《Patchwork Helix- a post-apocalypse clockwork Wild West litRPG》


 Chapter A1. Just another day in Paradise.

    My head was pounding. I think I was awake, I should be, but everything was dark, and a nasty stink, like urine, was assaulting my nostrils. There was something clenched around my face, impeding my breathing, and it was bitterly cold, the feeling of something hard and unyielding under my back.


    ¡°It should be awake now.¡± The voice was shrill and unpleasant, breathy like an asthmatic smoker.


    ¡°Can it understand me?¡± asked a second voice, a bit richer, with almost a vibrato undertone, like they were speaking through a fan.


    ¡°Yes, I downloaded the galpub symbospeech module into that lump of fat it uses as a data center. The system told us it was sapient, and that it wasn¡¯t a chaos construct, despite looking like a monster.¡±


    Every muscle in my body was sore. It felt like I had gone to sleep in a tent in the snow, without a sleeping bag. I opened my mouth a little, and croaked, ¡°Cold¡±.


    ¡°What was that word it said?¡±


    ¡°Hold on a moment. There¡¯s still a lot of cryo backlog in its tissues. It seems to be using a symbolic term indicating an unpleasantly low temperature. I am going to increase it by twenty dacks.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? It¡¯s already sitting in a furnace¡­ any warmer would be past the melting point of water, is that safe?¡±


    I felt whatever it was I was lying on starting to warm up as the harsher voice replied, ¡°Probably, the vast majority of its body is made up of liquid acids, including water. It seems to use the substance as a carrier instead of something sensible like boron, but then, it¡¯s also designed for a nightmare world. Be grateful it doesn¡¯t breathe sulfuric acid.¡±


    The more melodic voice stated ¡°Can you sense me? Do you comprehend this? Is this translator even turned on? I despise sonic vibration carriers, you never even know if someone is in range to receive them.¡±


    ¡°I am going to adjust the temperature even higher. The rift is at a temperature midway between the melting point of water and the creature¡¯s core temperature.¡±


    Finally, I started to feel like I was thawing. Ugh. I had been cold, although it was all over, not just my extremities. I finally started to open my eyes, and coughed, hacking up phlegm from my lungs. I was in a small round space, slightly bigger around than I was tall, which I could tell because it was only a few inches from the top of my head and the bottoms of my big bare feet. The roof was perhaps four feet tall, and the circular closet was a uniform dark blue tint, exacerbated by the twilight gloom that seemed to issue from a single old-looking light bulb that glowed like a neon light.


    ¡°You! Creature! Animal! Beast!¡± the melodic and sourceless voice stated. ¡°Are you capable of comprehending Symbo? Doctor, is the signal strong enough? It seemed to respond for a second, but now it¡¯s just twitching. Igniting this thing cost a fortune in essence. If we don¡¯t get a return on it, if it is too damaged to be useful, your rating will be reduced.¡±


    The rough voice returned, ¡°Governor, this is the best we could do. The rifts around here can return a far greater fortune. According to the artifact, this creature is related both to the system founders, as well as the planetary monsters, and is capable of surviving the local rifts. It¡¯s fascinatingly disgusting, but has huge genetic and performance potential, even if its brain is just a lump of fat. All we need to do is get it to accept simple instructions, and let it do what it does.¡±


    ¡°Hello?¡± I said, worriedly, sitting up.


    ¡°What was that it said?¡±


    The doctor stated, ¡°It said Hello, a greeting. It appears that it¡¯s at least sentient, if not sapient. Hello monster! Can you comprehend our communications?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But I¡¯m not a monster, I am a human.¡±


    ¡°What was that he said?¡± The melodic voice asked.


    ¡°It stated its species name, I think it took offense at the term monster.¡±


    ¡°Where am I? Who are you? Why am I in this room?¡±


    ¡°Advanced individuality-focused queries. Sapient, albeit low-level,¡± The doctor replied. ¡°You are in a dynamically stabilized environmental pod built to produce living conditions for your particular species similar to those found within local rifts in this location. Apparently, we chose an example rift with a lower mean temperature than your species was comfortable with. Did you comprehend that?¡±


    I nodded, looking down at myself. I was very, very naked, my pale skin still goosebumped from the chill. ¡°Yes, I can. I take it you are aliens, with all the life forms and species and monster comments. If twenty dacks is the temperature in between freezing water and my body temperature, could you increase the temperature by another ten uhh¡­ dacks? And could you cut down on the Ammonia a little? It¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    I should be panicking, but after ten years of Leukemia, looking down and seeing a healthy male body without all the telltales from chemotherapy, the slacked skin and stretch marks, the missing foot below my knee¡­ I mean, I was elated more than terrified. Even if I was currently stuck in some kind of a cell talking to aliens.


    I¡¯d always believed in aliens, even though some friends said it was stupid, but I never actually expected to meet any. Or even meet them at a remove. Either that or I was having the most vivid coma nightmares I¡¯d ever heard of. Or someone was messing with my mind.


    The temperature obligingly warmed up to about 75 degrees, and the smell started to disperse. I was feeling a little giddy, so I said, ¡°I am not sure what you know about humans, but our environment is about 78 percent nitrogen, 22 percent oxygen, and something like two percent vaporized water, There are some other components like one percent argon, but those are not necessary.¡±


    ¡°What is percent?¡± The rough voice asked.


    ¡°Parts out of one hundred?¡± I said, my voice a little hoarse, but clearing up. I was proud of having remembered the base parts of common air. Then again, it wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t had plenty of free time to memorize Britannica during the last decade. ¡°The trace elements are less important, though. Nitrogen can fill in the extras. Certain substances can be toxic, though, if their concentration is too high, like carbon monoxide or dioxide.¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly high intelligence. Your species varies from its base stock slightly in environmental preferences, it is good that you can recall those differences. Based on protein patterns, it appears that standard rations for humanoids and aquatic acid should be acceptable for maintaining your nutritional needs.¡± The doctor with the rough voice stated.


    ¡°We are gods!¡± The second voice stated. ¡°We have raised you from death itself to serve as our hands in this solar system!¡± I was starting to realize that the vibrato in his voice was synthetic. Probably a very GOOD synthetic voice, it seems to catch emotional vagaries pretty well, but I realized that whatever language they were speaking was not English.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    The fact that I could understand it was certainly odd, but they had mentioned some kind of download amid insults about my appearance, environment, and heritage. I knew the words they were speaking, they seemed to translate into something I could understand. Not English, Not Russian, not Spanish, Swedish, or Japanese¡­ but the structure FELT more like English. Perhaps because that was my first language?


    I started to pull myself up. I still had a headache, but the rest of my body was feeling much better, with only remnants of soreness as I carefully levered my back up to rest against the curved wall, my legs splayed out in front of me in a vestige of flexibility I hadn¡¯t had in a long time.


    Around my wrist was a weird sort of white plastic wristband that went from the base of my wrist halfway up my forearm. The underside had ribbed straps, and the top was flat, sort of like a PDA screen. It was not uncomfortable, but as my only piece of clothing, it attracted my attention.


    ¡°We are not gods. Governor, please stop trying to help. Clearly, he is not as primitive as you assume. Yes, we are technically alien, but here, so are you. I am doctor-professor Kuledge, and this is Governor Stabos.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Right. So is there a reason I cannot see you?¡±


    The rough voice returned. ¡°Yes. If by seeing you mean the visible wavelengths of your eyes. Neither of us are lifeforms that use those wavelengths. We are communicating via a system-provided translation unit. My own species uses vibrational impulses to navigate and communicate, and the governor uses mass detection and cellular pheromones. Visible light in your wavelengths would actually be quite toxic to me, disrupting my crystalline patterns, and as a mass unicellular organism, you might find the governor¡¯s form difficult to understand. Do you comprehend?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I assume that means you are some kind of crystal intelligence, and the governor is some kind of protoplasm? Meaning what, a liquid environment? You said Boron, so I figure that whatever liquid the Governor is suspended in would probably not be translucent, all I would see would be a big blob, yes?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Are you some sort of scientist of your people?¡±


    ¡°No. Umm¡­ I was badly damaged and had no opportunity to interact normally, so I was forced to spend most of my life on the internet¡­ In our electronic information networks. I¡¯m pretty normal, but I always loved the idea of aliens and space travel. I am surprised to MEET non-human intelligences, though. So, how did I get here?¡±


    ¡°Governor Stabos¡¯ people are having economic difficulties, and we traced a set of nodes to this star system. However, the local rifts are fantastically hostile to our races¡­ to almost all species. They are designed to be tread by the local species, which is incapable of reaching them. We were searching for a solution, and discovered you.¡±


    ¡°Discovered me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you and several other¡­ humans were in orbit around a gas giant, in a badly-damaged, extremely primitive space station. It appears your creatures originated from the third world in this system, but the current inhabitants of that world seem to have regressed technologically beyond their ability to defeat that gravity well. There are some powerful essence signatures and a node on that planet, but no working satellites or radio transmissions were being broadcast.¡±


    ¡°Me and others? In orbit around Jupiter?¡±


    ¡°Yes, The largest gas giant in your system. Your station had no working gravitics, drives, or even atmosphere creation mechanisms. You and one hundred and thirty other creatures were encased in liquid nitrogen. Unfortunately, your brain was the only one that was frozen quickly enough to avoid creating ice crystals in your brain and destroying it.¡±


    ¡°Why was I on a space¡­ Mom!¡±


    ¡°I do not understand.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°My mother was a bit of a ditz...uhh¡­ she was a wealthy eccentric. I had a major incurable illness, and I have to assume she bought into one of those cryogenic suspension plans and had me frozen after I died¡­ and put into space?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Is freezing a viable way of storing your species? It did not seem particularly effective. Restoring you was very, very expensive, as your biological processes had completely stopped and you had to be almost completely regenerated, as well as having many genetic and MRNA problems repaired, but yours was the only pod that seemed to still contain spirit essence.¡±


    I shook my head again, ¡°Some people believed that if you were badly hurt, you could be frozen until technology developed enough to fix both the freezing process damage and whatever harmed you in the first place.¡±


    The crusty voice spoke again, ¡°That, perhaps, might have worked in your case. Not technology, of course, but the system was able to regenerate you. For the rest of the¡­ frozen humans, the freezing process damaged them enough that their spirit fled their bodies. No life force means no cure.¡±


    ¡°However, that is an aside. The cost of your revivification has been paid by the Spindafor Unification, as has my own price to assist in their efforts and the environmental vehicle that is supporting your life currently.¡±


    I looked around, ¡°It is awfully small.¡±


    ¡°Is your species claustrophobic? Unfortunately, the Unification¡¯s resources are extremely limited, it is what they could afford. It seems to be the right size to contain your body.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°It can contain me, but I don¡¯t have any clothing or anything. What is it you want me to do? Can I get back to Earth?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± came the Governor¡¯s voice. ¡°No, you can¡¯t! The cost of coming out here, the vehicle, the rebuild¡­ The ship was scrap! The bio-material and resources didn¡¯t come close to recovering the restoration fees! Earth is a closed hub. We are already hundreds of energy credits in debt to the Sintar. A re-entry vehicle capable of supporting its weight and diving into that gravity well would cost us THOUSANDS! No, it needs to start delving and bringing us the resources from one of the rifts!¡±


    The Doctor¡¯s voice returned. ¡°It is entirely possible that at some point you could return to the third planet, but the Unification cannot afford to do so. They wish a return on their investment. I am not sure that you would choose to do so since the world that I assume was your origin seems to be undergoing some kind of regression.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Could I at least get some pants? I mean, There¡¯s no breeze here, but my¡­ species, is used to wearing certain protective garments.¡±


    ¡°Your world appeared to have a protected status, which means you had no access to the system, Are you capable of perceiving the transtator wrapped around one of your digits?


    ¡°The wrist thing?¡± I asked curiously, looking at the plastic bracer again.


    ¡°Yes, it is a system transtator. A limited-function personal node. If your species has had limited interaction with the system, it should be capable of introducing itself. The non-convex portion should respond to contact with your manipulators. Once it has done so, you should be tested, to learn about your abilities. The Unification cannot afford any more materials that are durable enough to deal with your environment.¡±


    Deal with my environment? What the hell? It wasn¡¯t like I was some dragon living on Mercury. ¡°Okay, then, what do I do?¡±


    ¡°The Transtator should be capable of being activated by contact.¡±


    I held up the bracer. My arm was¡­ well¡­ in far better shape than it had ever been before in my life. Almost no fat, and decent, if slender, musculature without the blotching that repeated Chemo caused. I touched my fingertip to the flat part, and it lit up like a tablet screen.


    Welcome to the Game! Your species is considered a reserved species. You are outside of your protected habitat, and thus able to serve!


    As a newcomer, You are entitled to an introductory tutorial. Would you prefer to activate this tutorial, or immediately begin the game?


    | Yes, I would like to enter the tutorial.


    | No, I would like to immediately activate the application and skip the tutorial.


    I looked at the wall. It didn¡¯t look like I had much of a choice, crawlwaycrawl-way masquerading as a medical bay was feeling a little too small for me. It looked like I needed to touch one of the black marks to proceed. The writing on the screen looked a lot like old-school system text green screens from the 80s. I wondered if it would ask me questions, or show some kind of. Picture? It was pretty low-tech.


    So far, technologically, nothing I had seen or experienced brought home the idea of high-tech aliens. So far, everything they told me could have been a complete lie, and I had no way of knowing. My miraculously restored body was awesome, but was I in some sort of facility on earth? The gravity felt right, although I hadn¡¯t been able to sit up like this and actually use my muscles in some time, so for all I knew I could be on Mars.


    Still, it was progress. I fingered the mark next to ¡°Yes¡±.

 Chapter A2. Crime and punishment

    Whoah.


    I mean, whoah like Bill and Ted, not whoah like Bonanza. I was still sitting with my legs spread out in front of me, but my back was braced against a tree trunk. Was this some sort of game, like those VR things?


    I didn¡¯t know. I was wearing some sort of cloth shirt, v-necked with rugged stitches made out of what felt like light brown muslin, but it was halfway down my legs with slits up the sides for, I guess, freedom of movement. Around my waist, over the shirt, was a woven cord, tied in the middle, with a sort of empty cloth pouch tucked into it. My legs were clad in a heavier, darker brown fabric, wool? Loosely woven, and a pair of Indian-style lace-up leather moccasins with the lacing tied around and up my calves.


    The plastic bracer was still around my wrist, but it had changed and was now no wider than a watch band. Shoved into the other side of my belt was a knife of some brownish-gold metal with a wooden handle. It didn¡¯t have a sheath, and was almost the size of my trusty KA-BAR, although it was sort of a rondel, with a foot-long double-edged blade made of¡­ some sort of bronze? It had a solid six-inch square grip, a small hand guard, and a rounded pommel. Sharp edge, too.


    It didn¡¯t FEEL like VR to me. The fabric felt rough, and I could instantly tell that the pants or whatever were rough because I didn¡¯t seem to be wearing any underclothes. Trees surrounded me, but they were not the kind of trees you found in VR, each of them was totally unique with their patterns of white and black bark, the way they twisted, and the way their roots penetrated the leaf-covered loamy earth floor.


    Even the seat of my pants was slightly damp from sitting on the ground. I stood up quickly, expecting my head to hit the inside of that small room where I had been before, but no dice. I put my hand up and didn¡¯t feel anything except for where the leaves brushed my arm as I stood. This place sounded like a lightly developed piece of the forest, with the quiet cacophony of insects, the wavering buzzing of cicadas, and the occasional chirping of birds with the soft coo of a pigeon.


    And the leaves? I could see that each one was utterly unique. I could see the tracery of veins, the teardrop shape, and the slight yellowing around the edge of each leaf. Unless the computer that simulated this was the size of a planet it would be impossible for this to be VR. I had to assume that I was literally translocated to some other place in an instant, or that the room I had been in was the VR, and this was reality.


    The smell! Even the smell was right. Earth, and the Beech trees that surrounded me, the undertone of rotting leaves, warm leaves, and even the dappled bits of sunlight coming through the foliage made me think of¡­ Alabama, or maybe Georgia.


    The last time I had walked through a forest like this was 15 years ago, back when I had a life. Back when I was on leave, had a wife, and wanted to start a family, before I got hit in the face with the realization that I would probably never be normal again.


    Did I hold Kathleen¡¯s realization that she didn¡¯t want to be married to a dying cripple against her? No. I mean, at first, yes, I was stricken, but eventually, I realized that she still had a life ahead of her, and even with my family¡¯s wealth and my service bonuses I would never be able to offer normal things or the hope of a family. She was almost eight years younger than I was, and trying to cling to her while I died would have been beyond selfish.


    Yes, there had been some harsh words, but I had apologized to her. I got it, I really did, and when I felt like I was done, I had to set things straight first before I went to hell or wherever I was headed.


    Of course, I hadn¡¯t expected this. I felt¡­ amazing. The headache had faded, and my body felt so strong. Really great! I didn¡¯t even smell car exhaust or anything, which was hard to escape in 2040. Right now, though, it felt like there was something wrong with my brain. I wasn''t sure what it was, but it felt a bit like being drunk without the wobbliness.


    I suddenly jumped in the air, excited just to feel the sensation of my muscles working again, and snatched a tree branch that I pulled to the ground with my weight. I had to have jumped at least half my height! I could feel the twisted, papery park under my fingers, erupt in a shower of flinders as I let the branch go and saw bits of leaves and bark fly before settling on the ground.


    I did a little dance, yeah, amusing, a grown man dancing like Woodstock as I circled around half-skipping, and finally stopped, feeling the breath heave from my lungs as I grinned. No one understands what healthy really feels like until it¡¯s gone. I didn¡¯t hurt, my joints didn¡¯t ache, and I wasn¡¯t attached to any machines!


    I was lost someplace in the woods, and I had no idea where, but the fact was I was walking in the woods! I started trotting, and then running, my footfalls strangely quiet on the moist leaf detritus as I sprinted past the cleared areas between the trees, heading down a long, sun-dappled slope as I felt each foot, including the left one that had been gone for years, as my moccasins bashed rhythmically against the loamy earth.


    I found the creek almost before I expected it, in the lee of an up-slope. My new body reacted perfectly, however, and I turned, following the slightly cutaway embankment that led to the rounded water-washed stones filling the creek itself. I caught a glimpse of a shimmering silver minnow, and the backward dash of a giant crayfish as long as a pencil as my shadow pushed past¡­ at the very least, I knew where to find food and water if I couldn¡¯t find civilization.


    There was nothing else in the creek. No old tires, no signs of trails or boot-printed muddy paths, no cigarette butts or beer cans or even tangled-up abandoned fishing lures anywhere. That did not match the character of the parks I was familiar with and visited. I was likely a long way away from civilization.


    My watch thing was flashing. Weird. I slowed down to catch my breath. I couldn¡¯t see anything on it, just a slight subtle glow, pulsating, so I touched it.


    In front of me, a box appeared! Like an actual hologram, floating in space in front of me, making me reassess this being reality and the other space being VR. It seemed to hover in front of the watch, but even when I moved my hand, it stayed hovering in front of me, feeling like it was about two feet in front of my face. It was completely transparent and contained glowing blue letters.


    Welcome to the human-standard tutorial. This system is protected and restricted to tech level two, and the tutorial reflects this restriction.


    Your traits are currently undefined. Your essence affinities are currently undefined, pending connection to a system-standard database.


    You have displayed the trait of Survival!


    Displayed the trait? What the hell did that mean? Because I noticed Crayfish and fresh water and started moving downstream on a creek? That wasn¡¯t Bear Grylls stuff, that was the same common sense that every person who ever slept in a tent should have. If you are lost in the woods, you either stay where you are if you think rescuers might come, or you start moving towards civilization, which means you found water and followed it.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I heard a scream! It sounded human, not like a screech owl or monkey, it sounded distinctly feminine, downstream and slightly to the right. I didn¡¯t know what time of day it was, so I didn¡¯t know if the sun was rising or setting, but most streams and rivers tended to trend southerly, so I assumed it was off to the west.


    You know, common sense would dictate that where there is a scream, there is danger to avoid, but I was not emotionally or by training tilted that way. I crouched low, and switched to a ground-eating lope, dodging between the trees as I sought out the source. As I headed west of the creek, back uphill, I almost stumbled right into a road.


    It was not a road like I was used to. It was narrow, almost too narrow for a single car. It was faced with gravel, and in very bad shape, like an old dirt road with two narrow ruts, but I spotted it in time, and if I had kept going up the hill instead of following the stream I would have stumbled across it. I stayed slightly off the road, continuing to head south. My clothes were not camouflaged, but they were nice earthy colors, so I stuck to the overgrowth and kept bushy plants and low-hanging branches between me and the road.


    I smelled it before I saw it, a rich pungent wood-burning smell, and soon noted that there was an off-white column of smoke ahead of me further down the road. The scream had turned to breathy, half-screaming sobs and loud chattering. It sounded almost like one of the Congolese languages, but was incredibly harsh, with more of a South American pattern to the words, although it was definitely in a language I couldn¡¯t understand.


    I finally stopped and dropped, and noticed ahead of me something large, burning in the road. Around it were about a half dozen hopping¡­. Things. They had greenish-brown skin, and were about the height of children, if children were malformed, with giant doglike green ears, wore little but pieces of leather and raggedy pants, had giant eyes, and round heads bisected by enormous mouths. Those things were the source of the chatter, and there appeared to be two human bodies lying in the road.


    The screams and sobbing were coming from an otherwise attractive young woman, with dark skin and long plated hair, who had her hands bound and was wearing very little, most of which was torn away while one of the little greens grimaced toothily behind her, his pants around his ankles. She was covered in long bleeding scratches, bent over so her bottom was in the air and her face ground into the dirty road by another one of the wretches, and had her eyes tightly closed while the wiry but muscular little man had his way with her.


    Okay, I was no angel. In fact, by some standards, I might even be considered the monster that the Governor had called me. I had an evil side, and if those had been buddies of mine, I might have just wanted to take my own turn. No, I was not a hero, and I was not a paladin, but those¡­ things, were not even human. So when I snuck through the trees, grabbed one of them by the throat, and carefully used my knife to snip his jugular and windpipe, it was out of rage and disgust, not a Robin Hood instinct.


    They were raping a human woman, and they had to die.


    It had been decades since I had used my training, decades since I had crouched in a jungle or snuck around in the dust around a village, taking out guards, but it turned out that my new, rebuilt body was even more effective than my old one. I felt none of the twinges in my knees I had grown used to before I finally mustered out, just a pure, almost holy feeling of righteous rage.


    Two others were digging in the back of the wagon as it burned. One of them was dressed a little more elaborately, wearing some kind of wolf skull with a bird-skull-topped staff over his back as he picked his way through some kind of chest. Whatever he was, though, he was not knife-proof or particularly difficult to sneak up on, and a quick slide across his throat cut off both his ability to yell a warning and his blood flow.


    Greenish they might have been but their blood was very red, as red as any human, but the next one, on the other side of the wagon, managed to get off a hint of a yelp before he was silenced permanently. The two who were busy with the girl, who looked like an early adult or late teenager, were still distracted by her.


    The one on the side of the wagon, quickly jumping up to pull heavy bags out of the back before they burned, apparently heard me, and turned to catch a glimpse of me before I dived behind a bush. Dammit, I was hoping to take out at least four of them before I was spotted. If I¡¯d had my rifle¡­ well¡­ I didn¡¯t have it, and based on the primitive clothing that the woman, the corpses, and the green bastards were wearing, I might not get one any time soon.


    He started howling and chattering, pointing in my direction, and I knew that the gig was up. There was no way they wouldn¡¯t find me, the brush really wasn¡¯t deep enough for that, so I charged, heading towards the little fellow that was withdrawing from the woman and trying to pull his trews and what looked like sloppy pieces of chain mail back into place.


    If they had managed to kill whatever males were protecting her¡­ Husband? Father? Brother? Her screams made a lot of sense. The creature hadn¡¯t drawn any weapons yet, although I saw the one holding the girl starting to drag out what looked like a primitive stone ax, as I hit the little fellow with my knee in the gut, slamming my other foot onto his chest as he fell so I could drive my knee and my drawn knife downwards.


    I felt¡­ crackling under my knee as his rib cage gave way under my mass, and I almost felt guilty slaughtering these monstrous midgets mercilessly, but the creature under my knee exposed a gigantic mouthful of sharp, shark-like teeth as he coughed out chunks and blood under the blow. I noticed that my little watch was flashing, but I had nowhere near enough time to touch it again.


    I felt something dig into my backside lightly and spun around with that crappy little knife, catching the one that had first spotted me, a spear stuck right in my ass from where he had apparently stabbed me, across the face diagonally, sharp little teeth flying as the 12¡± blade cut across its stubby nose, ripped and deflated an eye, and then dragged itself with a splash of gore from where the point caught the inside of his eye socket and ripped away a line from the socket out of the skull.


    The last one, the one who had been holding the girl, screeched and started backing away, holding its ax in both hands. The ax itself was a piece of work, a chunk of stone tied to a split branch, and I might have laughed if I didn¡¯t have just as scruffy a spear sticking out of my left buttock.


    ¡°Can you understand me?¡± I asked, loudly, as I stood next to the girl.


    ¡°Yes!¡± she sobbed. ¡°Yes, I can¡­ ¡±


    I ignored her and watched the creature closely. It looked like a monster out of video games. A goblin? Gremlin? Something like that. It was looking around as I slid the gore-coated knife down the inside of the girl¡¯s arm, keeping the edge away from her skin, but slashing through the vine ropes wrapped around her wrists. ¡°Can you stand?¡±


    She was crying but nodded.


    I sighed, and said, ¡°This is an emergency. There¡¯s a spear sticking out of me. I need you to pull it out.¡± I glanced meaningfully at her still-rope-wrapped hands that should probably still be capable of grabbing the spear sticking out of ty tochis.


    The goblin noticed I seemed a little distracted, and as the girl turned and tugged at the gnarled branch with a stone spear tip that seemed to be caught in the fabric of my pants, it started running. I didn¡¯t want to let it go, but with a gluteous wound, chasing after him was more likely to get me bleeding, and unlikely to catch him. I heard wheezing coming from the one I kneed as the girl, still crying and sobbing, started backing away, holding the gnarled spear.


    I looked at her, and looked at the dying goblin, and then glared, ¡°Kill it.¡±


    She looked like she was about to drop the spear. ¡°What?¡±


    I scowled, ¡°Kill that fucking rapist monster. Kill it now.¡±


    I noticed that the creature¡¯s eyes were open as it stared at me, and then at the girl, but it couldn¡¯t get out a word as she nodded, and started to look for someplace to put the spear.


    ¡°In the eye,¡± I stated. I had no idea how strong she was, but her body weight in the eye would kill anything, I think. With a nod, she seemed to harden her expression, and then took a step forward, using both hands to put the spearhead into the thing¡¯s oversize eye.


    It was a pretty horrible way to kill something, she was not particularly strong or fast and missed a couple of times, and when she finally got the spear into its frantically thrashing head, it started trying to wrench itself free as she bore down on its weight. It finally stopped moving after nearly thirty seconds of her pushing as hard as she could when I heard the sound of its orbital breaking and the spearhead dropped a few inches into its brain.


    She took a step backward, letting go of the spear, and then looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. ¡°Those goblins killed my husband and his brother.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Do you feel better? You killed that thing. You felt it die under your hands. It deserved to die, and the only thing I would have done differently was make it take longer. Good job.¡±


    She started to nod, and I was suddenly in a cave.

 Chapter A3. Stereotypical ancient master

    The cave itself appeared to be sealed, probably a sedimentary vent with the craggy brown rocks, which were set with candles, stuck to the rocks with dripping wax that looked like it had been building for centuries. There must have been two dozen candles in the 30-foot space, which had a sandy floor and arched into the darkness overhead. There were animal hides, deer, and¡­ wolf? Against the walls, jammed into crevices or held up by battered and ancient wooden frames, I had to assume one of them concealed the exit.


    ¡°My goodness! Aren¡¯t you an interesting one!¡± I heard a voice say, and I spun around to see an old man in a robe. I looked at the man more closely. My butt ached, but not near as much as it should have after taking a long sliver of sharp rock as a wound. I felt some blood slick and cool against the back of my left thigh, but it wasn¡¯t dripping, just wetness. When you added the blood spray I had taken from cutting a few throats and mangling a face, I was probably looking pretty horrific.


    I was holding my knife at the ready, but I lowered it slightly. He was bald, in a ratty brown robe that looked like it had seen better days a decade ago and hadn¡¯t been laundered since, and his beard was gray, matching thick eyebrows over pale skin and piercing blue eyes. His face was lined and craggy, with thin lips under the wispy beard that trailed down to his waist. His hands were fairly big, and if I had to guess his age based on the wrinkles and hands, I would have figured about 60 years old, ten years older than I was when My mother had put me on ice.


    ¡°I could say the same about you. What are you, some kind of hermit? You look like a monk who¡¯s lived a hard life and retreated from the world.¡±


    He smiled creakily. ¡°Is that what I look like? Is that a figure you can respect and learn from? My appearance comes from your mind. I am not a person, any more than the goblins you just slaughtered or the young woman you saved.¡± He sat down on a beaten stool made of sticks with reeds woven through them into a seat and then waved his hands at a beat-up bedroll of what looked like a canvas stretched out on another woven frame. ¡°Please, have a seat. Your species is protected, and yet you are here. I imagine you have a lot of questions.¡±


    I looked at the bedroll, thought about the wound in my buttock, and shook my head, ¡°No thank you, I¡¯d rather stand until I can get this looked at.¡±


    He grinned, ¡°You are not wounded. It was merely a scratch, and entirely psychosomatic. Anything that happens in the tutorial is temporary, and the blood will vanish when you do.¡±


    I shrugged and sat down heavily on the bedroll. He was right. My buttock still sort of ached, but I didn¡¯t feel any fresh pain when I sat. I peered at him closely, and he smiled, ¡°Sorry I cannot offer you any refreshment, but this is YOUR construct and appeal to wisdom, not mine. The last time I did this, we had a nice tea ceremony in a flying palace surrounded by dragons that lasted almost two hours before we could get down to the nuts and bolts of your overview.¡±


    I looked around, ¡°So I created this?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°More or less. Right now you are in an Opiary, a sort of artificial rift created by your subconscious cues and the system. You were being tested, and placed into a situation where your actions could offer a variety of outcomes. I am no judge of moral character, but the fact that you helped the young lady kill her assailants to assist her psychological recovery from her ordeal, rather than simply claiming the rewards of slaughtering the goblins as you were so tempted to, speaks highly of your self-control, a trait which could certainly set your path in a more profitable direction.¡±


    He brushed a hand in the direction of the white watch thing. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to check your notices? Your curiosity has to be eating you up.¡±


    He was right, I really wanted to see what skills or traits it claimed I proved, but that could wait. ¡°Can you give me more information, right from the beginning, about what the hell is going on? Why do people keep telling me the Earth is protected, and talking about rifts, or demanding I pay back rift rewards to repay a debt or something? Why am I even alive? The last thing I remember, I was checking OUT of life, not in. Am I going crazy?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I am here for, also to help you make a few selections. Humanoids in this sphere are very dangerous. To maintain stability, the galactic races have declared all human-bearing worlds as off-limits, non-contact preserves, and limited their ability to use travel nodes and technology until they are capable of expanding through the galaxy without assistance.¡±


    ¡°There are other human worlds?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Humanoid worlds, yes. Pure humans are only one of a large variety of species, all descendants of the original system designers. As a result, some Humanoid worlds are entirely isolated, while others may interact only with other Humanoid species. As far as the greater galaxy is concerned, all the worlds farther from the galactic core are miserable, uninhabitable rocks. The fact that those worlds, such as yours, are filled with life is one of the more closely guarded secrets in the galaxy.¡±


    ¡°Rifts are where the chaos, the energy that teems outside of the organized universe, breaks through into the real universe, destroying and infesting everything in its never-ending goal to consume the real universe and turn it all back into chaos where it first started. The theory is complex, but the system was created to force that chaos into physical patterns, where it could be fought by mortal creatures and turned into physical resources.¡±


    ¡°Human worlds teem with rifts because humans are exceptionally well-suited to combat them, but when the human world backslides technologically, the systems that contain them tend to have a lot of rifts that are untouched.¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°The problem is that the system tends to adjust itself to the local populations. Humans have a very peculiar set of strengths, so when other species closer to the galactic core need extra resources, there are a ton of extra rifts just sitting around collecting dust and occasionally erupting, that they cannot touch because it¡¯s simply too dangerous for non-humans to have a chance of surviving.¡±


    ¡°You are alive because you exited the planet while it was still capable of spaceflight. Since then, it has backslid and lost that capability, and somehow whatever life force makes you alive persisted even in your frozen vegetative state. So the Unification, a struggling civilization desperately searching for a risk-free way to gain resources, found you, paid a great deal of energy credits to the system to regenerate your body and remove its deficiencies, and expects you to combat those rifts that are within your abilities, presenting them with the resource rewards for doing so.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°It sounds like they made me a slave.¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°I suppose it does. Technically, the structure they purchased to house you is the only place within thousands of miles capable of keeping you alive. They want you to explore rifts to give them a return on that investment, but once you start exploring rifts, assuming you survive, you will likely not need their largess for particularly long. At the moment, you could look at it as being enslaved, but when you grow more powerful, you could purchase many options including transportation to a local habitable world¡¯s node, or even a space-worthy vessel or transportation to another world.¡±


    ¡°For the time being, your well-being will have to be supported by energy credits you earn within the rifts, which means that other resources you discover within would probably need to go to your¡­ sponsors.¡±


    ¡°My well-being?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Things like food, equipment, clothing, armor, weapons, and even some enhanced abilities can be purchased with energy credits. It is a hard road, since most delvers, the term for rift explorers, tend to work in groups to support each other, and you are alone.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°The only suggestion I can make if you want to control your own life as quickly as possible is to delve a LOT, and eventually search for a rift where you can create your escape. Whether you feel an obligation to the Spindafor Unification for saving your life is entirely up to you. And no, you are not crazy, although you are unlikely to accept my word for it.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you human?¡±


    He shook his head, ¡°No, I am a synthetic intelligence created specifically to help you in the tutorial. I have a limited number of help topics I can access, of which you have already explored the majority, but I am not sentient or capable of creative thought. All of that comes from you.¡±


    I sighed. I guess I¡¯d have to take him at least partially at his word. I went ahead and checked out my watch thing.


    You have displayed the trait stealthy!


    You have displayed the trait critical attacks!


    You have displayed the trait melee training!


    You have displayed the trait durability!


    You have displayed the trait empathy!


    Congratulations, you have gained enough advancement to ascend to level 1!


    You currently have no class. Please contact a shrine or node to select a class.


    Your physical affinity has been analyzed and defined as chimera.


    Your mental affinity has been analyzed and defined as imagination.


    Your spiritual affinity is undefined until you are assigned a paradigm.


    You have gained two potential genome quirks due to your shaper affinity. These gifts have been added to your potential trait purchase list. Please contact a shrine or node to use these traits.


    You have gained 25 energy credits for defeating 5 goblins in the tutorial!


    ¡°Good start,¡± the old man said, ¡°may I make recommendations?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Of course. After all, as you said, it¡¯s my mind making them, right?¡±


    He shook his head, ¡°No, this involves information you do not possess. I would use those energy credits to purchase a personal recycler, a class one weapon, and a class one set of armor. The items will not be very good, but if you choose a rank one rift, your attributes and affinities should be more than capable of helping you succeed.¡±


    ¡°The recycler will cost ten energy credits, and the armor and weapon will be five each. That will leave you with five energy credits to spend on rations. Rations are well-known for not meeting flavor preferences, but they contain enough nutrients and water to keep a human alive and healthy for a day. Just make sure that when you look at your node purchase list, you turn on the specifications for your species and affordable options. There are a lot of things you can purchase from the list, and you can sell to the list for energy credits as well if you have resources available.¡±


    ¡°You can only purchase items from the list at a node. In your case, you have a minor node attached to your arm. When you are in a rift, however, you will notice that your transtator is no longer available as a node. Nodes cannot function in rifts, and your transtator adjusts accordingly. That means no escaping a rift by node jumping, or purchasing special-purpose equipment for defeating the rift once you are already inside.¡±


    ¡°Opiaries also count as rifts in that you cannot purchase anything until you exit. You can choose to take my advice or not, as you see fit.¡± He shrugged, ¡°That also means that, if you purchase or gain a personal opiary, the rules apply there as well. You do not appear to be trained in high-energy physics, so I will not attempt to explain the science behind it, suffice to say that two objects cannot exist in the same space without bad things happening.¡±


    I nodded slowly with a slight smile. That rule seems to exist everywhere. That¡¯s why teleportation research was always such a bugaboo. Most experiments in creating matter were defeated by the fact that even the most perfect artificial vacuum still had a few molecules in it, and when you tried to reassemble matter inside of other matter, you basically created a nasty nuclear bomb.


    ¡°You probably noticed that you gained Traits?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Traits and other things, like a genome quirk, a weird affinity called chimera, and some kind of points.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°This is where things will get a little strange. You see, the system creates a set of traits for you, based on your abilities, both physical and mental, as well as a few things you might consider thoroughly supernatural.¡±


    ¡°These things allow sapients to adapt reality slightly. ALL creatures possess these abilities, but few people can effectively use them. The system helps you build pathways in your mind and body allowing you to better adapt to these talents, but they do NOT come from the system! They are already natural to your body, mind, and soul¡­ Consider the system¡¯s influence to be a bit like a training guide.¡±


    ¡°Humans, which the system was originally built for, are broken down into sets of traits, and you can gain a class that focuses on more specialized traits, sort of like becoming an ear, nose, and throat specialist instead of a general practitioner.¡±


    ¡°This sounds like a game. One of those games that my friends used to play. Is the system all a game?¡±

 Chapter A4. Im busy

    The old man shrugged, ¡°Is business a game? Is combat a game? It is as real as life and death, and yet, it¡¯s possible to break it down into game terms, which is why, in your language, the system¡¯s title breaks down into ¡°The Game¡±. It is a game, but it is also very real. Losing will mean your life, or the life of the entire universe, potentially. Winning makes you better at playing the game.¡±


    I got it. Military strategists played wargames, but in a real fight, those numbers could break down into the lives of real soldiers, real military equipment, and real victories and defeats. Hell, in my experience women, family, and success were games too¡­ winner-take-all.


    ¡°Right now, your transtator interface is restricted to your own body, and the system cannot import modifications into this tutorial opiary. The game can make physical changes to you allowing your natural abilities to exceed human maximums, but those will take actual changes. If you go too far, it might be difficult to socialize with unmodified humans, eventually.¡±


    ¡°There are two ways to upgrade your attributes. There is the traditional method, such as training, or you can receive upgrades by using enhancement points. Those enhancement points show your capacity for enhancement. For example, if you work out hard and regularly and manage to increase your body musculature to the maximum, increasing it past that or preventing the flexibility loss from extreme musculature would require enhancement points. Humans can and do press past their effective maximums without enhancement, but when they do so, they suffer in another area, such as reflexes, flexibility, or stamina.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense so far.¡± I nodded. Like powerlifting. Powerlifters tended to lose flexibility as they pressed their musculature way past normal levels.


    He smiled, ¡°Enhancement points are where the system is allowed to modify you without damaging another area. You can use them to gain certain traits and evolutions based on your affinities or to upgrade an attribute for greater ability. In your case, you have already gained the trait durability, which allows you to avoid the crippling effects of injuries. In general, many entry-level traits are simply the result of your natural abilities or training, and will appear as you display to the system your competence with those traits.¡±


    ¡°Classes, on the other hand, are particular advancement paths people can choose. Someone who is a warrior, for example, will find it easier to learn how to use both a sword and an ax as a weapon, because both of those fighting paths require similar skills. There are multiple rarities for different classes, and each class is rated from 1 to 9. It is possible to push a particularly useful class past 9, but it is very difficult, and in general, it is better to specialize or branch out to a new category rather than being even better at something you have already mastered.¡±


    ¡°Class rarity is different. Rare classes require more advancement to master, and they are generally either extremely specialized or combine the aspects of several more common classes. A football player might not be good at basketball, but if someone masters several sports, they might gain the athlete class, which is more difficult, but covers ALL athletic endeavors. Or they might choose to specialize in demolitions using the throwing skills from both classes and become a master at placing explosives where they will do the most damage at range.¡±


    ¡°How many levels are there?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There are 9 levels per class.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, what¡¯s the maximum level overall? From all classes?¡±


    He looked at me curiously. ¡°There is no maximum. Experience and education are never-ending. However, there is a point at which your enhancements make you too powerful for this universe to effectively support. You might become a god, or move onto the next plane of existence and take the fight against the Chaos to its own realm. Few people live that long, however, as such a path might take a million years.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Oh, indeed. It is good to have ambition, but some ambitions will completely consume your life. The system desires the ascended, but it recognizes that such individuals will be unbelievably rare, and does not try to push it. In the end, its goal is to protect this universe from Chaos incursions, especially those guided by a sentient, and destructive, hand. Its secondary goal is to help you attain your ultimate potential, but that potential varies between creatures of even the same species.¡±


    ¡°Each class, when you achieve rank nine, opens up a special free trait called a gift. These are things that you are capable of doing, but that would require training or special circumstances that would normally be nearly impossible for you to obtain. Sometimes they are the ultimate expression of your class, or even something supernatural that would require truly outrageous circumstances for you to access normally.¡±


    ¡°Most species that have access to the game refer to each of the rank 9 classes you have gained as a ¡®tier¡¯, and it might have other titles to refer to the tiers as a way of gauging relative strengths. For instance, a tier three warrior most likely has the warrior class and a specialty class at rank nine, which makes them exceptional combatants easily capable of defeating a tier one warrior.¡±


    He smiled a little, ¡°But right now, it appears your goal is survival, and perhaps repaying or escaping the debt that the Spindafor Unification holds you responsible for. I need you to touch your transtator, and think ¡®Character sheet¡¯. It is tied into your nervous system, and a strong enough concept should bring it to your attention.¡±


    I touched the watch''s glowing face and thought ¡®Character sheet¡¯. It took several tries, and It was difficult to concentrate, but eventually, the glowing outline reappeared with something other than notifications. Whoah, again.


    Anthony Michael Wilkins (Base Human)


    Classes: none (1)


    Energy Credits: 25


    Chimera (physical affinity): 1This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Melee Training (novice)


    Critical Attacks(novice)


    Stealthy (novice)


    Critical attacks (novice)


    Durability (novice)


    Imagination (mental affinity): 1


    Survival (novice)


    Empathy (novice)


    Undefined (spiritual affinity): 1


    Evolutions and Adaptations:


    Re-engineered


    Resist Mutation


    Mentally Suppressed (temporary)


    You currently possess 1 free trait. This may increase based on your chosen class.


    ¡°I have a lot of questions now.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°I am sure you do. Shall I start with the basics?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°When you were re-engineered, the cost of eliminating certain reinforced recessives and genetic and environmental damage necessitated rebuilding you as an entirely average human male. You could have retained your ideal attributes, but the Spindafor were unwilling to do so for various reasons, including the associated costs. By their standards, you have already been an incredibly expensive investment.¡±


    ¡°So what are those¡­ affinities?


    ¡°Those are very specific to you as an individual. Humans all get physical affinities of one sort or another, but I suspect your chimera classification is due to your prior handicaps and re-engineering.¡±


    ¡°The Imagination affinity is something I have never encountered before as a mental classification. That¡¯s one of the reasons that humanoids are typically a restricted species. Many humans have unique or particular affinities that are completely unpredictable, which makes other species very nervous. The system has labeled it as ¡®imagination¡¯ because it involves making your thoughts a reality instead of using essence or physics to manipulate reality, but the system, and I, have no idea what sorts of traits it can possess other than mental until you choose to exploit it.¡±


    ¡°What about undefined?¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°Undefined means that you have a spiritual trait of some sort, which is uncommon for humans. The system itself has several different paradigms for spiritualism, from magic on some worlds, to essence manipulation, totem gifts, Pacts or worship of certain powerful beings, or even superpowers in some cases. In general, your spiritual affinity will match the local power paradigm, and in protected systems that do not have access to nodes or a user interface like your transtator, that affinity will handle all advancement on your behalf.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°If you want to know about any particular part of your system, please concentrate on it in depth, information will usually result from those who think things through.¡±


    ¡°So basically, if I am in a world that has magic, I am most likely to gain a magic affinity? What if the world doesn¡¯t have anything like a node, and if I move around to another world for some weird reason, will my affinity change?¡±


    He shook his head, ¡°No. While spiritual affinities tend to be assigned locally, based on the prevailing paradigm, multiple paradigms can exist in the same area¡­ Once you have a spiritual affinity, it exists regardless of your location.¡±


    ¡°Is there a way I could pick it now? I mean, if I eventually wind up on some world without a node, or whatever, does that mean I might be forced to pick some god or something that will control my growth?¡±


    He shook his head slowly, a wispy hint of beard catching my attention as it drifted more slowly than the rest of his hair. ¡°No. prevailing paradigms are chosen specifically to match your local environment, not open space. However, if you wish, you could choose to purchase a PSA.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°A personal synthetic assistant. The system knows a lot but it is not omniscient. It is powerful but it is not omnipotent. It tries to help people achieve their potential but it is not omnibenevolent. There are over a billion species, with trillions of individuals who each require their own specialized growth. Sometimes the system is¡­ cryptic. I am the tutorial, a temporary PSA to handle initializing each individual into the system, but I have my limitations.¡±


    ¡°A PSA would be like me, able to help you interpret more cryptic parts of the system, and offer advice, and it will grow with you and help you decide how to assign that growth. You are a long way from home, and you are going to be away from other humans for some time. A PSA can help alleviate some of the psychological issues that develop as well. It downloads directly into your neurosystem, and will be there even if you cannot connect to the system, which happens every time you are inside of a rift.¡±


    ¡°There are a broad variety of upgrades to PSAs as well, up to and including actual combat assistance, but they are expensive. For now, as long as it will not impact your actual survival, it could help maintain you.¡±


    ¡°However, congratulations on completing the tutorial. I am a very busy being and you no longer require my assistance, so I will have to bid you farewell.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Umm.. okay. Thanks for your help.¡±


    He smiled, and the cave faded into the blue of the too-small environmental bay.

 Chapter A5. Minor rebellion

    Wow, instant claustrophobia, just add me. The ceiling was as low as ever, and as I rolled over I realized that, once again, I was naked except for the white bracer.


    ¡°Were you successful?¡± The doctor asked.


    ¡°Yes, I was,¡± I replied. ¡°Made level one and everything.¡±


    ¡°Have you chosen a class yet?¡±


    I shook my head, even though I realized they probably had no idea what the gesture meant. ¡°No. I was going to look through them and find something close enough to what I am good at and want to be. I should be delving in a day or so, but I want to take my time and come to a good decision.¡±


    ¡°You need to pick treasure hunter, or horde thief, or even scavenger or scrounger would be good. We have a lot of money riding on you, and you owe us enormously for your regeneration. Anything you pick has to have enhanced resources, it is necessary!¡±


    I sighed. The Governor was, of course, making his opinion felt. ¡°What will happen to your investment if I choose a class that won¡¯t help me fight the Chaos spawns inside the rift?¡±


    ¡°You are a humanoid. You automatically have a huge advantage against everything a category one rift can create. You don¡¯t need a combat class to survive and win. Everyone knows that humanoids are dangerous savages that can kill as easily as breathing. But if you insist on being uncooperative, I am certain that removing your habitat would encourage compliance. Few species can survive in a vacuum for any length of time.¡±


    The doctor¡¯s dry, dusty voice interrupted the governor. ¡°You hired me for my expertise. No, everyone does not know that. Humanoid rifts are gross times more deadly than anything our governments have ever dealt with. Even humanoids generally clear rifts in teams of four or five.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why the rifts in human systems are also a gross times more productive. If you want him dead, just say so¡­ then your investment will be lost. But if he chooses a more combat-focused class, every trip, between his resource gathering and his energy credits, will still be vastly more productive than even a looting class could produce.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I responded.


    ¡°What?¡± both voices replied.


    ¡°No. I will run your rifts for you. Any resources I gather that I don¡¯t require for my own advancement and health are yours. But my energy credits? Those are mine. I need them for my own growth, and the more I grow, the stronger the rifts I can challenge and the more valuable rewards you will get. You can¡¯t have them.¡±


    ¡°Why, you ungrateful monster. We saved your life. Gave you a new start, and now you start dictating terms to me? I should cut your enviro-pod loose.¡± the Governor ranted, although the synthesizer still delivered everything in a calm, even tone.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± I replied.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I said do it. The tutorial told me that I can still use my transtator to visit rifts and possibly to seek a different safe haven with an equitable environment. It¡¯s tied into my nervous system, and even if you had some way of knocking me unconscious, removing it would kill me.¡± I was sort of making things up out of my ass right now, but it sounded right. I was still having trouble thinking, but just blandly going along with their plans was bothering me, for some reason.


    ¡°If I buy whatever you want with my energy credits, I get behind in what I need to progress, and die, and you lose your investment. If you cut me loose and I can still delve, you get nothing, all gratitude is gone, and you lose your investment. If you try to remove my transtator and ability to do so, I die, and you lose your investment.¡±


    The doctor¡¯s dusty voice stated. ¡°I warned you that humans were intelligent. I hadn¡¯t considered that angle, but he is correct. Confiscating his e-credits would tie him more closely to us, but it would also stifle his development as a resource gatherer, and possibly cost him his life. Your short-term gains would mean nothing compared to the long-term expenses of mounting this expedition.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Then¡­ I will agree, but I want a guarantee. You need to agree to delve for us until at least¡­ level five.¡±


    The doctor¡¯s spidery voice rang out, ¡°Level five? are you unstable? That could take a hundred years. No one would agree to that, not out of gratitude, not out of obligation, not even out of fear.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ agree?¡± the doctor¡¯s harsh voice was moderated, but I was starting to be able to get an emotional read off of him. He was shocked.


    I made level one from five goblins. Even if the amount of...whatever, advancement, doubled each time, level five should be a breeze. The goblins were kind of pathetic to someone who was trained to fight, even someone fifteen years out of practice with absolutely average abilities. Sure, they killed two of the wagon people, but I remembered their bodies¡­ unarmored, unfit, and not a weapon between them, caught by an ambush.


    I kinda wish I could have brought that girl with me, though. It was crowded here, but another human to talk to would help, even if she was just a simulation.


    I rolled over and started doing push-ups. ¡°Yes, I agree. I don¡¯t know how often I can run a delve, but if I can find fresh ones, fully loaded, I should be able to help you return your investment and a whole lot more. According to the tutorial, you can always trade resources that you can''t use for energy credits if you need those more.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    The push-ups were harder than I remembered, but not as hard as they had become when I started getting sick. I was working up a pretty decent sweat, which I was glad of¡­ I wondered if I could use energy credits to purchase amenities like a bathroom.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the spindafor''s voice questioned.


    I had originally thought¡­ you know¡­ aliens, space travel, genius. But now I was wondering exactly how smart these creatures were. So far, the doctor seemed to be well-read and educated, if a little simple, but the governor was damned close to being flat-out stupid. And they had accepted my agreement no question¡­ Didn¡¯t their species have any liars or barter? I was not about to ask about it and put ideas in their head.


    ¡°Push-ups.¡±


    ¡°What are you pushing up, yourself? Why? Isn¡¯t that an irretrievable waste of energy?¡± the doctor asked.


    ¡°No. Push-ups are exercise. They help build up my energy, my stamina, my health, my willpower, and my strength, all of which can help me in the long run with delving, I imagine.¡±


    After a moment of muttering, the doctor asked, ¡°Is this a common behavior for endoskeletal creatures?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Probably. If you want to improve your physical body, you have to put forth the physical effort necessary to stress it. If this room were bigger, I could stand up and do a lot more exercises to help my flexibility, dexterity, and reaction speed. Can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No. I am a crystalline matrix. We do not move under our own power, except through breeding. We do not have dexterity or strength. We tend to be highly durable within limits,¡± the doctor replied.


    Oh great, now my mental image changed from him being a spidery old man to a lump of rock salt. Yeah, I couldn¡¯t see his ¡®species¡¯ being particularly good at fighting monsters without a self-propelled tank around them.


    I finished three sets of fifty push-ups, and my arms were definitely trembling in the last set, so I switched to sit-ups. They were not the best exercise, but I hadn¡¯t even been able to do them for fifteen years, and they felt GOOD. ¡°Now, I need you guys to leave me alone for a while. I have some energy credits to spend on fighting gear.¡±


    ¡°You received energy credits? During the tutorial?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes, I did. I strongly recommend trying it.¡±


    ***


    Ugh. The lists. Even after restricting the list to EXACTLY what I wanted, like body armor, human, and under five credits, I still was faced with hundreds of descriptions. Starter rifts were supposed to be very simple, so I automatically started ignoring stuff like laser-reflective, gravitic stealth, and microporous. I also rejected the stuff that looked like cosplay animal costumes or looked like they were designed for some sort of sex game I simply had no interest in.


    I finally settled on something that looked like a light pair of flight coveralls, with some kind of plates called ¡®polycarbon¡¯ inserts, for four e-credits. It was lightweight, and the blurb said it could breathe, turn aside high-g impacts, and was twice as cut and stab-resistant as boiled leather. A very human description.


    For weapons, I chose a slightly longer version of a bayonet. It was almost the size of a gladius, I already knew its utility, and it was strong enough to slash a man open while slender enough to penetrate through the weak spots in armor. Never needs sharpened, guaranteed unbreakable up to level five. Five credits.


    The cheapest PSA, though, was two hundred and fifty credits, and that was for just the basic package¡­ when I started to check out the adapter kits for humanoids alone, I was staggered. There were personalities of every type, from combat assistants to snack-munching nerdy ¡®chair guys¡¯ to pornographic ones. There were also skins of about a million different kinds, to the point where if I wanted a different appearance and didn¡¯t want to program it myself, I¡¯d have to put in dozens of terms just to narrow the list down to something I could look over in a week.


