know how you did that!</strong>

    <strong>CT1: Returning.</strong>

    The insight hit him all at once. At first he¡¯d tried to copy the way theser had felt and conjure it directly. They called that intrinsic casting, meaning that he created the light on instinct without using the Language. It hadn¡¯t worked; he wasn¡¯t familiar enough with it yet.

    So he¡¯d recreated theser with light. It hadn¡¯t been too difficult. Making mirrors out of illusion magic was one of the first things he¡¯d ever learned. Then, rather than making the entireser, he¡¯d just used intrinsic casting to create the medium, using the feeling of how the light had felt as it transformed as his guide. He needed to check his [Memories in ss] three times to remember the exact feeling perfectly, but when it worked it happened right away.

    There had been one clear problem; the light bouncing off his illusionary mirrors was a strong and constant drain on his Mana. He¡¯d been in the middle of thinking that over when he¡¯d been interrupted by¡­ himself.

    Still, the four extra levels in [Call Light through ss] proved it had been worth doing. <em>He could makesers!</em>

    Brin turned the corner and bumped straight into his friends.

    Zilly was stern faced and facing Rhun, a hand on the hilt of her sword. He glowered back at her, fire in his eyes. Myra stood between them, looking concerned, and a small crowd had gathered at a distance around them. Sion was back in the crowd, looking resigned.

    ¡°Oh. Yeah, I figured this was going to happen,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pat yourself on the back too hard,¡± said Myra. ¡°Anyone with half a brain knew this was going to happen.¡±

    Rhun turned his glower to Myra. ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°Sorry!¡± Myra said. She took two long steps back, away from Zilly and Rhun. Then she stage-whispered to Brin. ¡°I¡¯m ying referee.¡±

    ¡°Get on with it!¡± said Rhun.

    ¡°Fine. You remember the rules? First blood. No killing, and no permanent injury,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°I promise not to kill you,¡± Zilly said with a cocky grin.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± said Rhun.

    ¡°Begin,¡± said Myra.

 Book 4. Chapter 8

    Myra raised her hand to the air, signaling the start to the fight, then quickly took two steps back.

    Both Rhun and Zilly blurred into motion,unching at each other. Zilly used [Dash] which let her exit or enterbat at breakneck speed, but Rhun moved just as fast and Brin didn¡¯t know what Skill he was using.

    Rhun¡¯s [Hide Status] was blocking his Skills, but now that Brin was seeing it in action, he might get more detail. He used [Inspect].

    <strong>Charge [22] - A Warrior moves forward. Rhun can activate this Skill to run forward with nigh-unstoppable momentum. Extra attack damage while charging. Extra damage protection while charging. This Skill has been leveled up twice.</strong>

    <strong>[Inspect] leveled up! 40 -> 41</strong>

    Zilly reacted just in time to redirect her [Dash] away again. She came back in, still at breakneck speed to hit Rhun from the side.

    Rhun pivoted, smoothly dropping out of his [Charge] to switch his sword to his left hand and block Zilly¡¯s thrust. She followed up with a quick series of shes and cuts, but Rhun parried each one with practiced motions. He managed a slice that came within a hair of Zilly¡¯s neck, but she [Dashed] away again to avoid it.

    With some space between them, the opponents stood and eyed each other for a moment, considering.

    Every [Warrior] had to take either [Iron Body] or [de Mastery], so Brin guessed that they were both wondering which the other one had. Since Zilly wasn¡¯t actually a [Warrior], she would need to pretend to have [de Mastery]. Rhun was a real [Warrior], though. Which would he have? His swordsmanship was good enough to pass for [de Mastery], but he might¡¯ve just been dedicated to his training.Zilly [Dashed] forward again, and this time Rhun stood his ground and waited for her. She swung, a straight and powerful downward swing. Rhun moved to block, looking confident that he would be able to press her back. After all, Zilly was a Dexterity-main, and he¡¯d probably focused on Strength.

    It was a bad move. The gap in levels alone probably made Zilly stronger than him, and that was to say nothing of Skills. Right at thest moment, Brin saw the tell-tale weight and energy enter Zilly¡¯s sword that meant she¡¯d used [Overload].

    The sh of swords rang out like an rm bell and sent Rhun staggering back. Zilly followed up with a string of attacks that powered through his guard and eventuallynded him with a thin cut on his shoulder.

    She [Dashed] back again, and lifted her sword in a cautious guard. Everyone froze.

    ¡°That¡¯s a touch!¡± called Myra.

    Rhun looked confused for a moment, then blinked and looked at his shoulder. He clenched his jaw, and then sighed, lowering his weapon.

    ¡°Well done. A good match.¡±

    There was a scattering of apuse from people gathered around, and Brin took the time to notice his surroundings. Were they going to get in trouble for this? Hammon¡¯s Bog didn¡¯t mind if people dueled or trained in the town square, but every ce had different rules.

    No one around looked particrly angry or worried, though he saw a few copper pennies trade hands as people made bets.

    Then he noticed for the first time that a big circle had been drawn on the ground in white, and there was a wooden sign.

    <strong>Designated training area</strong>

    <strong>Absolutely <em>NO</em> ranged weapons or Skills!</strong>

    <strong>All weapons <em>MUST</em> be sheathed or safetied before leaving the circle!</strong>

    The ban on ranged weapons was practical, but even so, it wasn¡¯t exactly safe. Did the businesses nearby not mind that this was here? Looking around, Brin saw two cafes with outdoor patios where people could watch the fights. ??????¦¥??

    Rhun crossed the distance and shook Zilly¡¯s hand. ¡°A good match,¡± he repeated.

    She brushed a hair out of her face with hands still shaking from adrenaline. ¡°Thanks! That was nice work on the [Charge]; I haven¡¯t met a [Warrior] who can pivot out of one of those that easily. Not even my town¡¯s Preft. Oh, a Prefit is like a¡­¡± she trailed off, having trouble describing it.

    ¡°I know the word.¡± Rhun¡¯s ent was thick enough that Brin wondered if he was just saying that. ¡°But you must mean you have never met one other than yourself! You make [Charge] look as simple as stepping through a garden.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± said Zilly, looking a bit flustered at the praise. ¡°And thanks for the match. I actually got a level off that! You know, I could go again if you want.¡±

    Rhun¡¯s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ¡°You would? Yes! I would like that very much.¡±

    Again, they moved to opposite ends of the circle. Myra stepped forward to call ¡°Begin!¡± then quickly skipped out of the circle again.

    This time, both Zilly and Rhun held still. They eyed each other warily. Now that they¡¯d taken each other¡¯s measure, they wouldn¡¯t charge in blind again. Brin bet that both of them had a n and that this match would be decided in a matter of seconds.

    Zilly started to creep around to the side. Rhun matched her, keeping the maximum distance between them. Both of them were staring at the other¡¯s feet.

    Rhun [Charged]. It happened so fast that Brin half-thought that he¡¯d identally booted up a few threads, because time was moving faster than it should.

    Zilly waited in ce. Rhun stabbed forward, unable to change his direction he could do nothing butmit. It felt like a mistake, and Zilly must¡¯ve thought so, too, because she did nothing but let him cross.

    At thest moment, she dodged to the side, and swung up at Rhun¡¯s stomach from the left. Because of the angle it wasn¡¯t the strongest blow, but it didn¡¯t need to be strong since Rhun waspletely undefended on that side.

    Rhun reached over with his off hand and caught Zilly¡¯s sword.

    He had [Iron Body]. Now Zilly was undefended on the right side.

    She [Kicked], using her Skill that disrupted other Skills. She pulled her sword out of his grasp and used [Dash] to weave around him, avoiding his falling sword.

    ¡°Ow!¡± said Rhun, not needing Myra to call the fight, though she did anyway.

    ¡°That¡¯s blood!¡±

    Rhun opened and shut his hand, and there was a clear cut straight through the palm, though it wasn¡¯t bleeding much now that [Iron Body] was reactivated.

    ¡°Good match!¡± Zilly called out first. ¡°But isn¡¯t grabbing someone¡¯s sword a risky move?¡± She had her usual mocking smile, but Brin could see a hint of hesitation under it, probably wondering if he was going to be mad about losing twice in a row.

    Rhun showed no sign of that. Brin had to admit that his first impressions of Rhun might¡¯ve been a little wrong. No matter what else Rhun was, at least he wasn¡¯t a sore loser. He smiled and sheathed his sword so that he could shake Zilly¡¯s hand with the one that wasn¡¯t bleeding. ¡°It is risky! That¡¯s why it is supposed to take you by surprise.¡± Heughed. ¡°But you are too cunning for that!¡±

    Zilly smiled in relief, looking pleased at the praise. ¡°It did surprise me!¡±

    ¡°It looks like a good way to lose your thumb,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°It¡¯s not as risky as it looks. Most swords aren¡¯t razor sharp. They need a strong, thick edge rather than a thin sharp one, otherwise they¡¯d fall apart after the first hit like my ss spearheads,¡± said Brin. ¡°Actually, I saw a [Knight] training manual once and grabbing an opponent¡¯s sword was something they showed quite a lot.¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the vition.

    Rhun shot Brin a piercing re. Maybe not an angry re so much as intense interest. ¡°Is this true?¡±

    ¡°It is,¡± said Brin, but he left off the fact that the manual had been for medieval European knights, not for people with magical Skills.

    ¡°Those guys wear full te armor. It¡¯s pretty risky to do barehanded, even with [Iron Body],¡± said Davi.

    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Hm.¡± Rhun turned back to Zilly. ¡°Would you do me a favor and agree to a rematch? Not today!¡± he added quickly, as if fearing her answer would be no. ¡°In a week. I need time to train.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Zilly.

    Rhun nodded. ¡°Very good.¡±

    ¡°Did you want to start training now? I could give you the afternoon off,¡± said Sion.

    Rhun frowned, considering.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with him, if that helps,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Yes, I suppose I can know he is as safe with you as he would be with me,¡± said Rhun. ¡°Although why one such as you would choose to lower yourself to the level of thesemoners, I couldn¡¯t say¡­¡±

    Sion rolled his eyes. ¡°And here we go again.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Zilly asked, her smile starting to falter.

    ¡°That¡¯s not how things work in Frenaria! You aren¡¯t suddenly royalty just because you took a Rare ss,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Steel sharpens steel. You are weakening yourself if you measure yourself againstmoners,¡± said Rhun.

    ¡°Look around! Who exactly ismon here?¡± asked Myra.

    Rhun did peer around at the five of them, a little confused until he saw Davi. ¡°I will apologize to the [Bard]. But the rest of you are Commoners. It¡¯s a matter of quality.¡±

    Davi answered with a mock salute.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see how you can be on such a high horse just because you¡¯re a [Warrior]. Pretty much everyone here could whoop you. Zilly is honestly the person you have the <em>best</em> chance against.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think <em>that¡¯s</em> quite true,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Rhun snorted and turned to leave.

    Myra shouted at his back. ¡°Any of us! Sion, Brin, Davi¨C¡±

    ¡°Hold on, leave me out of this,¡± said Davi.

    Myra red at him, so Davi continued. ¡°What I mean is, thest time Zilly and I sparred was something like twenty levels ago. She¡¯s improved a lot since then.¡± Davi¡¯s voice started to sound like Jeffrey¡¯s; he was imitating his mentor to try to y mediator. ¡°But Rhun, Myra¡¯s not wrong. No one here got all their levels from taking it easy; we¡¯ve all fought. Myra, for example, would tie you down with her magic. It would be a contest to see if you could cut your way out of your own clothes before she strangled you unconscious. I don¡¯t think <em>anyone</em> wants to see that.¡±

    Sionughed, and Zilly smiled along, though Myra was still frowning.

    ¡°Cheap tricks!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to use what I have to defend myself, even if you think it¡¯s cheap,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°In Prinnash, crafter women need not defend themselves. Any true man will fight for her honor or her safety,¡± said Rhun.

    ¡°How reassuring,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Sion, on the other hand, would drink some expensive potion that would let him win. You know he¡¯s bound to have something, right?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°But in any <em>fair</em> fight¨C¡± started Rhun.

    ¡°No such thing,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°¨Cand Brin would win because he doesn¡¯t think there¡¯s any such thing as a fair fight,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°I¡¯ve won against Brin plenty of times!¡± Zilly objected.

    Rhun stomped forward and poked Brin in the chest. ¡°You make ss.¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± Brin said, trying to look bored.

    ¡°You could beat me in a duel?¡± Rhun asked.

    Brin shrugged. ¡°Well, sure.¡± Honestly he didn¡¯t have a lot of reason to fight Rhun right now. If he lost after Zilly had won, he¡¯d look pretty stupid. But he¡¯d sort of wanted to punch Rhun ever since he¡¯d barged into his workshop yesterday.

    ¡°Show me,¡± said Rhun.

    He stomped towards the circle. Brin made a show of taking his time, and frantically started casting.

    First, a directed thread was assigned Self-Invisibility. He instructed it to coordinate with a conscious thread who¡¯d be casting Mirror Image. They needed to finish at exactly the same time. It had to be a conscious thread for Mirror Image, too, because while a directed thread could cast the spell, it would never be able to convincingly act like him.

    With his own regr magic, he started casting a Mirror Image, except this one would use ss instead of light. He¡¯d spent a few hours cutting the sound parts away as well as the parts that let him control its movement, and he¡¯d also figured out how to make it hollow. He called it Quick ss Statue, for when he wanted to make his Mirror Images look like something a [sser] could usibly do.

    ¡°Here, use my sword,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°No need,¡± said Brin.

    The first few threads had their spells ready by the time he crossed the line to the circle. He started a few more, as he thought of things that would need to happen to pull this off. As he did, he walked one direction, while a Mirror Image of him, being directed by a conscious thread went the other.

    ¡°You need a sword. I¡¯m not fighting an unarmed man,¡± said Rhun.

    Zilly huffed in irritation. ¡°Just take mine! What are you doing?¡± asked Zilly.

    Stalling for time is what he was doing. He still had more spells to finish casting if he was going to pull this off.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to give me time to summon ss? Generous,¡± he heard his Mirror Image say. It was a little weird to see a copy of himself walking around. His voice sounded different than it did in his head. Younger. And he wasn¡¯t as¡­ cool as he hoped he was. He was shorter than both Davi and Rhun, barely Zilly¡¯s height. His scars were pretty cool, but he had bags under his eyes from thete nightst night, giving him a sunken appearance. His muscles weren¡¯t bad, but he had a lean strength, nothing like the heroic muscture of Davi.

    <strong>Main: Can you summon a spear for yourself?</strong>

    <strong>CT1: No problem</strong>

    The copy held out a hand dramatically, summoning a ss spear that rose up from the ground to reach his hand. He twirled it, then pointed it at Rhun. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    He was <em>not</em> ready. He pushed himself through the spell, but he was still a half minute away.

    <strong>Main: Need 30 seconds</strong>

    <strong>CT1: Got it</strong>

    ¡°Did we decide what the rules are going to be? I think we should keep going until you give up,¡± said the Copy.

    ¡°First blood,¡± said Rhun.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t be so hasty now. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll properly feel the distance between the two of us with just one scratch.¡±

    ¡°Enough. Will you call the fight?¡± Rhun asked Myra.

    ¡°Oh. Right!¡± Myra scurried over to take her ce as referee.

    <em>Walk slower, will you?</em>

    But his spell was done. He let a directed thread cast Invisibility on an area behind the Mirror Image, and ced his Quick ss Statue inside it.

    ¡°Begin!¡± shouted Myra.

    Rhun didn¡¯t charge right away, thank goodness. Brin¡¯s copy lifted his hand, and another Mirror Image lifted up from the ground beside him. This one had already been finished and cast beneath the earth so that when it drifted up it would look like Brin was creating a statue of ss on the fly.

    It was grayer and shinier than his real body; hopefully it looked like it was made of ss. It was the best he could do in the few seconds he had to prepare. He stepped into it with his real body, letting Self-Invisibility fall away.

    ¡°No way! Did you just summon a ss copy? Is that your 35 Skill? What can it do?¡± asked Zilly.

    Brin did an impression of something halfway between a zombie and a robot, taking one jerking step forward.

    ¡°Cool!¡± she cheered.

    Rhun scoffed. ¡°Perhaps if you had ten more it might serve as a distraction. Now are we to duel or create sculptures?¡±

    ¡°I already said begin. Go whenever,¡± said Myra, waving between the two of them.

    Rhun [Charged]. In Brin¡¯s sped-up time perception, it looked like he moved faster than the speed of sound, and he crashed straight through Brin¡¯s Mirror Image and the ss sculpture. He was d he¡¯d chosen to ignore the ¡°fake¡± and charge what he thought was the real person; Brin didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d have been able to dodge in time if it had been the other way.

    The Mirror Image and Quick ss Sculpture worked perfectly, looking for all the world like Brin had pulled a shinobi switch and reced himself with ss. He pushed some ss magic into it to make it explode with a loud crack.

    The conscious thread returned the instant it happened, and with time back to normal Brin dashed in from the side. Rhun had probably been expecting the copy to do something, but he clearly hadn¡¯t expected what he thought was the real Brin to go down so easily. His momentum carried him too far, and he was a bit too slow to turn.

    Brin kicked him in the back, pushing him out of the circle.

    Rhun took a few stumbling steps, trying to regain his bnce, beforending on his face.

    He rolled to the side and jumped up, but then when he noticed he was out of the circle he shouted in frustration.

    <strong>You have defeated: Rhun Charlik [23]</strong>

    <strong>Experience reduced for non-lethal duel.</strong>

    There were a few gasps, and a small sttering of apuse from the small crowd that had circled around to watch the fight, but most of them were simply surprised; it had ended too quickly to really react much.

    ¡°Ah, I see how it is,¡± said Rhun.

    ¡°I don¡¯t follow,¡± said Brin. ¡°Are you giving up?¡±

    ¡°The match is over. You put all your power into one big trick; this is the way of fighting for Common sses. But tell me true: Could you do that again?¡±

    If he dyed, maybe, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it would work a second time. ¡°Of course. Though it doesn¡¯t matter, Rhun. Step back in the circle.¡± Brin pushed his magic into the ss on the ground, pulling it back together and forming it into a spear. ¡°One more. Humor me.¡±

    Rhun grit his teeth, but did as Brin was told and re-entered the ring, moving to his ce.

    Neither of them spoke, so there was nothing to dy the match. Brin didn¡¯t need it. His nst time had beenplicated and creative, and it had been an interesting experiment, but now he was starting to think it had been a mistake.

    He didn¡¯t need tricks to beat Rhun. He had fifteen levels on him. He was a lot stronger than the [Warrior].

    Onest time, Myra hesitantly took her ce as the referee. ¡°Begin.¡±

    Rhun [Charged].

    Brin dropped the spear. He saw a flicker of hesitation in Rhun¡¯s eyes, but he couldn¡¯t stop; [Charge] was a Skill you couldn¡¯t use unless you weremitted.

    At thest second, Brin stepped out of the way of the [Charge]. Rhun pivoted quickly, just as before, but Brin knew where he would be. He caught Rhun¡¯s sword arm by the wrist with one hand. With the other, he cocked back and swung, decking Rhun in the jaw.

    Before Rhun could recover, he grabbed the sword out of his hand and pushed him back with his shoulder.

    Brin didn¡¯t know if that was one of those life-changing punches that everyone should experience at least once. Rhun didn¡¯t fall to the ground this time, but it did seem to readjust his thinking somewhat. He stood, blinking and dazed, and his eyes seemed to grow redder.

    Then, to Brin¡¯s surprise, Rhun shook it off. Heughed. ¡°Good. Good! Nice fight!¡±

    Still in a good mood, he shook Brin¡¯s hand, leaving him a bit speechless.

    Brin sighed. ¡°Here, let me get that ss out of your eyes.¡±

    He could sense ss well enough to pull even the dust from an explosion away from Rhun¡¯s face, moving it from his eyes and even some from his lungs. A fight was one thing, but he didn¡¯t want to blind Rhun or give him lung cancer.

    ¡°I thank you. Zilly, are we to duel again in a week?¡± Rhun asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m still on if you are,¡± she said.

    ¡°Good. Then after I beat you, I shall show you how to defeat your [sser] friend as well.¡±

 Book 4. Chapter 9

    "Ugh, what is with that guy? He thinks he''s so high and mighty just because he earned a Rare ss?" Myra picked at the sleeve of her dress in irritation, unwinding and fixing the hem.

    "I don''t know, I think he''s neat," said Zilly.

    "Of course you do," said Myra.

    Sion looked pained. ¡°He is useful. The same dedication with which he approaches¡­ certain topics he also applies to his role in employment.¡± Brin didn¡¯t think Sion talked bad about people behind their backs as a rule, so this faint praise was especially damning.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I mean. He¡¯s dedicated. You have to respect that.¡± Zilly looked around at everyone nervously, and seeing that no one else was going to take Rhun''s side, she added, "It is a little agitating, though. I already beat him, so why do I have to fight him again?"

    "I wonder how that feels," Brin said dryly. "Oh shoot! I think my [Dragon Sense] just went off."

    "What is this? What is [Dragon Sense]?" asked Sion, looking excited.

    "Look alive, everyone. A mighty and dangerous creature is approaching!" said Brin. "[Dragon Sense] never lies!"

    "Stop it, that''s not a real Skill," said Davi."It''s true, though. Marksi is two blocks that direction." Zilly pointed in the direction that Brin''s Invisible Eye told him Marksi was. He wondered which of her [Rogue] Skills helped her tell that; her sense of hearing was good enough for that, but in a crowded city it shouldn''t be possible.

    Marksi somehow also sensed that Brin was near. He jumped down off of Lurn''s shoulders and zipped towards them. He careened through the people on the street, closing the distance in seconds. Brin dismissed the directed thread right as Marksi hit him.

    The little dragon climbed up and all around him, excited to see him after a day apart. Brinughed and delivered what pats and scritches he could to the excited animal, but Marksi only stayed with him a few seconds before jumping down and collecting his due from Brin''s friends.

    When he''d finally calmed down enough to talk, Brin asked, "So what did you and Lurn get up to?"

    Marksi mimed out his adventures, stomping back and forth, pouncing, and growling. The funny thing was that since he knew what Marksi had actually been up to, he kind of understood what he was trying to say.

    "What''s that? A snake? No way, it couldn''t have been eight feet long. Five feet? That''s more like it. Ooh, those squirrels sound nasty. I hope you killed them all! Lurn didn''t let you? Oh, bad move, Lurn."

    Lurn, who was just now arriving and who looked uncharacteristically irritated after a passing [Fishmonger] scuffed his sleeve, said, "I hope you learned a valuable lesson about indiscriminate ughter. A true [Hunter] never kills without cause."

    "Indiscriminate ughter, Marksi? Well, that does sound like you."

    Marksi marched in ce with his head held high,pletely unapologetic.

    "Then what happened next. No way! A deer?"

    "How is he doing that?" asked Myra.

    "I don''t know," said Zilly.

    "Perhaps [Dragon Sense] is real?" asked Sion.

    "It''s not!" whined Davi.

    "Lurn, what really happened?" asked Myra.

    Lurn stood in the square with his shoulders crossed, and briefly gave a description of his and Marksi''s outing. To everyone''s annoyance, it was exactly what Brin had just said.

    Suddenly, the conversation filled Brin with anxiety. What had he been thinking just now? He''d revealed that he had an ability to know things that he really shouldn''t. How much further of a leap was it to guess that he was an [Illusionist]? Why had he even done that? Just because he thought it was funny? Maybe it wasn¡¯t so bad. Davi already knew, of course, and he''d already told himself he was going to tell the rest of his friends. Hadn''t he? The idea of doing it now was about as attractive as stripping naked and singing the Kukubaru song. If he told them, how could he guarantee they''d keep it secret?

    They deserved to know, and they''d probably find out eventually so it was better to hear it from him, but he really didn''t want to. His gut-level abhorrence to the idea was probablying from the [Illusionist] ss. Aberfa had warned him that he''d start keeping secrets for no reason. But didn''t he have a very good reason to keep this one?

    "So what are we up to next? Lunch?" asked Davi.

    "I kind of want to do some shopping. Now that I have some money I want to look at expendables," Brin said, in an attempt to look like he''d been paying attention to the conversation. ?

    "I had in mind to visit the Hunter''s Lodge with Marksi," said Lurn. "We would peruse the monster archives in an attempt to find a monster to hunt in order to find a killing method worth emting. A big cat, maybe? Lions and cougars are well-known for hunting beastsrger than themselves. You could all join me, if you wish."

    "Yes! Yes, please!" said Zilly. "You can really bring us in?"

    "I don''t think [Hunter] Caio would object," said Lurn.

    "I''m down," Brin said, and the rest agreed.

    The walk over to the Hunter''s Lodge was pleasant and short. Zilly spent the entire time pelting Lurn with questions about the [Hunter] life, which he answered while casting frowns at all the people they passed along the way. Davi shuffled over to walk next to Myra, and tried and failed to make conversation a couple times. Marksi kept climbing up on Brin''s shoulders, but then Lurn would call "Remember what we talked about! You need to work on your stamina," and Marksi would jump back down. Brin was d to have his little friend back, but he was getting sick of him tracking dust from the road up and down his clothes.

    Despite being inside the city walls, the Hunter''s Lodge had extensive grounds so that when they approached it almost felt like they were leaving the city. A in of wild grass ended in a copse of trees that mostly concealed arge structure made of logs.

    There was a fenced area with weapons stands nearby, probably a sparring ring, and a huge field for practicing bows. From what he could see, targets were set up at 50, 100, 1000, and 2000 yard intervals.

    "I''m a little surprised this is here. Don''t you have people camping out here all the time?" asked Brin.

    "Not as much as you might think. [Hunters] have a habit of tracking you down andining if you wander into our space too often." Lurn winced. "There are [Beggars], though. They have Skills that make them undetectable while they sleep. It''s quite aggravating."

    "It''s a weird ss," said Myra. "Why take a ss that helps you sleep on the street, when basically any other Common ss will give you enough money to livefortably?"

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the vition.

    "Some people like the lifestyle," said Zilly.

    Sion shook his head. "You''re underestimating how valuable it was to have a family to support you and a town that''s invested in your future. Most sses don''t be truly profitable until level twenty, and for most people that means working in them for months or even years. If you grew up on the street, the set of Skills offered by the [Beggar] ss would seem quite fortuitous."

    ¡°You know what¡¯s weird? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen one,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°You certainly have. They have Skills for making themselves forgotten after you¡¯ve paid them,¡± said Lurn, the disapproval evident in his voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I ever remember seeing one either,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Apologies, my friend, but you have ¡®High Mental Resistance and Impatient To Interruptions¡¯ written all over your face,¡± said Sion.

    Daviughed and pped Sion on the shoulder. ¡°Nice one! I think that¡¯s the best burn I¡¯ve ever heard you deliver.¡±

    Sion paled, ¡°I must apologize¨C!¡±

    ¡°No offense taken,¡± Brin said quickly. He stroked his chin. ¡°I should put that on my status. High mental resistance and impatient to interruptions. That describes me pretty well.¡±

    When they reached the Hunter¡¯s Hall, Lurn scratched his already pristine boots on the mat, and then lifted each of them to check that there wasn¡¯t a speck of dirt that he had missed, although of course there wasn¡¯t. Everyone else followed suit and did the same.

    Lurn opened the door and let them in.

    The inside of the Hunter¡¯s Lodge wasn¡¯t exactly what Brin had expected, but it was what he should¡¯ve expected. The floors and walls were polished wood, and there were antlers, furs, and horns in much of the decorating. A chandelier was made all of horns, and lit by some fairly pricey enchanted stones. Horns lined the picture frames on the walls, all portraits of [Hunters], and long t furs took the ce of rugs and carpets.

    What surprised him most was how pristine everything was. He didn¡¯t see a speck of dirt or dust anywhere. The paper-white fur on the ground looked like it had never been touched, though Lurn strode straight across it as he led them across the entrance hall.

    A few couches and reading chairs were tucked in a corner, and there were newspapers stacked on an end table and a small bookshelf, but everything was squarely in its ce and he didn¡¯t see anything that could be described as clutter.

    It made sense in a weird way. [Hunters] spent most of their lives out in the wild. When they were in civilization, they probably wanted to be civilized.

    ¡°Huh. I figured there would be someone watching the door,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°This is a lodge for [Hunters]. Everyone in the building already knows we¡¯re here,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°I expect some of the cooking or cleaning staff may not. No need to be especially quiet; no one likes to be snuck up on,¡± Lurn said. Brin noticed that his footsteps were making regr footstep-sounds. Coming from a high-level [Hunter] whose footsteps were normally quieter than a feathernding on a pillow, that could be nothing but intentional.

    He led them through a hallway, and Brin got a glimpse of a reading room with another [Hunter] tucked away, and arge formal dining room that could¡¯ve sat thirty.

    The room Lurn brought them to actually had a lock on the door, to which he had the key, and inside was the first untidy thing Brin had seen in this building.

    Bookshelves lined all the walls, stacked horizontally and then vertically to fill up every inch of space. The books that didn¡¯t fit on the shelves were also stacked in columns on the floor, and writing tables were piled high with loose papers, pictures and charts. Maps and diagrams were pinned to every visible part of the walls, and there were maps where you¡¯d have to move a bookshelf to see the whole thing.

    ¡°May we¡­?¡± Sion began, taking it all in. People guarded knowledge carefully in this world, and this was a treasure trove.

    ¡°Be my guest,¡± said Lurn. ¡°But remember we¡¯re here for Marksi. Look for interesting monsters or animals near ckcliff or the Bonds.¡±

    They all got to work, spreading out through the room. With all the wealth of knowledge on disy, Brin decided that the best way to help his little friend would be tobine [Multithreading] and [Memories In ss] to go through as much information as possible. It definitely wasn¡¯t because doing this would also be the best way to copy down as much of this library as possible and store it forter.

    He started on the first monster encyclopedia he could find and quickly turned the pages, flipping through as quickly as possible while also getting a good look at each page. Could he set this on the floor and flip through two books at once? He didn¡¯t see why not. He also made a few directed threads to make Invisible Eyes to peer over his friend¡¯s shoulders.

    Zilly, Myra, and Sion dutifully also started leafing through books on monsters, and Marksi leapt onto Lurn¡¯s shoulders while he went straight for a book onrge cats. Davi, however, hung back in the corner and tried to hide the fact that he was much more interested in a book on the different varieties of undead. Not exactly helpful for Marksi, but Brin wasn¡¯t in a position to point fingers.

    He hadn¡¯t used that much mental space yet, so he made another directed thread and gave it that task to start transcribing everything he was seeing and putting it in a log. He could skim that while his hands kept turning pages.

    He could always make another conscious thread, but he found he didn¡¯t really need to. Even without [Multithreading], his Mental Control was high enough that he could skim through a log while also moving both hands to turn pages.

    He spotted a few promising suspects. Many venomous creatures; those he noted down in a separate log. One spiky lizard that spat its own blood¡­ ooh! And there were variants. There was one whose blood burned like pepper spray. He noted that one down especially.

    Meanwhile, Lurn was talking to Marksi about big cats.