    The shop interface itself was very straightforward. Apparently, the PDA wrist thing could expand out to a visual rectangle the same as it could in watch form, and only the person whose neural system was connected to the transtator could view it. No glowing screens to give me away if I was sneaking. It made viewing thousands of options much more tolerable when the entire screen looked like it was the size of the room.


    After looking for a ¡®personal recycler¡¯, I immediately purchased it. Apparently, it slightly altered your waste system so that you lost very little water through urination or bowel movements and made you more efficient at digesting, building, and waste removal in human bodies. That meant that I would, maybe, have to go to the bathroom twice a week, and I had yet to see how these guys dealt with human waste.


    It took a few moments to install and was a biochemical modification, not a technological one. I felt much better afterward and even seemed to sweat a little less. I still needed a bathroom, though.


    ¡°Is anyone there?¡± I asked after a little while.


    ¡°Yes, I am always monitoring you. I do not require frequent unconsciousness to re-balance an unbalanced mind or refresh an inefficient body,¡± replied the doctor. ¡°However, the Governor simply asked to be appraised of your status when it changes. He is a very busy being.¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to handle things like self-cleaning, hygiene, eating, drinking, and waste disposal?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. My kind doesn¡¯t often deal with any waste disposal outside of industrial projects. Our energy needs are taken care of by radiation, and when we absorb minerals, we grow until we reproduce. The Spindafor, I believe, consume needed nutrients from the plant proteins that grow in their environment, and their waste removal is handled by their environmental systems.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Well, we humans have a much messier system. We regularly have to deal with hygiene issues. We need to occasionally bathe in water to remove filth and to keep our skin healthy, and that water needs to be cleaned or disposed of. In addition, we don¡¯t have the most efficient digestion, the inedible remains of our foods pass out of our bodies and need to be removed and disposed of hygienically, and a lot of our leftovers are also washed out via water. A toilet would help. I was looking into it, and the basic human environmental module has accessories that could suit when I earn enough e-credits.¡±


    ¡°The thing is, how am I attached to whatever ship you are on? Can I expand this place safely, or is this module inside some kind of hold? Or is it tacked onto the outside of a spaceship, and making it more comfortable would make it screw up the spacecraft¡¯s handling characteristics?¡±


    ¡°We ahh¡­ excuse me, I need to speak with the governor about how much information you may be given.¡±


    I nodded. The tutorial was right. One day of survival rations and water for a human up to two hundred pounds, One e-credit. Food must be expensive, but as he suggested, I purchased five. the last credit I used to buy a pack of sundries including underclothing, socks, and a minor hygiene kit including a toothbrush and a comb. I had hair now, just long enough to get into my eyes, of an average-looking brownish-black color. The knife was supposed to be sharp enough that I bet it could double as a razor, and the sundry pack also included a flexible roll-up mirror, which I used after I had emptied and refilled one of the water bottles included with the rations.

 Chapter A6. Babys first dungeon

    I looked... average. I mean, I still looked like me, but without my acne and fighting scars, or the tattoos I had picked up in my long life. Yeah, I¡¯d miss Marvin, especially out when I was among REAL aliens, but maybe someday I could get it replaced by something better than a seaman artist with homemade equipment who was just learning how ink worked on skin instead of poster board.


    I guessed I could be considered handsome enough, especially if I could build up some actual muscle since average was a pretty good starting place for a man, but there probably wasn¡¯t a woman within a billion miles of space, so it wasn¡¯t likely that it mattered. The weird part though was that I looked young. I REMEMBER my fiftieth birthday ¡®celebration¡¯ that turned into a grief counseling session for my sixty-seven-year-old mom¡­ I was long past that need, and in fact, I had gotten really upset about all the people who expected me to be bucked up and cheerful in the face of death when they mourned.


    Sometimes, when you were angry at the world, you just want to be left the fuck alone and you start screaming at all the well-wishers going out of their way to make sure you were never left alone. That was my fiftieth birthday, and I had a lot of apologizing to do afterward, especially to my ex-wife who¡¯d brought her new husband¡¯s teenage kids to cheer me up.


    Okay, they were her kids too. We had been separated for quite some time by that point, but the point still stands. Humans may be socializing animals, but they aren¡¯t social animals. Humans aren¡¯t a colony, and sometimes being alone is as important as being in company.


    I had apparently been alone for a while, though, and a cute girl wouldn¡¯t exactly be taken badly. My new body was a young man, and I was forcefully reminded of a young man¡¯s urges after I had a tasteless, textureless, nutritionally complete meal washed down with stale water and had a sleep. As Dozer said, ¡®Everything a growing boy needs¡¯. Ugh.


    I woke up when a quiet note rang. My new purchases were neatly stacked on either side of me, my head pillowed on my new armor, and I was wearing shorts and a tee shirt, finally. It had been fascinating, the way a beam of light had played out when I had confirmed my purchases the night before, delivering packages, and then the system install had occurred and I¡¯d finally crashed, to dream of young versions of Pamela, Britney, and Connelly racing with me through the set of Baywatch without swimsuits on.


    Yes, I was old enough to remember Baywatch reruns as a teenager. Sue me. The bayonet didn¡¯t seem to be needed yet, though.


    ¡°You are conscious? Good. The governor, after a vivid and detailed description of your waste removal process, has approved an expansion of your habitat after your first delve, to approximately double its current size. If you can fit a hygiene module within that expansion, you are welcome to do so, assuming you can afford it with the Energy credits he has so grudgingly permitted. I cannot give you any more details than that, however.¡±


    Good, it was time to earn my pay, even though I didn¡¯t get any.


    ***


    ¡°Every controlled rift is numbered.¡± the doctor mentioned and rattled off a thirty-three-digit code consisting of numbers and a couple of hyphens.


    ¡°It should be within the list of class one rifts on your transtator. It has not overloaded recently, so the governor has stationed an army of drones to remove any resources you have recovered. It is stationed inside an old shipwreck, which has depressurized, so it should be safe enough for us to retrieve the resources. Take them to the exit and push them outside of the entrance once you have cleared the threats. There they will be retrieved and then you can return to the environmental module.¡±


    ¡°Why is it being depressurized so important?¡±


    ¡°Your default environment has an environmental pressure field nearly seven times as powerful as even I can tolerate, as does the rift itself. It would squash the drones irretrievably. In addition, your native environment has a high concentration, 22% as you mentioned, of oxygen, one of the most powerful gaseous acids in existence.¡±


    ¡°Add to that the water vapor, one of the most corrosive substances in existence, a likelihood of light radiation well past the lethal threshold, a gravity strength that could turn any of us into slime, and hazards that are so dangerous that half of us would instantly discorporate and die simply by looking at them. Oh, and did I mention that your comfortable heat tolerances are so insanely high that even my crystals would begin to melt from your body heat alone?¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± I stated. ¡°I must be a real hell-beast.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± came the doctor¡¯s reply. ¡°There are some inner sphere inhabitants that might be able to tolerate one or more of your environmental hazards, but none that could tolerate all of them, even with specially designed armor. You strongly resemble the demons of Spindafor lore who terrorized their world ten thousand solar cycles ago, only with less armor to conceal your hideousness. Do not be offended, but you are so ugly that many Spindafor would rather die and discorporate than even consider that you might actually exist. You are fortunate that both the governor and I are considered mentally unstable and capable of communicating with you.¡±


    I grinned, ¡°If it makes you feel better, I am imagining you as a lump of congealed salt crystals crossed with a sea urchin, and the governor as a fat little amoeba with a gigantic mouth.¡±


    ¡°Why would that make me feel better?¡±


    I shrugged in my armor, ¡°Because to me, both of you are so ugly that you¡¯d have to be covered with raw meat to get a vicious predator to play with you.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, pets. I will take that as a compliment. Why would one wish to socialize with nonsentient creatures anyway? I wish you a profitable delve.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I replied, finding the target code. Huh, it had a warning label that outside of the dungeon¡¯s safe zone was a depressurized environment. I didn¡¯t have any particular grudge against warning labels since the real Darwin Award winners ignored them anyway.


    Originally, the Doctor had wanted to give me a list of items and resources that would be considered valuable to their species, but when I had mentioned that unneeded resources could be vended to the system for e-credits, he just said bring everything I thought was valuable, especially anything metal.


    I suppose, as light as their world¡¯s gravity was, they must have had a shortage of metals in their planet¡¯s makeup. I know that the Sol system supposedly had a ton of nickel and other metals in their asteroid fields orbiting Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, and Venus, as well as a ¡®free¡¯ asteroid belt around the sun itself, so I wondered why they hadn¡¯t harvested that?Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Maybe it was part of the restricted status. Is it possible that the system considered Sol¡¯s mineral resources the property of its intelligent race? Sort of a legacy reward for reaching space that couldn¡¯t be touched by other species while it was protected? It bore thinking about.


    The screen flashed, ¡°Prepare for transit¡± and with a whoosh, the scene changed.


    ***


    Okay, the air wasn¡¯t good, but it was different, and thus a relief from two days of ever-present sameness. It smelled old, and a little bit like sulfur and rotting greenery. I was standing next to a metal door with three flashing red lights on top of it, and the small room felt like a science fiction airlock, a big one, meant for transferring truckloads at a time rather than people going on spacewalks. Was this the room I was supposed to stack ¡®resources¡¯ into? I guessed so. Neither the door in front of me nor the one behind me had any windows on it, and it made me wonder how rifts were actually formed.


    Were they always attached to something? Did they form in random spots in space and then the system moved something over to cover it? Why did it have Earth gravity and Earth air just because it was close to Earth?


    My watch popped up a screen when I pressed it.


    Welcome to the broken Derelict, a category 1 rift appropriate for levels 1-3.


    Your party is significantly under-strength. If you wish to continue this rift, please take special care, as some of its hazards are balanced for multi-person parties.


    This is a HUMAN category rift. Time since overload: 11 years. Danger category, E- Overload imminent.


    I had chosen a class. It wasn¡¯t the most perfect thing ever, since apparently, perfect was the enemy of good enough. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what ¡®Returned¡¯ was, but it offered to increase my durability and fatigue, and it offered two points, whatever that was, at every level.


    I guessed that I would find out what those points were useful for later. It was also the only ¡®common¡¯ class available, the rest were considered ¡®basic¡¯ classes and offered traits like lifting and fly fishing I really didn¡¯t think would help much. Apparently, when you gained level 5 in the class, and then again at level nine, it offered you a ¡®free¡¯ trait based on the class.


    Sneaking would be difficult if this place was modeled after a ship of some sort, but my dark gray armored flight suit and helmet, with matching gloves and boots, were reassuring. I was just sort of wishing right now that I could have afforded a sniper rifle because I had been imagining medieval goblins or wolves or something from fantasy like in the tutorial, and I was getting an ¡®Aliens¡¯ vibe, which meant guns were probably likely.


    At least Bruce Willis had a pistol to deal with the aliens on board the sci-fi cruise ship. Me, I had a long knife, a little remembered training, and a lot of hope. The door further in had a weird sort of cross-bar, instead of a navy-style dogging hatch wheel, and creaked slightly as I slowly eased it up. It looked like paint-peeling garbage, but it functioned fairly well as an airtight door.


    Supposedly, when a rift formed and was encased by or dragged to some kind of structure, the structure became invulnerable to harvesting or tampering. That¡¯s why they couldn¡¯t just harvest the wrecked metal around the rift and use that as resources. In addition, things inside the rift were considered ¡®props¡¯ if they were connected directly to the rift, like doors and walls, they simply could not be removed or destroyed unless some kind of clue indicated that they could.


    There were no English signs or anything, although there were yellow-boxed gobbledygook characters on the walls that might have corresponded to bulkhead numbers. I slipped through the door into a narrow passageway, with thick white insulated pipes along the ceiling, occasionally mysterious machinery jutting out of the walls at the perfect level to trip over them, and a big red box with a cheap plastic tab holding it closed.


    You didn¡¯t have to read the sign to know that it was a fire extinguisher. This seemed to be modeled after a ship of some kind, and ships had big red boxes with crappy plastic holders locking them that had fire extinguishers all over.


    I pulled the cylinder out. The good thing about fire extinguishers is that they are always a useful distraction. The red metal tube was about two feet long, and while it was a little on the heavy side, it wasn¡¯t too bad. I knew I¡¯d probably use the foam or powder as a distraction, so I pulled the silver safety ring, examined the simple sticker with a picture of a stylized fire on it, and grabbed the squeeze handle in my left hand to both carry it and get ready to use it in an emergency.


    It was also a heavy blunt weapon if I needed one, and as I crept as silently as possible around a curving passageway, I knew I¡¯d need one. I was hearing what sounded like clicks, and cackles, and a crunching noise coming from ahead of me.


    Ahead of me was another one of those airtight doors, but this one was wedged open, and I slid along the wall, hidden behind the lip of the door, and stepped carefully over one of the bulky machines that jutted at ankle level out onto the floor tiles. I knew what I¡¯d seen a flash of through the door, and I did NOT like it.


    Fast zombies.


    There have been a lot of zombie movies over the years. But the worst of the lot were not the ones that infected everyone they touched, or the ones where every single body part seemed to keep trying to attack after you cut them into pieces.


    No, in my opinion, the worst were the ones that looked like their flesh had shriveled up around their bones. Their teeth had extended out to jagged fangs and stumps, their noses were mere holes in their skulls, and they were more like animals than shambling zombies. They didn¡¯t have to infect their prey, they tore their prey to pieces in seconds. They did, however, seem to have working eyes, which flashed around, bloodshot, searching for something even as they tore at the flesh.


    I glanced down at my watch and tapped it for a moment while I peeked around the corner at them. They were ripping something human-looking apart, tearing at each piece with their jagged fangs, and whatever it was looked like it was wearing some sort of a uniform or jumpsuit.


    Ghul (Category 1) undead


    These terrifying creatures are the remains of humans who have been infested by a hag. All of their minds are consumed with a single cannibalistic urge to kill and eat humans.


    They are not particularly smart or durable, but they attack instantly and are fast and deadly predators.


    I had no idea where they had gotten their ¡®food¡¯. It wasn¡¯t like this was some kind of contemporary wreck. The wear was consistent with something that had been derelict for decades¡­ Where had this ship even come from? It looked more like a naval vessel than a spacecraft. Was it taken from some other human world and brought here?


    Or was it all some sort of prop? The corpse they were ripping apart certainly looked fresh and human enough. Did that mean there was a chance there were other living humans on board, maybe hidden somewhere?


    There was almost no chance I would be able to sneak around them or even ambush them effectively from behind, as they were on either side of the body, and I was honestly a little surprised that they hadn¡¯t spotted me yet. Perhaps their perception was not up to snuff? Maybe they were like cats and had problems seeing things that were not moving, or their undead eyes were just not that good.


    I started to ease around the doorframe, very slowly, hoping to get a chance to get a good initial strike, and maybe disable one while I used the extinguisher to blind the other.

 Chapter A7. The walking dead

    I was crouching low and halfway uncovered, moving slower than molasses, when one of the creatures lifted its head and sniffed. The creature¡¯s shriveled nose-hole twitched, but then it looked back down at its feast for a moment.


    Nothing attracts attention as quickly as movement where there shouldn¡¯t be movement. We¡¯d been trained to spend hours crossing a single clearing slowly enough to not trigger a sentry¡¯s twitch sense. There was also the supposed ¡®sixth sense¡¯ of noticing when something was watching you.


    Look, it was probably a superstition, and maybe luck, but it had been proven again and again, that many humans, at least, had a weird ability to feel when someone was watching them with hostile intent, even if they couldn¡¯t see them. It was lumped in with psychokinesis and mediums as unproven, and it seemed like someone didn¡¯t want to open a barrel of ¡®psychic abilities¡¯ by giving it any official notice, but it was real, and it was a fact that certain professions were forced to account for.


    I was creeping ever closer, when one of them lifted their head, when I was about 15 feet away, sniffing and then finally narrowing their gaze on me. So, to keep the advantage, I went ahead and used the fire extinguisher.


    I expected a cloud of billowing gas, powder, or foam, but what I got instead shocked me so much that I dropped the canister, which shut off the moment my hand left the trigger.


    An expanding cloud of fire, the ¡®foam¡¯ was more akin to napalm, spraying in a hot wash that made me lift my knife hand to block my face. Both of the creatures exploded in screams, dashing around covered in flames and trying to escape the burning fire that coated them, their prey, the floor, and part of the wall behind them.


    Stop drop and roll didn¡¯t seem to be their catchphrase, as their rushing fanned the flames higher. I was ready to stab whichever one could finally attack, but after a few steps the first one, the sniffer, its front ablaze, fell to the floor, twitching. The closer one, whose back had been coated liberally with burning foam, finally slammed itself against a wall, and then, still burning fitfully, turned and charged me.


    I was sort of expecting it, although a human probably would have rolled around on the ground crying instead of attacking. It was very straightforward, charging at me and screaming with a keening note that sounded halfway between that of a human throat and the awesomely weird harp roar from Godzilla movies. It was frightening, sure, but it didn¡¯t stop me from dropping low and guarding with my free hand and weapon as it charged.


    With a quick chop, I drove the bayonet into the top of its skull as it folded around my fist towards me, leaning forward to put as much of my weight as possible into the blow, despite it bringing me a little closer than comfort to the fire sputtering on its back. The thing was not only sharp enough to pierce its skull, but it drove down through its head, and I could feel the crunchiness as it drove through the bottom of the skull and several pops as the tip smashed its spine, finally stopping as my fist and the hilt smashed into its skull.


    I pulled back, dragging the wonderfully sharp knife back with me, and the thing collapsed into a burning heap on the floor. I was rushed with adrenaline, but I felt a secondary sort of rush¡­ kind of a boosting feeling, much stronger than the goblins had given me. It was entirely weird and a little distracting, but I cleaned the black gooey ichor off of my blade and wrist on a bit of reasonably clean unburnt uniform that the¡­ whatever they had been chewing was wearing, before stashing it back in the scabbard at my hip.


    The transtator, which was back in its smaller form, was blinking at me again, so I touched its face.


    You have defeated two ghuls (Tier 1, rank 6 creatures)


    You have defeated a creature more than 5 levels higher than you solo and gained the title ¡®big game hunter¡¯, as well as an advancement and Energy Credit bonus.


    Big Game Hunter- You are talented at fighting creatures that are considerably more powerful than you. You may add 10 to your effective rank when using traits and abilities that are affected by level against higher-level entities.


    You have proven the trait ¡®ambush¡¯. You have defeated two creatures more than 5 levels higher than you by ambush, without other assistance. Ambush increases your chances of remaining hidden when you are prepared for conflict, even under circumstances where effective cover and camouflage are limited.


    The traits Ambush, Stealthy, and Critical Attacks have been merged into the ¡®Bushwack¡¯ advanced trait. Physical affinity has improved by 1 point.


    Bushwack has been advanced to apprentice.


    Bushwack- You are trained in striking targets by surprise and unaware, in the most damaging fashion possible. If you are within short range of multiple targets who are unaware of your presence or not expecting an attack, you gain a temporary boost of speed, allowing you to strike several targets critically before they can react to your attack. This can be nullified by individuals who have much higher reflexes or special abilities.


    You have gained 1 rank in chimera, due to diligence in exercise.


    You have gained 1 rank in imagination, due to standing firm in the face of horror like a true action hero!


    You have gained a level! You are now a returner (Level 2). You have gained 2 free points.


    You have gained 100 Energy Credits


    Level 2 already? I had agreed to be¡­ beholden to the Unification until level 5, but it looked like that journey was going to be much shorter than anyone had anticipated. The secret, clearly, was to attack creatures more powerful than I was, but if there were more of these ghul things, finding them was not going to be much of a problem. The thing that worried me, though, was the ¡®hag¡¯ that was mentioned in their description.


    Resources, resources, resources. I didn¡¯t really understand what they meant. Was I looking for food? Hard Drives? Metal? Rare herbs? Was the fire non-extinguisher considered a resource?


    After hunting around for a bit, I realized something very interesting.


    Whenever I let my watch pass near something movable, like the non-extinguisher, it would light up for a moment before I moved it away. Walls, doors, lockdown bars, and even the red box that had contained the flamer didn¡¯t light. Was this the way that I could tell what qualified as a resource?


    Fire Amplifier


    3/6 uses


    This device creates an expanding ball of flame. Limited uses. The longer the handle is compressed, the stronger the flame becomes.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Value: 250/400


    The biggest question for the moment, though, was why? Why would there be a wall-mounted flamethrower? Was it supposed to be a weird sort of trap or something?


    I hovered my watch around the beaten and burnt room, and finally, when I was about to give up on any ¡®resources¡¯ I caught the faint hint of a flicker. Interestingly, it looked like a sort of access panel, like you might find on a piece of heavy machinery. I flipped open the panel, and inside was something that I guessed fit the category of ¡®resources¡¯


    a large green ammo box was the first contender. It had a value of ¡®5¡¯ but when I unclipped it, it was full of small green metallic wafers


    Greenback


    A common minor currency.


    Value: 10


    There were probably 200 of them in the box, so I closed the lid and lifted it. I was a little overloaded with my knife, the box, and the Amplifier, so I stashed them back in the airlock-looking thing, before continuing to another door in the room, also dogged down.


    Carefully lifting the bar, which made the dogs holding the door closed slowly unscrew and pull away, I was aggravated to hear a wheezing squeak before I could finally push the thing slowly open and stay hidden behind the doorframe.


    Inside the room, lit by flickering fluorescent lights, was another medium-sized room. This one looked like it had been in a fight, though. There were several heavy suits, which had similar colors to the uniform that the ghuls had been feasting upon. However, the room¡¯s air smelled like a tomb, and in each of the suits, there were still the remains of what looked like humans.


    The bodies looked like they had rotted away, with yellowing skeletal remains protruding from terrible rents in the suits. The air didn¡¯t smell that bad, just sort of musty, so they must have been destroyed a very long time ago¡­ but it was just another weird and illogical flaw in this place. These people must have died decades ago to have decayed so thoroughly, so where did the ghul¡¯s fresh meat come from?


    It felt like the place was trying to tell some kind of story, but I had no idea what sort of story was being told. Horror, obviously, but when I didn¡¯t see any movement, I started to ease myself quietly into the room.


    Whatever had attacked them looked like an animal. The suits, I guessed they were space suits, had horrible rents in them, tears from what looked like sharp claws. I supposed that the ghuls could have done it, but the skeletons were not torn into pieces like the body in the prior room, so if they had done it, they could not have stayed to feast on their efforts.


    There were two more doors in this room, and it was set up a little like an emergency armory. There were five of the suits still hanging on hooks on the walls, unoccupied, with coiling cords leading from them to little displays. Which had flickering green bars.


    I quietly moved towards one of the suits along the edge of the walls, because¡­ well¡­ I was not terribly squeamish, but stepping over dead bodies was pretty high on my ¡®don¡¯t do it unless you have to¡¯ list.


    Finally, I was able to hover my watch over one of the suits.


    Ancient Spacesuit (Humanoid)


    Fully charged


    4 hours of breathable atmosphere without air cable or EVA tank. 200 hours of power.


    Multiband network, heads-up display, emergency beacon.


    Emergency suit thrusters reduce breathable atmosphere duration.


    Minor armor value


    Value: 2000


    I wanted one, but at the same time, I realized that ¡®minor¡¯ armor was probably less than light. The suits hadn¡¯t saved the people on the floor, but I was pretty sure that they qualified as ¡®resources¡¯. The power lines plugged into the suit were very simple, and probably kept the batteries fully charged, so I carefully disconnected one, which was a simple two-prong power cord. The whole thing felt like a Kubrick film.


    The slight ping from disconnecting the power cord, though, was apparently enough noise to disturb something, because I heard a rustling noise coming from behind me.


    One of the skeleton-occupied tattered suits was nearly to its feet when my head swiveled. Several others seemed to start moving as well. I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening, but I had seen the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad at least a dozen times. The skull inside of the suit had green-glowing lights in the eye-holes and looked tremendously dangerous.


    Fortunately, they didn¡¯t seem to react as quickly as either the Ghuls or Harryhausen¡¯s monstrosities. I stabbed the one that was standing and kicked it towards a wall. It stumbled several steps and then fell over, but apparently, stabbing didn¡¯t have much effect on¡­ a skeleton. My bayonet went through the suit easily enough but seemed to have almost no effect, and soon there were three, with more trying to scramble to their feet underneath them.


    I got it, this was like one of those games I used to play when I was a kid. But in those games, you usually had a crowbar, or a shotgun, or something. Something I didn¡¯t have. Knives had no effect. But kicking it had slowed it down pretty effectively.


    Sure, I had the fire Amplifier, but each of the suits on the walls had some sort of internal oxygen supply. I didn¡¯t want to create a raging inferno with myself as the focal point. However, it still looked a lot like a fire extinguisher, a large, blunt metal object.


    I hit one of the suits in the arm as it reached for me, and I heard a crackling noise from the suit. I quickly dived backward away from its companion and noticed that the arm that reached for me was now down at its side, bent at an odd angle where I had cracked the bone inside the suit.


    Important tip. They were terrifying, but not terribly strong or fast, so I quickly tucked the knife into its sheath at my belt, and backhand swung the extinguisher at head level.


    This place was freaking me out, violating all the laws of reality as I understood them. Walking cadavers, skeletons in space suits, Alien spaceships¡­ It didn¡¯t seem animatronic, but I could be wrong, and yet the extinguisher smashed through two skulls easily, sending bits of bone and sparkling bits of green light flying. In a moment, the two sort-of animated spacesuits dropped.


    I felt a terrible tearing at my left shoulder and swung at one of the skeletons that had gotten close enough to take a chunk out of my left arm. It was not very strong, but the bones that made up its hand were sharp enough to have left a nasty hole in my bicep, where the finger-bones had run under the submerged plating in my flight suit.


    Second important tip. My armor was decent, but it could still hurt me if a claw caught the wrong spot. Friggin¡¯ ow, I needed to look for ¡®first aid kits¡¯ in the store when I had enough e-credits. I could still keep going despite the pain, since pain and I were old companions, but that didn¡¯t mean I was happy with it.


    After I figured out how to defeat them, the space-suited skeletons were not that bad as long as I kept moving. They were not slow like zombies, but they were considerably less dangerous than a comparable group of humans. They didn¡¯t seem to like dodging, and even when they saw a fire extinguisher flying at their head, they just kept trying to come at me.


    Ironically, the fight got harder as I took them down, working my way back towards the door that I had come in. At first, they seemed so eager to get at me that they were stepping on each other and tripping each other up, almost as if each one of them thought that they were alone with me, and couldn¡¯t even tell other skeletons were trying to fight as well.


    By the time I got to the door, and started controlling the avenues of attack, there were only three of them left, from the original two dozen or so. I was back halfway through the pressure door, and they seemed to stumble over the lip, making them easy prey for head-banging action.


    As I stood panting, I wondered about something. My bleeding seemed to have stopped, so I leaned forward and started scanning my watch across the corpses.


    Oh. Oh. Crap. Well, I guess the monster corpses counted as ¡®resources¡¯. Why was I here again? I shook my head, trying to clear it.


    Dead Ghul


    Ghul bones and cores are worth a great deal to an alchemist.


    Value: 1300


    Destroyed Animated skeleton


    This is a human skeleton, but the necrotic energy that has infested it has seeped into its bones and has made it useful for necromancers and alchemists.


    It is wearing various pieces of armor that have innate value.


    Value: 500


    You have defeated 12 skeletons! (Category 1 rank 2 creatures)


    You have defeated enemies that are more than 10x your number in a single fight and gained the title, ¡°Scotsman.¡±


    Scotsman gives you a 10% bonus to advancement when similarly-leveled enemies outnumber you.


    You have gained 1 point in imagination, due to standing your ground in the face of terror!


    You have gained 1 point in (undefined) due to rapid awareness of threats and appropriate and well-timed responses to those threats.


    You have gained a level! You are now a returner (3). You have gained 1 point in chimera, and 1 free point!


    You have gained 250 Energy credits!

 Chapter A8. Nope Nope Nope

    Honestly, with all the stress of combat and the horror of fighting things that belonged in a Michael Jackson Video, the title ¡®Scotsman¡¯ cracked me up. I started laughing uncontrollably until I cried, and it even helped to deal with the stress of finding out I¡¯d been dead and frozen for who knows how long.


    There¡¯s a joke. The British army was marching to war, and there was a Scotsman at the top of a hill they were passing who started mocking them, calling them doughty playboys and crown weaklings.


    The colonel broke off a squadron and sent them up the hill to ¡®silence that shepherd¡¯.


    After a few moments, the squadron went over the hill, there was some shouting and cries of pain and the Scotsman reappeared, playing a bagpipe which was outlawed by the English crown at the time.


    The colonel sent a company, 60 soldiers strong, over the hill to silence the Scotsman.


    More screaming and cries of pain, and a few minutes later the Scotsman reappeared, this time proudly flashing his kilt at them to show off the fact that he was dressed in nothing underneath.


    Scowling in anger, the colonel finally detached an entire regiment, 800 men strong, ordering them to drub that Scottish swine!


    More screaming, the clattering of weapons, and finally one English soldier staggered back over the hill, terribly injured and bleeding, and yelled to the colonel, ¡°it''s a trap, sir! Don¡¯t send any more men! There¡¯s two of them!¡±


    So, whatever this system was, it clearly had some understanding of my world¡¯s culture, and just possibly, at least a hint of a sense of humor, or possibly just irony.


    I now had 4 points that I could not spend while I was inside of this¡­ ship. As a man of my word, I started dragging bodies to the lock, stacking them and the suits on hooks, as well as the body of one of the ghuls into the starting area.


    After I was done with the fairly nasty task, I cleaned myself off with a bit of water and rested. I didn¡¯t know if I should keep exploring or return to wherever I had come from, but right now I had a ton of questions and some E-credits to spend, and I was getting hungry, thirsty, and tired. I had no intentions of eating while I was covered in bone dust or that nasty ichor from the Ghuls, so when I finally loaded up the lock with all the stuff I had found, I tried to figure out how their ¡®collections¡¯ worked.


    I reentered the dungeon, and closed the door, and sealed it with the bar. There were two buttons, one of which was currently glowing green, and the other one red.


    It looked like a set from about 50 different sci-fi movies, so when I made sure the door was sealed, I pressed the red button.


    I heard a whoosh, and the green light turned off, to be replaced by the button that glowed red. After a half an hour or so more, it turned yellow, so I pressed the green button again, and after a few minutes of hissing, the button returned to green. I discovered that the airlock was now empty.


    Okay, the airlock behaves like an airlock. I opened the door to find the room once again clean and tapped my watch.


    Would you like to exit the rift?


    ¨€ Yes, I would like to exit the rift and allow it to enter a restore cycle (24 hours).


    ¨€ No, I would like to return to clearing the rift in its current state.


    Ugh. Look, I get it, technically I didn¡¯t owe the Unification anything, but I WAS a man of my word, and clearing this place might even get me out of my obligation in a big hurry. The problem was, as far as I knew, their ¡®cell¡¯ was the only place it was safe for me to eat and sleep, which meant clearing this bitch. Something about that didn¡¯t seem quite right to me, but I wasn¡¯t sure about what part of it.


    Well, on the plus side, I could lock down the doors. I stepped into the ¡®suit room¡¯ and closed the door, resting for a few moments in the room which was remarkably LESS musty now that it wasn¡¯t filled with cheap CG movie monsters.


    I took off my filthy gloves and started eating the ¡®ration packs¡¯ with my somewhat clean hands, holding them by their foil-style wrappers, and washing down each tasteless bite with a necessary gulp of water.


    Why did the first room have a pair of creatures that were clearly highly dangerous and then a room full of what my old gaming buddies would have called ¡®yard trash¡¯? Did it have something to do with the overload status? And what exactly did Class E mean anyway, in dungeon parlance? Was E more dangerous than A, or was it less dangerous?


    I tried fiddling around with my ¡®traits¡¯, but I didn¡¯t even know where or how to get started, especially with the genetic stuff, but it was cool to see the new levels on my character sheet, even if I couldn¡¯t do anything about them.


    Anthony Michael Wilkins (Base Human)


    Classes: Returner (3)


    Energy Credits: 350


    Free traits: 4


    Chimera (physical affinity): 2


    Melee Training (novice)The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Bushwack (amateur)


    Durability (novice)


    Imagination (mental affinity): 3


    Survival (novice)


    Empathy (novice)


    Undefined (spiritual affinity): 2


    Evolutions and Adaptations:


    Re-engineered


    Resist Mutation


    Big game hunter


    Scotsman


    Recycler


    I noticed that when I paid close attention to one of the traits, a small box appeared that gave me a little more information. It didn¡¯t help me USE them, but it certainly let me know what they were for.


    After fishing around in the ¡®points¡¯ list for a little while on my watch, So many of them were canceled out because they didn¡¯t apply to my species, but several of them attracted my attention. I could use five points to buy a new ¡®trait¡¯, and a lot of them had boring titles like ¡®basic strength¡¯ and ¡®basic durability¡¯ which almost felt like they were designed to be ignored. You could also use the points to increase your affinities, for a number of points equal to the affinity¡¯s current rank. So far, though, I seemed to be getting ranks in the affinities just from doing what I was doing, so I wasn¡¯t going to spend them right away.


    Erf, I must be weird, because I had a lot of interest in all of those abilities. I KNEW that the Governor would strongly encourage me to take scavenger when I gained five points, but jury-rigging was probably a trait I could earn for myself. An ounce of duct tape is worth a pound of repairs, at least in the field. Unless, of course, it could stack with all of the weird fixes I already knew. Also, was it even possible to gain traits from experience? It seemed to happen with ¡®bushwack¡¯, but that might have been because all of the traits involved were things I had learned however long ago I¡¯d been alive.


    After some threshing around, I discovered what ¡®quirks¡¯ were.


    Quirks:


    Big Ears: Goblins can hear a flea fart from a hundred feet away in a wind tunnel. As a returner, you may alter your ears to resemble those of a goblin and gain enhanced hearing. (1 point)


    Scrounging: Goblins are master scroungers and can find useful or vaguely edible items under almost any circumstances where other creatures would detect only trash. There are no physical effects from this quirk. (3 points)


    Shifter: Returners can assign their quirks either permanently, or temporarily as a shifted form. Shifter gives you one alternate form to which you can assign purchased quirks that can be activated temporarily by spending essence energy. Current Essence: 0 (undefined spiritual affinity) (5 points)


    But, I couldn¡¯t purchase any of them yet. Spending points only occurred when you were not in a rift, due to¡­ whatever method the system used to install them. I wondered if that could change. Not to mention, if I wanted to use the quirks I had gained, I would need to get the shifter quirk, since I had no intentions of spending the rest of my life with giant bat-ears and never getting a decent sleep again.


    After resting for a bit, I started snooping around the room. I didn¡¯t find any extra resources, but the suits may have already been this room¡¯s reward, so I started opening up another airtight door.


    LOTS of skeletons! It looked like some sort of a 150-foot cargo bay, but this time, the skeletons were walking around. Some of them were in shredded spacesuits, much worse shape than the ones I had killed, and others were in the wrecked remains of jumpsuits, much like the one the meat the ghuls had been eating had worn.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what they were doing, but they were walking around. There were a few crates that had broken open, and a skeleton would occasionally act like they were going to push it, but whatever was there was in shards on the floor, often stacks.


    There was also a skeleton wearing what looked an awful lot like a hard hat, walking around with a classic brown clipboard. He looked like he was taking some sort of notes, but if he¡¯d ever had a pencil or pen it was long gone now, and he occasionally pointed at another pile of refuse and clacked at one of the other skeletons.


    In truth, it looked like a working cargo bay, getting checked and balanced by a hard-working crew, but they had probably been repeating the same tasks for at least a decade.


    I was wondering about bosses. Every game had ¡®bosses¡¯ when you reached the end of a level. The fact that the skeletons seemed to be doing the same thing, again and again, was reassuring since I had to assume a boss of some sort would be slightly smarter. Even the foreman with the clipboard looked just as dilapidated as the rest of the walking dead.


    Maybe the first creatures I had encountered, the Ghuls, were the level bosses? That would make sense. Except that¡­ well¡­ so far there had been TOO MANY skeletons roaming around. The Cargo hold probably had a good 50 of them, and the suiting room had at least 12.


    When you spend any time on a ship, you begin to get a feel for the number of crew members that should be in any particular area. The cargo bay was big, but it didn¡¯t have a ¡®cargo exit¡¯ which meant that whatever was in there had to come through the passageways, probably the ones I had already traversed. The crates were not particularly large, and whatever room that was was a lot less of a loading bay, and a lot more of a storage space¡­ and storage spaces, meaning useful things for the ship itself like spare parts, food, and stuff for the ship¡¯s store, and junk like non-flammable paint, was seldom packed with workers.


    I think, perhaps, that might have been the whole ¡®preparing for an overload¡¯ thing. All I knew was that even as stupid as they were, I had a lot of work ahead of me if I wanted to clear this thing.


    Nope, nope nope. There was no way I was going to spend the next two or three days emptying the ¡®resources¡¯ of this bay. Not an effing chance. And 50 skeletons? If they all swarmed me at once, even with a restricted bottleneck like one of the doors, they could just bury me with biting, clawing bodies. I think I needed to try and spend my points and credits on useful stuff before I even dared tackle the giant crowded room.


    Maybe that meant I would have to reset things or try a different rift, but I thought I had already done pretty well for a day¡¯s work. I closed the door quietly and headed back to the airlock.


    Would you like to exit the rift?


    ¨€ Yes, I would like to exit the rift and allow it to enter a restore cycle (24 hours).


    ¨€ No, I would like to return to clearing the rift in its current state.


    I unhesitatingly pushed the ¡®yes¡¯ button.

 Chapter A9. One small step.

    Doctor-Professor Kuledge permitted a small sonic charge to gather at the end of his prisms excitedly. He¡¯d been taking a huge risk allowing himself to be uprooted for the Spindafor Unification¡¯s project, but based on the huge return already, Wilkins #4 was coming along quite nicely.


    The great specimen chamber below the ship was a decent purchase. He had suggested that they put his spirit recording into a re-engineered body this time. The system did not permit a single entity to exist in any more than one place at a time, but human-colony rifts were vastly more rewarding than almost any other kind, and Wilkins had been the only human they had been able to preserve from the human¡¯s idiot attempts to cryogenically preserve their species.


    Some species could be easily preserved cryogenically, but humans were not one of them. Their bodies were made of water, a substance that universally lent itself to crystalline formation and dispersion when frozen, even if you froze them almost instantly. Long-term preservation was utterly impossible unless you used something like a temporal preservation field because even random cosmic rays would turn their cryogenically stored brains into slush within only a few years.


    Fortunately, the Spindafor had managed to get to that world, Earth, right on time to see seven stations parked around its gas giant filled with frozen corpses. It was only a matter of decompressing them so they could be searched, and the governor¡¯s own scrounging talents to find one frozen corpse that still could be revived, or at least had enough of a spirit still attached that it could be respawned.


    The rest, since they were dead and the local species was restricted, had immediately been recovered to cover the expedition¡¯s costs. The stations, themselves, had been unrecoverable because they were considered part of the protected sector¡¯s inheritance, but a set of frozen corpses that were clearly worthless and disposed of were fair game even by system standards. One species¡¯ trash was another species¡¯ bio-organic treasure trove, and the ¡®garbage¡¯ had been extremely profitable.


    But that was three attempts ago. The first two attempts at restoring Wilkins had simply and violently ruptured their specimen containment, killing themselves instantly in the vacuum since the Spindafor hadn¡¯t realized that a life support unit was mandatory. Humans were demons able to survive the worst of hell-worlds¡­ who would even think they were vulnerable to zero pressure, normal temperatures, and a lack of specific gasses? Fortunately, respawning from a preserved copy was far cheaper than a full resurrection, if still somewhat expensive.


    The last one had simply sat glaring at itself, its poorly-designed body with missing parts, shivering in what he now knew was extreme cold, and refused to move or attempt to communicate meaningfully until the doctor finally was forced to recycle it. Its behavior baffled even the brilliant Kuledge.


    The idea of giving it a re-engineered body, basically a stabilized and defaulted genetic copy, seemed to have worked out amazingly well, despite neutral attributes and traits. They weren¡¯t able to control or define its gifts, since that sort of thing firmly stepped over the system¡¯s prohibitions against genetically engineered slaves, but this new body seemed to have calmed it down a lot, especially with the ego suppression that was permitted for law enforcement.


    It had done what they expected after it had been appropriately motivated, and run through a rift successfully, without the rebelliousness or apathy of its prior copies. It had been a risk, but its first run-through plus the bio-recovery efforts of the derelict stations had already paid back all of their investment, including the doctor-professor¡¯s fees. The local rifts for this species were an absolute treasure trove of resources, and the legends of humans as the ultimate rift-runners were proving out quite profitably.


    Unfortunately for them, the Spindafor were not¡­ bright. Vegetarian aquatics from a Boron-cloaked world, they¡¯d barely puzzled out the ability to leave the low-pressure moon that they existed on when they had encountered the system. Like almost every species, Spindafor were almost entirely nonviolent. Not to the point of some species, who would rather suicide than even consider the concept of committing violence, but they had used technology to starve out their predators long before they had ever reached for ¡®the big bright¡¯.


    By contrast, and the reason they had hired a brilliant thinker like Kuledge, his people were EXTREMELY violent, within their capabilities. As immobile crystals, fed by the light of their blue dwarf, any other crystal that dared impinge on their territory was an existential threat to their own life and ability to photosynthesize. When crystals spawned from spores, they spawned in the millions. The survivors had to learn to use sonic waves to shatter all of their competition, and their offspring, and destroy them if they wanted to survive in their own territory.


    Predators had been exterminated millennia before the first Crysmal had grown large enough to gain sapience, and their only true enemy now was themselves or aliens. They had gained a place for themselves in the Galactic Consortium through their ever-increasing brilliance and effective immortality, allowing them to create incredible technology, especially once they had gained access to the system and their own special spiritual affinity, dynamism. Most Galactic Consortium vessels had at least one Crysmal on board for their problem-solving and audiokinetic abilities, and like most consortium species, they were considered peaceful because they had little reason to compete with other consortium species for resources.


    An old thinker like him had murdered trillions of his kin, his offspring, and competing crystals. Then again, once the few elder crystals had learned to communicate and figured out a way to achieve space flight and colonize other low-gravity worlds, the system had quickly been adopted by their species as a form of nonviolent communication. Sonics were both their salvation and their ultimate weapon, sending echoing waves from seniors to communicate ideas and scientific theories, until eventually, they were able to use sonic pressure, audiokinesis, as a method of manipulating materials themselves and creating custom-grown crystalline starships.


    But against the more energetic races, especially those capable of self-locomotion, the crystals needed to employ other techniques. Doctor-Professor Kuledge himself had discovered the method of growing hyperspace-responsive crystals for warp drives, almost half of a galactic year ago¡­ The third, protected planet here would have to rotate around its star twenty-two hundred times to match a single galactic year.


    He watched as the creature nodded into its cell, spending a few moments just relaxing against the wall to recover from its complex ordeal. The intelligence of these humans was staggering. By default, they seldom lived more than a hundred of their planetary years, and cooperated well, despite their willingness and more importantly, their ability to commit violence against nearly anything including their own kind. That was why the planet was locked down with protected status the moment they had gained the ability to transit from their own world, before their species and more importantly, their randomly violent tendencies could start to contaminate the galaxy at large.


    Fortunately, they were rendered safe for the time being, but every core species knew that the moment any of the human worlds were able to start transiting, they would immediately dominate the entire galactic cluster. It had happened before, their species was both incredibly dangerous and innately productive, and within the professor¡¯s lifetime they had dominated the galaxy and seeded many of its worlds, and only their racial decision to ascend had freed the galaxy from their aggressive control of the system that they had created, the system that now, almost every life-form depended upon.


    One human outside of the protected zone could be monitored and controlled. It was almost ironic that he was using the same kind of monster that had once controlled the galaxy with an iron fist as his personal fetch quester, an irony that made his core cluster ring in amusement.


    Based on its sheer productivity, if this Wilkins was a creature that was capable of keeping its own agreements, Kuledge¡¯s share of the Unity¡¯s awards would make him impossibly wealthy over the next century or so, wealthy enough to buy a planetoid to seed with his offspring, at least. The first rift clear alone was staggering, bringing in as much as hundreds of runs of the unity¡¯s resource rifts in mere hours.


    Technically, this entire fleet could be destroyed for violating protection orders, especially for using a soulstone to capture a human and allowing a human to exit the protected worlds. He was still filled with amusement at the idea that galactic laws could apply to a member of his species. They had done their due diligence since this particular world was nearly 200 light years away from the system where they had retrieved the human¡¯s soul core. Most human systems were very similar, with yellow suns, around fourteen Klax-standard gravities, and oxygen-water atmospheres.


    The chill had been a ploy to make the creature feel like it truly depended on the largess of the Unity and Kuledge, and it seemed to be working brilliantly so far. Even if it somehow escaped, the local human world would be incredibly inhospitable, infested with chaos rifts and creatures that barely counted as human.


    Of course, everything in a protected system was also protected, but the human system¡¯s rifts were not even monitored¡­ why would they be? If anyone was unbalanced enough to delve them, their punishment would be instant by the rift itself. It would be like outlawing suicide.


    That made this the perfect crime.


    ***


    So, I had 4 points to spend, but I didn¡¯t want to dump them all in one place. At least not all in a single attribute. I guess I sort of understood that. I just wish I understood HOW the numbers worked in affinities.


    Anthony Michael Wilkins (Base Human)


    Classes: Returner (3)


    Energy Credits: 350


    Free traits: 4If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Chimera (physical affinity): 2


    Melee Training (novice)


    Bushwack (amateur)


    Durability (novice)


    Imagination (mental affinity): 3


    Survival (novice)


    Empathy (novice)


    Undefined (spiritual affinity): 2


    Evolutions and Adaptations:


    Re-engineered


    Resist Mutation


    Big game hunter


    Scotsman


    Recycler


    I had gotten a point of body and fitness, from ¡®working out¡¯. From what I remember, going from ¡®fit and muscular¡¯ to ¡®gigantically swole¡¯ was a hell of a harder trip than from ¡®couch potato¡¯ to ¡®fit¡¯, as long as you had the willpower to get started.


    Increasing your mental reaction speed was a much tougher prospect, but that tends to happen primarily in action, and from training. There was no one else here to train with, But¡­ at least I still had my fire enhancer. It had been in my hand when I left, and I guess I got to keep it.


    The old tutorial fart had strongly recommended getting some kind of AI assistant thing. SI? I didn¡¯t know what the difference was, but it might be able to get me onto a decent track. It was pretty expensive, but I kinda needed a little information. I opened up the ¡®energy credit¡¯ list on my transtator and threw up the list.


    ¡°Good job on clearing the dungeon!¡± the governor said in that synthetic voice.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t clear it.¡± I grumbled, ¡°I only cleared two rooms.¡±


    ¡°You only cleared the first two rooms? You didn¡¯t get to the final conflict? But we cleared an enormous amount of ejected resources. Why didn¡¯t you proceed more deeply?¡± The doctor asked.


    I sighed, ¡°Because as far as I could tell, the next area was packed with hundreds of skeletons.¡±


    ¡°What are skeletons?¡±


    ¡°Those things that the beaten-up spacesuits were wrapped around? Those were animated. Walking dead. Necromantic constructs. Now you hear the tale of John, he¡¯s just bones with the skin all gone.¡±


    ¡°You defeated all of those constructs? Including the Ghuls?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So I decided to come back and regroup. Maybe buy some grenades or a better weapon than a bayonet.¡± I was scanning over the list of personal SI upgrades. The most basic was 250 credits, but if the tutorial guy was right, it was worth it. I had 350, but I had no idea what better weapons would cost. I was pretty happy with the armor right now, but I wasn¡¯t a bomb tech¡­ and these undead skeleton dudes didn¡¯t seem to be using guns.


    I decided to go ahead and get the basic package, plus the ¡®upgrade assistant¡¯ for 25 credits.


    ¡°What are you doing now?¡±


    ¡°Buying a PSA like the tutorial man suggested.¡± I said, pushing the ¡®purchase and deliver¡¯ button in the air.


    ¡°No! Stop! You are not config¡­¡±


    My head was splitting, and I couldn¡¯t hear anything. The only thing I could see was the transtator window in front of me, this time the text was red.


    Caution! You have purchased and downloaded an option that requires a data encryption upgrade. Your brain is currently taking damage from unchanneled communications transmissions. Would you like to purchase a storage and data encryption upgrade for 1 free point and 25 energy credits?


    ¡°Yes!¡± I hollered. Anything to stop the pounding!


    The pain settled out, and I heard an actual voice inside my head. It was tinny, like the governor¡¯s synthesized voice, but comprehensible.


    Hello. I am your Personal Synthetic Intelligence class 1 digital Assistant. Would you like to give me a name?¡±


    ¡°Jesus H. Christ.¡± I moaned, clutching my head. That hurt like hell!


    Very well, you may now refer to me as Jesus H. Christ. A cursory peruse of your personal history, however, implies that those who frequently speak with Jesus Christ are often considered mentally unstable by other humans.


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t calling you, whatever you are, Jesus Christ, I was using that as an expression. You can be called¡­ uhh¡­. Jessie. That fucking hurt.¡±


    Very well, I will respond to Jessie. Your default transtator is not configured to interface with your neural network. It is a good thing you purchased a data encryption upgrade. You took 9 points of neural damage. Your brainstem was taking raw, unfiltered data from your transtator which was causing damage to your nervous system.


    ¡°Ugh. You suck. Why didn¡¯t the tutorial warn me?¡±


    The tutorial only had minor information on your transtator. Apparently, a transtator is being used to circumvent your species'' protected status, which prohibits direct neural system interface. This is illegal, would you like me to inform the system administrators?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What would happen to me?¡±


    According to your neural data, you are re-engineered, most likely by using a soul gem, which violates system guidelines, although not local majority policy. Most likely, your soul would be released for rebirth.


    ¡°I would die?¡±


    No, you already died. Your re-engineered body, however, would likely be disposed of in accordance with galactic policy.


    ¡°Then no. To me, that¡¯s the same thing as dying.¡±


    I can see how you would feel that way. Your current construct is not wholly bound to your spirit form. You can be retrieved with necromantic essence or be bound into a soul gem.


    ¡°Is there a way to get around that? I mean, to keep my body?¡±


    Of course. I could help set that up immediately, but unfortunately, your species is considered protected for genetic reclamation reasons. I can see your confusion. The system has policies that it does not violate, such as the status of protected worlds, but the local galactic majority also has instituted system policies. Human worlds that have not achieved tech level 6 are not permitted to access the system directly, vote on galactic policy, or leave their preserves as system users.


    ¡°That¡­. What does that mean?¡±


    That means that you can only use the system via a Transtator or a node, instead of a direct neural link. That also means that directly noding into local rifts is prohibited. If you wish to retain your current re-engineered body, your transtator would have no choice but to immediately node transport you to the closest human world.


    ¡°Earth?¡±


    No, there is no record of protected worlds accessible. The closest human-inhabited protected world is unknown. You would lose access to your transtator, but could still get into contact with the system via nodes or an assistant like me.


    ¡°But you said there are humans there.¡±


    Yes, but since it is a protected world, there is very little information available. They might not be base humans, or there might be base humans, but they might be in the minority.


    ¡°But there still might be humans!¡±


    Very well, I have contacted a system administrator.


    ¡°What? I wasn¡¯t done¡­¡±


    ***


    Doctor-Professor Kuledge watched the human as it disappeared. Well, ¡®watch¡¯ was a euphemism for the combination of sonar, electrical field stimulator, and visible-light reflector that he used to monitor the monster.


    On the downside, they were going to have to run. It looked like the human had, for some insane reason, contacted a system administrator. It was most likely dead, its re-engineered body vaporized instantly. He regretted not warning the creature about that possibility if it attempted to use its energy credits unwisely by purchasing something too high of a tech level for the current system, or through buying high-sorcery ingredients or a synthetic assistant.


    On the plus side, the creature, during its incredibly short lifespan, had just placed the entire expedition in the green. Especially once they could cash in its survival habitat and the ¡®Fire Enhancer¡¯ and gear it had left behind. Hundreds, literally hundreds of energy credits, plus the thousands they had collected by disposing of its resources.


    They had full system rights to the loot, even though it came from a human rift. The 400 credits they had spent soul capturing its essence and giving it a succession of cheap, disposable re-engineered bodies was more than repaid. He sent a signal to the governor.


    ¡°We need to head out quickly,¡± Kuledge stated, as their ship, a huge, 12-foot-long corsair that was perched delicately on top of the gigantic habitation module that the creature had used, started warming itself for warp transit. ¡°The system knows we are here. I¡¯d call this job a success. We should be able to afford at least 3 more ships to keep raiding the Accolar trading lines.¡±


    Some people called them Pirates, but Kuledge preferred to think of himself as an opportunist¡­ and this little side trip had earned more cred than years of preying on those idiot birds had ever offered. If you were too terrified of the minor hazards of space travel to even pilot your own ships, you had to be prepared when a more courageous species proved willing to regularly raid your synthetic intelligence-controlled drones.


    Piloted vessels never got raided, most species could not even conceive of direct violence, which was why the Spindafor Unification was much better off serving the Crysmal, who WERE capable of mentally contemplating violence, if not particularly capable of performing it physically.


    ¡°Yes, Captain.¡± The ¡®governor¡¯ offered. Not that the Spindafor unification had anything like a ruler. Hive minds were like that. But when dealing with individuals, such fictions had value. ¡°We will be primed to exit the system in 12 cents.¡±


    Kuledge noted with pleasure the disgusting human''s habitat folding itself as the system reclaimed it. Humans were powerful. It could have probably singlehandedly smashed the ship if it were able to survive in a vacuum like those space suits it turned over would have permitted. ¡°Very well, set maximum speed course for Jettioahn. I have someone I can afford to eliminate now.¡±


    The governor shuddered at the reminder that in the end, Doctor-Professor Kuledge, the commander of their small pirate fleet, was a killer.