    ¡°...they ambush their prey and kill quickly. See the size of these jaws? The shape of the teeth? This fellow can pierce the skull of his prey. Well, no, if he needs to hunt something muchrger than him, he¡¯ll need to do what most cats do. Go for the throat, and suffocate the animal to death.¡±

    Marksi tapped the page.

    ¡°The ws? Well, yes I suppose they help.¡±

    Marksi swiped with his ws, then he mimed recoiling in pain and falling over dead, with his tongue hanging out.

    ¡°No, they don¡¯t often kill with their ws. Those mostly help for climbing and for holding onto the prey so it won¡¯t get away before it¡¯s dead. Though, I¡¯ve seen a cougartch onto a bison while it ran and then disembowel it with those powerful back leg ws.¡±

    Marksi tapped the picture again, more insistently. ¡°No, I can¡¯t think of any animals that can primarily hunt with their forews. Bears, maybe?¡±

    Marksi huffed and turned his back.

    In Brin¡¯s own investigation, he created a directed thread to list out all the venomous creatures, and then read through them to try to pick a favorite. The winner was something called the Ruby Crested Mud Slider, which was a snake only a bitrger than Marksi with red fronds on its head. It was extremely venomous, and was known to kill monsters the size of elephants with its bite. That sounded like just the thing.

    But was venom the way to go? It felt too ordinary, and too cheap for someone like Marksi. What he really wanted was some kind of magical weapon. Maybe something like that basilisk they¡¯d fought on the trip over here?

    ¡°Hey, did anyone find something about basilisks?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°They don¡¯t grow beast cores, unfortunately, so I fear they won¡¯t be sufficient for Marksi¡¯s needs,¡± said Lurn.

    Well, that was too bad. Now that he¡¯d gotten the idea of Marksi with a paralyzing magic attack, it was all he could think about. Marksi was a magical rainbow lizard. If he needed a takedown move, it should be magical, too. Nothing else would feel right.

    He moved his search to focus more on the strange and exotic beasts of the world, but nothing felt quite right. The closest was a type of goblin that developed a fire-breathing attack at high levels, but goblins also didn¡¯t have beast cores. Except some might?

    From there, he¡¯d been thoroughly distracted by the tangent of trying to figure out exactly what goblins even were. Some were covered in fur, others werepletely hairless. Some seemed to be actual goris that walked on their hands, and others were tribal and had primitivenguages with as many as fifty words. They seemed so different in species and variety that Brin finally decided there was no connection at all. People in this world just took anything vaguely human like that they didn¡¯t want to give ¡°person¡± status to and called it a goblin.

    ¡°Does anyone have any good ideas on venomous creatures?¡± Lurn asked.

    Most of them did, and after a brief discussion, they decided that Brin¡¯s Ruby Crested Mud Slider was the best choice. Some were too small, others were too big for Marksi to be able to meaningfully participate in killing it, some were too far away.

    Marksi was thest out of all of them to agree. He stared at the picture of the Mud Slider for a long time before finally nodding his head.

    ¡°Give me a couple days. I¡¯ll prepare the antidote, just in case, and then see if I can find one of these things. If there¡¯s one in the area that¡¯s close enough for him to get to without a week of travel, we can set out for it. Once it¡¯s in, Marksi can finally get started on creating his killing move.¡±

    As they started packing up, another [Hunter] appeared in the doorway. This one [Inspected] as [Hunter] Caio and openly showed his level at 56. A powerhouse, and probably the leader of this lodge.

    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re about wrapping up in here?¡± he asked. He stood with his shoulders hunched forwards, and looked to the side as he spoke. At first nce Brin would say that this man was afraid or intimidated by Lurn, but in his experience people above level 50 didn¡¯t get intimidated by hardly anything. More likely he was just naturally shy around people.

    ¡°We can be out immediately,¡± said Lurn.

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not that. You¡¯re wee to bring your kids to work. It¡¯s something else,¡± said Caio.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is something wrong?¡± asked Lurn.

    ¡°Wrong? Maybe. Strange, more like it. There¡¯s some strange new folk in town.¡±

 Not a Chapter -Bog is on sale!

    Hi, just like the title says, figured I''d give a quick little update. Bog is on sale today only for 99 cents!

    Find it here

    https://geni.us/BogStandard1

    And to pad the word count, I figured I could do a FAQ

    Q: Do you even know what a bog is?

    A: Shut up! Leave me alone!

    Q: Because I don''t think you do....

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    A: Next question please!Q: Why doesn''t Brin cut himself up a bunch of times as soon asbat starts to spam Battle Fury?

    A: Pass

    Q: How much of the Frenariannguage did you invent before starting the story?

    A: I think people give me more credit here than I deserve. I made a few structure and grammar rules, a few dozen vocabry terms, and then hardly ended up using any of it.

    Trantor Note: He''s lying! He found Mark''s journal, bribed me to trante it for him, and then passed it off as his own original story!

    A: You again? How did you get in here? Don''t listen to him, guys.

    Q: Who is your favorite character?

    A: Obviously Perris! How is this even a question?

    Q: Do you read yourments?

    A: Yes. All of them. I try to stay out of replying in thements because I think it''s valuable for fans to have a space to discuss among themselves, but I do appreciate all the kind words and encouragement!

    Alright. New chapter tomorrow. See you then.

 Book 4. Chapter 10

    ¡°Strange folk?¡± asked Lurn. ¡°In what way?¡±

    [Hunter] Caio had a high-pitched squeaky type voice. He hunched forward and turned his face to the side, looking another direction as he talked, and despite all of this Brin¡¯s gut feeling matched what his [Inspect] told him, that this was an incredibly powerful and dangerous person. ¡°You know that feeling you get when you see someone hiding when they don¡¯t need to? It¡¯s like that. [Warriors] from the Defense Force. Officers from the army and the navy. Second sons of nobles, most of them sneaky types that look around but don¡¯t do anything or talk to anyone. And all of them are hiding their status and staying in the worst hotels. Now, if there was a war going on, then the meaning would be obvious, butst I heard, Arcaena was in the middle of surrendering¡­¡±

    Caio nced at Brin, then quickly looked away.

    ¡°There is a war going on. Lumina told me the peace talks were a farce, in ce while everyone prepares for total war,¡± said Brin.

    Caio nodded. ¡°In that case¡­¡±

    ¡°Impressment, you think?¡± asked Lurn.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been known to be wrong before,¡± Caio said.

    ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡± asked Zilly.

    ¡°It means they¡¯re going to start drafting people for the war. And the five of us are right at the perfect age,¡± said Brin, worry starting to build as it dawned on him what they were saying.Lurn looked at him, confused. ¡°What does age have to do with it? The major point here is ss Rarity. Common ssers can be drafted from cities and towns near the border if necessary, but those with Rare sses will be plucked from the poption throughout the kingdom. The pain point for the kingdom here is that the most useful Rare sses often have ways of staying hidden when they know they are in danger. They¡¯ll try to take everyone by surprise and recruit them all at the same time, before anyone knows what¡¯s happening.¡±

    ¡°When? How long do we have?¡± asked Davi.

    ¡°No way to know. Once they feel like they have a good bead on as many Rare ssers as possible, they¡¯ll set a time and make the snatch. Well, that¡¯s all I wanted to say. You kids have fun, now,¡± said Caio. Then without another word, he turned and walked down the hall, his footsteps clomping on the wooden floor until he was out of sight.

    Davi stood and started pacing. ¡°Well, all of you are fine, but I¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not fine!¡± said Zilly.

    Myra¡¯s face looked like she was sneering, but then Brin realized that was the face of someone trying to hold back sudden tears. ¡°The caravan won¡¯t want to risk losing their guards. They¡¯ll want to leave immediately. Tonight, if not earlier.¡±

    Sion turned to Brin. ¡°You must stay with my family. We don¡¯t have the pull here in Frenaria as we do in our home country, but an impressment gang would never dare storm the halls of the Wogan Mercantile Group. In fact, all of you muste!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that!¡± Zilly said quickly.

    Davi shook his head slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t think Jeffrey would go for it.¡±

    ¡°No, he won¡¯t.¡± Myra shook her head, and rubbed a tear away from her cheek. ¡°Jeffrey isn¡¯t the guy who can keep his head down and follow orders, and he¡¯s also not the guy who can stay cooped up in one house all day. He¡¯s going to insist on running all the way back to Hammon¡¯s Bog where you cany low until it¡¯s over. Don¡¯t you guys get it? This is it! This is where we split ways.¡±

    ¡°What if you <em>didn¡¯t </em>tell your caravan about the impressment?¡± Brin suggested. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re actually certain¨C¡±

    ¡°I have to tell them,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°You don¡¯t <em>have </em>to do anything!¡±

    ¡°They can¡¯t lose their Rare ssers, not after the trouble we ran into on the way here. I won¡¯t do that to them.¡±

    Brin¡¯s stomach sank, his instincts understanding before his head did that he wasn¡¯t going to talk his way out of this. ¡°Ok, tell them, but don¡¯t go! You don¡¯t need a caravan, Myra. Hogg and I can get you anywhere you want. And Davi! You don¡¯t need to run! I can literally¡­¡±

    Even now, he was struggling to reveal his secrets. Instead of saying that he could literally turn people invisible he finished with, ¡°pull rank. I¡¯ve got Lumina¡¯s ring.¡±

    ¡°I have to go with this caravan. I have a reason. I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Myra.

    Davi hesitated, but then shook his head. ¡°Sorry Brin. We all knew this is where it was going to end. We knew when we got to ckcliff that we were going to split up.¡±

    Brin sighed. ¡°I thought we¡¯d have more time. We were supposed to have a party! Not scurry away in the middle of the night.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not even noon,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°You know what I meant.¡±

    They all stood there, staring at each other in half part sorrow and half part awkwardness, none of them really knowing how to start their goodbyes.

    Brin shook his head. ¡°I always thought we were going to be adventurers together. I honestly expected it to take longer for us to get out of town, but when we did I figured we¡¯d go off and have adventures that would shake the world.¡±

    Myra sniffed, and Davi shook his head, and even Zilly couldn¡¯t summon a sardonic smile or inappropriatement.

    Brin said, ¡°Let¡¯s still do it. We¡¯ll meet again. Someday, we¡¯re all going to meet again, and when we do, we¡¯ll be a team again. We¡¯ll all be high level and important by then, but we¡¯ll put it all aside and go on amazing adventures.¡±

    ¡°This asion calls for something. Allow me,¡± Lurn said, and scooted out of the door. He returned a momentter with a wine bottle and sses. He poured and handed them to each of them, though Marksi hissed in displeasure when he didn¡¯t get one.

    ¡°You can share mine,¡± said Brin.

    This novel''s true home is a different tform. Support the author by finding it there.

    Without hesitation, Marksi plunged his scaly face straight into the ss and startedpping.

    Zilly raised her ss first. ¡°Next time you guys see me I¡¯ll be the most badass warrior anyone¡¯s ever heard of!¡±

    Myra went next. ¡°You better watch out. Next time we meet, I¡¯ll be a hundred times scarier than my mother.¡±

    Interesting that she would bring up Tawna. They still didn¡¯t know if she was alive. Of course, if Myra had been contacted by Tawna, she would never have told Brin about it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be the type of [Bard] that can tell your stories, and the kind of [Skald] that can make my stories end the way I want them to,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°[Mage],¡± said Brin after a moment of deliberation. ¡°One way or another, I¡¯m going to master the magic of the world. And for Marksi, he¡¯s going to be what he¡¯s always been. The coolest dragon ever!¡±

    The others gave a faint cheer. Marksi lifted his head long enough to chirp in agreement, but then he went back to loudly slurping and gulping the wine, sloshing it in the cup.

    Then they looked at Sion. At first, he seemed surprised, then he grinned when he realized they meant to include him. ¡°All I can offer is money! But when we¡¯re together again, I expect to finance voyages to the furthest inds or expeditions into the deepest of dungeons.¡±

    With that, there was nothing to do but make a toast. ¡°Until next time!¡± Davi said, and the rest echoed it and drank. Brin only took a tiny sip, because it was kind of gross to drink out of the same ss that Marksi was making out with.

    Then it was over. Myra turned away and left first. Her threads rose up to grow a bo over her head to hide her face, and she walked quickly enough that she must¡¯ve been using thread magic to pull herself forward.

    Davi went next, and the others had no reason to stay.

    ¡°What will you do?¡± Brin asked Lurn as he was walking out the door.

    ¡°Not much has changed for me. I¡¯ll keep to the forest for a time, and see if I can find that Mud Slider for Marksi. Perhaps in town they might have had a chance, but I¡¯ll be safe in the forest.¡±

    ¡°If they wanted to catch [Hunters] the only people they could have asked would be you,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Life has a way of providing such funny little paradoxes,¡± Lurn agreed.

    Out of the Hunter¡¯s Lodge, it seemed that Lurn was going to walk Brin to the edge of the grounds, but he walked quickly so Brin had to strain to keep up, putting them ahead of the others.

    ¡°It¡¯s too bad about this. I was hoping your little love triangle would copse before circumstances drove you apart. It¡¯s quite agitating! Don¡¯t partings like this usually elicit a big confession of some kind?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what you mean,¡± said Brin. ¡°See youter, Lurn.¡±

    Brin hung back until he was even with Zilly and Sion, who were talking about their living situation. Hogg had paid for Zilly to live in a hospice while she recovered from her injuries after the monster swarm on the beach. Not everyone had Brin¡¯s [Scarred, but Healing] Title, but it had taken him by surprise when Zilly recovered slowly over the course of weeks. He¡¯d slept it off in two nights.

    After the hospice, she¡¯d had some trouble finding enough money to live in a rented room, but pride still made her pretend to be hesitant to take up Sion¡¯s generosity.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s ok? I¡¯d be imposing,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? You would truly be doing me a favor. Another [Warrior] in the house would make us all feel much more secure!¡±

    ¡°Sion, you¡­ you know I¡¯m not a real [Warrior],¡± Zilly admitted.

    ¡°Even better! We have no real need for physical protection. But your special senses would be invaluable, trust me. We¡¯d all sleep better knowing that you could sniff out any spies or infiltrators.¡±

    Brin found that he couldn¡¯t pay attention to the conversation, though he was a little surprised to hear Zilly confess her secret ss like that. Were [Rogues] not as paranoid as [Illusionists]?

    <em>Damnit! Lurn was right.</em>

    Brin made a conscious thread to take care of it and¡­ found he was the thread.

    That¡¯s how it felt. He knew he was both the thread and the main body, but it never felt like that. It felt like <em>The Prestige</em>, where he never knew if he¡¯d wake up as the real person or the copy.

    Before he could settle in with the realization that he couldn¡¯t control his own body any more, he got to work. He created a directed thread, ordering it to find Myra. It quickly fell into ce, and he watched through [Memories In ss] as it zoomed forward to find her. She¡¯d made it pretty far, but his illusory eye was quicker and he found her just as she hit the edge of the [Hunters¡¯] grounds.

    He went around a corner and created a Mirror Image, and ordered the Invisible Eye to stay attached to it so that he could see and hear. Then, piloting the Mirror Image like it was his own body, he turned the corner to walk along beside her.

    She jumped. ¡°Oh! Brin! You scared me. What are you doing? I¡¯m not changing my mind.¡±

    ¡°I know. I just didn¡¯t want you to leave before I told you,¡± said Brin. He felt a wild, powerful instinct to follow that up with ¡°I love you,¡± as a distraction from what he came here for, but <em>no</em>. He was <em>not</em> going to let this ss screw with him like this. He was going to say what he came here to say, and nothing else.

    He called a sphere of silence around him and Myra. Despite Hogg giving him the spell for it, his silence bubbles weren¡¯t as perfect as the ones Hogg could make, and it muted all the outside sounds of the city.

    Myra¡¯s cheeks were wet and her eyes were red, but she¡¯d calmed her face. She noticed the dampening of sound around them and looked at him with mild interest. ¡°What did you just do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an [Illusionist],¡± said Brin.

    Her eyes went wide. ¡°Oh! Yeah, I knew about that.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I guessed. Then I asked Davi and he told me.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Lumina spent a nonsensical amount of time teaching us words in the Language for light. I thought maybe it would help your ss somehow, but then you never seemed to use it,¡± said Myra.

    ¡°Does everyone know?¡±

    Myra smiled in delight. ¡°No. Zilly doesn¡¯t. And let me tell you, that has been a <em>delight</em> to watch. You keep beating her in your spars and she has <em>no idea</em> how you¡¯re doing it! It¡¯s driving her crazy!¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not cheating to beat Zilly. I really am that good!¡±

    Myra covered her smile with her hand. ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°Why are youughing? It¡¯s true!¡±

    ¡°I believe you,¡± she said, though Brin honestly didn¡¯t know if she did or not.

    ¡°Look, can you keep this a secret? You guys deserve to know, but even telling my closest friends is giving me a heart attack.¡±

    ¡°I promise,¡± she said with an amused smile. Then she sighed, ¡°Is that what you came to tell me? That you¡¯re an [Illusionist]?¡±

    What a loaded question. Of course he knew what she¡¯d meant, he wasn¡¯t oblivious even if he pretended to be sometimes. He thought about telling her that when they were older things might be different, but that would sound too much like a promise. Besides, Tawna had read his resolve not to date until twenty in his fate, and he would bet she¡¯d told Myra already. He thought about apologizing, exining that Hammon¡¯s Bog had been a dark ce for him, but anything he could think of saying would just give her false hope.

    In the end, he yed the fool. ¡°Yeah. Like I said, I thought you deserved to know.¡±

    ¡°I see. Goodbye, Brin.¡±

    She leaned in and reached up toy a hand on his cheek, but of course it was an illusion so the tips of her fingers passed straight through. He jolted in rm and took a quick step back. Random objects passing through his illusions tended to dispel them; he was only able to keep the Mirror Image intact through extreme focus of concentration.

    What was she thinking? If the sleeve of her dress had brushed against his illusion, it would¡¯ve dispelled for her and his secret would¡¯ve been exposed right there in the middle of town. In a panic, he dashed away towards an alleyway that looked empty.

    He took a look both directions, and as soon as he saw there was no one around, he dispelled the mirror image.

    The panic faded with the illusion. It¡¯d been a close call, but his secret was safe. It had been a good idea to tell Myra. She¡¯d already known, and he¡¯d been able to extract a promise to keep his secret.

    His directed thread with the Invisible Eye was still in ce, and without the Mirror Image it reverted to its previous order. It turned around and moved to follow Myra.

    Her head was held high, her back straight as she took confident steps down the street towards her future. Should he make another Mirror Image, and give her a better good-bye? He honestly didn¡¯t know if it would help, and even if it did help, he didn¡¯t think it would be for the best.

    The best thing for her now would be to meet some nice, normal teenager and forget all about the weird, cursed, scarred freak with a child¡¯s body and an adult¡¯s memories. When they met again, and he truly hoped they would, she¡¯d remember him as an ill-advised crush and only the first of many.

    He watched her for only a moment longer.

 Book 4. Chapter 11

    Book 4. Chapter 11

    Like she¡¯d predicted, Myra¡¯s caravan left the same day. Brin kept an Invisible Eye on it, but from a far distance so that he wouldn¡¯t feel like a voyeur. The caravan didn¡¯t run into any trouble leaving the city, and he didn¡¯t think they¡¯d run into much trouble out in the wild. Without a dream monster mommy sending waves of monsters at her son, the caravan would probably travel safely.

    The rest of them split up as well; Zilly went with Sion towards his family''s mansion, Davi went to find Jeffrey, and Brin went back to find Hogg. He kept an Invisible Eye with Davi though, just so that he''d know what they decided on.

    He rushed through the streets of the city, and now every stranger or blind alley seemed dangerous and nefarious. It probably wouldn''t be today; he''d just learned of it. But it could be. It could happen any time, day or night.

    He sent out another flurry of Invisible Eyes, each guided by a directed thread, telling them to scan the city and seek out the impressment gangs.

    Even before he got home, he started to find them. In warehouses near the docks, ranks of soldiers were crowded inside. They only left one or two at a time to conceal their numbers, and slept on rows and rows of cots and hastily-made bunks. [Hunter] Caio had known what he was talking about.

    When he got to the house, he dashed inside and was relieved to find that Hogg was home, though he was asleep on his reclining chair. Brin closed the door extra loud to wake him up, and then threw a spell for blocking sound around the room.

    "Impressment," Brin announced.

    Hogg woke and sat up with a surprising amount of rity. "Now?"

    "No. The boss of Lurn''s lodge told us they''re in the city, but we don''t know when it''s going to happen.""Then we have some time," said Hogg, leaning back down in his chair. "Let me get some eyes out there."

    "Already on it," said Brin. He threw a spell against the wall, making a screen that would show Hogg what his Invisible Eye was seeing. "And this is just the first one I found."

    Hogg eyed the image of soldiers crowded in a warehouse with a tired frown. "Yeah, that definitely looks like impressment. Put an Invisible Eye on a spiral search pattern, see if you can find the ones that are aiming for us."

    Brin created a directed thread with the instructions to do just that. "Myra''s already left, Davi is probably on his way, and Zilly is going to stay with Sion. He''s invited us toe stay with him as well. Do you really think they''lle after us? I think I''ve done a pretty good job of pretending to be a [sser]. Although,e to think of it, we¡¯re screwed. Everyone knows you¡¯re a Rare. Aw man, I just got my workshop the way I like it."

    "Well, I''m not exactly hopping to leave either. Let''s see what our eyes can figure out first, and then we''ll decide," said Hogg.

    "If you''re sure..." said Brin, though he was relieved. He liked Sion, but the thought of staying at that house all the time sounded suffocating.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been through a dozen impressment ambushes. We¡¯ll get through this just fine. [Mages] aren¡¯t the type of people you grab off the street in the middle of the night. They¡¯ll try asking politely first. And as for you, you can just turn invisible,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°If they know I¡¯m Lumina¡¯s heir, she could get in trouble if I run away,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°If they know you¡¯re Lumina¡¯s son, they could get in trouble if they try to nab you,¡± Hogg countered. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m more worried about what Lumina is going to tell us when we have another chat in two weeks. We should act like that¡¯s a deadline, and finish everything we need to before then.¡±

    Brin stared hard at the door to his workshop. He¡¯d need to prioritize. There wasn¡¯t much he could improve with his ss here, but if he stopped messing with that he could focus on [Multithreading] and improving hisser.

    ¡°What do you think I should focus on?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°[Meditation],¡± Hogg said without hesitating. ¡°Work on those exercises I gave you and get it up to 15, preferably 20. If you can do that in a week, I can spend the second week teaching you what I know about [Split Focus].¡±

    Brin readjusted his ns.

    First, he created a conscious thread to get started on working on [Meditation].

    <strong>CT1: Yeah, no. That¡¯s not happening. Returning.</strong>

    Not to be deterred, he went to his workshop. Marksi followed him, and immediately started making sounds about being hungry. Brin threw a few illusionary berries together, scattering across the floor and rolling them around so that Marksi would have to work for it. Ever since he¡¯d gotten [Illusionist], he¡¯d never had to worry about keeping Marksi fed with magic. He loved the illusions that Brin could make, though he couldn¡¯t manage to consume Hogg¡¯s hard light.

    Heughed as he watched Marksi skitter around, and then remembered hisser.

    With careful hands Brin picked up theser from its holder and pumped light inside to turn it on. It shone a clear red dot on the floor.

    Marksi¡¯s instinct kicked in, and he pounced at the light with full speed. Brin moved it, flying it all around the warehouse, and Marksi followed it with an intensity that Brin had rarely seen from the little dragon.

    He was relentless in his pursuit and it was all Brin could do to keep fromughing. Marksi had a distinct catlike side. He purred, he liked scratches right on the cheek, and he was as proud and moody as any cat Brin had ever seen. And despite turning his nose up at the idea of using a big cat¡¯s killing move, Brin couldn¡¯t help but notice that Marksi had changed his legs and head to more closely resemble a jaguar.

    Marksi chased the dot. Sometimes scrambling wildly after it, and sometimes waiting behind a table or a chair and then pouncing when it got close. No matter what he tried though, he couldn¡¯t seem to reach it, and after five whole minutes Brin started to feel bad and turned it off.

    Marksi seemed to wake up as if out of a trance. He blinked slowly around the room, thinking about what had just happened, and looking confused. Then he made the connection between the red dot and the device in Brin¡¯s hand.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.

    ¡°Yeah, this is my newest invention! It¡¯s called aser,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi drew himself up and gave a big, squeaky roar. He stomped on the ground proudly. He had killed the little red dot monster, and now by rights he was allowed to eat its heart to grow stronger.

    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t kill it. I turned it off!¡±

    Marksi roared again, more insistent. No one stole a trophy from a dragon.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even have a beast core!¡±

    Marksi roared a third time.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll show you,¡± said Brin. He knelt on the ground and took off the end of theser to let Marksi peer inside.

    Marksi slumped in disappointment, clearly feeling that nothing in there was good to eat. Brin was relieved, since he¡¯d been ready to catch Marksi if he¡¯d tried to eat his expensive ruby.

    He put the top back on, sealing it with ss magic.

    Marksi pointed at his mouth.

    ¡°What? You saw that you can¡¯t eat it,¡± said Brin.

    Marksi pointed again, losing his patience.

    Brin shone theser in Marksi¡¯s mouth. Every scale on Marksi¡¯s skin immediately turned from its shifting rainbow pattern to a bright red. In shock, Brin turned it off again, but Marksi seemed fine. He smacked his lips a couple times and marched away.

    For the rest of the evening, he did what Hogg suggested and worked on his [Meditation]. And while his main mind did that, he had a conscious thread monitor the Invisible Eyes that he had watching his friends.

    Myra traveled with the caravan. They pushed hard, wanting to get as much distance as they could between themselves and the city, just in case.

    Zilly was put up in a very nice room in the Wogan house, just far enough away from Sion¡¯s suite to maintain propriety. He turned that eye off when she got inside, since watching girls in their bedrooms wasn¡¯t a habit he wanted to start.

    To Brin¡¯s surprise, Davi also didn¡¯t leave town. When he found Jeffrey and told him the news, the older [Bard] thought it sounded like a delightful little game, and then tasked Davi with walking all the way across town and back without a single person noticing he was there.

    Several people called out to Davi on his first attempt, since everyone liked [Bards], and it wasn¡¯t just Brin that noticed. Jeffrey made Davi do the four hour walk a second time, and when hepleted it this time, it was probably only because by time he started it was already past sundown and by the time he finished it was well past midnight and no one was on the street.

    The next day was more of the same, for all of them. Zilly trained at the Wogan estate, often borrowing some of their guards or their [Steward] when he had time. Myra walked, and Davi practiced not being seen.

    Brin practiced [Meditation] with his main mind, but he found that using [Multithreading] was actually beneficial for this. It was easier to calm his mind and focus on his breathing when time was moving faster for some reason. He kept two conscious threads running. One to mess around with hisser, and the other to monitor his directed threads running Invisible Eyes. In addition to keeping tabs on his friends, he also searched the town for more undercover agents.

    To his embarrassment, it was actually Hogg who found the agents sent to watch them specifically. There was a little apartment a block away, where two officers from the army stayed. They had pictures of dozens of different men and women pinned to a big map on the wall, marking the locations of all the different Rare-ssed people in their neighborhood.

    Hogg¡¯s picture was disyed with two red circles around his face. Brin¡¯s picture was tacked underneath it, with a red ¡®X¡¯ crossing him out. Neither he nor Hogg were exactly sure what that meant, but they could only guess that Hogg was a target while Brin should be left alone.

    Hogg also found an [Illusionist] who¡¯d been staying in the Mayor¡¯s house this whole time. He¡¯d already protected the house from illusionary eavesdroppers, but Brin would have to be careful of any illusions he cast in public from now on.

    By the second day, he¡¯d pretty much found the limit of what he could do withsers, so he made that thread switch to practicing with [Multithreading]. His fight with Rhun had shown him some of the strength and weaknesses of fighting with illusions. As it was, it was just a distraction, for him as well as for his opponent, so he spent some time figuring out how to make it useful.

    He decided to create what he called ¡°battle programs¡±, a set of instructions that a directed thread could follow during battle. The trick of substituting a Mirror Image with a ss statue had been a good idea, but he needed to be able to do that with four or five of them at a time, and he needed to be able to do it effortlessly, instead of needing to synchronize with a conscious thread in real time.

    He also wanted to create a fallback for what would happen if he were ever to fight someone who knew he was an illusionist. If that happened he¡¯d be at a disadvantage because his opponent would know they couldn¡¯t trust their eyes and ears, but he¡¯d have a huge advantage in the fact that he¡¯d be able to use all of his abilities to their fullest.

    Days passed, and the impressment didn¡¯te. From what he saw with his Invisible Eyes, the mood around town was growing increasingly tense as more and more people figured out what was going to happen. Fewer people were seen on the streets at night, and there was always an extremely long line leaving the city walls every day, as the guard had taken to interrogating everyone who came through.

    Most of the rumors, as well as the theories that made the newspapers, was that there was a dangerous criminal loose in the city. There had to be a bunch of people that knew by now that the impressment was on its way, but they weren¡¯t saying anything in public.

    He stayed indoors, and Hogg sent out a Mirror Image made of hard light whenever they needed shopping done or some other errand run. Despite his and Hogg¡¯s best efforts, they never figured out exactly what day the draft would happen, so it stayed as a little nugget of worry in Brin¡¯s mind, always spurring him to greater focus and effort. He practiced every trick he could think of, getting creative with the way he could use illusions and ss weapons together, and memorizing spells to alter his appearance in different ways.

    His friends weren¡¯t any less busy. He kept Invisible Eyes on them, so he knew they trained themselves with frantic energy. Zilly practiced fighting and worked out, Rhun did the same, and even Sion was busy with meetings. Sometimes new deals with new [Merchants], but usually status meetings for the Wogans¡¯ many investments and projects.

    Marksi often stayed in the workshop and yed with whatever random illusions Brin happened to be working on, but just as often he spent his time outdoors, harassing the neighborhood rats and fighting wild dogs and cats for his territory.

    Davi was busy, too, but his training was the most nonsensical. Jeffrey had him running around town on silly errands, or tasked him with convincing strangers to give him random objects in their possession, or had him practice his lute in strange positions, underwater or standing on his head. The most normal training he did was when Jeffrey ordered him to spar with Zillly while the older [Bard] used his magic to try to trip him up. One thing was clear, Zilly really had gotten better in thest ten levels. She held her own against Davi now, and took him apart when Jeffrey yed against him.

    Frankly, it looked like bullying, but Davi did everything he was asked without a single word ofint, though Brin could tell that the growing tension was starting to get to him. Did Jeffrey <em>want</em> Davi to get drafted? Was he just wasting time until then? If that was the case, Brin promised himself he¡¯d find a way to get Davi off the hook.

    The [Meditation] went quickly. The System didn¡¯t punish him for the fact that he¡¯d done all this before, so he could often get levels by repeating exercises that he remembered had given him progress the first time around.

    By the fourth day, he reached [Meditation] level 15. Hogg told him to keep going. The next day he didn¡¯t get a single level in [Meditation], which got him worried. Meditating was easier when he didn¡¯t devote his entire attention to it, but he thought he might also be limiting the bonuses he got for it. The sixth day, he dismissed all his threads and focused his entire mind only on running through the [Meditation] exercises Hogg had given him, earning two more levels.

    When a week had finally passed, Brin woke up feeling like it was Christmas morning. Finally, he could leave this house and do something else. Today was the day of Zilly and Rhun¡¯s duel.

    <strong>Magic: 202 -> 206</strong>

    <strong>Mental Control: 236 -> 248</strong>

    <strong>Will: 147 -> 148</strong>

    <strong>Shape ss: 41 -> 42</strong>

    <strong>Call Light through ss: 50 -> 54</strong>

    <strong>Call Sound through ss: 38 -> 40</strong>

    <strong>Meditation: 11 -> 17</strong>

 Book 4. Chapter 12

    Brin got to Sion¡¯s ce early, and to his surprise he saw Jeffrey waiting out in the courtyard. He hadn¡¯t expected the older [Bard] to show up for Zilly¡¯s duel. Hogg hadn¡¯t decided toe, and if he¡¯d put a Visible Eye in ce somewhere around here to watch, Brin hadn¡¯t spotted it yet.

    Jeffrey leaned against a stone fence separating the open circle where they¡¯d have the fight from the new and thriving Spice of Heart bushes. It almost seemed like too nice of an area to have a duel, but there weren¡¯t really any trashy ces on the Wogan estate, and this was an area where they could get rough without messing up thewn.

    Brin marched over and got straight to the point. ¡°Davi doesn¡¯t want to get drafted for the war.¡±

    Jeffrey strummed his lute. ¡°Neither do I want that for him. And if he is careful with his music and craft, he won¡¯t be.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your game, Jeffrey? Why are you still in ckcliff?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I would tell you after I refused to tell Davi himself?¡± Jeffrey asked with an easy grin.

    It was a disarming answer and Brin didn¡¯t feel even a bit of irritation. He didn¡¯t even feel the tell-tale signs of some Skill brushing up against his Mental Resistance, but that was a testament to how subtle Jeffrey¡¯s mental maniption could be.

    Brin had been ready for this, so he scowled and folded his arms, forcing his body to mime the extreme irritation he should be feeling like that. ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s too nice, and he trusts you. But you¡¯re just one [Bard], Jeffrey, and the kingdom will have ns for [Bards]. If you¡¯re still in town when the impressment happens, there¡¯s no guarantee you won¡¯t get caught.¡±

    Jeffrey shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve got me there.¡±¡°Then why do this? You helped us against Aberfa, too, and a hundred other times. I¡¯ve never really thanked you for it, but I also never really understood why.¡±

    ¡°That creature sang a song that had never touched human ears, a new song, and I was among the first to hear it.¡± Jeffrey smiled wistfully.

    From what Brin remembered, Jeffrey hadn¡¯t even been at the beach during thatst fight with Aberfa; he¡¯d been all the way back at the caravan guarding the wagon. What exactly was this man capable of? He waited for Jeffrey to continue.

    ¡°Hopefully I won¡¯t upset you if you thought I had some sort ofplicated scheme. I¡¯m really just in this for the music. And as for Davi? He has one more song to sing before we can leave ckcliff.¡±

    Not too long after, his friends filtered out of the Wogan building. Sion greeted him with his usual enthusiasm, but he was the only one who looked to be his normal self. Davi and Zilly looked worn and withdrawn, no doubt from the seven days of constantly looking over their shoulders. Rhun, on the other hand, practically vibrated with energy. He grinned widely when he saw Brin already waiting in the courtyard, and had a skip in his step when he walked to his ce.

    Zilly reluctantly took her ce opposite him, doing her best to summon up her trademark cocky grin. ¡°Are you really that sure you can beat me?¡±

    ¡°Not at all!¡± said Rhun. ¡°The exciting thing is to try.¡±

    ¡°I can respect that, I guess,¡± Zilly admitted.

    They all waited for a bit, until they realized that Myra wasn¡¯t going to referee.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± said Davi. ¡°Rules are the same asst time. The duel ends with first blood, ring out, or surrender.¡±

    Both Zilly and Rhun nodded. Davi said, ¡°Begin.¡±

    Zilly used [Dash] to cover the ground between them in a sh, but then bailed on it halfway through, jumping to the side. No doubt she¡¯d been expecting Rhun to use [Charge], but he stayed in ce, sword up in the guard position.

    Zilly [Dashed] back to giver herself some space, then used two more in quick session to zip towards Rhun from an unexpected direction.

    At the veryst second, he stepped towards her. He caught her de on her forearm, and then dropped his sword to catch her leg as she tried to [Kick] him. Suddenly, she was pinned.

    It took Brin just a moment to figure out what had just happened. Rhun had anticipated that Zilly would try to [Kick] him to disrupt his [Iron Body], and then a quick slice with her sword would end the fight. He¡¯d caught the sword first, and then absorbed the [Kick] afterwards once her sword didn¡¯t have any more leverage.

    One thing Brin hadn¡¯t known in his old life was how different real fights were from the ones on TV. His high school hadn¡¯t had a lot of fistfights, so he hadn¡¯t really understood until he got to Hammon¡¯s Bog and was surrounded by boys who¡¯d fight for any reason or no reason at all. The biggest thing he¡¯d learned was that fights always went to the ground. Growing up on television, he¡¯d sort of expected fistfights to be closer to an eight-round boxing match. In real life, you got one, maybe two good punches in before it became a wrestling match.

    Clearly, Zilly¡¯s expectations went the same direction, because her eyes went wide in shock when Rhun pushed her forward and brought her to the ground.

    She struggled like an eel in a, but once they hit the floor the fight was over. With a sword, she¡¯d practiced as much as anyone Brin had ever met, but when it came to wrestling it was clear she was a novice. She iled, panicked, while Rhun¡¯s movements had the firm control of someone who¡¯d been here a thousand times. In seconds, he had her pinned against the ground. ??

    They waited for a long moment, too long, for Zilly toe up with some trick to get out of the hold, but despite her writhing and straining, she couldn¡¯t escape. All her best Skills needed some space to work in and with Rhun on top of her there was nowhere to go. She was stuck.

    ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s the match!¡± Davi called out.

    Rhun rolled to the side and stood up. He pumped his fist in the air in triumph, pacing in ce but restraining himself from cheering out loud. Brin could see why he was happy; [Inspect] showed that Rhun had just gained two levels. No one celebrated with him. Even Sion couldn¡¯t bring himself to p.

    Zilly shot up and stalked to the edge of the circle where no one could see her face, though Brin didn¡¯t miss her red cheeks and watery eyes. One thing he had learned from high school was how often the guys on the wrestling team cried after a match. The sudden intense spike in adrenaline, followed by the frustration of failure created a sensation of such extreme loss that it was impossible to resist, especially if it was your first time.

    Somehow, even after all the times Brin had beaten her, Rhun had been the one to deliver the reality check that Zilly so obviously needed. It wasn¡¯t as satisfying as Brin thought it would be.

    Eventually, Zilly got her emotions under control, wiped her face, and turned around. ¡°Again.¡±

    ¡°Yes, naturally,¡± Rhun said.

    Their second fight was close to the same as their first one the week before had been. Zilly used [Dash] to move in and out ofbat, and this time was careful never to get close enough for Rhun to grab her again.

    She fought tactically, using testing strikes and waiting for her moment, until finally Rhun left enough of an opening for her to knick his shoulder with an [Overload] swing, even without a [Kick] to soften him up.

    Everyone pped and cheered enthusiastically after her victory, but Zilly barely noticed. She stalked away from the circle, headed back to the house, and gave Davi a firm ¡°No¡± when he tried to follow her.

    Rhun was still grinning, unbothered. ¡°Now you!¡± he said, pointed at Brin.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Brin said. He noticed Zilly pause at the doors to the house, looking back.

    He picked up his Bog Standard spear and moved to the opposite side of the circle from Rhun. ¡°Is it ok that I have a spear? It¡¯s my weapon of choice, but I know it might not be fair in a duel like this.¡±

    ¡°A spear is fine,¡± said Rhun. ¡°Use everything you have; I want a proper victory.¡±

    Brin took a moment to decide how to do this. He still had more than enough levels on Rhun to make this an easy fight, but he wanted to test out one of the battle ns he¡¯d been working on this past week.

    <strong>Main: run Shadow de.</strong>

    <strong>DT1: Running.</strong>

    For this to be a good test, the Directed Thread should be able to summon the magic he needed and use it, all without any more input from him.

    This tale has been uwfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    He swished his de around, and was pleased with what he saw. This particr spell was simple, but he thought it would be especially confounding to someone like Rhun. All it did was make his spear invisible, and then show an illusory copy of it right behind where it actually was. When he held still, the illusion and the real thing should match up again, but when he moved it would always look like the spear was moving slower than it really was.

    Brin nodded. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Davi called the fight. ¡°Begin!¡±

    Rhun [Charged], forcing Brin to roll out of the way or lose the duel right there. He knew he was much stronger than his opponent, so he could maybe stop a [Charge], but why risk it?

    As soon as he got to his feet, Rhun [Charged] again, and Brin dodged again. ¡°I can do this all day.¡±

    Rhun frowned, but didn¡¯t charge again. This time he approached more cautiously, using the careful steps that would make sure Brin couldn¡¯t trip him by forcing him to change direction at the wrong time.

    Brin walked more casually, back straight as if this was nothing to him. He sliced with his spear, and the effect was much better than he¡¯d ever hoped for. Rhun moved his sword to parry, but his timing was off so he barely got off a clumsy block that Brin easily pushed out of the way. He stabbed forward, stopping short of Rhun¡¯s throat and crooked an eyebrow.

    Rhun scowled and pushed the spear away. He took two steps back and then held up his guard again.

    Brin didn¡¯t wait for Rhun to use [Charge]. He attacked, throwing himself into the standard set of strikes that he¡¯d first learned when he¡¯d taken up the spear. They should¡¯ve been easy and predictable, but the fact that his illusion was changing how his spear looked made his swings look like the sudden, instantly deadly strike of a viper.

    The effect was glorious; Rhun could do nothing to keep up. He was definitely the type of guy who¡¯d drilled endlessly to get as good as he was, but now Brin was using that training against him. He was pleased to see that his Directed Thread was making the light match up with the spear¡¯s actual location every time that it struck Rhun¡¯s sword, making it look real. The entire thing was working so well that it took him by surprise that it was over.

    Hisst five strikes had given Rhun three wounds.

    ¡°That¡¯s blood!¡± Davi called.

    ¡°My bad,¡± said Brin.

    Rhun sheathed his sword. ¡°Well fought. Though we did say first blood.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sorry about that,¡± said Brin. ¡°I¡­ um. Nevermind.¡± He was about to say that he didn¡¯t expect to win so easily, but that would be poor sportsmanship. Despite the fact that Rhun got under his skin, he hadn¡¯t rubbed his victory in Zilly¡¯s face nearly as much as he could have.

    Despite his best hopes, no one really wanted to hang out after that. Rhun¡¯s win had put Zilly in a bad mood, and she sulked in a corner giving one-word answers to every question. It seemed to affect Davi as well, who grew increasingly somber as the day went on. Rhun left quickly, citing the need for more training. That left him and Sion to hold up the conversation by themselves, but it was awkward since they really just wanted to talk about the fights and they couldn¡¯t with Zilly still smarting from her loss.

    It was a relief when enough time had passed that he could leave. He made sure to make Zilly and Davi promise to stop by and say goodbye before leaving town, and they agreed quickly, both of them consumed with their own thoughts. With nothing else to say, Birn set off through the front doors.

    He walked alone through the gardens, until he heard footsteps running up behind him. It was Zilly, and she caught up with him right at the manor gates.

    ¡°I need to ask you something,¡± she said.

    Brin turned. He waited expectantly, but she bit her lip and looked away. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Do I suck?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Brin said. ¡°Seriously! Don¡¯t worry about today.¡±

    ¡°Rhun is ten levels lower than me,¡± said Zilly. ¡°Not to mention all my Achievements. I fought in a war! I killed all those chimera¡¯s, I traveled all on my own through a monster-infested forest, and I was with you when we killed that giant, and when we invaded a [Witch¡¯s] home, and then when turned back a swarm of monsters on the beach. All of those Achievements together are practically a second ss!¡±

    ¡°Rhun is a [Warrior]. He¡¯s going to be stupidly strong for his level. Plus, you have no idea what Rhun¡¯s been through; he might have some Achievements of his own.¡±

    ¡°Not like mine. There¡¯s no way Rhun has been through half as much as we have. You can see it in his eyes.¡±

    ¡°True, but you¡¯re taking this like a huge loss. You lost one bout in four, and now that you¡¯re aware of a major blindspot, you will never lose to him again,¡± said Brin.

    The corner of Zilly¡¯s mouth quirked up just a bit. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true! Now get out of here before that enlistment starts and you get dragged off to Prinnash!¡± said Brin.

    Zilly froze, going a bit pale as she no doubt realized they were inches away from the public street. ¡°I forgot about that!¡±

    ¡°How? It¡¯s literally all I can think about, and I¡¯m not even in any real danger,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Bye, Brin!¡± Zilly shouted, already running back to the mansion.

    Brin shook his head and turned back to walk through the city.

    There was the same ever-present tension in the air on the walk home as everyone in town held their breath in anticipation, though most of the town still didn¡¯t know for what. He saw lots of gazes directed at his scars and he knew that many [Inspects] were being fired his way when he got a notification.

    <strong>Hide Status leveled up! 21 -> 22</strong>

    Back at home, he found Hogg in the living room, and for once he wasn¡¯t wearing his regr ck leathers. He was dressed up in a nice linen suit. It was maroon with a lime green shirt and a yellow scarf, with shoes that matched the scarf.

    Hogg never wore colors other than ck; it was so foreign that Brin didn¡¯t even recognize him at first. It was jarring, as if waking up and all the clouds were blue while the sky was white.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s going on?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s going to be tonight,¡± said Hogg. ¡°I already sent a Mirror Image to tell Jeffrey to get out of town. For my part, I thought a bit of a disguise was in order.¡±

    ¡°No one will ever recognize you,¡± said Brin seriously.

    ¡°But this isn¡¯t all!¡±

    A mask of hard light appeared on Hogg¡¯s face, first ck, but then it separated into a muddy mess of swirling color before finally resolving into the shape of a fatter, wider andpletely unknown face. Hogg suddenly appeared to be a much older man with sagging jowls and a soft brow that made him look ordinary and a little dumb. Brin only saw the fierce intelligence still smoldering in Hogg¡¯s eyes because he knew to look for it.

    Hogg made some faces to show off his new mask¡¯s flexibility. ¡°It¡¯s the exact same spell as if I used light magic. The only problem is how ufortable it is. It feels like my face has been wrapped in marble. Oh well, it¡¯s just one night.¡±

    ¡°When do you think they¡¯lle?¡±

    ¡°No way to know, but they¡¯re suiting up and sharpening their swords, so to speak. It¡¯ll be tonight.¡±

    Brin sat in the living room and waited as long as he could, but doing nothing was driving him crazy, so he busied himself by tinkering around in his shop. The hours went by, and nothing happened.

    He checked on the Invisible Eyes he had watching his friends. Davi and Zilly were waiting at the Wogan estate. Maybe that was for the best? Jeffrey and Davi would have a better chance hiding out there than trying to outrun the enlistment officers right at thest minute.

    Hours passed. The sun went down. Nothing happened.

    Then, he noticed some motion in his Invisible Eyes. Davi and Zilly were leaving the Wogan estate. At first he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing, but yes, they were definitely leaving the mansion and walking into town.

    <em>How could they be so stupid?</em> He saw Jeffrey tailing them, which was a relief, but he didn¡¯t even know if they knew he was there.

    Had they decided to join up with the army without him? That might exin it, but they moved cautiously through the streets. Zilly scouted ahead, using her [Rogue] Dexterity to keep out of view while Davi yed softly, singing that he was nothing, he wasn¡¯t there, so look the other way¡­

    They didn¡¯t turn themselves in, but then they also didn¡¯t leave town. They made their way to the dueling grounds near his house, the first one where Zilly had fought Rhun, and then waited there.

    That was too much for him. Brin threw Self-Invisibility over himself and then dashed through the street to find them, barely noticing Hogg following and Marksi skittering along behind him as well.

    He approached the dueling ground, looked both ways to make sure no one from the army was nearby, and then dropped out of stealth.

    ¡°See? I told you he¡¯d know we were here,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Brin whisper-shouted. ¡°Are you crazy?¡±

    ¡°I to ask you something,¡± said Zilly.

    ¡°We can talk about thister! First, let¡¯s get out of¨C¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Zilly. ¡°I need to know. Do I suck?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Brin said, not caring that he was shouting for real. ¡°We <em>just</em> went over this!¡±

    Zilly smiled casually, but Brin knew her well enough to see the burning resentment underneath. ¡°We did, and believe me, I was really grateful for the things you said. You made me feel a lot better. Because you were right, <em>I am good</em>. I beat Rhun three out of four! I¡¯m not some normal kid; I know that. I picked a fight with every tough-looking idiot in the Bonds and I won them all without a sweat. There¡¯s <em>no one</em> like us. I¡¯m not just good. I¡¯m amazing.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been trying to tell you,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°The problem isn¡¯t that I¡¯m weak. The problem is that you¡¯re too strong.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only as strong as I have to be to keep up with you three,¡± Brin said, pleading.

    Zilly shook her head. ¡°You never fight me with your full strength. You¡¯ve been going easy on me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know I can¡¯t beat you on my own, but I still want to see you go all out. That¡¯s why I brought Davi along,¡± said Zilly, finally beginning to smile in a way that looked real.

    Brin ground his teeth in frustration. ¡°You want to do two versus one? You want to do that now?¡±

    Davi gave Brin a weird smile, both parts guilty and proud. ¡°That was my idea. We want to fight you at full strength, but we still chose an arena that benefits us. If you have abilities that you don¡¯t want people to know about¡­¡± Davi made a big show of looking around. ¡°...then you¡¯d better be careful. I¡¯m going to be making a lot of noise pretty soon, and it¡¯ll draw some attention.¡±

    Brin shook his head. ¡°Why did you think I would agree to this?¡±

    Zilly¡¯s smile was all teeth. ¡°You¡¯re going to agree. Because you want to see if you can beat us. You understand, right? Why it has to be now?¡±

    ¡°You always have the worst timing,¡± said Brin.

    Because he was listening for it, he heard Jeffrey¡¯s song, nearly silent in the background, and could feel it pressing against his mental resistance. ¡°Stop that!¡±

    ¡°I apologize,¡± said Jeffrey. ¡°But I¡¯ll admit, I also wish to see how this will go.¡±

    Brin looked over to see Hogg, still in disguise, who just shrugged. It still boggled his mind that Davi was going along with this. Even Marksi chirped in agreement.

    Were they really all ok with this? Was there really no one here who would step up and be the voice of reason? There was one person: Brin himself.

    ¡°I refuse.¡±

 Book 4. Chapter 13

    For the most part, Brin felt himself a natural Frenarian. He¡¯d lived in this world for a couple years now. He adopted their culture, ate their food, and dressed in their clothes, which led him to believe that his mind sort of worked the same way theirs did.

    All that fell apart in moments like this, when he came face to face with a decision that seemedpletely insane and stupid, or both. Zilly and Davi weren¡¯t stupid, and they weren¡¯t crazy either. Zilly was impulsive, sure, but this looked like something they¡¯d nned on together after careful deliberation. So why?

    Because of the System. Because they¡¯re grown up with it, and understood it on an instinctual level. The System gave better rewards when you risked something. A duel on a bridge over an active volcano would give better experience than a duel on t ground. Winning a duel in the middle of a mass conscription, fighting while avoiding the eyes of ranks of soldiers sent out to arrest you would give massive experience, maybe even an Achievement.

    On one hand, literally any other time would be better for this showdown. On the other hand, that made this the <em>perfect</em> time.

    ¡°Sorry, Brin, but we¡¯re not taking no for an answer,¡± said Davi.

    ¡°This is crazy,¡± said Brin.

    Zilly stepped forward and drew her sword. ¡°This duel isn¡¯t going to stop at first blood, since you only get stronger when you get wounded. The contest only ends when one team can¡¯t keep going, or if we get caught by the press gangs. If you try to run, we¡¯ll catch you, and if you try to surrender we¡¯ll turn you in.¡±

    Davi winced but didn¡¯t countermand her.

    ¡°You both want to get drafted. Is that it?¡± Brin asked.¡°I really don¡¯t,¡± Davi answered. ¡°But we have to be ready to risk it all, or it won¡¯t be worth anything.¡±

    ¡°What Achievement do you think you¡¯re going to get from this?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Zilly said brightly.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy. You¡¯re really ready to risk conscription for the chance at an Achievement you don¡¯t even know exists?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± she said.

    Brin should¡¯ve expected that. They¡¯d risked their lives time and again to hunt monsters in the forest. Compared to following him to that [Witch¡¯s] house or onto the beachst month, this was actually a much smaller risk. Instead of betting their lives, they were only risking their futures.

    He hated to admit it, but excitement was already thrumming in his veins. His mind was already at work formting strategies. He¡¯d shown just a hint of what his ss was capable of in his battle with Rhun, and he was eager to try out more. Most of all, he was more than ready to humble these two idiot teenagers.

    He cracked his neck side to side and gave his spear a practice spin. ¡°You know, this only works if you win. And I don¡¯t think you can.¡±

    ¡°Then the Achievement will be yours. Consider it my parting gift,¡± Zilly answered.

    Brin created several directed threads. Some of them he sent out to scour the city, in order to get an overview of what was going on in different sections of town. He made a task manager, a mouth manager, an eye for the back of his head. Most, though, he left in standby, waiting for his orders.

    ¡°So what are we waiting for?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Hogg said the impressment is going to happen tonight, right? We¡¯ll let them signal the start of the match,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin shook his head and decided not to tell her she was crazy again. He was beginning to sound like a broken record. ¡°I want a different win condition. Once you two realize howpletely outmatched you are, promise me you¡¯ll give up and focus on escaping the draft.¡±

    Zilly and Davi made eye contact and they both grinned. ¡°Not going to happen,¡± said Zilly.

    Brin looked back at Hogg, who was still unrecognizable in his disguise. ¡°Can you at least help make sure they don¡¯t get nicked?¡±

    ¡°Who, me?¡± Hogg asked in an overdone old-man voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know you! I¡¯m Kidhum Bats, a humble [Carpenter].¡± Brin¡¯s [Inspect] confirmed that this was a poorly dressed and low-leveled [Carpenter]. As for Jeffrey, it was hard for Brin to even remember he was there. They¡¯d be no help. ??

    ¡°You guys are the worst,¡± said Brin. ¡°Well, if I beat you quick enough it won¡¯t matter. I¡¯m not waiting for the impressment. You want to do this, then we should start n¨C¡±

    Just then, a glowing red rocket rose into the air from the middle of the city, making a screeching wail and lighting up the city as bright as a bolt of lightning. The re must¡¯ve been a signal, because all at once, the sound of shouting men and barking dogs broke out across the city.

    Luckily, his Invisible Eyes told him that none of the troops were nearby; the ones who had been assigned to arrest Zilly and Davi must still have been looking for them at the Wogan ce. He didn¡¯t have any more time to watch the city; his own fight had begun.

    <strong>Main: Invisibility, please</strong>

    <strong>Task Manager: Activating Invisibility</strong>

    The thread had been ready, and so Brin faded out of view just as Zilly [Dashed] forwards to reach him. He easily dodged out of her path, and then focused on Davi.

    Just as the [Skald] put his fingers to his strings, Brin put a field ofplete silence over the entire area. <em>Let¡¯s see if you can use your [Bard] power on the sound of nothing.</em>

    The magics shed, his silence against Davi¡¯s music, and he immediately felt the Wyrd give Davi the upper hand. [Skalds] yed music; and music needed to be heard.

    He felt his silence spell shatter, and Davi¡¯s song rang out. It was one he hadn¡¯t heard before, but he knew immediately that it had been custom made for Zilly herself. Zilly¡¯s anthem. The music was stronger than it had been before, more powerful. As a [Bard], motivating people in battle was only a side-case for their set of abilities, but as a [Skald], this was what Davi was for. The music¡¯s power roared with an intensity Brin had never felt before, especially not on this side of it.

    Maybe he could¡¯ve formted another argument in the Wyrd capable of beating Davi¡¯s music, but he had no time to think about that, not with the way Zilly was moving. She seemed to have a precognitive ability to find him wherever he ran, and he only narrowly managed to keep out of the reach of her sword.

    Ok, n B.

    <strong>Main: Army of ss</strong>

    <strong>Main: Hail of Darts</strong>

    <strong>Task Manager: Activating Army of ss. Hail of Darts in 7 seconds.</strong>

    Mirror Images sprang up around him. Four at a time until there were twelve. Each of them covered a thin ss statue, and each statue had a real ss spear. He¡¯d spent a lot of time tweaking these statues into something usable; he needed to be able to summon them in the span of a breath, so he¡¯d settle on making them a paper-thin shell of ss.

    The only reason to have ss at all was to hide the fact that he was an [Illusionist], so it didn¡¯t really matter how strong it was, and like this he could summon a dozen at once. The spears weren¡¯t any stronger, but they were sharp enough to cut straight to the bone.

    Brin jumped in and stabbed at Zilly to keep her distracted while his Mirror Men were still forming. They exchanged a wild, brutal series of blows, with Zillyshing out in every direction and unable to see him. Maybe due to Davi¡¯s song, she came off better. She took a thin sh to the thigh, and gave him a deep gouge on his shoulder and a scratch on his forehead that he just knew was going to drip into his eye.

    It didn¡¯t matter; every wound she took slowed her down, and every wound he received only made him stronger. Already, [Battle Fury] was at fifteen percent.

    The Mirror Men closed on her, and Brin stepped back. Since the ss was so thin, he could use [Shape ss] to move them quickly, and his directed threads were doing a great job of making them move realistically. Well, no, they were kind of crap. The legs barely moved as they zoomed forward, but it was good enough for now.

    Zilly looked as if she was ready to try to charge through them and keep pursuing the real Brin, but Davi¡¯s song shifted, warning her to stay back, and she instantly obeyed, using [Dash] to make some distance.

    Brin cursed. With how sharp their spears were, he had a chance to do real damage if they all hit her at once, but he saw that wasn¡¯t going to happen. She used [Dash] to keep to the edges, picking them off one at a time. Each sh of her sword shattered another copy, exploding through their thin shells in bursts of ss that made rainbows in the dimntern light.

    <strong>Task Manager: Hail of Darts ready.</strong>

    <strong>Main: Go.</strong>

    Brin felt the pull on his power; the spell was formed. He grabbed the spell at thest second and directed it into the area where Zilly and Davi stood. He saw Davi turn and start running, obviously sensing the magic somehow, but that wouldn¡¯t matter. Brin didn¡¯t name the spell ¡°Hail of Darts¡± because it was only one or two darts.

    Hundreds of inch-long needles of ss poured across the entire area, and there was nowhere for the two of them to dodge. At thest second Davi turned and cradled his oud in his arms. Zilly followed suit, hiding her face and hands.

    The needles poured over them, and when the two of them straightened, there were many still lodged into the skin. The damage was superficial, but that didn¡¯t matter. Damage wasn¡¯t the point. Wounds were. Brin¡¯s [Battle Fury] was at 100%.

    <strong>Main: Drop invisibility. Activate Disguise.</strong>

    <strong>Task Manager: Disguise Activated.</strong>

    He still wasn¡¯t good enough at illusions for a real disguise, but he could make little changes, and a bunch of little changes added up. He turned his ck hair into a more Frenarian light brown, turned his blue eyes brown as well, and removed all his scars. It didn¡¯t sound like a lot, but looking into a mirror this way, Brin didn¡¯t recognize himself. He wouldn¡¯t remove the disguise again for the rest of the night, just in case that kingdom [Illusionist] was watching.

    Zilly¡¯s eyes darted around, not trusting that there wasn¡¯t another illusion going on, but Brin hardly needed it anymore, not with [Battle Fury] fully charged.

    He leapt at her, swinging with his spear, thrilling in the extraordinary strength and power [Battle Fury] gave him.

    She dodged, and the spear cracked the stones on the ground where she¡¯d been standing. He needed no time to redirect his movements, and followed her as she tried to roll out of the way.

    She narrowly escaped being sliced apart by blocking him twice, midair, in a startling disy of athleticism. As soon as her feet touched the floor, she [Dashed] backwards.

    He followed. With his stats doubled, he was blindingly fast, and her [Dash] didn¡¯t give her nearly as much space as she thought it would.

    Every time she finished a [Dash], he caught up with her, forcing her to parry or block before [Dashing] again. The first two times, he powered through her block and cut her forearm and then grazed her ribs. The next two times, she blockedpletely, narrowly deflecting him from cutting something important. The strike after that, she blocked hard enough that his spear rang like a bell and bounced to the side.

    Something was wrong. He swept his spear down at her again, but this time she deflected it easily. The next two strikes were stronger still, and now she was pressing him back.

    He was certain now. Whether it was Davi¡¯s music or some new Skill, each of her strikes were stronger than the one before.

    He pulled on his light magic and cast the entire area in darkness while he backed up and tried to think of his next n.

    Something struck his magic like a physical blow, lightening the area for a split second despite his best efforts. Some kind of bomb? A shbang! Zilly must¡¯ve had one custom made. After all, he¡¯d given her the idea.

    He felt the alchemical magic war with his own illusion magic, and while his illusion had the upper hand, the burst of power and surprise gave away his location for only a fraction of a second.

    The split second of light gave Zilly more than enough to charge him, and he deflected her blow, letting her sudden titanic strength push him back and away from her. What Skill was that? An [Overload] evolution, maybe?

    Well, even with that, he still had the upper hand. He just had to avoid letting their weapons touch.

    Too risky. In a split decision, he decided to run.

    <strong>Main: Turn Invisibility back on</strong>

    <strong>Task Manager: Activated.</strong>

    Already, curtains were starting to open and people were starting to peek through to see what was happening. This was thest ce he wanted to be if he was going to disguise his ss.

    Zilly and Davi had given him an advantage when they told him that if he ran they¡¯d follow. If he kept going here, he gave himself a sixty percent chance of winning. Good odds, but why not make them better? If these two were really going to do this, then he would make them earn it.

    Newly invisible again, he turned and ran.

    Zilly followed him, of course, and Davi followed her. He turned down left down one street, and right down another, but they stayed hot on his heels, not missing a beat. He wondered what Zilly was tracking him with; it was probably heat sense. [Rouges] could sense heat almost as well as he could see light.

    He headed towards the sound of shouting. Only a couple streets down, he found them.

    Men in blue and white uniforms, wearing polished breasttes and helmets and carrying truncheons marched down the street in a line, while specialists with a wide assortment of weapons went from house to house, sometimes bearing [Rare]-ssed people out again bound and gagged.

    Brin ran straight around the line of soldiers and then straight down the middle of the street. He panicked a bit when he saw one of the doorbusters flinch and stare straight at him, but the man shrugged and turned back to the house he was invading.

    Brin smiled in relief, and also in sess. There was no <em>way</em> Zilly and Davi would follow him this way.