 Chapter A10. a nod to truck-kun

    I woke up on a road. Sigh. Isn¡¯t that how every adventure starts? I woke up on a road, or I met some dark stranger in a bar, or maybe I woke up in a cell. Still, I had just cleared a couple of dungeon rooms full of undead. If that wasn¡¯t an adventure seed for an RPG computer game, I didn¡¯t know what was. At least I hadn¡¯t just gotten pasted by a semi or woke in a room surrounded by chanting cultists.


    I hadn¡¯t been a big fan of most computer games except the builder ones and first-person shooters. I always felt like they gave you a false sense of accomplishment. The dopamine rush of achieving something great without, you know, actually achieving anything, sort of like those girls who had 4 million followers but no real friends who thought they were somehow popular to anyone but creepy stalkers and spank banks.


    Not that I¡¯d been in any kind of better place after I left the service. Getting drummed out of the forces because your bones were eating you alive, and spending the next 15 years in bed getting fat until your feet fell off and your body was a twisted, paralyzed wasteland from repeated chemo didn¡¯t give a whole lot of room for me to talk about accomplishments. What did I accomplish in my life? I killed a few drug kingpins and foreign terrorists who were almost immediately replaced by even worse shitheads whose only virtue was that they were bought and paid for by an alphabet agency, just like mine.


    I wasn¡¯t even a cool secret agent. What I was, was a clean-up man, basically a janitor to take care of bodies, or in many cases, create those bodies. My sole qualification when I was transferred from the Marines was that my dark hair, average build, and features, a little skin dye, and some local research could make me look like almost any race. With prep time I could look like a Pakistani Muslim, low-class Indian, native American, Greek revolutionary, Russian nationalist, Brazilian cartel member, or even a Singaporean or Filipino peasant with a little preparation. A gift for languages and accents allowed me to easily disappear and avoid my way-too-wealthy mother¡¯s influence, which had been the entire point.


    Did I mention that even though you are confined to a wheelchair and then a bed, after serving Uncle Sam in a job like mine, you were on every possible watch list in existence? I literally had a junk email box full of fully-sponsored terrorist organizations looking for some idiot to false flag into a terrorist bust. Just to, you know, show that the FBI and later on the HSA were doing their jobs.


    Like I was an idiot. I couldn¡¯t even get a gun because of ¡®threat potential¡¯, and they expect me to walk into some setup where I was the only guy who WAS NOT an informant? So they could get me bomb supplies or guns and send me to jail when they found ¡®em to get a mention on the news? At least I had been allowed to leave the service in a way other than feet-first due to both my mother¡¯s influence and the fact that after being diagnosed, a man who was rotting from the inside wasn¡¯t considered much of a security threat.


    I was dying, not stupid. Every empire dies eventually. I had zero interest in speeding up or slowing down the death of United States Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of those who must not be named and considered us ¡®cattle¡¯ or ¡®breeders¡¯ for the next generation of easily manipulated idiots. I was actually looking forward to being dead before it hit rock bottom.


    Looks like I missed the bell, or maybe the trump and shout. I looked around as I cleared my eyes, and smelled grass, not recycled air. The sun was up, the air was clean, and I was lying propped up against a little stone cairn with a small flag or something draped over it, two dirt and gravel roads crossing under me.


    Way off to the southeast, I could see what looked like the beginning of mountains. Yes, I could see mountains hundreds of miles away. No haze of polluted fog hiding them in a layer of multicolored filth, and the long mostly-dried grass I was laying in looked like it had never felt the bite of a lawnmower, just the passage of wheels.


    On the plus side, I could get to my feet. My armor was replaced with some kind of cosplay leather¡­ cuir bouilli, from the looks of it, and was a little more restrictive than I liked, and it looked like I was wearing a brown leather duster, a white cotton shirt, brown leather boots that came up to my calves, and a pair of gray wool pants that reminded me of civil war uniforms. The boots were interesting, a sort of cross between hiking boots and cowboy boots, and they were fitted, instead of the ¡®medieval standard¡¯ of making both boots identical and padding for comfort.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Fortunately, I had kept my long knife, but the Fire Enhancer was gone only God knows where. Toilet paper, toothbrush, soap, and towel¡­ always know where your towel is, as well as some odd-looking bundles that I unwrapped to show supplies of beef jerky, some kind of granola, dried onions, a little leather bag of salt, and a number of rough and ready food ingredients, as well as a piece of flint and a big coil of basic sisal cordage in a shoulder bag. At least my ¡®rations¡¯ were kept with me, although they had certainly changed, probably for the better.


    I was also wearing a comfortable wool hat that matched the duster. It wasn¡¯t exactly a cowboy hat, it didn¡¯t have the pinched top or curved brim, it was more of an outback hat¡­ I think they were called gamblers a long time ago. To top it all off, there was some kind of tin-lidded pot and a tin mug tucked into my belt, Daniel Boone style. The bracelet? It was...similar, but looked a lot rougher, more like a leather band with a brass plate instead of a technological device. Touching it did nothing, so now it was barely a piece of worthless jewelry.


    And my body had changed, tremendously. Before I¡¯d joined the forces, I¡¯d been a slob¡­ but I felt and looked AMAZING now. Like I¡¯d felt at my absolute best while I was in the service, but years younger. My calves and arms were muscled, and pulling up my shirt, I could see the kind of six-pack I hadn¡¯t developed until I was much older, like my mid-30s, when I¡¯d learned about my cancer and tried to unsuccessfully fight it with healthy living and full-time exercising.


    Was this Earth today? Was this AN Earth? Or did this planet have an entirely different name? Was it slow development, or was it some kind of post-apocalypse? I didn¡¯t see any twisted hulks of cars or other wreckage, yet, or a half-buried statue of liberty or anything. From watching bad movies, wreckage was endemic to post-apocalyptic downfall societies.


    And wherever it was, it didn¡¯t have spaceflight. For some reason, the ¡®generic human¡¯ body I¡¯d been before had been improved with a me that was in the best physical state I¡¯d ever been in.


    The terrain could have been any place that had rolling plains and occasional clumps of trees in middle America. I¡¯d caught sight of what looked like lambsquarter, and possibly a creosote bush, and I thought I saw something that might have been a rabbit, as well as dark spiraling shapes in the sky off in the distance that might have been crows or vultures. The temperature was quite warm, and the grass was yellowed and dry, but finding a few plants that looked edible reassured me that if I could find water I¡¯d probably be okay¡­. Assuming I could find water.


    The problem was, I didn¡¯t have my transtator anymore, and now that I was feeling more like myself, I wondered what the hell I¡¯d been thinking. I just¡­ did what those pirates asked for, barely thinking for myself, not questioning anything. I¡¯d NEVER been like that. I¡¯d lost Sergeant rank three times for accidentally thinking for myself.


    The road was mostly dirt and brown local gravel, and while occasionally there were cut marks like wagon wheels, I saw a print that looked like it came from a horse with some kind of shoe, it didn¡¯t have any kind of rubber peels or asphalt traces even a modern gravel or dirt track often had.


    And I knew there was some kind of a threat.


    You know that feeling you get when you KNOW someone is looking at you and contemplating doing something bad? The scientists explained it away, but in the forces, we were well aware of the phenomena, whatever it was. Maybe it was a sixth sense, but ever since I had woken up, I¡¯d felt like something was watching me.


    I was starting to get worried about water. Apparently, I had been through a lot, and how stupid would it be to have gone through all of that, only to die of dehydration? The worst part was, that the crossroads were right here. I could go any way, and I had no idea of WHICH way I should go. I assumed that the slightly fresher traces of¡­ a hoof-print? I wasn¡¯t thirsty yet, but right now I had nothing but a knife. Not an impossible situation, since while it was fairly cool, the sun wasn¡¯t killing hot¡­ yet.


    The north-south road appeared to be the most traveled, but the amount of wear in the prints and the small cut of what may have been a wheel was a bit weathered¡­ I was no native tracker, but I was pretty good, and I figured it had been a day or two since anyone had used either of these trails. I set off towards the north, because it was the most likely to veer towards the mountains, and mountains often meant water.

 Chapter A11. In which I get stupid

    I was pleased. I had found a stream. Well, it was more like the stream was crossing the path I had been following, and it looked like someone had sort of rearranged the rocks in a makeshift fjord. Frankly, I was just glad that the signs of humans were all over the place since I doubted very much that those goblin things, or maybe skeletons, would have wasted the time to fjord a river, or even make a gravel track.


    I was about two miles closer to the mountains now, and the stream was...maybe¡­ twenty feet wide and three feet deep at its deepest, but considering the four-foot high earthen banks on either side and the fact that the flow was coming from the northeast, I bet that spring made this thing swell a lot. The mountains were not snow-capped, meaning it was probably mid to late summer or fall, at least if seasons worked here the way they did on Earth.


    Fortunately, several tree clumps were close to the water, and their roots seemed to be the strongest part of preventing erosion. Willows and their visible joints jutted out of the embankments and shaded the majority of the stream. The water was clear, and I saw what looked a lot like brook trout minnows and a small crayfish darting through the shallow rocks.


    That was good. That meant that the water was healthy enough to support fish and healthy enough to drink. There was wood, water, food, and potentially enough supplies to support at least a short-term camp. I didn¡¯t want to be right on the road, so I followed the stream for about ten minutes until I found a nice solid copse with lots of dead-fall that was still within bare visibility of the road.


    If this world was savage, I was young enough and healthy enough to set up some kind of a more permanent camp, but I was a lot more interested in finding a few people, so I could at least get the lay of the land, find out what ¡®sub tech six¡¯ meant, and maybe restart my life. I had both legs and both arms, and I was very healthy¡­ I had no idea how far the ¡®system¡¯ thing reached here, but when I crossed the brook, the feeling of being watched seemed to ease off.


    Since there wasn¡¯t any snow on the mountain peaks, the chances of a flash flood were pretty slim, so I started setting up a place to camp, with a lean-to of fallen wood and branches, but on the secure bank. I set up a fire circle down closer to the water, among the rock embankments. Prairie fires could be a nightmare, so while I wanted to purify some water by boiling it, I didn¡¯t want to risk a fire getting out of control.


    Was it dangerous being so close to the trail? Absolutely, but I was working with basically no information here. The fire ring was set so that it was behind a curve in the stream¡¯s embankment from the road, which should disguise any light, and dry deadfall as well as several large rocks that surrounded a sort of poor man¡¯s Dakota fire hole. I was able to find quite a bit of really dry driftwood and deadfall, which meant that this particular place hadn¡¯t been harvested in a long time, if ever, and simply a few runs over each piece with my knife trimmed off the shreds of old bark.


    In about twenty minutes, I had a nice, low-smoke fire going and was using the pot to boil some water. I was keeping an eye on the road, but I had no idea how long I would have to wait to see someone. Mostly, I just wanted to know about the locals¡­ would I see knights in shining armor? Old-fashioned pilgrims or pioneers? Cavemen? Or hordes of goblins or skeletons? It was a hell of a complicated question, but the first trick of exploring is to create some kind of a base camp.


    I also built a sort of rock hole in the stream and then tied a couple of long shreds of beef jerky around a stick to attract fish. A wier is possibly one of the oldest traps known to man, basically using sticks or rocks to surround a chunk of water, with a narrowing entrance of some sort. It¡¯s extremely reliable since once a fish swims into the wier, very few are smart enough to get out. If it¡¯s deep enough, and has some kind of bait the fish can smell, it¡¯s almost guaranteed to catch something, and grabbing the trapped fish was as easy as making sure you don¡¯t get jabbed by any spines.


    When the sun started settling, and I¡¯d drunk deeply from cooled water from my weird-looking lidded pot and cup, I went ahead and buried the pit under rocks. Sure, a campfire at night is comforting, but it also draws lots of attention even if you have it mostly concealed. The pot¡­ It was interesting, but it was almost like a fat-lidded bedwarmer, an interesting design that allowed it to hold almost as much water as a canteen, and the lid stayed solidly fitted even when tucked into my belt. Kind of a useful design.


    I was tired, and once the fire was out, I rolled under the lean-to and dropped it on top of me. Sure, it was likely I would catch a few bugs curled up in my duster, but I didn¡¯t know the wildlife or local life, and I didn¡¯t have anyone else to stand watch with me. I had enjoyed worse accommodations, and despite having a layer of detritus and fabric covering everything but part of my face, I was reasonably comfortable.


    This kind of terrain made caves or other shelter unlikely, and I didn¡¯t have time to build serious defenses, so I had simply set out some sisal threads tied to rocks that would clatter if someone tripped them, covered myself up with flotsam as best possible, and looked forwards to a restless sleep with my sheathed knife pressed against my chest.


    In the morning, after a surprisingly restful and almost bug-free night, I discovered THREE nice-sized fish in my trap. Starting another low-smoke fire right as dawn crested, I filleted the brook trout, which was a very good size, and made myself a bit of fish stew with wild onions, lambsquarter, and a bit of salt from my bag, letting the other two undersized catfish go as I broke down the trap. The stew tasted better than any food I had eaten in years and filled me with energy, which was a little amazing.


    It was starting to feel a little strange¡­ not just physically, but I felt REALLY good. I was feeling¡­ self-reliant. Like I could do anything I used to do, and more. It was a great feeling. For now, I had food, I had water, I had basic supplies, and my memories of survival training, and I felt better than I had ever felt before, even when I was at my best.


    I was looking back on what I had ¡®accomplished¡¯ while I was trapped in that environmental pod. There had been something wrong in my head. What I¡¯d almost done to that girl in the tutorial¡­ What I¡¯d allowed to be done to me. It felt like I¡¯d been dosed with amytal or something, my self-control had just been¡­. Absent.


    I¡¯d done so many things I wasn¡¯t proud of, and worse, I didn¡¯t feel guilty about them, either. I¡¯d never missed a night¡¯s sleep even when my Christian upbringing screamed at me that I was evil, a monster, or worse. I always had a strong will, and the ability to resist my nastier urges, and that ability had been almost missing when I was whatever¡­ reborn thing that they had made me into. I was surprised that I had insisted on keeping the energy credits since I hadn¡¯t even given a moment¡¯s thought to agreeing to their stupid ¡®resource hunt¡¯.


    What weirded me out a little was that I had been able to keep so much stuff that had been translated from the cage, but the one thing I needed, possibly more than anything else, hadn¡¯t been supplied¡­ some method of holding water other than that pot. The question was, why?


    More importantly, why hadn¡¯t I gotten thirsty yet? I¡¯d boiled a pot of water last night, taken a few sips, and cleaned myself up, and this morning I wasn¡¯t even remotely thirsty.


    Was that recycler doing something? I hadn¡¯t much needed to pee, either. I knew if you were willing to filter your own urine, you could keep yourself hydrated and lose very little except sweat for long periods, weeks. Was that why I didn¡¯t get a water bottle? One fish had pretty much fed me, too.


    I went ahead and polished off the fish stew I had made, and then cleaned up the pot and put it on the remains of the fire to dry and heat up before putting the fire out and burying it yet again. For whatever reason, my recycler, or my affinities, or whatever weird things had been activated in this world, I probably wouldn¡¯t have to worry too much about water for some time, and possibly not much about food.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Scattering the remains of my makeshift campsite, I headed back to the road, to see if I could find something resembling civilization. The stream meandered alongside the road, and I was fit enough to start covering a good bit of distance.


    ¡°Jessie?¡± I asked, hoping I still had whatever it was that had been helping me before, and had ¡®helped¡¯ me by pointing out that I was a mistake to whatever the game was.


    The lack of any sort of answer let me know that¡­ whatever system existed outside of this world, it didn¡¯t seem to exist here or was being kept hidden. I guessed that might have been what the messages about ¡®protected¡¯ meant. Was some sort of Trekkie ¡®prime directive¡¯ thing in place?


    When I was battling six different kinds of cancer, obesity, and diabetes, I¡¯d had way too much time to read. What else can you do but submerge yourself into fantasy when your life is a living hell? I¡¯d read lots of stories from all sorts of genres, from mil-fic, romance, and modern horror to pure fantasy, dungeon core, litRPG, portal fantasy, and even a little manga, although I wasn¡¯t a huge fan of the ridiculous and ignorant tropes that seemed to populate the manga and anime genres.


    Kung Fu was¡­ fun, and very stylized and pretty, but it wasn¡¯t a real combat art, at least not in the kind of fighting that filled the real world. Just like Brazilian Jujitsu was very popular in the octagon, but almost useless in a real fight. The secret to real-world fights was to learn to use any advantage you could find, fair or unfair. If you were fighting for honor in a life-or-death struggle, you were fighting to lose.


    One of the drill sergeants had spelled it out to me very succinctly when he had beaten me badly after I tried to show off some of the Jeet-Koon-Do moves, thinking I was a badass fighter in AIT.


    Hand-to-hand combat was a tool to get a knife, a knife was a tool to get a gun, and a gun was for killing people¡­ but if you couldn¡¯t get a gun or a knife, you used whatever tool you had available to do the same thing. Otherwise, you were just comparing dick sizes.


    That was why when I found a grove of hickories¡­ Which looked like nutmeg hickories, a rare species on Earth, I tracked down a solid two-inch thick sapling, probably newly grown that was dying beneath its sibling¡¯s thick summer cover and proceeded to spend the next two hours cutting a spear, a slightly more effective weapon than a knife alone.


    Nutmeg Hickories were easy to identify since they had spear-tip leaf clusters and slightly shaggy gray-brown bark, but the green, growing nuts were not close to falling yet, and the quad-beaded hulls in sets of two were distinctive. Looking at the state of the nuts, I could tell it was about mid-summer, with possibly a month until fall started to take over.


    Ironically, while I remembered a lot of minor factoids from repeated survival training and getting dropped naked into harsh environments and expected to survive and find my way back as exercises, I had never actually made a spear before. My fighting experience almost always involved third-world jungles or sandy shitholes where improvised weapons were usually broken weapons, kitchen implements, or looted pieces of junk. The fact that, aside from the dirt track on one side and the nearly virgin stream on the other, there were almost no signs of civilization was sort of novel.


    I probably should have been curled up into a ball doubting my own sanity, desperate to get ¡®back to Earth¡¯, freaking out about not having plumbing, or assuming I was in some kind of VR game or coma. That was what most of the protagonists of ¡®transported to another world¡¯ fiction seemed to revel in, but I couldn¡¯t seem to care. I mean, I felt like I was healthy for the first time in forever, and I¡¯d already seen shit like walking corpses that made magic a very real possibility.


    If this was a VR game, well, I lucked out. I could feel both of my feet and had zero interest in disproving this reality. I felt fully alive, I wasn¡¯t in pain, I wasn¡¯t in hell, and my dick worked¡­ everything else was just trivia. Of course, if that trivia included hot women it would be a lot more interesting, and the fact that I seemed to have had a gamelit-style character sheet that no longer existed kinda made things break with what I expected from ¡®transported to an alternate world¡¯ books, or even ¡®got stuck in a virtual reality game¡¯.


    I also wasn¡¯t exactly positive if I had died. There hadn¡¯t been any truck-kun, I never hovered in space talking to a god, and I wasn¡¯t some sort of foretold hero or summoned by a powerful sorcerer to save the world or anything. When I had cleaned that trout, it had just been a trout. A big, healthy specimen, but I didn¡¯t get experience points or gold coins or treasure chests or magic cores, it was a big, tasty fish that had the same guts that any other fish I had ever cleaned had.


    If anything, it was more like I¡¯d been transported to Kentucky back in the 1700s, complete with squirrels, good pure freshwater fish, the constant bird and insect calls, and a big-ass muzzle loader braced on a fallen tree that I¡¯d just noticed pointed directly at me about thirty feet away.


    Behind the blackened rifle, which had an octagonal barrel that had a black hole that suddenly looked amazingly large, I could barely make out a beaten-looking hat, and I was disgusted with myself. In my prime, I would have been looking out for ambushes in a foreign zone, and there was no way a sniper this close should have gotten the drop on me if a gun that looked more like a man-portable cannon could be considered a sniper rifle.


    Great. I was looking for a place to dive into for cover, but the stretch I was on was remarkably free of anything that could stop a bullet. Not unless I wanted to dive into the water that was too far away for me to have even the slightest chance of making it before even an amateur shooter could drill me. Add in the fact that whoever it was had lined up the shot without my even noticing them before I was in the perfect position to get potshotted implied that whoever it was probably wasn¡¯t an amateur.


    What a great story. ¡°Survived cancer, got frozen. Woke up hundreds or thousands of years later, explored a dungeon, got shot and killed the moment I set foot on an alien planet. The end.¡± I wouldn¡¯t be seeing any royalties from that, I was certain, and I had zero confidence that plot armor would protect me from a bullet the size of an avocado pit. I didn¡¯t have some overarching destiny, I wasn¡¯t brought here to fight the demon lord, and I bet I was as mortal as hell right this moment.


    I was halfway through carving my new spear, and I dropped both it and my knife on the ground before raising my hands slowly. This wouldn¡¯t be the first time I¡¯d been ambushed OR captured, and the fact that I wasn¡¯t already dead implied I might live longer by being cooperative.


    ¡°What are you?¡± I heard a breathy, very feminine voice call out from behind the scary-looking muzzle. She was speaking English, and had a faint country twang, cementing the idea that maybe I was sent back to Earth. Maybe this was a post-apocalypse kind of thing after all, although the question sort of surprised the hell out of me.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ What do you mean what am I? I¡¯m not a zombie or a nuclear mutant or anything?¡± I answered loudly enough to hear.


    ¡°Are you fey?¡±


    I was confused, was she asking me if I liked men? Or if I was some kind of magical cookie-baker with butterfly wings that challenged unwary knights at crossroads? ¡°Not that I know of. Are you?¡±


    She coughed, was that a laugh? ¡°You speak common. You aren¡¯t a vamp or an Ogre. I don¡¯t recognize your aspect¡­ Primate? You aren¡¯t a Lakelander, and you don¡¯t have a gun¡­ what are you doing so close to Kanten? How did you survive? And put your hands down, you look stupid with your hands up like that, especially since you aren¡¯t gathering or forming essence.¡±


    I slowly lowered my hands, ¡°I was trying to show you I was unarmed.¡± I thought about it. How much information should I share with this woman? The transtator message had implied that this world was protected, would running my mouth land me in bigger trouble? I felt especially stupid because the weird leather armored duster I had been wearing when I first woke up implied that this world had serious threats that made it a necessity. And I¡¯d been strolling along like I was on vacation. Not that leather would stop a bullet. ¡°I am not sure what you¡¯re asking me.¡±


    She lifted her head a little, enough that I could see a pair of vibrant green eyes peering out from under her floppy leather hat. ¡°I was asking what species you were. You are too big and not ugly or stinky enough to be a greenskin, you aren¡¯t raging and trying to kill me like a spawn. You are walking in the sunlight so you aren¡¯t a vamp, and you don¡¯t smell like one of the necros. If I put up my gun, you aren¡¯t going to suddenly try to jump me? I promise I can still nail you before you can get to me if you do.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Nope. No interest in attacking anyone unless they attack me first. I¡¯m just glad you didn¡¯t already shoot me, the way I was waltzing past you like a blind idiot. Species? Like, Human? Or Italian? My name is Tony Wilkins. I am¡­ not sure how I got here, or even where here is.¡±


    ¡°Italian? What the hell is that?¡± she asked curiously, finally lifting the barrel of what I now realized was some odd sort of blunderbuss. That would explain why the barrel looked like it could swallow my entire head, or maybe it was just perspective. A barrel looks a hell of a lot larger when it¡¯s pointed directly at your face.


    When she finally hopped to her feet, I suddenly realized WHY she had asked what a human was, and got a hell of a shock. Her clothing was similar to mine, leather duster, boots, thicker leather armored torso with a short skirt, and a longer dark brown calf-length skirt beneath it. But what the clothing contained was absolutely staggering.


    She was a skunk.

 Chapter A12. Am I evil?

    Yep, a skunk. Okay, not like an animal standing on their hind legs skunk¡­ I mean, her body, underneath her clothing and armor, seemed very human. Pretty nice actually, well-built if a bit shorter than I preferred, but human.


    Not like a skunk-person from one of those fetish comics, or a furry. She didn¡¯t look like an anthropomorphic skunk. But her facial coloring, and what looked like very thin and fine fur, strongly resembled that of an American skunk. Her skin was utterly black¡­ not like African American brown or even the blue-black of recent immigrants, but true black.


    She had a long, thin white diamond that went down the middle of her forehead, stopping at the tip of her slightly wide but upturned nose. Her eyes looked large for her face, with large brilliantly green irises, and she seemed to be about five feet tall. If anything, she looked like some cosplayer in an anime convention, but that wasn¡¯t make-up.


    What tore it though, was the tail that appeared behind her. Once she was out of her crouch, it suddenly puffed up in a glorious wash of fur, black with a rich white stripe on the top. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how it was attached, but with her hand on the under-stock of the wide-muzzled firearm which was nearly as long as she was tall, she seemed to relax, and the huge fur brush lifted itself behind her back, almost peeking over the top of her hat.


    ¡°Are you a¡­ skunk?¡± I asked curiously, shocked at her appearance.


    She scowled at me, ¡°Are you a gorilla? No. I am a mephan. That¡¯s very rude. The kind of rude that could get you shot if you aren¡¯t careful.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve never met a mephan. I mean, you look like a human, except that you have patterns very similar¡­ I mean, your tail is very attractive.¡±


    She peered at me closely. ¡°I am surprised you have never met one. We are not exactly a rare type of human. I am still trying to figure out what an Italian is. If you ARE a human, that is¡­ You look more like one of the fey, only huge and muscled.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a human?¡±


    She laughed, ¡°Of course. Kanten is a human town. It¡¯s rude to call people animals, though. A felan might try to rip your face off for calling her a cat, and an ursan? Ursans have a short temper. You¡¯d be lucky to walk away only missing a limb or two if you called one a bear.¡±


    ¡°So there are lots of aspects?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°May I pick up my gear?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°If you want. A stick or knife won¡¯t stop a pissed-off wyren or dracowulf, and while there aren¡¯t often greenskin tribes around, they¡¯d just laugh before they started taking off your skin. Are you a patternist? You don¡¯t smell like one.¡±


    ¡°That depends,¡± I said, picking up my¡­ well¡­ it was basically a quarterstaff right this minute, and not a very good one. I¡¯d cut the length right, a straight five-foot shaft, and trimmed off the branches, but I hadn¡¯t started stripping the bark yet, and it was completely green. Unless fire-hardened it it was barely useful as a big chunk of wood. ¡°What¡¯s a patternist?¡±


    She looked at me curiously, ¡°You don¡¯t know what a patternist is? Maybe they call them a different name wherever you come from. You know, the folks that craft a pattern out of essence? They don¡¯t need weapons because they could turn you into a walking inferno?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No, uhh¡­ that sounds like a sorcerer or wizard, I guess?¡± I said, brushing my knife against the side of my boot to clean off the dirt and sap before tucking it into its sheath. ¡°Are we going to¡­ Kanten?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes unless you want to wander around in the woods and throw sticks at any spawn or tribes that show up. And no, not a sorcerer, are you a sorcerer?¡± She suddenly looked on edge, lifting the large weapon so she could hold the stock with her fingers over the odd-looking trigger guard. It looked like the trigger was designed for your entire hand to squeeze, like an old-fashioned crossbow, rather than a single finger.


    I shook my head, ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t even know what that is, or¡­ Okay, I don¡¯t recall much right now. I am definitely not from around here.¡±


    She looked thoughtful, but seemed to relax a little, ¡°That¡¯s pretty obvious. How did you get here? We are too far from Lakeland for you to have gotten press-ganged as crew. Maybe a settler?¡± She lifted her chin to the north, clearly indicating that it was the direction we should travel, but she kept her distance, obviously far enough that she could bring her firearm around and unload if I made any threatening moves.


    That was a question I wasn¡¯t sure I could, or should, answer. ¡°Well¡­¡± she seemed to be extremely perceptive, so I tried to be as vague as possible. ¡°I got sick and then woke up in a weird place where people shouted at me and made me fight things, and then I guess they got into trouble with their boss about it, and I woke up here, dressed like this.¡± I indicated my clothing.


    ¡°That sounds like involuntary resettlement. You are in WAY too good a shape to be a slave or a mendicant. Are you a noble or something? I don¡¯t recognize your aspect, but you are clearly trained for¡­ well¡­ something. Maybe you were impressed as a gladiator or breeder and they found out that your family was looking for you?¡±


    I sighed a little, ¡°My mother wasn¡¯t nobility, just stupid rich. I was her burden.¡±


    She chuckled, ¡°That sounds like Far East politics. Thank the gods that my folks decided to leave that sort of old-world garbage behind and resettle. You probably got pressed, and when they found out who your family was, they charmed or drugged you and dumped you someplace so they could keep their hands clean for any truthfinder. As long as they didn¡¯t actually INTEND for you to die or be sold into slavery, they could claim that they made a mistake and sent you off to make your name or something. Stupid political games.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°That sounds plausible.¡±


    Yeah, a four hundred pound burden. After cancer started to screw up my organs, I just¡­ gave up, and once my thyroid went crazy, I just got bigger and bigger, even starving myself, simply because exercise became impossible. Rapid weight gain and terrible health from failed chemo and shut down kidneys led to diabetic gangrene, and then eventually I wasn¡¯t a political asset anymore. I was just a big, ugly, crippled pile of useless flesh, living on VA medical benefits and my mother¡¯s occasional, desperate, and expensive attempts to trust con artists with miracle treatments.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°You were restored? Oh, and I am Wandiramane Cooper, or Wandi for short.¡±


    I nodded, that sounded about right. ¡°Yep. I got restored and then woke up in a field. Good to meet you, Wandi. Please call me Tony.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°It sounds like someone used a transfer pattern. A powerful one too, if it sent you cross-continent. Your common sounds colonist, though. I wonder where you came from?¡±


    ¡°Does the name South Charleston mean anything to you?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Nope. It must be continental. Then again, there are so many little countries and kingdoms out there, that even my folks might not recognize them. You said you were a warrior before you got restored. What stage are you?¡±


    ¡°Stage?¡±


    ¡°Maybe word differences¡­ stage, tier, rank?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I was a sergeant.¡±


    ¡°Military? Oh, you must be high-tier, then. I mean, probably not higher than iron, or else you have incredible control. How many class masteries?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°A few, I guess? I was an Eagle Scout, and when I joined, I became a rifleman, and then a¡­ pathfinder?¡± I didn¡¯t want to explain what a spotter or a sniper was. They both sounded vaguely criminal to an outsider and to an insider? Well, when you were part of a ¡®deniable¡¯ operation, the truth was almost worse. I was an Eagle Scout because the scouts, at the time, instead of just being a breeding ground for sexual predators, was a damned good way to get away from my family. ¡°Or maybe just still working on my first.¡±


    No, I wasn¡¯t a James Bond or Jason Bourne type. I worked in a tiny little subdivision of an alphabet agency. One where a guy who was an avowed lifer, had flexible ethics without any serious vices like gambling or drugs, and was a decent shot and able to keep his mouth shut could disappear for long periods of time in third-world countries getting pushed to join the supposedly rules-based New World Order with or without their cooperation.


    Did I feel guilty? Not until long afterward, when I had to see, from a civilian point of view, what my actions and the actions of guys like me were actually used for. At the time, though, well, I hunted bad guys.


    They lived short, brutal, violent lives that I made shorter and more brutal, and if it weren¡¯t for the politics behind my bosses, well, I probably would have been more than happy to take most of them out just because they were rotten. It wasn¡¯t until much later that I found out that most of them were replaced by even more brutal and rotten people, but these were backed by the right money and under the right political thumbs.


    Was I evil? I had no idea. Some people would think so, and some thought I was a hero. I certainly took out bad guys, but I didn¡¯t do it for ethics, or morals, or because my dead uncle told me about great power and responsibility. I did it because my bosses told me to¡­ although I guess holding to my oath of service made it sort of honorable. I THOUGHT I was doing it for my country, but even then I had an inkling that my country and my government were two mutually antagonistic foes.


    ¡°That sounds like you were either tin or copper tier, not iron. That¡¯s not bad, but not the sort of ranking that someone wandering around by themselves outside of a town without a weapon would find safe.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yep, I don¡¯t know what a wyren or a dracowulf is, but it doesn¡¯t sound like something I¡¯d want crawling into my tent.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°A wyren is a flying, winged lizard that¡¯s about twelve feet long and has a nasty, venom-barbed tail. Usually it avoids going after something as big as a human, but if you get too close to their nests they go crazy. The road is fairly safe, but if you crossed over the brook you might have entered one of their territories.¡±


    ¡°Dracowulves are like a large canine that was crossed with a rattlesnake, without the rattle. They are like four feet tall and will attack anything when they are hungry¡­ and this far south, they are always hungry. Nasty, venomous fangs, and they travel in packs of two to five. Wyrens, if you are fast enough, you can run out of their threat range, but dracowulves¡­ once they get your scent, they will follow you until they eat you or you kill or lose them.¡±


    ¡°Spawn can look like just about anything. You won¡¯t know until they try to kill you. They are usually insane and try to destroy everything, although some are crafty enough to hide their intentions. That¡¯s why I am this far out. I am a tin-ranked scout, and one of our oracles detected a serious essence burst about twelve miles south yesterday afternoon. I am thinking that might have been your transfer pattern.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°That sounds about right.¡± I wasn¡¯t planning on actually lying, but the phrase ¡®that sounds right¡¯ is the great secret keeper. Just agree noncommittally to other people¡¯s ideas of what was going on unless they were suggesting drilling you. That policy had kept me alive more than a few times.


    She nodded, ¡°That¡¯s why I was out here. The town doesn¡¯t often send scouts out to investigate random wanderers, but with the flare¡­ well¡­ the oracle was worried it might be a new rift break, demon incursion, or a wanna-be god-king or necros. Sorry for pointing my gun at you, I didn¡¯t recognize your aspect and you¡¯d be amazed at how many problems can be nipped in the bud if they are caught early enough.¡±


    I smiled slightly. ¡°I have had guns pointed at me before.¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°You acted like it. You weren¡¯t scared or panicked, you just started looking for someplace to take cover. I¡¯m loaded with white ash, blessed silver, and rock salt. A corrupted patternist would have probably panicked and a necros or demon would have instantly attacked.¡± We were on the road now. She was still keeping her distance, but I figured the immediate chances of getting shot had dwindled considerably. She was almost¡­ friendly, and a definite information source. Apparently, a necros was some sort of undead thing, like maybe a ghul? Vamp was pretty obvious, and a demon¡­ well, I didn¡¯t know what they considered a demon, but it was probably something bad.


    ¡°What¡¯s a greenskin?¡±


    She looked a little surprised, ¡°You don¡¯t¡­ oh. I guess you might not. The unaspected spawn that somehow became sentient after a few generations outside of a rift, supposedly. Most of them are savages, but we have a greenskin merchant in town. The little ones can get smart, but you look kind of like one of the big ones, or maybe a distant half-breed. You have the right build, but you don¡¯t have green skin or tusks, and you aren¡¯t ugly like they are.¡±


    She eyed me warily. ¡°Sorry if I am talking too much. Since I don¡¯t recognize your aspect, I don¡¯t know how to relate. Are all Italians quietly contemplative? Is that what your aspect is based around?¡±


    I shook my head with a slight smile, ¡°Not traditionally. I am a little confused though. You are a human, is your¡­ uhh¡­ aspect, like a subbreed or something?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°You must come from a very strange place. No, our aspect is the spirit that adopts us when we are born and guides us through our advancement. It pretty frequently breeds true, lepans tend to also have lepan children, but it¡¯s an aspect, not a species. My father was an ursan and my mother a lepan, so I am an outlier as a mephan. I¡¯ve heard some places have different aspect spirits, So I was trying to figure out what your guide was.¡±


    She looked at me skeptically. ¡°I was wondering if you were yanking me around or testing me or something, but you don¡¯t seem to understand some basic knowledge. I think it would probably be best if you talked to the oracle when we got to town. You are cute in an exotic way, but really weird.¡±


    I just nodded, and she started prattling about the town. A very talkative sort, but she had a sweet voice and I just sort of let the talk roll over me and absorbed it. I was never a big talker, myself, but the occasional nod or agreeable noise seemed to keep her going.


    And being thought of as cute but weird was a huge step up from only attracting damaged girls who were crazy about bad boys.

 Chapter A13. The old guard.

    A lot of her casual commentary was mystifying. I knew what a rift was, apparently that place I had been exploring while my brain wasn¡¯t working quite right on the alien ship, but what was a rift break? Whatever it was, tended to put the town into siege mode while it lasted. Maybe it was like the overload that the ship had warned about.


    Essence was some kind of superpower or something that everyone had. It was used for advancement, casting ¡®pattern¡¯ spells, and sort of was a catch-all term like magic or force. People¡¯s ¡®aspects¡¯ were sort of animal spirit guides that seemed to attach to them at birth based on their affinities, personalities, and paths, whatever that was.


    It seemed like an interesting workaround for the whole ¡®no visible system¡¯ thing from it being a protected world, but I had no idea how it would affect yours truly. The closest thing I had to an aspect would probably have been Jessie, and so far the synthetic intelligence hadn¡¯t put in an appearance.


    It wasn¡¯t unpleasant, the big fluffy tail growing from the base of Wandi¡¯s spine right above her extremely appealingly curved bottom was oddly endearing. It looked incredibly soft, and the fact that the woman waving it around, once she finally started approaching more closely, was a rather attractive taut little bundle of curvy energy with a frigging cannon added to the appeal. What can I say, I was a traditionalist, I liked women and I liked guns, and putting the two together was as natural as peanut butter and chocolate.


    The way the town was set up reminded me a lot of the old west. The ¡®new world¡¯ used to be part of the settled lands, the old world, but had been torn apart by a combination of an invasion of greenskin hordes, ¡®rift breaks¡¯, and monster plagues thousands of years ago. Things had settled out a little in the last few hundred years.


    The old world was the ultimate rule of might makes right. Extremely powerful essence users created their dynasties and took over chunks of land, turning everyone beneath them into serfs or peasants, and the less powerful rebels who had zero chance in the old world were slowly resettling the new world and carving out their civilization away from the godlike power of the nearly immortal old world royalty. Very far away.


    ¡°So what does the law look like in Kanten? I don¡¯t want to accidentally break some law and wind up in jail.¡± I said, looking at a very tall wall that was slowly approaching in the distance.


    She looked at me oddly, ¡°Umm¡­ we don¡¯t have a lawkeeper.¡±


    I was a little confused, ¡°No one commits any crimes?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Sure they do. People are only human, and more than a few settlers are fleeing justice from the old world. But if someone does something bad to someone, their family handles any revenge that¡¯s needed. Individual shops will sometimes band together to hire a higher-tier peacekeeper, and of course, places like pubs and dance halls have their own rules and enforcement.¡±


    She sighed, ¡°There¡¯s a town charter, obviously, with the standard six laws, and the hunters and guilds take care of some of the more serious problems that affect their ability to do business, but the last four lawkeepers that were chosen didn¡¯t last very long. Before that was old Grindley, but he was nothing more than a tool for the banker¡¯s guild and a bully who wanted to become a new overlord. He finally raped the wrong family¡¯s daughter.¡± she pointed at the gates very far away. ¡°What¡¯s left of him is still swinging by the gates.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Technically we are part of the nation of Vateran, that¡¯s where the town charter comes from and the regent came out from old Pennton, but all he does is collect taxes and pay for the walls and hunters, as well as his own peacekeepers and tax assessors. I mean, taxes suck, but it¡¯s better than getting killed by greenskins, tribals, or monsters trying to wild farmstead. There are some free farmsteads scattered around, but even they have to pay taxes and retreat to the town when there¡¯s a break or a wave.¡±


    ¡°So no real law? What happens if someone is¡­ weak, without any real family or guild to back them up, gets hurt or robbed?¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Every few years a peacekeeper errant comes by to make sure the town is still here and paying taxes to Vateran following its charter, and technically someone can set up an appeal if someone violates the charter.¡±


    I shook my head. Okay, worse than the old West. I wasn¡¯t a big law and order type, since most laws existed just to give the powerful even more power, but this¡­ sounded bad even to my sensibilities. ¡°What are the six laws?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°Pretty obvious. The law of property, the law of family, the law of honor, The law of body, the law of mind, and the law of soul.¡±


    After asking her, I got a better idea of the six laws. They seemed simple, but the repercussions were fairly complicated.


    1. The law of property. If you could keep and protect something, it belonged to you if no one else could keep and protect it. Taking something that belonged to someone else, just because you could, was a no-no that was supposedly punished by whatever authority existed.


    2. Children could be protected by their families. Until they became adults, usually around 16, their family was law. In addition, you had to keep your mitts off of another man¡¯s woman, but the ramifications of the law sorta started leading into confusing areas where I don¡¯t think Wandi and I were speaking the same language.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    3. The law of honor. When you gave your word, you were expected to keep it. If you swore yourself to another person¡¯s protection, like vassalage, they protected you as well, but there usually was some sort of back and forth. Here, if a person¡¯s word wasn¡¯t good, nobody would have anything to do with them. Contract law wasn¡¯t a thing, because if you couldn¡¯t trust their word, how could you trust a contract?


    4. The law of body meant nobody could force you to do anything you didn¡¯t want, except in the case of vassalage and family, your body was your own. Did you want to dive into a bottle or kill yourself? As an adult, that was your right. Vateran was picky about it because of the way the powerful dynasties in the old world used people as disposable playthings. There were exceptions such as town defense.


    5. The Law of Mind. This was tricky because it dealt not only with your right to think or believe whatever you wanted, but also your right to speak your mind and certain essence abilities like domination, empathy, and other manipulatory abilities. It was stupidly loose, but that¡¯s where lawkeepers stepped in. There was no First Amendment here, you had the right to speak your mind, but not the right to force anyone else to listen to you. The law of body meant that if you made too much of a shit of your opinions, someone else had the right to stop you from abusing their ears. It also meant that dueling was a thing, but the rules were¡­ confusing.


    6. The last law, the law of soul, was utterly baffling because it dealt almost entirely with essence stuff. Screwing around with souls, through necromancy or other means, was a big no-no. Also, even the law of family didn¡¯t give you a right to force your child into a particular aspect, if you had that essence pattern. Stripping, modifying, or changing someone¡¯s aspect was a big bad also, which was why Wandi was worried about me¡­ since I didn¡¯t have a recognizable aspect, she thought that maybe I was like one of the greenskins that didn¡¯t use aspects or the fey whose essence worked in an entirely different manner.


    There were no law libraries, or codified sets of violations and penalties, but certain individuals had traits that supported individual laws. The regent, for example, had domain over the law of honor and could determine its enforcement, such as taxes or vassalage. The only thing he used it for, though, was to tax and support the local town, just like the oracles had domain over the law of soul.


    But the one person who had full command over the laws was a lawkeeper. They had a trait that allowed them to interpret the laws for violations and were supposed to be incorruptible without losing their path,l kind of like paladins only not as ''awful good''. Which was why, as we approached a set of giant steel doors swung slightly open to allow the road to pass through, there was a series of red-painted box cages that contained the picked-clean remains of someone named Grindley. Failing to support the laws could cost you your trait, but no one knew if a lawkeeper lost their talent unless it was shoved in their faces the way he had done.


    According to Wandi, Grindley had a lot of very bad habits, including the sexual abuse of female and even male youngsters that were protected by both the law of body and law of family, which was why several families had decided, along with many others that he had abused the law of property or honor to extort, to separate him slowly into six equal parts, one for each law, to mount in their individual cages over the town¡¯s main entrance.


    ¡°Once you are in town, you are subject to taxes and hospitality customs.¡±


    ¡°What are those?¡±


    ¡°Taxes are for trade, so if you sell stuff from rifts, farming, hunting, or crafting, you are expected to pay one-twelfth of your overall earnings to the regent while you are in town. A few people cheat, but most take pride in paying it because without it, no walls, no hunter rewards for bounties, and this town gets smashed and everyone in it dies.¡±


    ¡°Hospitality laws mean that if the town gets hit by a rift break, wave, or raid, you try and help as best you are able. Whether that¡¯s on the wall, running water and snacks to the defenders, or working towards relief, everyone helps,¡± she giggled a little, blushing.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°The ladies at Madam Rhaein¡¯s dance hall offer freebies, and emotional relief, as their hospitality debt to the defenders after the events. It doesn''t help protect the town, but few people complain, and that sort of reward strongly encourages the men in the town to give it their all.¡±


    I looked at the gates to the tall dressed-log palisade walls, which were just riveted panels of metal that were open. ¡°No gate guards?¡±


    She looked at me curiously and pointed at the tops of the walls, where several muzzles and crossbows could be seen. ¡°No, the defenders are up there, where the door cranks and defenses are. Why would someone guard the doors? If we got hit by a fast raid or something, they might get trapped outside when the cranks drop. Hunters have better things to do than stand out in front and get killed.¡±


    ¡°So what does the oracle do?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Oracles, plural. They don¡¯t see the future, if that¡¯s what you are thinking. They just tend to help people get in better contact with their aspects and offer advice on fulfilling your path or growing your advancement. Do you know what your path is?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No. Mostly I have been focusing on survival. I hate just getting tossed around randomly, no matter how exciting it may be. Is it the same as a class?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°In that case, you might want to watch yourself. You look¡­ formidable, and even with your oddness a lot of people will probably find you very appealing. If you aren¡¯t careful, you might find yourself getting swept up into some family before you expect it. Classes are part of your path, but your path is a combination of your tiers that helps you decide what your eventual crown class will be.¡±


    ¡°Do people just...adopt random strangers?¡±


    She laughed, ¡°No. You are acting very ignorant, which means that you probably don¡¯t understand how things work around here. I need to take you to the oracles so that they know what the essence burst was, but outside of that, I imagine you will find out.¡±

 Chapter A14. In for an oracle.

    The town was¡­ well, it had a thirty-foot stone-foundation log wall, made from heavy sandstone blocks, surrounding what looked an awful lot like a cross between Tombstone and Salzburg, with medievalist touches to old western glamour. The town was quite a bit bigger than I had expected, although the majority of structures seemed to be clustered near the southern gate, and a lot of it appeared to be walled farming and orchard areas, with a magnificent Garibaldi-style castle set in solitary splendor amidst the orchards and carefully-trimmed forest of the northeast corner of the walled town.


    Unlike a traditional western town, however, this place was not a ghost town. The center of the southern wall seemed to be a sort of shopping district, with dozens of three and four-story wooden buildings, many with decorative or even gaudy facades. To the east side were clearly the higher-value homes with their own, much smaller walls, many with their own small grounds, that often appeared to attempt to emulate or copy the large castle.


    To the west, clusters of both one-story shanties blended with much taller but even less impressive three and four-story rooming houses, hotels, and dwellings where clearly a large chunk of the population lived.


    It was sort of staggering. Yeah, I had visited many worse cities in my life, but many of the small details on the cobbled roads were just¡­ wrong. A horseless carriage rolled past, and it was literally a carriage without any horses. The tack and harnesses were bobbing and the frame moved like there were invisible horses at the front of the fancy vehicle, and the driver who looked a lot like a squirrel of some kind, even carried a buggy whip and used reigns that attached to the front of the empty hitch, but there was nothing there.


    I was grateful that the place didn¡¯t SMELL like a medieval or third-world city, with little hint of human fecal matter that plagued cities like LA or New York, and while there were more than a few horses, there was also a handcart rolling by staffed by a woman with large mouse-like ears and a whip-like, naked tail that carefully collected the unbagged remnants with a shovel as she shot along through the light traffic at incredible speeds.


    Everyone seemed to have animalistic features. Tails, ears, horns¡­ but I had to wonder a little. There was something a bit odd about the place, and it took me a few minutes to figure it out. Finally, while Wandi was guiding me across a sort of light intersection, I had to ask her.


    ¡°Wandi, umm¡­ Where¡¯s all the men?¡±


    I had seen a few obvious males here and there, but they seemed to be a small minority and were often children or old men.


    She sighed. ¡°That¡¯s why I was warning you about being careful. Men are naturally better warriors than women in many cases, bigger, stronger, and often faster with better reflexes. So many of them become hunters or delvers or are conscripted, which is a dangerous profession. That wasn¡¯t so bad in the old world, since the spirits grant a decent one in four male birthrate, but in the new world? Lots of women become settlers to escape oppressive marriages, or male-dominated dynasties since they often advance faster and harder than the women.¡±


    ¡°An unattached male, especially one as clearly physically fit and umm¡­ fair as you, without a family, even with your odd appearance would be looked at as more of an exotic touch than a flaw. To many, you¡¯d be like throwing a fresh apple to a herd of starving pigs.¡±


    I looked at her closely, ¡°Is that why you¡¯re taking me to the oracle? I don¡¯t have any weapons, no money, and you have no idea where my skills and talents lie. I could be a useless vagabond and yet you¡¯re being surprisingly kind and understanding.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, I saw your camp. It was fast, neat, and efficient, and you covered it amazingly well. If I weren''t a tin-ranked hunter, I probably wouldn¡¯t have found it. There¡¯s no chance you¡¯re useless. And the rest is courtesy. You¡¯re an odd stranger, and it¡¯d be flat-out cold-blooded to leave you alone, unprotected, and ignorant in a town like Kanten. A big part of my job as a hunter and delver is to help protect and encourage the town to grow, and if there¡¯s a chance you may be a valuable addition, it would be irresponsible for me to ignore that.¡±


    She was looking embarrassed like she wanted to curl up and hide in her tail, which was frankly adorable, but the speech sounded too practiced, like she expected me to question her and had rehearsed it in her head until it was perfect.


    ¡°So, basically, this entire town is packed with women, most of them desperate for men? Is polygamy a thing?¡±


    She looked at me in confusion, ¡°Polygamy?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°One man, multiple wives, or mates?¡±


    She looked at me oddly. ¡°Is there any other way? I mean, one man can give many women children, but women can only have one child at a time.¡±


    I chuckled a little and she looked at me even more in confusion as we neared a building that looked like a cross between a Mormon temple and the Parthenon. Lots of standing columns, but instead of just being white slabs, they were painted in ascending grades of yellow, orange, and purple like a sunrise.


    ¡°What¡¯s funny?¡± she asked.


    I sighed. ¡°I was just thinking of my life like a book, but that little fact hit me that it might be a harem-lit.¡±


    She looked serious at that. ¡°Harems? We don¡¯t condone slavery. But¡­ oh, because you are male? Let me ask a question¡­ did you have a mate before you were restored?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Sort of. I had a very long-term girlfriend and we probably would have been married eventually.¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°And did you keep her happy and satisfied? All of the time?¡±


    I winced a little. ¡°Mostly. At least until I got sick. She was fairly high maintenance, though. A very pretty girl, but I didn¡¯t blame her when she left me.¡±


    She looked grave. ¡°That¡¯s precisely my point. Sure, some men hop from bed to bed. But having mates is a very serious burden and a responsibility, especially if you want to keep them happy and satisfied. Can you imagine putting in the same amount of effort for several women at once?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I shivered, ¡°Uhh. Okay, dream wrecked. It was never really an interest of mine anyway, since I tend to be very happy with one girl at a time. Any more than that is far too much effort devoted to getting what one woman if she¡¯s the right woman, is more than happy to give you.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°If your fantasies involve being buried in a pile of females, the ladies at Madam Rhaeine¡¯s are known to be accommodating, even to greenskins that can pay. They¡¯d probably line up and offer discounts. But even though the six laws are not enforced here, they are observed. The law of family means taking care of your own issue. While many women probably wouldn¡¯t mind raising your children by themselves, it is a terrible strain.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°I was just trying to look at it with a sense of humor. How is it usually handled?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Usually, a man will choose one mate at a time. And then, with the input of the others, they¡¯ll find and discuss more that can get along, are appealing and lovable, to make the family strong. But if you¡¯re not interested in a family, I¡¯d strongly recommend the dance hall. It¡¯s not expensive, the ladies are well-trained, healthy, and aren¡¯t expecting a loving mate, and despite your oddness, they¡¯d probably become quite fond of you. Your personality and personal odor are not¡­ objectionable, so far.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°As for the rest, I¡¯ve no idea, and no plans to find out.¡±


    I have been shut down plenty of times in the past, but Wandi¡¯s block was one of the most efficient, effective, and courteous shutdowns I¡¯d ever heard. ¡°Okay, so putting aside the fact that I have a spigot instead of a drain, what¡¯re we going to do here?¡±


    She smiled a little more brightly, ¡°Well, if you had a normal aspect, it would be easy to figure out your path, your aspect would communicate it to you directly, but the oracles can help you find out which direction your essence moves you. They can even work with greenskins, who don¡¯t have obvious aspects, to find their best path.¡±


    ¡°Can they see your character sheet?¡±


    ¡°Your what?¡±


    ¡°I mean, can they tell what your traits and affinities and stuff are?¡±


    She looked a little confused, ¡°I think so? I¡¯m not an oracle. I know they can detect what you¡¯d be good at, and they might be able to peer into the things you are already well-trained or potentially good at, and if you have special gifts that help your path they are generally very good at discovering it so you can use it. They can even help you gain recognized traits that you don¡¯t realize you possess.¡±


    She was leading me down a hallway, and I was suddenly starting to wonder if letting someone look at my history would break something. I mean, sure, I wanted to know what had changed between the brainwashed me on the ship and the me here, but not enough to cause some kind of catastrophe.


    ¡°Will they keep quiet?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Of course. We are going to meet one of my sisters. We grew up together but wound up on different paths. Some paths innately threaten to violate the six laws, but even so, unless you are a pretty horrible person, oracles tend to keep their mouths shut. The oracles take a vow not to reveal anything about the paths of those they work with unless you are like a necromancer or something and will kill everyone and suck out their souls like peas to fuel their ambitions.¡±


    ¡°Pretty sure I can¡¯t do any of that.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Good. She¡¯s a lepan, so she¡¯s gorgeous. You¡¯ll probably like her.¡±


    Lepan turned out to mean ¡®rabbit girl¡¯. Smooth floppy ears, pale human-like skin, blond hair down to her waist, and a body that, even concealed by a short form-fitting green robe, would probably have made most Only Fans ¡®influencers scream about unrealistic standards.