    He passed the press gang, and then kept running, giving himself some space between them. He had no problem using them as an obstacle, but he didn¡¯t want to press his luck.

    After he felt he was safely away, he checked back for Zilly and Davi.

    <strong>Main: Show me Zilly and Davi. Screen 1</strong>

    <strong>Task Manager: Showing on screen 1</strong>

    A little screen opened up on the bottom left hand side of his field of vision, showing him the view from the Invisible Eye that had been following his friends.

    Zilly and Davi were still running. They¡¯d gone all the way around the press gang, and now Zilly was looking straight up. No, her eyes were closed. She was sniffing. Suddenly, she changed direction, and now she was headed straight for him.

    Unfair. She could <em>smell</em> him.

    Brin scanned the horizon, the night sky perfectly clear to his darkvision. He saw smoke rising from the eastern section of the city; that would be the best ce to lose someone with a good sense of smell.

    He started running again. Not that he meant to lose thempletely; that would be anti-climactic. Once they didn¡¯t know where he was, he¡¯d be able tounch a perfect ambush.

    Actually, why not get that started now?

    <strong>Main: Javelin, please</strong>

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    <strong>Task Manager: Summoning</strong>

    He felt his mouth move with the Language and soon he had a nice, long javelin in his hands. He decided to actuallyunch the thing himself; directed threads could do rote tasks, but for getting real power out of the Language it was best if he used his normal mind.

    Davi and Zilly ran from a side street two blocks down. This was the perfect range.

    ¡°¡±

    The javelinunched from his arm like a cannon st. He¡¯d made it invisible, so there should be no way for them to see iting. For an instant he felt sort of guilty. That was going to do <em>real</em> damage, possibly lethal damage if Zilly was unlucky.

    He faintly heard Davi strum a warning in his song,municating the danger faster than words. Brin could hear it, too; Davi was saying that he heard something magical activate in the Language, and since he didn¡¯t know what it was, they both needed to dodge <em>right now</em>.

    They both rolled in separate directions, and Brin¡¯s javelin exploded like an artillery shell right at Zilly¡¯s feet, missing her.

    He cast a spell to silence himself, and then tried again, but again they both dodged. Davi could hear the Language, even if he didn¡¯t make a sound.

    Well, Brin had more tricks up his sleeve. He turned and ran back towards the fire.

    He went over walls and crossed rooftops. He leapt across alleyways and climbed up balconies, making a mad flight across the city while treating the buildings as his own private jungle gym. When Zilly and Davi had to jump across something, he threw a javelin at them to hit them midair. When they had to climb up a garden fence to follow, he pelted them with ss bullets. They always seemed to be able to block or evade, but several times their dodge forced them to fall to the ground, giving him some more space.

    At a particrly windy street, the press of soldiers was too thick for him to wade through even while invisible, forcing him to him turn back. This let Zilly and Davi catch up, squaring off on a wide, t rooftop. Soldiers marched on the street below, and might¡¯ve spotted them if any of them looked up.

    Davi kept his oud silent and instead approached Brin with his quarterstaff in his hands, Zilly wrapping around the side.

    Brin lifted his spear, and they charged. The back-and-forth was quiet and intense. No one wanted to rm the guards below, so they didn¡¯t block or parry, and instead aimed for strikes that would hit flesh instead of the other person¡¯s weapons.

    Brin barely kept his head from being knocked into next week by Davi¡¯s quarterstaff, and stook a couple thin shes from Zilly¡¯s shortsword. Again, this was too risky. He created a Mirror Image to give himself a distraction thatsted a fraction of a second, and used that time to start running across the rooftops again.

    As soon as the lines of soldiers thinned out enough that he thought he could get away with it, he leapt down from the roof and darted through them, giving himself more space between himself and his pursuers.

    He ran. The smoke got thicker, and the noise got louder.

    The conscription became more violent the further he went through the town. Crowds of angry men and women took to the sheets, shouting at the soldiers and barring their path. When he got to the source of the smoke, he found that a full riot had broken out. Rare ssers and Commoners alike were shing with soldiers in the street. He saw dead and dying citizens on the ground, and many of the soldiers had abandoneds and truncheons in favor of swords and axes.

    A fire was spreading. There was an inn, one of the expensive ones, that waspletely aze, and it was spreading fast to the surrounding buildings.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± a man shouted, and Brin realized in rm that it was an officer from the army, pointing at him with his truncheon.

    <em>How? He should be invisible!</em> He noticed that the smoke was swirling around him in a distinct person-shape, outlining his figure.

    <strong>Main: Copy Light, on one of the soldiers. Not the officer!</strong>

    <strong>Task Manager: Activating Copy Light.</strong>

    Brin used his illusion magic to create a thick cloud of smoke all around him, and then let it clear when he felt the Copy Light spell settle around him.

    This spell would make him look just like one of the soldiers, but it wasn¡¯t perfect. Brin wasn¡¯t practiced enough with this to make the illusion follow his movements; it was static. Hopefully in the confusion it would be enough.

    ¡°Two Rares! That direction! A [Bard] and a [Warrior]! They¡¯reing this way!¡± Brin pointed, and winced internally as the arm on his illusion stayed in ce and his real arm poked out the side.

    In the smoke and darkness, it was good enough, because the entire press gang turned to face the other way just as Zilly and Davi crossed the street a block down.

    ¡°After them!¡± called the officer.

    If they really did get caught, Brin would do his best to free themter, but the two of them getting arrested would be the perfect end to this fight.

    For his own part, Brin kept running. The smoke had been a mistake; he¡¯d need to practice his invisibility in different conditions to make sure this type of thing didn¡¯t happen again.

    His path away from the press gangs took him towards the thickest of the mes; people here hadpletely forgotten about the impressment and everyone was working together to try to form bucket lines to contain the ze. He heard calls for [Waterers] and [Earth Movers], and no one cared about the dark shape darting through the smoke.

    Until someone did. Brin ducked just in time to avoid a surprise attack that would¡¯ve scalped him, and then he heard Davi¡¯s song, urging his opponent onwards. Somehow they¡¯d caught up with him.

    Brin used his illusions to make the fires brighter and the smoke darker, drawing shouts of rm from the people rushing to put the fire out.

    Zilly zeroed in on him regardless. Her face had streaks of sweat running lines down her soot-ckened skin and her eyes were red but locked onto his invisible form.

    Brin threw a st of discordant noise into Davi¡¯s ears, disrupting his song. He jumped towards Zilly, dodged her sword rather than blocking, and kicked her in the chest.

    The kicknded perfectly andunched her into the burning building, straight through a wall that had been weakened by me. Davi shouted her name, and Brin used that moment of distraction to start running again.

    With the Invisible Eye still watching them, he saw Zilly burst out of the burning building again, coughing and spitting mad, but they¡¯d lost his trail, giving him more time.

    He ran on, away from the fires. As the smoke died down, the streets became thick with soldiers. Instead of just one line, he found a ce where they¡¯d made an actual barricade, with two rows of soldiers and a line of archers behind that. This was their main base, and he saw a row of new recruits for the war. They were all lying face down on the ground, some in manacles and others beaten unconscious.

    With the captives all together like that, Brin noticed that only about half of them were actually Rare. There were [Herbalists], [Surgeons], [Potion Mixers], and [Midwives], any ss that might have some sort of medical side to it. He also saw a few [Vagrants] in the mix, which was impressive considering the [Hunters] hadn¡¯t even been able to catch them.

    He couldn¡¯t go towards the encampment, obviously, and the only other way was toward the beach. Good, that was the perfect ce for their final showdown. If Zilly and Davi made it through and found him again, that would probably be the best ce for him to avoid watching eyes. No one would think to escape to the sea, not when the army controlled the harbor, and the beaches here weren¡¯t crowded. Rather than rush to build beach houses, the well-to-do of Frenaria thought the sea shore was a rather trashy ce to live.

    Brin dashed onto the ck sand of the beach, turned, and wasted no time setting up. He split off a conscious thread, ordering it to think about how to disguise their fight from the view of the city, and then used his main mind to start summoning projectiles. Once the ss was in ce it would be a lot easier to move it if he didn¡¯t also have to summon it first. How much of his mana should he spend on this? He was already down about half of his reserves. He decided he could spend half of what was left on summoning the projectiles, and he¡¯d leave a quarter for the final fight.

    He got to work. Darts, spears, bullets, and javelins. Arrows, shields, and the empty shells he could use as Mirror Men. Everything and anything, all in preparation.

    His conscious thread came back fairly quickly. The dark ocean was a perfect backdrop; if he just put up a big screen and projected the ck beach against a dark ocean, it would be nearly invisible unless someone was right on top of it. He assigned a directed thread to make the image and maintain it, then went back to creating projectiles.

    It took Zilly and Davi enough time to catch up that Brin started to worry that his [Battle Fury] might run out of time. He had five minutes left on the clock, and had made all the projectiles that he wanted, when the two of them finally appeared from behind the shanties that were the closest buildings to shore.

    No one spoke, and Dave hadn¡¯t started ying yet. For a moment, they simply stood there watching, waiting. Apparently, they wanted him to make the first move.

    He shrugged, and gestured with his hand and a ss spear rose into the air. At the same time, a line of ten illusory ss spears appeared alongside it. He pointed forward andunched them all forward. Sure, he¡¯d get more power if he spent some time chanting the Language, but mostly he just wanted to see what they would do.

    Davi stepped forward. He tossed his oud behind him, and spun his quarterstaff to shatter the only real spear, while all the others flew to either side.

    Zilly caught the Oud and to his surprise, began to y. She wasn¡¯t as good as Davi of course, and honestly wasn¡¯t even as good as Brin, but she carried the tune well enough for Davi to activate his magic through.

    The [Skald] started singing along, striking Brin square on with the emotional force. This time, Davi¡¯s song was empowering himself while at the time singing fear and discouragement to Brin. It was an extremelyplex use of power, and not something Davi could¡¯ve done a few short months ago. It seemed Davi wanted to test himself just as much as Zilly did.

    Brin assigned his Task Manager withunching the projectiles, because he was going to need his full concentration for this.

    Spears, darts, and bullets flew at Davi. He deflected many of them, and charged through the rest, ignoring the superficial wounds.

    Brin stepped forward, and for a moment it was just like every spar against Davi. The strength, the speed, the overwhelming experience and creativity; all of it came together and forced Brin to bring out everything he had just to stay in the fight. The song pressed against him, urging him to fail, to give up, convincing him that he was clumsy and that he was going to make a mistake.

    Davinded a strike against his side that made his ribs creak. Brin retaliated fiercely, but Davi batted that away and struck in him the shin making him want to jump on one foot from the pain. He couldn¡¯t seem to get an edge; he couldn¡¯t even imagine what it would take to win here.

    He roared, pushing back with his mental resistance, trying to clear the invading emotions from his mind. He swung harder, moved faster, cut quicker, and to his surprise,nded a punishing blow against Davi¡¯s block that sent therger boy stumbling back.

    He was¡­ he was stronger than Davi. He was a <em>lot</em> stronger than Davi, especially with [Battle Fury]. Why was he so surprised? It felt like a mental block was finally falling off his brain. Somehow he¡¯d sort of begun to think of Davi being stronger as a fundamental force in this world, and now that he realized it wasn¡¯t true, all the other mental barriers were swept away.

    Davi had been messing with his movements. The song wasn¡¯t only saying ¡°You¡¯re going to lose¡±. It was also saying ¡°You¡¯re going to lose, but step <em>here</em> to dy the inevitable.¡±

    Now that he could pinpoint what was happening, he could ignore it. Heunched into a set of strikes that made Davi move back as fast as he could walk. He feinted, then swung around to strike Davi¡¯s leg, leaving a deep gash. He stabbed, and Davi didn¡¯t parrypletely out of the way, letting Brin score his shoulder.

    He swung around and knew his next strike would end the fight. All at once, Zilly was there, blocking his spear with a ringing strike. Whatever had each of her strikes hitting harder than the one before was still in effect, and the blow made his fingers ache through the haft of his spear.

    Brin sent a flurry of projectiles at them both. Zilly [Dashed] out of the way, and Davi scrambled back, grabbing his oud from where Zilly had left it in the sand.

    <strong>Main: Noise!</strong>

    <strong>Task Manager: Activating.</strong>

    Brin¡¯s magic created a concentrated sphere of deafening, thunderous noise in a bubble around Davi¡¯s head. He silenced it around the bubble, though, so that only Davi could hear it.

    It worked; since the noise wasn¡¯t interfering with Davi¡¯s music, his [Bard] magic had nothing to argue with. Brin wasn¡¯t disrupting Davi¡¯s performance, after all.

    Davi grimaced in pain and the music died on his lips. He fell to a knee, pressing one hand against his ear, but keeping the other on his oud.

    For Zilly, Brin didn¡¯t dare try to deafen her, so instead he silenced himself. Then, rather than turning invisible, he opted to blind her instead. He summoned light to shine the brightest beam of sunshine he could straight into her eyes. She snapped them shut, then put an arm over them for good measure.

    He activated four Mirror Men, and pushed [Shape ss] into them to start heating up their bodies. Hopefully it would interfere with Zilly¡¯s ability to tell them apart.

    He ran forward with his Mirror Men, letting theme at her from the front while he stabbed at her from the back.

    She jumped, clearing his front-most Mirror man with a front handspring. She kicked him from behind, shattering him, and then plucked his spear from his broken hand and blocked the next Mirror Man¡¯s strike, shattering both weapons.

    Brin stepped forward and swiped at her from the side, but she slid underneath his spear, turned it into a roll, and plucked her sword off the ground on the way up. All of that <em>with her eyes closed.</em>

    Davi¡¯s song began to ring out. Brin checked, but no, he hadn¡¯t let off with the noise. Davi was singing through it, despite the fact that he couldn¡¯t hear himself, and his song rang out loud and clear.

    This time, Brin recognized the song. It was the Battle of Hammon¡¯s Bog. How dare he use that song against Brin? Out of all the music Davi could y, that one was supposed to be his.

    Zilly sliced at him, and he dodged. The fight became less like a fencing match and more like a game of keep-away, as Brin was forced to avoid all of her strikes. Even so, Zilly¡¯s [Dash] gave her enough maneuverability that he was forced to block, and sure enough every time he did her blows were even stronger than before.

    He needed to turn the tide.

    Davi¡¯s song was urging Zilly to greater strength; Brin was sure that if he could stop the music he¡¯d be able to win. He started to chant in the Language, picking up more of the projectiles he¡¯d prepared and filling them with power.

    Zilly [Kicked], trading the wild strike for another slice to her shin, but it did what she¡¯d needed it to. All the magic he¡¯d poured into the ss was wasted and it fell back into the sand.

    He had to try to mess up Davi¡¯s music in a more direct way. He put two sound bombs next to Zilly¡¯s ears and made them explode. The resulting <em>bang</em> was so loud it made his own ears ring, but Zilly just shook it off and jumped at him again.

    Unfair. Shouldn¡¯t high-perception types be weaker against that type of thing? He¡¯d have to ask her how she resisted that once this was over, but whatever the case it was clear that Davi¡¯s music was still empowering her.

    He started adding to the music instead. He added a drumbeat, and a bassline. Davi didn¡¯t notice. Of course he didn¡¯t, he couldn''t hear. Subtly, the music started turning Brin¡¯s way, empowering him as well. And it should. This was <em>his song!</em>

    Brin grinned and then added some ferocious dubstep beats to the music, and Davi kept on ying as if nothing was happening. Now that Brin was part of the song, he was part of the emotional power and he could redirect it to a small degree. He¡¯d practiced this with Davi a bunch of times.

    He tried to wrest control of the song away from Davi, but it was like trying to redirect a river with paper straw. He got a little, but not enough.

    <em>Arise ye Bond men, go to!</em>

    <em>I press ahead withrades true,</em>

    <em>I shall not dodge nor shift mine stance,</em>

    <em>With friends beside me I advance.</em>

    Despite theck of purchase Brin kept straining against it anyway. But when Davi got to the end of the verse, he suddenly felt a huge shift in power. When Davi was singing, he had impregnable control. But when he got to the part of the song with no lyrics, suddenly there was an opening.

    Brin kept the baseline intact, but then only added the dubstep sounds because electronic-sounding music was much easier to create on the fly.

    When Brin had partial control of the song, he turned the music against Zilly, and struck out at her with his spear. The vibration from the strike ran through her entire body, forcing her to a knee. <em>Sess.</em> The Skill that was making every strike stronger than thest was Davi¡¯s Skill; he could give someone that ability through song. And when Brin took control of the song, even if only for a moment, it reset the counter.

    They raged back and forth. When Davi sang, Zilly grew stronger and stronger. When the singing paused, Brin took her back down to the baseline. They were both tiring, but Zilly was getting worse. Even when she was empowered, her swings started to get sloppy. She stopped using [Dash], [Kick], and [Overload], probably finally out of Mana.

    Brin was dangerously low on Mana as well. He didn¡¯t have enough to shoot damaging projectiles, so he pivoted to something else. Every time he got the chance, he scooped a bullet or javelin up off the ground, put just enough Mana into it to make it sticky, and then threw it onto Zilly¡¯s clothes where ittched in ce.

    It wasn¡¯t tying her down, but it had to be heavy.

    The song ended. Brin shot a nce to Davi, but he was still standing strong, a look of annoyance on his face. He strummed, and then started to y again. A different song.

    ¡°And these were the lives and times of the patriarchs of Fellgrande. Anat begat Wushel who rained for eighty years. He in turn begat Marsha who reigned for twenty-four¡­¡±

    The litany of names and dates could <em>barely</em> be considered a song, but there was no pause and no instrumental breaks. There would be no more chances for Brin to take control of the music again.

    Brin sighed, and determined to do the one thing he hadn¡¯t tried yet. Hadn¡¯t Rhun already shown him how to beat Zilly? He should¡¯ve thought of this first.

    He dropped his spear, ran forward, and tackled Zilly to the ground. She¡¯d been confident, noticing at the same time that Davi¡¯s song had lost its w and was moving forward when Brin hit her. She drove her sword deep into his back as they fell, but theynded hard and it flew from her grip.

    He wasn¡¯t a proficient wrestler by any means, but she was more tired than he was, and he had another advantage on her. Brin pushed everyst ounce of ss magic he could into the ss he¡¯d attached from her, binding her in ce.

    It was dumb luck that he found a discarded de of ss within reaching distance. He picked it up and pressed it to the skin on her throat.

    ¡°Surrender.¡±

    She stopped struggling. The music stopped. Zilly¡¯s face was pale as she looked up at him with wide eyes. She wasn¡¯t red-faced or angry this time. All he saw in her features was the same exhaustion he felt himself, with an extra helping of despair.

    Something whacked him hard on the top of the head.

    ¡°Bonk,¡± said Davi, holding his quarterstaff.

    ¡°Ow! Wait! Shoot! I totally forgot about you! Does that mean this is a draw?¡±

    Davi put his finger in his ear. ¡°What?¡±

    Right, he¡¯d been shooting deafening noise straight into Davi¡¯s ears for several minutes now. The hearing loss wouldn¡¯t be permanent; another benefit of high Vitality.

    He got off Zilly, thought about standing up, and then rolled to the side onto his back. He was so tired, too tired to even do something about the blood oozing from his back into the sand. Hopefully [Scarred, but Healing] would take care of it?

    ¡°I said, is it a tie?¡± Brin said, mouthing each word carefully.

    Davi shook his head, still not understanding.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s your win. You had a knife to my throat. Davi never would¡¯ve hit you if he actually thought you¡¯d do it,¡± Zilly said numbly.

    <strong>Congrattions! You have earned a new Achievement!</strong>

    <strong>Menace</strong>

    <strong>You have fought a duel to the bitter end in a time of great civil unrest, while flouting allws and authorities. </strong>

    <strong>You have greater resistance to wide-range mental maniption. City Skills are less effective on you, should you choose to resist. You have an increased ability to detect when you are being affected by a City Skill.</strong>

    Strange that the Achievement didn¡¯t say whether he had won or lost. Did Zilly and Davi get the same Achievement? He thought they did from the way that their eyes were scanning the empty air.

    Did they notice that it didn¡¯t say who had won? He rather hoped that their Achievement <em>did</em> tell them that they¡¯d won. He¡¯d gone all out because it would¡¯ve been an insult to do otherwise, but he had the fear that they needed to have won this duel if the three of them were going to be friends in the future.

    Jeffrey arrived, putting a hand on Davi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What a beautiful sound. s, we¡¯ll need to leave now if we¡¯re to avoid the recruitment. When that riot is contained, they¡¯ll be able to bring their full force to bear in picking up any stragglers. We¡¯ll need to be gone before then.¡±

    Davi looked down at Brin, looking embarrassed. ¡°I can¡¯t join the army. I can¡¯t do that to my parents.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± said Brin. ¡°Get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Just promise me you¡¯ll still remember us little people when you¡¯re out there making it big,¡± Davi said with false cheer.

    ¡°I¡¯m already big,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I guess you are.¡±

    Hogg arrived next, and started bandaging Zilly¡¯s wounds. She shrugged him off, wearily scooped her sword off the ground, and then trudged away from the beach. Only when she got to the street did she pause, as if she¡¯d forgotten something.

    ¡°Goodbye, Brin.¡±

    Brin tried to think of something to say. He had too much to say, and couldn''t get any of it out. By the time he figured out how to start, Zilly was already gone.

    He followed her with an Invisible Eye, watching as she went back to the barricade and turned herself in. Since she volunteered, they didn¡¯t give her a beating, put her in manacles, or even take away her sword. But she still ended up face down on the ground with the rest of the recruits.

    ¡°Roll over,¡± Hogg said. ¡°I need to seal that wound on your back, and I¡¯m not using a Healing potion for this. Then we should get out of here. Unless of course you were thinking of joining Zilly?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Brin answered. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±

 Book 4. Chapter 14

    Book 4. Chapter 14

    Hogg and Brin took their time getting home. The city was chaotic, with rows of soldiers stomping down the streets and scattering the rioters who spread throughout the city to escape them. Brin might¡¯ve moved quicker alone, but Hogg couldn¡¯t go invisible anymore and there was no reason to take any unnecessary risks, so they went the long way around the press gangs that Brin spotted with his Invisible Eyes.

    The most exciting part of the journey, honestly, was watching the Wogan estate. The press gangs did actually end up invading the house, and while they were mostly polite and didn¡¯t break anything, they insisted on searching the entire mansion, room by room.

    Sion seemed bored by the entire thing, but Glyn was visibly furious, showing none of the over-friendliness that Brin knew him for.

    Rhun was hidden in a secretpartment underneath the cer, but then he nearly spoiled the whole thing by leaving three times. Twice to use the restroom, and then once because he wanted a ss of water. It looked like he wouldn¡¯t outright break his contract with the Wogans, but he obviously wouldn¡¯t mind ¡°identally¡± getting drafted. After the third time, the [Steward] locked him in ce and then covered the trap door with spilt flour, just moments before the soldiers searched the cer.

    It was a strange echo from his past, seeing someone else using flour to hide from soldiers in a cer.

    The journey through the chaotic, rioting city went as well as such a thing could, and Hogg and Brin didn¡¯t run into any real trouble until they were back at their house.

    A single man in Frenaria blues stood outside the front door, waiting. He didn¡¯t carry any weapons, not even a truncheon, but he stood in front of their door, waiting, and he didn¡¯t seem keen on leaving. With his back to them, Brin and Hogg didn¡¯t even need to hide, and only used a spell to block sound to conceal themselves.

    ¡°I¡¯ve sent Invisible Eyes through all the buildings nearby. Nobody else is around. And he isn¡¯t holding an Evdis,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Seems that way,¡± agreed Hogg.¡°Do you think we could sneak around him and enter from the back?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Easily,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Should we?¡±

    Hogg shrugged.

    ¡°What¡¯s his ss? His [Hide Status] is too good for my [Inspect] to pierce,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°[Herald],¡± answered Hogg.

    Brin swore. [Heralds] were not exactly big fans of his. ¡°Are [Heralds] really strong?¡±

    ¡°Not particrly. Mostly they¡¯re fast.¡±

    What was this guy¡¯s deal? If he meant to draft them, why had he shown up alone? Brin started thinking out loud, ¡°He wouldn¡¯t mess with me, not with Lumina protecting me, and there¡¯s little chance he doesn¡¯t know about that. A random officer in the army might have usible deniability, but not a [Herald]. He must be here for you. I bet it¡¯s because they know that you¡¯re a [Mage]. They probably figure that if they can¡¯t get you willingly, then they won¡¯t be able to get you at all.¡±

    ¡°They could at least try!¡± Hogg said angrily.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Look at him. Just one guy? Who does he think he is?¡±

    ¡°Wait. You¡¯re mad they¡¯re not trying harder to take you in?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a little insulting, is all. If you gave me an entire army to draw from, I bet I could put together a team of around a dozen level 30s that would have a pretty good job at capturing a level 60 [Mage]. One that isn¡¯t me, at least. The fact that they just sent <em>one</em> guy is a p in the face. What kind of two-bit hedge [Mage] do they think I am?¡±

    ¡°So you <em>are</em> level sixty! Seriously, it¡¯s so weird to hear you talk about yourself like this. It¡¯s like you have no filter now that you¡¯re a [Mage]. Next you¡¯re going to tell me yourst name!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t count on it,¡± said Hogg with a deep frown.

    ¡°So what are we doing about this?¡± asked Brin, pointing at the [Herald].

    ¡°You can do whatever you want,¡± Hogg grumped. When Brin looked over, he had already disappeared, which was pretty impressive since he couldn¡¯t do invisibility anymore. Clearly, Hogg felt the need to reim some of his dark and mysterious persona.

    Brin thought about it a little longer, and then shrugged. He was probably safe, so why not just talk to the man?

    He dismissed the spell blocking sound, and then stepped forward. The [Herald] was humming a tune. <em>They call me Kukubaru because I eat the [Herald¡¯s] words¡­</em>

    Brin cleared his throat and said, ¡°I feel like I recognize that tune from somewhere.¡±

    The [Herald] turned around, showing no sign that he was surprised by Brin¡¯s arrival. ¡°Master Mistaken, I presume?¡±

    Technically, it was Master <em>the</em> Mistaken, but Brin didn¡¯t correct him. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±

    He pulled a letter from his overcoat and held it out for Brin with both hands. ¡°Please present this to your father at your earliest convenience.¡±

    The letter was heavier than he expected, made of some kind of paper that was as dense as gold. The envelope was nk, except for the words ¡°[Mage] Hogg¡± written in fine calligraphy.

    Brin nodded. ¡°I will.¡±

    The [Herald] nodded and turned to go, but then hesitated and stayed in ce. ¡°Come to think of it, I believe I found something that may belong to you.¡±

    He produced another letter from his overcoat, this one smudged and bent from a long journey. He handed it over more casually, so that Brin had to reach to snatch it out of pinched fingers.

    This letter had ¡°Brin isu Yambul¡± written across the front in much more blocky, rigid lettering. The return address listed Gn, of all people. The fact that this was in the [Herald¡¯s] hands meant that Lumina hadn¡¯t been paranoid when she¡¯d told them that people would be intercepting their mail. He turned it over and saw that nothing had broken the seal, but that didn¡¯t mean anything.

    ¡°That will be all,¡± said the [Herald]. He turned and left again. He walked much more slowly than Brin knew a [Herald] could, and started whistling the Kukubaru song again.

    Awkward.

    Brin rushed inside the house and found Hogg already at his favorite chair. ¡°Letter for you,¡± he said, and then immediately tore open the letter from Gn and read it out loud. In the letter, Gn invited Brin to join the Order of the Long Sleep, and then in a turn that immediately got Brin¡¯s pulse racing, mentioned a [Knight] who also had the experience of waking up surrounded by undead with no memories. That had to be him, the spy. Arcaena¡¯s [Pdin].

    ¡°Are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking?¡±

    ¡°About joining joining the Order of the Long Sleep? Could be fun. Let¡¯s wait and see what Lumina thinks,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°No! The other thing. Have you ever heard of this Order of the Golden Ivory?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Hogg. ¡°But I don¡¯t know many of the smaller Orders outside Frenaria.

    ¡°Come on. This guy has got to be¨C¡±

    Hogg shushed him. ¡°I know. Best not to discuss it.¡±

    ¡°Even here? Do you really think there¡¯s someone who can listen in past all the defenses you set up?¡±

    ¡°We shouldn''t risk it,¡± said Hogg. He used a ck hand of hard light to grab the other letter from Brin¡¯s hands, open it, and carry it through the air so that he could read it without having to stand up or put his drink down. Somehow, the tea in his cup was already hot and steaming.

    He read out loud, ¡°In salutation and greeting to the one known as Hogg, the great and esteemed master of the mystical and arcane, a [Mage] in the Kingdom of Frenaria, h h h¡­ We greet thee on behalf of the King of Frenaria, namely King Lancarote h h h¡­ In ordance with thews of Frenaria, inmon consent and in full agreement of courtesy and good sense do we invite thee to¡­ ok this is the main point here. We invite thee to present thyself to the Academy of Frenaria at the Great First Tower of Frenaria in Steamshield. So it¡¯s about like we expected.¡±

    ¡°So not the war, but the tower?¡± asked Brin. ¡°I thought Lumina said the Tower was too dangerous for us right now.¡±

    ¡°Too dangerous for you.¡± Hogg folded up the letter and shoved it in a pocket. ¡°We don¡¯t have to bother with this now. Let¡¯s wait and see what Lumina says.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an official summons! Won¡¯t you get in trouble for ignoring it?¡± asked Brin.

    ¡°Nothing says I have to leave right now. Besides, time¡¯s wasting. We should spend this time working on [Split Focus],¡± said Hogg. ¡°Is your [Meditation] up to 20 yet?¡±

    ¡°Not quite,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Then get to work!¡±

    Brin was honestly thankful for the distraction. There was no way he was getting to sleep tonight, and thest thing he wanted was to dwell on the fact that his friends were gone. The way he had left things left him sick at heart. Should he have given them a better farewell? But the sorrow was matched with equal parts anger. He <em>had</em> given them an excellent good-bye, where they¡¯d all made a toast and promised to still be friends when they reunited. It was <em>their</em> idea to screw all that up by springing the ill-advised ambush on him.

    If youe across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The sudden realization that soon he¡¯d be losing Hogg as well made it too much to handle. He needed a distraction.

    So he meditated.

    The exercises Hogg had given him were sort of strange. For some of them, it was obvious what this had to do with [Split Focus]. Brin would throw and catch a ball with one hand, while bouncing another ball on the floor with another. Or he¡¯d think about walking east while at the same time think about swimming west. For that one, he wasn¡¯t sure if he was really splitting his focus because he just imagined looking at a screen where the top half showed him walking while the bottom half showed him swimming, but Hogg said that was good enough.

    Other exercises were more strange. In one he was supposed to imagine reciting the history of Frenaria while at the same time running through an endless maze. In another, he had to [Meditate] while sketching random objects around the house with his left hand.

    Just using [Meditation] while doing something other than holding perfectly still would¡¯ve been impossible on his first go-around, but he had enough experience with the Skill that he managed to keep it activated even though it wasn¡¯t high-leveled enough to do any heavy lifting.