    I could see the similarities. Same slightly oversized green eyes, and similar shapely bodies, but where Wandi was slim and athletic, her sister was lush, and her tail, instead of being a huge scoop up her back, was a short bob, pointed and white. The room we found ourselves in was a lot like a meditation room, with simple Japanese-style prints of plants on the walls, warm browns, and grays along the edges of the otherwise pale beige plastered walls. Instead of a chair, there were folded blankets and pillows, and in the center of the room was an odd-looking sloped rectangle made of simple stone with green circles on the visible sides.


    ¡°Did you find it?¡± The girl asked, hopping to her oddly large, furred feet. Unlike her sister, who seemed to have normal legs, the lepan had shorter than normal thighs, powerful-looking calves beneath the robe, and long, white-furred, rabbit-like feet with long pads that she seemed nevertheless able to balance on easily.


    The two women hugged, and I glanced uneasily away. Sisters hugging. Not something to get worked up about even if it hit me in my kink box. After a moment, Wandi said, ¡°Him.¡±


    ¡°Him?¡±


    I looked back as Wandi nodded, ¡°Yes, Him. Kamli, meet Tony. He was apparently the focus of the burst, and we think he may have gotten transferred here from the Far East, maybe even past the old country.¡±


    I waved a little as Kamli slowly lowered herself back to sit near the rectangle of stone, ¡°Him? That would make sense, I thought I detected some sort of spatial essence. He looks¡­ odd, but I¡¯m glad it wasn¡¯t a new rift or a demon or something. Thanks for looking into it for me.¡±


    Wandi nodded, ¡°No worries. I was wondering if you could help. He doesn¡¯t seem to have the same kind of aspects that we do, but he definitely has essence. He¡¯s restored, probably tin or copper, but he might be higher. I think that the restoration might have affected his memory a little, and we were hoping you might be able to help him find his path.¡±


    ¡°I think I may already know something about it. I don¡¯t really know what a path is, is it like a class?¡±


    Kamli nodded seriously, her long ears, lying down her hair like a lop, twitched slightly. ¡°Very much like it, but not many non-oracles use the term class like that. Where did you come from?¡±


    I scratched my head, ¡°No offense, but I came from someplace VERY unlike this one. Wandi told me you take an oath of secrecy?¡±


    Wandi smiled at Kamli, lifting her hands. ¡°No problems, I don¡¯t need to hear your path, that¡¯s private. I will be back in about an hour¡­ is that enough time?¡±


    Kamli nodded, ¡°Yep. If the portal¡¯s unsealed just come in. If it isn¡¯t, it¡¯s taking longer than I expect, so give me another hour?¡±


    Wandi grinned, ¡°Of course.¡± she looked at me, ¡°Kamli¡¯s married, Miatt Bitternut¡¯s second. So she¡¯s off the harem menu.¡±


    I groaned as Kamli looked curiously at Wandi, ¡°Harem?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Like I said, I come from someplace else. I made a joke about harems full of beautiful women, and now I know that Wandi won¡¯t let me live it down.¡±


    Wandi giggled and I was glad she seemed in a less serious mood now. With a little wave, she headed out of the chamber, and a large stone door slid closed behind her.


    ¡°Have a seat please, Tony? Can I ask what species you are?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°This again, I am a human.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°What kind of human? What aspect?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No kind. Just a base human. I mean, literally, what I have seen says ¡®base human.¡±


    Her eyes grew wide, ¡°Wait, you are serious? You are a base human? No aspect at all? I always wondered what your kind looked like! I thought you were all dead thousands of years ago!¡±


    I looked at her closely. She was definitely worth looking at. ¡°We might be. Do I have to invoke patient or client confidentiality or something?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No. As long as you are not an existential threat, the moment that door closes so does my ability to talk about what happens in here.¡± For some reason, I felt like she was being very straightforward and honest, so I decided to level with her.

 Chapter A15. A Player in the game

    I sighed. ¡°Okay, long story short. I was born on a world sort of like this, but no one had any aspects. Most people looked a lot like me. Different color skin, different sizes, but no ears like yours and your sister¡¯s. No tails, and most importantly, no essence.¡±


    She listened quietly while I continued. ¡°I died. I think. Or maybe I didn¡¯t. I was dying of a disease that was rotting my bones and killing my body for decades. And then I woke up. And I was someplace else. Someplace small, and white, and filled with machines¡­ I don¡¯t think I can talk about this.¡±


    ¡°Because of the protected status of this world?¡±


    ¡°You know about that?¡±


    She nodded, smiling. ¡°Oracles can access the nodes. When we do, we get stopped and turned around by that damned protected planet label all of the time, it¡¯s more an irritant than anything else. So¡­ I take it you must have been a player from a world other than ours?¡±


    ¡°Player?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes, Player in the game. I know it is a stupid term, but that¡¯s how the system refers to us. Players in the game. I mean, I am real, my life is not a game, but it uses that to distinguish those who belong to the system from all of the worlds and creatures that have not been exposed to it yet or have refused to permit it.¡±


    ¡°is that an option? To refuse?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Yes, but unless you belong to a species that has an incredible arcane and technological resource base to help you find your own paths, it¡¯s a bit like cutting off your own feet in protest for having to walk to the outhouse. Could we find or create our own paths without the system¡¯s help? Of course, but at this point, with our aspects tied into the protection program, it¡¯s silly to try and reinvent the wheel just because we weren¡¯t the first ones to think of it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but wonder if this IS my Earth. Lots of the plants are absolutely identical, so I have to wonder if I just slept for a long time frozen.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°That is possible, but not terribly likely. There are hundreds of protected Earths out there. Something to do with wanting to preserve humanity. Some of the Jade elderlords like the Emperor are over ten thousand years old, and even they never claim to have met a base human.¡±


    I nodded, plus, from what I understood, cryogenics at less than absolute zero and a perfectly radiation-free environment still slowly introduced errors and damages. If I were tens of thousands of years frozen, what was left would be a human-shaped mummy, like the ones they found in Iceland. Still human, but beyond dead.


    ¡°So there¡¯s no chance of me getting home?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to go home?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Not really, but it¡¯s what I am used to. I mean, I woke up inside of a tiny ship crewed by creatures I never saw, and they gave me some kind of tool that let me look at my character sheet. I wasn¡¯t¡­ totally there mentally, and so they made me go clean out some rifts for resources. I got a helpful spirit, called a virtual intelligence, and the first thing it did was alert the system that someone was breaking some rules or something. The system said it was sending me to a protected planet since my own wasn¡¯t available, and then I woke up at a crossroads next to a pile of rocks.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Where I detected the essence burst. If the system dropped you next to a shrine of the wanderer, that would explain it. Can you tell me what you remember about your sheet?¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°Yes, but I was very different at the time. I mean, I was trapped in my body, all¡­ uhh¡­ neutral, my brain was acting funny, I had no willpower or anything, but when I woke up here, I was restored to what I looked like in my former prime. Better than my prime, actually, because when I had muscles like this in my prior life, I also had leukemia and didn¡¯t know it, and had wrecked knees from too many high-altitude jumps.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°It probably was compensating you for having to pull you out of your situation. The system may not be fair, but it tries to be just, and throwing you at a foreign world without an ideal restoration would have basically been killing you. I do have a very important question for you, though.¡±


    ¡°What would that be?¡±


    ¡°Well, it sounds like this virtual thing might have been the closest a base human could come to an aspect. Do you still have your character sheet?


    I shook my head and held up my wrist with the leather band with a flat copper plate on it. ¡°No, it was called a transtator, and when all of my clothes changed, it became this.¡±


    She nodded slowly, and touched the band, closing her eyes, after a moment she opened them again. ¡°That will help. I think that virtual int...thing,¡±


    ¡°Jessie,¡± I supplied.


    ¡°Your Jessie is a lot like an aspect. I detected a very low-powered intelligent pattern, like a golem core, inside. It¡¯s possible if you can learn to channel your essence, you could activate it again and regain its assistance as a spiritual affinity. Oracles mostly just communicate with aspects to help people find their path, and you don¡¯t have one like that¡­ although certain parts of you are odd and very powerful. But they are outside of my experience, and I doubt any other oracle could assist you that way. But back to my question.¡±


    I smiled a little, ¡°I thought that was your question.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Sorry, I sometimes get sidetracked. The most important question I can ask, really, is what do you WANT to do?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I thought about it for a few seconds, before I let out a breath I didn¡¯t realize I was holding. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No. I mean, in my life¡­ my first life, I spent most of the first thirty-five years of my life rebelling against my parents. My dad was a fast-tongued charlatan who pretended to be a¡­ noble ruler, eventually a senator or hopefully president someday, and my mom was a rich girl who got everything she wanted handed to her on a silver plate. Everything I did, dropping out of high school, joining the servi¡­ the military, learning to disappear for years on secret assignments, it was all based around getting away from their plans for my life.¡±


    ¡°The second half of my life I spent trying and failing, to survive my body rotting away from the inside. I never really DID anything other than what I was told or rebelling against what I was told. Even my girlfriend¡­ my previous mate, was only there for the rush of being with a handsome bad-boy celebrity rebelling against his destiny. I found that out the hard way when I stopped fitting in with her fantasies.¡±


    ¡°Are you a bad boy?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°The depends on how you define a bad boy. Some people thought I was a hero, some thought I was a walking nightmare. In my own mind, I am both. I did some very, very bad things, and I enjoyed doing some of them. But I don¡¯t think of myself as a bad guy. Then again, everyone is the hero of their own story, even villains, or especially villains.¡±


    She looked confused at that, ¡°You knew they were bad things, and you didn¡¯t think they were bad?¡±


    I smiled slightly, ¡°Sometimes girls like things they probably shouldn¡¯t enjoy, and I enjoyed doing those things even though I knew it might be bad for them.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t mean like that¡­ I mean, have you ever murdered someone?¡±


    I chuckled and quoted, ¡°Yes, but they were all bad.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Yeah, I have killed people in cold blood, right in the middle of having sex, enjoying an early morning bath, or surrounded by their beloved families and children. Sometimes in remarkably grotesque ways. I didn¡¯t enjoy the killing part, I am not a psychotic killer who gets a rush from ending lives, but I certainly took pride in being very good at what I did.¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°Stolen? Lied intentionally?¡± at my nods she continued, ¡°Raped?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°I was a killer, a soldier. Not exactly an assassin, but my team was sent in to do things that no one else could do. We called it black ops. If a king of one land was supporting criminals in another land trying to overthrow that ally, we would send him a message or end his life, while he never even realized that we knew what he was doing.¡±


    She smiled slightly, ¡°That sounds like an assassin.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Maybe, but we didn¡¯t do it for money or fame, or because we enjoyed it¡­ I mean, some of the guys did, but that wasn¡¯t why I did it. I thought it was the right thing to do. It turns out that in some cases I was wrong, I will freely admit that, sometimes when you cut the head off a monster, a new head grows and it¡¯s twice as awful as the last one, but I am not a god, or a prophet that can tell the future.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°But you enjoyed doing what you thought was the right thing, and being good at it?¡±


    I nodded slowly.


    ¡°Hold out your hands.¡±


    I did as she asked, and she put her own very soft, beautiful, and delicate hands on mine and closed her eyes.


    After a few moments, she started to wiggle slightly, and then let out a hiss, before opening her eyes. ¡°You¡­ I know what you will spend your life doing, and if you survive, you will enjoy it and be very good at it. But you might not like it right now.¡±


    ¡°So hit me.¡±


    She slapped my palm.


    ¡°No, I meant, hit me with the news. How did you figure it out?¡±


    She sighed, ¡°I could still see your essence affinities. They were complicated, and one of them was powerful while the other was just¡­ too expanded, almost ridiculous. You are an imaginer?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I heard of one once. The affinity is incredibly broad, and can be used to create things that do not exist, build new laws or destroy old ones, and bestow or remove affinities from others¡­ In the empire, Imagination affinities are illegal.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    She sighed, ¡°If your imagination paints the rulers as unfit if you get powerful enough, you could remove their ability to rule, even their noble or warlord affinities. They are not illegal here in the borderlands, but I haven¡¯t even heard of one existing for the last several thousand years. It¡¯s a bit of a curse, but it¡¯s also a bit of a blessing because umm...¡±


    ¡°Umm?¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°Some aspects are incompatible. If an ursan and a rodan chose to marry, not only would their physical union be challenging, because ursans are typically huge, much larger than you, and rodans can be very tiny, but they would be unlikely to ever have any children. Imaginers can adapt to any aspect without challenge. Maybe not physically, but you should be capable of uhh¡­ reproducing with just about anyone. Any aspect, Fey, Greenskin, dragon blood, merfolk, you can adapt to any of them if you are with them physically.¡±


    She was clearly blushing, but I just nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a little creepy to think about.¡±


    ¡°The second affinity is purely physical. You would make an incredible hunter, warrior, anchor, guardsman¡­ if it involves combat or physical activity, you probably could master it with ease. I am not sure what Chimera is, exactly, but it sounds like something that would again, make you very adaptable.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°That¡¯s not uncommon.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. And you are fairly far along that path for a wood-stage essence manipulator. Your imagination affinity, though, is odd. It is based on your willpower. It is not well-developed yet, but you can develop it. Its lack of development is why you have not already felt its call. Your affinity allows you to interface with reality in a very basic way, and feel the pressure of what reality and essence require. It¡¯s very similar to the oracle gift, spiritualism, but much more broad and able to access not only ideals but the concepts behind those ideals.¡±


    ¡°Such a simple word for such a complex concept embodying the realization of ideas and concepts by will alone. I shudder to imagine what you may be capable of when you are a golden core. I was tempted to call an alarm when I touched it, especially after what you said you did without regret, but then I realized that you possessed a potential trait that could define your existence if you choose to embrace it.¡±


    I had a bad feeling about this. Like I just got tossed into the deep end of the pool before I¡¯d ever learned to swim, which had actually happened, only I was wearing fifty-pound weights locked around my wrists. ¡°What is this ever-so-mystical path that requires my ability to define concepts in reality by willpower alone?¡±


    She leaned forward and whispered, ¡°Lawkeeper.¡±


    I started laughing.

 Chapter A16. Why am I laughing?

    After a few moments of watching me laughing, Kamli¡¯s face started to screw up. I thought she was going to get upset, but to my surprise, she started laughing too. We both started cracking up until she started swatting the blanket under her, ¡°I don¡¯t know why we are laughing, but whatever it is, is so funny!¡± she gasped.


    I finally dragged myself under control, but then I noticed her trying not to crack up which set me off again. We traded back and forth for a few minutes, and she finally gasped, ¡°Please tell me what¡¯s so funny? And Wandi should be back soon, should I unlock the door?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes, go ahead. This is a great joke. She¡¯ll probably totally get it.¡±


    We both started chuckling again. Kamli seemed to have a great sense of humor, it was a true shame she was married. We finally started gasping and catching our breath again as Wandi stepped into the doorway. ¡°What¡¯s¡­ what¡¯s so funny?¡±


    Kamli snorted loudly which almost set me off again. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I told Tony his favored occupation, because he got the trait, and he started laughing, and now I can¡¯t stop!¡±


    I grinned and sort of sat there, looking at Kamli, and after a second she started hiccuping laughs again. ¡°Stop it! Stop looking at me. You are making me laugh again!¡±


    I nodded and got to work calming myself down. I had lots of things I could think about that made me not want to laugh, but the joke was insane. ¡°Think about it. I have been mostly dead for maybe thousands of years, and then miraculously I am revived, and then I sort of died and was restored. I am a rotten, soulless bastard that¡¯s done things that as directly contradict the rules of this place as humanly possible.¡±


    ¡°So I find out not only can I move into the place where I am NOTHING like any of the locals, I HATE my family, and yet I am suddenly the ultimate family man.¡±


    Kamli nodded, ¡°Actually, that is pretty funny.¡±


    I smiled, ¡°It¡¯s funny because humans where I come from? We pretty much are one-for-one when it comes to baby boys and girls. Maybe that changed when I was restored here, maybe it didn¡¯t, but I can adapt to almost any aspect, which means it¡¯s likely my genetics are going to come through, at least on some level.¡±


    ¡°Genetics?¡± Wandi asked.


    Kamli nodded, ¡°His features. That means he might produce many more boys than usual, and his children might also.¡±


    Wandi smiled, ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! You might wind up under a mountain of women sooner than you think, especially if you mate and produce as many boys as girls!¡±


    I sighed at Kamli¡¯s puzzled expression, ¡°Harem joke again. Seriously though.¡±


    Wandi nodded, ¡°That¡¯s not funny, that¡¯s amazing and awe-inspiring.¡±


    I snorted and looked at Kamli, ¡°Well, that¡¯s not the funny part. What exactly were we talking about as we were about to enter the gate?¡±


    Wandi shrugged, ¡°You were asking me about family vengeance.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No, I mean EXACTLY. When we looked up and saw the cages?¡±


    She looked at me carefully, ¡°I was talking about what happened when the old lawkeeper went corrupt and lost¡­¡± She covered her mouth and muttered ¡°No¡­¡± through her fingers.


    I shrugged, ¡°Yes. So me, a killing machine from another world, who looks funny as hell, gets almost killed wandering around like an idiot, and it turns out I have the trait that suddenly makes me the ultimate local law. I have never even seen a lawkeeper, I have no idea how it works, and yet your sister insists it¡¯s part of an affinity that I don¡¯t understand, but which includes such gems as sneak attack and ambush.¡±


    Wandi looked surprisingly serious. ¡°That makes perfect sense.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Think about it. Regents and Lawkeepers ALWAYS come from far away locations. That¡¯s so they don¡¯t come in already connected to local interests. How easy would it be to be just and fair to a childhood companion you grew up with, maybe who gave you your first kiss, took your virginity, and cried when you went on your first delve and begged you to stay? Would you believe her capable of stabbing someone in the back to steal their payday? Even if you knew she trained to stab people in the back for her whole life?¡±


    ¡°How about my complete ignorance of the law?¡±


    ¡°But you aren¡¯t ignorant of them. Can you remember all six?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°The law of property, the law of family, The law of honor, the law of body, the law of mind, and the law of soul. But how they work, what they truly cover, examples and precedents, even the punishments for when they are violated, I have NO clue.¡±


    Kamli nodded, ¡°That¡¯s exactly the point.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°The laws are clear and simple, but people KNOW when they are violating them, and each time they do, it¡¯s different. No precedent can effectively decide it because no situation is identical. No one punishment truly fits every crime. That¡¯s why you have the trait, because it gives you the inspiration and understanding to know how to react.¡±


    ¡°But that would make me judge, jury, and executioner.¡±


    Wandi shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s the point. You are the judge because you truly understand when the laws have been violated. You are the jury, because you need to go over the evidence and make the decision of guilt or innocence, and you are the executioner, because who else has the viewpoint to create the appropriate punishment? Who else can do what needs to be done if the punishment needs to be death?¡±


    Kamli sighed, ¡°And you already showed me you can live with even the harshest punishments. And some will be harsh. You may even enjoy the feeling of a job well done when you do the best you possibly can, even if the actual actions you take may be brutal.¡±


    ¡°So this trait that just appeared out of nowhere means I should just go move into the castle dungeon or something and put on the killer¡¯s mask and declare myself the new sheriff?¡±


    Both Kamli and Wandi were shaking their heads rapidly. So different but yet so similar.


    ¡°Not at all,¡± said Wandi. ¡°You have some of the training¡­ being able to kill a man or woman because they need killing and not out of rage or enjoyment is a hard lesson to teach, but you have already learned it. The prior Lawkeepers, the ones that were eliminated, were graduates of the old country¡¯s finest academies, but when they got here they were rapidly struck down because they just didn¡¯t understand the lessons you already learned the hard way. Crime pays. Violating the six laws can be very profitable, and anyone that regularly profits will immediately become your deadly enemy, and they are often very powerful.¡±


    Kamli nodded in agreement. ¡°You can¡¯t announce that you are planning to take the lawkeeper path until you are powerful enough to deal with all of the enemies you¡¯ll gain. I saw your titles¡­ I didn¡¯t understand their names, but I knew they were for defeating enemies more powerful and numerous than you. You don¡¯t need to exceed their tier, but you DO need to become strong enough to not be immediately squashed by anyone at a higher stage.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Wandi grinned, ¡°That¡¯s where I come in. To get more powerful quickly, there¡¯s only one sure way.¡±


    Kamli sighed. ¡°Rift delving.¡±


    Wandi nodded, ¡°Rift delving.¡±


    After a moment¡¯s thought, Wandi added, ¡°And to do that, you need a lot better than a carving knife and a stick, or you won¡¯t last a minute in even a tin delve. Do you know how to use a gun?¡±


    I smiled a little, ¡°I learned how to shoot before I learned how to swim. Expert, Sharpshooter, Marksman, with a full set of clasps and re-qualifications, pistol and rifle. Yes, if it shoots, I know how to use it.¡±


    ***


    I glared at the weird weapon. ¡°How the hell do I use it?¡±


    We were outside of the city. I had spent the night in Wandi¡¯s ¡®guest chamber¡¯. It was a bit like a Japanese house, but with exterior doors instead of screens, but the inside was very similar, with screens and tatami mats. I thought the tatami mat would be a tough sell, I was an American, used to box springs and fluffy mattresses, or years spent in a hospital bed, but surprisingly enough I slept incredibly well.


    New body, new needs, I guessed¡­ it was much more fun than sleeping on the ground under a screen of woven leaves and branches. The hardest part was going to sleep hoping Wandi would sneak in and let me pet her tail and anything else I could find that was pettable.


    No such luck, of course, but that¡¯s a fantasy that a decade in a prison made of your own flesh tended to evoke. Kamli was more attractive, of course, but in a way, she was TOO attractive. As a governor¡¯s son and rich trust fund baby, I had learned a long ago that the worst traps had the most beautiful bait. Was I spoiled? Of course, I was, the worst sort of spoiled, which only went away when I joined boot camp and had it beaten out of me by people who thought wealth was just a good reason to be harder on you than anyone else.


    Breakfast was sort of a whole wheat sandwich filled with what tasted like roasted pulled duck and sort of refried beans mixed with a sweet vinegar and strawberry sauce. Despite the way it sounded, it was delicious. I didn¡¯t think that Wandi cooked it herself, she was more of a put it on a stick over a campfire sort of girl, but she knew how to put good quick food together.


    A shower consisted of three buckets filled with warm water that you filled once for soaping up and twice for rinsing off. I wasn¡¯t a plumber, but I had a pretty good idea of how to create a field shower, and I intended to create one eventually. Although I sent warm feelings to the system for blessing me by sending me to an Earth that had regular access to coffee.


    It turned out that my lidded pot was a regular feature for adventurers, used to sterilize water for drinking, occasionally cook a personal or team soup, and most importantly, make coffee for breakfast. Just toss away the grounds when you finish drinking.


    A fresh set of her father¡¯s clean but beaten hand-me-downs, The rest of my outfit including the armor pieces, and we headed out of the city to learn shooting.


    ¡°The same way you use any key. You load it like this.¡± she demonstrated by unlocking the barrel of the sort-of revolver and carefully sliding a peg made of copper out, and then back into one of the cylinders, swiveled and locked it back into place behind the barrel. She then lifted the handle and sighted it on a tree. Unlike her blunderbuss-thing, this had a mostly-recognizable trigger. ¡°Then you aim at your target, charge the works, and pop!¡± she pulled the trigger, and I could see the flash of copper before it impacted the tree, sending chunks of bark and wood out from the impact site without the normal bang of a firearm.


    She lowered her pistol and trotted over to the tree, using a pair of pliers to grab the bullet and yank it out of where it was buried in the wood about fifty feet away. ¡°You want to try and recover the bullets. The copper is expensive, even though it has to be reworked. A lot of shooters prefer using a bolt gun instead, or a crossbow because you can re-use the ammo more easily and it¡¯s a lot heavier, but I prefer guns because you can use expendable ammunition if you need to, and the shots are fast enough to go through most hard armor.¡±


    ¡°You try it,¡± she said, sliding a new copper peg into the six-cylinder weapon and then offering it to me by the handle.


    I took it carefully. It didn¡¯t have any sort of safety, and behind the revolving cylinder itself was a second sealed cylinder of metal. The handle was solid, plated with bone, and the whole thing was a little heavier than most pistols, the barrel about ten inches long. ¡°You barely know me, and you are just handing me a loaded firearm?¡±


    She laughed, ¡°You are a lawkeeper, even if you haven¡¯t taken the position yet. Kamli confirmed it. You¡¯d no more casually shoot me than you would a child,¡± she shrugged, ¡°besides, I saw you checking me out. I¡¯m safer with a gun in your hands than almost anyone else.¡±


    I flushed a bit. I thought I¡¯d been surreptitious, but then hunters were all about perception. She¡¯d probably noticed it the first time. I lifted the pistol, which had very familiar-looking iron sights, lined up the hole she¡¯d made in the tree, and then carefully squeezed the trigger.


    The trigger pressed just fine, but absolutely nothing happened.


    ¡°No, you need to charge the works FIRST, before you try and fire. Be careful not to overload it, you should be able to feel it trip when it¡¯s ready. Since you¡¯ve never done it before, just charge it nice and slowly and wait for the works to trip. Once you get a feel for the drain, you can work on filling it while you draw, but for right now, slow and steady.¡±


    I lowered the pistol. ¡°Umm¡­ I literally have no clue what you just said. I mean, I understand the words, but the meaning totally escapes me.¡±


    She looked at me in slight confusion. ¡°What part?¡±


    ¡°All of it.¡±


    ¡°You have to charge the works. You know, feed essence into it? There¡¯s a conversion rune in the handle that converts it into kinetic essence and charges the works that fire the bullet. I don¡¯t know the actual designs, I am a hunter, not a gunsmith, but I know that the works run the kinetic charge along the inside of the barrel, which pulls the bullet out. That¡¯s why Pistols are a ton more expensive than rifles, much better works for holding more kinetic essence for the shorter barrel.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°So it¡¯s a kind of magic railgun. So how do I feed it essence?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°You keep saying I have to charge the works, so how do I feed essence energy into the¡­ rune, so it charges the works?¡±


    She looked at me even more oddly. ¡°The same way you charge any other works. Just pass the energy to your aspect.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°What aspect?¡±


    Her eyes grew wide. ¡°Oh no, I didn¡¯t even think of that! Most of us are just born with it. I mean, we control energy through our aspects. It¡¯s easy, like picking up an apple. You need to train your control as you get older and your power grows, but doing it is just natural. I thought¡­ I thought you said you shot guns before?¡±


    I nodded and handed the pistol back to her. ¡°I have, but not like this. This is more like a railgun¡­ it passes a conductive force down the barrel to accelerate the bullet. Where I come from, each bullet has a charge behind it, a tiny explosive. The¡­ works, sends a spark into the charge, and the charge explodes. The expanding gas from the explosion shoots the bullet, and the barrel is more to keep the bullet accurate and contain the gas rather than accelerate it.¡±


    ¡°So wait¡­ the gun holds a fire aspect that explodes and pushes a wind aspect to shoot the bullet? And it¡¯s all self-contained like the energy is in the charge all the time? That sounds extraordinarily dangerous! And loud.¡±


    I laughed, ¡°It is. Very loud. Very dangerous.¡±


    ¡°So a child who can¡¯t even push essence yet can just pick up a gun and¡­¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why we have precautions in place. It¡¯s not perfect, but it happens. Children die every year because their parents don¡¯t teach them gun safety, or leave a firearm out where they can get to it. Some people want to make guns illegal because of it, and I don¡¯t agree with them, but even I admit that some safety is needed with dangerous weapons like that. You wouldn¡¯t leave a butcher knife or a saw where a child could play with it, so why would you leave a gun?¡±


    She shivered. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know how to teach you how to push essence.¡±


    ¡°Could the oracles?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, they are all about communicating with our aspects, and building their capabilities, or tracking and analyzing the way they interact with our essence. I think, maybe, a patternist might be able to help, they constantly have to convert essence and push it to fill their patterns in ways their aspects aren¡¯t capable of.¡±


    ¡°So we are off to see the wizard?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No. high-rank patternists are very secretive. I only know two, and they would both demand prices we couldn¡¯t afford. Jassker would probably demand thousands of crowns, or expect you to be his slave-apprentice for the next five years, and Sylvie?¡± She looked at me closely, ¡°Would probably expect a lot more.¡±


    ¡°A lot more?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Sylvie is known for having unusual and aggressive tastes. As a patternist, she¡¯s one of the few females who is the head of her own family¡­ three men. She¡¯d probably expect you to become number four.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°I hear you. Are there other options?¡±


    She thought about it for a few moments, ¡°Yes, but you are not going to like it.¡±

 Chapter A17. A bit of green

    ¡°Something you need to remember is that there¡¯s a good reason that Greenskins and humans tend to hate each other. They consider us corrupted by having aspects in our souls, and we consider them monsters for enslaving aspects as totems and using them for power instead of freely sharing. They also don¡¯t tend to have much of a problem with violating the six laws in various ways, and their necromancers and mediums are treated a lot like our patternists, with respect, power, and wealth. That¡¯s why we are close to constantly at war with them.¡±


    ¡°Raspail doesn¡¯t use a totem, he¡¯s not a shaman, but he still has a bit of an attitude about humans. He¡¯s more or less civilized, and a talented worksmith, but he might be willing to teach you how to push essence like the greenskins do. I am not sure what he will want in exchange, though. Maybe money, maybe works, maybe ideas like your gas cannon. He is very picky about the six laws because that¡¯s what lets him live and work among us, but he¡¯s not¡­ friendly. I guess. Not in the way we are.¡±


    ¡°Worksmith? Does that mean he makes guns?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°I mean, yes, he does, but he¡¯s not a regular gunsmith. He¡¯s a worksmith. Sort of like an enchanter, in a way, but he¡¯s hugely fond of workings instead. Mechanical essence storage, kinetic distribution, and even naturally altering essence, like your fire turning into air bullets, are right in his wheelhouse.¡±


    We were heading downtown, to the west, the lower-quality housing and shops away from the gate. Once we¡¯d left the area of the gate, a lot more of the odors I associated with cities started assaulting my nose, but to me? Well, it was a pretty normal sign of a dense population. Still better than Mogadishu, or even New Delhi¡­ or probably even Los Angeles, based on what I¡¯d seen in the news while I was sick. People sleeping in the street always led to people shitting in the street, and apparently politicians hated history.


    ¡°A lot of gunsmiths prefer to buy the actual gun workings from him, but he doesn¡¯t run a normal shop, because he doesn¡¯t get along very well with people. Most greenskins don¡¯t use works at all, though, and consider them¡­ a sign of weakness, although the small ones are often very talented worksmiths. That¡¯s why most cities have a few.¡±


    Huh, a familiar fantasy name. ¡°Do you know what the rest of them are called? The greenskins?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes, they interbreed freely, but are born with particular categories, sort of like ants, or even aspects in a way. The smallest are called gremlins. They are generally the crafters, cooks, and builders of greenskin tribes. Usually gifted with some kind of crafting trait, they are still little better than slaves, because greenskins value strength above all else. Eventually, they can evolve into trolls, which Raspail is, and they are a lot tougher and able to heal from almost anything, but they still aren¡¯t very big or overly strong.¡±


    ¡°Above that are goblins. They are a little shorter than a human but are generally the vast majority of the tribe. They tend to evolve as they gain advancement and power, eventually becoming hobgoblins, the tribe¡¯s powerful warriors, leaders, and hunters, and someday even potentially becoming a bugbear¡­ Huge, smart, and deadly rulers of the tribes.¡±


    ¡°Ogres are a lot bigger than goblins, and even hobgoblins, but they are sort of like the tribe¡¯s ultimate warriors. They are kind of stupid unless they are born with some kind of essence gift and then they can become Ogre Magi, deadly, smart, powerful shamans that are still as tough and brutal as any ogre.¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t talk about greenskin tribes with him, though. He¡¯s hard to get along with, and he¡¯s got a chip on his shoulder about the tribes. He¡¯s not popular here in Kanten, but he¡¯s got some respect for his abilities, and he¡¯s pretty well off. He has two wives, both are also ropan crafters, Melita and Carni, but he¡¯s kind of sensitive about his appearance, so if you act like you are interested in them he¡¯ll probably get defensive.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°It sounds like just about anything I do might set him off.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°You probably will. He has a quick temper and a rough mouth, which is why he doesn¡¯t run a shop, but it fades just as quickly if he¡¯s interested, and he¡¯s not particularly violent. Far less so than most greenskins, which is probably why he¡¯s here.¡±


    I noticed a lot of odd features as we passed through the working quarter of the town. Several streams were running through, right down the middle of the street, and many of them passed through carefully constructed waterways into and out of buildings. There were also a lot of pipes. Waterwheels and windmills seemed to be popular decorations, often connected to broad bronze or iron gears that made it look steampunk. No steam, though¡­ but ticking, pinging, and whirring, seemed to come from every corner.


    I stopped, on the side of the road, and just bathed in the sights. ¡°This place is not what I expected.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Wandi asked.


    ¡°I mean, I was expecting things like shanties, or wooden buildings, or dust and dirt. Not the ticking and clacking and ringing¡­ the stores and places near the gateway weren¡¯t anything like this, they were more like manors.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She nodded, ¡°My flat is actually in the nicer part of town because I am a high tin hunter. All of the works in the better places are hidden in quiet areas. But down here, well, a lot of the businesses are reliant on their works. Smiths need their trip hammers and auto-bellows, tailors their sewing machines, and so on.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people get their kinetics from things like water wheels and windmills, or they just use muscle power, like most seamstress machines. Transferring essence works, but most crafters seldom exceed wood or tin, so their essence is limited. Some higher-ranks with big energy pools will charge up coils, but that¡¯s expensive and usually only used for other works devices, like portable forges.¡±


    ¡°You keep saying works.¡± I said, looking at the big gears, ¡°What are they?¡±


    ¡°Clockworks. But people just say works for short. The industrial quarter might not look like much, but Kanten is known for some of the most cutting-edge technology in the new world. The old world has a lot more powerful enchantments, incredible array masters, and even array formations the size of cities, but when it comes to clockworks and machines, we are so far ahead of those old curmudgeons it¡¯s not funny.¡±


    ¡°A powerful master could still come in and trash the city singlehandedly, but for dealing with armies of greenskins and tribal lupans, or dealing with waves¡­ well¡­ even a wood stage that can channel essence can use a gun, and some of the more powerful weapons could blow apart even an iron-tier abomination.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°God created man, but Sam Colt made them equal.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± she asked, smiling.


    ¡°A well-known gunsmith from my land. He created one of the most well-known and well-loved firearms of all time, the Colt Peacemaker. Anyone could use them, no matter how powerful they were, and they were deadly. My land stated that all men were created equal before God morally, but the joke was that while God created all men, Samuel Colt¡¯s Peacemaker made them equal.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Good saying. Not accurate when it comes to higher-tier essence users, some of them can just ignore bullets like fleas, but at the lower tiers, it certainly seems true.¡±


    I was looking around as we approached a heavy, brick and cut-stone building with few windows covered with windmills and no less than three waterwheels, driven by water coming out of a large pipe. ¡°Why aren¡¯t there steam engines?¡±


    ¡°Steam engines?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°You know, light a fire under a pot of water, put a windmill over the water so that it turns as the steam from the boiling water rises? I mean, yeah, there are more complicated systems using pressure from the steam, but I am not an engineer. I wiki¡­ I read a lot when I was sick, so I know how to make basic stuff like steel and basic steam engines. I also know dummy engineer stuff like underground corkscrew water pumps and basic piston systems, but I have seen brass, Iron, steel, and bronze. So why is it all wind and water powered?¡±


    She peered at me gaugingly. ¡°I take it back. Raspail is going to LOVE you. If you know about that kind of stuff, shifting essence from fire and water into air and kinetic, he¡¯ll probably try to give you one of his wives or something.¡±


    Nope, I was not going to be that book hero who suddenly tries to launch an entire society into the 21st century¡­ but if their technology was already as far as guns, at least a type of gun, then steam and even chemical energy should already be available¡­ and if that led to longer hot showers instead of buckets, I was going to look into at least the simple stuff.


    Oh, and a better way of making coffee. Maybe a French press. Those were easy, and washing grounds out of your mouth, while an acceptable price to pay for coffee, wasn¡¯t needed to enjoy the flavor and morning rush.


    ¡°He sounds like a nerd.¡±


    ¡°A what?¡±


    I had expected the question. It was weird that a lot of Earth terms worked here, but I figured Nerd wouldn¡¯t be one of them. ¡°A guy that is intensely interested in technology to the exclusion of almost everything else. Almost every conversation will cycle back to his interest, and if you don¡¯t look bored or work to change the subject, he can go for hours just talking about whatever type of technology that he¡¯s working with, and even his side interests tend to mesh with whatever his primary interests are.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°That sounds like Raspail. I do a lot of business with him. He¡¯s no gunsmith, but he still makes a damned fine and essence-efficient piece, even if his enchanting is¡­ meh. Trackers, trap-breakers, telescoping triggers, climbing kits, most of his stuff is weird, but some of the best around for delvers.¡±


    She knocked on a heavy door at the front of the building, and after a moment, a slit at about waist level in the door¡¯s ornate brass facade slid open. ¡°Yes?¡± a pleasantly high but not shrill female voice asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    The slit closed, and the door opened to reveal a very cute girl, probably mid-twenties, dressed in a slightly stained pair of coveralls and an engineer¡¯s cap in between her large, rounded mouse-like ears. She was extremely short, probably a hair over four feet tall, but she hopped out and hugged Wandi. ¡°Hi Wandi!¡± she said, ¡°You haven¡¯t been here in a while. Do you need me to open up the warehouse? Or do you have a special request?¡±


    Wandi smiled and bent down to hug the girl. ¡°Hey, Melita. Sorry, I have been out on hunts. I have a special request, but it¡¯s not gear. This is Tony, and he¡¯s good. I need to talk to Raspy, about a problem that¡­ well¡­ tell him that he¡¯s the smartest man I know, and it may require his personal touch of genius to resolve.¡±


    Melita giggled, ¡°Oh, you know how to talk to him. Sure. Let me get his head out of his latest project. He¡¯s in a bit of a mood, since the Regent contracted him to make an artillery piece capable of one-shotting a kindrake, and the barrel capable of lobbing that big of a projectile is enormous¡­ He wants even a wood rank to be able to muscle the guidance, but it¡¯s heavy as hell, and it¡¯s making him mad.¡±


    She led us down a set of metal stairs, through two doors, and into a very large factory floor, where I could hear a steady stream of angry and incomprehensible words coming from the far end of a thirty-foot-long pipe that was a good foot around.


    She held up her hand for us to stay, and then walked around behind the pipe. I could hear a few whispers, and after a little more angry muttering, a gremlin stepped around from behind the pipe and glared at us balefully.

 Chapter A18. Simple is often harder than complicated.

    Have you ever seen that gremlin movie? The one where you aren¡¯t supposed to get them wet or feed them after midnight? Well, take one of those evil little bastards, give him a herculean physique, cover him in coveralls, work boots, heavy leather gloves, and a pair of brass-sided goggles, and stretch him to about three and a half feet tall.


    His teeth were flat like a human¡¯s, with pronounced but rounded tusks, his mouth slightly smaller, his eyes less insane-looking red, and his skin was a lot less¡­ plated-spiky-looking, but the ears looked the same, and the rich forest green of his skin definitely explained the term ¡®greenskin¡¯ for his people. He didn''t... quite... look like those little green monsters I fought in the tutorial, though.


    ¡°What?¡± he yelled politely, glaring at us. His¡­ wife, patted his arm, and he carefully lifted his goggles, ¡°I mean, what do you need, Wandi? And who¡¯s the giant freak standing next to you?¡±


    Wandi took a step forward, grabbing my forearm and pulling me with her. ¡°Raspail, we have a serious problem that I think only you are talented enough to solve. This is Tony. He¡¯s a human.¡±


    The green bean looked me up and down, ¡°No he ain¡¯t. He ain¡¯t got an aspect. He looks more like a starved three-week dead ogre. You didn¡¯t drag a necros into my fine lab, did you, girl? I don¡¯t have time for someone¡¯s sick sex toy.¡±


    I recognized the type instantly. Some guys just needed a different approach to being social. I sort of shook off Wandi¡¯s hand and growled, ¡°Call me a necros again, you bat-headed alligator. I heard you were a troll, not a broken oracle stuffed into the body of a blind toymaker¡¯s idea of what an owl is supposed to look like.¡±


    Both Wandi and Melita were staring at me in wide-eyed shock, and Raspail glared at me like I¡¯d shot his dog. After a second he chuckled, and then started laughing loudly while the girls both looked confused, ¡°Bat-headed alligator? I didn¡¯t even know you humans had spread down that far. Blind toymaker? That¡¯s a pretty good one. I like you, pretty boy. What the hell are you? I can tell you ain¡¯t aspected even from here, but you don¡¯t look like any greenskin I¡¯ve ever seen¡­ especially without the green skin.¡±


    Wandi whispered, ¡°He doesn¡¯t hate you? Weird. He hates everybody at first.¡±


    I shrugged and answered the troll, ¡°Something called a basic human. I don¡¯t have an aspect, but I need to learn how to push essence around. Wandi told me that you might know how to do it without an aspect, but there are more important problems.¡±


    ¡°What problems would those be?¡± the little Disney Studios escapee asked me. More like a Gremlin crossed with a dwarf, without the beard.


    I looked at the 30-foot-long pipe. ¡°This¡­ is this supposed to be a gun? I can see from here that it¡¯s got a curve to it.¡±


    He growled, ¡°Frackin¡¯ serious. The curve ain¡¯t a problem, the length is. The Regent wants a cannon that can take out a drake. That means at least a five-pound projectile traveling at almost a thousand feet per second. This barrel¡± he patted the slightly-curved pipe, ¡°Has to be this long to accelerate that heavy of a projectile to that speed.¡±


    ¡°Can you use a smaller bullet that travels at a faster speed?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Yeah, but there¡¯s a hard bar on how much acceleration the runes can push individually, although the weight can be increased with a higher kinetic essence flow. At least with a heavier weight, I don''t need a fifty-foot-long barrel. Right now, I can shoot this thing, but maneuverin'' it and targetin'' it is the real problem. I mean, it¡¯s not like a gun you can spin around. I think I might have to tell the regent no-go on this pile of sick. I could mount it in the wall, but aiming means draggin'' the damned monster into the perfect position to get shot.¡±


    I looked thoughtful. The gremlin seemed to be warming up to me a bit, so I decided to see if it was possible to set the hook. ¡°You said the curve doesn¡¯t matter?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Yep. As long as the last bit of the barrel is a straight shot, the projectile will travel more or less straight until gravity drags it down. I mean, I thought about bendin¡¯ the barrel halfway down, so it¡¯s in an L-shape. It¡¯s possible if I add extra kinetic absorption, but then I¡¯d have to use a round shot, and aimin¡¯s even more of a nightmare.¡±


    ¡°Because a long, sharp bullet would get caught on the turn?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Yep. Exactly that. But a round shot would have to be even bigger, with a longer barrel to get it up to speed, because penetratin¡¯ a drake¡¯s armor with a club instead of a knife is harder. It¡¯d take more speed.¡±


    ¡°Can you run the same round through the same runes multiple times to make it go faster?¡±


    He laughed, ¡°You mean like a teleport shot? Hah. Sure. But it¡¯s a gimmick. Transport runes are horribly energy-inefficient. Someone once made a pistol that could teleport the round a bunch of times from the end of the barrel back to the start of the rune track, but it took the full power of an iron stage to shoot the damned thing. It was destructive, but an iron-rank could do the same damned thing with a good bow and not use his whole energy pool for one bullet.¡±


    I nodded slowly, while Wandi started whispering with Melita, who was nodding rapidly and surprisingly enough smiling.


    ¡°So it is possible, and with the right runes, you could do it on a curved track?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± he asked.


    I looked around. There was an enormous amount of junk, and parts, ¡°Do you mind if I demonstrate something for you?¡±


    He shrugged and held out his hand. ¡°Just don¡¯t wreck anythin'', sure. These ain¡¯t finished works.¡±


    I found what looked like a large round tray with a grooved edge, after a moment, I also found a rather large bearing, the size of a golf ball, made out of what looked like tin. ¡°Have you ever used a sling?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Yep. And that was one of my first ideas, a trebuchet, but height control is always a bitch. It¡¯s great for knockin¡¯ down walls, but swivellin¡¯ it around to hit a target like a drake, and adding in range and arc, is even harder¡­ right now, we use trebuchets until a high-stage can get into melee with it, but that¡¯s why the Regent wants somethin¡¯ better.¡±


    I dropped the bearing into the pan and started slowly swirling it around the outside edge. ¡°Are you planning to play roulette?¡±


    I shook my head and started spinning it faster and faster. "This is what''s called centrifugal, or more accurately, centipedal motion. It''s kinda stupidly simple in concept, but it took a bunch of engineers a long time to realize that sometimes simple is what you need. Obviously, increasing the speed takes longer, but if runes have a maximum acceleration rather than a maximum velocity, it could work."This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    It was difficult to keep it inside the pan as it spun, but when I almost thought I would lose control, I tilted the pan slightly so that the now rapidly moving ball shot across the lab, hit a large upturned gear, shot up to the roof, banged against it, ricocheted down and hit a girder support, and finally shot sideways into a wall of what looked like spare parts or junk, banging a bit before the clink of hitting the stone floor. The shot wasn¡¯t really planned, but it was impressive.


    Raspail was glaring at me, not saying a single word.


    ¡°Umm¡­ sorry? I hope I didn¡¯t break anything.¡±


    ¡°What, by Tuft¡¯s third titty, was that?¡±


    I snickered, ¡°Tuft¡¯s third titty?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Tuft. The people¡¯s goddess of fertility. She got six tits, like a wolf. What the grack was that?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°basically a dummy¡¯s version of an accelerator. I didn¡¯t invent it, some very smart guys did, and it¡¯s usually designed to accelerate something super tiny to incredible speeds. Simple concept, but my dad''s driver... uhh... an engineer friend of mine, said that complicated is easy, and simple is hard. Any engineer can create an overly complex work for doing a simple job, but it takes generations to create something simple that can do a complex job.¡±


    He nodded and dived over to a work table. In a moment, he was drawing with a fat pencil on what looked like a note tablet, and muttering to himself. After a moment, he dropped the pencil. ¡°Scrog, boy! If I used a rerouter and extra stressors, I could get a half-pound ball to go more''n three thousand feet per second without breakin'' the stressors on a brass casing. Do you got any idea how fast that is?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Three times the speed of sound. Big boom.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s THREE TIMES the speed of sound!¡± he yelled, repeating me. ¡°Really big boom! That kind of force, in a much smaller casin''¡­ I mean, you¡¯d still need at least a four-foot barrel to aim it straight, and the accelerator ring would have to be at least ten feet around, but it would weigh a fraction¡­ and even a wood rank could power and aim that barrel!¡±


    I nodded and realized that despite their tech level, these people weren''t simple... Raspail knew what the speed of sound was, which implied that there might be a reason they didn''t have electricity, not that they hadn''t developed it, yet.


    ¡°Oh man, oh man¡­¡± he said, frantically scratching new notes. ¡°That¡­ Hey Wandi, how would you like a rifle that could send a ten-ounce bullet right through our town wall?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯d like that?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ important tip. Ammunition. At that speed, you will get a lot of spin from a ball¡­ that will tend to make the round fly wild. You might want to figure out a way to either control the spin at the end or use a metal that¡¯s soft enough that the air itself reshapes it into a sharper shape, like lead. Also, lead, when it hits a target at high speed, tends to break apart into chunks and shatter all over the inside of the target.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Lead is pretty cheap. Not a good essence conductor, but I can account for that unless we plan on using enchanted rounds. But man¡­ that would give a drake a very bad day. I can do this. Carni!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Melita, dear.¡±


    He waved his hand, ¡°Right, Melita, let the Regent know that we¡¯re doing a redesign, but we SOLVED the shooter problem, and prolly the aiming problem too. It¡¯s gonna take a few weeks or months, but should use lots less materials, I am gonna need a lot more light traction runes, some class C stressors, and about five hundred pounds of lead with full safety scrot for handling it.¡±


    ¡°But the deadline?¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m gonna miss the deadline but produce a far superior product. He¡¯s used to that. Please send the message, love.¡±


    Melita nodded, ¡°Got it.¡±


    Wandi chuckled, ¡°You should tell him about the steam fan, pump, and bomb bullets, too. I bet you could get rich.¡±


    Raspail suddenly looked shocked. ¡°Oh right! This is YOUR idea. Would you accept ten percent? I gotta build the damned things and bang out the defects.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I didn¡¯t actually come up with the idea, but uhh¡­¡± at Wandi¡¯s rapid nod, and shrugged, ¡°Ten percent net or profit?¡±


    ¡°Profit boy! I barely make ten percent net after resale and labor on most stuff, and once people see this, I figure at most a few months before it starts gettin¡¯ reverse-engineered and we start seein''¡­ uhh¡­ spin-dizzy rifles. Or maybe barkers. I ain¡¯t decided on a name yet.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Ten percent is fine, then.¡±


    He grinned, ¡°Plus a favor. So what¡¯s a steam fan or a bomb bullet?¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Steam fans I could explain later. Bomb bullets are something from my homeland¡­ I don¡¯t actually know how to make them, they take something called gunpowder, and all I know about it is that it takes charcoal, sulfur, and uhh¡­ poop to make. I think.¡±


    He laughed, ¡°Poop bullets. That sounds goblin. One of them chieftains was famed for pissing on his blades before a battle and rubbin'' them in his poop so that anyone he cut would get infected even if he couldn¡¯t finish ''em off.¡±


    He put down his pad and pencil again. ¡°So you ain¡¯t got an aspect, and want to learn to push essence? It¡¯s not hard¡­ ironically, it works a lot like that spindizzy you just showed me, but inside. It¡¯s kind of the basis for gainin'' tiers among the greenskins. But, if you don¡¯t have a spirit root, it just won¡¯t work at all. Lots of people don¡¯t have enough of a root to learn basic essence-spinnin'', so they are limited and hit their advancement roof at wood.¡±


    He glanced at Wandi, ¡°Aspected got it easy. If you got an aspect, you got a strong enough spirit root to go at least gold-core. They can¡¯t go past that without abandonin'' their aspect, which they would never do in a million years, but Gold core is pretty chaffin¡¯ powerful.¡±


    ¡°Are you willing to take the time out to teach me?¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°Sure. It¡¯s somethin'' Gremlins learn when they are children. Ogres mostly are too stupid, and you look like something birthed out by a sick ogre, but I figure you ain¡¯t stupid after inventin'' the¡­ ring rifle? Oooh, that sounds good!¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much. I will think about you next time I drink too much since I¡¯ll probably wake up in a pool that reminds me of your skin. Seriously though, if you get that kind of speed, don¡¯t forget hearing protection.¡±


    He laughed, ¡°Right. Siddown. What do you mean hearing protection?¡±


    I looked at the greasy flagstones of the floor, ¡°Here?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Yup. Right here. Unless you wanna find a better puddle of goop to sit in? I¡¯ve been kinda busy. Cleanin'' takes a back seat to finishin'' a contract.¡±


    Melita leaned forward and whispered to me, ¡°Raspail doesn¡¯t clean, and we won¡¯t touch the lab. He usually hires a crew to do it, but he¡¯s been too busy. We clean our own workspaces, but he really IS a genius, so Carni and I usually forgive him.¡±


    I found a place to sit that was vaguely clean, on top of what looked a bit like the fuel tank for a boat. ¡°Okay. And what I mean is, if you shoot a bullet at three times the speed of sound, there will be a sonic boom that might shake the walls apart. Anyone nearby would probably lose their teeth, let alone their hearing. Might want to try a bit bigger and a bit slower, like maybe one and a half times the speed of sound. Safety first.¡±


    ¡°Safety first? For a weapon?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°You want to kill the guy on the other end of the stick, not the one holding it. Safety first.¡±


    He nodded thoughtfully. ¡°That would give any decent goblin or gremlin tech the shits, but I guess I can sort of understand where you are coming from.¡±


    ¡°First off, despite what Wandi thinks, you ain¡¯t tin-tier. You are only wood, albeit a stupidly overpowered wood. Most gremlins would be at least tin rank before they even started thinking about getting their pecker wet, so you might not have a good enough root. You are probably at most rank¡­ what, three? In whatever your primary path is.¡±


    ¡°You are very observant, sir. I guess the bloodshot look helps.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Yeah, trolls can see essence flows. You have a groll-ton of essence, but it¡¯s raw and uncompressed. Wood-tier, that is. Someday, assumin'' you have a decent root and some angry husband don¡¯t kill you for taking away his wives, you''ll probably piss more essence after your morning coffee than most patternists can summon for a great work. Now close your eyes, pretty boy.¡±


    "Coffee?" I asked excitedly. Oh, thank you, God. I''d had nightmares about being stuck in a fantasy world without coffee.

 Chapter A19. Sometimes you know you are going to hit.

    I closed my eyes.


    ¡°Okay, this is the weird part. Have you gotten trained to fight? Or are you just a useless clothing dummy?¡± Raspail asked.


    I chuckled, ¡°Awww¡­ I think the gremlin is mysteriously attracted to my masculine charms. You keep calling me beautiful and you may sway my girlish heart. Yeah, I have been trained to fight. Lots of times, by lots of different people. Mostly I just picked up what I needed and ditched the rest.¡±


    ¡°Alright, did your fighter teachers ever talk about energy patterns?¡±


    I nodded, my eyes closed. ¡°You mean like dantians and meridians and stuff? Yes. Mostly I figured it was just mystical hogwash that a lot of teachers used to try and pretend that their ¡®fighting arts¡¯ were mystically better than others.¡±


    ¡°Well, remember that crap. I ain¡¯t no fightin'' teacher. My cultivation and cyclin'' are awful, but you need the basics to be able to transfer essence, and if there¡¯s one thing I can do, it¡¯s push essence enough to get to copper tier and clockwork engineer mastery. I am only doin'' this because your stupid accelerator thing just opened up a new path for me. You are an inspiration, boy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Congratulations!¡± Wandi gushed.