    In two more hours of practice, the System interrupted him.

    <strong>You have leveled up Meditation. 17 -> 18</strong>

    Hogg snapped shut the book he¡¯d been reading. ¡°Alright, good enough.¡±

    Brin shook his head, trying to clear the fog that had risen up over two hours of concentration. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The 20 [Meditation] thing is a guideline more than a rule. Go get some sleep. We¡¯ll start on [Split Focus] training first thing in the morning,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to sleep with all the worries running around in his head, but when he stood up a wave of fatigue threatened to pull him back down. By the time he made it to his room he was already closing his eyes, and he barely felt the mattress underneath him before he fell asleep.

    He woke to the sound of eggs popping on the frying pan in the kitchen¨CHogg always used too much grease. He rubbed his eyes and stumbled into the dining room and sat down. Marksi chirped at him, but Brin was too groggy to even look in that direction. He summoned some random shapes of light for the dragonling to eat, and from Marksi¡¯s satisfied squeaks, he¡¯d guessed correctly.

    Hogg soon entered the room and put a te of eggs and toast in front of Brin, along with a ss of yoghurt. The yoghurt was fish-vored, which was a ckcliff thing, but it had the effect of waking him up. The eggs and toast he saved forst, hoping they¡¯d remove any memory of the vor of that yoghurt from his mouth.

    Hogg took a long, slow, and loud sip of his morning tea. Since he usually had excellent table manners, he was doing this to be annoying.

    Brin sighed. "Alright. Let''s talk about [Split Focus].¡±

    ¡°You sure? I mean, a master of magic is offering to teach you one of the most important secrets of your ss, but don¡¯t let that hurry you. Take all the time you need.¡±

    Brin could admit he might be moving a little slowly this morning, so he shrugged off Hogg¡¯s attitude. ¡°Let¡¯s start. How can I use [Split Focus] like you do? You implied it should be possible even though I have [Multithreading]."

    "It is," said Hogg. "[Multithreadign] is an advanced version of [Split Focus] so it can do anything the original Skill can do. The reason I know it''s possible is because there are people who can split their focus without even having the Skill. But let''s back up a minute. What do you know about brain damage?"

    "Is that a burn? Because if so, it was too subtle," said Brin. ¡°I had a pretty big day yesterday and¨C¡±

    "It wasn''t a burn. Since I am an adult, I am having an adult conversation."

    Brin snorted and answered the first question. "Brain damage is really bad. Small injuries can suddenlye back to bite you as an adult, and in battle pretty much anything that pierces your skull will kill you."

    Hogg blinked in surprise. "What? That''s not true! Plenty of people survive head injuries. The weird part of head injuries is how uneven they are. One guy will take an arrow to the head and drop dead immediately. Another guy will have half his head blown off with a [Earthmover''s] stone, but then go on to live a long and happy life with no obvious consequences. I¡¯ve heard of a guy who had a brain-eating parasite that took 90% of his brain and he never noticed. I personally knew a [Warrior] who lost an apple-sized chunk of his brain to a barbed arrow. After a few weeks he was back on his feet, none the worse for wear, though he still ended up paying [Physician] to grow back the missing part.¡±

    "Whoa. Hold up. [Physicians] can regrow your brain?" asked Brin.

    "Some can, just like your skin, hair, and bones. Complicated organs can''t be grown, but if it''s just tissue they can take a sample, grow it up in a vat, and then patch it in again where it''s missing."

    "That''s insane. I''ve never heard of this," said Brin.

    "Sure you have. You know that [Beauticians] can grow hair, right?"

    "That''s different. They can make hair longer; they can''t cure baldness," said Brin.

    "We''re getting side-tracked. They can take something on your body and make more of it. Well, they do the same with brains. Take a little glob of it, grow it into a long sheet, and then scrunch it up and stick it in the hole. Brain damage fixed."

    That sounded like a lobotomy, and if Brin remembered correctly, the people that got those never recovered. ¡°Nothing about that sounds ¡®fixed¡¯! Sounds like that person would have a permanent mental disability that even a [Mind Healer] couldn¡¯t heal! I¡¯ve heard of people surviving brain injuries, but they usually end up with some weird side-effect, like losing their sense of smell or paralysis in half of their body.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but that goes away on its own,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin groaned and put his head down on the table. This was another one of those things where he wasn¡¯t used to the effect of high Vitality on the human body. People could survive wounds that would¡¯ve killed anyone in his old world, and apparently that meant that even head injuries healed themselves at a much faster rate. He refused to believe that this world¡¯s medicine was anything close to as good as his old world. Instead, they probably just used their high Vitality to get away with all sorts of barbaric methods that would¡¯ve killed anyone back on Earth.

    ¡°No more world-shattering revtions before breakfast,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg smiled and took a bite of his eggs. ¡°Technically this is during breakfast. And it¡¯s not my fault youe from a world of robot-loving barbarians. I can¡¯t be expected to know what kinds of ordinary things from everyday life will offend your provincial sensibilities.¡±

    Brin scowled. ¡°We were insanely advancedpared to this world. We knew a lot about the brain, too. I remember a machine that could tell what part of your brain was being used for which tasks. Like, this front part will light up if you¡¯re thinking about a math problem, and the sides will light up if you¡¯re thinking about getting stung by a bee.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound right,¡± said Hogg, shaking his head. ¡°The one thing we¡¯ve found with brain injuries is that it doesn¡¯t always matter what part of the brain gets squished; the rest of your brain will readjust and fill in. If the left side gets demolished, the right side of your brain will figure out how to make up the difference. Or vice versa. But what happens if your brain gets cut in half, right down the middle, but both sides stay alive and in your body?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Brin. ¡°But probably nothing, from what you¡¯ve been telling me so far.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, nothing will happen. Your two halves will find some other way of syncing up, like with the sound of your voice or the feel of your body. But what if we put half of your brain to sleep, and let the other half control your entire body? Then when nightes we switch which one is asleep and which one is awake. We go for a month like that. By the end of the month, the two halves of your brains are starting to diverge. You¡¯re starting to have two separate personalities, and neither of them really know for sure what the other one was up to during the day. Then, after a month, we reconnect them.¡±

    ¡°That sounds awful,¡± said Brin. ¡°If that really happened to someone, I¡¯d be surprised if they didn¡¯t gopletely mad. But that¡¯s basically what¡¯s happening with [Split Focus], isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Hogg snapped and pointed at Brin. ¡°Exactly. [Split Focus] isn¡¯t just a Skill for splitting your mind. If it was just that, we¡¯d never take it. [Split Focus] is a Skill that protects you from going insane after splitting your mind. [Multithreading] should do the same.¡±

    ¡°That sounds totally fine and normal,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°It¡¯s neither of those things,¡± said Hogg. ¡°It¡¯s a difficult and dangerous process that most [Illusionists] take years to master, if they end up figuring it out at all. Luckily for you, you know someone who can speed that along. I learned this method by stealing a book that had been loaned out from a library in the Tower, so before we go forward, I need you to understand that this isn¡¯t the kind of thing you should b about to everyone you meet,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I promise I¡¯ll keep it a secret,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for a promise, so long as you understand,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Good. In that case, this technique has two parts. Those meditation exercises will alle together and if you do it right, you¡¯ll separate your right and left hemispheres and functionally split your consciousness in half.¡±

    Brin hurried to take thest few bites of his breakfast before he forgot about it and then said, ¡°I figured it would be something like that. But I have no idea how to even start.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk with your mouth full, that¡¯s gross. And that leads me to the other step.¡± Hogg withdrew a small green potion from his jacket pocket. It looked as thick as mashed potatoes and wholly unpleasant. ¡°To be taken on a full stomach.¡±

    Brin took the potion and pulled off the lid. He was immediately stuck by the stench; it was like rotting meat drenched in gasoline. ¡°What¡¯s it do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll split your mind in half. Then once you have a feel for it, it¡¯ll be a lot easier to understand how all those [Meditation] exercisese together and you¡¯ll be able to do it again. For someone without [Split Focus] this would be enough to drive you mad, but I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s effective as a poison. No one in their right mind would drink something that smells like that,¡± said Hogg.

    Brin grimaced and then before he could think about it, downed the potion. ¡°Oh no. Oh, man, oh no, <em>Sancta Solia!</em> It tastes worse than it smells. It¡¯s like menthol, but instead of mint it¡¯s acidic, and blegh, it¡¯s <em>filmy!</em> It makes me want to scrape my tongue off. Give me a ss of water or something, I need¡­ oh no.¡±

    The bad taste in his mouth fled, but in it¡¯s ce was a bad feeling in his body. He felt¡­ strange. It wasn¡¯t pain, it was strange, but it was such a high-pitched intense strangeness that he thought any amount of pain would be preferable.

    His whole body was wrong; like the pins and needles feeling of his foot falling asleep through his entire body, but also disorienting like watching his hand go numb and start moving in a way he couldn¡¯t feel.

    He stood, but everything was awkward, none of his limbs moved the way they should and he fell to the ground. Marksi scampered over to see what was wrong, but Brin didn¡¯t want him to see him like this. He tried to brush him away, but his arms iled wildly rather than doing what they were told.

    Even his mind felt wrong. It had worked, he realized with growing horror. There were two of him in here. It was loud; it was <em>so</em> loud. He could hear the other him thinking; that wasn¡¯t him, it was another foreign entity inside his own body, and yet it was him. He was terrified of that other mind, and he could feel its own extreme fear as well. It would do anything it could to stop this, even if that meant reaching over and snuffing him, <em>the real him</em>, out like a candle. No, which was the real Brin? He didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°I hate this. I hate it. Make it stop!¡± Brin said. He could talk; that meant he was the real Brin, right? He could hear the other one thinking, and he could feel the trapped feeling of wanting to scream and not being able to. In mortified fascination, he gave the other one permission to use his mouth, and it said, ¡°No! It¡¯s me! Don¡¯t let him do what he¡¯s thinking of doing. I¡¯m me! Get him out!¡±

    Hogg knelt down next to him and caught his iling arms. ¡°Sh, calm down, it¡¯ll pass. This is normal. This is what we were going for, remember? You¡¯re <em>both</em> you, just remember that. Breathe. Try to stay calm.¡±

    Brin focused on his breathing, but it was hard since the other one had partial control of his lungs as well. They had to work together to synchronize, but he didn¡¯t want to. He wanted that <em>thing</em> out of his brain! After a few seconds of panicked gasping, his vision started to go dark and he changed his tune.

    Breathe. We can work together and breathe. We don¡¯t want to share, but we don¡¯t want to die. Breathe, and then we¡¯ll figure this out.

    Brin breathed. In and out. Again, and again. The temptation came up to think about something else, but he squished it down. As long as the other him was doing the same, he¡¯d cooperate and just focus on breathing. [Meditation] was a lifesaver, and he felt the other one slip into it as well. Like this, they didn¡¯t have to fight. They could just breathe.

    Gradually, Brin¡¯s other mind seemed to grow quieter. In the silence of [Meditation] where all they thought of was the necessity of keeping their breathing going, it became harder and harder to tell them apart.

    Eventually, Brin realized that he waspletely alone in his own head again.

    <strong>Through training, you have increased the following attribute:</strong>

    <strong>Mental Control +5</strong>

    ¡°I never want to do that again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± Hogg said. ¡°Because the next step is learning to do that on your own.¡±

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Merry Christmas

    Marksi would like you and all your loved ones a very wonderful Christmas.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Unfortunately, I wasn''t able to write a chapter for today. I still n on having one ready for Friday, and we''ll continue next week like normal.

 Book 4. Chapter 15

    Brin decided he needed some fresh air, but when he tried the door it wouldn¡¯t budge, no doubt due to a careful application of hard light in the locking mechanism.

    ¡°You¡¯re not running away from this,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Who¡¯s running away?¡± Brin asked. ¡°I just want to stretch my legs, get some fresh air, and then we¡¯ll be right back to this super interesting training you dredged up from the bottom of the lowest hell.¡±

    ¡°You might think you need some time to recover, but what you really need is to try again while the memory is still fresh in your mind,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Otherwise we¡¯ll have to waste another potion.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to do that! I just realized that [Multithreading] already works for everything I need it for. No need to split my brain any more.¡± Brin shook the door again, but it really wasn¡¯t budging. Should he try a window?

    ¡°You¡¯re more right about that than you know, but that¡¯s besides the point. Will you¡­ Will you stop that and listen to me?¡±

    Hogg summoned a giant orange hand to pluck Brin out of the air as he made a running dive for a window and sit him down in front of his reclining chair. ¡°Listen, just think back to what it felt like. Do you even remember which one was you?¡±

    ¡°What a stupid question. I was the¡­¡± Brin trailed off. He actually didn¡¯t remember. It felt like it was extremely clear that he was one half of the mind, and that there was an invader in there with him, but thinking back he could remember both sides with perfect rity.

    For some reason, that thought calmed him down enough that he could sit without his body screaming at him that he should run. Knowledge was often the antidote to fear, and now he knew that the only thing in his mind had been him. Another version of him, at least.In [Multithreading] he¡¯d never really gone through this because he wasn¡¯t actually thinking with two minds at once; it was the same mind switching back and forth between different streams of thought so quickly that it felt seamless. But it was still just one mind. With [Split Focus] there were two minds in his head, and he could <em>feel</em> it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m cut out for this,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You did pretty well your first time. Lots of [Illusionists] crap their pants, so at least we were spared that.¡±

    Brinughed. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Go on. Give it another shot. It won¡¯t be so bad this time,¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about that. Just do it.¡±

    Brin tried, thinking back to the way it had felt to split his mind. He shuddered, and his stomach churned, but he concentrated. In a strange way, it really did remind him of all those [Meditation] exercises. Each of them had a little part of the experience, and when he put them together¡­

    It was back. That horrible thing in his mind was <em>back</em>. Why couldn¡¯t it leave him alone? To make matters worse, it was thinking the same thing about him, which was outrageous. His anger only grew when he felt the other one was also upset for the same reason. How dare he?

    He tried to stand up, needing to know that he was still in control of his body, but Hogg¡¯s hard light held him in ce. Brin struggled, growing more ustrophobic by the second.

    Hogg said, ¡°You¡¯re split? Ok, stop whatever you¡¯re thinking right now and [Meditate].¡±

    ¡°How can you say that? He¡¯s trying to¨C¡±

    ¡°No one likes a tattle-tale,¡± said Hogg. ¡°[Meditate]. Now. Both of you.¡±

    Through supreme force of will, Brin forced himself to rx the growing anger and paranoia and begin calming his mind. It was only possible when he felt the other one starting to do the same. He¡¯d relent a little, and the other side would do the same, until he finally slipped into the peace of [Meditation].¡±

    Hogg nodded. ¡°Good. Now you¡¯ll notice, there¡¯s two things happening here. One is the weird feeling of having something else in your head, and the other is the terrible experience of thinking with a brain that¡¯s only half as big as it used to be. It¡¯s hard to really pin down what you¡¯re losing when you do this. In [Multithreading], all you lose is time. With [Split Focus] you¡¯re losing a million little things. Complexity of thought, creativity, your ability to learn new things, and memory are all worse off, to a degree that¡¯s difficult to define.¡±

    Brin thought it was more than that. It was like his entire body was foreign and he had to learn to use it again from scratch. And that was if the other one would even let him use his body; no doubt it would try to sabotage him if he wanted to do so much as stand up.

    What else had he lost. Was he really dumber now? It was hard to say. He knew he felt different, but didn¡¯t think he could pin down exactly what that difference was. All he knew for sure was that he <em>hated</em> it. Even if he couldn¡¯t say exactly what was different, he knew that it was bad. He felt worse, that was for sure.

    He could tell without looking that the other one felt the same way. It was disturbing, because he always knew what the other one was thinking, even when he didn¡¯t want to. As he paid more attention to his other half¡¯s thoughts, he started to echo them. They were both him, after all, and they were both going through the same thing, so it was natural that their thoughts would be simr.

    He felt a sudden wave of disorientation, and then realized that he¡¯d dropped out of [Split Focus].

    ¡°You¡¯re right. It wasn¡¯t as bad that time. I fell out of it by ident, though, once I started paying attention to my other half¡¯s thoughts,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Being able to sense what your other parts are doing and thinking is more of a detriment than a bonus. The purpose of [Split Focus] is to do two things at once, not to have two minds thinking about the same thing. You¡¯re lucky that [Multithreading] gave you that one for free,¡± said Hogg.

    Now that he¡¯d done it twice, the idea of using [Split Mind] didn¡¯t seem so frightening. Once again, his memories showed him that he was <em>both</em> minds, so he really didn¡¯t have anything to be afraid of. Obviously he¡¯d already known that, but it was harder to remember in the moment.

    Brin tried again, and this time he tried to convince the other half to let him have control of his body so he could practice walking around. Even though his other half had understood what they were doing, giving up that much control had given him an instinctual spike of panic that knocked them both out of [Split Focus] again.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    He tried again, and this time was able to stand and walk back and forth across the room. Then, while his other half looked on, he said, ¡°Look at me! I¡¯m finally able to do something I¡¯ve been able to do with [Multithreading] since the beginning. Wow, it really was the better Skill.¡±

    ¡°Messing up your sense of time is a pretty big drawback, at least inbat. Ideally, you¡¯ll be able to use a bit of both,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Now I want you to try something else. How many can you do?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Brin said, and let [Split Focus] copse. Thinking with his regr brain, he asked, ¡°How many can you do?¡±

    ¡°Lots,¡± said Hogg. ¡°Start with three, and then keep going until something feels different.¡±

    Brin did. Splitting into three happened with the same instinctual ease that two had; he just thought about what he wanted and it was like his mind knew what to do. He let that fall and then separated into four. Then five.

    He expected splitting into so many pieces to feel worse than just two, but oddly it was a bit better. His mind was¡­ simpler when he was split into five. It was quieter, and so limited that it didn¡¯t ur to him to bother with something like existential dread. He figured he could still do simple tasks like reading off a spell he¡¯d stored in [Memories in ss] or moving his body, but he couldn¡¯t really think about anything tooplicated. It was sort of suffocating, and he didn¡¯t think he would ever like doing it, but it was a good ability to have.

    When he tried for six, he felt a bit of strain, like his brain was resisting the idea of spreading itself that thin.

    ¡°Six feels like it would be kind of hard. Should I push through it?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°No!¡± Hogg shouted, suddenly on his feet. He sat again, rubbing his face. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± Brin shrugged. ¡°Strangely fine. Seems like rearranging my brain over and over should stress it out and at least give me a headache, but I don¡¯t feel any of that. As soon as it¡¯s over I¡¯m back to normal.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s [Multithreading] at work. It¡¯s protecting your sanity, just like [Split Focus] would. But it isn¡¯t foolproof; split yourself into too many pieces, and even the Skill won¡¯t be able to protect your mind. You¡¯ll be able to feel your own limit. Right now it¡¯s five. Remember that feeling. You¡¯ll be able to do more as your Mental Control goes up, but you should never go above your limit. This isn¡¯t like working your muscles with Davi. Pushing yourself only leads to brain damage.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± Brin said. ¡°Five is more than enough. Honestly, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever need to go past two, since [Multithreading] doesn¡¯t really have a limit. I could split myself into a hundred if I didn¡¯t mind living an hour in what feels like a minute.¡±

    ¡°Good. You¡¯re able to split into equal parts, but what happens if you split off a smaller portion? Try for a quarter of your brain,¡± said Hogg.

    The training continued, and Hogg put him through one exercise after another. He learned how to pick which sections of his physical brain would be separated off into which split minds. He eventually made peace with himself enough that he could pick which mind was in charge, and he learned how to give full control of his body to the mind that was in charge by default, rather than having to renegotiate every single time.

    Even though he still hated the way [Split Focus] felt, by the end of the day he¡¯d grown familiar enough with it that it no longer churned his guts every time he turned it on.

    They continued training through the rest of the week. A lot of Hogg¡¯s focus was on making Brin relearn how to fight while splitting his mind in half. It was awkward at first, but after an hour or two of training, he figured he was as good with [Split Focus] as he was without it, but that didn¡¯t stop Hogg. He seemed to want to cram every bit of knowledge and skill that he¡¯d learned over a lifetime into Brin in the one week.

    Fighting with illusions waspletely different than the sparring that Brin had learned up until now. In a regr fight, he had to keep his limbs pretty near the center so that he¡¯d be able to react quickly from a strikeing from any direction. When illusions disguised his movements, he could now focus on getting the maximum power out of every blow without needing to worry about telegraphing his strikes. Hogg made him practice a perfect two-handed block, which he could disguise as a weak,st-second parry. He practiced leaping into the air for a titanic downward strike, which he could disguise as a simple swipe. It was difficult to synchronize his mirror images perfectly with his actual body, so Hogg drilled him on every movement again and again.

    When done correctly, he¡¯d be able to make people think that he was a whole lot stronger than he actually was.

    Near the beginning of the lessons, he thought to ask, ¡°How often will I bother with the Mirror Image? Seems like if an enemy is really that dangerous, I¡¯d be better off ambushing them with full invisibility. Yeah, they''ll know an [Illusionist] is trying to kill them, but there''s no guarantee that they''ll be able to figure out it''s me."

    Hogg grinned as if he''d been expecting the question. "Think about your fight with Zilly. Why did you do better against Rhun with just the Shadow de, but then you struggled against Zilly when you were fully invisible?"

    Brin gave the obvious answer, "Because Zilly is stronger? And she has other senses she can use."

    "Ok, but if you remember, that''s not actually how she did it. She just swung her sword around randomly as fast as she could and hit you twice."

    Brin opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again. Was that how it had happened? In the heat of the moment he hadn''t really thought of it that way, but Hogg could be right.

    Hogg continued. "Thest thing you want as an [Illusionist] is an unpredictable opponent, and thestst thing you want is to fight someone who knows what they''re fighting against. That''s why your Shadow de is better. They think they can see your de, but they''re wrong. That makes them more vulnerable than someone who knows they can''t see you."

    Because they practiced Hogg¡¯s fighting style, he earned more Dexterity than Strength.

    <strong>Through Training, you have increased the following attributes:</strong>

    <strong>Strength +1</strong>

    <strong>Dexterity +3</strong>

    While resting his body from the strict physical training, Brin learned a hundred different tips and tricks about illusions. How to make more realistic mirror images, how to pick out and copy a person¡¯s mannerisms, and how to mimic their speech. Things to remember when using an illusion in different environments like walking on grass or sshing in puddles. Hogg had a huge wealth of tips and shortcuts, and Brin was finally able to utilize them now that he had the mental power to do it all.

    They sparred, they practiced illusions, they talked about what to expect from a Lightmind once Brin finally got his hands on one, and in the time that was left over they continued to develop his [Multithreading]. He found a pretty good bnce which involved sectioning off a fifth of his mind and filling it up entirely with directed threads while leaving the rest of his mind free. His regr mind was close enough to his normal that it wasn¡¯t too ufortable while still keeping his regr time. That would be hisbat footing; for everyday life he¡¯d just rely on [Multithreading] without the [Split Focus] technique. The mental exertion gave him a few more points of Mental Control, which wereing quick and easy after [Filial Piety] boosted his training speed.

    <strong>Mental Control +3</strong>

    They worked at a constant pace, both of them sensing that their time was drawing short and wanting to make every minute count. The only real breaks they took were to eat and to y with Marksi, who had decided that he needed at least an hour ofser time every day. Brin figured that Marksi knew theser dot was just a projection of light, but he didn¡¯t care and chased it as if his whole life depended on catching it.

    Brin didn¡¯t leave the house for the most part, but what glimpses he saw of the city didn¡¯t look good. The army retreated out of town with their conscripts in the morning after the impressment, leaving an overwhelmed city guard to try to calm down the angry citizenry. There wasn¡¯t another riot, but all business was stalled and people stayed off the streets. None of the burned down buildings were repaired. The rubble wasn¡¯t even cleared away, though the guard did make a token effort to chase off looters. Oddly, it seemed like ckcliff would take longer to recover from this than it had taken Hammon¡¯s Bog to recover from the undead invasion.

    On the day that they were nning on reaching out to Lumina again, Lurn surprised them both by showing up at their door.

    ¡°I found one,¡± the [Hunter] said simply when Brin opened the door.

    He had to think for a moment to remember what Lurn was talking about. ¡°The Ruby Crested Mud Slider? For Marksi?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but we should go now. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°We kind of have something we need to do today¡­¡± Brin began.

    Hogg shoved past him and out the door. ¡°No reason we can¡¯t do both. Might be better this way. It¡¯ll be safer to set up that spell out in the woods rather than in the middle of town again.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Brin said, and then looked around for the dragon. ¡°What do you say, Marksi? Ready to earn that poison attack?¡±

    When Brin spotted him, Marksi was already sprinting down the city street.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Book 4. Chapter 16

    They were still on the way to where Lurn had spotted a Mud Slider when noon drew near, meaning it was nearly time for their call with Lumina.

    Brin and Hogg had a brief discussion about whether or not to include Lurn, and decided that they might as well. Anything that they couldn''t discuss around Lurn they really shouldn''t speak of out loud at all, especially not over a long-distance spell.

    They asked Lurn to find a secluded spot, and he brought them to a clearing in a copse of trees up against a hill that blocked the line of sight in every direction.

    Still, Brin decided to be careful and mask them all in a wide cylinder of invisibility. He didn''t even need to use the new [Split Focus] elements of [Multithreading] they''d been practicing. Two directed threads and a hefty drain on his Mana took care of it with a barely noticeable effect on his perception of time.

    He and Hogg went through the long process of setting up themunication spell. Hogg had spent some time running Brin through the words of Language in the spell that Brin didn''t know, but he still needed Hogg''s help to get it working. Doing it alone would require several days or maybe weeks of concentrated study, and neither of them had thought it worth wasting their one-week cram session on that.

    When Brin finally finished his part of the spell, it was a few minutes after noon. Hopefully Lumina didn''t mind.

    He pushed his Mana into the spell, felt it connect with Hogg''s portions, and Lumina appeared. She was facing the wrong way, and when she turned around she greeted them all with a warm but weary smile.

    "Oh, good, you made it. I was beginning to worry. Is that Lurn? Excellent! Hogg, am I solid?"

    "You are," answered Hogg.Lurn stared at her, eyes wide. "Is it really her?"

    "In a manner of speaking." Lumina stepped forward to take Lurn''s hand in both of hers. "It is a true pleasure to speak with you again, my friend. I must beg that the existence of thismunication spell remain a secret."

    "You have my word, of course," said Lurn.

    "Thank you. Now, we haven''t much time." Lumina dropped Lurn''s hand and turned to face the rest of them. "Please understand that I don''t expect this to be a rtionship where Imand and the rest of you obey, but I don''t know how much time we have right now, so in the interest of expediency I will tell you what I believe must happen and then we can discuss it with whatever time we have remaining."

    "Get on with it, then," said Hogg.

    "Right. Ahem. Hogg, you muste to the Tower. Brin, you must ept Gn''s offer and travel to Prinnash. Lurn, I didn''t expect to see you today, but I could use your help as well. If you''re willing,e to the tower as well."

    Hogg frowned and folded his arms. "Exin Brin''s part first."

    Lumina winced apologetically and said, "I''ll exin Lurn''s part, since it''s the shortest. The kingdom would use your unique Skill to seek out deserters and impressment avoiders. You would be well-rewarded, and it would help my political position, but again, the choice is yours."

    "And for Brin?" asked Hogg.

    "In short, Frenaria is not safe for him. The time is not far off that the bulk of our armies will be mustered in Prinnash for the invasion of Arcaena. There is never a more precarious time for a kingdom than when all its strongest and most loyal men and women are fighting in a foreign field. The [King] will rely on the peerage to maintain order, and he will be ready to overlook many their excesses for the sake of harmony. In Prinnash, you will be surrounded by those strong and loyal soldiers, and you will most certainly not be involved in the actual assault of Arcaena itself. You will train with the [Knights], but a newly formed Lance will always stay well beyond the front lines. It''s the bestpromise between advancement and safety that I can think of."

    Brin¡¯s emotions were mixed. There was something alluring about training with [Knights], and he''d been so involved with the plots of Arcaena that he never liked the idea that the war against her would happen without him. On the other hand, it felt like he was being exiled. "Wouldn''t I be safer at the Tower with the two of you?"

    "I can''t guarantee that this is where I will stay. And in full sincerity, I do not know how safe it will be even with me here. Even for Hogg this will be a ce of great danger, though that will bepensated with even greater opportunities. The idea will be to have Hogg arrive first to clear your way. Those among my adversaries who might try to... inopportune a subordinate [Mage] of mine will quickly find that Hogg is not an easy target. They will break themselves against him, leaving your time here without danger or stress. I believe you wille to the tower, eventually, no matter what I do, but it need not be before you are ready. You''re also a bit young, you know. Sixteen is eptable, but eighteen is the mostmon. Fourteen is much too young."

    Still folding his arms, Hogg shook his head. "There''s another option. He could pretend to be a normal [sser] andy low until the whole war blows over." R

    Lumina sped her hands behind her back and stood up straighter, her face bing a mask of perfect courtesy. "Yes, that is true. Brin, you would have to change your name and face, and you could never let your disguise slip. You''d have to be a normal [sser], keeping all your new inventions and ideas in your mind. You would have to leave ckcliff; too many people know you there already, and you couldn''t go to Hammon''s Bog. But yes, anywhere else would be fine. That is an option. My thinking was that you would wish to enter either the Tower or the war. I hadn''t considered anything else."

    She was looking awfully normal, which made Brin think hard about what she wasn''t saying. "How screwed would you be if I just up and disappeared like that?"

    "It would hardly be an issue," Lumina said, too quickly, with a wave of her hand.

    "She''s a grown up, she can take care of herself," said Hogg.

    Only Lurn gave him the honest answer. "She names an heir who disappears at wartime before being presented at court? It would ce suspicion on her in a time when the [King] is at his most vulnerable, and therefore at his most paranoid."

    Lumina nced to the side. "I have perhaps one minute more. Brin, I won''t rush you and I don''t wish to decide for you, but--"

    "I''ll go to Gn," Brin said, and then gulped down a bit of acid. Not that he resented needing to leave, but everything was changing so fast.

    Lumina was clearly relieved, though she tried to hide it. "Good. Onest thing, I did look into the matter of your investment into a caravan. You have a sum worth eight hundred pieces of gold deposited here in the Bank of Steamshield. Well done! Do I understand that this is nearly double your initial investment?"

    "I put in five hundred. But yeah, that''s awesome! Will I be able to transfer it to Prinnash?" asked Brin.

    Lumina seemed bbergasted by the question. "What? No. I mean, regretfully not. But I will write to some acquaintances in Prinnash and have them make some monies avable to you for the purchasing of armor and other necessities. We have perhaps thirty seconds left before I''m discovered. Anything else?"

    "When is our next call?" asked Brin.

    "Too risky, until Hogg is here. We''ll correspond by letter. What else?"

    "I wille, but I need a better bow," said Lurn.