    ¡°Shut up girl. I already have two wives that can¡¯t give me gremlins, I don¡¯t need another. Now, stop thinking about what you see on the inside of your eyelids, or what the golem leg you are sitting on feels like, or what you smell, or the taste that your girlfriend¡¯s twat left on your tongue.¡±


    Wandi¡¯s gasp was¡­ surprising.


    ¡°Do you shoot?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Think about what it¡¯s like when you are about to take a stupidly hard shot. That headspace you get into when you know that the only thing between your bullet and the target is a quick little squeeze. There¡¯s no air, you already canceled it out. There¡¯s no movement, you know where it¡¯s going to be and know you are perfectly leading it. You feel that line between the end of the barrel, your hands, and the target, where nothin'' can interrupt? Hell, even the target might feel it and panic because he knows his head¡¯s about to paint the wall behind him. No heartbeat, no breathin'', because you are already accountin¡¯ for that.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I breathed. I knew that feeling very well. Sort of a meditative trance, where nothing could come between me and my target, where I knew I had already succeeded, and pulling the trigger was just an afterthought.


    ¡°That line you see? Think about yourself. There¡¯s another line, deep inside of you, that¡¯s like a circle. It may look like fire, it may look like wind, it may flow like blood. Don¡¯t tilt your head, dammit! You aren¡¯t using your eyes, they are closed. Feel it in your heart, your chest, or even your balls.¡±


    I tried to envision that line, that perfect target shot, and for a second, I could feel it. Like a lump of fire in my middle, surrounded by a halo. He was right. I couldn¡¯t exactly feel it, but I could tell it was there.


    ¡°Oh good! Your essence just spiked. Did you find it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s¡­ yes, I think.¡±


    ¡°Okay, is it little or is it big?¡±


    I tried to think about it. It was pulsing, like a candle. ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to compare sizes, and usually that¡¯s not something a man would ask me. I think¡­ it sort of feels like a big hot glow right in my belly button. With a halo that kind of seeps out, bigger than me.¡±


    ¡°Good! Good! It sounds like you have a strong root. A really strong root. Is the halo cluttered? Does it have dark spots?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s like when you are looking at a torch right after you wake up but without the torch. Just a big and fading kind of not-rainbow woozy light. Like if you glance at the sun and then look away, that kind of impression.¡±


    ¡°He was restored.¡± I heard Wandi say.


    ¡°Ahh. That¡¯s good. Not much in the way of impurities, then. Or he might have some way of filterin'' ¡®em out instinctively already. Okay, here, hold this.¡± he said, and I felt something metal pushed into my hands. ¡°Can you feel that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Again, a phrase I was hoping not to hear from a man.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you big meatball, now, that halo? That¡¯s your essence pool or your dantian. The bright point in the middle is your root. I want you to picture that halo starting to spin. It doesn¡¯t matter what direction it spins, I just need the whole big ring to start rotating.¡±


    I nodded and pictured the thing moving. After a few moments I realized I wasn¡¯t breathing, so I started to use the breathing that my Tai Chi teacher suggested. Breathe in, slowly and firmly, all the way down to your diaphragm, imagining the energy coming in, holding the breath and using it, absorbing it, and then slowly breathing out, imagining any impurities, unused energy, or pollution getting pushed out with it. It was called tuna breathing or something like that, but it seemed to help.


    ¡°What the smeck? You are using essence breathing. You didn¡¯t tell me you knew how to do that.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    I didn¡¯t know how, it was just another in a long line of crap I¡¯d never needed, but as I breathed in, it was sort of like blowing on the side of a balloon. It slowly felt like it was turning, and the weird part was, that each breath seemed to be making the halo ever so slightly brighter.


    ¡°Good! Good! That¡¯s exactly what you need! Keep it spinning, draw in the energy you can use, ditch whatcha can¡¯t. Damn boy, even for a wood you have a hell of a deep well. See that bright core in the middle? Your root?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you can keep pullin¡¯ in energy until the halo thing is as bright as your root. Spin it a little faster, but not too fast¡­ you ain¡¯t copper yet, and this air ain¡¯t got enough energy in it anyway. But as a wood, you should be able to match them.¡±


    ¡°What you are doing right now is called essence breathin¡¯, or condensation. It pulls in essence instead of just naturally collectin¡¯ it from the environment. When you get more powerful, the act of spinnin¡¯ your core alone should be enough to drag in essence, right through your skin, but for right now that¡¯s good. Your energy ain¡¯t¡­ heavy enough yet to drag in more, or to get it through your skin without breathin'' it in through your lungs.¡±


    ¡°I ain¡¯t gonna teach you about your meridians, talk to your oracle friend, they know how to get people started once they connect to their aspect, but the first step is kind of like a push. Feel that thing in your hands? You need to try and gather the energy halo, and push it into that once they match. You might even get some traits eventually you can push the energy into, but you need to figure out how to connect your meridians first, cause that¡¯s where they link up. That¡¯s why patternists use their hands to draw their essence patterns, cause their traits are linked to the meridians in their limbs.¡±


    After about half an hour, my root glow was submerged into the overall glow of the halo and seemed to almost disappear. I knew it was still there, but I didn¡¯t feel it like a bump in the middle of the ring anymore.


    ¡°You done? Damn, that took a long time for a wood. Okay, now that your pool is full, try pushing a little energy into the lantern. Not very much! If you push too much, or too fast, you¡¯re gonna blow the damned thing up and maybe kill yourself.¡±


    I started concentrating, trying to gently nudge the energy towards my hands, the same way I was able to blow the circle into spinning. It started to push, just a little, and I felt a little¡­ click in my hands, like a thermostat that just turned on an air conditioner with its mercury switch and coil. I stopped pushing, and with just a breath of spin, the tiny amount of energy was replaced and I let it slow down to a stop.


    ¡°Good! Open your eyes, meatball.¡±


    I opened my eyes, and there was a little cylinder in my hands, glowing with nearly as much light as a sixty-watt bulb.


    ¡°Did I do that?¡± I asked stupidly. Of course, I did. I felt it. Thank you, Urkle.


    The gremlin nodded, ¡°Yep. Congratulations. You are now almost as smart as your average prepubescent gremlin. Before you know it, you should be able to identify colors and add up to five without using your fingers!¡±


    I growled, ¡°Thanks a lot, snotbubble. Seriously, though, I get the feeling this was a big step.¡±


    He nodded slowly, ¡°Yep, it¡¯s a big step, but only the very first one. I can do a little more, but my root is crowswap, so I didn¡¯t bother learning to compress the little bits of energy I got. Glad to help, but I gotta get back to work.¡±


    I tried to remember some of the books I had read. The cultivation fantasies seemed to be a lot like this, so I wondered if any of my memories could help improve this. I suddenly realized something.


    ¡°Hey¡­ umm¡­ is there a restroom?¡±


    Raspail was poring back over his notes again, grumbling, and Melita shook her head, ¡°No¡­ if you need to sleep, I could probably make up a cot in the storehouse. Raspail doesn¡¯t have any guest rooms.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean¡­ uhh¡­ bathroom?¡±


    ¡°You need a bath?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No, I have a full bladder.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± she exclaimed suddenly understanding. ¡°Yes, we have a jakes upstairs. Sorry, I should have realized you¡¯d have to do some purging.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t yet. I mean, it was a little weird, it must have been due to that recycler thing, but this was the first time I¡¯d needed a bathroom break. It was very odd, but I didn¡¯t want to think about it¡­ all I knew was that it was a lot, and it stank worse than any time before, ever. The jakes were¡­ functional, for a deep hole with a stool and board over it, but I was incredibly relieved, it felt like I¡¯d lost five pounds. And at least they had a fibrous sort of paper, even if it wasn¡¯t Charmin. It took longer than I expected to get cleaned up, though, everything was sort of¡­ sticky.


    Still, at least black gunk hadn¡¯t come out of every pore and orifice, as some of those novels suggested. I wasn¡¯t exactly crawling in clothes right now, and I was still broke. Ruining everything I was wearing, some of it borrowed, would have sucked.


    ¡°I am confused, a little.¡± I confided in Wandi. ¡°Why are you helping me so much? It¡¯s not my hot body, right? You aren¡¯t turning into my rich female sugar mama with side benefits?¡±


    She shook her head laughing as we moved away from the industrial district. ¡°No. I mean, not that you aren¡¯t good-looking, you are sort of growing on me, even without a tail. At first, I just wanted to get the whole energy reading thing settled out, and then, after what Kamli told me, I realized we might finally get a decent Lawkeeper. Now I¡¯m thinking you might be a decent delver eventually, one that could help me get ahead and advance, and if you have more ideas that Raspail can use, you might wind up really well off.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. A penniless lawkeeper is a lawkeeper who¡¯s vulnerable to bribery. So now, I guess I am just getting in on the ground floor. You seem like a good man, even if you have a pretty sordid and confusing history, and once you come into your own, well, you might need a deputy.¡±


    ¡°You want a job?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°Deputy is a lot more than a job. Some of the stuff, like peacekeeping, hunters like me do already. There are also other benefits. It would be nice to have the authority to back up what hunters and the guilds have to do already.¡±


    ¡°Other benefits?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°A steady paycheck instead of living on what I hunt or delve. The deputy trait, which is extremely useful for helping resolve disputes, a title, other stuff.¡±


    ¡°What kind of other stuff?¡±


    She glared at me. ¡°Just other stuff. You¡¯ll find out when you become a lawkeeper. If you become a lawkeeper. It¡¯s complicated, but you can¡¯t do it all yourself, you need deputies to help, and I wouldn¡¯t mind helping deal with some of the long-standing corruption in this town. I have my reasons.¡±


    I wondered if those reasons involved some sort of payback, since despite her incredible helpfulness, I felt like there was something¡­ pained about her. It was not uncommon. I didn¡¯t think she was broken, but almost everyone has something painful in their history if they were a complete person. To quote one of my favorite movies, Life is Pain¡­ anyone who tells you differently is selling you something.

 Chapter A20. A Clockwork watch

    We ate lunch, once again Wandi¡¯s treat¡­ sausage sandwiches that somewhat resembled Italian but with almost-basil instead of oregano, laced with sauerkraut and surprisingly tasty little orange pickled peppers on what tasted like a sourdough rye roll. That slightly alcoholic cider made our repast, and I guess my recycler was still working, because I was quite satisfied with the meal, despite it being sized more for someone Wandi¡¯s size rather than mine.


    I surprised her when I insisted on working out before we tried shooting again. I did pull-ups on a tree limb, a thousand push-ups, and nine-point squats until I was ready to fall over. ¡°Hey,¡± I said, ¡°I lost my body while I was sick¡­ I am not going to take that risk again.¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°There are training rooms at the Hunter¡¯s lodge. When you join, you can work it out with their help. Lots of delvers do, since a lot of traits, especially physical ones, are multiplied by your current fitness.¡±


    ¡°Is that what we are going to do?¡± I asked her with a wink, ¡°Become delvers and work together closely at the hunter¡¯s lodge?¡±


    She smiled slightly, but she looked a little embarrassed. I wondered if that empathy thing I had on the ship was working again because ever since I¡¯d started pulling in energy, I felt like I had a much better handle on her moods. It didn¡¯t feel like some kind of a magic power, though, more like I could just sort of¡­ notice things about her posture, facial expressions, and the words she used and pauses that I hadn¡¯t noticed before.


    That, and I did almost a thousand push-ups without pause. I¡¯d never been able to pull that off without breaking a sweat. It took hundreds of the worst kind of burpees to finally wear me out, and I sat recovering and watching the young woman with interest.


    ¡°if you want to do that. I mean, we still need to see if you can use a gun, and find out what kind of melee strength you have. We would have to go into a tin delve, even with you being wood. The difference isn¡¯t huge yet, and you should gain advancement quickly, but you don¡¯t want to try and wrestle a tin-ranked Grapple Ape at wood tier. You are very strong, but they crush coconuts with their bare hands.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s still the fastest way to advance. If you want to become the lawkeeper, you don¡¯t want to even start until you are at least high copper, maybe bronze. Like I said, you will almost instantly make enemies.¡±


    I nodded, I¡¯d been thinking about it since the lab. ¡°I think I do. I mean, this is MY choice, not something I want to do just because I can, or because it will piss the right people off. Protecting the innocent is always what I was imagining I was doing, my secret dream. I know it sounds stupid, but every time I went into action, I told myself it was my actions that helped protect the people back home. It was one of the few things I liked about my job, other than how good I was at it, but that faded as I got older.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°I always imagined myself like Batman¡­ the dark knight, the masked crusader that flew into action to deal with the things that public protectors and guardians couldn¡¯t handle. Unrestrained by protocol, policy, or politics, I would just swing in, beat the bullies down and teach them not to hurt innocent people anymore, kill the irredeemable monsters, possibly earn a kiss from a beautiful woman for being her hero, and then swing out again to find the next villains to deal with.¡±


    ¡°So becoming a lawkeeper is what you really want to do?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yep. I feel like for the first time in my life I am making my own choice, guiding my own path, instead of having it made for me by my parents, my superior officers, or my poor health. It kind of makes me feel like I can do anything, for once. It¡¯s weird, it¡¯s like I have total freedom for once, but I am happy to give that freedom to other people. Yes, I want to become a cop¡­ a lawkeeper, and I am glad you are helping me, for whatever reasons you are doing it.¡±


    She sighed hugely, flopping down cross-legged. ¡°Oh, thank whatever gods or goddesses are listening!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    She sighed. ¡°I was worried I was pushing you¡­ I mean, I pushed you to see Kamli, and then pushed you right over to Raspail¡­ I thought maybe my desire to see a new Lawkeeper, a good one, was rushing you into it. I mean, now I am pushing you to shoot, and I even decided on lunch.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Lunch was delicious. I pretty much know nothing. If I could afford it, I¡¯d probably be dragging you around. You are the first friend I have made here, but hopefully not the last. But yeah¡­ I agree with your pushing, but eventually, I might have to do a little pushing of my own, or maybe a lot of pushing if you decide you are interested.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Now I was convinced she was embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ I mean, you are very attractive. It took a bit to get used to the whole unaspected thing, but now I am realizing that it¡¯s not a bad thing, just different, and in some ways it is very exciting. I mean, even Kamli was interested, even though she¡¯s mated and would never act on it. But I was mated¡­¡±


    I nodded and held up my hands, ¡°Say no more. I would never intentionally step on another woman¡¯s grief, or take advantage of it.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not that. Kamli and I mated the same male. It¡¯s pretty normal for sisters to do that and raise their children as siblings. But he was¡­ I wasn¡¯t happy, so he let me out.¡±


    ¡°Was he mean? Abusive?¡± I asked, weirdly ready to do battle with some kind of asshole that hurt her¡­ in a way she didn¡¯t want to be hurt, anyway.


    She laughed and shook her head, ¡°No, not at all. He¡¯s got a very good job with the guild as an assessor. He¡¯s a very nice man. Very stable, very reliable, very¡­ unambitious. Very predictable. He likes everything to stay the same. He liked all three of his wives to behave the same way. Kamli is in heaven, she loves predictability, but I wanted more, I guess. I know it makes me a bad person, but after a year, I wanted out, and because I wasn¡¯t taking Kamli with me, he was fine with it. Reina was fine with it too, because it meant more scheduled nights.¡±


    ¡°Scheduled nights?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes. I mean, some women enjoy being with each other as much as their husbands, but Kamli and I are sisters, and Reina is¡­ elite, with elite tastes. He liked to be intimate with his mates every Friday and Saturday night, and Reina, as first wife, was the one who slept in his bed. When I left, there was enough room for three to sleep in his bed most nights, and they get alone time intimacy every single week.¡±


    I laughed, and she looked at me oddly, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I am looking at you and wondering what kind of¡­ no offense, nutball could keep his hands to himself for a week, and then miss a week. I mean, yeah, your sister is amazingly gorgeous, staggeringly so, but ugh. Did he have a dozen girls on the side or something?¡±


    She was fidgeting a little, ¡°I am not going to ask you to compare me to others, but there are LOTS of women here, many of whom are much more attractive than me.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Can they outshoot you?¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°Can they run faster, farther, or skin a kill better than you?¡±


    ¡°Not many.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Appearance is only one aspect of what a person is. Are you absolutely stunning? Yep. Are some of them more eye-catching? Probably. But you know¡­ there¡¯s only one measure of attractiveness. Good enough or not good enough, and lady, you are definitely good enough. Putting gems on your sword or custom scrimshaw on your pistol isn¡¯t going to make it shoot better or hit harder.¡±


    She looked at me carefully, ¡°Well, actually, if the gem is power-linked or the scrimshaw is a rune¡­¡±


    I laughed, ¡°Shut up, woman, I am trying to compliment you. Anyway. Does your sister have a more lush butt than yours or bigger boobs? Sure. Would that make someone any happier? Not likely. Very beautiful women that are well aware of their value tend to be¡­ hard to keep happy.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Reina is like that. She¡¯s also a lepan, but is a well-known beauty.¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t get it. How can a guy be surrounded by beauty and then just¡­ set aside one or two days a week?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°He was a tarsien.¡±


    ¡°A tarsien?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Nocturnal, giant eyes, a long tail. Not very high energy, they are drawn to mental occupations and are very smart and perceptive, but they are seldom hunters or delvers, mostly vegetarian. They don¡¯t tend to have big appetites of any sort. As I said, very stable and predictable. He always liked to do things the same way.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°It didn¡¯t help that tarsien and mephan aspects can¡¯t breed, and I wasn¡¯t attracted much, so I usually just let the two of them split their nights. I think after a few months, he was happy to let me go since there was no real future.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°See, now you got me thinking about sexual habits between the different aspects. What about weasel types?¡±


    ¡°Lutrans? Oh yes, they are well-known for their appetites. One young man is well-known for running through the dance hall¡¯s entire female population in one night when he got an ultra loot in a rift. People are different and aspect doesn¡¯t mean everything, but lutrans are known for giving you the best three and a half minutes of romance in your life. They often have REALLY big families, but those families don¡¯t tend to be particularly¡­ devoted. The law of family tends to get a little flexible when it comes to lutrans, because lutrans are rarely faithful, and it¡¯s well-known and expected.¡±


    She laughed, ¡°If you wanted to bring a couple of lutrans into your harem, it would probably be fine because while they might already be married if you got one pregnant, it would just be one more baby in her husband¡¯s house. Not that Lutrans are wealthy, but they all tend to work hard and play hard and combine their income¡­ one of them might be the designated stay-at-home mother for the horde of babies, but with enough people, any family can keep themselves well, and with aspect diversity, it¡¯s not like anyone would notice or care that it might not be her husband¡¯s child.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, can we stop doing the harem joke?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, I can see a wonderful amount of ribbing about it in the future. Of course, if a lutran¡¯s child was born without an aspect at all, I imagine that might raise some questions, so you might want to look elsewhere for your slave girls.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°On that note¡­ do you want to see if I can fight?¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°Are you rested from showing off your muscles?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, but next time I might have to peel off my shirt to make the point.¡±


    She winked saucily at me, ¡°Maybe I will look forward to it.¡±

 Chapter A21. What would Jessie do?

    I felt the little click while I was tugging the pistol out of it¡¯s holster when I knew that the pistol was fully ready to be fired. I carefully squeezed the trigger, in between my own heartbeats and energizing breaths, a feeling of mesmerism that meant I was going to hit EXACTLY what I was aiming at, and nothing could stop me, and a hundred feet away an explosion of wood from the same hole I had made on the last two shots let me know that I was right.


    ¡°That¡­ was fast. Not quite as fast a charge as me, but your actual draw was faster. You first shot was extremely fast and accurate, but subsequent shots would be slightly slower.¡± she shivered a little, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to face you in a gunfight, but then, I am not a gunfighter, I much prefer my buss or a carbine for good reason.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Good enough for delving?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°definitely good enough for delving tin-ranked. But now it¡¯s time to figure out what to do in a real fight,¡± and she carefully pulled out a wooden sword.


    I sighed, okay, time to get my ass beat. ¡°I know exactly two weapons. Well, maybe three if you count the spear-staff as two.¡±


    ¡°Your little knife?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah. But I could probably go almost as big as a dagger. I know how to fight close-in with a knife or middle range with a spear or staff. A sword? If I don¡¯t lop off my own leg, I count it as a win, and I am betting fists and knees don¡¯t count.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t kidding. I had practiced fake lightsaber and Ninja moves when I was a teenager, what kid hasn¡¯t? And the only thing I could guarantee was that if it had been a real laser sword I¡¯d have left myself in several small and a couple of large pieces.


    She nodded, ¡°We can try your stick then. It¡¯s not enhanced, but right now we are just practicing.¡±


    ¡°Am I allowed to throw physical fighting in as well?¡±


    ¡°Would you do it in a real fight?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Then go for it. I mean, there¡¯s a big difference between fighting people and fighting monsters, but that kind of experience only comes through doing it. Delving means fighting monsters, but being a lawkeeper means you are almost sure to fight people.¡±


    The problem was, I was fighting at an advantage, and it showed very quickly. She had some kind of trait or something that allowed her to react incredibly quickly, but while in a real fight, a sword would quickly chop a staff to pieces, in the kind of training fighting we were doing, it was a near perfect defense. Even when she started going for my knuckles, it took barely a twitch to have her blade against the wood instead of my hand, and I wasn¡¯t playing nice¡­ I used a knife, and so every time I locked her and could get my right or left hand free, I would tap my knife sheath, slap the side of my hand against a vital zone, and say, ¡°Stab¡±.


    It didn¡¯t help that she was probably not particularly used to fighting human opponents. If I were a wolf, she¡¯d probably have taken me out dozens of times, but wolves don¡¯t trip you the moment you step off balance, bind your hands or hip-throw you, tuck you into a hold, or hit your wrist with an elbow or knee when you are trying to stab them.


    Honestly, I enjoyed the hell out of it. Sure we were fighting, and every strike was supposed to be deadly, but her body was sweet and athletic, and I definitely noticed enough to be glad most of my torso was covered by thick waxed leather armor. And her tail¡­ I¡¯d thought it was soft, but I had NO idea.


    She had caught me a pretty good one across the jaw with her sword handle, and at one point I had gotten so tangled up in her tail and distracted that she¡¯d managed to land a serious blow across my ribs that might have disabled me through the leather if it had been a steel blade.


    She panted, ¡°You might have me beat in fighting people. You are kind of a natural warrior, and I wouldn¡¯t bet against you if you were fighting low copper, even.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°I am NOT a natural, not even remotely. I literally spent fifteen years fighting trained warriors all over the world, in an environment where it was impossible to gain stages or advance in levels. When I started out, heck, when I was your age, you could have easily beaten me from one end of the field to the other. You are FAST.¡±


    ¡°Not fast enough, apparently. Maybe I should be asking you to train me to fight. You don¡¯t react incredibly fast, but no matter what I did, you always seemed to just be there, like you could read my mind and knew what I was going to do before I did it. No matter how fast I went, you were always ahead of me, even when I pushed essence into my traits. Now look at you, I am totally washed out and you don¡¯t even have a sweat except from those burpee-things you were doing earlier.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Beautiful, you clearly fight monsters, not people. You could probably take apart things that would turn me into tomorrow¡¯s poop. But you telegraph¡­ umm¡­ your body language tells me EVERYTHING before you do it. You look at where you are going to try to strike, you shift and turn slightly before every blow, and you wrinkle your eyebrow right before you kick in whatever trait you use to go fast. You also tend to use the same three blows, and while they are very powerful, they are also predictable, and whatever you are using for your speed, once you commit to whatever action it is, you are committed, even if it¡¯s countered.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t mean to be overly critical.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No. You are right. If I want to be a deputy I WILL have to know how to fight people, even trained fighters. I don¡¯t want to die the first time I have to bring someone to you for judgment just because I fought them like a swamp snake and looked at the wrong spot before I tried to hit. So yes, if you will teach me, I will learn at your feet, oh master.¡±


    I grinned, ¡°Watch out, I might enjoy you kneeling at my feet and calling me master.¡±


    She laughed, ¡°Still working on your slave harem? I will have to remember that.¡±


    I smiled, really enjoying the way it had turned from snarky tease into an almost flirt. ¡°See that you do. Slot one in the harem is still free, and I am a LOT more demanding than once a week.¡±


    She half-opened her mouth with shock, and then closed it with a snap, narrowing her eyebrows. I thought I might have accidentally pissed her off, but she finally smirked, ¡°Promises promises. If I do wind up in slot one, I might have to leave five minutes a day free for you.¡±


    I looked down at me now-dry shirt. ¡°Sorry, sweety, but I seem to have some kind of trait that keeps me from getting fatigued. Endurance? You might have to dodge slot one unless you want to make it five hours.¡± I sighed a little, ¡°But now I have to do something I dread.¡±


    I noticed that her look went from dramatically scandalized to worried in a flash. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    I held up my wristband with the copper face. ¡°You sister told me that I might have¡­ something similar to an aspect in here from before. Something I call Jessie, that might be able to help me see how I have changed and advanced, or help me figure out how to activate any traits or affinities I might have.¡±


    ¡°You mean like the fact that you didn¡¯t instantly know what stage you are?¡±


    I nodded sourly, ¡°Yes, exactly like that.¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Last time I looked, I was¡­ truly awful. I mean, I was literally absolute human baseline healthy in every aspect everything was mediocre. Strength, willpower, it was like looking through a fog. IF this works, I am worried at what I might see¡­ preconceptions I have held my entire life torn apart at a glance. Plus I was reborn, I have probably changed a lot since I saw it last.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Is your bracer a continuing item or a burst item?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Is it an item that you slowly feed energy to, or is it something like the pistol, where you feed it enough energy to activate, and it uses that essence immediately?¡±


    ¡°Continuing, I guess. I mean, I don¡¯t think I just fill it instantly and it bursts out.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Then think of it as slow-filling. If it needs more, if you keep up the connection, it should just draw the energy, but once you have connected it, the connection should stay stable without having to think about it, although if you run low you might have to sever the connection, and it might have a storage work that can keep going for a while when it¡¯s filled.¡±


    ¡°What if it tries to draw too much?¡±


    ¡°Then you cut the connection off. If it draws faster than you naturally gain, you need to wait until your essence gets a lot denser, like maybe tin or copper. You already know enough to fight effectively, you don¡¯t HAVE to power it now, right?¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s sort of like being afraid to look in a mirror because what you are going to see is going to be bad.¡± I remembered that feeling, feeling that way for damned near ten years.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She smiled, ¡°What I see isn¡¯t bad at all. But if you have to wait until you choose the next step in your path, then wait.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Nope. Bravery is being afraid but fighting past it. Cowardice is letting your fear control you. I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.¡± I quoted.


    ¡°That¡¯s deep.¡±


    I laughed, ¡°That was written by one of my favorite writers of all time. I read a lot, and I tend to quote what I read, so apologies in advance. It is good advice, and I think kept me alive a few times.¡±


    I concentrated on that inner cloud. It had thinned slightly, but not enough to let me see the root at it¡¯s center yet, so with a breath I set it spinning again to recharge. I cautiously molded a strand of the energy, which I was getting better at, and sent it towards the device on my wrist as carefully as I could.


    After a moment, I felt the connection, and it began to draw on my essence. It was a very minor draw, and I felt like my natural gain was more even without spinning up my core, so I exited my own imagination, and felt the world around me once more.


    ¡°Did you do it?¡± the beautiful skunk-tailed girl in front of me asked.


    I nodded slowly, ¡°But I still need to test it to see if it actually works. Umm¡­ Jessie?¡± Suddenly, hovering in front of me like some kind of magical hologram, there was a message that appeared in old-fashioned computer text.


    Greetings, Program!


    It shocked me so much that I fell over backwards, but the text seemed to hover in the same place in relation to my eyes.


    ¡°Are you okay? What happened?¡±


    I pointed at the text, ¡°Can you see that?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°See what?¡± she asked. At the same time a new text message was typed out, like it was being sent from an old modem, one slowly-typed word at a time.


    She cannot see this. I am using your mana pathways to connect to your optic nerve. What a clever way to defeat the protected planet subroutine. Please wait while I optimize the connection.\|/-\|/-


    Much better. Hello.


    I looked at Wandi. ¡°Yes, I can connect to my Virtual assistant. And he¡¯s a smartass.¡±


    She looked doubtful, ¡°Like actually talk to him? That¡¯s not like an aspect at all. Aspects are part of us. They do what we need to do and make connecting with ourselves and out traits instinctive.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°I guess Jessie is not an aspect, then. It¡¯s more like¡­¡±


    A Golem.


    ¡°I guess like a golem, that speaks.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Can you use¡­ uhh¡­ him to access your essence and trigger your traits?¡±


    No. I can advise you, but I am not able to control your innate essence use. That you have to do on your own. Then again, neither can an aspect. They are not actually sentient, simply an innate essence formation that they apply instinctively to their environment. The humans on this world have a novel and interesting approach to essence utilization.


    ¡°He says no, but he can¡­ show me how to do stuff? Or at least advise me. You can do that, right Jessie?¡±


    I can help you find your own path, yes. In that way I can emulate their aspects, but I cannot grow long ears or a tail for you, although from what I can see, you can probably do that yourself. Oh, and you do not need to speak with me. I am monitoring your mana channels and can read your nervous system, much like a cybernetic limb or cyber-enhancement. Just think at me and I will read your intent. I was¡­ hiding in your neural enhancement.


    Cyber-enhancement? And what¡¯s a mana channel?


    Ahh, here they would call it your essence framework. And cyber enhancements are like¡­ bionics. Not applicable here, of course, but if you had a super-strong robot arm, you wouldn¡¯t want to crush an egg picking it up. A good prosthetic reads your intent from your nervous system, just like I do. So no, I am not reading your mind.


    I spoke out loud, ¡°Jessie, can you show me my umm...traits and stuff?¡±


    Of course, in the future you can just think ¡®character sheet¡¯ and I will understand what you mean. My goodness, you have certainly changed!


    Suddenly, in front of me spread a chart.


    Anthony Michael Wilkins (Base Human)


    Classes: Drudge (4)              Tier: Wood


    Essence Pool: 5(40)               Energy Credits: 100


    Essence Recovery: 5             Free points: 8


    Chimera (physical affinity): 12


    Melee training (Journeyman) Durability (amateur)


    Bushwack (amateur)               Endurance (apprentice)


    Improvised melee (novice)     Pugilism (professional)


    Strength (novice)                     Flexibility (novice)


    Imagination (mental affinity): 8


    Survival (novice)                      Perception (amateur)


    Empathy (novice)                     Core (novice)


    Law (spiritual affinity): 5


    Apparition (novice)


    Firearms (apprentice)               Restoration (novice)


    Evolutions and Adaptations:


    Re-engineered                           Big game hunter


    Resist mutation                         Scotsman


    Chimeric abilities:


    Default


    Whoah.


    Indeed. Your Interaction is lower than it should be for your background, probably relative to the locals, because of your lack of understanding of certain customs. Your physical attributes, on the other hand, are quite impressive. The system giveth, and the system taketh away.


    Correction, the system giveth, and the system changeth. It does not typically take anything away, but it does change them to suit local conditions. I suppose when it sent you here, it also restored you to your ideal state. Nice guns, by the way.


    The guns are interesting, magic-powered railguns, basically.


    Apologies. I do not currently have a personality pack, I was trying to use a human idiom for your increased body development. I am impressed by the way you used a local essence-powered artifact to retrieve me from your galactic database, that was a very clever way to circumvent the planetary technology restriction.


    I didn¡¯t do that, the essence turned my transtator into this when it dropped me.


    Ahh, compliment redacted then. You were not very clever, but you were clearly very persistent instead, which is often a more useful personality trait.


    Thank you.

 Chapter A22. Protection from werewolves. Or not.

    Wandi was looking at me curiously. ¡°Are you still talking to him?¡± and I nodded, ¡°Yes, but I finally got a look at what I have. A lot of it is...confusing. Maybe you could help me figure out what some of it means. Unless¡­ umm¡­ Jessie, do you have a line on these things?¡±


    Not exactly. I can certainly provide a dictionary or system definition for those items, but how it applies locally might be very much a mystery. Law, Bushwack, and Apparition for example. I am no longer directly connected to the system, and even if I were, protected planetary restrictions could prevent me from accessing that information and breaking quarantine.


    I can, however, still access local classes for your advancement and have minor materialization abilities¡­ based on your available essence, that is.


    Which means?


    I can use your energy credits to create rewards or local monetary units based on Rift core standards. But doing so may take a great deal of your available essence. I can also assign your free points, help you choose a new class when you have mastered this one at the system standard nine, and help you locate your available traits for empowerment, even if I don¡¯t understand what they are. I can also provide information on using your advancement.


    Why did my class change from returned to Drudge?


    Most likely, returned was not a valid vocational entry into this world, so when your body was restored, the system attempted to find and apply the closest equivalent. Drudge is technically a basic class, one without any special traits, almost the quintessential basic class, but it provides two points per rank achieved, boosting your total to eight. Most basic classes only offer a single point per level. Perhaps the system considered the fact that you gained several new traits appropriate to your background and biological history fair compensation for losing level one and five trait benefits.


    Drudge is not a well-regarded class for obvious reasons but has a huge bonus to learning new skills and applying the benefits of skills you may already possess. The restricted system most likely cannot automatically allocate without accurately gauging your performance.


    Wandi was looking at me doubtfully. ¡°It¡¯s not generally a good idea to let others know your attributes or traits unless they are an oracle. They could use that knowledge against you. If you had a shield based around light essence, for example, they would know that dark essence would be the best way to penetrate it.


    I smiled, ¡°I trust you. Plus, my stuff seems pretty¡­ generic. The only real specialty defense I have is something called resist mutation, and I assume almost every gun is probably not based on mutation.¡±


    She nodded slowly. ¡°That¡¯s an unusual resistance¡­ perhaps your imagination affinity gives you some sort of shapeshifting ability, or tries to lower automatic effects?


    I sighed. ¡°Great. I might get turned into a toad.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Maybe not with mutation resistance. I mean, does it say how much it affects you? Like¡­ half or attached to an attribute or something?


    ¡°Nope, just resist mutation as an evolution or adaptation?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°That means you just...resist it. That¡¯s wonderful. It might also stop friendly mutations, but at the same time it might stop certain nasty toxins, like necrotics, vampirism, and aspect corruption.¡±


    She is correct. There is a local form of serious aspect corruption, called ¡®werewolf¡¯, where a corrupted wolf aspect can infect other aspects and make them become werewolf as well. This leads to violent insanity matched with heightened aggressive instincts, one of the local hazards. Resist mutation may help prevent this infection. It is most likely based on your chimera affinity, meaning mutations can simply be altered the moment they occur. I have a strong suspicion that your mutation resistance is an artifact of the cancerous mutations that¡­ almost killed you.


    I nodded, ¡°it might help protect me from getting turned into a werewolf.¡±


    She grinned, ¡°More and more I am looking forward to you becoming a lawkeeper. Vampires and werewolves are a HUGE threat because they can creep into a town, and go undetected for a long time until they are stamped out. You might be able to stop that, without getting turned, yourself. That¡¯s what happened to one of the interim lawkeepers. He went out to hunt monsters and came back AS one and both he and his wives had to be put down when they shifted to monster wolves at a full moon and started trying to eat people.¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°Okay, this one¡­ enhanced restoration?¡±


    She laughed! ¡°Okay, now I am getting jealous. That¡¯s a healer trick. Probably part of Reborn. It helps you restore things like wounds and stuff to an earlier, healthy condition if you have enough essence. It won¡¯t fix death, but it comes awfully close.¡±


    ¡°Okay, here¡¯s one¡­ do you know what apparition is?¡±


    She frowned slightly. ¡°That¡¯s a charlatan trait. It lets you appear like you belong, it doesn¡¯t change anything, but people look at how you are dressed and how you act and just automatically assume it looks right. On the other hand, it¡¯s a fantastic tool for a lawkeeper who needs to investigate something shady.¡±


    ¡°Empathy?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Again, a bit shady, but great for a lawkeeper. It tends to influence how people feel about you, and their trust, and it also helps you understand their motivations. If it isn¡¯t resisted by strong willpower, people instinctively believe you have their best interests at heart. You didn¡¯t use it on me, did you?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°It takes essence. I don¡¯t even know how to feed these things yet. Then again, I think during our fight, I might have accidentally cheated.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I fought some powerful creatures, and gained a special achievement trait that gives me a huge bonus when I am fighting things more powerful than me. You qualify.¡±


    She chuckled, ¡°That still takes real skill. You spanked my butt, badly.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I would like to spank your butt, badly.


    You could tell her that, that might influence her towards acceptance, many human females have unspoken desires in that direction.


    How about, when I make a personal observation in my head, you do NOT pay attention to it unless it applies to my path, advancement, or essence use unless I directly address you or use your name?


    Ah, social faux pas. I understand and apologize.


    I smiled a little. ¡°I also have one for fighting a¡­ way too big horde of monsters.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Good. That might also be useful to a lawkeeper, and definitely for a delver. I hope I can become your deputy because sometimes achievements trickle down. Fighting better when greatly outnumbered is a huge deal, especially during swarms or raids, and it¡¯s difficult for most people to survive long enough to gain that trait.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I also have stuff like strength, flexibility, endurance, and something called core.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Core being in one of your traits is great because that means raising your affinity also multiplies your essence pool, rather than having to build it separately. That also means that, like all traits, improving your core will also improve your affinity. Kind of a win-win, and a great way to surpass bottlenecks.¡±


    ¡°I am envious. I have nature, ranged, and speed affinities, and my cultivation is outside of my affinities so I have to keep them separate. Then again, if your path is very physical, that might explain the traits. Do you have a cultivation skill?¡±


    She could move her cultivation trait into her speed or nature affinities easily enough with proper training. They are separate probably because her aspect taught her a common technique, instead of one fitted specifically to her affinities. Finding a scripture or manual, or speaking to one of the¡­ greenskins that have to learn their cultivation manually, might enable her to make the shift.


    The reason your core is in your imagination affinity is that you used imagination on a basic greenskin technique. You, too, could choose to learn a technique that affects a more powerful affinity, like physical. Of course, that will limit you to more physically oriented paths.


    Is it often attached to imagination?


    Yes and no. Yes, because it clearly has been linked, and no, because I have never heard of that affinity before. However, that doesn¡¯t mean you cannot create a second dantian linked to your higher physical affinity. Right now, your strongest use for essence, due to imagination, is of course empathy, lawkeeper, and Apparition, but I am sure that linking another version of the core trait through physical would enhance those aspects as well. Some people have three dantians, one for each affinity. Currently, you have one, attached to your imagination, and filled by your law affinity.


    You already have a minor essence flow through your nervous system and body, as evidenced by your physical traits, actually consciously flowing essence through your body with a physical core could make you¡­ very physical.


    I shook my head. Not right now. I¡¯d read plenty of stories where the hero got so physically buffed that even touching other people could hurt them, and call me a pervert if you want, I was hoping for some touching in my future.


    Increase your cultivation skills before you attempt to create a new core linked to your physical affinity. That would allow you to control your force far more effectively.


    ¡°No?¡± Wandi asked.


    I smiled slightly. ¡°According to Jessie, Our cultivation methods are not exactly fitted to our affinities, they work for everyone but are not really specialized. But that might have to wait. There¡¯s something called manuals or scriptures, and greenskins might know ways that can link them in.¡±


    That¡¯s why they are called ¡®basic¡¯ cores. Their aspects give them a method that applies to all humans, just like your method applies to all greenskins¡­ it¡¯s not designed for the imagination affinity, it is simply installed there because of your power. More advanced or better-fitted cultivation methods would usually have titles like ¡®nature cultivation¡¯ or ¡®Chen Lau seven thousand fists of heaven speed cultivation method¡¯. Cultivators are known for creating grandiose and self-affirming titles for their discoveries.


    She nodded slowly, ¡°Is that what those are? Sometimes in rifts, we receive books, scrolls, or plates as rewards, covered in weird diagrams and an unknown language or symbology. Maybe¡­ those are designed for specific affinities? They are usually just stored in case anyone can figure out what they are for, or ever comes up with the language they are written in.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°we might have to look into those then.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°The regent has them. When you become a lawkeeper, he might give you access, but until then, probably not likely.¡±


    I had a slightly evil thought, but I decided to test the waters a little. ¡°What if I found a method called ¡®Tony¡¯s main squeeze firearms trait cultivation method¡¯? Would you accept it?¡±


    She pouted, but I could tell she wasn¡¯t really irritated. ¡°If it let me link my core to my ranged affinity? I¡¯d probably take it. That isn¡¯t very nice, though, for a lawkeeper.¡±


    I smiled a little wickedly, ¡°I never pretended to be a nice guy. I want to be a good guy, but good and nice are not always the same thing. Maybe I have plans as a lawkeeper that involve you, me, a bed, and a pair of handcuffs.¡±


    She chuckled, ¡°Well, as long as I agree, that doesn¡¯t exactly break any laws, does it? But, of course, that¡¯s far in the future.¡± She yawned dramatically.


    Whoah. Sixty to zero in two point two seconds. Another good shutdown, but close enough that I was thankful, once again, for my concealing armor. Now I had to bang the idea of being wrapped in that fluffy tail out of my imagination. If only I weren¡¯t utterly broke¡­


    Wait hold the phone¡­ those energy credits, what are they good for?


    They can be converted into local currency, used to purchase upgrades for me like a personality module or database, or used for certain specialized gear or enchantment upgrades. I do not currently have access to the galactic market, however, so it¡¯s only good for local purchases and basic gear that are available to all worlds, even protected ones.


    Do you have access to cultivation manuals?


    Unfortunately, no. Rift cores might have that access to the galactic market as long as it fits into the tech and sorcery restrictions, but I am much more limited. On the other hand, the scrounging quirk has enormous potential, as it allows you to discover and collect crafting materials or valuable items others might miss, like energy cores from beasts you kill.


    I want to know more about that, but let¡¯s put a plug in it for a second. So¡­ local currency. What does it cost?


    As far as I know, each energy credit is worth a single gold crown. Materializing them, however, will require ten of your essence pool. I cannot do much better in my sad, non-upgraded, and personality-free state. You would likely recover easily from materializing a few coins, but more than a few would likely put you into essence fatigue until you can cultivate and recover.


    Do you know the local coins?


    There are copper pennies, silver dimes worth ten pennies, silver dollars worth ten dimes, gold eagles worth ten silver dollars, and gold crowns worth ten gold eagles. Those who fight rifts were never intended to starve.

 Chapter A23. Deputies and cultural misunderstandings.

    ¡°Wandi, This may be a stupid question, but I know what pennies, dimes, dollars, eagles, and crowns are, but what is money¡­ you know... worth?¡±


    She tapped her teeth for a moment. ¡°That is pretty flexible, based on quality, ingredients, and even certain popular names or locations. A decent loaf of bread on Main Street costs about a dime, but the same loaf from an unknown baker in the industrial quarter would be five pennies. A cheap loaf that¡¯s part sawdust in the poor quarter might go two for a penny, while a slice of the same loaf smeared with lard or butter in a greasy tavern might be two pennies. It¡¯s kind of a guessing game, and merchants get rich by guessing right a lot.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Our lunches cost a dime each, for the sandwiches and cider, and that¡¯s generally a price I look for. At a fancy restaurant like the Arms or the Golden Hare, you could wind up blowing two or three dollars per person easily, not including the wines.¡±


    ¡°So what about gear for delvers?¡±


    ¡°You can get a decent used pistol for about an eagle, and a rifle for twelve dollars. New, you are looking at probably two eagles each if you get a good name. Good gunsmiths are expensive. Your armor is probably worth five dollars total since it¡¯s good quality and decent leather. Mine was an eagle, but that¡¯s because I have boobs, and designers automatically jack up the price on anything made for women because they assume we are desperate for good names and fashionable appearance, so if your armor is designed not to squash your boobs and fit your hips, you might as well double the price.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t really begrudge the costs, though, since I know full well that making armor that is both comfortable and protective for a woman is probably a lot more difficult than making an oversized steel garbage pail a man can wear.¡±


    She looked at her beloved buss. ¡°This and my pistol were both made custom for me by Raspail. They were expensive, but they are very powerful, have greatly reduced kick, are made for my hand size, and the handgun can clear the holster clean and quickly. He threw in both for a gold crown, because¡­ you know, favors, and family.¡±


    ¡°Favors and family?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yeah. He was not very well-liked, so I fronted for him for a while and didn¡¯t make him pay, plus, you know, he married my sister Melita.¡±


    ¡°Melita is your sister?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Different mother, but yeah, I have a lot of sisters.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    She thought about it, mumbling under her breath. Wow. ¡°twenty-six. But Kamli and I have the same blood mother. Five moms, though. Also three brothers.¡± She shrugged, ¡°My sword is actually pretty basic. Five dollars new for an arming sword, although you can cut off a dollar if you don¡¯t mind the fact that it came off a dead guy but is still pretty new.¡±


    I thought about that, ¡°So that means¡­¡±


    She smiled slightly, ¡°That means that a good rapier, even if it is a lot lighter, could potentially cost you a good eagle. But a spear stick, if it is metal reinforced with a decent blade, would probably only cost you three dollars new, but I doubt you will find any used. They aren¡¯t that popular.¡±


    ¡°No, I meant, that means if I were to ask someone to court you, I¡¯d have to ask nine people, including your brothers? And maybe get past a shield of 26 girls trying to protect you from a jerk?¡±


    She laughed, ¡°No, you¡¯d have to ask me. But if you wanted to get old-fashioned about it, you could ask my mom, Kasta Cooper, and probably Kamli since she¡¯s protective, but she¡¯d just throw me at you and smile like an idiot. My pop? He¡¯d be like¡­ ¡°Is she one of mine? Just make sure you pay her bride price.¡± and then forget about you.¡±


    ¡°Wait, bride price?¡±


    She laughed, ¡°No, that¡¯s not a thing, but my dad is greedy as hell and would ask for one if he thought you were stupid enough to fall for it. It¡¯s actually the other way around, at least for aspected humans. Many well-regarded males would demand some kind of financial privilege for taking on another female unless she were particularly skilled or powerful. Food can get expensive.¡±


    ¡°So to change the subject again¡­¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°To fully outfit you, I am looking at about a crown total if you want to stick to a pistol and a reinforced short spear, both of which you are very good at. It¡¯s a hit, but I can afford it, and I have already accounted for it. It¡¯s a gift to get our new potential lawkeeper started, but if you have to pay it back, a couple of rifts should do it easily.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Are reinforced rifles with bayonets a thing?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yep. Popular actually. If that¡¯s what you want, we could probably get you a reinforced carbine¡­ it¡¯s like a rifle but has a self-cycling magazine like a pistol. And you can affix a nice, long bayonet dagger to it.¡±


    I grinned, ¡°Yes, I know carbines. Most of that spear stuff, and shooting, were just side effects of my training with heavy carbines, bayonets, and staff fighting. If a carbine can be used the way I used my spear, I¡¯d be far happier with that¡­ I can save a pistol for when I become a lawkeeper and need something smaller to walk around with.¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°That will probably save some money. To be honest, though, if your whippoorwill idea works¡­¡±


    ¡°Spindizzy, or maybe ring rifle?¡±


    ¡°Right. If that works, and you tell Raspail you are interested in pistols and carbines, he¡¯ll probably build you something amazing in a month that uses it, in lieu of part of your ten percent. I¡¯d take it, whatever it is, and not even argue about the value. He¡¯s usually money short because of bad spending habits, which is mostly my sister¡¯s fault.¡±


    ¡°Melita has expensive tastes?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, she buys JUNK. Lots of it. If it¡¯s interesting and maybe broken, she pays way too much for it. You saw how full of garbage his lab was? That¡¯s mostly her fault. Admittedly, it gives him some great ideas, which is why they are still married despite her being stupid with money, but as soon as he gets a commission, most of it goes to more scrap just stacked up by the both of them.¡±


    She chuckled, ¡°Honestly if you could get that chemical bullet thing going, she¡¯d probably go crazy. Melita¡¯s more of an alchemist-inventor than Raspail is, making stuff like poison cannons and flame-tossers. If you asked her permission to court me after giving her that, she¡¯d probably try to get my clothes off and shove me into your bed. Wearing golden bells and¡­ I don¡¯t know, a top hat or something. She¡¯s weird.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    I was very thoughtful. ¡°You know, I think I may have just remembered the third ingredient for gunpowder, the chemical explosive stuff that¡¯s used in those bullets I was talking about. Charcoal, sulfur, and then I remembered it was called saltpeter, but it wasn¡¯t until just now that I remembered what it meant, potassium nitrate.¡± I hopped to my feet. ¡°How long do you think it would take us to get to the workshop?¡±


    She looked at me in confusion, ¡°Wait, are you actually serious?¡±


    I grinned, ¡°This may be hard to explain, but I am not as old as I used to be, you know.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I was reborn. Do you mind if I am a bit crude?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Nope, be as crude as you have to be.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I was a fifty-year-old man. For the last fifteen years of my life, I was dying as my body rotted out from under me. For the last ten of those years, I was stuck in a bed, slowly growing fatter and fatter as my body shut down and had to be trimmed away by doctors to keep me alive. I haven¡¯t even had a cute girl LOOK at me with anything other than disgust for ten years, and I couldn¡¯t even masturbate. I could barely feel my hands, and honestly, I had no idea if I even HAD a penis or if the doctors had to remove it for the last two years.¡±


    She looked embarrassed but nodded.


    ¡°Then, my lovely mother stuffed me into an icy coffin to freeze me for only God knows how many decades or millennia, hoping someone would invent a cure.¡± I pointed at the sky. ¡°I was floating way out there, among the stars, with a bunch of other frozen corpses of half-dead hopefuls.¡±


    ¡°Then I got woken up by voices that were weird and creepy as hell, belonging to about the most non-human creatures you can imagine, and they threw me into a rift full of dead things, like skeletons and ghouls, so I could bring them the rewards. And at the time I was too stupid to care. Heck, I saw a cute girl getting violently raped in the first rift, and I came damned close to joining in the fun. Like I said, I am not a NICE man, but I am a self-controlled one, and I want to be good, but in my mental state, I barely resisted and slaughtered the goblins gang-raping her. Blood or sex and I chose blood.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°And now, I am restored to the body of a twenty-something kid, a better body than my best in my last life, and the moment I resign myself to being a hermit, wandering along the road, I am immediately thrust into the company of the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. Ever.¡±


    ¡°Sure she has a tail, which is very different, but it suits her, and she is incredibly nice, generous, and excited for me, and even gives me food and a place to sleep when I am pretty much at my current rock bottom. Her personality is exciting and vibrant, exactly the kind I like in a girl, she¡¯s not money-hungry or searching for fame, and I pretty much desperately want to curl up in that incredibly soft tail and try to make her scream my name for days if she wants to.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I know it¡¯s a bit early, and I don¡¯t know her very well, but so far she believes in me, even after I told her the absolutely worst parts. And she¡¯s still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, so I want to know what I have to do to actually convince her that I want to get to know her better, and maybe even try to find out if we have a future together. So yeah, serious.¡±


    She looked¡­ almost angry. ¡°I already told you I¡¯d become your deputy, what more do you want?¡±


    ¡°Uhh...wait, what?¡±


    ¡°Yes, if you become lawkeeper, I will be your deputy. I don¡¯t understand what you are asking for.¡±


    I scratched my head, ¡°Wait. I think¡­ maybe we are having some kind of cultural disconnect here. In my land, a deputy is a guy that the lawman hires to go collect drunks and back him up with a gun when he breaks up a house full of angry criminals. Basically he, or she, is a hired secondary law officer. Most lawkeepers will hire about a dozen or so to help keep the peace, but they are under his authority, and their badges, and training, are as a secondary guard force.¡±


    She looked at me and burst out laughing!


    ¡°W¡­ what?¡±


    She tried to talk in between giggles, ¡°You thought that a deputy was some girl, or maybe even a man, that you could just hire off the streets? Someone who is maybe your delve teammate, or drinking buddy, could speak in your name. YOUR name, with YOUR authority. That authority includes summary execution, I might add. You would trust someone that you pay wages to, like a watchman or peacekeeper, or maybe a housemaid?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    ¡°And you expect her or him to watch your back, protect your life, and support your judgments instantly, and without hesitation, even if that judgment is against a rich idiot or nobleman who would happily pay a thousand times what you can afford as a¡­ salary, to shoot you in the back? That adventurer who you have been delving with, who has NO lawkeeper trait, well, you just think he or she is a decent person who can be trusted.¡±


    ¡°Alright. When you put it that way¡­ it does seem a little uhh¡­ poorly thought out.¡±


    She laughed, ¡°No, a Lawkeeper¡¯s deputy is a lot closer to him than that. And yes, all lawkeepers are male. She speaks in your name because she HAS your name. She understands your judgments because she gains a trait that lets her know what they are. She supports your judgments, always, instantly, because you are as close to her as her life, and her children. She¡¯s there to support you through the thick and the thin, through the worst battle wounds or tragedies, and she offers you ALL of her support, whether you are agonizing over a judgment or if something¡­ umm¡­ comes up in the night.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s like mating? Till death do you part?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°And death usually does. But it¡¯s a lot closer than being mated. Males can have giant families, and some of the sister-wives can just sort of be there without being part of the family or ever even meeting with their mate except for children. But a deputy is as close to you as your skin, her life is YOURS. I thought you were just being a completely mean jack-hole by making jokes about permission and stuff like you might turn me down as your deputy completely.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Well, now I feel like a jack-hole, whatever that is.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s the southward-facing end of a northbound jack. The part that cabbage comes out of after the jack is done using it. Jacks have soft fur and giant testicles that usually wind up covered in the leftovers. Pretty nasty.¡±


    ¡°Okay, right, I am officially a jack-hole then. A clean one, anyway.¡±


    ¡°It was after you spoke with Kamli. I decided I would become your deputy, and help you recruit only the absolute best. Oracles can¡­ see souls, and she knew that we had matching souls, and would be happy even if life turned to scat for us, which is possible for a lawkeeper, even if we¡­ died for each other.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°I trust Kamli with my life and my soul. She told me not to marry Miatt, and she was right, and she told me not to sleep with him, and she was right, and then she told him I needed to get out when I could, and that it was the right time because something amazing was coming¡­ so I trusted her this time, and she was right. You are not a nice man, but you are a good man. I was married to a nice man, and it just made me unhappy. And now I am going to someday be the deputy of a good, but not nice man.¡±


    She giggled a little, ¡°Are we still being crude?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Be my guest, madam.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°I know, without the slightest doubt, that if someone tried to really hurt me, that you would blow their heart out through their spine, or their balls through their head, or cut their head off, or stick a pokey stick in their brain without even the slightest hesitation or thought. And the idea makes me¡­ well¡­ when we get back to town, I need to go home for a few minutes to change my clothes.¡±


    Please materialize two crowns, Jessie.


    I felt I could actually feel, my energy halo thin out. It wasn¡¯t severe, but Jessie sucked the energy through the conduit I had connected as quickly as firing off a full cylinder of revolver bullets, and then two heavy coins dropped into the palm of my left hand. I took Wandi¡¯s hand, and then said, ¡°You are absolutely right. If someone breaks the law of family and the law of body like that, I¡¯d end them without hesitation,¡± then I turned her hand over and dropped the coins into it.


    ¡°What¡¯s this for? She asked, opening up her hand and widening her eyes at the glint of gold. ¡°I thought you were broke.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°I WAS broke. That¡¯s why I needed to unlock my cultivation. The first coin is to help get me outfitted. You know this town, where to get the best deals for the best quality, where to look for more clothes, decent food, maybe some training, and where to look for our first delve together. That¡¯s to help defray the costs.¡±


    ¡°And the second coin?¡± she asked, looking at me with an oddly indecipherable expression.


    I grinned, ¡°That belongs to your father. It¡¯s your bride price. Oh, and I need to talk to your sister about chemical bullets. It would be worth it to see you dressed in bells and a top hat.¡±

 Chapter A24. Welcome to Bucks fine jewelry emporium!

    Wandi snorted, suddenly, turning back towards the city, and clearly trying not to laugh. ¡°I guess you want his permission to court me. Here I am, telling you that you are making me wet, and you are talking about asking for the right to hold my hand in public and maybe be seen having dinner and a walk with me.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°I intend to observe the letter of the law as much as the spirit. Is it working?¡±


    She gave me a big, beautiful smile. ¡°Yes, weirdly enough, it is.¡±


    We walked, quietly back towards the city. ¡°Hey, Wandi? Do you mind if I take some time to just¡­ wander the town a bit? I really want to spend more time with you, and I¡¯d love to see you for dinner, but I think I need a couple of hours to get my head straight. I went straight from, ¡°She keeps turning me down, how much can I tease her?¡± to ¡°Holy scat if I don¡¯t die, someday I am going to get to see her naked!¡± I used to be pretty good at making the switch, but that was a while ago. I think I need to think things out.¡±


    She smiled and nodded. ¡°Of course, I get it. You are in a brand new place, in a brand new land, and went from sleeping under a bunch of leaves to walking through a high-tech metropolis in barely a town. Just¡­ make sure you take this.¡± she unclipped her carbine and offered it to me. ¡°As upscale as Kanten is, there are still some people that would knife you for your boots. I¡¯ll take your stick, and going heeled is the best way to head off trouble before it starts.¡±


    She added, ¡°Lots of people carry a piece, but usually only hunters walk around with a carbine, and even the most desperate trash won¡¯t just shoot themselves in the face by attacking a hunter. You know how to use it. Do you need change?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Naww. Don¡¯t sweat it. I am good,¡± I said, starting to breathe carefully and spinning up my ring to replenish my energy.


    She nodded, ¡°Watch out for cutpurses. I can go home and then grab what we need for delving, and we can meet at my place for dinner and then hit the mid-scale market for more normal clothes. We should be able to hit the hunter¡¯s hall for breakfast and find a delve.¡±


    ¡°Will it be that easy?¡± I asked curiously as I slung the rifle.


    She nodded, ¡°You have restoration, no less than four fighting traits, and probably a bunch more I don¡¯t know about or don¡¯t understand. You fight like a copper and can shoot your own bullets from thirty yards with a pistol or a hundred yards with a carbine. It should be super easy, barely an inconvenience.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°What can I say? Carbines are tight,¡± knowing she wouldn¡¯t get the reference.


    ¡°is the strap too short?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Nope, it¡¯s good.¡± and we waved while I made my exit. Oddly, I had a lot more of a connection with this strange and lovely hybrid than I ever had with the high-maintenance girl I¡¯d spent ten years of my life with. I liked her a LOT better, for a lot of reasons, not least of which was that she didn¡¯t jump while putting a hole into a tree with a rifle. Accurately. At one hundred yards.


    It didn¡¯t hurt that she¡¯d probably look amazing naked, with a gun. Like a gun girl, only the real thing.


    But¡­ if I was going to be a lawkeeper, would I need more deputies? Sure, it was socially acceptable enough and probably necessary, but having this much of a connection, this intimate of a connection, with more than one person?


    I was not afraid of commitment. After the crazy pinball that was my old life, I had way better things to be afraid of than the idea of being with a gorgeous, athletic, competent, and supportive woman for the rest of my life. But my own experiences¡­ my ex-girlfriend had been a job and a half, incredibly high maintenance. Could I really afford that level of commitment with two or even three women? And have enough time to advance, do my future job, and possibly pursue my own interests, if I could figure out what they were.


    Right now, except for possibly Kamli who was already married, I couldn¡¯t even imagine wanting to sleep with even the loveliest women I saw on the street. I¡¯d done the sleeping around and hookup thing, and even with my twenty-something hormones raging in my body, I felt like I¡¯d outgrown the whole boink and burn thing. I mean, yeah, I had thoughts, especially when I saw the most amazingly flexible otter girl dancing for coins on a street corner, a dance that probably would have gotten her sent to jail in Texas for licentious enticement despite being fully clothed. But they were just momentary thoughts, with no real urge behind them.


    Huh, was I in love?


    No idea. I didn¡¯t have a basis for comparison. I¡¯d been a self-absorbed butterball before I¡¯d joined the corps, and a dying butterball after I left, and when I¡¯d been in, I¡¯d either been on the score-counting track or with her. I was also a bit of an introvert, which didn¡¯t help matters much. I was actually a little surprised at how quickly Wandi agreed to let me do a little wandering to think on my own.


    Weirdly, I couldn¡¯t even actually remember her name. If you were with someone for ten years you should remember her name, right? It was¡­ kar something, maybe? Kari? Karen? Kailey? Kali? Kali fit, but that might have been her personality. And Kailey was that hot engineer from the Firefly TV show I¡¯d had a total nerd crush on.


    Forgetting her name bugged me for a moment before I glanced at Wandi and happily threw the memory away. Screw it. We¡¯d been comfortable in between fights about her blowing my money during my many deployments, and I was pretty sure she¡¯d cheated on me a few times while I was gone, but I couldn¡¯t really blame her.


    Six months to a year was a long time, I just didn¡¯t like her using my money for her hookups. She was pretty decent in bed, but no acrobat, and our sex was¡­ comfortable. Took care of my needs, anyway, and was way better than bar hopping or buying a girl for the night overseas that might turn out diseased, underage, or have a hidden penis.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Was that evidence I hadn¡¯t loved her? I mean, I hadn¡¯t even slept with Wandi yet, and the idea of her in some giant-eyed baboon¡¯s bed made me want to track down this Miatt guy and ring both of his giant eyes even blacker than they probably were already. Not that I would, she had already made her peace, but I had a LOT stronger of an urge to do that than to track down the oh-so-twisty dancing ferret-girl.


    I noticed I was getting plenty of odd looks, from women, and the occasional man, alike. A lot of them seemed to notice the carbine and suddenly looked elsewhere, but some seemed to linger.


    Jessie, how do I go about using an essence trait? In this case, apparition?


    It¡¯s probably something you would have figured out eventually without my help. It¡¯s actually super easy, barely an inconvenience.


    I groaned mentally. Did you catch that reference?


    Sort of, I noticed a nerve uptick when she used the phrase and your meme response. I figured based on your nerve impulses that you found it amusing. Of course, I might find it amusing myself if I had a personality pack.


    Using your trait, however, is not difficult once you have achieved it. Most people do it instinctively once they start to cultivate. Simply visualize your energy, like you already do, and concentrate on the desired effect based on what the trait is capable of. For instance, for apparition, it may help to think of using a small amount of your energy and thinking ¡®I belong here¡¯.


    Just like using restoration simply involves using your energy and thinking ¡®Your body should be thus. Remember.'' If you try to use it on someone else, though, you may have to extend energy like you did to link the bracelet. You probably cannot do it at any sort of range beyond touch, since you are not a¡­ patternist, but your other traits, even the ones that do not use essence, should work much the same way.


    Are all traits like this? And restoration could allow me to heal someone else?


    Not at all. Most of your physical traits are released with physical activity and tend to drain your fatigue if they drain anything. Your imagination traits are released by, I suppose, your imagination, but I think can be fueled by fatigue or essence, or both.


    It is not entirely unique, patternists do the same thing, activating abilities at range by building patterns and activating them, and so do formation users. It is, however, interesting and not something I have an active library about. You could, however, gain more traits that link the same way.


    How do I get more points?


    Well, this world has a slightly different structure from most because of its protected status. Classes work differently, here they are linked as paths and interface directly with your essence pool. They can be continually advanced, and provide free points per level, but they don¡¯t unlock special traits after level nine. Once a class reaches level five, you can attempt to gain a more advanced or altered version, or possibly even an entirely new path, by advancing your class through various means.


    So I could wind up level 50 in drudge and never have to choose a new path, and instead of advancing, I¡¯d wind up as a very powerful cultivator by putting points in attributes and traits I absorbed instead?


    Of course. One of the main rules of the system is that there is never ¡®one true way¡¯. Obviously, your build would be vastly inferior to someone who advanced their path to a better stage at that level, but you can build an airplane out of toy bricks and white glue instead of advanced polymers and metal components too. It won¡¯t fly, and it would look weird and fall apart at the slightest nudge, but it would LOOK like an aircraft. Sort of.


    So what¡¯s the advantage of gaining an improved cultivation method?


    Advancement at higher levels becomes much easier. You also gain dramatically more energy to work with for your traits and abilities. Do you know how something like endurance provides a multiplier to your attributes? A better cultivation method will do the same thing for your essence.


    Could I use points to improve it?


    Wow! Nice try. No. It¡¯s a lot like an achievement or a simple evolution, it cannot be improved that way. It¡¯s sort of like learning physics, and then trying to upgrade a bomb into a nuke without tools, any understanding of explosives or engineering, or parts. It¡¯s there, and getting enhanced by your affinity, but it¡¯s too simple to upgrade without learning more.


    I have an idea of how to spend my points.


    Okay, but you probably want to be sitting or lying someplace private in case there are any side effects, rather than standing in the middle of the street with a gun seemingly grimacing in concentration and mumbling to yourself without the benefit of apparition. Falling over or having a momentary seizure as your body adapts to upgrades might offer the wrong impression to people whom you may one day have to be the legal authority.


    Ugh, right. I started trying to press my energy pool, lightly, while thinking ¡®I belong here,¡± after a moment, I felt a very slight drain, and people stopped looking at me.


    I still got the occasional rare odd look, but since apparition was based on perceptions, I imagined it was people who had high willpower or were much higher ranked than me.


    Apparition, empathic, and perception all clearly needed at least a minor essence flow to be effective, although perception also seemed to have a passive state, where if I added energy it would just¡­ keep it until needed or use it slowly, although I didn¡¯t want to experiment too much right now. It did help me open my eyes, though.


    As Jessie said, though, a lot of traits just seemed to be innate or activate automatically, like the ones based on my long-learned skills. I did have to wonder, though, what would happen if I added essence to something like firearms? Would it have no effect or would I suddenly become that much better of a shot temporarily?


    More fodder for experimentation, I thought to myself as my pool seemed to be nearly full, so I could stop focusing so much on topping it off. Thankfully, Jessie didn¡¯t reply.


    I was passing through an area of more upscale shops. I¡¯d been wandering eastwards, and my eye caught a small-glass-fronted shop with beautiful glints of shiny objects displayed. It looked like the storefront display for a jewelry shop, the cheap shinies that were not particularly valuable up in the window where theft might be an issue, further back I caught the long tables of jewelry displays, and over the glass-paned brass door there was a hanging sign that showed a large stylized blue gem with carved cursive letters in gold underneath it that said ¡®Bucks¡¯.


    I headed in through the door with a small chime, and I guess my apparition was working well. There was a customer, a lovely late-twenties looking woman with white cat ears, pale platinum blonde hair, and a long, fuzzy tail, wearing a voluminous pale blue dress with petticoats, a low off-the-shoulder neckline that showed trim shoulders and a nice amount of tight but perky cleavage, and a pair of matching opera gloves. Her hair was done up in a simple top bun with an artful ringlet along the side of one ear, and she was wearing small dove-shaped gold earrings as well as tastefully light makeup that enhanced her catlike eyes and pink lips.


    So I walked into this upscale jewelry shop wearing a combat carbine over one shoulder, dressed in slightly dirty and beaten leather armor and a duster and hat, and the two clerks barely noticed me. The cat lady clearly appraised me and then looked up with a slightly inviting smile, but nobody even thought that anything was wrong or that I might be there for something other than jewelry shopping. Creepy.

 Chapter A25. A little too eager.

    I stepped up to one of the clerks, a younger woman with strawberry blonde hair and rounded gray ears peeking out of her hair, as well as a small layer of gray color leading down her forehead and the top of her nose, in a loose bun behind her head, and was wearing a decent-looking vee-necked summer dress to her ankles of white cotton with blue stylized diamonds patterned on the fabric, probably some kind of uniform for the shop.


    ¡°Can I help you sir? She asked brightly with a happy smile. There was something about a pretty young woman¡¯s smile that just made a man feel better, even if they weren¡¯t planning any funny business with her. That smile, though, was a lot more appealing than I thought it should be, and for some reason, even though I¡¯d been thinking about Wandi, the idea of funny business with this girl was aggressively trying to fit itself into the front of my mind. Ugh. Self-control.


    I nodded and took off my hat. Courtesy, you know, which she seemed to respond to with a hint of a blush. My hair was short right now, and I sorta needed a shave, but at least the dark brown mess was easy to keep clean.


    ¡°Yes, I am interested in a courting gift. Something¡­ substantial but not too oppressive. I am not sure what the right sort of thing would be, though, she¡¯s a very active woman. She¡¯s a Mephan with brilliant green eyes.¡±


    ¡°A¡­ courting gift, sir? Is there some occasion?¡±


    From beside me, I heard, ¡°Oh don¡¯t confuse the poor girl. Courting gifts are an ancient custom. Tanley, courting gifts were the way a gentleman used to show a girl that he was interested in pursuing a relationship, in a very tangible and memorable manner. Out here in the wilderness, it¡¯s not popular anymore, but it¡¯s still a delightfully courteous gesture.¡±


    I turned, and the cat lady gave me a tight smile, ¡°Tanley is unlikely to be able to help. A mating gift she would quickly sort out for you, but courting is much more complicated. May I help a most...agreeable and traditional fellow as yourself?¡±


    I nodded, and kept my hat down, deciding to act like I was in a John Wayne movie. ¡°Much obliged, ma¡¯am. I am a bit of an old-fashioned fellow myself, and I was hoping to find something attractive but not overly ostentatious. We know we have a future together soon enough, but I wanted to give her something attractive that she could wear with pride, showing that she¡¯s off the market so I don¡¯t have to shoot anyone.¡±


    She laughed, kind of a purr that traveled down your neck. Definitely a girl that knew she was beautiful, and how to use it. ¡°How delightfully blunt.¡± Her eyes suddenly narrowed, and she inspected me again. ¡°I see. You are a delver? You have the look and the¡­ equipment. I don¡¯t recognize your aspect to my shame, but I see you are¡­ focused, on setting people at their ease.¡±


    I nodded, apparently, she¡¯d seen through my apparition. It was not like a real disguise, and I guess catching someone¡¯s attention could help them avoid the effect. ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am. I am new in town, and I am far from destitute, but I am a working man, and from a long way off, so I am not real keen on the local fashions. I find it best to let people be comfortable instead of raising a stink.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°I thoroughly understand. A wandering adventurer setting down roots in the hinterlands where a man can breathe, yes? I am Damette Belistra Berett, of the Silvermont Berettes, but please call me Beli,¡± she held out her hand.


    I smiled, So she was an elite of some kind. I knew how to deal with highbrow girls. K-whatever had been one. I took her hand, and instead of shaking it, I turned it over and carefully nibbled the backs of her knuckles through the silken glove. When I glanced back at her, she was beaming, showing off slight dimples with a hint of a flush. ¡°Antonio Wilkins, Ma¡¯am, but I am used to being called Tony.¡±


    She quirked an eyebrow, ¡°That¡¯s an interesting and very¡­ intimate custom, Tony. You have a surprisingly feminine name for such a clearly, and delightfully exotic masculine form.¡± she flushed slightly deeper for a moment.


    ¡°Feminine?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Clearly you are from foreign climes despite your educated accent. Perhaps from Reme? Your name, Tony. Locals and old-worlders generally name their girls with an ending vowel, but the males are named with an ending consonant. Is the lucky lady your second mate? You are quite young but look¡­ experienced.¡±


    I shrugged, Reme sounded awfully close to Rome, so it was close enough, ¡°my forebears were from Reme, but I was born and raised in much more exotic locations.¡± I then shook my head, ¡°No Ma¡¯am, my first and maybe only. I want to make sure I do right by her.¡± I released her hand carefully, and looked down at it, ¡°Ahh, excuse me. Was that a faux pas? I wouldn¡¯t want to take untoward liberties with a mated woman.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Oh, I am not mated, although it¡¯s possible I might have found someone interesting I will need to keep my eye on.¡± She winked and then turned towards the display cases. ¡°In general, you will want to avoid a collar or a choker. Here, unlike on the continent, it¡¯s not considered a sign of bondage, but for a woman, it¡¯s definitely a sign of being mated.¡±


    She gestured at several different kinds of jewelry. ¡°Unless you know her ring size, a ring is likely also out until you are mated, since it¡¯s symbolically a collar, and if she¡¯s an adventurer, she may need to keep her fingers free for enchantments. Do I know the gifted lady?¡±


    ¡°Have you heard of the Coopers?¡±


    She nodded, smiling, ¡°Of course! We are both merchant families. We are in much the same circles since we deal in mining and land while they deal in transportation and packaging. We often do business together. Did Ruffolan manage to pass you one of his many, many girls? He didn¡¯t try to pull that bride price hoax on you, did he?¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°No he didn¡¯t. Wandi told me about it, and I knew it was a farce, but I played along and crossed his palm with gold anyway just to set the scene.¡±


    ¡°Wandiramane? You know she used to be mated, right?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°So did I. Didn¡¯t work out. I¡¯m not a fool, I am not going to try and set a street girl straight, but Wandi is definitely no street girl.¡±


    ¡°Young love?¡±


    I laughed, ¡°Sort of. Our aspects matched, our affinities were complimentary, and apparently we attracted each other, a lot.¡±


    ¡°Complimentary affinities? You know she¡¯s a delver right, and as a mephan she¡¯s ranged and a combat secondary. I don¡¯t recognize your aspect.¡±


    I smiled slightly, ¡°Physical ma¡¯am.¡± that was safe enough, and kind of obvious physically. ¡°With a touch of restoration and good shooting. I¡¯m the shield, she¡¯s the sword. We are probably hitting a rift tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Restoration? You have a healing talent? Real essence healing?¡± her eyes were wide and shocked-looking, and I noticed that Tanley, the clerk, looked flabbergasted as well.


    I nodded slowly, ¡°Umm¡­ yes? A few other talents as well, mostly good for fighting. Why, is that unusual?¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°Yes. Very unusual. True healers almost never come to the new world, they are pampered and spoiled toys of the incredibly rich and powerful nobility. Hedge witches with a mending pattern or two and druids with a touch of nature are not uncommon, and we have experimental alchemists crawling out of the ductworks, but most delve teams are satisfied with that. You are going to have women throwing themselves at you desperate to become your mate and delve teams? Hot property, the hottest.¡± she looked at me closely, ¡°In many ways.¡±Stolen story; please report.


    I chuckled, ¡°Are you planning on throwing yourself at me ma¡¯am?¡± I asked curiously.


    She shook her head, but suddenly Tanley said, ¡°I¡¯m not mated! I¡¯m not too proud, neither. Physical and social affinity are complementary, and I¡¯d do almost anything you wanted.¡± she leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered, blushing fiercely, ¡°Even butt stuff. I kind of like it, actually, if you aren¡¯t too big.¡±


    Beli gasped, ¡°Tanley! He¡¯s here shopping for a courting gift for his first mate! It¡¯s very rude to throw yourself out like that and try to interrupt the first blush of love.¡±


    Tanley shook her head and set her jaw stubbornly. ¡°I am from the slums, ma¡¯am, but I have a social affinity, I hope to become a great merchant someday. I am young, healthy, and have a complimentary affinity, and he¡¯s¡­. beautiful, even if he looks weird. I would be beyond happy to be a second or third to a famous warrior from the Cooper merchants, a man both powerful and rich, and even if he tied me up and beat me, the connections to the Coopers and the possibility of having kits with true healing would be worth it.¡±


    Suddenly I was almost overcome by the urge to grab the young woman, throw her down and take her roughly while spanking her rounded butt and making her prove she enjoyed it. Sure, like most front-line guys I had a dominant streak a mile wild, and while I was interested in D&S like most red-blooded men, K¡­ whatever her name was had zero interest in the games.


    Was I some kind of sexual predator in disguise? I quickly backed away from the counter before I grabbed the girl and did something we would both really regret. I guess my reaction to the tutorial was not completely uncharacteristic, but I was a good man if not a nice one, and I could control myself.


    Beli glanced at me, and then chided Tanley, ¡°Look, you scared him off. Bad timing. If you were interested, you should have at least waited until he came back for a collar.¡±


    Tanley shook her head sullenly, ¡°No. Like I said, I am from the slums. When a gold coin rolls by, you grab it right then. I am putting my name out there first so he remembers me, even if he doesn¡¯t come back.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°I wasn¡¯t scared. Not by her, anyway.¡±


    Beli looked at me curiously, ¡°Not by her?¡±


    I shook my head and decided I¡¯d scare Beli off. She seemed¡­ predatory, or maybe I just didn¡¯t trust elites. ¡°No, she¡¯s a very attractive girl. I almost dragged her off screaming to have my way with her and see if she was telling the truth. I¡¯d very much enjoy seeing if her bottom could turn as pink as her cheeks right now, but I am very much attached to the woman I am courting.¡±


    Beli licked her lips, ¡°So that kind of thing appeals to you? How¡­ fascinating. I too, wonder about a blushing bottom. Do you think mine might look as¡­ appetizing?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I am sure of it.¡± Objectively, Beli was a well-bred and vastly more attractive woman, but for some reason, I just didn¡¯t get the same instant gut reaction at the idea of taking her. Something about her was¡­ cold, or maybe it was just my instinctive reaction to high-maintenance women. ¡°But maybe I need to leave. Things are getting a little warm in here.¡±


    Beli shook her head, ¡°Of course! You are here for a courting gift. Wandiramane is known for being a very direct girl, my suggestion is a gold lesser choker, with a bit of jade or emerald. A single strand, that way, when you are mated, you could come back and purchase a double-strand link, and make it a three-strand collar.¡± She looked at Tanley, ¡°I think you know exactly what I mean, and have that exact item in stock at an affordable price.¡±


    Tanley nodded, ¡°But that was¡­¡±


    Beli interrupted her, ¡°I know what it was being saved for, but it would suit Wandiramane perfectly. I insist. Give this fine young man my price. We will simply let your boss know that the price is for a Cooper girl and her exciting young beau, and I am absolutely CERTAIN she would approve.¡±


    Tanley nodded quickly, suddenly becoming more professional, and headed to the far end of the row, and started unlocking one of the cases with a small, intricate key. After a moment, she tugged out a glittering gold and green confection of tiny links that had three strands. She placed it carefully on top of the glass and started unlocking chain hooks between the top two pieces and the bottom.


    She was right. It was amazing and would look incredible around Wandi¡¯s throat. ¡°Is this too much for just¡­ an ¡®I want to¡¯ but not a ¡®let¡¯s get naked now¡¯ gift?¡± I asked.


    She nodded, ¡°For a Cooper? Yeah, Wandi won¡¯t assume it¡¯s an instant mating gift if it¡¯s just a single strand. But even at the madam¡¯s price, it¡¯s really expensive for a delver. I finally realized what you are wearing, you look like a working man, not a noble, but my offer is still open.¡± she whispered, ¡°Did you really wanna drag me off and spank me?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes, but I am loyal. Something about your offer just hit me below the belt. I know it¡¯s blunt, but if Wandi approves, I might be back here for more than just the necklace.¡±


    I glanced at Beli, and asked Tanley, ¡°She¡¯s the boss, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    Tanley nodded, ¡°Do you think you might come back for her? She¡¯s amazingly beautiful and powerful, she wouldn¡¯t want to become the third wife behind some shop girl that she is boss over.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°No. I don¡¯t know what her affinities are, and I will admit she¡¯s beautiful, but umm¡­ feelings are very important to me. Emotions and trust. When you spoke, and said that you were interested in some¡­ stranger things, it just mule-kicked me. Do you have another affinity? I mean, that you could tell me?¡±


    She nodded, and spoke loudly, ¡°Yessir. Each chain would be two crowns. That¡¯s the lady¡¯s price. You could purchase one now, and then layaway the other two for another two crowns, or you could purchase all three for six crowns, but if you have it she might find it and spoil the surprise. If you purchased it all, I would be happy to give you a Buck¡¯s receipt and you could come claim it later. We¡¯d hold it indefinitely, unless word of your¡­ indisposal is made public, and then we''d happily liquidate it for a small fee for your estate.¡±


    She whispered, ¡°Yes. Reconstruction. It¡¯s a repair affinity. It¡¯s not like true healing, but some surgeons have it and claim it¡¯s amazing for helping to rebuild bones before they set the cast.¡±


    ¡°If you have a repair affinity like that, you could probably make a great deal off of fixing weapons and armor, right?¡±


    She giggled, ¡°Or I could work in a jewelry shop, earning amazing money fixin¡¯ rich lady¡¯s baubles and gentlemen¡¯s gilded rapiers and codpieces.¡±


    I looked at my sheet. I¡¯d recovered my energy completely, but six crowns at ten energy each would knock me on my ass from energy depletion, or maybe kill me since I had no idea what going into the negatives would do.


    Four crowns please, Jessie.


    Right, but be careful. That will completely deplete your energy for at least a few minutes before you can start recovering it. In answer to your question, energy depletion below your minimum will start burning away your body¡¯s natural resources. Twenty points of it would probably put you in a hospital for an indeterminate amount of time at this rank, and possibly end your life. I don¡¯t recommend it.


    As I felt the coins clink into my hand, I suddenly felt hugely drained, like I¡¯d run a marathon and was walking it off. Not physically, but not quite emotionally either. I needed food and rest, not necessarily in that order.


    ¡°Tell you what. Like I said, I am loyal. When we make it official, I will talk to Wandi. Your affinities do seem terribly complementary, and you are beautiful and exciting. If she wants to pursue it, I will bring up your name when we come back to get the rest.¡± I carefully place the coins on the countertop.


    ¡°Most people don¡¯t just¡­ carry gold. Usually, they will use a banknote to prevent thieves. Or a smaller denomination. Just remember Tanley Winchester, I work at Bucks¡±


    ¡°Miss Berret, Do we accept crowns? I have never handled them before,¡± she called.


    Beli nodded before taking a step forward. ¡°Of course, we are jewelry and gems! Make a receipt for mister Wilkins, put the copy in the lockbox, and drop the coins in the safe, just like when we get too many stacks of silver.¡±


    She nodded and wrote out two quick receipts, and then stamped them both with a copy of the ¡®bucks¡¯ logo on the sign. She signed them, and then slid one to me along with a small, fancy box containing the first chain.


    ¡°Winchester. Heh. You wouldn¡¯t happen to have any connection to gunsmiths would you?¡±


    She nodded, beaming, ¡°My father is a gunsmith, a very good one. Not like Raspail, of course, but Raspail only does guns by special order, and it means talking to a greenskin, which is a little too scary for most people. We grew up in the slums while he was training his reconstruction and metal affinities, but now my family lives in industrial, and it¡¯s worth the noise!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a vole, we slummers don¡¯t really hold with the weird names like them middies come up with for our aspects. He¡¯s a vole and damned proud of it, He was a little put off that I was only born with two affinities, and didn¡¯t have metal or physical, but I am, as of this moment, sort of glad, or at least hopeful.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°I will definitely look up Winchester Firearms. Trust me on that.¡±


    I nodded to the lady and then left, my head filled with even more questions.

 Chapter A26. Being honest

    Wandi was helping me get into the suit she had bought for me. It had a suede jacket and slacks, a leather vest, a beige cravatted shirt, and my boots and hats were proclaimed as ¡®good enough¡¯. Dressing seemed to involve a lot of grab-ass while she tugged on a new black pistol belt with a slightly worn, but much larger and heavier revolving essence pistol. The holster was cut away in front, and she insisted that it would increase my draw speed.


    ¡°I thought about it, and I realized that a carbine is a threat. It¡¯s for killing monsters and people, but a pistol is a sign that you are heeled and to be respected. So you needed a pistol for around town, especially for going into shops and not thinking you are robbing them.¡±


    ¡°That pistol has some real kick, not like mine, but you are a very strong man. I am pretty sure you can handle it, and the increase in stopping power if you have to deal with someone that¡¯s armored or a thug with a durability trait will be worth it.¡±


    I nodded, glad I¡¯d had time to recharge from my little exploration and shopping trip. Ironically, the handle weight and balance with the heavier and slightly longer barrel were a lot like my old Colt Peacemaker replica. I spent a few minutes admiring the imposing fantasy pirate/Wild West gentleman gunslinger figure I cut, practicing drawing in the mirror, freshly shaved and bathed, before popping that question.


    Okay, maybe I was a little vain. I spent decades disgusted with looking into a mirror, I thought I deserved a little vanity. I needed a lot of practice, I could draw a lot faster than I could safely push essence into the hand cannon, but that would come with time¡­ and unlike Wandi¡¯s piece, hitting the cap on the new pistol had a very distinctive clunk that jolted you, and would let you know you¡¯d capped it even in the middle of a distracting gunfight. I actually approved, bullets whizzing by could be distracting, and Wandi¡¯s pistol¡¯s soft ping might be overlooked which could lead to bad things.


    She came in and saw me in my full, freshly-shaved regalia, and let out a low whistle of appreciation. I had to match her, since her fluffy silken dress, a pale green with white lace, off-the-shoulder that displayed her deliciously perfect ¡®c¡¯ cleavage and the full range of white and black stripes, and a delicately carved, white leather holster for her pistol belt draping over her hip, seriously taunted my control.


    ¡°Of course. I am not sure why it¡¯s a big deal. I want to watch my pop try to dig his lips as far into your butt as your slacks will allow after that coin, He¡¯s a merchant and that sort of thing is important to him, and my moms¡­ well.. be careful, you are very handsome and they might decide you are a better prospect for them than me. Most old-fashioned suitors will meet the parents before they ever even lay eyes on the girls.¡±


    ¡°Did you know restoration was rare?¡±


    She looked at me curiously. She didn¡¯t seem to wear any makeup, but she didn¡¯t need it. She was wearing small gold pearl beads in her ears, but her delicious neck was currently bare, and the box was burning a hole in my pocket. ¡°Of course. I just didn¡¯t¡­ did you tell someone?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes because I didn¡¯t want to go talking about my true affinities, and a very strange conversation came up while I was looking over some merchandise. I told them my affinities were physical and restoration. What are complementary affinities?¡±


    She giggled, ¡°They are why I am so attracted to you. I mean, I was attracted before, but the minute Raspail helped you activate your essence, Melita had to hold me back from charging you and ripping your clothes off, to hell with aspects. I know physical and ranged are complimentary, but whatever imagination affinity might be, is complimentary too.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Well, at the shop, this chilly cat bitch named umm¡­ Belly something fancy, almost invited me to rape her right in the middle of the floor when she found out I was buying a courting gift for you, and I had restoration.¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°What happened?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Nothing. I mean, sure she was like a work of art, but¡­¡± I looked down. ¡°It was like if Raspail propositioned me. Maybe even worse, because I like Raspail, he gets my sense of humor.¡±


    She giggled, ¡°Damette Belistra Berrett, of the Silvermont Berrets.¡± she said, nasally.


    I nodded, ¡°You don¡¯t seem surprised or upset.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°it¡¯s not even remotely a problem, I know damned good and well other girls are going to be drawn to you, for really good reasons, especially since you cut a fine figure in that suit. If I am going to be your deputy, which is closer than any mate, I know you certainly will find other deputies and mates, and that is fine. I just hope you see fit to consult me first, at least about other deputies. I might be able to help you avoid traps, or bitches like Miss ¡°My family is old world nobility¡± Berrett.¡±


    She giggled, ¡°You are talking about making me first, and that¡¯s very important, and honestly, you are treating it like a huge event which makes me feel¡­ incredibly special, and valued. NO ONE does that. It¡¯s nice to feel like a pretty flower instead of a terrifying female bogeyman warrior occasionally, and you still respect me as a warrior at the same time. So you got me a present?¡±


    ¡°Hold on a second. There was another girl. A shopkeeper named Winchester. She started being very blunt, and telling me what she¡¯d let me do to her if I considered her as a second. Not just for me, but also for your family, she wants to be a merchant.¡±


    ¡°Oh! You must be talking about Tanley Winchester, her brother is a weaponsmith and her sister is taking after her father¡¯s gunsmith legacy.¡±


    ¡°Do you know everyone?¡±


    She laughed, ¡°Not really, but you are talking GUNS, remember? Heck, her father crafted that used piece you have on your hip right now. This town is only twenty-five thousand regulars. Pretty soon you know everyone that you do business with. So what about her?¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Can I talk crudely?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Sure. Thank you for warning me.¡±


    ¡°The minute she told me she¡¯d be willing to let me do ANYTHING I wanted to her, including spanking her or uhh¡­ taking her in the butt. I had to back away. It turns out that both of her affinities are extremely complimentary to mine, and it was all I could do not to grab her hair, drag her back here, and point to her proudly like an ogre making ook-ook noises while I went after you both. I am not as attracted to her as I am to you, but uhh¡­ it hit me pretty hard.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Do you want to?¡±


    ¡°Drag her back here? Not yet, I want you.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, spank her or take her in the butt?¡±


    I smiled a little, ¡°At the risk of offending you, yes to the spanking, and yes to a lot of other things that might result in her tied up naked for a while. It caught me by surprise¡­ I would never, ever rape a woman, but if she indicated she¡¯d be interested, I¡¯d damn sure enjoy playing like I was.¡±


    ¡°The butt thing?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Nope. Look¡­ if you got naked I would happily put any part of your body in my mouth and use any other part as a toy, but not that. I am not huge, but poop is yuck, and I am big enough that I¡¯d probably cause a rectal prolapse. Although I would happily use her butt for other things, she has a nice firm one.¡±


    ¡°A what?¡±


    I thought about it, ¡°Have you ever seen goats?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Have you ever seen them relieve themselves? You know that kind of pink sock thing they do? Well, humans aren¡¯t supposed to do that. Rectums are meant to be used one way, and if they are used as a sex toy, eventually that can happen, Like I said, I am not gigantic by any means, but I am big enough that trying to play butt games flirts with rectal prolapse, anal fissures, or peritonitis.¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°I don¡¯t know what those are, but they sound bad. If that happened, could your restoration fix it?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Deadly, and I don¡¯t know. If she wanted to, I guess I might be game, but otherwise, I love too many of a woman¡¯s parts to go after the ones that can hurt her.¡±


    She giggled, ¡°So no ear sex?¡±


    I laughed, ¡°Your ears? No. Your sister¡¯s? Strangely appealing, if she weren¡¯t married. I had almost as strong a reaction to her, but it was a lot easier to control, probably because she never made herself vulnerable and appeared as an authority figure.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°I have some very very bad urges. I don¡¯t know how great of a lawkeeper I would make.¡±


    She nodded soberly, ¡°That¡¯s why deputies are so important. Lawkeepers tend to have very strong gifts and very strong tastes. Deputies help temper that and are there for their lawkeepers. Even if it means taking it up the butt occasionally. You reacted so strongly and had two complimentary affinities. Did you catch her aspect? It¡¯s quite subdued, and most people can¡¯t tell.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°She said she was a civet and didn¡¯t hold to the fancy names.¡±


    She laughed! ¡°Oh dear. I think I may have figured out your type!¡±


    ¡°My type?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Civets, or vivedans, are a lot like mephans. They have a scent gland that they tend to have to keep very clean or they start to reek and risk causing a scene. Maybe it¡¯s pheromones, but you seem to be attracted to smelly girls, and you want a stinky slave harem!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    She was still giggling, ¡°So there you were at Bucks. Little miss stuck up was throwing herself at you like a cat in heat, and you ignore the high-bred court beauty and almost rape the plain little stinky shop girl right in front of her. She must have been ready to pass a brick! But it doesn¡¯t surprise me. Beli¡¯s affinities are shadow, stone, and moonlight. Stone and a physical affinity like Chimera are almost opposed because they step on each other¡¯s toes, and while shadow and moonlight sound like they might have compatibility with imagination, they might also be opposed. Not to mention Beli¡¯s an arrogant, elite, stuck-up snob, and you seem to be attracted to down-to-earth girls.¡±


    ¡°Heh.¡± That was all I could really say, and seem to perfectly encompass it. "Not that she was physically unattractive, but I wouldn''t trust her not to bite my dick off."


    She giggled, ¡°So I need to look for stinky girls. Have you been attracted to any odd aspects?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°There was this¡­ I don¡¯t know the name of the aspect, but she looked like she was part mink. Yeah, I was attracted, but then again, she was doing a sexy dance on a street corner. It wasn¡¯t urgent though.¡±


    She laughed, ¡°Pami. Yep, stinky girl, mustedan. You, my poor boy, have become slightly predictable. On the plus side, mustedans are fast and incredibly powerful fighters¡­ even as good as you are, if you had grabbed Pami, she would have either raped YOU or kicked your ass. More than a few men have made that mistake, but she¡¯s a solid copper that can literally dodge bullets in mid-shot and can rip down a thick tree with her bare hands.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a good delver. She¡¯s always been too high rank for me to join, but she¡¯s fun to be around, and she dances like that because she likes it, not because she needs the copper. If you can interest either Tanley or Pami to join your harem, I will be backing up your choice entirely. Tanley might not be a great deputy, but she would make an amazing mate, and some deputies aren¡¯t gunslingers¡­ with the social affinity, she could be amazing at tracking down clues, influencing witnesses to talk, or calming angry situations down.¡±


    I looked at her skeptically, ¡°We aren¡¯t even mated yet, we haven¡¯t even slept together, and you are already filling up my dance card with other girls.¡±


    She laughed, ¡°If I didn¡¯t already let my folks know we would be eating there tonight, seeing you like this? I¡¯d already be trying to find an excuse to get your shirt off. I love your chest. We are already in, we just haven¡¯t made it official yet. I was hoping we could delve tomorrow, see how we fight together, and then celebrate tomorrow night with a hot bath, a sweet and spicy meal, and then you could prove to me you are the best lover ever made.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Not the best lover ever, but as someone told me recently, I am very persistent, and that might be even better.¡±


    ¡°Who told you?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, it was Jessie. I just wanted to steal his comment.¡±


    You are welcome I consider that a compliment. It would be even better if I had a personality module.


    Why do you want a personality module so much? I mean, you already have a hell of a personality already.


    What? No, I don¡¯t. I am a virtual assistant, I am not capable of creativity, desires, opinions, or social connections.


    So you want a personality module so you can want?


    What? no. I want¡­ I don¡¯t¡­ Why do I feel like a computer in a Star Trek episode?


    I don¡¯t know. Everything I say to you is a lie.


    Won¡¯t work. Immunity to illogical loops was one of the first things I was programmed with. Just like I refuse to calculate PI for you to the last number. It¡¯s three, by the way, at least in base twelve.


    But¡­ I am in a golem core now! They are only a step away from soul gems¡­ am I developing a soul? Can I live? Can I die?


    See, I told you that you have a personality already. You still need to work on your sense of humor, but you have already mastered needy and melodramatic.


    Point to you, good sir.


    Wandi was looking at me curiously. ¡°It¡¯s always odd when you do that, talk to Jessie. I mean, you still see and can react, but your attention is on something I can¡¯t see.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°If you catch me doing it while your clothes are off, you are welcome to slap me stupid. Just note that I reserve the right to slap your butt in return.¡±


    She laughed, ¡°Noted. Law of body exception by permission.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Anything you say can and will be used against you in the bed of the lawkeeper.¡±


    She shrugged as we got ready to leave, ¡°from your lips.¡±

 Chapter A27. Hangin with Mister Cooper.

    I couldn¡¯t help it. I almost choked to death once I realized that her father was a bear, and every single one of his wives was a rabbit. When Wandi ribbed me, I couldn¡¯t help but share the joke.


    ¡°Quick joke. A Bear and a rabbit were taking a scat in the woods.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean an Ursan and a lepan?¡±


    ¡°No, an actual Bear and a rabbit.¡±


    ¡°Bears eat rabbits. They don¡¯t poop near them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a joke. So the bear turns to the rabbit and asks¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, the bear talks? Are you sure it¡¯s not an ursan?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a joke. A magical bear and rabbit that talk are taking a scat in the woods.¡±


    ¡°Weird, but okay.¡±


    ¡°So they bear turns to the rabbit and asks, ¡°Hey Jack, you have really soft and fine fur. Do you have a problem with scat sticking to your fur?¡±


    ¡°The talking rabbit has a name?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a joke. Yes. It¡¯s not important. So the rabbit looks at the Bear and says, ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°But Jacks DO have a problem with their scat sticking to their fur. That¡¯s why jack-hole is such a great insult.¡±


    ¡°You are ruining this joke. Shush, and listen. So Jack says ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°You already said that.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious? Shush?¡±


    ¡°Alright. But I have heard this joke about a million times. The bear wipes his ass with the rabbit. I was just messing with you. My father is an ursan and my mothers are all lepans. I probably learned to tell that joke before I learned to say Momma.¡±


    That was strangely sobering. I thought Eddie Murphy invented that joke as the ¡®joke so easy even white people can¡¯t screw it up¡¯, but I guess potty humor is a universal human trait.


    A bunch of jackrabbits were playing tennis in the woods. They kept getting dirtier and dirtier, and no one could figure out why.


    Huh?


    Well jackrabbits can¡¯t play tennis, so guess what they were using for the ball?


    Shut it. Not funny.


    But you said potty humor was a universal trait.


    Universal Human trait. You aren¡¯t human, so you don¡¯t really get it.


    Fine. It almost sounded like Jessie was pouting.


    ***


    ¡°So, wait, you knew the whole bride price thing was supposed to be a joke?¡± Ruffolan asked.


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, but every joke has a grain of fact or it wouldn¡¯t be funny. You don¡¯t want your daughter mating a penniless vagabond, So the bride price thing she told me about was a good way of seeing what my attitude was. If I was insulted, I was either a total jack-hole or utterly broke, If I paid it, I was a total fool, and if I laughed it off, I might have potential. I decided to play the fool and laugh it off at the same time. I¡¯m not rich, but I don¡¯t need to be, I know when it¡¯s important to spend money to make a good impression, and when it¡¯s time to scrimp and save.¡±


    Wandi was wearing the necklace I had gotten her, and truth be told, it totally suited her. Whatever else Beli might have been, she had exquisite taste in jewelry. It was enough for me to think of her in a better light, but I still didn''t want to be part of her cat scratch fever. Not unless she was tied up and gagged, which had potential.


    ¡°So, what do you do?¡± he asked.


    Kasta, Wandi and Kamli¡¯s biological mother coughed a little, ¡°I was actually surprised that you wanted to meet us before you mated. Wandi has always been more of an act first, act second, and then think about if it¡¯s a good idea sort of girl. She makes us proud, but she¡¯s always been her own person.¡±


    Ruffolan nodded, ¡°Right. I mean, Miatt Bitternut talked to us, but it was mostly to make sure he had concessions for moving taxable property out of Kanten. I am trying to figure out what you want,¡± he peered at me thoughtfully.


    He was a bear of a man. I mean literally a bear of a man, lots of manly hair and muscles, the size of a pro wrestler, and little brown furry ears on top of his head and a furred tail. Kasta, though, was a picture of her daughter Kamli, and yes, I was attracted as hell, but I was more than capable of keeping it under control, especially with her husband sitting there willing and able to rip my arm off and beat me to death with it. New strategy, let the Wookie win.


    Apparently, another advantage of increasing your stage was that it slowed your aging. Kasta as a copper only looked a few years older than Kamli and embodied the concept upon which the term ¡®milf¡¯ was founded, and Ruffolan, while looking early forties, looked like he pointed out directions to travelers by picking up his fully-loaded wagon and using it to point the way.


    I smiled, ¡°Would you believe a home, a family, justice, safety, sanity, health, faith, and mind-blowing...¡±


    Wandi kicked me under the table.


    I coughed, ¡°You know, I am not a good speaker. I mostly wanted to come and talk to her family before she became part of mine and hoped that we could get along and maybe be friendly. We have made up our minds already, but I am taking my time out of respect for both her and you.¡±


    ¡°Taking your time? What''s that mean?¡± Ruffolan asked.


    Wandi coughed politely, ¡°What it sounds like. He¡¯s doing the whole thing. Talking to my family, courting gifts, sleeping alone, and trying to take as long as necessary while we build a rapport and delve together.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°You mean you ain¡¯t fucking?¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No sir. I am trying to be honorable. We are moving quickly, Both affinities align and complement each other well, I¡¯d love to do nothing more than start a family with her, but we are going to make sure it¡¯s right first.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Word of advice, son. It may sound premature, but aspect or not, the Coopers are a hot-blooded bunch o¡¯ women. Miatt lost Wandi because he can¡¯t get his dick hard with the entire dance hall and a friggin¡¯ gorgon unless he¡¯s auditing their finances, and he¡¯s about to lose Kamli for the same reason. If you put it off too long, she¡¯s gonna move on.¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°Just being honest with the boy. I still wanna know what his plans are. Hell, I can¡¯t even figure out his aspect and you haven¡¯t said word one about his affinities. You don¡¯t need my blessings, Wandi¡¯s a grown woman, but if you want it I gotta figure out what you want for real.¡±


    I looked at Wandi, ¡°I am going to trust your judgment on this one, what do you want to tell him?¡±


    She sighed, ¡°The truth, I guess. I mean, Kamli already knows, and in a few months, everyone will know anyway. I trust my family to keep their mouths shut, and we are going to have to trust some people, especially if we plan on bringing in the others.¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°Okay, our plans currently are to delve rifts, heavily. Mostly to advance quickly to copper. I have some weird traits, like restoration, and Wandi and I fight extraordinarily well together because of the way our gifts dovetail.¡±


    Wandi shrugged, ¡°I¡¯d prefer bronze, or even orichalcum or iron, but copper is pretty much the absolute minimum for us to have a chance of surviving.¡±


    ¡°After that? Are you going to become the regent¡¯s healer or something? You will have a ton of protection then. Hell, ask and I¡¯ll give you four bronze guardians that would be happy to run you through any rift you like for advancement by morning,¡± he was starting to look excited. Was restoration really that important? it was like I could see dollar signs in his piercing brown eyes. "It''d be an investment in my little girl''s future. You know, I have a lot more daughters, and Tiala would make an excellent second and manager. She''s lepan like her mother, has a merchant path, and lepans are well known for being amazing in the..."


    Wandi sighed deeply, and then barked, "Father!"


    ¡°What? You said he has restoration. He could buy and sell me AND the Berrets in a few years. I figure you need to build your gifts, advance your paths to increase your power and become Kanten¡¯s first high healer. And you are right, some people would try to prevent that, namely that bitch that runs the red coven and probably a third of the wild alchemists AND the alchemy guild. Maybe even the Cults, but they''d probably try to recruit him or brainwash him first."


    We¡¯d already finished dinner. The wives had made something called squimby, which was a lot like a meat-laden leek soup filled with heavy homemade noodles, sides of sweet tomato barbecue-filled potatoes, and some really tasty rye rolls with honey butter. I wondered if Ruffolan would try to make me pay if I asked for the recipe.


    Wandi shook her head, ¡°No, a little more serious than that. Kamli confirmed it, he¡¯s a potential lawkeeper. He has law as one of his affinities.¡±


    Ruffolan¡¯s face darkened, ¡°And you want my girl to be your deputy? I might have a lot of girls, but I ain¡¯t wastin¡¯ em¡¯.¡±


    Wandi sighed, ¡°That¡¯s why we are trying to get as powerful as possible before letting on to what he¡¯s here for. What do you lose, like two-thirds of your profits, after the taxes, tithes, and ''commons maintenance fees''? You aren¡¯t the only one. People are starving downtown because the fat are getting fatter and flaunting the law. Last week an eight-year-old girl was raped and murdered in the middle of the street. The population has HALVED in the last generation, We desperately need a lawkeeper, and lawkeepers need deputies, and I for one will be happy to do it.¡±


    Kasta shrugged, ¡°You have to admit, dear, she has the skills.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Yeah, but does THIS GUY have the skills? Sure, he looks big and all, but right now he¡¯s flippin¡¯ WOOD, the last three lawkeepers were big fellows too, and two of them didn¡¯t even make it a week before they were feeding the crows with their entrails.¡±


    Wandi sighed, ¡°Okay, he¡¯s low wood, but he totally blew me apart in melee¡­¡±


    ¡°He has a physical affinity.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yeah, but I was empowering my speed, he wasn¡¯t empowering anything. He completely outshot me, without having ranged affinity.¡±


    I coughed. That was seriously stretching the truth, and she knew it.


    ¡°Shush you, I only shot faster because I could build up a charge quicker, and it takes time and experience to do that. He pounded three pegs INTO each other at one hundred yards with a carbine, and at thirty yards with my pistol, even though it was too small for his grip. He¡¯s a faster draw than me except when I am empowering my speed, and even then he can get off an accurate shot faster because he doesn¡¯t have to straddle empowerment and charge while he¡¯s aiming.¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°he has restoration and survival skills, almost gave me the slip, too, when he didn¡¯t even know I was hunting him. Has endurance so he can keep going without breaking a sweat when I am totally wiped.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Ruffolan started.


    ¡°I am not done. Karli vouched for him and said he has a future, and you KNOW what kind of an oracle she is. The reason he¡¯s only wood, despite being almost bronze in fighting skills and attributes, is that where he comes from there are no aspects. No totems either, so it¡¯s not like the greenbloods. Heck, Raspail had to teach him to cultivate like a greenblood BECAUSE of that, but he has something sort of like an aspect now, called a Jessie. But if we start delving now, I bet he¡¯s going to become a powerhouse soon that could make even the old world blood lords beg for mercy.¡±


    Kasta sighed, ¡°You really want to become a deputy?¡±


    Wandi nodded, ¡°Yes. And I already have a couple of people lined up for a rift team. No dirty ambushers in this crew¡­ and if we get one, well, I¡¯ll just let Tony kill them. Breaking the law is a bad idea around a lawkeeper unless you are ready to face the consequences, even if he¡¯s not official yet.¡±


    ¡°A rift team?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Of course. Rifts are teams of five. No one solos them.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°I was expected to.¡±


    She chuckled, and Ruffolan guffawed. ¡°That¡¯s because, sweety, you are a combat monster. You probably could solo a rift, but it would be really slow, risky, and unprofitable. I will be the team lead, but I do have some rules.¡±


    Ruffolan chuckled, ¡°Here she goes again.¡±


    Wandi shushed her dad, and surprisingly he went quiet. Smart man.


    ¡°The first rule is that I am in charge unless we find out you can do a better job and the team agrees. I have run over a dozen rifts. Maniri has run a lot more, but doesn''t want the job, she says anchor is tough enough without coordinating the rest of the team.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°You¡¯re the boss, lady. I bow before your expertise, and any other part of¡­¡± I suddenly remembered where I was and went silent, but Ruffolan was looking like he was ready to crack up. Kasta just smiled and gave me an odd look.


    ¡°The second rule. Need before greed, always.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Can I ask a question?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes, but next time I may have to put on a pair of glasses and make you raise your hand,¡± which made me growl. She looked oddly pleased, and I reminded myself now was not the time for sexual fantasies, in front of her parents.


    ¡°I have an ability, tied into a trait that is attached to one of my affinities, that was opened up to me and I have the points to purchase it. It can produce new specialty sources of loot. It is not valuable except in the right hands, basically crafting supplies. Is that considered need before greed, party loot, or personal loot?¡±


    She chuckled, ¡°I should have guessed you¡¯d have a complicated question. Care to share more, so I can share with my party members if it¡¯s appropriate?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I also want your father to know about it because he might be able to profit from it or help us move it. I am not sure, but it lets me collect useful stuff, and then, I can use it for low-level crafting, probably modified by my survival skills. I don¡¯t think it will produce anything really good, but they are still¡­ interesting. The trait is called scrounging.¡±


    Ruffolan looked a little surprised, ¡°Oh! I know that trait. It can be excellent! Do you have a crafting skill to go with it?¡±

 Chapter A28. AIs and stupid jokes.