    "May the gods bless you, my friend," Lumina answered. "Now if there isn''t anything else--"

    Hogg said, "Lightmind. I don''t trust any of the [Illusionists] here, and without [Persistent Casting]--"

    "I''ll see if I can get someone to enchant one into ss. Now I really need to--"

    "I miss you. It was wonderful to see you," said Brin.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    She rushed forward to wrap him in a hug, both arms going around his head to bring him in. Since she was made of hard light it felt like being hugged by a boulder, but he appreciated the gesture. "The same to you, my beautiful boy. Be well in Prinnash. If at all possible, stay out of the assault of Arcaena. Stay safe until we meet again."

    He wasn''t able to answer that, as Lumina faded from view an instantter.

    Brin waited a moment to make sure she was really gone and then tore down the spell and returning his threads.

    He nced at Hogg, not sure what to say. This was it. They were really splitting up. He found he really didn''t want to talk about it, not yet.

    Hogg probably felt the same, because he spit on the ground and said, "Frustrating woman. She says she won''t order us around, but I doubt it ever entered her mind that we weren''t going to do exactly what she wants."

    Lurn shrugged. "It was an easy choice for me. I wasn''t in the city for the surprise conscription, but eventually someone will invite me to join the war. I would either need to fight or let my name be mud forever. This gave me another option."

    "It doesn''t really change much for me, to be honest. I was going to go to Prinnash for [Filial Piety] anyway. And Hogg, don''t tell me you''re not looking forward to learning at the Tower."

    Hogg said, "I''d be lying if I say I haven''t been dreaming about that my whole life. But there''s a reason I haven''t gone already. Once I''m there I''ll be in the system. They''ll have expectations for me. Noctis'' Starry Night! I bet Lumina is expecting me to swear an Oath to her."

    "Better that than the [King]," said Lurn.

    "True," said Hogg.

    "What''s so bad about the [King]?" Brin asked.

    Hogg shook his head. "Where to even start? Think about this conscription. Think about how the [Heralds] are still out there telling people that there isn''t going to be a war."

    "Perhaps I can sum it up like this. [Witch] is a dangerous ss, as you well know. But in terms of dangerous sses, it has nothing on [King]," said Lurn.

    Marksi chirped and puffed up his chest, and Brin had to guess what he was thinking. "No, dragons can''t be kings." Brin didn''t know that for sure, to be honest, but best to stop these ideas before Marksi couldtch onto them.

    Marksi pointed at Brin.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "No, I don''t think I want to be a [King], either."

    Marksi grunted derisively but then remembered what they were about. He danced in a circle and then darted towards the trees and back again, trying to urge the group onward.

    "You''re right," said Lurn. "We had a purpose ining out here today."

    The group headed out through the trees. They passed through trees and fields, following Lurn and an excited Marksi.

    Brin barely noticed where they were going. He ran through the long-rangemunication spell from [Memories in ss], seeking to learn it enough that he''d one day be able to cast it on his own. Mostly, he wanted to get his mind off hising journey.

    The others also seemed to be in an introspective mood and didn''t speak much, which made the rest of the journey pass quickly.

    It waste afternoon when Lurn finally called for a halt. Brin looked up and saw that they had arrived at the edge of a swamp.

    For the first time, Brin felt very keenly that he wasn''t in the Bonds anymore. Homesickness didn''t really hit him when he wasparing home to somethingpletely different. When hepared Hammon''s Bog to the dry fields and healthy forests they had around here it was easy to ignore, but it wasn''t until he saw another swamp that he realized how this was definitely not the Bonds.

    In short, the swamp sucked. Instead of monstrous, moss-covered trees that loomed oppressively into the air pulling the light out of the sky, he saw the same kind of ordinary trees you''d find anywhere. There were few bushes, only one random vine hanging down, and an instantly recognizable path of dry ground leading straight through. No chance of identally falling in a sinkhole down to his neck or sinking his feet into knee-deep mud and pulling it out covered in leeches. <em>Pathetic</em>.

    It was so strange that he was homesick for a ce he¡¯d only lived for two years. If he went somewhere mountainous, would he be homesick for his old life, or was that really in the past now? He wasn¡¯t certain he knew the answer.

    He hoped the swamp would be more interesting the further they went in, but he was wrong. A single bullfrog croaked in the distance, but there were few birds and no swarms of biting insects, though he was pretty sure it was because Lurn had a Skill for that. The trees never really became thick enough to provide consistent shade, leaving him ufortably sweaty, and just like he had expected, the ground stayed dry and firm. At least that would allow them to leave quickly when this was over.

    ¡°Here,¡± Lurn whispered. ¡°It¡¯s nearby. Marksi, I¡¯ve brought you close enough. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡±

    Marksi nodded and his scales immediately started shifting color to match the green and brown of thendscape. He crept past a patch of tall grass and then Brin couldn¡¯t see him anywhere. Even though Marksi had camouge instead of true invisibility, Brin found it nearly impossible to spot him when he was in stealth mode.

    He rxed his eyes, keeping them unfocused and tried to look at everything and nothing at once. He was looking for some slight motion, a slight twitch or twist of color that he¡¯d normally dismiss or ignore. Marksi would never show more than that.

    He didn¡¯t end up seeing Marksi, but he spotted the target. A little frond of red stood up from the surface of ake, heading away from them. He used [Inspect].

    <strong>Ruby Crested Mud Slider</strong>

    <strong>Level: 12</strong>

    As far as Brin understood, animals didn¡¯t really have levels, but they could advance in power by acting out their natures, and then the System assigned them a level-value based on that power when someone used [Inspect]. This beast was pretty weak. At that level, it would be a surprise if it had the beast core Marksi wanted.

    In his old life, he would¡¯ve called it monstrously huge; after all, the snake was seven feet long. But after all the monsters Brin had seen, he had a hard time being intimidated. He knew that the snake was venomous enough that it could likely kill him in a single bite, even with the help of [Scarred, but Healing], but was that all? It didn¡¯t seem strong enough to be a real challenge.

    It was about a hundred yards away, but Brin could see it clearly because of how sparse this swamp was. It moved across the pond at a casual speed; things as venomous as this Mud Slider didn¡¯t need to fear all that much in this world, as wild creatures quickly learned to stay away.

    It reached the shore and began to slide across the mud. Out of nowhere, Marksi appeared and bit into the snake¡¯s spine, right behind its neck.

    A quick sh, a sudden frantic jerk, and then it was over. The snake was dead.

    Brin couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed. Sure, he was d Marksi had killed the snake without getting hurt, but he¡¯d sort of expected it to have one more trick up its sleeve. Maybe it did, and Marksi¡¯s ambush had killed it so quickly that it hadn¡¯t had time to use it, but Brin didn¡¯t think so.

    They approached easily through the mostly-tame swamp, and Marksi was dancing a victory jig when they arrived. He showed off, miming his sudden and overwhelming victory again and again. Lurn, Hogg, and Brin all took turns praising him.

    Lurn knelt down, cut into the snake, and pulled the flesh to the side to reveal that the snake did indeed have the prize they were looking for. It had a beast core.

    Marksi reached in and plucked it out, darting away with his prize. He looked sort of guilty, like he expected Lurn to scold him for snatching it, but the [Hunter] smiled indulgently. ¡°It¡¯s yours. You earned it.¡±

    Marksi peered at the crystalline organ clutched in his ws. It was a dull red, and unreflective.

    Brin felt a sudden wave of revulsion. He didn¡¯t want Marksi to eat that. That beast core was different than the others; it wasn¡¯t an incidental prize that he¡¯d gained as a side-effect of helping Brin. This was the first beast core that Marksi had chosen for himself. In a way, this was akin to Marksi¡¯s System Day. The core he chose now would go on to guide his evolution far into the future, maybe for the rest of his life.

    Did he really want it to start here? With this? That snake had been small and pathetic. It was weaker than it should¡¯ve been, and much too cocky in its weakness. Sure, it might be able to kill things high above its level, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that it was still a worm. He wasn¡¯t upset about it; that was its nature. That was poison.

    That was <em>not</em> Marksi.

    He saw at once that the little dragon felt the same as the little scaly face twisted in disgust.

    Hogg and Lurn hadn¡¯t seemed to catch on yet. Hogg called, ¡°Well, what are you waiting for? You¡¯ve done it! Take your prize.¡±

    Marksi did <em>not</em> like being told what to do, and Hogg¡¯s prodding broke thest of his hesitation. He threw the core on the ground and turned his back with a ¡°Hmph!¡±

    ¡°What? You aren¡¯t going to eat it? Whyever not?¡± asked Lurn.

    Marksi curled up so that he could cross his arms. ¡°Hmph!¡±

    ¡°Dragons know what¡¯s good for them,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°Listen here, Marksi. Lurn marched up and down this forest <em>all week</em> trying to find that for you. You can¡¯t just refuse to eat it without an exnation.¡±

    Marksi didn¡¯t move.

    Brin spoke up, ¡°I don¡¯t think he should eat it either. This is his first core from a solo kill; it needs to be perfect. And now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think poison suits him. When we were looking through those books he wanted us to search for creatures that breathe fire or hunt with their fore-ws. I think he¡¯s better off looking for something like that. Although, I do feel guilty for making you search for it all this time.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not as bad as all that. [Hunters] never search for just one thing,¡± said Lurn. ¡°But I must admit that I¡¯m perplexed.¡±

    Marksi looked downcast. He picked the beast core off the ground and scooted over to Lurn. The [Hunter] leaned down, and Marksi pressed the beast core into his hands, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Marksi nodded.

    ¡°Very well. I can sell this for a tidy sum. I¡¯ll take the poison sac, too, if you don¡¯t mind. You killed it very neatly and I see that the sac was preserved.¡±

    Marksi nodded again, looking happy to be able to do the [Hunter] a favor.

    ¡°But we will all eat the meat, and I won¡¯t have you turning your nose up at that! Remember what I told you about killing carelessly.¡±

    Marksi was happy to agree to that, and seemed to regain his happy mood when he saw that no one was going to force him to eat the core.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Marksi. We¡¯ll find a monster that¡¯s perfect for you,¡± Brin said.

    They stayed at the side of the pond in the second-rate swamp and built a campfire. Hogg found some drying logs to use for seats, and Lurn roasted the snake meat on spits, somehow using a few pinches of spices from his pack to turn it into some of the best food Brin had ever eaten in this world.

    Tonight, they would have to trek back and they probably wouldn¡¯t get home until well after midnight. He didn¡¯t want to think about the parting that woulde after that.

    But for now, he was here, with friends and family, snacking on something delicious and swapping stories of the adventures they¡¯d seen and the monsters they¡¯d killed. It was nice. Stupid Davi and Zilly, this is what good-byes should be like.

 Book 4. Chapter 17

    "Of course, I will being with you," Sion said promptly when Brin delivered the news that he¡¯d be leaving ckcliff.

    "Are you sure? I can''t pull you away from your family duties," said Brin.

    "Yes, I''m sure. Now, it''s your serve."

    Brin had been surprised to learn that the Wogan mansion had a tennis court. Not because he didn''t think the mansion was big enough, but because he''d sort of forgotten about leisure activities altogether.

    He thought of the game as tennis because it involved hitting a ball back and forth across a, but there were key differences. The ball was hard, like a baseball, and instead of rackets, they struck the ball with a round bat, not unlike a baseball bat. And in addition to scoring when your opponent failed to return a ball or let it go out of bounds, you could also get two points by hitting a dinner te-sized gong set up in the middle of the back of each side of the court.

    The added difficulty was only natural for a world of sses and levels, and so far Sion was thrashing him. Brin attributed that to Sion''s [Running] Skill, but Brin was getting better every minute they yed. [Athletic Training] didn''t just increase the amount of attributes he got, it was also making him better at athletics.

    Brin served, and was relieved to see the ball go right where he wanted it. Unfortunately, that seemed to be right where Sion wanted it, and he returned it with a fierce crack that shot the ball to the opposite side where Brin had no chance of reaching it.

    "Doesn''t your uncle need you here?"

    "My uncle needs nothing," said Sion. "My entire purpose ining here was to get away and have an adventure. Which I have done. Now I must return. Certainly returning with you will be more enjoyable."The next serve went into a back and forth volley thatsted for a long while. Sion seemed to be everywhere, returning every single shot no matter how much distance he had to cross to get there. It finally ended when Brin sent a ball that was a little too slow, giving Sion time to wind up and m the ball straight past Brin and into the gong.

    "Won''t you need to head straight to Aberquay? I need to get to a town called Canibri," said Brin.

    "Yes, I know of it. Half way to Gonwy. Only, how did you n to get there, mind? Will you go ovend with a caravan, dodging the Frenarian patrols the entire way? Or perhaps you will sail to Aberquay, and then somehow sneak past the armies of three nations mustering in Fortmouth," said Sion.

    "I, uh, hadn''t thought that far," said Brin. He''d honestly nned on taking a ship to Aberquay like Sion said, but now he was suddenly second-guessing.

    "My, if only you had an expert on traveling through Prinnash that you could lean on for advice," said Sion. He served, but Brin ran close to the and returned it with a drop shot, giving him a point.

    "I''d appreciate your help," said Brin.

    "As well you should!" said Sion. "When will we depart?"

    "We need to move fast. Hogg needs to get to the Tower, and I need to get out of sight."

    "Then tomorrow," said Sion.

    "Tomorrow," agreed Brin, but his heart sank. So soon? Well, he was the one who''d said fast.

    They finished the game, with Brin steadily getting better and better until after an hour of practice he was about as good as Sion.

    <strong>Through training, you have earned the following attribute: </strong>

    <strong>Dexterity +1</strong>

    Back home, the day went about like thest couple weeks had been. Hogg taught him more of the illusions he knew, they had dinner at a nice restaurant, and Brin humored Hogg by joining him at a nice tea house afterwards where he put so many spoonfulls of sugar into his tea that the waiter frowned at him everytime he passed the table. ?

    The next day, Hogg made breakfast, and then they walked together towards the docks.

    The town was peaceful and started to wake up again. The scars from the mass-impressment were still visible, but people were crowding the markets again. Criers still maintained their story that the war with Arcaena wasn''t going to happen, and [Heralds] promised that all the people who''d been conscripted would be returned having seen no conflict and with a hefty pocketful of silver.

    They mostly walked in silence, Marksi scampering along beside them.

    Then out of the blue, Hogg said, "So listen, I got you something." He handed Brin a potion; the clear ss revealed a shimmering silver concoction with specks of glitter. It looked expensive. Most [Alchemist] concoctions looked like brown sludge unless they spent a lot of time beautifying them.

    Brin used [Inspect].

    <strong>Potion of Time''s Remission</strong>

    "Ignore the pretentious-sounding name. It''s not a time travel potion. What it does is reverse the effects of childhood malnutrition. It''ll give you a growth spurt that pushes you into what your height would''ve been if your mother hadn''t been, you know, such a [Witch]," said Hogg.

    "This is amazing!"

    "Drink it!"

    Brin did, and was surprised by the vor. By the color he expected a metallic taste, but the reality was much more strange. If he had to put a finger on it, he''d say it tasted like beef bullion and nostalgia. There wasn''t an immediate effect, but he didn''t expect one.

    "How much did you spend on this?" Brin knew the answer. Value Sense was telling him that this potion was half as valuable as a Potion of Healing.

    "Well, I have money again, and money is for spending. I got you one more thing. Here." The next object was a golf ball-sized gemstone. It was orange and faintly transparent, looking like a jagged lump of ss, though Brin''s ss sense didn''t recognize it.

    "What is it?"

    "Core of a Fire Jelly. Weird kind of ocean creature, I think. I had a team of adventurers start looking for one as soon as we got to town, and it just came inst night. I thought you could use it for yourser; they''re prized for enchanting illusion magic," Hogg exined. "I''ve never done much of that, but I''ll probably get a chance in the Tower."

    Brin pulled the core up high to keep it from Marksi''s snapping jaws. "Not for you!"

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been uwfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Marksi pouted, but when he saw Brin wouldn''t relent he gave up quickly.

    "That reminds me. Do you think I should get a Lightmind? What would that even involve? You mentioned it to Lumina and I forgot to ask you about it."

    "Right. Yeah, I''m not sure with you, honestly. The major benefit of a Lightmind is that it will store and read through spells for you, but your [Memories in ss] are already doing that for you. Not sure if it''s worth it. Since you don''t have [Persistent Casting], you''ll need to assign a part of your mind to keep it running permanently. I don''t think a directed thread would be able to do it, either."

    Brin found that he hated that idea. "Would the efficiency gains be worth it?"

    "From a purely practical point of view, your spells will be more efficient. The main problem here is trust. The way this works is that an expert will cast the Lightmind onto your brain, and then you''ll bring it under your control, empowering it with your own magic. By the way, the words to take control of someone else''s illusions are It doesn''te in handy as often as you''d think."

    "What? That sounds extremely handy!" Brin said.

    "It''s harder than casting the spell yourself, a waste of Mana, they''ll know you''re doing it, and it''s prone to failure if they''re better than you," said Hogg.

    "Still sounds handy," said Brin.

    Hogg shrugged. "Well, you have it now. Tell me how often you use it. This is all beside the point. The main problem here is that you''re letting another [Illusionist] cast a magic spell on your brain that has ess to your thoughts. It''s a matter of trust. You really shouldn''t get it done by someone who knows who you are, and in ckcliff they all know who you are."

    "Right, my secret would be out," said Brin.

    "And they''d have a spy device in your mind, yeah," said Hogg. "Best case would be if I could get someone to enchant a Lightmind into a piece of ss that you could... I don''t know, start up and shut down whenever you want it. It''s not something I could do out here, but in the Tower, with Lumina''s pull, it should be possible."

    "Or I could just level up and get [Persistent Casting]," said Brin.

    "The jump from 35 to 40 isn''t as easy as you''re thinking," said Hogg.

    They drew nearer and nearer to the docks and the ship, which meant they were nearer to Brin''s departure. He walked a bit slower.

    "Oh! I got something for you!" said Brin. He pulled a little book from the pocket of his own overcoat. It had originally been about thirty pages of loose paper, and he''d bound it himself with glue and string.

    Value Sense appraised it at around three-hundred gold.

    Hogg read the cover. "A Treatise on the Implications and Utility of the Wyrd on Magecraft and Spellcasting." Hogg paled. "Are you insane!" He quickly covered the book by shoving it in his coat, ring around at anyone who might be watching.

    "Rx," said Brin. "I took out all the parts that could get us in trouble. No mention of who taught me that stuff. I don¡¯t use any of the examples Aberfa taught me. All of it ispletely verifiable by non-[Witchy] methods, without a single word quoting Aberfa directly."

    "It''s still a risk," said Hogg.

    "I was careful. Remember when I had a notebook full of things that Aberfa was teaching me, before I realized how dangerous that was? Value Sense told me it was worth nothing. Not even the paper it was written on. I think it''s because the Skill isn''t advanced enough to tell me how much a book is worth if it would get someone killed for even seeing it. The fact that this has a price means that it should be safe enough."

    Hogg drew the book out again, ncing at it. "I''m going to read it through before I show it to anyone."

    "Obviously," said Brin.

    "Lumina at least will want to take a look at it. And if I ever do end up spreading this around, it''ll be revolutionary. You don''t know [Mages] like I do. They''re going to hate the fact that all of their magic touches the Wyrd. And they''ll love the fact that their spells gain power based on how pompous and self-righteous they are. It''ll break their brains."

    Brinughed. "We can only hope."

    ¡°That reminds me. Have you decided what ss you¡¯re going to pretend to be? With your attributes, people are going to stop falling for [sser],¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°Should I go with [ssbound Warrior]?¡± asked Brin.

    Hogg shook his head. ¡°Among [Knights], it¡¯ll be too hard to keep up the charade. They¡¯ll keep trying to help you evolve [de Mastery] into something you won¡¯t be able to mimic.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s your opinion?¡±

    ¡°[ss Invocationist].¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it. I assume it¡¯s a pre-[Mage] ss, like [Conjurer]?¡±

    "No. Well, sort of. It''s a historical ss from ancient Nhamanshal. On the surface, it''s a ss for someone who uses enchanted ss tools, but since it''s so old most people won''t be able to say for sure what it can and can''t do."

    "Doesn''t that just put a big sign on my forehead saying ''I have something to hide''?" Brin asked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Sure, but it also gives a good reason for why you''re hiding it. You have a unique ss from the ancient past. It''s natural that you''d want to keep its capabilities hidden. A [sser] that has his whole status sheet locked down would be much more suspicious. And your absurdly high Strength would be even stranger."

    "Is [ss Invocationist] Rare?"

    "That''s what''s so interesting about it! Back then it was Common but today if anyone manages to get it, it''s Rare. You wouldn''t think a ss can drift in rarity like that, but they do. It''d be like if you grew up in a hunter gatherer society and rediscovered farming, [Farmer] might be a Rare ss for you. The theory is that Nhamanshal''s civilization was so advanced that their ss ranking werepletely different. The most ordinary sses were focused on utilizing magical artifacts, rather than doing the work with their own hands or summoning their own magic."

    Hogg went into great detail about the historical details of Nhamanshal and [ss Invocationist] that he thought might help Brin, and they talked through the types of things he could do to help sell it. The main strategy would be to summon as much ss as possible when no-one was looking, and then use it where they could see. It wasmon knowledge that he¡¯d started as [sser], so he didn¡¯t have to hide his ss summoningpletely, but he¡¯d need to make it look like his strength was in <em>using </em>ss.

    Eventually, the conversation ran its course and theypsed into silence again.

    They moved out of the city and onto the docks. The scent of fresh ocean air mixed with the strong stench of fish. It was one of those viscerally strong smells that he just knew would always reappear whenever he remembered this moment in the future.

    It wasn''t until the ship was actually in sight that Hogg finally cleared his throat. "So listen. I know I''m not... I mean. I wasn''t always--"

    Brin interrupted. "Shut up! You were... You <em>were</em>, ok? You tried. No, more than that, you seeded. You''re always there for me. You gave me everything I needed when I needed it. You¡¯re¡­ you''re a good dad, Hogg." There was more Brin could''ve said, wanted to say, but a sudden lump in his throat made him his mouth.

    Hogg looked stunned, and opened his mouth. Clearly this wasn''t what he''d expected. "Well, damn. Ok."

    Brinughed. "It''s true, though. I know what I''m like, so I know I tend to take people for granted. But I want you to know that I''m grateful for everything you''ve done. You didn''t just obey your Oath, you really stepped up. I''m sorry if I didn''t--"

    "You''re a good son," said Hogg.

    It was Brin''s turn to be speechless. That was just in inurate. He was an <em>ok </em>son, at best.

    ¡°Well, shoot. This is one of those times. We have to hug, don¡¯t we?¡± said Hogg.

    ¡°We¡¯ll tell everyone we did,¡± said Brin.

    Hogg grinned. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go with that.¡± Ten steps further down the docks, he scowled and said, ¡°No, that won¡¯t work. Come here.¡±

    Hogg wrapped Brin in a tight hug.

    They found Sion soon after, who had a cartoonishlyrge amount of luggage; ten carts full of bags and suitcases had to be loaded onto ship by the sailors. It only urred to him hours after they disembarked that Sion was a [Merchant], so much of his luggage was probably goods for sale.

    As soon as he stepped on the ship, he was surprisingly busy. A bored-looking midshipman was tasked with exining the rules, schedules, and procedures to him and a couple dozen other passengers.

    He¡¯d settled into a surprisingly spacious cabin that he shared with Sion, and watched as Sion unpacked suitcase after suitcase, revealing that an absurd amount of his luggage really was for his personalfort.

    Then he¡¯d been excited to mess with the new Fire Jelly core that Hogg had given him, marveling with the fact that he could fill it up with light magic and then draw it out again.

    Then there¡¯d been an incident where Marksi had eaten one of the ship¡¯s cats, and both he and the little lizard had been subjected to a stern talking-to by the ship¡¯s first mate.

    It wasn¡¯t until the day was over and he stood on the deck watching the sun go down over the water that he realized that he¡¯d never actually said goodbye. Hogg had turned away and left after the hug, and Brin had been distracted by Sion¡¯s arrival.

    He was still in range, he could probably get a Mirror Image to Hogg in time, but he didn¡¯t. It was better this way.

    As lonely as he thought he¡¯d be in this moment, he realized he wasn¡¯t feeling any of that. Sion was here, and Marksi, and he hadn¡¯t had time to miss Hogg yet. More than anything, he found he was excited for what was in store.

    The end of Part 1.

 Book 4 - Interlude - Gurthcid

    Book 4 - Interlude - Gurthcid

    When Cid opened his orders, he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. The day he¡¯d been dreaming of for years had finally arrived: He was to be promoted to Prime of a new Lance, but when he read the names of those serving under him, all thoughts of celebration fled in favor of disappointment and dread.

    His second was to be his best friend Hedrek, a fellow [Knight]. And while Hedrek had many of the qualities he would wish for in a Second, the problem remained that Hedrek was the one person in the world who never listened to him. Hedrek had a boisterous energy that couldn''t be contained, but it had never been Cid''s job to contain it before. Could their friendship survive this? Ideally, they both would have made Prime at the same time on different Lances.

    The other names were worse. Him, Hedrek, and then eight nobodies from Prinnash. No [Knights], and none were even [Squires]. He had two [Warriors], two [Hunters], a [Rogue], a [Porter], an [Armsman], and a [Page].

    This couldn¡¯t stand! A Lance wasn¡¯t meant to be a group of random misfits taken off the street. It should¡¯ve been the sons of lords bolstered by the very best and brightest among themon stock.

    Perhaps if he were anyone else, he would have gritted his teeth and obeyed. Even now, that¡¯s what he wished to do, but he couldn¡¯t. He was the son of a Count, and he had standing to speak directly tomand if he wished, even to Commander Gn himself, if necessary. Since he was one of the only men in this camp that couldin, that also meant that he had to, else the problem would go unaddressed.

    Cid had half a mind to march straight up to Gn and demand that he give him ten good Ondish men or remove him frommand altogether. Yes, that¡¯s what he should do. What he <em>would</em> do. If this was happening to him, it was certainly happening to others. He had a duty to Ond to bring an end to this travesty.

    Cid left his rooms to stalk through the halls of the fortress, if it could even be called that. Gn and the othermanders seemed to love it here, but all he could see was an old castle in ruins.

    Leadership likely had never heard a word ofint. Soon after they¡¯d arrived, one of the older [Knights] had asked rather loudly at mess what sort of true man would everin about something like a change in the weather, and now all the new recruits were climbing over themselves to prove that they didn¡¯t mind the terrible amodations at all. True, as a level 30 [Knight], Cid had long since moved past the point where a chill morning or a hot afternoon could bother him, but there was no amount of points in Vitality or Strength that could make his clothes stop smelling like mold because rain had soaked his wardrobe.

    The fortress bothered him on a deeper level, though. It was a perfect example of the way this war was going, one where Prinnash ripped them off in a hundred different ways and they all pretended not to notice. Or maybe Gn really didn¡¯t notice at all? He was a straightforward sort of fellow.Straightforward fellows required straightforward approaches. Rather than stew in his irritation or try to bring it up in subtler ways, Cid needed to approach Gn directly. No other newly appointed Prime could do this, only Cid had the station necessary to approach the Lord Commander of the Order of the Long Sleep directly.

    Even so, he stood in front of the shut door to Gn¡¯s office, deliberating for a long time whether or not he would really knock.

    A female voice answered, ¡°Enter.¡±

    He gulped did so, to find a bleak and utilitarian office. Therge desk stacked high with papers stood empty in the center of the room. Off to the side in a corner, there was a small writing desk, upied by the woman who had let him in.

    Cid really didn¡¯t understand Lyssa. She was clearly a traitor, was she not? It was like in all the [Illusionist] movies, where the noble [King] always had that one trusted advisor who was obviously up to no good. The man in the movies would always dress in ck robes, with a pallidplexion and sunken eyes. He would often be seen anointing a dagger with poison, raising it above his head when the [King] turned his back only to hide it in his robes when the [King] looked back to him for advice. He would advise the [King] to jail every pretty maiden and kill every young hero. Everyone could see that this was a rat, except for the [King] who trusted himpletely.

    In the same vein, Lyssa could not be more suspicious. Instead of wearing all ck, she wore the uniform of their Order, but every part of the stereotypical evil advisor fit her perfectly. Only, on a woman, a pallidplexion might be described as fair. Sunken eyes might also be the result of a modest amount of makeup. Even the dagger was true; Lyssa could often be seen toying with a ceremonial dagger, often removing it from its sheath when Gn wasn¡¯t looking. Cid half expected it to [Inspect] as ¡°Traitor¡¯s Edge¡± or some such, but s all the Skill told him was that it was a possession of her brother¡¯s.

    ¡°He¡¯ll be returning in a moment. You may wait here, if you wish,¡± said Lyssa, indicating a chair.

    It wouldn¡¯t quite send the correct message if he sat. Amoner supplicant would sit; a subordinate soldier in wartime would stand. Cid stepped off to the side near the chairs and stood to wait. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. I will, and I thank you.¡±

    Lyssa rolled her eyes and went back to work.

    Cid waited. Not too long after, he began to hear voices from down the halls. One effect of halls of stone where no tapestries were hung and the carpets had not been reced, was that it tended to make voices carry. Cid couldn¡¯t plug his ears, that would be absurd, so he had no chance but to listen.

    ¡°...ever told you of my great friend Lurn?¡± This voice could only be Gn.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t. Surely he is a fierce [Knight] for you to call him a great friend,¡± responded another voice.

    ¡°A [Hunter], we fought together against the undead in the Bonds. At first, I was not sure we would get along. Before Travin¡¯s Bog, I would¡¯ve called a bow a coward¡¯s weapon,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°No. I refuse.¡±

    ¡°What do you refuse?¡±

    Cid didn¡¯t recognize the second voice. He took a risk and gave Lyssa a questioning nce. She mouthed the word ¡°Lothar¡±.

    ¡°I refuse to believe you would call a bow a coward¡¯s weapon. In all the time I¡¯ve known you, I¡¯ve never seen you denigrate the profession of any man. It smacks of false humility to hear you say you would insult a [Hunter] after this manner,¡± said the voice who was apparently Lothar. Cid had heard of him. He was the head of the Order of the Golden Ivory. He sounded exactly like Gn.

    ¡°I would not say it, but perhaps I would think it,¡± Gn answered.

    ¡°I won¡¯t believe that either. You¡¯re altogethercking in prejudice, to an offensive degree.¡±

    Gn¡¯s voice grew agitated. ¡°I apologize for offending you. Is it so wrong that I believe any honest work, diligently executed, is worthy and honorable? Hewing men on the battlefield is no better or worse than hewing grain for a mill, so long as it is done in integrity.¡±

    ¡°Well put, I suppose, but I myself find it difficult to call myself the equal of any man,¡± Lothar said with a frankness that bothered Cid.

    ¡°I would also never call you the equal of any other man,¡± said Gn.

    Lothar barked augh. ¡°The fact that you probably didn¡¯t imply an insult there makes it all the better.¡±

    ¡°I assure you, I did not. I meant to say that you are stronger than any other man I have ever known. May I continue my story?¡±

    ¡°You may.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. As I was saying, perhaps some foolish [Knight] would call a bow a coward¡¯s weapon, but I saw in Lurn no cowardice at all. What I saw instead was wisdom. He prepared for his hunt, approached silently, used guile and misdirection when necessary, and killed his quarry quickly. Perhaps against a [Knight] this would be unseemly, but we fought against foes who were owed no quarter. I learned from him that guile must not necessarily be the enemy of honor. I will approach this war¡­ carefully.¡±

    Lotharughed in what sounded like delight. ¡°I¡¯m surprised at you, Gn. The man who left for Travin¡¯s Bog would never have spoken in such a manner.¡±

    ¡°Of that I am most aware,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°Then let me reiterate my previous argument and leave it here: Arcaena is not the true threat. I feel it in my bones, with a surety of instinct that has never once led me astray. I think we will regret this war should we force ourselves to pursue it. We would be better off to take this army south to explore the Wastes, or to defend against the strangers to the east. And what of the Frost King? How can we sit still not knowing from whence he came or if there shall be another like him?¡±

    The door opened and Gn stepped through, shaking his head. ¡°My dear friend, I fear I still cannot understand your perspective. We should do as you say and leave it there.¡±

    ¡°Very well, I take my leave.¡± There was one short moment when Lothar walked past the open door that gave Cid a nce at him. The armor was golden and decorated with ivory as expected, but he didn¡¯t see too much impressive about the man in the armor. He looked solid and firm of conviction, butcked the aura of danger and power that truly high-leveled men carried. Men like Gn.

    And yet, Gn had called Lothar stronger than any other. How could this be? Perhaps his meaning had been referring to moral fortitude or some such.

    ¡°Ah, young Gurthcid Trevorrow. To what do I owe the pleasure?¡± asked Gn.

    Cid ventured a nce at the still opened door. ¡°Good day, sir. Was that Lothar of the Order of the Golden Ivory? I confess I find him strange. Whoever heard of an Order of only one man?¡±

    Gn smiled in amusement and declined to respond, so Cid took that as the refusal it was. He cleared his throat. ¡°It¡¯s about my Lance, sir.¡±

    ¡°Yes, congrattions are in order!¡± said Gn.

    ¡°Thank you sir. But I fear that¡­¡± Cid had been nning to leverage national pride to introduce his concerns, but he¡¯d just seen Gn speaking with his dear friend from Theranor while speaking about his good friend from Frenaria. He readjusted mid-sentence, deciding to lean on humility instead. ¡°It¡¯s just that I fear I¡¯m not ready for this. I don¡¯t know if I quite have the experience requisite to lead a Lance to sess.¡±

    Gn crinkled his brow in fatherly concern, making Cid believe he¡¯d chosen the correct tactic. ¡°You are older than I was when I led my first Lance. And the Prime of your first Lance was about the same age? Eighteen or so?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir, true, and Jori is truly a man among men,¡± said Cid. He and Jori never truly got along, but he¡¯d been apetentmander and his orders had been reasonable, so Cid felt no regret in praising him. Like father always said, ¡°To praise one¡¯s superiors is to praise oneself.¡±

    ¡°Then what is the issue? Do you believe you are less than he?¡± asked Gn.

    ¡°No, sir,¡± Cid said, identally admitting it too quickly. He needed to remember he was trying to be humble. ¡°That is to say, though Jori gives me a lot to live up to, that isn¡¯t the issue. My thought is that when Jori started out, he was able to lean upon the experience of several experienced fighters under hismand. Most notable is his Dectant, Clesek Green, a veteran of three wars, and a man of thirty-five years. If I have read my orders correctly, I will be the oldest in my Lance!¡±

    Gn looked pleased. ¡°I know Clesek. A [Scavenger], yes? That you see such value in one with a Common ss speaks well of you.¡±

    Cid put his tongue between his teeth to keep from gritting them in frustration. If Clesek Green really still had a Common ss, then Cid¡¯s father was a donkey. Cid¡¯s Lance had <em>four</em> Common sses, really Common. ¡°But do you see my dilemma, sir?¡±

    Gn nodded. ¡°That you understand the wisdom of seeking guidance from your elders also speaks well of you. I¡¯ll see to it that you have adequate supervision, and I¡¯ll set appointments during your leaves and breaks with veteranmanders so that you can ask your questions and discuss problems as theye up. Will that suffice?¡±

    <em>Of course not!</em> That was making everything worse! Now he¡¯d have someone micromanaging all his affairs, as well as losing his short and limited leave to horribly boring meetings with some stuffy old know-it-alls.

    He thought about adjusting tack and speaking hisints more forcefully, but the moment was growing long and he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to speak now without seeming rebellious or insubordinate.

    To his shame, he lost his nerve. ¡°Yes, sir, that will be more than adequate. Indeed, I only feel that I have embarrassed myself in upying your time with this matter.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± said Gn. ¡°This conversation has only strengthened my opinion that I made no mistake when assigning you a Lance. You¡¯re going to perform grandly.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir. Then by your leave.¡± Cid turned to make his retreat.

    ¡°Lyssa will introduce you to your new Lance,¡± said Gn.

    Lyssa shot Gn a very cross look, then looked at Cid as if he were a stray rodent. ¡°Yes, naturally. With me, Gurthcid.¡±

    Cid nodded and followed the poisonous viper out of the rooms.

    She walked quickly, obviously feeling that this was a waste of her time and wanting to get it out of the way quickly, but Cid was a [Knight] and had no issue keeping up while making it look natural.

    They¡¯d only turned down one hallway when she spoke up, mimicking him in a sarcastic voice. ¡°Oh, Gn, I don¡¯t know what to do; I don¡¯t feel ready for thismand I¡¯ve been begging for for years! Come off it, Gurthcid, insecurity has never been your vice.¡±

    Cid still remembered how well sound traveled in these corridors so he deflected. ¡°I spoke truly. I worry that I cannot seed with this Lance.¡±

    ¡°Hm, I wonder why. Is there something wrong with <em>this</em> Lance in particr?¡± Lyssa looked pleased to be teasing someone.

    Cid waited until they were well away from Gn¡¯s earshot before responding. ¡°A [Rogue]. A [Page]. Common [Hunters]. Where are my [Longbowmen]? Where is my [Axe Master] for that matter, or my [Horse Master] or my [Lancer]? Who ever heard of a Lance without a [Lancer]?¡± Now that it was out, his voice had a bit more heat than he had intended.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hold ance?¡± teased Lyssa.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point, and you know it. A Lance should be a unit mixed with the most promising young men in the kingdom with a fair bnce of high-leveled veterans.¡± Cid was pleased with how well he¡¯d regained hisposure.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Oh, how arrogant you are? The scum scraped off of the sewernes on the streets of Prinnash suddenly isn¡¯t good enough for you?¡±

    Cid nearly tripped, stumbling on a loose stone, something that hadn¡¯t happened to him in five years or ten levels. He stood up straight and kept his face even, although he couldn¡¯t stop his face from heating. In part because of his embarrassment at stumbling, and in part because of her shocking statement.

    So she <em>knew</em>. Well, he knew she was a scheming, conniving sort of woman. Of course she¡¯d be keen to the schemes of others.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you from Prinnash?¡± asked Cid.

    ¡°I¡¯m from the Order of the Long Sleep now,¡± said Lyssa.

    Cid made a mental note to check up on her family history. He was certain there was more going on here than he quite understood. How would she respond if he pressed a bit harder in implicating her native country?

    He said, ¡°Prinnash undermines us at every turn. They give us the worst fortress in the worst spot, and no resources to repair it. Every request for supplies is dyed and short-shrifted. They flood our Lances with their riff-raff, in hopes to imbue more of their numbers with better sses. They¨C¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, I think the reason they¡¯re flooding the Lances is to fortify loyalty. The new Lances will stay behind in Prinnash, you see,¡± said Lyssa.

    ¡°Then you don¡¯t deny that they are doing it!¡± said Cid, nearly shouting.

    ¡°Of course not.¡±

    ¡°Then, then¨C¡±

    ¡°Then so what?¡±

    Cid did not stumble this time. ¡°So what, you say? We are being undermined by our own allies!¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Lyssa asked again. ¡°We¡¯re not made of sugar; no son or daughter of Ond will melt in the rain. We can purchase our own rations, if needed. So what if our breakfast isn¡¯t the tastiest? This is a <em>war</em>.¡±

    ¡°And stealing the loyalty of the Lances?¡±

    ¡°Did they seed in doing that? By flooding the Lances with their worst, they are ensuring that the leaders of these Lances muste from Ond or Frenaria.¡±

    The conversation was cut short after that. They¡¯d arrived in the outer courtyard where his new Lance was supposed to be lined up for his inspection.

    His friend Hedrek was there and for once he was standing where he should, but he wore a broad grin that could not mean anything good. The entire group, even the [Hunters] and the [Page] were wearing full te armor, and almost looked the part of a Lance, except that Cid could spot that apart from his friend they all woremon unenchanted metal. They were also not standing where they should. Most were circled around a pair who were shouting insults at each other. A [Warrior] and a [Hunter].

    The [Hunter] turned to Cid. ¡°He steals, and he takes liberties! He abuses the woman among the staff.¡±

    Cid¡¯s stomach sank. Investigations into such matters could take weeks, and was certain topletely undermine any effort he would make in turning these men into a team during that time. This Lance was fraught with difficulty from the start.

    The used [Warrior], who [Inspect] called Pinho Duriet, turned to Cid with a wild look in his eyes. ¡°He lies. They all lie!¡±

    Cid had only asionally supervised the training of the new recruits. They¡¯d been put through a six-week regimen from hell, wearing them out bodily in an effort to forge them into men and grow bonds throughmon suffering. Cid worried they¡¯d failed on both counts. All of the boys before him seemed to hate every single other.

    He didn¡¯t have the full story, as neither he nor Hedrek had joined that training. Even though he had not yet achieved the [Inexhaustible] Skill, a hallmark of their order, there was very little physical training that could tire a level 30 [Knight] like Cid.

    Cid cleared his throat. ¡°An investigation will need to be established, unfortunately. In the meantime¨C¡±

    ¡°Then I demand¡­ trial bybat. I demand the Rite of the Crucible!¡± Pinho shouted.

    Cid winced, and it was Lyssa who came to his rescue. ¡°You can¡¯t. You are not a member of a Lance yet.¡±

    Pinho cast his eyes around for help, and found none. How was he already hated this much? ¡°We became a Lance today! I¡¯m a knight-at-arms now! I have rights!¡±

    ¡°Not until you swear. You were all given the words, correct?¡± said Lyssa.

    Pinho dropped to his knees. ¡°Gurthcid Trevorrow, I render you my fealty. I will obey allwfulmands and give you my service. To you, I dedicate my life.¡±

    ¡°Pinho,e off it. This isn¡¯t worth your life. The investigation¨C¡±

    ¡°You need to say your part,¡± said Lyssa.

    Cid began to think she wasn¡¯t actually helping at all. ¡°Pinho Duriet, I ept your oath. I will return loyalty for loyalty and service for service. Be wee in my Lance. Stand as a man among men.¡±

    Pinho stood. ¡°I demand the Crucible!¡±

    ¡°Then you demand death. Why not submit to the investigation? Unless you¡¯ve done something truly depraved¡­¡±

    Pinho grimaced in a painful smile, the smile of a man who¡¯d done something truly depraved.

    Cid sighed. ¡°Who is my Dectant?¡±

    The Rite of the Crucible was a barbaric tradition, but Pinho had the right to ask for it. Instead of a regr trial, he¡¯d be forced to fight each of his Lance members, one after another, starting with the lowest in rank up to the top. If he beat them all, he¡¯d be dered innocent. If he died, he¡¯d at least keep his name intact and cast no dishonor upon his family. In reality, Pinho probably hoped for a third option: if he acquitted himself honorably and fought until he lost consciousness, he might well be given leniency for whatever horrible thing he¡¯d done.

    There was also onest possibility. If no one else in the Lance believed he¡¯d done anything wrong, they could all surrender, in which case he might well get off scot free. From the looks the other men were shooting Pinho, Cid didn¡¯t think he had a hope of that.

    The second [Hunter] stepped forward. ¡°That¡¯d be me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯d be me, sir,¡± Cid corrected.

    ¡°No,¡± said Hedrek. ¡°It¡¯s him. And why are you calling him sir?¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Hedrek,¡± said Cid.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Sir.¡±

    No one else appreciated Hedrek¡¯s levity any more than he did. Cid spent a moment trying to argue Pinho from this ridiculous course of action, but the man wouldn¡¯t be dissuaded. He also tried to convince the [Hunter] to surrender and forfeit his match, but he also wouldn¡¯t refuse the duel. Normally a Dectant would be the most dangerous non-noble fighter in the Lance, as they were given the responsibility of defending the Lance¡¯s honor. Cid had no idea who the strongest of these new recruits could be, but on the surface a [Hunter] against a [Warrior] was a bad matchup.

    However, since neither the [Hunter] nor the [Warrior] would change their minds, Cid¡¯s hands were tied. He epted the [Hunter¡¯s] oath and let the rite happen.

    Lyssa spoke the ceremonial words. ¡°Take heart and fight bravely! Remember always that the eyes of Anshar are upon you. Let the light cast away darkness. Let truth prevail and let justice be done.¡±

    The duel was a travesty. Neither of the men were trained in fighting with armor. They were slow and awkward, and kept hitting each other on the te, bouncing their weapons in an almostical fashion.

    Eventually, Pinho got wise and started stabbing for the joints. The [Hunter] was nimble, but Pinho must¡¯ve taken [de Mastery], because every blow went exactly where it should. He got a lucky stab underneath his opponent¡¯s shoulder. Where another might have let off and taken a surrender, Pinho pushed deeper until he reached the heart, killing the man on the spot.

    Cid still hadn¡¯t gotten used to death and felt himself growing numb. He wanted to leave, he wanted to quit being a [Knight] altogether. But he¡¯d been here before. He calmed himself with a few breaths and then called out, ¡°Pinho is victorious. Who is my ninth?¡±

    The [Page] raised his hand. [Inspect] named him Govannon Boal and he couldn¡¯t have been more than fifteen. His level was only 14, and from the pale face and the shaking hands he knew as well as Cid did that this duel was certain death.

    ¡°Pinho, let¡¯s leave it here. Surrender, and I¡¯ll promise to argue your case. I¡¯ll speak of your courage and temperance,¡± said Cid.

    Pinho had a devilish glimmer in his eye before he clicked his facete shut. ¡°No. I¡¯ll beat you all.¡± There was no way he could really think that possible. He must¡¯ve also been aware that he could win this next one. If he meant to surrender, he¡¯d wait until he matched a fellow [Warrior].

    He turned to Govannon. ¡°You can surrender. There¡¯s no need to throw your life away for someone like him. In fact, I¡¯d prefer it if you all surrendered. Let Hedrek take care of this!¡±

    Hedrek grinned and mmed his fist against his breastte in agreement.

    Govannon stared at the ground and said in a timid voice, ¡°It¡¯s my right to face him, is it not?¡±N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ¡°It is, but you needn¡¯t risk yourself. This is suicide. A waste!¡± said Cid.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fight.¡±

    Shaking his head in disbelief, Cid epted Govannon¡¯s Oath and this time spoke the ritual words to begin the duel himself.

    Unlike the unfortunate [Hunter] or Pinho, the [Page] moved in armor as if he were born to it. Indeed, they seemed morefortable on him than fine silks on a nobledy.

    He neglected to draw his sword and instead brought out only a foot-long dagger.

    Pinhoughed derisively, and Govannon gulped and retreated back a few steps. Emboldened, Pinho charged.

    Govannon flowed like a snake. His movements weren¡¯t so quick as to suggest Skill usage, but he moved with the grace of someone who¡¯d trained this exact circumstance a hundred times. He took Pinho¡¯s swing on the top of his shoulder te, and pushed up with his dagger, perfectly sliding it into the space under Pinho¡¯s chin.

    Blood poured from Pinho¡¯s helmet, and he swung wildly, striking Govannon twice on the body, though both were deflected by the te. They separated, and Pinho slumped to the ground.

    Face down on the ground, Pinho didn¡¯t move or speak. A long groan escaped the armored man, then nothing.

    This left Cid with an ufortable dilemma. The Rite of the Crucible was fought to death or surrender. Unconsciousness counted as a surrender, but an honorable one. He could end the duel here and perhaps still save Pinho¡¯s life. Did he wish to?

    In the time it took to make up his mind, Pinho bled hisst, making the decision for him.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± announced Lyssa.

    ¡°The Rite is ended,¡± said Cid. ¡°Honor is restored.¡±

    Govannon retreated towards the far edge of the clearing, looking even more timid and anxious than before. Well, at least one of his men wasn¡¯t <empletely</em> useless. But why did he have to be a [Page]?

    ¡°Come,¡± said Lyssa. ¡°We should report this tomand.¡±

    ¡°See that they¡¯re buried with full honors,¡± Cid told Hedrek, who nodded with appropriate solemnity. It was good to see that his friend could take at least something seriously.

    Cid had hoped to begin familiarizing himself with his men and begin to organize things, but he saw now that wasn¡¯t going to happen any time soon. He followed Lyssa back into the fortress.

    ¡°Perhaps what I told Gn was right. I¡¯ve been in charge for ten minutes and I¡¯ve already lost two men.¡±

    ¡°Two <em>Prinnashian</em> men,¡± Lyssa responded. Yes, there was something odd going on with her. Cid still believed his first instincts about her. She was certainly a traitor, but now he began to wonder just who she was betraying.

    The rest of the day was full of reports, questions, and hearings. If viewed from the outside, it might seem that the Order viewed the deaths of their men flippantly, but from the inside he could see clearly just how much of a stir this event had caused.

    To his relief, few had any problems with Cid¡¯s actions. The lion¡¯s share of the ire was directed to the [Drill Sergeants]. How had they not noticed the bad feelings existing among their men? How had they not noticed Pinho¡¯s crimes, and why had he not been arrested before being assigned to a Lance? The hearings would likely go on for weeks, and the ramifications would no doubtst for months. Every part of the Order¡¯s treatment of female serving staff would be investigated.

    Luckily, Cid would have little to do with any of that. Two dayster, he finally got word that he¡¯d been given two more recruits and that he¡¯d be able to begin to organize his Lance.

    His men had organized in the same courtyard, and this time all eight of them were lined up correctly. Gn met them there as well, with Lyssa.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t be more excited about your new member. He¡¯s really something special, and after due consideration, I believe this is the right ce for him. Use him well,¡± Gn said, and then left the courtyard to call the two new members out while Lyssa stayed by his side.

    The man who came out next didn¡¯t look too promising. Another moderately-leveled [Warrior], he looked like he was cast from the same mold as Pinho who he was recing. He gave Lyssa an arrogant sneer when he saw her, then suddenly switched to contriteness and docility when he noticed Cid standing next to her. [Inspect] named him Rhun.

    Cid truly hoped the next one was better.

    The next one was worse. Out came an unwholesome-looking fellow, so covered in thin white scars that Cid immediately suspected a mental affliction. He was short, and young, and not particrly tough-looking, and Cid immediately suspected that he¡¯d started with a Common ss.

    [Inspect] told him he was true on all ounts. Only fourteen years old, he was even younger than the [Page]. The only good thing about him was his absurdly high level. How did he get to 38? But all that meant was that Cid wouldn''t have grounds to have the boy removed; he doubted he''d be able to use him. [ss Invocationist] was a nonsensical ss. How was he supposed to integrate something like that into abat strategy? Worst was his name. Despite his Prinnashian looks he had a Frenarian name, but not even a real name. This fellow was calling himself ¡°Scar the Mistaken¡±.

    Hedrek burst outughing at the sight of him.

    ¡°This is to be my new Dectant?¡± asked Cid.

    ¡°Oh, no not at all,¡± responded Lyssa, and for a moment Cid began to hope. Then she finished, ¡°This will be your new Second.¡±

    Hedrek stoppedughing.

    Cid abandoned decorum and rubbed away a growing headache in his temples. This was sure to be an extraordinarily difficult assignment.

 Book 4. Chapter 18

    The trip to Prinnash was mostly peaceful and uneventful, evenpared to thest couple months he¡¯d spent in ckcliff. Without a workshop or even enough space to get a good workout, he¡¯d been forced to concentrate solely on his illusions. He spent most of his days sitting on the deck watching the movement of the ocean while threads and split minds worked on his magic, often summoning different shapes and colors inside his and Sion''s cabin when it was empty.

    He worked on his battle programs, mainly creating and integrating new strategies based off the new data he¡¯d gotten from facing Zilly and Davi. That always gave him mixed emotions; he didn¡¯t want to see anything good about the way they¡¯d gone about their boneheaded send-off, but he already had a hundred ideas of things he could¡¯ve done better and new spells he could try.

    A lot of his time was spent in refining the spells he already had. He could summon his mirror men even faster now, as well as make them walk and move naturally.

    Perhaps the most exciting development was the core of the Fire Jelly. He found he could pump truly extraordinary amounts of light magic into it and then release it all at once. He could store his entire Mana pool and then focus it all into heat, giving him a viable heat attack for the first time. Using the Language, he¡¯d <em>kind of</em> been able to transform that light magic into aser, but it had lost so much energy in the process that he¡¯d barely been able to use it to light dry kindling on fire.

    The breakthrough hade when on a port day he found a [Gemsmith] who could reshape the core into a cylinder that would fit into theser he¡¯d made. With the new core, theser turned into a burning beam of light that could travel miles before dispersing in the atmosphere.

    Better still, if hepletely closed it off, he could pump the mirror with energy and then release it all at once, shooting a fairly powerful me attack that moved at the literal speed of light.

    If he really wanted to burn things, he could always make a big parabolic lens and hang it in the air, but those were hard to aim and weren¡¯t really practical in abat situation. The newser was an ace in the hole.

    Sion spent most of his time working in his room, but he always had time to chat or to y a board game when Brin went to see him. Rhun was restless to the point of being unbearably annoying. He challenged Brin to a duel at least once a day, and Brinplied about once a week. He beat the upstart [Warrior] every time.

    For his part, Marksi spent most of his time in the ocean. It always made Brin¡¯s heart leap to his throat when he saw the little dragon jump into the water, but Marksi was quick as a fish in the water. He took to making webs between his fingers and toes, and elongated his body again so that he could half swim and half wriggle through the water like an eel. He¡¯d even started to move his eyes further to the sides of his head, but transformed back to normal after Sion told him it made him less handsome.The Captain wasn¡¯t happy the first time he saw Marksi jump off the ship, but was mollified when he came back with a big fish to share with the crew, especially since it meant he wasn¡¯t killing any more cats.

    There was one exciting day when Marksi returned with a Fire Jelly in his ws, but when Brin cut it open he found that this one didn¡¯t have a beast core. Not all of them did; that was usually reserved for older, stronger beasts.

    When they reached Aberquay, Rhun got drafted the second he stepped foot off the deck, to his obvious delight. Sion was given a writ that promised Rhun would return to duty as his body guard when the war ended, whenever that was.

    In the meantime, Brin was good enough protection to get Sion from the docks to his family¡¯s branch in town. Sion used the contacts of his family¡¯s business to provide information on the state of the war and it quickly became clear that their original n of sneaking past the army to get to Cadwy¡¯s family would be near impossible. Sion worked out a n anyway, but the trip would be ovend, without a caravan, and take several months.

    It would take less time to just find Gn¡¯s Order, join a Lance, and then wait to find his half siblings until they were given some leave time. Brin decided that¡¯s what they¡¯d do.

    The next leg of the journey was a military caravan. When Brin showed them Gn¡¯s letter, they¡¯d insisted on bringing him the entire way, though he wasn¡¯t sure if that was for his safety or so that he couldn¡¯t slip away.

    They traveled through a long, wide valley that wrapped around a steep and circr mountain range that waspletely dotted with stone forts and walls. He learned that Prinnash guarded the mountains very thoroughly, because the other side of the range was Arcaena¡¯s territory. They insisted that there was nothing to worry about, though, because the mountain range was bigger than it first appeared. The few towns they passed on the way through seemed unbothered, but the caravan didn¡¯t actually enter the towns so he didn¡¯t get a chance to see how they really lived.

    When they finally arrived at Gn¡¯s Order, Brin knew it had to be the ce because he knew the way his luck went. The castle was total garbage. It was so old and worn down that it was hard to even tell what it might have originally been built for. It might¡¯ve been a cathedral, a reinforced keep, or an office building for all he knew. The main building was several stories tall and mostly intact, but the crumbling sides let him see straight into some of the outer rooms. There were the visible remains of wings built to the sides in a star pattern, but most of those were little more than the outline of walls on the ground. All sorts of tents and temporary shelters had been erected in their ce.

    The ancient keep looked farcical, but the army mustering below it looked very real. Rows of well-disciplined soldiers marched in ranks, running drills. There was a dizzying array of strange and miraculous weaponry, so much that Brin couldn¡¯t begin to guess what all of it did. Well, no, he could guess. Those had to be siege towers, right? And trebuchets were pretty straight-forward, but there was also ballista and what looked like battering rams, except covered in arcane runes and magical gems that somehow made it look high-tech.

    ¡°This is it, sirs,¡± said a page from the caravan. The boy was pre-System Day, maybe eight or nine, so the army had him running errands. He was visibly relieved that Brin had actually followed him to report for duty and hadn¡¯t tried to make a run for it. ¡°Themander is just inside. I have to wait outside, though.¡± He gave Sion a significant nce.

    ¡°I should depart here as well,¡± said Sion.

    Brin had seen this oneing from a mile away; Sion definitely wanted to meet Gn, but he¡¯d slit his own wrists before asking Brin for a favor that big.

    He grabbed Sion by the bicep and half guided, half shoved him along. ¡°Nonsense. Until I¡¯m sworn in, Gn is just a friend. No more, no less. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll want to meet all my friends, though I seem to be running short on thosetely.¡±

    ¡°No, I couldn¡¯t possibly¡­¡± Sion couldn¡¯t hide the growing grin and made no move to resist Brin¡¯s bullying.

    ¡°You can. You wouldn¡¯t force me to face a legendary [Knight] like Gn all on my own?¡±

    ¡°Well, if you insist,¡± said Sion, and Brin let him remove the hand on his arm.

    Marksi scampered along in front of them as if he owned the ce.

    Inside the keep, they immediately drew stares. They were not dressed in servants livery and not in uniform, and Marksi stood out no matter where he went. Whenever someone looked like they were about to challenge him, Brin asked them for directions to Gn, and they¡¯d given him directions to his office. The inside of the keep looked the same as the outside, all broken and decaying. Brin had to ask for directions three times, and it was actually Gn that found him.

    The [Knight] saw him as soon as he turned a corner and his face lit up in a big smile. Gn was exactly the way Brin remembered. He dashed down the corridor and squeezed Brin in a hug.

    ¡°Brin,d, look at you! You look¡­ you look as if you¡¯ve seen some trouble, with those scars. Lumina warned me about that, never fear. From what I hear, those are marks of valor! Bear them well. And who is this?¡±

    ¡°This is Marksi!¡± Brin said, lifting up the dragonling. Marksi chirped happily.

    ¡°A finepanion, I am sure! But who is your other friend?¡± Gn asked, patting Marksi on the head.

    ¡°Gn, meet my friend Sion Wogan,¡± said Brin. ¡°He¡¯s a [Merchant] and a brave man. He¡¯s had my back through many dangers.¡±

    Sion suddenly looked as if he had trouble speaking. Gn shook his hand. ¡°Well met, friend. Wogan¡­ do you know a High Lord Damisco?¡±

    ¡°Yes of course! I think of him as my very dear uncle!¡± said Sion. ¡°He serves¡­ that is to say, he owns¨C¡±

    Gn held up a hand. ¡°I know how Prinnash works. He serves the Wogan group as a figurehead.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I do not lie when I say I think of him as my very dear uncle. In fact, this is one of the men I respect most in the entire world,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°We served together, fifteen years ago it must be, in the Downing Campaign,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°Indeed? And how could my dear uncle Damisco have neglected to share this with me? You must tell me the story, so that I might properly shame him when I see him next!¡± said Sion.

    ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± said Gn.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.

    A woman stepped out from around Gn. They¡¯d probably been walking together, but she hadn¡¯t decided to run forward when Gn had.

    ¡°This really is a main branch Wogan? And they just let you wander in here unescorted? Unbelievable. And to cap it all off, a dragon. For sure, great idea, [Knights] and dragons are famous for getting along so well!¡± She looked at Brin. ¡°Next you¡¯re going to tell me you¡¯re a prince of Arcaena.¡±

    Brin chuckled nervously. That was ufortably close to the truth.

    ¡°This is Brin the Mistaken. I told you about him. And yes, meet Sion Wogan. Sion, Brin, this is Lyssa, my adjunct,¡± said Gn.

    Lyssa gave the sarcastic imitation of a curtsy. [Inspect] called her Lyssa Lethonen and said she was a [Lieutenant], but didn¡¯t give much more than that. She had the affect of someone who didn¡¯t care how people saw her, but Brin couldn¡¯t help but notice she was dressed as cutely as a military uniform would allow. She was wearing a ne and earrings, just enough makeup to look natural, and while he wasn¡¯t an expert on women¡¯s hairstyles by any means, he was pretty sure that her wavy,yered hair was meant to look simple and easy while actually being devilishly tricky to pull off.

    She was attractive, all things told, but in a venomous maniptor sort of way. She sighed and said to Sion, ¡°Well, if you¡¯re here anyway then the damage is done. We should have a chat. You¡¯re going to help me cut through some of this Prinnashian obstruction.¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Sion shrugged. ¡°I will do what I can.¡±

    In Sion-speak, Brin thought that meant that he saw a real opportunity here, but he didn¡¯t want to be seen jumping on it too eagerly.

    ¡°Hey, whatever happened to that shipment of supplies we brought up here?¡± Brin asked. ¡°The stuff we bought with all of Hogg¡¯s money.¡±

    ¡°Sitting at port, due to the aptly-named Prinnashian obstruction,¡± said Sion.

    ¡°Sion, maybe you could help with her stuff, and she could help with that?¡± Brin suggested.

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair,¡± said Lyssa.

    Sion rubbed his hands together. ¡°I¡¯d be all too delighted! Establishing a working rtionship with a new wealthy client from a foreign nation? Twist my arm, why don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be all too delighted!¡± Lyssa said, mimicking Sion in a mocking tone. Then she actually did twist his arm, pushing him away and down the hall. ¡°This way. We can start now.¡±

    As she pushed Sion in front of her, walking away, she sashayed a bit. She definitely hadn¡¯t been walking like that when she¡¯d approached before. Yeah, Brin was certain of it now. She was totally into Gn.

    ¡°I apologize for her. She¡¯s usually not so¡­ assertive,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°No need. But what¡¯s going on with her?¡± Brin asked. Hopefully Gn would just say that they were an item and he hadn¡¯t just walked in on somethingplicated.

    Gn looked pained for an instant. ¡°It¡¯s not my ce to say. I¡¯m not sure if she even knows that I know.¡± He looked away, seeming conflicted, and whispered so quietly that only Brin¡¯s illusion magic let him hear, ¡°<em>But she must!</em>¡±

    Great. Brin had just walked in on somethingplicated. He¡¯d have to dedicate a few Invisible Eyes to this mystery.