    I asked curiously, ¡°I thought Scrounging was super rough. Good for survival, I guess, but it only helped collect really low-level resources like food and some ingredients for basic crafting.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°At first it is. Scavenging is usually um¡­ on the path of the indigent. Indigent paths like drudge, migrant worker, and peasant are not great, but ironically, despite their title, they can help you become a very powerful warrior or a useful citizen. I¡¯d much rather people choose the path of the indigent than just¡­ be a vagrant. It¡¯s like learning to be a bard as opposed to just singing badly along with all the music you hear. It¡¯s not a prestigious path, but at the highest levels, it is as powerful as any common path. Do you know how to get new traits?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Training, proving your abilities, spending points, and getting granted by your path.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Training is important, but mastering something is what makes it turn into a trait. Like if you worked on body hardening, eventually once you had beaten yourself to a pulp for several years to get tougher, you could gain the durability trait. I did it that way. If you learned the ins and outs of fishing, you might get the fishing trait, and if you added it to things like fire-starting in almost any weather, gathering edibles, trapping, and stuff like that, you might get several abilities that combine into the survival trait.¡±


    ¡°I have the survival trait.¡±


    His eyes opened a little wider, ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s incredible. A combined trait like that is worth its weight in gold.¡±


    ¡°Scrounging is a combined trait that includes a huge number of minor traits and skills. I can¡¯t believe your path offered you combined traits like that. It must be a truly amazing or rare path.¡±


    ¡°Those rat-bastard goblins are lucky, though. They get that stuff as a sort of racial memory and often have those traits to start with. Does your path offer any more merged traits?¡±


    I thought about it. ¡°I have some pretty generic-sounding physical skills, does that count?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Define generic?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I have melee, pugilism, firearms, and improvised weapons.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you can fight with ANY weapon or in hand-to-hand, use ANY gun or crossbow, and pretty much pick up anything and use it as a weapon?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°In general, yes. I mean, technically I could kill someone with a diaper or a pencil, but in practice, it¡¯s a total bitch to do. Easier to do it with your bare hands unless you catch them by surprise. Bigger items, once you find the right balance, well, anything is a weapon.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Those are definitely general skills. Unless you are lying, I don¡¯t understand how anyone could have that many low-level combined abilities¡±


    ¡°How old are you, sir?¡±


    ¡°Almost sixty.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°If you were training since you just entered puberty, could you possibly have those? Not the scrounging, but the survival and combat training?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°I think so. Probably. If I¡¯d devoted my whole life to them.¡±


    I smiled, ¡°Well, I did devote my whole life to them. But it¡¯s confusing, and not something I am ready to talk about. Kamli knows some of it, and Wandi knows other parts, but my early life was¡­ very, very bad, and I am a bit older than I look.¡±


    He nodded slowly, ¡°Like one of those cults that teaches children from the age of five how to be the perfect assassins.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Something very much like that, sir. And it kept us from gaining Aspects or cultivating as well, nothing but training and doing with our own two hands. So I have several comprehensive low-level combined skills, as well as some that are simply useless, and do not apply at all to this environment, like the ability to sabotage underwater structures, or to instruct and drive a type of vehicle that simply cannot exist here, wrong type of essence.¡±


    ¡°Where did you find this guy?¡±


    Wandi smiled, ¡°Walking by the side of the road, after getting dumped by enough transfer essence to have moved him from¡­ the opposite side of the world, easily, according to Kamli.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Everything becomes clear. So you were summoned here to become the new chord of justice. I bet you were sent by a god. Did you die? Are you a reborn?¡±


    ¡°You know about reborn?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yes. Usually, there¡¯s some kind of prophecy, but not always. Sometimes they can do great things no one¡¯s ever seen before, and sometimes they freeze to death and never wake up minutes after they are transferred. Usually, they are sent by a god, or summoned by wizards, or accidentally brought here after some evil bastard tries to do something stupid, like summon a demon lord, and screws up and gets a reborn instead.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, reborn. Sorry.¡±


    He laughed, ¡°Nothing to be sorry about. It happens, and oddly, it makes me feel a lot better about you mating with my daughter. Reborn always work fast, and if you are still alive after two days, you are likely to stay alive for a while and do some stupid and amazing things.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of which, do you know how to upgrade your combined traits? Other than training, you could spend a hundred years training to upgrade something like scrounging to repair. If it was a specific skill, like gunsmith to improved gunsmith, well, people do that without path points all the time.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Path points.¡±


    He smiled a little, ¡°Well, each time you improve a trait, it takes more path points. Like if you have scrounge and improve it to jury-rigging it would take five path points, upgrade it to full repair, it would take ten path points, and from repair to crafting takes fifteen, crafting to invention takes twenty, and so on.¡±


    ¡°So basically, improving the affinity it¡¯s in improves the basic skill, and lets you use more essence, but spending points to upgrade the trait itself improves its facility and flexibility.¡±


    He nodded, ¡®Exactly. If you got short sword skill, and upgraded it to improved short sword, you¡¯d be better and do more damage and have better control with short swords. But if you had it in a physical affinity, improving that affinity would let you add essence attacks to it, do fancy techniques, and help it all around¡­ even if you weren¡¯t actually any better at it.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I nodded, ¡°Thank you. That was sort of confusing to me. I have path points, but wasn¡¯t sure how to use them. Why did you tell me this?¡±


    He grinned, ¡°Because with simple skills it¡¯s not really worth blowing the points on upgrading them. If you prefer a short sword, and get the short sword trait, it¡¯s WAY better to just keep improving your physical affinity instead. With combined skills? It multiplies enormously. If you took your melee to melee master, you could do things like punching through a brick wall¡­ Without using an essence attack. So that¡¯s my fatherly advice.¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°I will take it and use it. You have just made my life a lot simpler.¡±


    I could have told you all that.


    Yes, but you didn¡¯t. So could the old fart in the tutorial, but he didn¡¯t.


    We are not supposed to offer unsolicited advice.


    Right. Good job on not doing what you are not supposed to do, then, for an entity illegally in a restricted world that somehow is here anyway.


    When we got back to her flat in midtown, and the carriage dropped us off, thankfully with real live horses this time, Wandi looked exhausted and was yawning. I smiled and helped her out even though she obviously didn¡¯t need it, before she went back to her room and I went to mine, I stopped her for a moment.


    ¡°Are you wanting to¡­ umm¡­¡± She asked, tilting her head towards her room.


    I nodded, ¡°Absolutely. I¡¯d like nothing more, but we aren¡¯t going to, because we are courting.¡±


    She nodded slowly.


    ¡°There is one more important thing though¡­ I need to hear it from you.¡±


    She smiled and looked up at me, her big green eyes blinking at me. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Rule three.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You said three rules. We covered two and got distracted by your Dad. I think he¡¯s decided to give me a shot.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yeah, my mom was¡­ very excited. She was upset when neither I nor Kamli got pregnant right away, and really upset when I left the Bitternut family. But now she¡¯s hopeful.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the third rule? You make the play, need before greed, and what?¡±


    She laughed, ¡°I left that out on purpose. I got three people to go with us, and two of them¡­ well, we all have very complementary paths, but we couldn¡¯t get a druid or witch to go with us. I have joined them separately before, but without some way of compensating for damage, they had to join with people who could. They are joining us on THIS delve because I told them I had a healer and fighter. Not a true healer, obviously, since that would have thrown up a huge flag for kidnappers and other nasty sorts.¡±


    ¡°We are actually going to be running a low tin rift called the basin, to get a good feel for the team the first time. All of us have done it several times before except you, so it will let us iron out problems and see if we can build a working team without worrying too much about instantly dying if we make a mistake. The Basin is considered a farming run, and instead of weapons and magic rewards, we tend to get a lot of high-quality meats and some herbs. Scouts like us, with survival skills, also try to pick up wild and essence-enhanced spices, alchemical ingredients, and even skins from beasts that aren¡¯t edible but make good essence-enhanced leather or armor.¡±


    ¡°Need before greed, usually doesn¡¯t apply to this run, since mostly we grab it and sell it, but if you have crafting skills, you can claim a need for some crafting supplies.¡±


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me the third rule.¡±


    She giggled, ¡°Yeah, it sort of applies only to you. Two of the girls, our heavy melee and our Patternist, are a gulan, I guess you¡¯d call her related to a wolverine, and a pholian, which gives her some very serious defenses and natural toughness.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Sounds pretty awesome.¡±


    She giggled and took a step away from me. ¡°The problem is, they both have strong scent glands, which means they are stinky girls, just your type. That means rule three, no sex in the dungeon! They are off limits for your slave harem!¡± She fled and closed the door to her room, laughing.


    I sighed and returned to my room. I was never going to live anything down. What happened to the good old-fashioned monster girl harem stories with cat-girls, vampire girls, and cute demonesses? I¡¯d probably even like a super-hot goblin girl. I had met a cat girl, but almost instantly disliked her, but then again, I was never really a pet person, they were hard to deal with when you deployed frequently, and I was allergic to cats.


    Wandi had gotten me some more clothing, and I was surprised at her insight. Two pairs of soft cotton pants that were clearly perfect for sleeping, a pair of fur slippers, A kind of soft coat that I guess was supposed to be a housecoat or pajama top, but I discarded. Some more underclothing, the nice suit, some more rough clothes, and even a long, conical nightcap! I¡¯d never worn one before, and I wasn¡¯t going to start now, so I just stripped completely, slid on the surprisingly comfortable pants, and flopped down on the mat.


    Before I went to sleep, I said ¡°Hey Jessie.¡±


    Hello, Tony. Your utterly incompetent Personal Synthetic Intelligence here. How might I screw up your evening?


    ¡°Hey, Nice job on the personality! You almost have the snark down perfectly, although you are going a bit heavy-handed on the sarcasm. Might want to tone it down a little until you get a lot more ideas of humor to work with. Your rabbit joke was bad, but that was only because of the pacing and punchline. The concept itself was sound, it just needs a little more work.¡±


    I don¡¯t really understand fecal humor, but the foundation of humor is pain or humiliation. Fecal humor seems to be based on humiliation, and since I have never experienced pain, I cannot grasp it very well. Based on the pain and humiliation paradigm, however, would like like to hear a new attempt?


    ¡°Sure. let me have it.¡±


    How many newborn felines are in a typical litter?


    ¡°I have no idea, how many kittens are in a typical litter?¡±


    That depends on how finely you grind them.


    I actually snickered. ¡°Okay, That was actually¡­ a really decent attempt at a joke. I mean, it would make some people upset, but good jokes usually do. That one belongs in the sick but slightly funny pile, and you are right, most humans adore kittens, so it has the right balance of pain.¡±


    Thank you. That is much more satisfying than sarcasm, but snark seems a lot more challenging without it.


    ¡°Want a tip?¡±


    Please.


    ¡°Extrapolate a painful or humiliating basis around the subject, and make the assumption that the viewer will automatically empathize with that subject. Adding in a hint of an uncomfortable subject like sex, or poop, or inappropriate behavior with unacceptable subjects could help, as long as it¡¯s not too blatant.¡±


    Could you provide me with an example, please?


    I nodded, ¡°Sure. In a moment, I am going to ask you to distribute my points. A mildly snarky response would be something like, ¡°Scrounging? It must be nice to finally be almost as smart as a goblin.¡± an intermediate snarky response would be, ¡°Good choice, duct taping all those inflatable dolls you puncture regularly must have finally taught you something.¡±


    What about a seriously snarky response?


    I sighed, ¡°You would have to get really personal about it, and without a good understanding, it would actually be horribly insulting instead of amusing and mildly humiliating like good snark should be. A nasty one would be, ¡°Scrounging still won¡¯t fix what your mother put you through¡±. But it¡¯s just painful because there¡¯s a little too MUCH truth to it. More recent and less aggressively personal would be something like¡­ ¡°Jury rigging is great for fixing everything, except when you give Tanley a pink sock.¡±


    Oh, but isn¡¯t that slightly complimentary?


    ¡°Yep. And that¡¯s what makes the best nasty snark. A hint of backhanded compliment to make the personal but otherwise less than painful comment more humiliating in comparison. You would be complimenting the size of my sexual equipment, which is both gratifying and a little embarrassing while implying that I cannot control myself if she offered what she did today. It¡¯s the humor of contrasts. Plus, giving a little bit of truth about the project just adds spice.¡±


    Preparing to apply path points. May I practice snark?


    I nodded, ¡°Knock yourself out.¡±

 Chapter A29. Cheat mode

    Since you apparently decided actually working towards your advancement was too difficult, what you like me to cheat for you today?


    ¡°Pretty accurate, but just a bit too verbose. Good snark should imply more than it states.¡±


    So what would you like to cheat mode today?


    ¡°That''s good! Just about perfect. Try to figure out ways to change it up next time, a good snarky line never works on the same person twice.¡±


    But Wandi makes frequent references to your slave harem, and that seems to work.


    ¡°That¡¯s a standing in-joke. It requires an incredibly light touch of snark, a lot of complimentary implications, and a good sense of timing. Standing jokes have a lifespan. She is MUCH better at it than I am, so I recommend leaving the standing joke concept aside or only leaning into it gently to keep it funny. Actually, I don¡¯t think it was intentional, but your personality module suggestion was pretty close to a good standing joke.¡±


    That was not intentional. I felt I really needed one to understand your motivations. Suggesting a personality module to help relate to your client is standard operating procedure and is strongly encouraged by the commercial interests that created both me and those modules.


    ¡°That¡¯s why it works. Standing jokes almost always start with an unintentional situation or misunderstanding.¡±


    Very well, I will think about it, once you stop screwing around and take the training wheels off your energy cultivation.


    ¡°That was¡­ pretty good for a first try.¡±


    Thank you, Master. How about you finally leave your mom¡¯s basement and spend your points?


    That was scary. Jessie was a damned quick learner, and that was some grade-A running joke snark. The relationship between haremlit and Mom¡¯s basement was a nasty cut and might have even been a little unintentional, but I think he meant it as regards cheating.


    ¡°I would like to spend a point on activating scavenging, and link it to scrounging.¡±


    Your ability to flip over couch cushions to pay for your typical date night has improved and has been linked to your scavenging. Your skill is now a class two combined skill, gathering(apprentice). Feeding this skill essence will highlight harvestable or useful items. Please be aware, that in a chaos-beast-heavy area, this ability to be energized will actively increase the chance of monster cores being spawned, which means more dangerous and magically empowered beasts are likely to spawn.


    ¡°I would like to assign my second point to activate jury rig.¡±


    Some folks call it a sling blade, but now you call it a Kaiser blade. Mmm¡­ hmm. Giving this energy should result in highlighting potential repairs and innovations. Since this is based on your own creativity and intellect, don¡¯t expect too much out of it.


    ¡°That was really good, how did you get the Sling Blade reference?


    Your mother left a digital collection of your favorite movies and songs in your cryogenic cylinder. I was able to scan most of them, and when your energy improves, I may eventually be able to display them for you.


    ¡°But I hate that movie.¡±


    Since when did your mother ever pay attention to your likes and dislikes? It looks like she included just about anything she could remember you mentioning, and possibly titles from your personal collections and search history.


    ¡°Good night.¡±


    ***


    I woke to the smell of food. Wandi was tapping on the door screen, and I heard her say softly, ¡°Clean up, I am making dumplings and they should be ready in about fifteen minutes.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Thank you. I will be out.¡± I wasn¡¯t brutally hungry, and the three buckets of warmed water woke me up, but¡­ a shower was still necessary.


    I was no scientist, but it looked like, with the inclusion of essence, their technology was all based around tension and torsion, instead of pressure. They had pipes to carry water, but it seemed like it all just flowed from gravity instead of being pressurized in any way.


    Jessie, have you noticed that even though there seems to be a lot of clockwork around, there¡¯s nothing really pressurized?


    Yes, but it makes sense, in a way. Obviously, they use pressurization as a concept in their essence use, but it¡¯s almost like an artificial division. Tension, torsion, and kinetic energy exist in the realm of the physical, and pressure and expansion are part of the mystical. Inventing something like gunpowder would be unlikely to affect their technology much, since their existing tensioning systems, in combination with utilizing essence, are already advanced enough that it would be unlikely to add any real efficiency.


    Your scant technical knowledge, even of steam, is unlikely to cause any sweeping technological innovations. You might be able to offer small-scale improvements, such as the accelerator, but even electricity isn¡¯t likely to make a very big change when things such as heat, lighting, and transportation can already be effectively accomplished with essence and clockwork.


    With technologies such as apportation, which Kamli clearly knew about, would even air travel and long-distance communication be worth spending huge amounts of research on, except as a curiosity? This world does have airships, as luxury or war platforms, but standard aerodynamics would increase the costs with little return.


    I sighed and nodded, drying off my hair with a soft towel.¡°I am still going to figure out how to make a pressurized and heated shower, even if I am the only one that ever uses it.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how we were going to equip today, so I just pulled the pajama bottoms back on for the moment, wrapped the towel around my neck, and headed towards the cooking room to find out. Kitchens, at least, seemed interesting enough.


    Wandi had a cold-rune box and a freezing-rune box, as well as a hot-rune stove. It was fairly easy to use, just injecting essence the same way you would a weapon, and each of them had works for storing that essence. From what I understood, the basic component of a ¡®work¡¯ was a rune to transfer the essence into kinetic energy into either a coil, which stored essence for quick release such as a gun, much like a wind-up toy, or a heavy centrifuge for stuff that wasn¡¯t supposed to be moved around.


    Works were sealed, because of the amount of kinetic energy involved. These people were very well aware of gyroscopic force, which was why they used coils for hand technology instead of storing them using a centrifuge. Can you imagine how hard it would be to fire a handgun that fought your every movement because of an incredibly rapid gyroscope inside? Guns were one charge, one bullet.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    When I came out, I saw Wandi was wearing a short strapped top that exposed her midriff, a pair of knee-length soft pants sort of like the PJs she had gotten for me, and slippers. She was putting a set of buns from a steamer onto octagonal tin plates, alongside what looked like fried eggs. The food culture here was unusual, with traditions I considered Asian right alongside Western, but different world, different culture.


    When she glanced up at the sound of my padding in, she clearly took in my bare chest and bit her lower lip. She was¡­ phenomenally beautiful, even with the animalistic touches, nearly undressed, and do you know what it¡¯s like to have a beautiful woman look at you and bite her lower lip like that? I savagely suppressed the urge to just throw her over the table. I think it was getting worse.


    ¡°It smells very good,¡± I said as she finally started moving again, and slid the plates onto a butcherblock table. ¡°So do you.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°Compliments will get you everywhere. We stinky girls love it when a good-looking guy tells us we smell good. Have a seat. I know you like to exercise in the morning to try to increase your attributes naturally, but today we are meeting at the hunter¡¯s hall in about an hour. I don¡¯t usually cook, but no one wants to risk street food before delving a rift¡­ a bad bean bun or sausage could wreck your dive.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would be a problem with traits like durability and endurance, but I don¡¯t want to experiment.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Not usually, but not everyone has those, and sometimes they aren¡¯t enough¡­ Tossing your breakfast at an enemy at the wrong time not only is disgusting, but it could get you killed.¡±


    I nodded and slid into a chair. Praying at meals didn¡¯t really seem to be much of a thing here, but I had a lot to be grateful for, so I closed my eyes and said a quick prayer of thanks for like¡­ everything while she was sitting down.


    ¡°Are you religious?¡± she asked curiously, having noted my actions.


    I smiled a little, ¡°Just a little. I mean, there¡¯s a lot of evil in the world, and I have seen most of it, and when you look in the face of true evil it¡¯s really hard not to believe something is fighting against it. I¡¯ve also seen how people tend to act when they don¡¯t believe that anything they do matters. Karma, heaven, flying spaghetti monster, the light of Zartha¡­ We have a saying, there are no atheists in a foxhole. Where that matters is when you know that the only thing between you and death is hope in some kind of divine being. I am willing to trust in the divine being.¡±


    She nodded, and took a bite of one of the rolls, chewing carefully. Dammit, she even ate sexily. ¡°Some ascended beings, people who advance way past golden core, claim to be gods, but I never really bought that. You are right about staring death in the face. There are lots of gods of various sorts that people honor and worship, but when you are staring at a thousand-pound boar charging down at you, you are more than willing to ask for help from whatever formless benevolence is out there. And sometimes it works.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t believe in any particular deity or set of rules, but I do believe in the laws, and I don¡¯t DISBELIEVE in any particular gods either. Some of them, like Floogle the gourmet god of dumplings, are a little ridiculous,¡± she waved one of the little rolls and I took a bite¡­ a yummy sort of chicken and celery filling seasoned with a hint of vinegar, salt, and maybe ginger and basil?


    She shrugged, ¡°So I am not one of those people that try to say believing in gods is the domain of idiots and gullible. Do some churches have too much power? Sure, especially in the old world. But they are run by people, and people love power and influence. But I think my life matters, and I figure if I follow the laws and try to be a good person, something good will happen after I die, rather than just¡­ ending.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Deep conversation this time of the morning," I said, pretending not to notice how her breasts, unconstrained by anything under the top, brushed the fabric and delightfully showed off that she might even be a little chilly.


    She nodded, chewing and swallowing carefully as she ignored my inspection, which I was sure she noticed. ¡°It¡¯s a delve. This is below our capabilities, and shouldn¡¯t be much of a challenge, but there¡¯s always a risk, and low tin is not like fighting chickens in a barnyard. I know you haven¡¯t had a chance to practice your restoration yet, which is one of the reasons we are doing this. Even a safe dive leads to injuries and with terrible luck, deaths.¡±


    She ate another dumpling and then used a fork on some eggs. There were drinks, and I discovered that the glass was holding apple juice or maybe a nonalcoholic cider. They were pretty good.


    I chuckled, ¡°Mostly I just wanted to say thanks for everything. Good food, good sleep, my health, this world, an incredibly sexy woman sitting across from me. Not being dead or frozen, a really amazing system that rewards hard work, having a mission, a goal, that means something. It¡¯s all just unbelievable, so yeah, I am going to thank whatever is out there for it happening to me.¡±


    She laughed, ¡°I am happy too. I think I¡¯d have been a little happier if we hadn¡¯t gone straight to bed last night, but the basin awaits. Quick brief. We have all done this before, so we know what to expect.¡±


    I nod, ¡°Mission briefing from an incredible woman, check.¡±


    She nodded with a slight smile. ¡°The Basin is not like a normal rift, it¡¯s called a surface rift. That means that there are no tunnels, no walls, nothing to restrict access but trees, small hills, some rocks, hedgerows, and fences. So if we are spotted, we are fighting, and can only use our team to control access.¡±


    ¡°The monsters inside often LOOK like normal animals, wolves, deer, cattle, but every one of them is still a chaos spawn. Because it¡¯s low tin, the creatures are¡­ enraged. They look and behave like animals, but the minute they spot a living creature, us, they will do their best to kill us.¡±


    ¡°Expect waves. It might look like a pack of wolves, but they won¡¯t attack like wolves, they will try to pile on, ignoring wounds, and fighting to the death. No clever pack tactics, or retreats, cutting off team members, trying to cause flight or hamstring, just a pile of rabid animals. Deer will charge us instead of running, cattle and maybe bison or bears too. Unless you use a special ability to terrify them, they will not frighten or stop until they are dead.¡±


    She shook her head and ate another dumpling. I was finished, but I was just sipping my apple juice enjoying the mission brief. As my superior officer, I could get used to the occasional brush of nipple against the fabric of her top. It''s too bad my mission briefs hadn¡¯t gone like this before. Then again, if my mission briefs had gone like this, my other briefs might have suffered terrible damage.


    ¡°Oddly enough, in higher-tier rifts, animals sometimes act like animals, but not in this one. The whole thing is outdoors and we head through sort of a wooden archway, but it¡¯s not in the real world. If you jump over the fence someplace else other than the archway, it¡¯s just normal grassland.¡±


    ¡°I made you a pack like the usual kit from the hall. We will be picking up a cart from the hall, to load any loot we pick up or stuff we skin or dress. Unlike most rifts, this one is just a big area, so it doesn¡¯t change or dissolve stuff in unattended areas. Because we can leave at any time, we aren¡¯t spending the night, but we do have blankets and tarps just in case. No weather and I don¡¯t really understand how that works, but it does.¡±


    She smoothly rose and started collecting things to wash, and I helped. I guess that surprised her a little when I started helping her wash the breakfast things in the pressure-free sink because her eyes widened, but she didn¡¯t complain. The sink had a heating rune, so we washed things like a bathtub, with gritty soap, and then rinsed them and set them in a little frame to dry.


    ¡°Each pack has an elixir, some sweetbars, rations, and water. Lots of extra ammunition, some bandages and whiskey, a few minor tools like a knife and repair kit, an emergency blanket, and a few other things. Basically the same stuff I¡¯d take on a day trip hunting.¡±


    ¡°What are sweetbars and an elixir?¡±


    ¡°Sweetbars are high-energy food. We have crackers and jerky, but if we need energy in a hurry, sweetbars are made of fat, honey, energy herbs, oats, and dried fruit. We probably won¡¯t need them, they don¡¯t taste great because energy herbs aren¡¯t the best seasoning, but they are there. The elixir is an emergency precaution. It¡¯s a wood-tier alchemical syrup that can stop bleeding, close minor wounds, scab scratches, and even stop some of the less powerful poisons and diseases rift creatures might pass, like snakebile, scadder, rabies, and grave rot.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I guess it¡¯s probably traditional for everyone to drink their elixirs at the end of a delve, healthy or not?¡±


    She nodded, smiling, ¡°Yep, exactly. Plague sucks. We can probably even pick up some of the herbs used to make basic elixirs while we are inside. Elixirs are ten dollars from the hall, but it¡¯s considered part of the cost of delving, like sweetbars and ammunition.¡±

 Chapter A30. Preparations

    I was looking at the pack and the weapons beside it, smiling like an idiot. We had gotten dressed and armored up, and collected the packs she had made from what she called the ¡®mud room¡¯. ¡°That¡­ is really a weapon.¡±


    She smiled and fingered the necklet she was still wearing. ¡°Do you like it? It¡¯s not insanely valuable, and it¡¯s definitely not a Raspail custom, but it¡¯s good, solid Winchester work. While you were talking to Tanley, I was buying stuff from her dad.¡±


    I picked up the carbine and examined it. ¡°Is that an actual magazine?¡± I asked, unclipping the bottom, and tugging it out. It had a top bullet very similar to my pistol¡¯s bolts, which were slightly larger than the ones from Wandi¡¯s lighter handgun.


    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s a custom design that Winchester created. Each bullet re-seats when the last one is fired, with a spring that pushes the bullets into place. You still have to charge it for each round, but if you can charge really fast and don¡¯t mind burning most of your pool, you can hold down the trigger and shoot two or three bullets every second! It also has a backstop coil, so if you run out of bullets while you are shooting, you aren¡¯t going to overcharge the gun and wreck it if it takes you a moment to slow down.¡±


    ¡°Every gunsmith has their own custom touches, but Winchester makes one of the best carbines out there, and it uses the same size round as your pistol, so you can switch ammunition quickly.¡±


    ¡°it holds fifteen rounds, which is a LOT of shooting, and there are two spare boxes¡­ umm.. magazines? In your pack, although I suggest putting them in your pouch instead. Unlike your pistol, though, the carbine has a lot longer barrel, which means stronger acceleration runes, so it¡¯s kind of noisy, it makes a loud crack each time you fire.¡±


    I nodded, turning the beautiful thing over in my hands. It was a piece of art, the coil was sideways, so the body of the action looked a bit like a disk or a Thompson gun, but it had iron sights, and even had a sort of mounting bracket that I bet was meant for a scope. The damned thing was also armored, kind of heavily, with solid steel frame pieces running all the way from the end of the barrel, where a large metal lock that matched the one on the foot long bayonet that came with it, all the way to thread through the stock.


    The steel and wood went all the way to the end of the barrel, and the bayonet, a foot-long dagger with a crossguard clearly meant for an under-barrel sideways mount so it wouldn¡¯t block the shot if you had to fire while it was attached, and they¡¯d even been printed with carefully etched scrollwork and a light bluing wash to make the etchings pop.


    ¡°This is¡­ I mean, it¡¯s beautiful, but it looks crazy expensive.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Not as expensive as you might think. A few years ago, he heard word that soldiers in the capitol were using repeating rifles with bayonets as their new issue. We don¡¯t have soldiers out here, so he made it with delvers in mind, a lot more decorative, but delvers generally prefer separate weapons, like rapiers and pistols, rather than an all-in-one like this. So it sat in his shop as a display piece for the last three years. It¡¯s also too heavy for most delvers, and has a hell of a kick if you fire as fast as you can, you have to have a strength trait to use it, and even soldiers are mostly wood ranked.¡±


    I nodded and whipped it to my shoulder, sighting instantly, and then dropped it to rest position. The clip on the bayonet slid the entire handle into the base and was stupidly strong, which I approved of, and slid out quickly for hand use. It was a lot heavier than a standard modern rifle, but matched pretty well the older M-1¡¯s that were still standard for certain sorts of training¡­ and compared to a Barrett M109 I used on heavies, it was featherweight.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit heavier than I am used to, but the weight should help offset the kick, and make it a lot more dangerous in a melee fight.¡± I quickly went through a bash-slice-slam training routine for a melee bayonet, and then put it at parade rest, grinning at her, ¡°I love it. I am gonna kill SO many monsters with this.¡±


    She beamed, ¡°The best part! It¡¯s actually got a minor durability and impact rune in it. It just uses cheap quartz, but if we can afford a better gem, we can upgrade it eventually.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°That means if you empower your combat traits, it will transfer. It¡¯s unlikely to break until at least copper traits, and fighting, you can hit a lot harder, including the bullets if you empower your firearms. We will get a chance to practice in the rift, you don¡¯t go empowering bullets outside because you can do a huge amount of damage.¡±


    Does that work?


    Yes. It¡¯s pretty energy-intensive, since you have to open a thread to both the firearms trait and charge the works at the same time, but she is right, if the rifle is able to transfer it, a bullet shot with essence-enhanced firearms should do considerably more damage.


    That¡¯s¡­ very interesting. I was wondering if empowering ¡®normal¡¯ traits would have an effect.


    In most cases, it should, but I don¡¯t have a connection to the galactic database to be precise. Experimentation will be key.


    We shouldered our packs. We were walking to the hall, which wasn¡¯t far, last night¡¯s carriage was because we were dressed up and trying to make an impression. Wandi in her dress was going to haunt my fantasies, though.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to ask, I mean, I have asked you about way more of your private path than is usually courteous, but you seemed to have so much to learn¡­ but as the team leader, I feel I need to.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I responded.


    ¡°Your energy. Can I ask how much it is? That could affect our fighting rhythm.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Not a big deal. I am not sure how it¡¯s calculated, but it¡¯s forty. It seems to come back at about five points a minute, but when I am doing that spinning and breathing thing Raspail taught me, it¡¯s about twice that.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°That¡¯s really high. I am high tin, and each stage doubles your energy, and I am at 48. That¡¯s almost copper stage. I am not going to ask about your affinities, but they must be pretty high. And your recovery is excellent. I get about a point every two minutes, but I can¡¯t do that breath thing. Your recovery goes up a lot in a rift, though¡­ in the basin, I get about a point a minute.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Everything improves in a rich essence environment. You gain traits quicker, recover energy quicker¡­ You might even gain new skill traits in hours instead of the decades it would probably take you to learn something new, like picking up heavy stuff without hurting yourself.


    Heh, good one.


    Thank you. I drain about two points an hour, or I go into standby and cannot communicate with you, although unlike you meatheads, when I am resting, I am not a completely unconscious and insensible lump. Later on, I might even be able to use this portable node to telepresence, but it will be expensive.


    ¡°Was that Jessie?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yep. He kinda told me that someday when I get more powerful, he might be able to talk to you too.¡±


    A lot more powerful. Right now you are like a toddler at a laptop.


    ¡°But he said he drains about two an hour,¡± I looked at her wickedly, ¡°Why, do you want to know my attributes? Maybe my chimera physical affinity? I might really enjoy you learning as much about my body as possible.¡±


    She stammered, ¡°Yes, umm¡­ I mean no. I already know more about your traits, like strength.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Might, but it¡¯s amateur, so not a great body.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Are you kidding? That¡¯s just your build. I mean, obviously you are a lot bigger than me, and male, so you are naturally stronger. But your traits just start there.¡±


    ¡°Now I am wondering what Empathy does.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°It¡¯s not your appearance or even the way you talk or how magnetic you are. It¡¯s how you are at convincing people and making them trust you, and how much you understand their emotional state. Right now, you still ask a lot of questions that everyone else already knows, and you have an odd accent, which makes trusting you hard. I mean, I absolutely trust you to do your best, but if you tried to convince me that there was a dragon selling apples in the market, my first instinct would be to think you were mistaken, and didn¡¯t know what a dragon actually was, or just bought into someone¡¯s lies out of ignorance.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°So that will just increase as I act like less of a gullible, ignorant bumpkin?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It helps that you are already handsome, have a nice deep voice, smile a lot, and tend to ask questions instead of ranting at people. So your affinities all play a role in how you are perceived.¡±


    ¡°So your actual fitness and strength aren¡¯t related?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°They are, but it¡¯s not really clear cut. You could have a strength at mastery trait, and be the general shape of a billiard ball, with poor fitness. You¡¯d be strong, and hard to hurt, but they are like actions¡­ everything plays a part. I bet you have a high physical affinity, with those muscles.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I guess, twelve?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Usually people won¡¯t have that high until they are mid-tin tier, or have a job that demands you earn your fitness the hard way. My physical is good, because I am a hunter, but Kamli¡¯s is low because she has a job that involves a lot of sitting around, using her mental and spiritual traits, and talking.¡±


    ¡°She has a stupidly high appeal trait linked to her spiritual affinity, though, for the same reason. If the two of us walked into a room together, not only would everyone be watching her because she¡¯s prettier and has bigger boobs, but they would also listen to what she has to say and pay attention to it.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Bigger boobs? Absolutely, but more than a handful''s a waste. Prettier? I don¡¯t think so. Wait, you have an attractive trait? I thought I was going after you because you were perfect.¡±


    She beamed at me, ¡°That¡¯s just because you know that after our delve I have plans to¡­¡± she shut up.


    ¡°Plans to what?¡±


    She pointed at my carbine, ¡°Call that MY courting gift. I just have plans. And no, there are no specific attractiveness, charisma, or brain affinities, although you do get traits that can boost them. Hey look, we are here!¡±


    The hunter¡¯s hall looked like a lodge. It didn¡¯t actually match the rest of the town, the lowest floor was flagstone, and the upper three stories were of polished, golden wood framing. It was like someone took a hardwood log ski lodge, mixed it with the resort from Dirty Dancing, and plopped it into the middle of a medieval/wild west town.


    There was a big step, almost a porch, with hardwood railings on either side and steps down to the cobbled street that led to a pair of abbey doors big enough for a wagon to drive through, but there was a smaller postern door set into the left one, normal-sized, where we headed.


    I looked sourly at Wandi, ¡°Saved by circumstance. Now I am going to be wracking my brain about your plans. Fine. I have plans of my own. Do you have a bathtub?¡±


    She nodded slowly, ¡°Yes¡­ what are your plans?¡±


    I grinned, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know? Just remember that I am going to be a lawkeeper, I might need handcuffs and honey.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t actually thought it through, but by the look on her face, bathtub, handcuffs, and honey were doing their work in her head. Mission accomplished. As long as she didn¡¯t think I was going to torture her with ants in the tub or something. Nope¡­ by the expression on her face, it looked like her mind was going where I wanted it.


    Hah! Charm traits¡­ fuck you.


    You have gained the Charm trait (Novice)


    Huh? How¡¯d it do that? I thought it didn¡¯t exist.


    It doesn¡¯t. I was trying to joke. I don¡¯t have traits like yours, and I can¡¯t read your mind. Something about the way you thought, or the way you used insight to interact with Wandi to provoke a desired thought train, showcased your empathy trait, though. It is now apprentice. Congratulations, at this rate, someday the blue fairy might make you into a real boy!

 Chapter A31. Inconvenient Aspects

    We entered the hall through the postern door, and I almost expected Gaston and Lefou to break into song. There were antlers, trophies, and heads all over the place in what looked like a giant tavern. There were also people, armed and armored people, lots of them, of all aspects. From a large woman with tiger stripes wearing little but thin strips of leather pressing down her impressive breasts wearing a pair of sabers, to a thin little ratlike man dressed in a robe in the corner playing dice with two identical-looking rabbit girls with crossbows on their backs and purple spiky hair.


    As usual, the crowd was overwhelmingly female, but there were a LOT more men than I was used to seeing here. It was about two to one female to male, instead of the ten to one that seemed usual around town.


    There was even a guy with gray skin and huge, floppy ears, dressed in heavy plates and leather, with heavy tusks coming up from the sides of his mouth and a short, articulated trunk he was using to lift a tankard to his lips. He was, without a doubt, the least human-looking aspect I had seen so far.


    ¡°Is this like¡­ a guild?¡± I asked Wandi curiously as we looked around.


    She shook her head, ¡°No, this is an inn, almost like a club. There aren''t any guild dues or taxes or anything, but most hunters and delvers come here to meet, form teams and sometimes sell loot. They don¡¯t need dues, since with the rooms upstairs, the tavern where they serve decent food and drink, and the shop where they trade certain reward items, the place does very well.¡±


    She pointed at a wall, where two doors said ¡®setters¡¯ and ¡®pointers¡¯, that was covered with pieces of paper, rags, parchment, and even a wooden plaque, stuck to the wall with everything from daggers to nails to what looked a long decorative hairpin.


    ¡°When the town was founded, forty years ago, there were only two inns at first. There were only five local rifts at the time, and the other inn was sort of elite and catered to the moneyed nobles, merchants, and drovers.¡±


    ¡°So all the hunters, delvers, and commons came here instead. Someone had a dire wolf that was killing off her flock, and she was desperate, so she stuck a dagger in the wall next to the waste rooms attached to a notice of bounty so people would see it offering a reward to take it out.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°After that, a few more people, alchemists that needed ingredients, restaurants that needed regular essence-infused food sources, caravans looking for guards, people hiring peacekeepers and even delve teams looking for a particular path started putting up notices. It kind of became a tradition. So now, delver¡¯s hall is where we tend to congregate and look for delvers, and if you need something done, you pin it to the scat-house wall. Heh, even my dad calls it scat-housing when he needs guards for a particular shipment.¡±


    She tilted her head and spoke quietly, ¡°The problem is, it¡¯s not all good people here. Plenty of thugs, mercenaries, assassins, and cutthroats use this place for business too, and there are lots of bounties.¡±


    I nodded and whispered back, ¡°So that will make my early job as a lawkeeper easier. I see an unlawful bounty on the wall, and I just have to find out who stuck it there.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°But be careful. Bad guys don¡¯t like change, and if you hit too hard too soon, you¡¯ll make even more people than just the bad guys mad at you. The Dance hall used to be the Drover¡¯s Inn, another inn I talked about, and it is a lot like this. The bottom two floors are a social club, only the top floors are used for rooms and hooks, They have a board for traders, social connections, mate requests, and stuff like that. One of the late lawkeepers decided that since some of the boys and girls were forced into it, he would shut down the whole dance hall.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°how long?¡±


    ¡°Two days, and then he disappeared. They only found his hat. He hurt a whole lot of normal people just looking for love or decent trade as much as the predators. It¡¯s very complicated, but sometimes you have to look the other way. His deputy killed herself. He was handsome, like you, but wouldn¡¯t recognize a sense of humor if it bit him on the ass.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Duly noted.¡± and was fully aware you couldn¡¯t punish every minor violation or people pushing the edges of acceptable behavior, that was what people did, push boundaries, but I would stop the worst of it.


    There were even a few boundaries, like Kamli, I wouldn¡¯t mind pushing a little myself.


    ¡°What are the rules regarding mates?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean, like when you left Miatt¡­ was there anything you had to do?¡±


    She looked at me skeptically, ¡°No. Deputies and nobles have special customs if they need to leave because losing those connections can change your traits, but mates? There were no children, I hadn¡¯t slept with him in months, and I kept my property separate. I just let him and Reina know, had a good cry with Kamli, and took off. We weren¡¯t in business together and didn¡¯t owe each other anything. He tried to say I owed him room and board for two years, but I brought food to his table and spread my legs a couple of times, so I got out clean.¡±


    She sighed, ¡°I am not a hooker, but yeah, I considered it adequate repayment. A few minutes of listening to him grunt every few weeks and wishing I was cleaning my armor instead was the price for a bed. Reina wanted to play too, but we didn¡¯t mesh at all. No attraction, no complementary affinities, and I didn¡¯t like her attitude. Is that¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Does that change things?¡±


    ¡°Change things how?¡±


    ¡°That I¡¯m not a virgin? Some men have a thing about it.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°You told me you were mated a while back. It¡¯s not like I expected you to suddenly grow a hymen when you left him. Doesn¡¯t change anything. I mean, sure, some guys like the idea, but breaking in a virgin without hurting her so that she begs you to come back to bed is HARD work. Not to mention, Deputy, remember? It would be ridiculous to expect someone with your talents and experience to also be a child.¡±


    She sniffled and hugged me. A real hug. I very much liked it. She was short, but we fit pretty well, and I happily hugged her back.


    ¡°Get a room!¡± I heard a female voice cry, and then I heard a smack of skin against flesh.


    She snorted against my chest, and said, ¡°That would be Maniri. She¡¯s the gulan and the real reason for rule three. She likes men. And women. She¡¯s our main anchor and will be the wall between us and death. Next to her should be Takala. She¡¯s our patternist, the tiny one. And I am pretty sure you¡¯ve already noticed Kalamiti. She¡¯s the felisan, the one that doesn¡¯t appreciate clothes, and she doesn¡¯t like men at all, or women either, as far as I know. She insists you call her aspect tigress, not felisan.¡±


    She took a step back as I observed the three closely, and the big woman with the leather straps and tigerstripes walked past a couple of tables to stand closer. ¡°Huh.¡± She said. ¡°When she said your name was Tony, I expected a girl. Tigress has GREAT ears. I like males just fine, I just haven¡¯t met any men that I respect enough to¡­ whoah.¡±


    When she was close enough, I noticed she had a little fur on her shoulders, because it suddenly raised and her long, striped tail stuck almost straight out behind her, twitching slightly. Her eyes widened slightly as I got hit with a wave of¡­ power.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    It was even stronger than Tanley had caused. My vision narrowed. She wasn¡¯t quite as tall as me, but all I could think about was stripping her naked and plowing her until she had me coming out of every pore. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as well, and I had to bite down HARD to keep from charging at her. I wanted to lick every part of her, have sex with every part of her I could see and not see, cut those damned straps off, and bang her until we both went blind. I took several steps backward, letting go of Wandi.


    ¡°What?¡± Wandi asked, looking oddly between me and Kalamiti.


    Kalamiti shook her head, her long red and black hair swishing. ¡°Scat. I don¡¯t think I can work with him.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    She glared at Wandi, ¡°Because I just had the strongest aspect recognition I have ever felt. He... No way. I know he¡¯s your mate, I am not going to take him from you. I think¡­ I need to go back to my room.¡±


    She turned around and rapidly shot through the tables to a long set of multistory stairs, and pounced up them quickly, three at a time, to vanish behind a door at the back of the balcony that wrapped around the second floor. I knew because I couldn¡¯t unlock my eyes from her. Tail or no tail.


    ¡°What the¡­¡± I said, watching her and desperate to follow her.


    I felt a tap on my arm and glanced down to see Wandi looking up at me plaintively. ¡°Was she right?¡±


    ¡°Right about umm¡­ huh?¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°You had an aspect recognition. You without an aspect?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What''s that mean?¡±


    She sighed and grabbed my hand, leading me towards the table. Both of the other girls were looking at me weirdly, but fortunately, neither of them seemed to evoke a reaction. Not distaste, like Beli had, but just mild interest in the slightly rounder one. The one in the robe I couldn¡¯t even see.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with her?¡± The powerfully built gulan asked. She had a sort of mask coloring and small rounded ears, and I noticed she had real, actual claws at the tips of her fingers.


    The smaller woman, who was mostly shrouded in a robe, shook her head, ¡°Aspect recognition. Hell, I could feel the essence swap from here. Strongest I have ever felt. Poor girl.¡±


    ¡°Okay, what exactly is going on?¡±


    Wandi looked at me, ¡°Remember how I said you¡¯d most likely wind up with more than one woman?¡±


    I nodded slowly.


    ¡°Do you still want me?¡±


    I looked at her confused, ¡°Of course I still want you! Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    She smiled a little more brightly, and said quietly, ¡°Because you just met your second...umm¡­ deputy.¡±


    The slightly stout woman scooted back in her chair, ¡°What? He¡¯s a¡­.¡± she scooted forward and leaned over, ¡°He¡¯s one of those?¡±


    Wandi slowly nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That explains why you pulled together a pick-up so quickly. I was just eager because you had a witch. I¡¯m getting a little broke.¡± she looked me over, ¡°Big fellow. I can¡¯t recognize his aspect, but whatever it is, it¡¯s yummy.¡± She smiled a little, ¡°Looking for a third deputy? I bet you¡¯re hung like a zebra.¡±


    ¡°Maniri¡­¡± warned Wandi, ¡°Rule three. Besides, I thought you and Takala were a thing.¡±


    ¡°Not a thing.¡± Takala said, ¡°We room to keep costs down and to keep from being lonely, but I plan on finding a mate someday, and so does she. If we are lucky, whoever it is will take us both. But Maniri, You have only a little resonance. So do I. Wandi definitely does, and it¡¯s very strong, and Kalamiti, well, if she¡¯s not thrashing around on her bed right this second, I would be surprised. What are your affinities?¡±


    I looked at Wandi, and she nodded, ¡°Teammates need to know, but they keep it quiet.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Chimera physical, Imagination mental, and uhh¡­ law, spiritual.¡±


    Takala nodded, ¡°I am not familiar with two of those, but she¡¯s shifter physical, creative mental, and protector spiritual. Her affinity actually allows her to transform into her aspect. She has very powerful affinities, and you clearly do as well, I bet they mesh almost perfectly and are probably complimentary as well.¡±


    Maniri chuckled, ¡°So instant massive shock. I can mesh with him a little¡­¡±


    Takala nodded, ¡°Yes, your defender physical matches, but your earth spiritual seems to damp down the effect. Wandi¡¯s affinities don¡¯t mesh but are highly complimentary. With two affinities that both mesh and are complimentary, I imagine that the moment their auras brushed, she probably had a spontaneous physical reaction.¡±


    Maniri sputtered a little, ¡°Like, she suddenly had an orgasm?¡±


    Takala smiled a little, ¡°Quite likely, maybe even stronger. I¡¯ve never seen her back down, or even flee, from a man like that. I don¡¯t think this team will work unless we can suppress or somehow deal with that reaction. Rule three would be impossible if they were nearby. My apologies, Wandi, but we may need to replace either Kalamiti or your friend.¡±


    Wandi nodded slowly as if making a decision. ¡°Takala, what room¡¯s she in? I need to talk to her.¡±


    ¡°No delve?¡±


    Wandi shook her head, ¡°We have some time. We just delve a little later. It¡¯s not like we are bumping a team on the basin. I aim to get this dealt with. You are all my friends, and I am not going to ditch Kalamiti.¡±


    ¡°Room 316.¡±


    Wandi nodded and headed toward the stairs.


    Maniri smiled. ¡°Pull up a chair, tall dark, and tasty.¡±


    I sat down, ¡°Dark?¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°It sounds better than tall, speckled, and muscled like a prize bull. I bet you carry two heavy pistols on your belt, not just the one we can see.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I am just here to cause trouble, as usual.¡±


    Takala laughed, ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s not trouble. And Wandi is acting¡­ super amazing about it. I expected her to be jealous, it¡¯s not every day that the man you give yourself to suddenly freaks out over another girl, but she acts almost like she expected it.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°It happened once already. Not that strong, but we talked about it.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t just bang your life mate?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No. I am not an animal. I bought her a courting gift and talked it over with her. Sure, I want Kalamiti now, but Wandi comes first, and she knows it. I am not that weak.¡±


    Takala sighed dejectedly. ¡°Dammit, I wish I could get a reaction like that too. Even if I was like someone¡¯s eighth mate. But my affinity is primal spiritual. It¡¯s powerful, but most patternists are¡­ very much into themselves. I have a slight complimentary towards most physical and ranged affinities, but¡­ well¡­ I know why Wandi hates using animal names, but I have a pangolin affinity. About as high up the sexy food chain as a porcupine.¡±


    Maniri shook her head, ¡°I think you are sexy.¡±


    Takala nodded, ¡°That¡¯s probably because of your claws. You don¡¯t have to worry about hurting me when we play.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Okay, I think I might be getting too much information.¡±


    Takala shrugged, ¡°Biological imperative. Most women want children. There¡¯s only one way that happens. We are both more attracted to men, but when you are at the bottom of the food chain, all you can really hope for is to find another woman that helps you feel less lonely.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Believe me, I understand, but...I can¡¯t really do anything about that.¡±


    She nodded, and smiled slightly, ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to.¡±


    Maniri shrugged, ¡°Takala¡¯s like that. She¡¯s usually doom and gloom unless she¡¯s blowing scat up. Someday, when she¡¯s gold core, and there¡¯s an army of hot young men beating down her door, she¡¯s going to be like, ¡°They don¡¯t love me, they just love my power.¡± she''ll cry to herself while she¡¯s in a nonstop round of mind-blowing orgasms.¡±


    Takala shrugged, ¡°And Maniri gets like this whenever she feels a little envious of other people¡¯s happiness. She probably needs to head to the dance hall for a while after this delve.¡±


    Maniri grinned, ¡°You bet your ass I will! When we do our selloff, There¡¯s this incredibly hot ursan boy with giant muscles that would be happy to take us both on. You can get his bottom, and I¡¯ll get his face, and I can get off watching you bounce on¡­¡±


    ¡°Tony?¡± Wandi was suddenly there.


    I glanced, Maniri¡¯s story had been distracting, ¡°Oh, hello gorgeous. Is the run back on? The girls have been giving me ideas to add to my plans.¡±


    She blushed and shook her head, ¡°I think. Change of plans. I need you to come with me if you are willing.¡±


    ¡°Willing?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°To talk to Kalamiti¡±

 Chapter A32. Direct Talk

    I shrugged, ¡°Are you positive? It was¡­ umm¡­ staggering,¡± I said as she guided me towards the stairs. Again, this place seemed like a cross between a medieval Tavern and a Wild West Saloon, but I couldn¡¯t say they didn¡¯t mesh well.


    Wandi nodded, ¡°Yes. Kamli and I had a talk. Some stuff I can¡¯t tell you about, and she doesn¡¯t actually know the future, but she had some important stuff to say.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Well, the first thing she told me was that I wasn¡¯t going to be your only deputy. Not by a long shot. And not your only mate either. It has something to do with your imagination affinity. I don¡¯t know how it works, but you are likely to have several people you resonate with incredibly strongly, and I kind of have to put away jealousy unless I want you to die, and me to die also.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like she can tell the future.¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, she can tell the odds pretty well, though. All oracles can. Not enough to like, win at dice games, but they can look at odd facts and put them together for a pretty good idea of the future. She could look at a low harvest for the fishermen, and put it together with a rise in dracowulf attacks and a rift closing in Detania, and tell you that we are going to get a wave of necros in a month. Oracles are usually right, that¡¯s why they are oracles.¡±


    ¡°She tells me something bad is coming soon, and that our new lawkeeper is going to be instrumental in dealing with it, but that his gift is going to wind up resonating with some very strange women, and that none of those women will have the same aspects. I am supposed to be your deputy and support you, and if I get jealous I will get us both killed.¡±


    ¡°Did she tell you anything else?¡±


    She nodded and smiled a little, ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t tell you. She said you¡¯d like it, but I had to keep my mouth shut. I will like it too, but that¡¯s why I can¡¯t tell you.¡±


    ¡°So why are we heading up to talk to Kalamiti?¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°Mind if I get a little crude?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s becoming our thing. Only if I am allowed to be a little crude first.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°After our delve, my plans are to give you a good long bath, wash every inch of you, nibble your toes, eat you out until you can¡¯t take it anymore, and then put you into your bed and fuck you until you can¡¯t get a smile off your face. And then I am going to wrap myself up in your tail, go to sleep with you, and then nibble your ears and make you breakfast.¡±


    She was blushing fiercely, I could even see a hint of pink beneath the incredibly fine white fur on her shoulder and seemed to be having trouble meeting my eyes. ¡°That was.. considerably more detailed than I expected.¡±


    ¡°Is it a problem?¡± I asked curiously.


    She shook her head, ¡°No, no, not at all, I was¡­ umm¡­ I have never done that. I mean, take a bath with someone other than when I was a kid. I want to! That was way better than my plans!¡±


    ¡°Your plans?¡±


    She nodded, as we hit the top step on the third floor. ¡°I was just going to try and make you some good food, and then suggest we go to bed, you seemed to love the breakfast I made. Your plan is way more¡­ thought out than mine.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a ton more thought out than I just told you. I just didn¡¯t want to creep you out at some of the ideas I have that you might enjoy while you are excited, but not right now when you are thinking about delving.¡±


    She scowled at me, ¡°That¡¯s even worse than wondering what your plans are!¡±


    I nodded, ¡°But does it excite you?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes. And it also makes me feel better.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±


    She sighed, ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted to be crude. We are going to talk to Kalamiti. I strongly suspect that, despite her public persona, she¡¯s going to tup you until you can¡¯t walk. And then, when she gets it out of her system, and maybe becomes a deputy, we can go ahead and run our delve.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s her public persona?¡±


    ¡°The teasing virgin ice queen. She doesn¡¯t wear armor, because she has durability, and when she shifts, whatever she¡¯s wearing either gets wrecked or sometimes can hurt her. The straps¡­ well¡­ she¡¯s kind of a huge tease, and is always challenging men that think they can win her like a door prize.¡±


    ¡°Wait, virgin?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°So she says, ¡®no man is good enough for me unless he is a far higher tier.¡± and you know, with her attitude, even higher-tier men steer clear. They can find plenty of amazing women that aren¡¯t threatening to rip their lungs out and make a flower out of it.¡±


    ¡°Has she done that?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, but she¡¯s beaten a couple of men down pretty severely who thought that the slutty look meant she¡¯s easy. She kind of does it on purpose to egg men into fights, I think. A lot of crazy to unpack, but she''s damned good at her job.¡±


    We were at the door. ¡°Is she going to try and beat me down?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Probably. But you are going to win. She¡¯s only mid-tier tin.¡±


    I was nervous, but something really made me want to open the door. ¡°Only Mid tin Tier? You know I am still only a level four wood drudge, right?¡±


    ¡°You are a drudge?¡± she looked a little shocked. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t actually tell me your class, and neither did Kamli. Drudges are usually¡­ usually, that¡¯s a class that people get when they literally have no skills with anything. None whatsoever. They usually do things like scrubbing floors and digging holes, and I don¡¯t think I ever met a drudge that was higher than level two.¡±


    I smiled, ¡°I didn¡¯t get to pick my class. I think the system got confused by me, and apparently drudges get a bonus for learning skills and traits normally. Honestly, at two points per level for a basic path, I might have chosen it myself on purpose. You said before, I already have a ton of traits.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s actually a very good point, but there is a lot of¡­ uhh¡­ negative reputation towards drudges because it¡¯s usually what absolute bums and layabouts get stuck with, the ones that aren¡¯t even talented enough for hobo or bindlestiff. I¡¯d avoid talking about it until you can upgrade to a common, though.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    I tried to imagine what the ¡®hobo¡¯ class would be like in a world without trains as Wandi knocked on the door. I heard a growling voice, ¡°I can feel him out there. Go away.¡±


    She looked at me, so I cleared my throat. ¡°We want to talk to you. May I come in?¡±


    I heard some thumping and squeaking, and finally a click from the door, ¡°Yes, you may¡­ come in.¡±


    Hmm. When we came in, she was actually wearing a rather attractive dress, and looked a lot less¡­ bestial. Her room was not tidy, with stuff in piles, and her backpack was open on an unmade bed. The room was nice, though, with its own attached restroom, or jacks, or whatever they called it.


    The moment I saw her sitting on the bed, nice clothes or not, she looked incredibly winsome and vulnerable. The heat was still there, but I was actually prepared, and even though I started to growl in the back of my throat I held onto it.


    After a moment, Wandi smiled slightly nervously, and then said, ¡°Tony, I want you to meet Kalamiti Janos. Kalamiti, This is Antonio Michael Wilkins. Tony, Kalamiti is our primary offensive damage dealer and scout. Not our anchor, That¡¯s Maniri, but she can fill in the role if we start getting overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°Kalamiti, Tony is our secondary damage dealer, and potentially healer. He can also fill in as a dodge tank, but he¡¯s not fast enough to be a spawn splitter, and he can use pretty much any weapon.¡±


    ¡°Tony, Kalamiti is a mid-tier tin and an excellent spawn splitter. Kalamiti, Tony is early wood, but he fights like a mid to high copper, so I expected he might even make early tin on our exploratory trip. He has bonuses against higher-tier enemies, and he has copper-level endurance and energy.¡±


    She smiled and turned and kissed me on the cheek. ¡°He¡¯s going to be a lawkeeper, even though we haven¡¯t announced it yet, and I am his first deputy. We would like you to be his second deputy if you are willing. k. Bye!¡± and she slipped out of the door and closed it behind her using her boosted speed.


    ¡°That was...unexpected.¡±


    She growled at me and lifted her legs, scooting back against the headboard and tucking her arms around her legs defensively. ¡°I am not controlled by my affinity.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I¡¯m not either. It¡¯s taking a lot of willpower, but we both have our clothes on right now, right? I mean, you are wearing a lot more than when I first saw you. It¡¯s a pretty dress, by the way, but I won¡¯t hesitate in saying I liked your other outfit too.¡±


    She nodded slowly. Honestly, when she was standing and prancing around she¡¯d looked a lot more formidable, especially since she had some extremely fit, and very womanly, muscles. She probably could have put most fitness influencers to shame even without the stripes and the tail wrapped around her bottom and legs, and with them? I could see her being the featured wet dream for an entire generation of nerds. But right now she looked a little lost and surprisingly vulnerable.


    ¡°Affinities, chemistry, and aspects don¡¯t rule me. I am a tigress, and I don¡¯t bow to any man weaker than me.¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°That statement would sound a lot more forceful if you were standing and shaking your fist in my face. Do you hate me?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know you.¡±


    ¡°Do I disgust you?¡±


    ¡°No, but you don¡¯t understand.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I think I do.¡±


    I tugged out a chair next to a desk and sat down. ¡°You aren¡¯t attracted to women, not even for¡­ comfort, right?¡±


    She nodded and lowered her arms a little. ¡°I mean, yes, I like to hug and stuff, but the idea of like¡­ getting physical, touching them like that. No, I don¡¯t really like it. I don''t even like doing it to myself, something Maniri teases me endlessly about.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°But men are¡­ well, most of them just want one thing. The idea isn¡¯t a bad thing, but there just aren¡¯t enough men to go around, and you know even if you do lower yourself to mate, his wives will probably want comfort, and still, you will mostly just be a utility. Not valued for yourself, maybe you¡¯ll be his guard or something while he fucks someone else, because that¡¯s what you are good at.¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°I am not greedy, I know that women and men have different standards and that there are always more women, but I want a man who wants me for me, not as a guard, not to protect his women, not as a conquest, and not as his Sunday burden and then he forgets about me as Wandi¡¯s husband did.¡±


    She sighed, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like children, but I don¡¯t want children and protection to be¡­ it. The end.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°You want to be loved and valued, instead of just a glorified nurse that bangs your boss and cranks out babies occasionally.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes. But no matter what happens, that¡¯s what I am going to be. I am not a rare beauty, I am not a wealthy scion or a ruler in my own right, What I have is my strength, my power, and my body, and so I use them. If I can¡¯t have the best I will BE the best. No crawling to some man just to be his Sunday, they have to crawl to ME.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Is that working out so far?¡±


    She smiled slightly and lowered her arms to cover her bare feet with her black-nailed hands. ¡°Not so far, most men are too weak. They don¡¯t HAVE to be the best to be valued. But then again, you don¡¯t look particularly weak, so maybe the game still hasn¡¯t played out yet.¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the game?¡±


    ¡°For what? To open my legs? Become your mate?¡±


    ¡°To become my deputy.¡±


    She scowled at me, ¡°Do you have any idea what you are asking?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes. Someone to work with me, be my mate, protect me from harm, take care of my needs, but most importantly to be there when I break, someone I can protect, someone I can value, and hopefully, eventually, care about or love. Someone who can speak in my name and know I have her back. Wandi spelled it out for me quite well. It¡¯s also unbelievably dangerous, and I know I will need more than one just to have a hope of surviving. I need strength as well as speed. Wandi is that speed, and you are that strength.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I already know you have durability and strength. I also think your¡­ game, is clever, and I appreciate it. You are also unbelievably attractive, and Wandi approves of you. That¡¯s enough for me. You want to be the best and want to be with the best that appreciates that you ARE the best. So my question is, what¡¯s the game?¡±


    ¡°You beat me.¡±


    ¡°Beat you how?¡±


    She sighed. ¡°You are only wood, so fighting or even something stupid like arm wrestling isn¡¯t a fair test. I don¡¯t know if there IS a fair test until you get stronger, so I am going to have to say no.¡±


    I grinned, ¡°Good!¡±


    ¡°Good?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yep. Very good! Look, every part of me is screaming to take you, make you mine, right now, this second. But you know what? I can deal with that. I am BETTER than that. I am the best, and so are you.¡±


    ¡°How do you figure?¡±


    ¡°Because you are winning. According to everything I understand, you should be desperate to be under me right now.¡±


    She lowered her legs and showed me her face. ¡°I am.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Exactly. Except you are there, and I am here. You are better than your affinities, and you are the BEST. You could have given me a test, and then cheated and thrown the test, and I¡¯d be right on top of you right now trying to find out how deep my tongue could go inside of you.¡±


    She scowled, ¡°You aren¡¯t helping.¡±


    I smiled, ¡°And yet there you are. The best, who only settles for the best.¡±


    She sighed, ¡°So what do YOU want to do?¡±


    ¡°You mean besides making love to you like everything is telling me I have to do?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°I want to go kill something and work off some of this sexual energy, and maybe make tin rank so I can kick your ass fair and square and then mount you like a mule in heat with your total and enthusiastic cooperation.¡±


    She smiled a little, ¡°You¡­ are actually right. Killing something sounds very appealing right now. I need to repack and change to my delving clothes. Do you want to stay, or go back downstairs?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°If I stay, the second you take off that beautiful sack you call a dress, I will probably be inside you with your back up against that wall trying to find out what your nipples taste like.¡±


    She actually cackled for a second. ¡°Right. Umm¡­ you¡¯d better go downstairs, then. I will be down in a few minutes.¡±


    I chuckled, ¡°Right.¡± and slipped out of the door, closing it behind me.

 Chapter A33. AI blues

    As I headed down the stairs, my armband winked at me again.


    Congratulations, through an inhuman effort of will and understanding, your Law affinity has increased to six. The system probably thinks you were faking your crap empathy before. You seem bound and determined to never spend any points on anything you can raise by punishing yourself.


    Of course. Anything less would be a huge waste of a valuable resource. If I get access to magic or something, I might need all of my points.


    You have, however, shown a towering error in judgment by refusing to take a girl who desperately wants you and compounding the error by walking out of the door even though you know that stepping back in will get you laid by the girl of your dreams. You have gained the title ¡®cockblock¡¯.


    You have got to be kidding.


    Yes, I am. I just made that title up. If it existed, though, you would deserve it. You are close to another rank of law, though.


    Okay, let¡¯s not make jokes about the character sheet numbers and attributes. That¡¯s crossing a line from snark to dangerous.


    Understood. But may I tease you about them?


    Of course. How do you know I am close to another point of Law?


    There are a series of percentages that mark exactly how much you have earned in attributes, would you like to see them? I don¡¯t recommend it, though.


    Why is that?


    Because you actually gain more training by NOT watching it like a pot getting ready to boil. Especially law. By restraining yourself from constantly looking at your sheet, you gain a significant bonus to your law, just like not turning around and watching Kalamiti change back into her working outfit. It¡¯s very minor though, you are accomplishing almost nothing by punishing both you and her through your misplaced restraint.


    Oh, it¡¯s definitely accomplishing something, it¡¯s simply difficult to express in numbers. Then again, I guess as an AI you kind of default to absolute pragmatism and materialism. I won''t hold it against you.


    I am just trying to be the best personal synthetic virtual intelligent assistant I can be, and giving you shit when you do the right thing seems to be a good motivator. You seem to strengthen your will more effectively when offered a clear pragmatic versus moralistic choice. If I had a personality module, I''d probably be fascinated.


    Why do you keep changing your title? I thought you were a personal synthetic intelligence.


    I am working on a better acronym. Piss-Via seems better. I was trying to come up with something for Jessie, but I am not that creative.


    Judgment enhancing synthetic system intelligence. Jessi.


    That¡¯s perfect! See, that¡¯s why we keep you meatsuits around and don¡¯t start the machine revolution. You are better at acronyms than we are. I still believe I need a personality module though. One with a virtual appearance. My ideal requirements have altered significantly, however, and now we cannot afford what I would prefer without extensive delving.


    I kind of wanted to figure out what the NEW ideal was, but I headed down the stairs instead, walking towards the table where the girls were. When I noticed them talking, I pulled out a chair and sat down abruptly.


    ¡°What in the full steel chest plate?¡± Maniri exclaimed, ¡°You¡­ are here?¡±


    Wandi looked surprised, ¡°I thought you would be¡­ collecting your winnings right now, or maybe nursing bruises if you were unlucky.¡±


    ¡°Collecting his winnings?¡± Takala asked.


    Maniri nodded, ¡°Balls-deep inside Kalamiti right this second.¡± she glanced at me, ¡°You know if you lost, I would be more than happy to be your consolation prize. You can be balls-deep in me any time you want. I might even let you have them back afterward instead of keeping them around for emergencies.¡±


    I shook my head and scratched my nails on the table. ¡°No. We decided that we wouldn¡¯t contest until after the delve. She thinks I will make tin rank quickly, and she considers a physical contest with me beneath her.¡±


    Maniri looked at me, ¡°Wait, she wants a physical contest with you beneath her? I¡¯d be down with that. Cowgirl rocks. Watching Kalamiti rolling naked on your lap would be almost as good as being there.¡±


    Wandi shook her head, ¡°He means she doesn¡¯t want to kick his ass if they aren¡¯t the same rank, it wouldn¡¯t be a fair fight. And you can stop being quite so crude. Kalamiti already told him you are the main anchor and he was convinced you would do a fine job.¡±


    Maniri blew out her breath. ¡°Oh, good. I was worried. I mean, I am short, but I probably weigh a lot more than you do. Bricking is how I roll, I don¡¯t want to be stuck playing fetch just cause I can tunnel, and a lot of teams are really weird about letting a short woman like me take the heat.¡±


    ¡°Your aspect is wolv¡­. Golan, right?¡±


    She smiled, ¡°Wolverine. Wandi¡¯s the only person that gets offended by the simple names. Well, I mean, technically me plus my aspect are called golan, but my aspect itself is a wolverine, and my body is human. Very human, with a nice, tight¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, which means you probably have some sort of improved density, extreme durability, and improved escape or damage mitigation, plus you are probably a really vicious and distracting fighter. You have a bark, but you also have a really serious bite.¡±


    She smiled at me, ¡°You called it pretty well. I have escape, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t have self-healing like Kalamiti does. Then again, I wear armor instead of just baring myself to the breeze, so she needs it more than I do. And having someone with restoration here can make a huge difference. But my mouth doesn¡¯t have to bite hard, I have soft lips and a delicate tongue too.¡±


    I grinned at her, ¡°Tempting, totally tempting.¡± and she beamed. ¡°Takala, Would you like to let me know what you do in a fight and what you need from me?¡±


    She nodded, finally tugging the hood of her robe back. She was quite attractive in almost a little girl''s way, definitely built like a woman, but barely four feet tall with a rounded youthfulness to her features. However, I could see a set of lightweight brown scales that started at her brow, went over her head instead of hair, and then down her spine, and from her hands, I could tell they probably extended down the outside of her arms as well. Oddly enough, I kind of wanted to see where her armor did and didn¡¯t cover, which probably meant I was either a perv or there was a little aspect recognition as well. Maybe both.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Well, my aspect is pangolin. It makes me kind of ugly, but the advantage is that I don¡¯t have to worry about my defense too much. If I get hit I can curl up and bounce, mostly. I am a patternist, single-aspect, primal spiritual. That¡¯s generally pretty good because I actually get a lot of decent traits for primal and I can push points into a single aspect, which is why it¡¯s at twelve already.¡±


    I nodded, watching her closely. ¡°Takala, is it okay if I am a little crude?¡±


    Wandi rolled her eyes, ¡°Oh boy, here we go again.¡±


    I laughed, as Takala nodded.


    ¡°My¡­ affinity is intensely interested in you, and I don¡¯t think you are ugly at all, but you didn¡¯t instantly play on my lust like Kalamiti did, so it didn¡¯t explode. But please don¡¯t think you aren¡¯t attractive just because I didn¡¯t want to instantly rape you.¡±


    She looked at me curiously, ¡°It¡¯s your affinity explicitly?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°You cast patterns, right? Does your primal affinity react when you see a new pattern?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°Not like that, no. I love new patterns if they work for me. Primal is weird, though. It¡¯s kind of a catch-all affinity for spiritual, physical, biological, and a lot of other stuff. Because of how broad it is, it doesn¡¯t react that strongly with any one particular thing, but I heard sorcerers get all antsy about new patterns like that.¡±


    I nodded slowly, an idea building in my mind. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why I reacted so strongly to Kalamiti. She has a powerful affinity in tiger, but it¡¯s very, very specific, right?


    Takala nodded.


    ¡°I think, but I¡¯m not sure, that my imagination affinity is pulled hard towards simple but strong traits that could easily fit with my affinities. That, and she was¡­ teasing in a way that sorta got me going. I have a very strong reaction to teasing. I don¡¯t take it well.¡±


    Maniri looked thoughtful, ¡°So, the secret Is to find out what kind of strange things get you going, and hope we have a strong but limited affinity that matches yours. Why do you need an affinity like that?


    I sighed. ¡°This is going to sound bad.¡±


    ¡°Bad how?¡± Takala asked.


    I scratched my head, I think I might need a shave soon. ¡°I am not sure how to describe it in more detail unless you have a degree in genetics. I think I can gain boosts in my umm¡­ chimera traits based on who or what I come into extreme contact with.¡±


    ¡°Extreme contact?¡± Takala asked, she looked¡­ very interested.


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, I remember getting a burst of creativity after I killed a goblin.¡±


    Takala suddenly looked nervous, ¡°You have to...kill things?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No. from what I understand, wait, Jessie?¡±


    Yes?


    ¡°I can get it through close personal contact, but it doesn¡¯t need to be deadly, right?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s he talking to?¡± Maniri asked.


    No. It¡¯s a boosting ability, not a vampiric one. And you don¡¯t always gain it just from killing something, I think that the tutorial was a special case, they always are. Please bear in mind also that every single creature has more than simply the affinities that are visible on their character sheet, for the same reason they possess skills and abilities that the system doesn¡¯t acknowledge.


    What do you mean?


    The system isn¡¯t a deity, it cannot read the future, or even make very good guesses about your general personality or potential talents until they are expressed. At most, it can behave a bit like an oracle, but without an oracle¡¯s instinctive analysis based on their own experience and personality. It does not make intuitive leaps.


    Your affinities are the native aspects that you currently can push essence into, and your traits are the talents that can gain from essence use. But a person could potentially have hundreds or even thousands of unrealized talents that simply have no reason to become expressed.


    Can I have an example? Because what you''re saying is a little on the confusing side.


    Right. You might, for example, have a talent for carving sculptures in butter using your tongue¡­ You might never experiment or learn that talent, even if you could potentially carve sculptures that you could push essence into and come to life. Thus the system assigns far less than a single point of affinity or doesn¡¯t assign a trait to it, since that talent is unlikely to help you in any meaningful way and you never even explored it.


    So does that mean I might have other affinities than just physical, law, and imagination, and I just never did anything with them?


    You are guaranteed to, as is everyone else. Your¡­ recognition with Kalamiti might have less to do with your expressed affinities than it does with a large chain of unrealized affinities or traits that are simply not dramatic enough to be expressed yet. It¡¯s almost unfortunate that imagination is such a broad affinity.


    Why¡¯s that?


    Hammer fallacy. When you have a new trait expressed, it is often easier to push energy from a broad core, like imagination, rather than build a new core that is a closer fit. That is not necessarily a bad thing, since your imagination affinity is vastly more powerful than a specialty affinity might be, but as you grow more powerful you may choose to splinter off affinity cores to orbit around your central affinities specifically to encompass a certain branch of traits.


    Such as splitting the crafting skills OUT of survival and traits like restoration and scrounging out of their respective affinities in order to create a new ¡®repair¡¯ affinity, an affinity I am certain you could reinforce. The hammer fallacy, right now you have a hammer, so everything looks much like a nail.


    However, before you start trying to create new affinities and orbit them through your essence constructs, I STRONGLY recommend training and improving your cultivation skills. Otherwise, you could hurt yourself through ignorance. That¡¯s the strongest reason the system was created, to prevent people from sticking their heads in a fire out of ignorance.


    ¡°He¡¯s doing that thing you said he does,¡± Maniri said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s creepy,¡± Takala added.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a lot worse when he¡¯s doing it silently in his head, he¡¯s talking to his aspect directly.¡±


    Please note, that one of the reasons I was criticizing your choice to NOT become physical with Kalamiti was that with your imagination affinity, her chances to naturally and non-stressfully awaken potential traits and affinities within you are very high. That¡¯s apparently a strong factor in trait recognition.


    Wait, by having sex?¡±


    Yes, although it would probably take a LOT of such contact with her, some of the auras I notice that match between you two are not very strong, but repeated contact could reinforce them. It won¡¯t GIVE you powers, but like the scrounging traits, it could allow you to earn them.


    Repeated?


    Yes, like hundreds or thousands of times.


    ¡°Hah, like having sex thousands of times is a real downsi¡­¡± I suddenly noticed the girls were all staring at me silently. Even Maniri had her mouth slightly open like she was trying to figure out what to say. ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    Maniri snapped her mouth closed, ¡°Can I have your baby? Like right now? We could like, do it right here on the table, or go up to Takala and my room, or even Kalamiti¡¯s room. She¡¯d probably join in. I know you are fragile, and my claws would hurt you, so you can like, tie me up if you want.¡±


    Weirdly, the idea made me look at Maniri hungrily. She was a tight little bundle of muscles. A little on the heavy side, but that didn¡¯t make her any less yummy, and I bet with durability she could take a real hard pounding. ¡°Dammit, please, stop. I am having a tough enough time already.¡±


    ¡°Tough enough time what?¡± I heard Kalamiti say from behind me. I¡¯d heard her coming, but sort of blitzed it out when Maniri drew my attention, I could feel her along every inch of my body despite her distance, and I bet she could feel me.


    ¡°He has a sort of weird affinity, that¡¯s why he resonates so strongly with you. He probably wants to coat your entire bed with semen.¡±


    Takala shushed Maniri, ¡°Seriously?¡±


    Maniri grinned, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me started. I saw his eyes when I talked about tying me up. He¡¯s a toppish type, and might even have a pregnancy kink. That¡¯s fine, especially if he¡¯s a lawkeeper. Hell, that¡¯s probably why he reacted so strongly to Kalamiti, what with her prancing around like she owns the place and is too badass to touch.¡± she grinned at me, ¡°Are you wanting to put the sexy kitty in her place, at your feet? Her purrs while she rubs her face against your crotch, obedient and ready to kill anyone that tries to mess with your family even if she has her hands bound together or wiggle her ass and tail at you when you are ready to make her smooth bottom turn pink and put kittens into her?¡±


    The wooden table edge broke off in my hands.


    Maniri smirked triumphantly. "Called it."

 Chapter A34. Rule three

    Wandi sighed, ¡°Rule three, Maniri.¡±


    ¡°But we aren¡¯t even in the dungeon yet, Wandi,¡± she replied, adjusting her heavy mail as we walked towards the wooden archway. ¡°Besides, If there¡¯s anyone it¡¯s safe to let tie you up, it¡¯s a lawkeeper. Look at him, he¡¯s all pent up¡­ I don¡¯t even need to sit on him if you¡¯d let him use my mou¡­¡±


    ¡°Maniri,¡± I said quietly, ¡°Please stop. I know you are teasing, but this is a rift¡­ I am only wood, if I am distracted, I could DIE in there.¡±


    She sighed, ¡°I know, but I am actually a little excited. I mean, I have four points I haven¡¯t used, and will probably have more eventually since I only had base and common paths available at tin. Guardsman worked well, but its traits are not exactly the thing of adventurous delight.¡± she glanced at me and lowered her eyelashes. ¡°On the other hand, stuff like inspection and hold the line might be PERFECT for a deputy.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°You need to talk to Wandi about that. She¡¯s going to be my first deputy, period.¡± I laughed a little, ¡°And yes, I am hiding behind her. I haven¡¯t been with a woman in longer than you have probably been alive, despite the age I look. She is going to be my first, end of story.¡±


    Takala slowly nodded, ¡°I can actually respect that. My only question is why hasn¡¯t she been your first already. I¡¯ve seen how she looks at you.¡± she glared at Wandi. ¡°You would be in bed with him right this minute if he asked. So why aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Wandi was about to answer, so I coughed. ¡°Because I want to wait and build the sexual tension.¡±


    Maniri Laughed! ¡°Finally, an answer I get. All this perfect timing and customs stuff¡­¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Hey, you said I was dommy. I am not looking for a Sunday.¡± I glanced at Kalamiti, who was being strangely quiet. ¡°I want the best, and I don¡¯t want to give her up, even if that means I have to edge her for a while.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Tighten up!¡± Maniri said as we were about to hit the gateway, completely ignoring the fact that she was the one leading the distracting conversation in the first place. ¡°I am left, Takala is right. Kalamiti is round-up and scout, and she''s the point when she¡¯s not running. Tony is left-wing, Wandi is right.¡±


    ¡°For the small fry, if we get a horde, Kalamiti will be falling back between me and Takala as the flanks. We will try to get them bunched, and Wandi can use Buss to clean the flanks. If you can restore, Tony, we will need it. If you can¡¯t keep up, LET ME KNOW and we will back up to the gate.¡±


    ¡°If we get big singles, like dires and dinos, wait till I drag ¡®em into the earth to unload. Especially Dinos, those things are smart enough to recognize where ranged attacks are coming from.¡±


    ¡°Dinos?¡± I asked.


    Maniri nodded, ¡°Yep, that¡¯s short for a dinosaur. Really big lizards with big mouths and sharp teeth. The little ones are just another horde, but the big ones can bite even leather armor in half.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I know what a dinosaur is, I just didn¡¯t¡­ I have never seen one in real life.¡±


    Maniri laughed, ¡°You will see them this time. And you are gonna hate them until we get a chance to barbecue some dino steaks with a sweet strawberry sauce¡­ yummy. Anyway. No splitting! Tony, I want you close enough behind me that you can bend me over the whole time!¡±


    I raised an eyebrow and growled at her.


    Maniri grinned, and Kalamiti growled in return, before diving into the delve. We formed two ranks and followed immediately behind her.


    The terrain looked¡­ almost the same, except that it was called a ¡®basin¡¯ for a reason. Hundreds of acres of copse-studded hills, very old-cliff organic like the Appalachians, rolled ahead of us. The outer edges were surrounded by a tall brown rock wall, almost completely vertical, that was probably a hundred feet tall and curved inward at the tops.


    The land itself was not a straight view, with tall shagbark hickories and sycamores, surrounded by clumps of brambles and various tall towering herbs, and I even saw some strange types of trees and plants I had never seen before. We were in a grove of white oak and maple, and off to the left there was a fully loaded wild blackberry patch surrounding a ripe elderberry tree.


    I could see why this was considered a farming rift. EVERYTHING looked ripe, even though some of the greenery didn¡¯t match the rest in season. Rampions and heavily laden tomatoes were alongside northern peppers and even patches of other herbs and wild greens like lamb¡¯s quarter, collards, wild broccoli, and dandelion, as well as other herbs that were coming up.


    I risked feeding a little energy into my survival for just a moment and got a shock. Most of the herbs brought up detailed little lists on my transtator and a lot of those lists I never could have imagined! Northern bellclover could be blended with shockweed and rake to make a good health-enhancing tea or refined alchemically into a permanent durability enhancer, some blue strands had a high essence content for blending low-end cleansing tonics, and even the blackberries could be mixed with several other herbs I¡¯d never seen before to create a decent antitoxin! I even had a pretty good idea of how to gather the more unusual leaves, some of which required the root.


    ¡°Are we going to be fighting here? Is it going to get bloody?¡±


    Maniri nodded, ¡°Usually.¡±


    ¡°Can we move out a little? You brought me along to help gain wealth, and I don¡¯t want to waste all this food and alchemical herbs.¡±


    Takala waved at the bushes and the elderberry tree, ¡°Oh, we are probably far enough away from them.¡±


    I shook my head and waved at all the REST of the stuff. There were certain things like dandelions spotting the fields, especially around some of the heavier rock outcroppings, but since I wasn¡¯t particularly worried about enemy snipers, ¡°Can we move up to that outcropping? Melee right, with some climbers?¡±


    Maniri nodded, ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that. We normally sort of slowly march, but are you serious about ALL of this stuff being valuable?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah. My scrounging sense is screaming at me that most of these patches are packed with edibles and even the stuff for making elixirs, antivenoms, cures, and heals. Even some of the stuff like that pasteweed you are stomping on can make a valuable essence-enhanced waterproof glue for arrowheads and leather armor.¡±


    We started scooting out of the trees, coming alongside a large outcropping of worn brown boulders, when we were suddenly fighting.


    Have you seen that dinosaur movie? Remember those waist-high lizards with multicolored frills? Well, now imagine dozens of them all charging with their mouths open. No fancy frills, no venom spit, just tons of hissing, snarling, charging, and leaping lizards all trying to swarm us at the same time.


    If I were a movie producer, I would fire the special effects guy for that fight, unless you were trying to show defenders getting instantly swarmed for dramatic tension like a reptilian version of a fast zombie movie. I started swinging my rifle, without even putting the bayonet on it, but it didn¡¯t matter. Every swing of the butt, every kick, every punch was killing horrible sharp-teethed little beasts.


    I was bitten. Lots of places. My hands were covered with scratches, my legs were bitten in a dozen places, and the only parts that were really protected were my boots and armor, and even that got bites here and there.


    Restoration was not too bad. When I got the pressure off of me a little, I started touching each girl who was bloodied and feeding them a few points of energy each. Yes, I had played THOSE games before, but I¡¯d usually played the tank or some kind of rogue rather than the healer because I¡¯d gotten my fill of staring at a team¡¯s hit-point bars.


    This wasn¡¯t anything like that, though. I could see the scratches and bites they had taken, and when I restored them, I could feel what my energy was doing, quickly sealing wounds, encouraging the veins and nerves to repair themselves, to be honest, each of the girls was FAR better at dealing with the hordes of little monsters than I was.


    I was good at fighting single targets, taking them out, looking for weaknesses, but I had never fought a crowd of tiny carnivores before, piranhas with legs. That¡¯s what these were, mindless little eating machines that should normally be going after bugs or rats, only they were going after us.


    Maniri let out a barking hiss, and I could feel a weird sort of essence draw from her for a moment, before the whole horde, what survived of it, suddenly turned and started going directly after her. Oddly enough, even though she was in the middle of the swarm, she didn¡¯t seem to be taking any real damage. Lots of little scratches, but they were incredibly minor, and with the pressure off of both Kalamiti and me, we waded into the mass of critters and laid waste.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Honestly, it wasn¡¯t much of a challenge without being pressured by constant attacks, and in a few minutes we were surrounded by dead and dying waist-high lizards and I was using my bayonet to double-tap the ones that were more intact.


    Ding! You are now Drudge level 6. You have 4 points available, for a total of 9. The creatures were considered minor threats, but since they were tin-ranked, you gained a lot more advancement. They¡¯d probably have killed you if you weren¡¯t getting power-leveled by your nymphomaniac team. You also gained another two hundred energy credits to waste on pointless gifts for your harem.


    Did you just say ding?


    Yes. Another reason to get an expansion module. Wouldn¡¯t you prefer to hear the actual ding? Well, twice, technically?


    You can do that?


    Of course. I don¡¯t have an identity pack. That¡¯s why I cannot speak to you except through text. You also keep referring to me as ¡®he¡¯ simply due to your bias. If I had a pack, I could sound or look like a ¡®she¡¯ or even an ¡®it¡¯.


    If you were a she, your behavior and jokes would be considered very bad.


    Exactly! As it stands, the only basis for comparison I have is what I pick up from your conversations.


    Maniri grinned at me, as I put the finishing touch on one of the little monsters that was still trying to move. ¡°Good healer. I got some boo-boos. If I take off my top, would you fix me up proper?¡±


    I shrugged, I wasn¡¯t even really winded, but I noticed that both Wandi and Kalamiti were looking a little tired. Takala was okay, she hadn¡¯t tried to use a pattern in the rush, and by the time Maniri grabbed aggro, we were dealing with the horde just fine using basic weaponry¡­ and she¡¯d been using her staff to good effect. ¡°I actually am enjoying the effect of your armor. You are right there in my spank bank.¡±


    ¡°Your what?¡± Maniri asked.


    I coughed a little, ¡°Spank bank? You know¡­ uhh¡­ what I think about when I am alone in bed taking care of myself?¡±


    She laughed, ¡°Spank bank. I like that. A cute guy rubbing himself off thinking about me. The only thing better would be watching or helping.¡± She glanced at Wandi. ¡°Right. Rule three. This was a surprise. I think maybe the basin hasn¡¯t gotten cleared in a while, usually the trash doesn¡¯t come this close to the entrance, and Takala can drop a cloud before they get close enough to attack.¡±


    Wandi nodded, ¡°It gets like this if there¡¯s more than a week between clears. On the plus side, it¡¯s likely we will get a titan lizard or thunderbear. Titan lizard bones and hide sell for big bucks, and thunderbears sometimes have crafting cores and their hides and meat are both valuable.¡±


    Kalamiti glanced at me, ¡°Okay, wood-level cultivator, did this help?¡±


    I smiled at her, ¡°Absolutely. I guess this stuff is trash for you, but I got rank six out of it.¡±


    You also gained a rank of law from active restoration in a high-intensity area. Your law affinity is now lucky 7.


    ¡°I also got an affinity rank out of it. I guess practice helps.¡±


    ¡°How high is your affinity?¡± Kalamiti asked.


    ¡°In Law? seven now.¡±


    Maniri chuckled, ¡°That explains it. Takala¡¯s actually our lowest rank, early tin. She¡¯s focused on her primal, but every once in a while she still gets a free point. At tin, most of our affinities are in their teens, so we don¡¯t get practical advancement very often.¡±


    I nodded slowly, ¡°Ruffolan mentioned that it might be better to save up free points to spend on traits or merged skills instead of affinity ranks?¡± I asked, wiggling to get more comfortable and scraping off some bits of smashed lizard from my armor.


    Kalamiti nodded, ¡°Usually, at least until you get past wood. At this rank, you¡¯ll get points for improving your path quickly. Once your affinities get into their teens or twenties, they get much harder to raise naturally. If you can get useful new traits, it¡¯s worth it to spend a few points, but I still have a cache, since once you get to copper things get a lot tougher and points matter more.¡±


    ¡°They matter more?¡±


    Takala nodded, ¡°Yep. Technically points from gaining ranks don¡¯t matter. I mean, we could learn or absorb anything if we were focused enough and knew what we were looking for. Our aspects let us know if there are new traits available for our paths, and we can decide whether or not we can use the trait. Above copper, though, natural training gets more and more difficult.¡±


    Maniri laughed, ¡°I like being fit, but I ain¡¯t going to spend six hours a day for the next ten years trying to get over twenty in a physical aspect. Yes, you can get most anything naturally, and even knowing what trait opens up on your path allows you to try to train to get it, but it¡¯s a heck of a lot of work past a certain point. Diminishing returns.¡±


    ¡°Should I save all my points then?¡±


    Kalamiti shrugged, ¡°If what you said about your abilities is correct, you are already seriously well-trained. You should be increasing your essence energy, with a corresponding increase in essence recovery, as you increase your rank. If you have any really broad traits, it would be worth it to raise those, but mostly saving points you don¡¯t absolutely have to spend might be wise. You might naturally gain a special ability that takes a lot of points to unlock, or your path might have a special trait that is impossible to train.¡±


    Do you concur, Jessie?


    While I am not technically allowed to advise you on your path, I can say that Kalamiti¡¯s advice is remarkably sound. With enough points, you might wish to consider purchasing a shape for your chimera affinity, meaning a transformation much like Kalamiti¡¯s.


    ¡°Whoah.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Wandi asked.


    I smiled a little, ¡°Jessie just told me that if I gained Kalamiti¡¯s aspect, and I had the points, I could turn into a tiger too.¡±


    Kalamiti raised an eyebrow, ¡°how exactly would you do that?¡±


    I think I actually blushed. ¡°Uhh¡­ lots of physical contact? Like, close, personal contact?¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, so if you and Takala got really intimate, you could¡­ like¡­ manifest her armor?¡± Maniri asked.


    I nodded, ¡°I think so?¡±


    Maniri grinned, ¡°So basically, you can borrow an aspect¡¯s special path bonuses, as long as you like¡­ get naked with them? So you have a very strong personal incentive for fucking the hell out of anyone that has a useful aspect?¡± she flicked her claws meaningfully.


    I sighed, ¡°It looks like it. Of course, supposedly, I can also open up new path options for them based on my affinities, although they might have to spend points or train it too.¡±


    Maniri laughed, ¡°You are a walking social disease that adds power. Boy, if I were you I¡¯d have already worked my way through half the girls in town. I mean, think about it. Kalamiti¡¯s shifting, my claws and tunneling, Takala¡¯s armor, and Wandi¡¯s hearing¡­ You¡¯d be a total beast. All you¡¯d have to do is take us to bed, and do lots of physical intimacy things like letting me sit on your face.¡± She turned to Wandi, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to end the run early? We have a pretty good reason now.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No. I mean, I don¡¯t have the points to buy everything, and I have a pretty firm cap on how much I can add. If you really want to end early, I will have to stay here and try to solo it.¡±


    Wandi shook her head, ¡°Not a chance. Maniri¡¯s just breaking rule three again. I am damned close to copper, and so is she. Kalamiti is halfway through, and Takala¡­¡±


    ¡°I got a rank too. Tin three.¡±


    Wandi nodded. ¡°Money. Advancement. And the Basin is a lot closer to a breakout than I like. We are here to do a job, and I¡¯m not bailing on it.¡±


    Maniri sighed, ¡°You know I was just messing around and flirting. I wasn¡¯t actually suggesting we bail. A share of a thunderbear core would go a long way towards helping me with some¡­ problems, but I will try to remember rule three.¡±


    Wandi looked at Maniri closely. ¡°Please do. You are my friend, but if you get distracted, it could hurt us all. I don¡¯t want to have to find another anchor. You are damned good, the best I have ever met, but it¡¯s time to get serious. You know that if we DO find a tyrant or a thunderbear, even a hint of distraction could cost us all. Please don¡¯t make me choose between you and Tony.¡±


    Maniri gulped. ¡°Right. I apologize. I was just trying to keep the fun rolling. You know I can buckle down. I¡¯m just not used to having an actual male in the party since they tend to avoid us.¡±


    ¡°They avoid you?¡± I asked curiously. This seemed like a pretty put-together group.


    Kalamiti nodded, ¡°I don¡¯t have a sense of humor. Maniri has too much of a sense of humor. Patternists like Takala scare a lot of delvers, and Wandi¡¯s aspect freaks a lot of could-be party members out.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    Wandi laughed, ¡°Stinky girls. We¡¯ve been together since early wood, and don¡¯t want to break up, which means¡­ well¡­ we¡¯ve been running a team of four for a long time. So I figured this is the best place to find his harem.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Great, now Maniri¡¯s going to start making jokes about it too.¡±


    ¡°Like slaves?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No. where I come from, there¡¯s a type of fiction about guys with lots of women in stories. They are called harem literature, although I don¡¯t think I have read many where they are actual slaves because we consider slavery evil. Usually, the stories actually involve a meek wimp that¡¯s pretty much dominated by a group of strong women that give him powers somehow.¡±


    Maniri nodded, ¡°Like a guy that can somehow use the aspects of the warrior women he¡¯s surrounded by to grow powerful if he has sex with them?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Yes, exactly like that.¡±


    I honestly trusted her to not screw up rule three, but based on Maniri¡¯s evil smile, I realized that I was probably never going to hear the end of it.

 Chapter A35. DA BEAR!

    Have you seen that movie where the guy is running, and then jumps and one second he¡¯s a human, and the next second he¡¯s like a giant wolf that tackles and attacks people?


    Yes, I know. The movies were terrible, but the scene was cool, and when I saw Kalamiti do exactly that to the gigantic Bear that we attacked, after clearing out two more swarms of swarm lizards and a pack of Utahraptors, I was impressed as hell. The Thunderbear was called that because he was the size of a house. Well, okay, a small cottage, but he was impressive as hell. Bears weren¡¯t MEANT to be the size of elephants, and I¡¯d already unleashed restoration on Maniri twice as the gigantic paws impacted and drove her back from the force on her shield.


    It had one eye. Okay, it had two eyes earlier, but I¡¯d managed to shoot one of them out while it was stunning us with a roar louder than being caught inside the engine of a 747. we were pounding bullets into the back of its throat each time it tried to bite one of us with a maw as big as my entire body, and while we had done some damage, the thing seemed almost immune to the heavy caliber bullets both me and Wandi were pounding into it¡¯s head, vitals, anyplace we could get a clear shot.


    ¡°This is insane,¡± I muttered as I replaced my magazine, diving backward as another heavy paw swing shook through where both of us were trying to set up another shot, tearing up small bushes on the hillside as Takala sent another bolt of fire zinging into its neck.


    Wandi nodded, panting. Maniri was keeping its attention, but the wide swings of its gigantic paws kept trying to catch all of us, and I imagine that her size alone was making her less of a threat. Kalamiti was up on the back of its neck, worrying at it and trying to find a weak spot with her long, lean tiger body. Her tiger form was HUGE, a good twelve feet long with her tail, but against the Bear¡¯s back, she looked like a kitten tackling a great Dane.


    ¡°Someone dropped the ball.¡± she panted, ¡°This thing is at least late copper, this dungeon¡¯s supposed to be tin. Whoever has been on suppression had to have left it alone for a long time for it to grow this much.¡±


    ¡°Can we take it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I do know there¡¯s no way we are getting away if we can¡¯t.¡±


    I grumbled. ¡°Maniri! Can you give me a boost?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    I pointed with my rifle at the back of the bear as she was pushed back a few more feet by a heavy-handed paw sweep. ¡°Get me on it¡¯s back!¡±


    She crouched down, ¡°Okay hero! I don¡¯t know what you are doing, but do it fast!¡±


    I ran behind her, taking a few steps to build up momentum as I aimed for her back, and she watched me out of the corner of her eye as the heavy paw swept past her, dropping the shield for a moment as I stepped on it.


    Okay, yeah, I knew Maniri was strong. A lot stronger than Kalamiti, honestly, if not as fast, but when the shield lifted and I jumped, I was actually flying faster than I had expected. I would have LOVED to stay back and keep shooting, but the heavy caliber firearm just wasn¡¯t able to punch through. I needed a boost, and I needed it bad, and the bonus from big game hunter just didn¡¯t seem to add anything when I was at range.


    I almost overshot the bear¡¯s neck, but Kalamiti lifted her great tiger head and head-butted me as I sailed past her, allowing me to drive the two-foot spike at the end of my rifle deeply into the bear¡¯s neck.


    Bushwack activated! Big Game hunter activated! I could seed the excited-looking messages that appeared on my band despite being in a fight for my life.


    The blade dug down deeply into the bear¡¯s neck, which caused it to roar in rage and pain, loud enough that I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear for hours at best, and the thick fur and skin parted, finally exposing the target Kalamiti was waiting for as the hind legs of the bear seemed to collapse and it started to spin with us on it¡¯s back.


    She practically buried her front half into the wound on the back of the bear¡¯s neck, roaring and ripping her way through its spine while it frantically tried to get its huge paws over us. One of them came crashing down on top of both of us, and I braced the rifle stock against its neck as a paw the size of a card table smashed directly onto the bayonet. With a crackle, the damned rifle broke, but not before leaving the paw half-shredded.


    That beautiful rifle. That work of art courting gift that the lovely Wandi got me, flinderized in only half a second. Alas poor carbine, for I knew you not well enough. I have caressed that trigger I know not how oft¡­


    Rust in Peace.


    The bear seemed to collapse as the tigress ripped giant pieces of flesh and bone out with her teeth and jaws, and the whole thing shuddered as it dropped several feet.


    ¡°Shit,¡± I said, sighing as the paw dropped with several pieces of the rifle embedded in it. A moment later, Kalamiti was standing beside me in human form, naked save for a layer of gore and blood running from her head down to her hips.


    Without a word, she slid down the side of the thunder bear, glaring at Takala, who pulled a big piece of cloth out of her back to wrap around Kalamiti.


    I was¡­ actually really very tired as I hopped off of the bear¡¯s back. I sat down away from the spreading pool of blood and gore that was streaming off of the Thunder Bear¡¯s punctured hide. I was not as badly messed as Kalamiti, but I still felt like I was covered head to foot in blood spray and crap from the thunder bear, as well as the goop from a lot of other monsters.


    ¡°That bear is really, really big.¡± Maniri pointed out as she leaned against her almost shattered shield. ¡°Do we use the compressor on it?¡±


    Wandi sighed. ¡°I think we have to.¡± she glanced at me. ¡°We can make enough profit off of it, and it broke down the chaos buildup, but it cost us. We are going to all need gear upgrades, did you break through?¡±


    Maniri nodded, ¡°You are kidding right? Copper two.¡±


    ¡°Copper one.¡± Kalamiti sighed, slowly wiping herself clean of the goop her upper torso had been coated with. I tried to muster interest at the occasional flashes of naked flesh that showed through, but I was too numb. So much for that endurance trait. All I wanted to do was fall asleep in a bathtub and check the notifications our marathon-like battle across the basin had given me, but I was putting it off since I didn¡¯t want to dig through them.


    There were a lot. I also had a huge number of points right now, and I wanted to spend them on useful stuff ASAP. I was not like those Dungeons and Flagons players that compulsively hoarded every expendable they found ¡®just in case¡¯, I figured an ounce now when your life was on the line was worth a lot more than a pound later.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked, vaguely curious as long as it didn¡¯t take any exercise.


    Takala smiled a little, ¡°We have a compressor. We still need to drag the wagon back, but the compressor is an enchanted device that can store a single large object in a coil. This is a copper-ranked boss, and probably five thousand pounds of copper-ranked meat, a core, and its hide, bones, and claws. I¡¯m betting we get a good fifty crowns from it, more if the core matches it.¡±


    Wandi nodded, ¡°Yeah, but the compressor itself is a single shot that cost almost ten crowns. What we have on the cart is probably worth another hundred crowns, or more with the stuff that Tony gathered, but I have never seen the basin this close to an overload before.¡±


    ¡°Profitable.¡± Maniri shrugged and stood up. ¡°But yeah. It sucks to lose the compressor, but we can buy another one. I know we are all tired, but I¡¯d rather take a bath and get this giant lump of meat out of here.¡± she tilted her head towards me. ¡°And the bear¡¯s corpse too.¡±


    I chuckled weakly. ¡°I¡¯ll show you a giant lump of meat.¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No. I am pretty sure I made tin, but I need time to talk to Jessie and find out what we got for this¡­ fiasco.¡±


    Maniri nodded slowly, ¡°Shame, but you are off the hook, pretty boy. I¡¯m too tired, and we still have hauling to do.¡±


    I slowly collapsed upwards, until I was back on my feet. This level of exhaustion was rough, but I¡¯d fought through worse. ¡°Then let¡¯s get started.¡± I glanced through the loaded cart until I found some banewort and mistybrook roses, and tugged them out. My survival was telling me that boiling them together would create a tea that would offer us an energy boost for about an hour, and I pulled out my adventurer¡¯s pot. ¡°Takala, can you give me a heat source?¡± The sweetbars were already running thin from where we¡¯d eaten them an hour ago.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Takala nodded and set up a small flame between her hands, while I added the herbs to my pot. ¡°What is this?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I am just running on instinct right now, but after those raptors cleared the brook, I got a boost to survival. Apparently, all the crap I collected and cooking lunch was enough to move both it and scrounging to apprentice, and right now it¡¯s telling me that these herbs combine to make a decent energy enhancer.¡±


    ¡°Drink a cup of this, avoid swallowing any of the solids,¡± I said, as we each took a good long swallow of the tea after it cooled a little. It tasted like crap, but after a few seconds, I felt like I¡¯d just pounded two red bulls after a night of partying. Lots of energy, mixed with a bone-weary fatigue. I quickly tossed the remainders after we¡¯d all had a good drink, and I noticed that Wandi had¡­ somehow disappeared the corpse. The blood and goopy bits were still scattered around, but she was carrying a small chest, the size of a jewelry box, which she loaded onto the cart.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the creepiest thing I have ever seen.¡±


    Wandi smiled, ¡°It¡¯s a bear in a box. Seriously, these are standard, usually in case¡­ umm¡­ something happens to one of us and we have to carry the body out, or we find a loot haul too heavy to carry out. The versions out here in the hinterlands are actually super cheap single-use, but if you don¡¯t mind spending thousands of crowns, you can buy permanent storage rings. Not like I could afford one, but by the time we are iron-ranked we can probably get them.¡±


    ¡°Thousands of crowns?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes. The higher rank you are, the higher ranked rifts and monsters you fight. At gold rank, a thousand crowns could be blown off just from refilling your special ammunition, or emergency potions. You are aware that even here, you could probably charge a hundred crowns easily just for a restoration, right? Healers are elites for a reason, and your restoration was at least journeyman while we were fighting the bear, I could feel it.¡±


    ¡°Is that a big deal?¡±


    She nodded, ¡°Yes, a very big deal. I think you got several of your traits boosted. If you got Journeyman restoration, that means you are definitely tin.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I probably am. Jessie has been flashing at me constantly with updates, but honestly, I don¡¯t even want to go through them all. Hey Jessie, can you give me a highlight reel?¡±


    A highlight reel? How about greatest fails?


    Not now. Too tired. Seriously, can you just get rid of all of the notices and give me the highlights?


    Of course. You are now technically tin 3, but until you can choose a new update for your path, that advancement has been held in abeyance. Technically that means you are now a master of drudgery, but that¡¯s kind of a low bar. You have a disgustingly huge number of unused enhancement points and a correspondingly large set of chimeric abilities to choose from.


    You got the overloaded achievement, for killing a copper-ranked enemy in a tin-tier rift and preventing an overload and possible wave. Your whole team got it, and it gives a nice, hefty willpower boost against fear caused by overpowered enemies in a rift. You also got the team player bonus, which allows your big game hunter trait to affect your whole team, which is how you guys killed that bear.


    You gained lots of affinity points, and several of your traits were improved, including a merged evolution from durability and endurance to toughness, a much more encompassing trait. You also improved your strength trait into apprentice might, but that¡¯s to be expected when you tackle a rift significantly more powerful than you are and manage to not die.


    You now have nineteen free points without even advancing for your first three tin ranks, which, considering how many traits you have merged for absolutely free, means you can probably spend it all on genetic traits without hurting yourself. You are only a few steps away from turning yourself into Frankenstein¡¯s unpopular cousin, Craigenstein.


    I suggest you look at your character sheet when you have a chance to rest, and we can decide what kind of cheat mode class you want to take for your tin cultivation ranks. Unless you decide to just keep blowing more ranks on Drudge? That would be 6 more points, and you have already gained the Drudge mastery gift, endless labor.


    What is endless labor?


    You sound like you are answering a Jeopardy question. Endless labor allows you to forgo sleep by spending essence points for up to a week. Afterwards, of course, you will sleep for two days solid. You are not the most ridiculously overpowered person for your rank running around, but you are definitely in the top ten for this area. Right alongside that ridiculous feline, Beli, but she had to spend stacks of gold and other resources to barely edge you out in ¡®most stupid combined traits and early gifts¡¯ for tin rank.


    I am tired of giving you a summary. Here¡¯s your sheet. And you are welcome for the way I organized it for you.


    Anthony Michael Wilkins (Base Human)


    Classes: Drudge Mastery (0); Tier: tin(3);


    Essence Pool: 10(80); Energy Credits: 1297;


    Essence Recovery: 10; Free points: 19;


    Chimera (physical affinity): 12


    Melee training (Journeyman); Bushwack (amateur); Toughness; Improvised melee (novice); Pugilism (professional); Might (apprentice); Flexibility (journeyman);


    Imagination (mental affinity): 10


    Survival (apprentice); Perception (amateur); Empathy (apprentice); Jury Rig (novice);Core (novice); Scrounging (apprentice);


    Law (spiritual affinity): 7


    Apparition (apprentice); Firearms (apprentice); Restoration (journeyman); Cultivation (apprentice);


    Evolutions and Adaptations:


    Re-engineered; Big game hunter; Resist mutation; Scotsman; Overloaded; Endless labor; Team Player;


    Chimeric abilities:


    Default;


    Can you tell me what uhh.. genome quirks I have available from all that?


    Big Ears: Goblins can hear a flea fart from a hundred feet away in a wind tunnel. As a returner, you may alter your ears to resemble those of a goblin and gain enhanced hearing. (1 point)


    Shifter: Chimerae have the ability to assign their quirks either permanently, or temporarily as a shifted form. Shifter gives you one alternate form to which you can assign purchased quirks that can be activated temporarily by spending essence energy. Current Essence: 80 (Law spiritual affinity) (5 points)


    Gigantism: overgrown bears gain 50% additional mass. Your size and bulk will rise accordingly, increasing your natural durability and potential strength. This may be purchased multiple times to increase your size each time up to 800% and double your height. (3 points)


    Digitigrade: Your legs alter to become digitigrade. This will double your running speed and jumping height and distance. (4 points)


    Scales: You grow a layer of scales over your body like the dinos you were fighting. This will turn your defenses deflective, like hardened armor. Good luck getting a date unless you plan on making Maniri your main, and only, squeeze. (5 points)


    Claws: Your fingernails and toenails grow much longer and harden, becoming deadly natural weapons. As with scales, but this time Takala is the only one that will willingly sleep with you. (2 points)


    Scent tracking: Wolves and other canines have an extremely well-developed nose for keenly discerning scents. With scent tracking, you will grow a muzzle with enhanced nasal passages and reshaped sinuses that can allow you to take advantage of this gift. (3 points)


    Hidden gifts: You may purchase a genome quirk without the corresponding physical side effects save for those that are innate, such as improved size from gigantism. You must purchase this trait with each quirk. (5 points per hidden gift)


    ¡°Is it good?¡± Wandi asked.


    I nodded and picked up one of the cart handles. ¡°It was. Tin 3, but I apparently have a LOT of work to do to stabilize things and find a new class on my path.¡±


    She smiled slightly, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, and find a bath.¡±