    Gn shook his head. ¡°Never mind. I apologize again. It truly is well to see you again, young man! Come! We have much to discuss.¡±

    Brin worried things would be awkward with Gn. After all, he called him a friend, but in reality they¡¯d hardly spent a full day together before they¡¯d split up and hadn¡¯t seen each other in more than a year. But Gn had a calm, soft-spoken manner that made him easy to talk to. They walked in a circuit around the fortress and Gn showed him around. The servants areas, the ces where [Knights] trained, the general mess and the officer¡¯s cafeteria. He showed Brin a room where he¡¯d be staying, and warned him that once he was a part of a Lance, the amodations would be drastically worse.

    ¡°When will that be?¡± Brin asked. ¡°When am I joining a Lance, I mean?¡±

    ¡°That will depend on a few things. Most especially will be your own capabilities.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Brin nodded. ¡°You want to see what I can do? Or would it be simpler if I were to read out my status sheet?¡±

    Gn frowned, looking embarrassed. ¡°A demonstration would be most wee. You¡­ you know you shouldn¡¯t offer to read your status to everyone who asks.¡±

    Brin shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re not everyone, Gn.¡±

    That seemed to mollify him. Gn said, ¡°I thank you, then, for the confidence, but there is no need.¡±

    He felt a little bad, because he hadn¡¯t actually intended to read his full status. He would tell Gn he was an [Illusionist] if he could be absolutely certain no one would overhear, but he didn¡¯t want to tell anyone else, especially not Lyssa. If he was really going to survive in a Lance, then he needed hisrades to trust him, and it was hard to trust an [Illusionist]. It would be better if they thought he was a [Warrior] who could control ss.

    Gn led him to arger room that might¡¯ve been a ballroom in ages past but now had turned into a training room and sparring arena. A few men were already practicing, and there was a crowd off to the side, but no one looked twice at Gn and Brin when they entered, except to salute at theirmander before going back to what they were doing.

    ¡°So what did you have in mind?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°You favor the spear, correct? Perhaps show me the spear form, and then we can think about finding a sparring partner for you,¡± said Gn.

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Brin. He¡¯d had to leave his Bog Standard spear outside the fortress, obviously, so he selected one from a rack. Its de was dull, which was fine. ¡°Do you mind if I¡­? It¡¯s better if my weapons are at least partially ss.¡±

    ¡°Do as you will,¡± said Gn.

    Brin pushed some mana into it, covering the spearhead with a thinyer of ss. Then he gave a small wince as he split a quarter of his mind off from the rest, so that he¡¯d be able to run some threads without speeding up time. He stepped back and stood with his legs far apart and his arms out wide.

    <strong>Main: run Ironman_ver1.5</strong>

    <strong>Task Manager: Summoning ss armor</strong>

    Since his Task Manager was now another mind inside his own head, he could feel it work. Lately, it was hard to think of it as a separate mind at all, and more like what it should be. It was him. It was all him, and he was simply able to think about more than one thing at once now.

    He summoned some quick pieces of ss, letting the Directed Threads follow the optimal patterns he¡¯d long since drilled into them. Pieces of arm guards rose into the air, paultrons, a breastte, and armored pieces on his thighs and shins. They didn¡¯te close to covering him fully, and that didn¡¯t matter since protection wasn¡¯t the main point.

    The main point was movement. Now that each of these pieces of armor were controlled by a Directed Thread who already knew their orders, they could work together to make him stronger.

    He started the spear form, and the armor moved with him, making him stronger and faster, pushing against him to halt momentum and even gravity when necessary. He could turn sharper, move one part of the spear form was a long jump and stab, and when he did it, his armor pushed him along in the air, giving him a twelve-foot leap that was as easy as jumping from the curb onto the street had been in his past life.

    When he finished, he noticed that a few of the soldiers had turned to watch, and felt a bit of satisfaction. He didn¡¯t know if his raw physical stats were up to snuff with a [Knight] his age, but he felt confident that his physical stats being bolstered by his Magic would be good enough to get by.

    Gn was stroking his chin and nodding. ¡°Yes. Yes, I believe you¡¯ll do quite nicely. Your Magic must be truly staggering to be able to summon that much ss so quickly.¡±

    ¡°I do my best,¡± Brin said with a nod, though sweat dripped down his back. That hadn¡¯t actually put much of a dent in his Mana, but it was still the upper limit of what a [sser] should be able to do in an entire day. He could only hold so much Mana because of [Mana Well] and his extra magic per level from [Illusionist].

    ¡°Despite your strong magic, it seems like your physical stats aren¡¯t far behind. Any Lance will be lucky to have you.¡±

    ¡°Did you want to see a spar?¡± Brin asked.

    ¡°No need. But perhaps you can show me one more thing,¡± said Gn. ¡°Try tossing the spear against one of the dummies. At full power, if you please.¡±

    Brin could do that. This is what his fake [ss Invocationist] was supposed to be good at, after all. He ended all the threads working to put magic into his armor, and then started concentrating on his spear. He summoned more ss onto the head, making it thicker and longer, and then when he was confident it was big enough to hold a sufficient amount of magic, he started chanting.

    ¡°¡± He threw the spear with all his might the seconds that the spell started to take hold, and together both physical strength and magic propelled the spear with incredible power.

    Itnded like a missile. Both spear and target exploded in a shower of splinters.

    A few of the soldiers apuded, and more than a couple red at him angrily while picking splinters out of their skin.

    ¡°Yes, I know just the ce for you,¡± said Gn.

    Despite saying that, it was five more days until Gn found the ce for him.

    Brin spent the time waiting in abject boredom. With no official posting, he wasn¡¯t quite a soldier and wasn¡¯t quite a guest. He ate with Gn, Lyssa, and Sion in the officer¡¯s cafeteria, which was the high point of his day, since the rest of his time was spent idle. He <em>could</em> spar with the soldiers, but he could tell his uncertain ssification made them ufortable and they didn¡¯t really want him there. He <em>could</em> stay in Gn¡¯s office, but Gn was gone most of the time, coordinating the uing invasion with the other leaders. Lyssa and Sion let him sit in on their discussions, but there wasn¡¯t much he could add.

    His one saving grace was a stack of books Gn dropped off in his rooms. They were titled <em>Military Codes of Disciplines of The Knightly Orders of Ond,</em> split into five volumes. They were a great introduction into what Brin¡¯s life would be like in the Order, but they were <em>dry</em>. The only way he could convince himself to read them was to split his mind into four and take turns, but splitting too much meant he couldn¡¯t understand anything.

    As a break from that, he spent more time than he probably should have using Invisible Eyes to spy on everyone. The fortress had defenses against such things, of course, but since he was already inside he was able to get past most of them. It was sort of like cybersecurity in his old world. It was a lot of work to secure aputer against hacking over the inte, but it was near impossible to stop a hacker who had physical ess.

    He tried to figure out what was going on with Lyssa, but didn¡¯t make much progress other than catching her throwing wistful nces at Gn when he wasn¡¯t looking. The reports on her desk were mostly logistics and requisition reports, nothing that would point to a diabolical plot. She didn¡¯tunch into a Disney viin monologue song the second she was alone in her room, and she also didn¡¯t fiddle with her hair while singing a love song and gazing at Gn¡¯s framed picture. Brin didn¡¯t make it a habit of watching women while they were alone in their rooms too often, so maybe it happened while he wasn¡¯t watching.

    His spying at least let him know what the dy was. Gn wanted to put together a high-powered super Lance of all the best men from Ond, so that he could be sure Brin would be safe no matter where they were called.

    The Lance that was currently being formed was not that Lance. It was to be led by a moderately-talented [Knight] whose career was being held down by his hotheaded wildcard of a best friend. Prinnash had insisted on filling the rest of the team, and they¡¯d filled it with losers. So Gn was trying to dy and put Brin on the next Lance after that, though questions were being asked about what Brin was doing here at all.

    No one told Brin about the insane duel and the death of two men, but of course he¡¯d been watching it all with an Invisible Eye. It was a stark reminder that the world he was stepping into would be much harsher and less forgiving than Hammon¡¯s Bog had been.

    Two days after that, a harried and exhausted-looking Gn called Brin into his office, which was worrying, because Brin was pretty sure Gn was immune to getting tired.

    Without preamble, Gn said. ¡°Let me ask simply. Shall I put you where I want you, or where I need you?¡±

    All things considered, he¡¯d love to be on the super Lance that Gn dreamed of, but he didn¡¯t know if that was evering. He was sick of waiting.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go where you need me,¡± said Brin.

    Gn frowned and nodded. ¡°Then so be it. Brin isu Yambul, from this moment on I am your superior officer. You will salute me. You will stand at attention. You will address me as sir.¡±

    Brin stood up straight and saluted. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time to meet your new Lance.¡±

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Book 4. Chapter 19

    ¡°I''ll let you all grow acquainted,¡± Gn said. Then he and Lyssa were gone, and Brin was alone with a group of young men who were all various degrees of hostile.

    Was that really all the introduction Gn was going to give him? Announce that he was the Second and then take off? Brin didn¡¯t even know what a Second was. Did that mean he was the Second inmand? From the way the other [Knight], who [Inspect] called Hedrek, was ring at him, he thought that was probably the case.

    The [Warrior] and [Hunter] also eyed him with distrust, while others like the [Porter] and [Armsman] looked on neutrally. The leader, whom Gn had called Gurthcid stared at him with a look of extreme annoyance.

    ¡°And are you to follow me everywhere I go?¡± asked the man who¡¯d stepped into the courtyard just ahead of Brin. He realized he knew him; it was Rhun. Somehow, Sion¡¯s idiotic bodyguard and he had ended up in the same Lance. Brin hadn¡¯t even known that Rhun was in this castle.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°You two know each other already. How grand. Today we¡¯ll focus mainly on getting acquainted with each other and our roles in the Lance. We¡¯ll need a full day at least to teach you all how to ride, but that won¡¯t be today,¡± said Cid, speaking in Prinnashian. It was thenguage Brin was most fluent in outside of Frenarian, but he still spoke it with a pretty bad ent.

    It took Brin a half-second to parse all that in Prinnashian. Couldn¡¯t everyone slow down while they were speaking? He supposed he was lucky they were speaking Prinnashian and not Ondish, since he only knew like ten words in Ondish, but that didn¡¯t spare him the embarrassment of stumbling over every other word.

    ¡°Yes¡­ sir,¡± said Brin. Was Cid hismanding officer now? Better to be safe than sorry, he supposed. Wait, should he salute as well? He didn¡¯t know, but Rhun wasn¡¯t saluting, so he guessed probably not.

    Cid looked at him, clearly expecting him to do or say something, but Brin honestly wasn¡¯t sure what. This was his first experience with any kind of military; he hadn¡¯t enlisted in his past life and he doubted that knowledge would help at all here.Whatever Cid was waiting for, he didn¡¯t get it. He shook his head derisively and said, ¡°The two of you missed the fun little training period, so I suppose you won¡¯t know certain things that you ought to have been trained on before now. For example: A Lance trainee will always appear before hismander in full armor.¡±

    Brin made eye contact with Rhun, a brief moment of shared embarrassment. Brin¡¯s only armor was leather, and he didn¡¯t think he should wear that when even the [Rogue] was wearing metal. ¡°I have got not¡­ I mean I not got¡­ Excuse me. What I try to say is: I have no armor. I made ns to buy some, but¨C¡±

    Cid winced as if that were the dumbest thing he¡¯d ever heard. ¡°You¡¯re to be part of an Order, are you not? Did you really think we couldn¡¯t outfit our [Knights]? Govannon, show them where they can find something to wear. That¡¯s a good job for a [Page], I think.¡±

    Govannon grimaced, but stepped forward toply. He walked past Rhun and Brin, straight back the way Brin had juste. He didn¡¯t look at either of them or say a word, so it took Brin a second to remember he was supposed to follow. He scurried after.

    The [Page] walked quickly, but Brin was more than double his level and had a Skill for movement outside ofbat, so he had no trouble falling in beside him.

    Trying to sound more natural in Prinnashian, he said, ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Brin. I never met a [Page] before. I never even heard of it as a ss before, to be honest. I thought most people went straight to [Squire] on System Day.¡±

    ¡°[Warrior] and then [Squire] most often,¡± corrected Rhun. It was weird to now hear the thickly-ented Rhun speaking naturally while Brin was the one having a hard time finding the right words.

    Govannon had seemed somewhat timid and withdrawn back with the rest of the Lance, but now he practically radiated resentment. ¡°Let¡¯s not chat. I don¡¯t want people to think we¡¯re getting chummy.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± said Brin. He understood; the other guys had all hated Brin at first sight for some reason, so the smallest, weakest member of the team wouldn¡¯t want to get thrown in with him. Brin understood, but he didn¡¯t like it, and he certainly wouldn¡¯t beplying with it. ¡°So anyway, what did I do wrong back there? I get the feeling that I was supposed to say something, but no one told me what it was.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to act like a Second,¡± said Govannon and tried to push forward, but Brin kept up easily.

    After that it became a speedwalking race, where Govannon tried to pull ahead and Brin made sure they walked side by side while trying to make it look easy. Since they were walking fast, it didn¡¯t take long to get where they were going.

    Near the center of the keep, where the floors had all of their stone and the walls showed no sign that the water was leaking this far in, they found the storehouse.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait out here. Be quick, would you?¡± said Govannon.

    Two heavily armored soldiers stood guarding a reinforced steel door. They nodded at Govannon and then opened the door to let Rhun and Brin through. Inside, Brin found what looked like it could be a boutique clothing store in a shopping mall back on Earth, if the boutique clothing store only sold clothing made of metal.

    Pauldrons, gorgets, rondels, and breasttes, along with vambraces, greaves, sabatons, and tassets. Some armor was made of big metal tes and traded flexibility for durability, but others were made of so many interlocking parts that they really did look like clothing made of metal. The armor wasid out in rows on tables or stacked in piles or dumped into crates. He only saw armor, though, so weapons and all other equipment must be in another room.

    A bald old man with uneven eyes and a long white goatee sat reclined on the room¡¯s only chair. He wore expensive-looking te mail, and didn¡¯t seem ufortable in it at all. He wouldn¡¯t¨Cnot with a ss like that. [Inspect] named him Meathrydon Bloyd, a level 55 [Snow-Blessed Armorer].

    ¡°Did you just [Inspect] me?¡± the old [Armorer] snapped. ¡°The name¡¯s Meaty, and nothing else. Got that?¡±

    For some reason, Brin found Meaty¡¯s Prinnashian easier to understand.

    ¡°Got it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Rhun shouted, and snapped a crisp salute.

    Brin really needed to learn when to salute and when not. The problem was, that hadn¡¯t beenid out in the manual Gn had given him.

    ¡°What he said,¡± Brin said, poking a thumb towards Rhun.

    Meatyughed. ¡°No, no, you had the right of it. I said my name is Meaty and not anything else. Especially not sir. Now, are you two sworn in yet?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± said Brin. He¡¯d been warned that there would be an Oath required; something else to worry about. He didn¡¯t want another System Oath, and he didn¡¯t want his loyalty to be split in another direction, but everyone acted like it was a matter of course that he¡¯d swear it, so it couldn¡¯t be anything too onerous.

    ¡°Then you¡¯re still trainees, officially. That means raw metal only, no enchantments,¡± said Meaty.

    ¡°That is fair, but I have very good leather armor of my own,¡± said Brin.

    Meaty snorted. ¡°The armor isn¡¯t for protection, it¡¯s for training. You¡¯re supposed to get used to wearing it so that it won¡¯t be a surprise when you be a knight-at-arms. Once you¡¯re part of a Lance, you cane back here and get something custom made. Don¡¯t expect miracles, though. There¡¯s a long line in front of you.¡±

    Brin stroked his chin. ¡°My mother promised to send money here to buy armor, but I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m supposed to spend that with you or buy something on leave.¡±

    Meaty leaned further back in his chair, so far that Brin was worried he¡¯d fall and hit his head. It was just a in wooden chair, none too sturdy-looking, and while Meaty was in armor he wasn¡¯t wearing a helmet. ¡°Unless your mum is a very rich [Lady], the standard options I can give you will be better than anything you can buy from me.¡±

    ¡°My mother is the [Archmage] Lumina,¡± said Brin. He realized he¡¯d been hiding his ring, and pulled it out of his pocket to ce it on his finger. Rhun watched, considering it darkly.

    Meaty¡¯s uneven eyes popped. ¡°In that case,e back when you get your allowance in, and we¡¯ll work something out. That doesn¡¯t change what I can offer you today, though.¡±

    Brin gestured to Rhun to go first, mostly because he didn¡¯t really even know what to ask for, and Rhun was more than eager. Meaty stood up to help him, and Brin felt a mental sigh of relief now that the old man wasn¡¯t leaning way too far back on his chair. There was no way a short fall like that could damage someone at level 55, but that didn¡¯t prevent Brin¡¯s instincts from telling him an old man was about to break his head open.

    Rhun, unsurprisingly, wanted armor that looked exactly like the other guys in the Lance had been wearing. A stiff single-piece cuirass, big rounded pauldrons on the shoulders, and pointy couters on the elbows.

    There were all sorts of options for the legs, from what amounted to metal pants with obscenely prominent codpieces to chainmail skirts.

    Meaty said, ¡°You¡¯ll want something that takes well to horseback. At the same time, the more metal you have covering your body, the better your chance of getting [Squire].¡±

    Unspoken was the assumption that of course every [Warrior] would want to evolve to [Squire], which Brin supposed needed no justification.

    Rhun ended up taking cuisses which guarded the whole leg except the inner thigh, with chainmail. That seemed extraordinarily ufortable to Brin, but he supposed they knew what they were doing. Even though much of the armor on disy had beautiful designs, decorations, and engravings, all the pieces that Rhun asked for werepletely in. That matched the other members of the Lance; he supposed that modesty was in fashion in the Order.

    ¡°Now all that¡¯s left is to get it in your size,¡± announced Meaty.

    In his old life, Brin would expect this to be a multi-day process, but Meaty made quick work of it. Some of the pieces he bent over an anvil and hammered into shape,pletely cold, while others he simply bent with his fingers. Brin could see why someone would choose to specialize a [Smith] ss into [Armorer]. Even Toros hadn¡¯t been able to do <em>that</em>.

    This tale has been uwfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    When it was his turn, Brin had a better idea of what he wanted. ¡°I want flexibility, but weight isn¡¯t really an issue, so the more the better. I¡¯ve been looking at that.¡± He pointed towards a cuirass that reminded him a bit of what a Hussar might wear. The hard te ended halfway down the stomach.

    ¡°That¡¯s an unusual choice. You¡¯re not worried about [Squire]?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s for me,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Well, that don¡¯t bother me none. It¡¯s nice to get to put together something interesting for once. Let¡¯s start with that, and then build the rest around it, hm?¡± Grinning, Meaty scribbled something down on a notepad, tore off the sheet and then opened the door to hand the paper to Govannon, waiting outside. ¡°Get me this!¡±

    Govannon gave a ¡°tch!¡± of annoyance and took off to find whatever Meaty had just ordered.

    Meaty then set back and forth through his storehouse, picking up items and setting them in a big pile. He correctly guessed that Brin wouldn¡¯t know enough to give useful feedback and was more than happy to take his initial selection and run with it.

    He did pause while considering vambraces to ask for his input once, though. ¡°Were you thinking in or more ornamental?¡±

    Brin had to think for a second to remember the word ¡®ornamental¡¯. ¡°Oh! Ornamental, please. Dragons if you have them. It will give something for my ss totch onto. Actually¡­ is it ok for me to cover this all with ss?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Yes, ok, I can work with that. Yeah! This is going to be fun!¡±

    Meaty put everything he had selected back, and then walked through his storehouse a second time, picking out a variety of extremely ornamental armor.

    A knock sounded at the door and then it opened without waiting. A slickly-dressed [Tailor] named Kerwin ney stepped inside, holding what looked like a thick red nket.

    ¡°Who is this for?¡± asked Kerwin.

    Meaty pointed at Brin.

    Kerwin shook his head. ¡°Oh, no, my friend, cherry red is not your color.¡± He tapped the nket three times, and each time it got a shade darker. ¡°Yes, this will do. Try it on!¡±

    When Kerwin unfolded the nket, he saw that it was more like a dress. Thankfully he had [Inspect] to give him the names of things. [Inspect] called it a ¡®delica coat¡¯, basically a long sleeve shirt that went down to the knees. The fabric was so thick that he thought it might almost work as a secondary armor in the vein of a gambeson.

    Brin tried it on. It was heavy, and he knew it would be unbearably hot if he didn¡¯t have a Skill for that.

    Kerwin tutted and trimmed the hem, cutting an inch off right on the spot. Then he pulled on the sleeves, stretching them out a bit.

    Once Kerwin was satisfied, Meaty started adding the armor on top. A breastte, backte, oriental style bracers, a lobster-tail helmet and a gorget to protect the neck. He wore more armor than a Hussar typically would, including armored gloves with separate fingers, and sabatons, greaves, and metal tes over his thighs that all went on under the delica coat.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    All of it was heavily stylized, with the designs engraven instead of added on top. When the greaves that Meaty wanted were too in, he carved aplex and beautiful dragon across them right on the spot, deep enough that Brin¡¯s ss would be able to sink inside andtch on.

    He felt pretty cool when the whole thing was put together; he definitely gave off final boss energy. At the same time, it made him a little nervous that he looked so different than what everyone else was wearing. Well, if Meaty was fine with this, then everyone else could get over it.

    ¡°I have to say, I¡¯m a mite proud of the way it came together. Promise me you really will let me make your armor when your moneyes in,¡± said Meaty.

    ¡°I promise. But give me a discount!¡± said Brin.

    ¡°I will, you can count on that. Why dragons, by the way?¡±

    ¡°Why dragons?¡± Brin asked, perplexed. Wasn¡¯t it obvious? But then he realized that he hadn¡¯t seen Marksi since before Gn had introduced him to the Lance. Well, the little guy could be a little sensitive to tense social situations. He¡¯de around when things got a little calmer. ¡°Because dragons are cool!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t argue with that,¡± said Meaty.

    Back in the hall, Govannon gave Brin a disgusted look when he saw the armor, but didn¡¯t say anything and led the way back.

    The second that they were going through the door back into the courtyard where the Lance was waiting, Brin slung his arm around Govannon¡¯s shoulders. This time, rather than try to conceal his heavy ent, Brin leaned into it and made it more pronounced. ¡°Ha, ha, ha, you said it, Gov! We know each other only short time, and already we are good friends! Thank you for advice on armor!¡±

    Govannon shoved Brin¡¯s arm away, but already many of the hostile stares were now giving him equal time with Brin. He said nothing, though, and took his ce in line and seemed to be trying to make himself disappear based on sheer willpower.

    Hedrek barked a scornfulugh at Brin¡¯s armor, but Cid only gave it a considering nce before clearing his throat. ¡°I¡¯ll take your Oaths now.¡±

    Rhun stepped up first, giving Brin a chance to hear the oath he would be expected to swear. To his relief, it wasn¡¯t a System Oath, just a normal promise.

    He didn¡¯t love the fact that he had to swear fealty to anything, but it came with the business of joining a martial Order, so he couldn¡¯tin aftering all the way here. It took him by surprise a little bit that he¡¯d be swearing directly to Cid and not to the Order or the nation. That meant that if Cid decided to rebel against the order, he¡¯d be expected to follow him, but apparently that¡¯s how they liked to organize things here.

    Brin said, ¡°Gurthcid Trevorrow, I render you my fealty. I will obey allwfulmands and give you my service. To you, I dedicate my life.¡±

    ¡°Brin isu Yambul, I ept your oath. I will return loyalty for loyalty and service for service. Be wee in my Lance. Stand as a man among men.¡±

    <strong>Alert! You have earned an Achievement:</strong>

    <strong>Knightly (Common)</strong>

    <strong>You have joined a martial order.</strong>

    <strong>You can assign your status to positively identify yourself as a member of the Order of the Long Sleep. This achievement will grow as you gain merit in your Order.</strong>

    Once that was done, Cid stood to the side, not facing anyone and said almost to himself, ¡°I had in mind to head up to Allexi¡¯s hill.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± said Brin. Only, that didn¡¯t seem to be the response Cid was waiting for, because everyone stared at Brin in awkward silence for a long moment.

    Finally, Hedrek cast Brin onest disgusted look before saying, ¡°You heard him. Let¡¯s move out!¡±

    All ten of them moved as one, following Cid out of the fortress at a steady run. In his old world, this would¡¯ve been a sprinting pace for Brin even without the armor, but here it was a nice jog and the armor was barely an inconvenience. After the first half mile, Brin got the hang of running so that his armor didn¡¯t jangle or chafe so much, and it was smooth from there. They cleared the keep quickly, and soon they were running across an open field.

    He noticed that the guys were naturally going two by two in the order of their rank, so he ran up near the front with Cid.

    Now that they were moving and their destination seemed to be a good distance away, Brin took the time to split off his mind and send out some frantic Invisible Eyes to find another Lance. He¡¯d assumed that he¡¯d be ranked near the bottom and that he¡¯d be able to pick things up with everyone else, but now it seemed he¡¯d been thrust into some kind of leadership role with no idea of what he should be doing. The manual was little help. It was hopelessly vague in most cases, ¡°The second serves at the pleasure of the Prime in aiding the Lance in implementing the Prime¡¯s vision.¡± Other times it was absurdly specific, ¡°At a canter while at a peaceful standing, the knight-at-arms will hold the reins between his thumb and forefinger, leaving two hand-breadths between each hand.¡± He needed to see what life in a real Lance actually looked like. <em>Someone</em> had to know what he was doing wrong.

    The first Lance he found was a group of veterans, with the youngest nearly thirty years old. They all seemed like they¡¯d known each other for a long time; a tight group of friends. He didn¡¯t see anyone giving orders at all. They all knew their jobs and did it without direction from the Prime. It also didn¡¯t help that they weren¡¯t exactly busy.

    He needed another example. Soon after, he found them. Back in the keep, a younger Lance was together in the practice yard. They were all practicing the same set of parries against imaginary opponents. Their Prime was looking on from the side of the yard, while the Second marched back and forth, shouting. ¡°Not like that, Irf! For thest time, keep the point of your sword towards your opponent at all times. Should you fling his weapon away, you¡¯ll want your sword to already be in the right direction to capitalize¡­ good! Yes, like that again!¡±

    After a while, he saw the Second give the Prime a questioning nce, only for the Prime to subtly shake his head. ¡°Not good enough!¡± the Second roared at the men. ¡°We¡¯ll keep going until Irf gets it right a hundred times in a row! And I better not see anyone else mess up or it¡¯ll be another hundred!¡±

    After ten more minutes of practice, the Prime said, ¡°Well done, everyone.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it, step back and swords away!¡± the Second called. ¡°We¡¯ll take a ten minute break and then move onto thrusts.¡±

    Oh. So it was that kind of thing. The Prime would give a general strategy, and it was the Second¡¯s job to break that down into specific orders. No wonder Cid always seemed to be waiting for Brin to say something.

    It urred to him that the role of the Second was to be the most isted man on the team, the person that everyone hated. The Prime was really in charge, but he wasn¡¯t going to shout the orders that made everyone grit their teeth in distaste, that would be up to Brin. What had Gn intended by giving this job to Brin? He could do nothing but trust him; despite all appearances, he still believed that Gn wanted what was best for him. In fact, knowing this was more of a relief than anything. He knew what part he was supposed to y, and he¡¯d make sure to y it well.

    He kept a few eyes on the other Lances, just to see what else he would glean, but pulled back the majority of his brain to his main thread. He needed it just to keep up with thenguage barrier.

    He killed time by idly coating his armor with ss as he ran, which gave it a very nice, glossy texture and made it look a lot fancier than it really was. He doubted he¡¯d get ess to a [sser] workshop any time soon, so summoned ss was as good as he would get. At least he still had his Bog Standard spear.

    The run was more fun now that he felt a little more confident that he knew his role. It was a nice day, with a cool breeze, and they were only going uphill around half the time. Once they got a little bit of elevation, the view was spectacr. Prinnash was and of pasture and mountains, with nothing in between, and the wide spaces between the mountains gave a view that seemed to go on forever. He could see the keep, then a few much nicer andrger ones past that, as well as the army mustering down below, the armor of the men shining in the sunlight like glitter.

    ¡°How do you fare?¡± asked Cid.

    ¡°Fine, thanks!¡± said Brin. Then he realized that might not have been the point of the question and used an Invisible Eye to look back at the men. Some of them were heavily winded. Most of them were, actually, with the exception of the two [Knights] and the [Porter]. He was carrying arge pack in addition to wearing a full kit of armor, but seemed to have not even broken a sweat. The [Rogue], on the other hand, seemed like he was on hisst legs.

    Brin let his paceg a bit, falling behind to talk to him.

    Hedrek pped his pauldron. ¡°Ha! You missed the initial training, but they did this sort of thing every day! We decided to give you a good workout to show you what you missed.¡±

    ¡°Sounds fun! And when will that start?¡± Brin asked, quite sincerely before even realizing what an amazingeback that had been. He really had been thinking of this as a nice, refreshing little warm up run, but for someone without his stats it was probably hellish.

    Grinning, he slowed down again, until he was side-by-side by the [Rogue]. [Inspect] called him Brych Faughn, and he was the highest leveled one here after the [Knights], at level 22. He should definitely have the attributes to make this doable, so maybe motivation was the problem?

    ¡°You look tired. Are you tired, Brych?¡±

    ¡°No, sir,¡± Brych panted out.

    ¡°If you get too tired let me know, ok? I¡¯ll carry you. I¡¯m getting kind of bored,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°No, sir,¡± said Brych. He was already standing straighter, and even though Brin had meant to keep his voice down, he¡¯d obviously been overheard because the entire Lance seemed to suddenly be in better spirits.

    ¡°It¡¯s really no trouble,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Not¡­ necessary¡­ Sir!¡± Brych said, still panting heavily.

    ¡°Then you must be bored,¡± said Brin. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll ask Cid if we can do some <em>real</em> training after this.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± said Brych.

    When Brin retook his position next to Cid, the Prime increased the pace and this time no one looked to be in any danger of falling behind.

    When they stopped, Brin was ready. As soon as Cid started to slow to a walk, Brin shouted, ¡°Halt! Take a break! Walk it out. Get some water. But be ready to move again in ten minutes! We have lots of fun things to do today.¡±

    Despite him telling them to walk it off, a few of the men copsed on the ground as soon as they stopped running. The [Porter] set down his pack and fished out a canteen, to pass around the group.

    They were on top of thergest foothill near the mountain. On one side, Brin could see the army they hade from, and on the other hand the wilderness of Prinnash stretched forth in a straight and long valley as far as the eye could see. He saw one little vige, probably no more than a hundred people, and only a few patches of trees.

    Cid said to Brin, ¡°I believe you may have made a promise on my behalf. Something about <em>real</em> training?¡±

    ¡°I only promised to talk to you about it,¡± said Brin.

    ¡°Oh? Then do so.¡±

    ¡°I will, thank you. Gurthcid, sir, can I have your permission to lead the Lance in some <em>real</em> training?¡±

    Cid nodded. ¡°Train away.¡±

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